Tag: Hebrew Bible
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Promise
The dullard cannot know, the stupid cannot understand this: though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever, but you, YHWH, are on high forever. Psalm 92:6-8
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Studying Micah 3 1-12, 6 6-8
We are studying portions of the book of Micah, Micah 3:1-2, 9-12, and 6:6-8, for Sunday, March 22. Even though we won’t be meeting in person, we can still spend time with the text and think about what it means for us. [One thing we might want to do would be to share comments here. […]
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Study Notes – Habakkuk 2 6-14
We are focusing on Habakkuk 2:6-14 for Sunday, March 15. This is the continuation of Habakkuk’s response to the Babylonian imperial invasion of Judah and the Babylonians exercise of tyrannical imperial rule over the Judeans. Habakkuk turns from asking God when relief will come, and why this is happening in the first place, to “taunting” […]
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – 1 Chronicles 17 16-27
We are studying 1 Chronicles 17:16-27 for Sunday, December 29. This text records David’s response to the news that God will bless David’s lineage with the kingship of Israel far into the future. [My notes on the text are here.] Here are a few questions we might ask ourselves as we consider this text: How […]
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Study Notes – 1 Chronicles 17, 21
We are studying portions of 1 Chronicles 17 and 1 Chronicles 21 for Sunday, December 15. This is the account of David’s plan to build a temple as a permanent home for the Ark of God, God’s response (“thanks, but no thanks”), and then the final episode in the saga of David’s ill-conceived census that […]
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – 1 Chronicles 16
We are studying 1 Chronicles 16 (more specifically, 1 Chronicles 16:8-12, 19-27) for Sunday, December 8. This is the Chronicler’s glance back at the worship that accompanied David’s installation of the Ark of God in the tent he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. [A few notes on the text are here.] Here are some […]
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Study Notes – 1 Chronicles 16
We are studying most of 1 Chronicles 16 for Sunday, December 8. It’s the Chronicler’s account of the installation of the Ark of the God in its tent in Jerusalem, which mainly includes the lyrics of the psalm that was part of that ceremony. Here are my exceptionally brief notes on this text: BACKGROUND AND […]
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – 1 Chronicles 15
We are studying 1 Chronicles 15 for Sunday, December 1, focusing on some of the verses that describe how David arranges to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions about the text we might want to consider or discuss: The first verse introduces […]
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Study Notes – 1 Chronicles 15
We are studying portions of 1 Chronicles 15 (mostly leaving out the long lists of names, but there are a couple of other interesting omissions) for Sunday, December 1. This is the Chronicler’s account of David’s bringing the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel to Jerusalem. Here are my notes on this […]
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Which Spin Wins in Kings?
The “special study” of the month was the book of Kings (First and Second). Little did I know. [Here’s some backstory: Our daughter swam competitively as a child – I’m a swim mom, not a soccer mom. One thing I learned from being a swim mom: there’s a world of difference between swimming summer league […]
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A Little More Love for Judges?
This month’s “special study” was the book of Judges. The curriculum consisted of Marc Zvi Brettler’s short, interesting non-commentary on the book of Judges. I say “non-commentary,” because Brettler announces explicitly in his preface that the work, a volume in the Old Testament Readings series, is “not intended as a commentary; instead its focus, following […]
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How Can We Possibly Read Isaiah?
Modern historical critical scholarship reads Isaiah 9:1 as an explicit reference to Israelite provinces annexed by Assyria in 732 BCE, and Isaiah 9:2-7 as a “royal song of thanksgiving” that gives hope to those who wait for YHWH “to act to restore righteous Davidic rule in Israel” (NOAB, note on Isaiah 9:2-7); the “child” “born […]
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Obviously Good Rules
Moses tells the Israelites that the Torah will be RECOGNIZABLY good, to outsiders, because “the peoples, … when they hear all these statutes, will say ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’” (Deuteronomy 4:6) That is, the Torah will recommend itself. In context, this self-recommendation seems to depend on the practice of […]
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Rumor Control
On the long slog through Exodus, this jumped out: You must not pass along false rumors. Exodus 23:1 (NLT) That would probably cut the fake Russian news and the out-of-context viral videos and the conspiracy theories of whichever side down to manageable proportions. Not clear on whether this implies that it’s OK to go ahead […]
Matters of Interpretation 