Showing posts with label Dictionary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dictionary. Show all posts
Monday, February 2, 2009
Rephidim
Rephidim . The last stopping-place of the Israelites on the Exodus from Egypt, before they reached Mt Sinai (Ex. 17:1; 19:2; Nu. 33:14–15). Here the Israelites under Joshua fought against Amalek, and the successful outcome of the battle depended on Moses’ holding up his hands, which he did with the support of Aaron and Hur (Ex. 17:8–16). After the battle, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, persuaded Moses to give up judging the people entirely by himself, and to appoint deputies for this purpose (Ex. 18). The site of Rephidim is uncertain, the usual suggestion being the Wadi Refayid in SW Sinai.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Exile
Exile
Exile is both a plot motif and a character type. The essential ingredient in both cases is a person who has been banished from a native place and is now living or wandering in foreign parts. While we ordinarily link the state of exile with judgment against someone for wrongdoing, in the Bible this is by no means always the case. In fact all true believers are pictured as being exiles from their true homeland.
An exile story is preceded by a scene of banishment and a subsequent journey, and the Bible contains some memorable examples. The prototype is the expulsion from the Garden (Gen 3:24), which in a single moment made the entire human race an exile from its original home. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this banishment, which not only awakens the wellsprings of human regret and nostalgia but is also the starting point of every subsequent human story—the backdrop to all that is recorded in the Bible.
Other scenes of banishment follow the original one. Cain is banished “from the presence of the LORD” (Gen 4:16 RSV) as the sentence for having murdered his brother, Jacob is forced to flee for his life after having cheated his brother (Gen 27:41–28:5), and Joseph is sold into slavery in a foreign land (Gen 37:25–28). Moses flees to Midian to avoid Pharaoh’s death threat (Ex 2:15). Similarly, David repeatedly flees from Saul, and later in life he is temporarily banished from the throne by Absalom’s rebellion. In the story of Jesus’ nativity, the flight into Egypt is a banishment (Mt 2:13–15). In virtually all of the older literature, life at court was a precarious existence, dependent on the whims of the ruler. The Bible accordingly records instances of people banished from court, including Adonijah (1 Kings 2:26–27), Shimei (1 Kings 2:36–38) and Haman (Esther 7:5–10). To see banishment “writ large,” we can turn to the OT prophetic books with their vivid pictures of what it will be like for the nation to be conquered and carried away into captivity.
While banishment is the moment in which a person becomes an exile, being an exile is the condition of life that follows. Exile encompasses a social role involving fringe status and a psychological state that includes as its salient features a sense of loss or deprivation and a longing to return to (or arrive at) a homeland. Whenever an exile is experiencing punishment for a crime, moreover, the state of exile is accompanied by feelings of guilt and perhaps remorse [251] (as in the book of Lamentations). Even more important for Israelite culture would be the sense of shame that attaches to such an exile. Above all, the exile is a displaced person. Moses sounds the authentic note when he calls his first son Gershom, “for he said, ‘I have been a sojourner in a foreign land’” (Ex 2:22 RSV).
Exile in the OT is mainly national. The nation that arises from the patriarchs and their sons in Egypt is the first victim of national exile in the OT. The journeying of the nation in the wilderness during the exodus is very much the story of exiles passing through alien territory, always longing for a promised land. On an even larger scale are the exiles of Israel and Judah later in Jewish history. The imagery of exile is mainly contained in the prophets’ visions of coming exile, but we catch the flavor of what it was like for a nation to live in exile in the narratives of Daniel and Esther. What emerges is the picture of a minority group with few rights, always threatened with the imposition of pagan practices from the surrounding culture, always vulnerable to the superior power of the surrounding political structure, always longing to get back to the homeland.
Individuals as well as nations go into exile. Such is the idyllic story of Ruth. Although the English poet John Keats pictured her as “sick for home … amid the alien corn,” the focus of the biblical story is instead on the way in which Ruth found acceptance in a foreign culture and religion. It is the happiest story of exile on record.
For the emotions that accompany exile we can turn to several psalms. Psalms that recall the banishment of the nation by conquering forces include Psalms 74 and 137. The spiritual longing that accompanied exile for a person whose religion centered around pilgrimages to worship God in the temple in Jerusalem is captured in Psalms 42–43, the song of the disquieted soul.
The imagery of exile reaches its metaphoric climax in Hebrews 11, which portrays people of faith as “strangers and exiles on the earth” seeking “a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Heb 11:13, 16 RSV). At the physical level, the state of being an exile retains its negative qualities in this passage, as we read about people living in tents rather than houses, sharing ill-treatment with the people of God, suffering for Christ, being tortured and wandering over the desolate parts of the earth. Yet the chapter implies that the state of exile is the inevitable lot of all who follow Christ, who was himself an archetypal exile—a person who in his life had nowhere to lay his head (Mt 8:20) and who in his death “suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” (Heb 13:12 RSV).
See also BONDAGE AND FREEDOM; EXODUS, SECOND EXODUS; GARDEN; LAND; RETURN; WANDERER, WANDERING; WILDERNESS.
