When Paul says that the Gentiles do what the law requires because of the law written in their hearts, who is he talking about? Righteous pagans? Christians (as NT Wright and others have recently argued)? There seems to be an obvious third alternative: That is, Gentiles who are heirs of the proto-New Covenant that began after the exile. Jeremiah’s promise of the law written on hearts, after all, began to be fulfilled in the postexilic period, and there were many... Read more
This from the TDNT on HELLEN: “In Hellenistic Judaism Hellenism was found to be the most dangerous form of paganism, but as yet there is no simple equation of HELLENES and Gentiles. Hellenism is the historically known magnitude of the Greek world with its language, customs and deities . . . . There can thus be no suggestion that, in the face of the threat of paganism in the form of Gk. culture and religion, Gk. speaking Jews had already... Read more
This from the TDNT on HELLEN: “In Hellenistic Judaism Hellenism was found to be the most dangerous form of paganism, but as yet there is no simple equation of HELLENES and Gentiles. Hellenism is the historically known magnitude of the Greek world with its language, customs and deities . . . . There can thus be no suggestion that, in the face of the threat of paganism in the form of Gk. culture and religion, Gk. speaking Jews had already... Read more
What does Paul mean by “Greek”? Though often taken as simply synonymous with “Gentile,” it seems instead to have the more specific force of “Hellene,” someone who is part of the Greco-Roman empire. ETHNOS means simply “nation,” and refers to nations other than Israel. A HELLEN is a member of a specific ETHNOS. There are several passages where the words appear in close proximity to one another, and these can be used as test cases for Paul’s usage. Along with... Read more
What does Paul mean by “Greek”? Though often taken as simply synonymous with “Gentile,” it seems instead to have the more specific force of “Hellene,” someone who is part of the Greco-Roman empire. ETHNOS means simply “nation,” and refers to nations other than Israel. A HELLEN is a member of a specific ETHNOS. There are several passages where the words appear in close proximity to one another, and these can be used as test cases for Paul’s usage. Along with... Read more
Jim Jordan suggests that Daniel 2-7, written in Aramaic, is a fulfillment of the promise/threat of tongues (from Isaiah), and that this passage authorizes translation of Scripture into various languages. Which leads to several thoughts: 1) As Jordan points out, translation was not done until the intertestamental period, and is still not done by Muslims. Refusal to translate seems to be particularly connected with old world/old covenant systems (like Islam). The written word is kept close, hidden away, but with... Read more
Obedience, Scripture says, is better than sacrifice. By analogy, moral purity is better than ritual purity. This analogy plays a big role in the gospels. Read more
Jesus offers to bring the children of Jerusalem under His “wings” (Luke 13:34). The “wing” image is used commonly in the Psalms with reference to Yahweh’s protective covering, and it is connected also to Yahweh’s role as husband of Israel, the one who has spread the “wing of His garment” over His bride. A variation of that picture seems to be in view in Luke: Jerusalem is pictured as a mother, who has scattered children, children that need to be... Read more
On Romans 2:1: In an earlier post, I pointed to the “exchange” that Paul describes in Rom 2:1, namely, that the one who judges another seeks to place the other under the judgment of God and thereby to escape God’s judgment on himself. Paul says that this in fact has the opposite effect. The one who judges the other and practices the same things is self-condemned by trying to place the other under God’s judgment. A comment from a friend... Read more
Communion meditation for November 9: Luke 12:24 Our first acts as a constituted membership are an offertory and celebration of the Eucharist. Having taken our membership oaths, we offer a portion of our goods and our income to the Lord, and then we sit down at His table. These are appropriate initial acts for this congregation because they set the pattern for all our actions, for the whole life of this body. Our whole life as a community of believers... Read more
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