In his dialog with Slavoj Zizek (published as The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (Short Circuits) ), Milbank cites Meister Eckhart’s suggestion that there is an analogy between the Father/Son relation and the relation of justice to a just man: “if the Father and the Son, justice and the just man, are one and the same in nature, it follows . . . that the just man is equal to, not less than, justice, and similarly with the Son... Read more
Following the interpretation of Rashi, Nicholas of Lyra understood the Song of Songs as an allegory of Yahweh and Israel, leading up to the New Covenant when the Lord took a bride from every nations. As Nicholas sees it, this is the reason for the complexity and difficulty of the Song: “the church understood in this way has existed in different times: in some periods she has offended the Bridegroom; in others she has done his will. Again, the church... Read more
The odd Hebrew phrase “in the bone of the day” (translated as “the very same day”) occurs in Genesis 7 (Noah enters the ark), Genesis 17 (circumcision of Abram’s household), Exodus 12 (Passover), and Leviticus 23 (day of atonement). Though the phrase is used a few other times in the OT, perhaps the repetition of the phrase joins these events together. In the flood, the world is “circumcised” and we have a foreshadowing of the Passover and the ultimate atonement.... Read more
1 Peter 3:10-12: He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” Pastor Sumpter’s sermon text closes with a quotation from Psalm 34. In the Psalm, David praises... Read more
The Bible devotes a surprising amount of attention to vessels – plates, forks, bowls, pots, pans, and snuffers. One long and repetitive chapter of Numbers describes a 12-day procession during which leaders from each tribe bring forward animals, grain, and incense for the tabernacle service, along with a silver dish, a silver bowl, and a gold man. When Solomon builds the temple, we again get a list of “vessels”: basins, shovels, bowls, pails, tongs, cups, snuffers, spoons, firepans, all of... Read more
Jeremiah describes invaders chasing Israel across the mountains of the land, pursuing them as swiftly as eagles (Lamentations 4:19). They can’t keep going; out of breath, they are ambushed and taken into exile. Why are they breathless and weak? Because “the breath of our nostrils . . . was captured in their pits.” Who or what might that be? The parallel phrase in verse 20a tells us: “the breath (Heb., ruach ) of our nostrils, Yahweh’s anointed.” That is, Judah’s... Read more
Idols have noses, but can’t smell (Psalm 115). That means, for starters, they can’t breathe in the aroma of sacrifice. So what’s the point of turning animals to smoke? It also means that they are not to be feared. If their noses don’t breathe in, they can’t breathe out either. Yahweh can breathe life into Adam; idols can’t. Yahweh’s nose burns against disobedient Israel; idols noses can’t burn, nor can they breathe out smoke and fire. Therefore: Do not fear... Read more
Eve was created from Adam’s rib. She had a body, and a female body. But the Pentateuch gives little attention to the female body as such. Women are described as beautiful, or not (Leah). But only Deuteronomy 49:25 uses, for instance, the word “breast” ( shad ). (The word translated as “breast” in Leviticus is specifically used of animal breasts; the Hebrew is chazeh .) The wisdom literature uses the word shad frequently. Often, it refers to breasts as... Read more
Why didn’t the Son come in the flesh just outside Eden? The erotic theology of the Song of Songs provides a possible hint. Throughout the Song, the lovers admire each other’s bodies and express their longing desires to be together. Union comes at the end of reciprocal arousal. ”Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,” the bride says at the outset. ”How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful you are!” says the bridegroom. But the... Read more
When I taught literature, I told students that poetry is a “concentrated excess of language.” Song of Songs 2:16a is poetry of poetry. Woodenly translated, it says, “My beloved to me, and I to him.” The overlapping structures in that deceptively simple statement are wondrous. On the one hand, it is a parallel structure, repeating the prepositional phrase with “to”: A. My beloved B. to me A’. and I B’. to him On the other hand, it is a chiasm:... Read more
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