Exile is both a plot motif and a character type. The essential ingredient in both cases is a person who has been banished from a native place and is now living or wandering in foreign parts. While we ordinarily link the state of exile with judgment against someone for wrongdoing, in the Bible this is by no means always the case. In fact all true believers are pictured as being exiles from their true homeland.
An exile story is preceded by a scene of banishment and a subsequent journey, and the Bible contains some memorable examples. The prototype is the expulsion from the Garden (Gen 3:24), which in a single moment made the entire human race an exile from its original home. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this banishment, which not only awakens the wellsprings of human regret and nostalgia but is also the starting point of every subsequent human story—the backdrop to all that is recorded in the Bible.
Other scenes of banishment follow the original one. Cain is banished “from the presence of the LORD” (Gen 4:16 RSV) as the sentence for having murdered his brother, Jacob is forced to flee for his life after having cheated his brother (Gen 27:41–28:5), and Joseph is sold into slavery in a foreign land (Gen 37:25–28). Moses flees to Midian to avoid Pharaoh’s death threat (Ex 2:15). Similarly, David repeatedly flees from Saul, and later in life he is temporarily banished from the throne by Absalom’s rebellion. In the story of Jesus’ nativity, the flight into Egypt is a banishment (Mt 2:13–15). In virtually all of the older literature, life at court was a precarious existence, dependent on the whims of the ruler. The Bible accordingly records instances of people banished from court, including Adonijah (1 Kings 2:26–27), Shimei (1 Kings 2:36–38) and Haman (Esther 7:5–10). To see banishment “writ large,” we can turn to the OT prophetic books with their vivid pictures of what it will be like for the nation to be conquered and carried away into captivity.
While banishment is the moment in which a person becomes an exile, being an exile is the condition of life that follows. Exile encompasses a social role involving fringe status and a psychological state that includes as its salient features a sense of loss or deprivation and a longing to return to (or arrive at) a homeland. Whenever an exile is experiencing punishment for a crime, moreover, the state of exile is accompanied by feelings of guilt and perhaps remorse [251] (as in the book of Lamentations). Even more important for Israelite culture would be the sense of shame that attaches to such an exile. Above all, the exile is a displaced person. Moses sounds the authentic note when he calls his first son Gershom, “for he said, ‘I have been a sojourner in a foreign land’” (Ex 2:22 RSV).
Exile in the OT is mainly national. The nation that arises from the patriarchs and their sons in Egypt is the first victim of national exile in the OT. The journeying of the nation in the wilderness during the exodus is very much the story of exiles passing through alien territory, always longing for a promised land. On an even larger scale are the exiles of Israel and Judah later in Jewish history. The imagery of exile is mainly contained in the prophets’ visions of coming exile, but we catch the flavor of what it was like for a nation to live in exile in the narratives of Daniel and Esther. What emerges is the picture of a minority group with few rights, always threatened with the imposition of pagan practices from the surrounding culture, always vulnerable to the superior power of the surrounding political structure, always longing to get back to the homeland.
Individuals as well as nations go into exile. Such is the idyllic story of Ruth. Although the English poet John Keats pictured her as “sick for home … amid the alien corn,” the focus of the biblical story is instead on the way in which Ruth found acceptance in a foreign culture and religion. It is the happiest story of exile on record.
For the emotions that accompany exile we can turn to several psalms. Psalms that recall the banishment of the nation by conquering forces include Psalms 74 and 137. The spiritual longing that accompanied exile for a person whose religion centered around pilgrimages to worship God in the temple in Jerusalem is captured in Psalms 42–43, the song of the disquieted soul.
The imagery of exile reaches its metaphoric climax in Hebrews 11, which portrays people of faith as “strangers and exiles on the earth” seeking “a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Heb 11:13, 16 RSV). At the physical level, the state of being an exile retains its negative qualities in this passage, as we read about people living in tents rather than houses, sharing ill-treatment with the people of God, suffering for Christ, being tortured and wandering over the desolate parts of the earth. Yet the chapter implies that the state of exile is the inevitable lot of all who follow Christ, who was himself an archetypal exile—a person who in his life had nowhere to lay his head (Mt 8:20) and who in his death “suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” (Heb 13:12 RSV).
See also BONDAGE AND FREEDOM; EXODUS, SECOND EXODUS; GARDEN; LAND; RETURN; WANDERER, WANDERING; WILDERNESS.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
subvert
subvert |səbˈvərt|
verb [ trans. ]
undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution) : an attempt to subvert democratic government.
verb [ trans. ]
undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution) : an attempt to subvert democratic government.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Death
Death is the greatest of humankind’s enemies, a relentless Grim Reaper that shows no respect for age or wealth. It robs parents of a precious child, leaving them to mourn their loss for the rest of their lives. It deprives wives and children of their breadwinner and protector, leaving them vulnerable in a hostile world. It takes away an aging spouse, leaving a gray-haired senior citizen without a lifelong companion and closest friend. Sometimes it arrives suddenly and unannounced; at other times it approaches slowly, as if stalking or taunting its helpless victim. Sometimes it hauls away its victims en masse; on other occasions it targets individuals. It uses a variety of methods and weapons, but only rarely does it capture its prey without inflicting pain and terror. Power, beauty and wealth can usually overcome any obstacle, but in death they meet their match. As the eighteenth-century poet Thomas Gray wrote, “The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r, And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, Awaits alike the inevitable hour; The paths of glory lead but to the grave” (Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, stanza 9).
