In his The Lord Has Saved Me , Michael Barre points to various numerical and other patterns used in the Psalms. Barre’s discussion of the Psalm of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38) gets extremely detailed, but his introduction to the techniques of Hebrew poetry is excellent. For instance: “Several Biblical Hebrew poems have the same number of words in their major sections (with a variation of one word in some cases). Psalm 91 has fifty-six words in each of its two major... Read more
Rich Bledsoe agreed with my analysis of 1-2 Kings and the divided church, and offers these further reflections on Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. The remainder of this post is from Rich. Van Leeuwen in his magisterial CHRISTIANITY IN WORLD HISTORY: The Meeting of the Faiths of East and West. , points out that 70 AD is the definitive end of all temples. Both Rome and Orthodoxy (Christendom and Byzantium) were still attempts at least partially to hold on to the... Read more
Yahweh tells Hezekiah through the prophet that he will have a sign. It’s a sign concerning ascent and descent. The word for “ascent” or “stair” ( ma’alah , from ‘alah , “to go up”) occurs four times (!) in the passage (Isaiah 38:8), and Yahweh promises that the shadow caused by the setting sun will change course on the “ascending thing.” Shadows naturally ascend as the day wears on, but Yahweh will make the shadow go back and light ascend.... Read more
When told by Isaiah that he will die from his sickness, Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and prays. A wooden rendering of the prayer would be along these lines: “Remember, please, that I have walked before your face in truth and with a heart of completion/peace ( shalem ) and the good in your eyes I have done” (Isaiah 38:3). That lays out in a fairly neat chiasm: (more…) Read more
There are several parallels between the story of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21) and the account of Hezekiah’s sickness and the visit from the Babylonians (2 Kings 20; Isaiah 38-39). First a list of the connections: 1) When Naboth refuses to sell his vineyard, Ahab lays down on his bed and turns his face (1 Kings 21:4). When Isaiah tells Hezekiah that he will die from his sickness, he turns his face to the wall, perhaps on his sick bed... Read more
There has been a huge response to my post on “Too catholic to be Catholic” earlier this week, and I can’t hope to respond to everything. Given what I’ve seen of some of the responses, though, it will be helpful for me to clarify and elaborate briefly the biblical framework I assume for thinking through the problem of the divided church. That framework is taken largely from the history of the divided kingdom of Israel as it’s recorded in 1-2... Read more
In a post last week, I criticized some aspects of Nevin’s and Calvin’s sacramental theology. Jonathan Bonomo, author of Incarnation and Sacrament: The Eucharistic Controversy Between Charles Hodge and John Williamson Nevin , responded by arguing that Nevin and Calvin would both agree with my criticism. The rest of this post is from Bonomo: I actually think Nevin would essentially agree with Leithart’s point about what is given objectively in the sacrament. As would Calvin. The quote from Calvin contra... Read more
My friends tell me that my name has been invoked in various web skirmishes concerning Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, sometimes by people, including friends, who claim that I nurtured them along in their departure from the Protestant world. My friends also hinted that it would be good for me to say again why I’m not heading to Rome or Constantinople or Moscow (Russia!), nor encouraging anyone to do so. Everything I say below I’ve said before in various venues –... Read more
INTRODUCTION During the Assyrian crisis (Isaiah 38:6), Hezekiah falls sick. He prays, and Yahweh heals him. At the same time, he shows his treasures to Babylonians, a prelude to Babylon’s later invasion. THE TEXT “In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live . . . .’” (Isaiah 38:1—39:8).... Read more
Isaiah 37:14-38 is arranged in a simple chiasm: A. Hezekiah prays in the temple, vv 14-20 B. Isaiah prophesies concerning Sennacherib, vv 21-29 C. Isaiah gives a sign concerning Judah, vv 30-32 B’. Isaiah prophesies concerning Sennacherib, vv 33-35 A’. Sennacherib killed in the temple of Nisroch, vv 36-38 The B section is itself a chiasm: (more…) Read more
Leithart
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