In his commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, JB Lightfoot ran through the possible meanings of ta sitgmata, the “brand marks of Christ” that Paul says he bore (Galatians 6:17). Stigmata marked “domestic slaves. With these, however, branding was not usual, at least among Greeks and Romans, except to mark such as had attempted to escape, or had otherwise misconducted themselves . . . and such brands were held a badge of disgrace” (305). Paul glories in the shame:... Read more
In his study of The Concept of Purity at Qumran and in the Letters of Paul, Michael Newton argues that Paul transfers the logic and patterns of purity and cult from the temple to the new temple-community, the church. Relying mainly on Corinthians, Newton writes: “By describing the Christian community as the Temple of God, Paul transfers from the Jerusalem Temple many concepts that pertain to that institution. Of primary importance is the idea that the divine presence now dwells wherever those who are... Read more
In Purity Rabbinic Judaism (46), Jacob Neusner comments on the role of liquidity in the purity system: “Dry inanimate objects or food are not susceptible to uncleanness. What is wet is susceptible. So liquids activate the system.” A dead animal on a pile of grain contaminates only the grain that it touches. When the grain is wet, though, the impurity spreads throughout the grain (Leviticus 11). This applies to humans as much as anything: “The uncleanness of persons . . . is... Read more
In The Dome of Eden, Stephen Webb wonders what might have happened if J. Gresham Machen, Princeton theologian and founder of Westminster Theological Seminary, had been at the Scopes trial. In Webb’s account, Machen’s main concern was to challenge the naturalistic presumptions of Darwinism: “Machen never rejected the basic ingredients of Darwin’s theory. His position was nuanced. He was not very worried about the idea that humans descend from lower life forms. Instead, he defended the Genesis account of creation because... Read more
Revelation 12-14 roughly follows the sequence of the first half of the week of creation. The overall movement is from heaven to sea to earth. Genesis 1 begins with light, then the separation of waters above and below, the formation of sea and land. We can be more specific. Land emerges from the sea, and so the first beast emerges from the sea. Once land is separated, the Lord calls up grain and fruit-bearing plants; once the sea beast has... Read more
In an essay on atonement in the Jewish Studies Quarterly from the early 1990s, Mary Douglas explains “the social origins of ideas about defilement in general”: Living in a community, people find themselves wanting to keep apart from some dissimilar others and to be included within sets of similars. To justify their wish to be separate they tend to invoke theories of contagion, religious or secular, aesthetic or scientific. Religious purity generally emerges as an ordering principle which a community... Read more
In a 1991 article in the Tyndale Bulletin, Edwin Judge reviews the symbolic resonances of the phrase “mark of the beast,” but notes, rightly that “the visions of Revelation keep disconcertingly coming down to earth” (158). So he looks for historical evidence of a mark imposed by Roman authorities that would give those who were marked access to a marketplace (as in Revelation 13:17. He writes, “In AD 303-4 we know from a contemporary papyrus letter that a test of... Read more
After describing the heroes of faith from creation to Jericho with some leisure, Hebrews 11 closes with a rapid-fire survey of everything from the judges on (vv. 32-38). It’s a nicely constructed passage. First, six individuals are named, followed by a general reference to “prophets”: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Seven heroes closes the chapter with a flourish. Then ten heroic achievements: Conquered kingdoms, performed justice, obtained promises, shut lions’ mouths, quenched fire, escaped the sword,... Read more
A hermeneutical rule of thumb I share with students: Chapter 2 comes after chapter 1. It has many applications, as in “Chapter 18 comes after chapter 17.” Make the observation, then ask, Why? Why is that story there, after this one and before that one? The story of Sodom and Gomorrah comes in the midst of the life of Abraham. Chapter 17: Circumcision; chapter 18: Angels visit Sodom; chapter 19: Sodom destroyed. Why? Paul Kahn (Putting Liberalism in its Place,... Read more
Lamech’s song in Genesis 4 is today read as a taunt and a warning. “I have killed a man for wounding me,” he tells his wives, and a boy for striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy sevenfold” (Genesis 4:23-24). But there is another reading, one involving Lamech’s blindness, Cain, and Lamech’s son Tubal Cain. Lois Bragg (Oedipus Borealis, 118-9) tells the story: “Lamech is introduced as ‘the blind man.’ He and Tubal-Cain hear movement in the... Read more
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