In the ancient Near Eastern world in which the Bible originated, death was called “the land of no return” and was viewed as an inescapable underworld prison. The OT pictures the realm of death (or Sheol) as being under the earth, comparing its entrance to a deep pit (Ps 88:4–6). Those who descend into this subterranean region are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshipping community of faith (Ps 6:5; 30:9; 88:10–12; Is 38:18). With rare and only temporary exceptions (e.g., 1 Sam 28:12–15), a trip to the underworld is a one-way journey (2 Sam 12:23).
The Canaanite myths picture death as a god who greedily and continually demands human flesh to devour. One text depicts death as having “a lip to the earth, a lip to the heavens … and a tongue to the stars” (Gibson, 69). Death compares his appetite to that of lions and then boasts, “If it is in very truth my desire to consume ‘clay’ [human flesh], then in truth by the handfuls I must eat it, whether my seven portions [a full, complete amount] are already in the bowl or whether Nahar [the river god who transports victims from the land of the living to the underworld] has to mix the cup” (Gibson, 68–69).
The Bible does not deify death, but it does personify it as a hungry (Is 5:14; Hab 2:5) and crafty enemy that uses snares to trap victims (Ps 18:4–5) and sneaks through windows to grab children (Jer 9:21). Death is “the last enemy” (1 Cor 15:28), whose fatal sting is sin (1 Cor 15:55–56; cf. Hos 13:14), an inescapable (Ps 89:48; Eccles 8:8), terrifying (Heb 2:15) and relentless (Song 8:6) foe with which no one can strike a lasting bargain (Is 28:15, 18).
Perhaps the most striking images of death are to be found in the concluding chapter of Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth, the main speaker of the book, has treated death as a major theme. Death renders everything in life meaningless. In Ecclesiastes 12:1–5 he likens the aging process to an encroaching storm. The deteriorating body is represented by a house that, along with its inhabitants, slowly falls apart. Although this is debated, it is hard not to recognize some nearly allegorical connections between the inhabitants of the house and body parts. For instance, when the text says that the grinders cease because they are few, it is hard not to recognize an allusion to teeth. In verses 6 and 7 death is likened to the destruction of precious items. A silver cord is snapped; a golden bowl is smashed.
Despite death’s great power and hostility, it is ultimately subject to God’s sovereignty. Ironically, death finds its origin in God, who decreed that death would be the ultimate penalty for disobedience to his revealed command (Gen 2:17; 3:19; see also Ps 90:3–11). When the first couple ate the forbidden fruit and rebelled against God, death accompanied sin into the world and has reigned over humankind ever since (Rom 5:12–21; 6:23; Jas 1:15). Nevertheless, death remains under God’s authority. God can use it as an ally against the objects of his wrath (Ex 15:12 [where the “earth” is best understood as the underworld]; Hos 13:14 [best translated as an invitation to death to serve as God’s instrument of judgment against his sinful people]) or God can deliver the objects of his favor from its powerful grasp before they descend into its depths (Ps 18:4–19; 116:3–8). In the story of Israel’s covenantal relationship with God, death epitomizes the destructive consequences of a broken covenant (Deut 28:45, 48, 61) which can only be reversed by God’s life-giving power (Ezek 37).
In the end God will eliminate death from his world, swallowing up the great swallower once and for all (Is 25:6–8). This conquest of death is not strictly a future event however. It began with Jesus, who conquered sin when he satisfied God’s righteous requirements and died a sacrificial death for sinners (Rom 5:12–21). He then conquered death when he rose from the grave on the third day (Rom 6:9–10), destroying in the process the power of Satan, who uses the fear of death as a weapon against humankind (Heb 2:14–15). Jesus’ resurrection guarantees the future resurrection of his people (1 Cor 15:12–28) [199] and the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision (1 Cor 15:50–54). Death, the final enemy whose “reign” of futility and decay extends over the cosmos (Rom 8:20–21), will be destroyed. Never again will God’s people experience death’s sorrow and pain, for it will have no place in the new world order (Rev 21:4). With the hope of the resurrection to sustain him, the apostle Paul viewed death as a defeated foe (1 Cor 15:55–57; 2 Tim 1:10) that cannot separate God’s people from his love (Rom 8:38–39) or his presence (Phil 1:21–23). Through saving faith in Jesus they have already passed from death to life (Jn 5:24–27).
Jesus’ victory over death only benefits God’s people (Rev 20:6). Those who have not been the objects of his saving work will someday rise from the grave, but only so they may stand before his holy throne of judgment for final sentencing. They will then be thrown into the lake of fire, which the apostle John calls the “second death” (Rev 20:14; 21:8).
