James Jordan points to structural links between the death of the innocents at hands of Herod (Matt 2) death of innocent Jesus at hands of Romans (Matt 27). While Jesus escapes the first slaughter by fleeing to Egypt, he enters the “Egypt” of Jerusalem/Judea to suffer the slaughter. There is an inversion of the logic of Passover at work here. The original logic was that the Egyptians who killed the firstborn of Israel would themselves lose their firstborn. In Matthew,... Read more
In an illuminating review in TLS (June 2), Felipe Fernandez-Armesto summarizes the evidence that the Spanish Civil War was, as it turns out, thoroughly Spanish. He debunks the myth that Spain never participated in European cultural movements, pointing out that “liberal” is derived from a Spanish word, that Spain was one of the first nations to adopt a “genuinely democratic franchise,” and played an important role in urbanization, industrialization, socialism and anarchism, and so on. The Spanish Civil War, by... Read more
The library of Dr Daniel Williams (Presbyterian minister, 1643-1716) in London is selling its copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, and to mark the occasion Peter Lindenbaum examines not only the Folio but the library (TLS June 2). The Folio is not the only (modest) surprise in this library, whose original collection included not only Williams’ books but those of fellow Presbyterian Dr William Bates (1625-99). The catalogue from 1727 lists 6700 or so items, including a sufficient number of works... Read more
David Martin comments (TLS, June 16) on Maurice’s Bloch’s view that ritual crushes human creativity: “No doubt that is how the Jesuits (with their Spiritual Exercises) turned into such scientifically incurious stay-at-homes, how the Mormons built a city in the desert, and the Muslims created an empire stretching from Spain to the Euphrates.” Read more
INTRODUCTION After Josiah, Judah unravels rapidly. Josiah’s son is imprisoned by Pharaoh Neco (23:33), and before long Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonians are invading, destroying the temple and the city (24:1). It is Good Friday for Israel. THE TEXT “Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his... Read more
In the account of Josiah’s reform in 2 Kings 23, there is frequent reference to “defiling” (vv 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 20). Josiah defiles by scattering the ashes from a destroyed Asherah pole, by filling holy places with bones, by burning bones on altars. It’s not enough just to destroy the shrines and vessels of idolatrous worship. That would interrupt the worship, but it doesn’t remove the holiness and sanctity of the place or the things. Sanctity... Read more
2 Kings 23:12: The altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king broke down; and he smashed them there, and threw their dust into the brook Kidron. Josiah was one of the great heroes of the faith, providing an example not only for leaders of the church but for every believer. All leaders of the church are to imitate his zeal in destroying anything idolatrous in the church, but every believer is... Read more
2 Kings 23:21-23: Then the king commanded all the people, saying, Celebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God as it is written inn this book of the covenant. Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to Yahweh in Jerusalem. As we have... Read more
The reform of King Josiah is one of the high points of the history of Judah, and Josiah one of the great heroes of the faith. But we should also consider what this story reveals about the condition of Judah. As we consider the virtues of Josiah, don’t lose sight of what made his reform necessary – the idolatry of Judah. (more…) Read more
In a rapid survey (TLS May 26) of the cultural uses of the Odysseus-Cyclops encounter that ranges from Kant’s “Cyclopean thinking” to Charles Lamb’s version of the Odyssey to Joyce, Salman Rushdie, Derek Walcott, and the X-Men Edith Hall includes these intriguing tidbits: “Lamb was taking his cue from an ancient intuition that Odysseus’ travels somehow symbolised colonial expansion. Odysseus’ sons by Circe traditionally founded important cities in Central Italy, and the Etruscans painted scenes from Odysseus’ wanderings on the... Read more
Leithart
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In