Category Archives: passage interpretation
genesis 4:1 — what is the role of יהוה?
I was reading along today in Genesis 4, and came across this odd little bit of text at the end of the first verse: קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יְהוָה It struck me as an odd bit of text. Leaving the את untranslated for the moment, the text reads “I have acquired/created a man את Jehovah.” At this [...]
messianic prophecy or mere explanation? the case of genesis 3:15
You know the story. Man and Wife lived in the Garden of Eden, tending the trees until one day the wily Serpent tricked the woman into eating the Fruit of Knowledge. Among unnamed other tidbits of knowledge, Man and Wife realize that they are naked, and hide themselves in shame. God asks Man what is [...]
Posted in passage interpretation Tagged adam and eve, explanatory myth, genesis 3, messianic prophecy, offspring Leave a comment
jesus, paul, domestic violence, and the divorce question
Joel Watts has made an excellent suggestion — that bibliobloggers address the difficult question of whether we are to allow divorce in cases of domestic violence. I don’t want to try to pretend to be a professional exegete or anything of the sort, but just to get people started . . . Related Posts:Why I [...]
be still!
Jeff Oien explains why “Be still and know that I am God,” the famous line from Psalm 46:10, is not an encouragement to ponder the things of God quietly, but rather a command to shut up and watch as Jehovah tears things up. His corrective got me thinking about other commands for stillness or silence [...]
Posted in passage interpretation Tagged be still, book of psalms, jeff oien, psalm 46, psalm 46:10, scripture zealot 2 Comments
little zoar
Sometimes what the Bible does not say is as interesting as what it does say. A thought-provoking example can be found in the way the book of Genesis treats the city of Zoar. Related Posts:Adam and the Enslavement of Humanity, Part 1a few (7000) words on Genesis 6:1-4genesis 4: (the generally late) hebrew thursdayhebrew thursday: [...]
Posted in passage interpretation Tagged bela, genesis, genesis 14, genesis 14:2, genesis 19, genesis 19:22, sodom and gomorrah, zoar Leave a comment
john mark hicks on unjust wages
John Mark Hicks has the following to say on being “pro-life”: Last Tuesday, many within Churches of Christ voted for Obama, especially those who have come to see that voting for social justice is just as important as voting against abortion–both are pro-life orientations. Deuteronomy, for example, is just as concerned about just wages, fair [...]
Also posted in justice Tagged abortion, churches of christ, john mark hicks, low wages, murder, obama, voting 4 Comments
faith without works
Since we’re on the topic of music that tackles controversial issues of doctrine, how about some Rich Mullins? For the non-rap-lover, here’s his delightfully harmonic “Screen Door,” dedicated to expounding upon James 2. And yes, Joel, that link leads to a chapter of the NLT. And that’s all right by me. Related Posts:On the Conditions [...]
Posted in passage interpretation Tagged book of james, faith, faith without works, james 2, joel watts, rich mullins, screen door on a submarine, works 2 Comments
in the beginning
All discussions of big issues seem to find their way back to Genesis, don’t they? There’s just no other work comparable to it. And so also Joel Hoffman has again turned his attention to Genesis, specifically Rashi’s bit about b’reshit being a construct state noun, which would make the verse read, strangely, “In the beginning [...]
Posted in passage interpretation Tagged b'reshit, construct state (hebrew), genesis, genesis 1, genesis 1:1, joel hoffman, rashi Leave a comment
the uncomfortable words of romans 2:5-11