See also BURIAL, FUNERAL; CORRUPTION; COSMOLOGY; DECAY; GRAVE; JUDGMENT; MOURN, MOURNING; MURDER STORIES; PIT; RESURRECTION; SIN.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. L. R. Bailey, Biblical Perspectives on Death (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979); M. C. de Boer, The Defeat of Death: Apocalyptic Eschatology in 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1988); O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World (New York: Seabury, 1978); L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1970) 165–76; N. J. Tromp, Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Nether World in the Old Testament (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969); H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974) 99–118.
In the ancient Near Eastern world in which the Bible originated, death was called “the land of no return” and was viewed as an inescapable underworld prison. The OT pictures the realm of death (or Sheol) as being under the earth, comparing its entrance to a deep pit (Ps 88:4–6). Those who descend into this subterranean region are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshipping community of faith (Ps 6:5; 30:9; 88:10–12; Is 38:18). With rare and only temporary exceptions (e.g., 1 Sam 28:12–15), a trip to the underworld is a one-way journey (2 Sam 12:23).
The Canaanite myths picture death as a god who greedily and continually demands human flesh to devour. One text depicts death as having “a lip to the earth, a lip to the heavens … and a tongue to the stars” (Gibson, 69). Death compares his appetite to that of lions and then boasts, “If it is in very truth my desire to consume ‘clay’ [human flesh], then in truth by the handfuls I must eat it, whether my seven portions [a full, complete amount] are already in the bowl or whether Nahar [the river god who transports victims from the land of the living to the underworld] has to mix the cup” (Gibson, 68–69).
The Bible does not deify death, but it does personify it as a hungry (Is 5:14; Hab 2:5) and crafty enemy that uses snares to trap victims (Ps 18:4–5) and sneaks through windows to grab children (Jer 9:21). Death is “the last enemy” (1 Cor 15:28), whose fatal sting is sin (1 Cor 15:55–56; cf. Hos 13:14), an inescapable (Ps 89:48; Eccles 8:8), terrifying (Heb 2:15) and relentless (Song 8:6) foe with which no one can strike a lasting bargain (Is 28:15, 18).
Perhaps the most striking images of death are to be found in the concluding chapter of Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth, the main speaker of the book, has treated death as a major theme. Death renders everything in life meaningless. In Ecclesiastes 12:1–5 he likens the aging process to an encroaching storm. The deteriorating body is represented by a house that, along with its inhabitants, slowly falls apart. Although this is debated, it is hard not to recognize some nearly allegorical connections between the inhabitants of the house and body parts. For instance, when the text says that the grinders cease because they are few, it is hard not to recognize an allusion to teeth. In verses 6 and 7 death is likened to the destruction of precious items. A silver cord is snapped; a golden bowl is smashed.
Despite death’s great power and hostility, it is ultimately subject to God’s sovereignty. Ironically, death finds its origin in God, who decreed that death would be the ultimate penalty for disobedience to his revealed command (Gen 2:17; 3:19; see also Ps 90:3–11). When the first couple ate the forbidden fruit and rebelled against God, death accompanied sin into the world and has reigned over humankind ever since (Rom 5:12–21; 6:23; Jas 1:15). Nevertheless, death remains under God’s authority. God can use it as an ally against the objects of his wrath (Ex 15:12 [where the “earth” is best understood as the underworld]; Hos 13:14 [best translated as an invitation to death to serve as God’s instrument of judgment against his sinful people]) or God can deliver the objects of his favor from its powerful grasp before they descend into its depths (Ps 18:4–19; 116:3–8). In the story of Israel’s covenantal relationship with God, death epitomizes the destructive consequences of a broken covenant (Deut 28:45, 48, 61) which can only be reversed by God’s life-giving power (Ezek 37).
In the end God will eliminate death from his world, swallowing up the great swallower once and for all (Is 25:6–8). This conquest of death is not strictly a future event however. It began with Jesus, who conquered sin when he satisfied God’s righteous requirements and died a sacrificial death for sinners (Rom 5:12–21). He then conquered death when he rose from the grave on the third day (Rom 6:9–10), destroying in the process the power of Satan, who uses the fear of death as a weapon against humankind (Heb 2:14–15). Jesus’ resurrection guarantees the future resurrection of his people (1 Cor 15:12–28) [199] and the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision (1 Cor 15:50–54). Death, the final enemy whose “reign” of futility and decay extends over the cosmos (Rom 8:20–21), will be destroyed. Never again will God’s people experience death’s sorrow and pain, for it will have no place in the new world order (Rev 21:4). With the hope of the resurrection to sustain him, the apostle Paul viewed death as a defeated foe (1 Cor 15:55–57; 2 Tim 1:10) that cannot separate God’s people from his love (Rom 8:38–39) or his presence (Phil 1:21–23). Through saving faith in Jesus they have already passed from death to life (Jn 5:24–27).
Jesus’ victory over death only benefits God’s people (Rev 20:6). Those who have not been the objects of his saving work will someday rise from the grave, but only so they may stand before his holy throne of judgment for final sentencing. They will then be thrown into the lake of fire, which the apostle John calls the “second death” (Rev 20:14; 21:8).
See also BURIAL, FUNERAL; CORRUPTION; COSMOLOGY; DECAY; GRAVE; JUDGMENT; MOURN, MOURNING; MURDER STORIES; PIT; RESURRECTION; SIN.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. L. R. Bailey, Biblical Perspectives on Death (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979); M. C. de Boer, The Defeat of Death: Apocalyptic Eschatology in 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1988); O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World (New York: Seabury, 1978); L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1970) 165–76; N. J. Tromp, Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Nether World in the Old Testament (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969); H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974) 99–118.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
gravitas
gravitas |ˈgraviˌtäs|
noun
dignity, seriousness, or solemnity of manner : a post for which he has the expertise and the gravitas.
ORIGIN Latin, from gravis ‘serious.’
Thesaurus
gravitas
noun
a man of gravitas dignity, seriousness, solemnity, gravity, sobriety; authority, weightiness.
antonym frivolity.
noun
dignity, seriousness, or solemnity of manner : a post for which he has the expertise and the gravitas.
ORIGIN Latin, from gravis ‘serious.’
Thesaurus
gravitas
noun
a man of gravitas dignity, seriousness, solemnity, gravity, sobriety; authority, weightiness.
antonym frivolity.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Enûma Eli
The Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian or Mesopotamian creation epic. It was first discovered by modern scholars (in fragmentary form) in the ruined library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (Mosul, Iraq), recovered by Henry Layard in 1849.
The Enuma Elish has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Akkadian on seven clay tablets, each holding between 115 and 170 lines of text. The majority of Tablet V has never been recovered, but aside from this lacuna the text is almost complete. A duplicate copy of Tablet V has been found in Sultantepe, ancient Harran.
This epic is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian worldview, centered on the supremacy of Marduk and the existence of mankind for the service of the gods. Its primary original purpose, however, is not an exposition of theology or theogony, but the elevation of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, above other Mesopotamian gods.
The Enûma Elish has existed in various versions and copies from Babylonia as well as from Assyria. The version from Ashurbanipal's library dates to the 7th century BC. The story itself probably dates to the 18th century BC on account of the fact that this is the time when the god Marduk seemed to have a prominent status. Some scholars date it later (14th to 12th centuries BC.)
The Enuma Elish has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Akkadian on seven clay tablets, each holding between 115 and 170 lines of text. The majority of Tablet V has never been recovered, but aside from this lacuna the text is almost complete. A duplicate copy of Tablet V has been found in Sultantepe, ancient Harran.
This epic is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian worldview, centered on the supremacy of Marduk and the existence of mankind for the service of the gods. Its primary original purpose, however, is not an exposition of theology or theogony, but the elevation of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, above other Mesopotamian gods.
The Enûma Elish has existed in various versions and copies from Babylonia as well as from Assyria. The version from Ashurbanipal's library dates to the 7th century BC. The story itself probably dates to the 18th century BC on account of the fact that this is the time when the god Marduk seemed to have a prominent status. Some scholars date it later (14th to 12th centuries BC.)
Oracles
The oracles of the writing prophets can be divided into four general categories.
(1) Indictment oracles notified the people of what they had done wrong.
(2) Judgment oracles described God’s intended response to their offenses.
(3) Instruction oracles (which are relatively scarce until the postexilic period) told the people what they needed to do and how they needed to act and think.
(4) Aftermath oracles informed the people about God’s plans after the judgment has come. All but the last occur also in ancient Near Eastern prophecies, but in the ancient Near East these prophecies were never collected, “published” and canonized as they were in Israel.
(1) Indictment oracles notified the people of what they had done wrong.
(2) Judgment oracles described God’s intended response to their offenses.
(3) Instruction oracles (which are relatively scarce until the postexilic period) told the people what they needed to do and how they needed to act and think.
(4) Aftermath oracles informed the people about God’s plans after the judgment has come. All but the last occur also in ancient Near Eastern prophecies, but in the ancient Near East these prophecies were never collected, “published” and canonized as they were in Israel.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Providence - new bible dictionary - JI Packer
Providence . No single word in biblical Hebrew or Greek expresses the idea of God’s providence. pronoia is used for God’s purposive foresight by Plato, Stoic writers, Philo, who wrote a book On Providence (Peri pronoias), Josephus, and the authors of Wisdom (cf. 14:3; 17:2) and 3, 4 Macc.; but in the NT pronoia occurs only twice (Acts 24:2; Rom. 13:14), both times denoting, not God’s care and forethought, but man’s. The cognate verb pronoeoœ, too, is used only of man (Rom. 12:17; 2 Cor. 8:21; 1 Tim. 5:8).
Providence is normally defined in Christian theology as the unceasing activity of the Creator whereby, in overflowing bounty and goodwill (Ps. 145:9 cf. Mt. 5:45–48), he upholds his creatures in ordered existence (Acts 17:28; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3), guides and governs all events, circumstances and free acts of angels and men (cf. Ps. 107; Jb. 1:12; 2:6; Gn. 45:5–8), and directs everything to its appointed goal, for his own glory (cf. Eph. 1:9–12). This view of God’s relation to the world must be distinguished from: (a) pantheism, which absorbs the world into God; (b) deism, which cuts it off from him; (c) dualism, which divides control of it between God and another power; (d)indeterminism, which holds that it is under no control at all; (e) determinism, which posits a control of a kind that destroys man’s moral responsibility; (f) the doctrine of chance, which denies the controlling power to be rational; and (g) the doctrine of fate, which denies it to be benevolent.
Providence is presented in Scripture as a function of divine sovereignty. God is King over all, doing just what he wills (Pss. 103:19; 135:6; Dn. 4:35; cf. Eph. 1:11). This conviction, robustly held, pervades the whole Bible. The main strands in it may be analysed as follows.
a. Providence and the natural order
God rules all natural forces (Ps. 147:8f.), all wild animals (Jb. 38–41), and all happenings in the world, great and small, from thunderstorms (Jb. 37; Ps. 29) and plagues (Ex.7:3–11:10; 12:29ff.; Joel 2:25) to the death of a sparrow (Mt. 10:29) or the fall of a lot (Pr. 16:33). Physical life, in men and animals, is his to give and to take away (Gn. 2:17; 1 Sa. 1:27; 2 Sa. 12:19; Jb. 1:21; Pss. 102:23; 104:29–30; 127:3; Ezk. 24:16ff.; Dn. 5:23, etc.); so are health and sickness (Dt. 7:15; 28:27, 60), prosperity and adversity (‘evil’, Am. 3:6; cf. Is. 45:7), etc.
Since the regularity of the natural order is thought of as depending directly upon the divine will (cf. Gn. 8:22), the Bible finds no difficulty in the idea of an occasional miraculous irregularity; God does what he wills in his world, and nothing is too hard for him (cf. Gn. 18:14).
God’s providential government of the created order proclaims his wisdom, power, glory and goodness (Pss. 8:1, RV; 19:1–6; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:19f.). The man who in face of this revelation does not acknowledge God is without excuse (Rom. 1:20).
The Bible presents God’s constant fulfilling of his kindly purposes in nature both as matter for praise in itself (cf. Pss. 104; 147) and as a guarantee that he is lord of human history, and will fulfil his gracious promises in that realm also (cf. Je. 31:35ff.; 33:19–26).
b. Providence and world history
Since the Fall, God has been executing a plan of redemption. This plan pivots upon Christ’s first coming and culminates in his return. Its goal is the creation of a world-wide church in which Jew and non-Jew share God’s grace on equal terms (Eph. 3:3–11), and through this the reintegration of the disordered cosmos (Rom. 8:19ff.), under the rule of Christ at his second coming (Eph. 1:9–12; Phil. 2:9ff.; Col. 1:20; 1 Cor. 15:24ff.). Through Christ’s present reign and future triumph, the OT prophecies of God’s Messianic kingdom (cf. Is. 11:1–9; Dn. 2:44; 7:13–27) are fulfilled. The unifying theme of the Bible is God’s exercise of his kingship in setting up this kingdom. No foe can thwart him; he [980] laughs at opposition to his plan (Ps. 2:4), and uses it to his own ends (cf. Acts 4:25–28, quoting Ps. 2:1f.). The climax of history will be the overthrow of those who fight against God and his kingdom, as the book of Revelation shows (Rev. 19, etc.).
Paul analyses the steps in God’s plan in terms of the Jew-Gentile and law-grace relationships in Gal. 3; Rom. 9–11; cf. Eph. 2:12–3:11.
c. Providence and personal circumstances
God told Israel as a nation that he would prosper them while they were faithful but bring disaster on them if they sinned (Lv. 26:14ff.; Dt. 28:15ff.). The attempt to understand the fortunes of individual Israelites in the light of this principle raised problems. Why does God allow the wicked to prosper, even when they are victimizing the just? And why is disaster so often the lot of the godly?
The first question is always answered by affirming that the wicked prosper only for a moment; God will soon visit them and take vengeance (Pss. 37 passim; 50:16–21; 73:17ff.), though for the present he may forbear, in order to give them further opportunity for repentance (Rom. 2:4f.; 2 Pet. 3:9; Rev. 2:21). The NT identifies the day of God’s visitation with the final judgment (cf. Rom. 2:3ff.; 12:19; Jas. 5:1–8).
The second question is tackled in several ways. It is asserted: (i) that the righteous will be vindicated when the day of visitation for the wicked comes (Ps. 37; Mal. 3:13–4:3); (ii) that meanwhile suffering is valuable as a God-given discipline (Pr. 3:11f.; Ps. 119:67, 71); (iii) that suffering, faithfully borne, even if not understood, glorifies God and leads to blessing in the end (Jb. 1–2; 42); (iv) that communion with God is the supreme good, and to those who enjoy it outward impoverishments are of no ultimate importance (Ps. 73:14, 23ff.; Hab. 3:17f.).
In the NT the fact that believers suffer ill-treatment and adverse circumstances is no longer a problem, since it is recognized that fellowship in Christ’s sufferings is fundamental to the Christian vocation (cf. Mt. 10:24f.; Jn. 15:18ff.; 16:33; Acts 9:16; 14:22; Phil. 3:10ff.; 1 Pet. 4:12–19). This recognition, in conjunction with the OT principles mentioned above, completely disposed of the ‘problem of suffering’ for the first Christians. Knowing something of their glorious hope (1 Pet. l:3ff.), and of the strengthening and sustaining power of Christ (2 Cor. 1:3ff.; 12:9f.), they could contentedly face all situations (Phil. 4:11) and rejoice in all troubles (Rom. 8:35ff.), confident that through adversity their loving Father was disciplining them in sanctity (Heb. 12:5–11), developing their Christian character (Jas. 1:2ff.; 1 Pet. 5:10; cf. Rom. 5:2ff.), proving the reality of their faith (1 Pet. 1:7), and so ripening them for glory (1 Pet. 4:13). In all things God works for the spiritual welfare of his people (Rom. 8:28); and he supplies them with whatever material things they need throughout their earthly pilgrimage (Mt. 6:25–33; Phil. 4:19).
Belief in providence determines many of the basic attitudes of biblical piety. The knowledge that God determines their circumstances teaches the faithful to wait on him in humility and patience for vindication and deliverance (Pss. 37; 40:13ff.; Jas. 5:7ff.; 1 Pet. 5:6f.). It forbids them to grow despondent or despairing (Pss. 42–43), and brings them courage and hope when harassed (Pss. 60; 62). It inspires all prayers for help, and praise for every good thing that is enjoyed.
d. Providence and human freedom
God rules the hearts and actions of all men (cf. Pr. 21:1; Ezr. 6:22), often for purposes of his own which they do not suspect (cf. Gn. 45:5–8; 50:20; Is. 10:5ff.; 44:28–45:4; Jn. 11:49ff.; Acts 13:27ff.). God’s control is absolute in the sense that men do only that which he has ordained that they should do; yet they are truly free agents, in the sense that their decisions are their own, and they are morally responsible for them (cf. Dt. 30:15ff.). A distinction, however, must be drawn between God’s allowing (or ‘giving up’) sinners to practise the evil that they have preferred (Ps. 81:12f.; Acts 14:16; Rom. 1:24–28), and his gracious work of prompting his people to will and do what he commands (Phil. 2:13); for in the former case, according to the biblical rule of judgment, the blame for the evil done belongs entirely to the sinner (cf. Lk. 22:22; Acts 2:23; 3:13–19), whereas in the latter case the praise for the good done must be given to God (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10).
Providence is normally defined in Christian theology as the unceasing activity of the Creator whereby, in overflowing bounty and goodwill (Ps. 145:9 cf. Mt. 5:45–48), he upholds his creatures in ordered existence (Acts 17:28; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3), guides and governs all events, circumstances and free acts of angels and men (cf. Ps. 107; Jb. 1:12; 2:6; Gn. 45:5–8), and directs everything to its appointed goal, for his own glory (cf. Eph. 1:9–12). This view of God’s relation to the world must be distinguished from: (a) pantheism, which absorbs the world into God; (b) deism, which cuts it off from him; (c) dualism, which divides control of it between God and another power; (d)indeterminism, which holds that it is under no control at all; (e) determinism, which posits a control of a kind that destroys man’s moral responsibility; (f) the doctrine of chance, which denies the controlling power to be rational; and (g) the doctrine of fate, which denies it to be benevolent.
Providence is presented in Scripture as a function of divine sovereignty. God is King over all, doing just what he wills (Pss. 103:19; 135:6; Dn. 4:35; cf. Eph. 1:11). This conviction, robustly held, pervades the whole Bible. The main strands in it may be analysed as follows.
a. Providence and the natural order
God rules all natural forces (Ps. 147:8f.), all wild animals (Jb. 38–41), and all happenings in the world, great and small, from thunderstorms (Jb. 37; Ps. 29) and plagues (Ex.7:3–11:10; 12:29ff.; Joel 2:25) to the death of a sparrow (Mt. 10:29) or the fall of a lot (Pr. 16:33). Physical life, in men and animals, is his to give and to take away (Gn. 2:17; 1 Sa. 1:27; 2 Sa. 12:19; Jb. 1:21; Pss. 102:23; 104:29–30; 127:3; Ezk. 24:16ff.; Dn. 5:23, etc.); so are health and sickness (Dt. 7:15; 28:27, 60), prosperity and adversity (‘evil’, Am. 3:6; cf. Is. 45:7), etc.
Since the regularity of the natural order is thought of as depending directly upon the divine will (cf. Gn. 8:22), the Bible finds no difficulty in the idea of an occasional miraculous irregularity; God does what he wills in his world, and nothing is too hard for him (cf. Gn. 18:14).
God’s providential government of the created order proclaims his wisdom, power, glory and goodness (Pss. 8:1, RV; 19:1–6; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:19f.). The man who in face of this revelation does not acknowledge God is without excuse (Rom. 1:20).
The Bible presents God’s constant fulfilling of his kindly purposes in nature both as matter for praise in itself (cf. Pss. 104; 147) and as a guarantee that he is lord of human history, and will fulfil his gracious promises in that realm also (cf. Je. 31:35ff.; 33:19–26).
b. Providence and world history
Since the Fall, God has been executing a plan of redemption. This plan pivots upon Christ’s first coming and culminates in his return. Its goal is the creation of a world-wide church in which Jew and non-Jew share God’s grace on equal terms (Eph. 3:3–11), and through this the reintegration of the disordered cosmos (Rom. 8:19ff.), under the rule of Christ at his second coming (Eph. 1:9–12; Phil. 2:9ff.; Col. 1:20; 1 Cor. 15:24ff.). Through Christ’s present reign and future triumph, the OT prophecies of God’s Messianic kingdom (cf. Is. 11:1–9; Dn. 2:44; 7:13–27) are fulfilled. The unifying theme of the Bible is God’s exercise of his kingship in setting up this kingdom. No foe can thwart him; he [980] laughs at opposition to his plan (Ps. 2:4), and uses it to his own ends (cf. Acts 4:25–28, quoting Ps. 2:1f.). The climax of history will be the overthrow of those who fight against God and his kingdom, as the book of Revelation shows (Rev. 19, etc.).
Paul analyses the steps in God’s plan in terms of the Jew-Gentile and law-grace relationships in Gal. 3; Rom. 9–11; cf. Eph. 2:12–3:11.
c. Providence and personal circumstances
God told Israel as a nation that he would prosper them while they were faithful but bring disaster on them if they sinned (Lv. 26:14ff.; Dt. 28:15ff.). The attempt to understand the fortunes of individual Israelites in the light of this principle raised problems. Why does God allow the wicked to prosper, even when they are victimizing the just? And why is disaster so often the lot of the godly?
The first question is always answered by affirming that the wicked prosper only for a moment; God will soon visit them and take vengeance (Pss. 37 passim; 50:16–21; 73:17ff.), though for the present he may forbear, in order to give them further opportunity for repentance (Rom. 2:4f.; 2 Pet. 3:9; Rev. 2:21). The NT identifies the day of God’s visitation with the final judgment (cf. Rom. 2:3ff.; 12:19; Jas. 5:1–8).
The second question is tackled in several ways. It is asserted: (i) that the righteous will be vindicated when the day of visitation for the wicked comes (Ps. 37; Mal. 3:13–4:3); (ii) that meanwhile suffering is valuable as a God-given discipline (Pr. 3:11f.; Ps. 119:67, 71); (iii) that suffering, faithfully borne, even if not understood, glorifies God and leads to blessing in the end (Jb. 1–2; 42); (iv) that communion with God is the supreme good, and to those who enjoy it outward impoverishments are of no ultimate importance (Ps. 73:14, 23ff.; Hab. 3:17f.).
In the NT the fact that believers suffer ill-treatment and adverse circumstances is no longer a problem, since it is recognized that fellowship in Christ’s sufferings is fundamental to the Christian vocation (cf. Mt. 10:24f.; Jn. 15:18ff.; 16:33; Acts 9:16; 14:22; Phil. 3:10ff.; 1 Pet. 4:12–19). This recognition, in conjunction with the OT principles mentioned above, completely disposed of the ‘problem of suffering’ for the first Christians. Knowing something of their glorious hope (1 Pet. l:3ff.), and of the strengthening and sustaining power of Christ (2 Cor. 1:3ff.; 12:9f.), they could contentedly face all situations (Phil. 4:11) and rejoice in all troubles (Rom. 8:35ff.), confident that through adversity their loving Father was disciplining them in sanctity (Heb. 12:5–11), developing their Christian character (Jas. 1:2ff.; 1 Pet. 5:10; cf. Rom. 5:2ff.), proving the reality of their faith (1 Pet. 1:7), and so ripening them for glory (1 Pet. 4:13). In all things God works for the spiritual welfare of his people (Rom. 8:28); and he supplies them with whatever material things they need throughout their earthly pilgrimage (Mt. 6:25–33; Phil. 4:19).
Belief in providence determines many of the basic attitudes of biblical piety. The knowledge that God determines their circumstances teaches the faithful to wait on him in humility and patience for vindication and deliverance (Pss. 37; 40:13ff.; Jas. 5:7ff.; 1 Pet. 5:6f.). It forbids them to grow despondent or despairing (Pss. 42–43), and brings them courage and hope when harassed (Pss. 60; 62). It inspires all prayers for help, and praise for every good thing that is enjoyed.
d. Providence and human freedom
God rules the hearts and actions of all men (cf. Pr. 21:1; Ezr. 6:22), often for purposes of his own which they do not suspect (cf. Gn. 45:5–8; 50:20; Is. 10:5ff.; 44:28–45:4; Jn. 11:49ff.; Acts 13:27ff.). God’s control is absolute in the sense that men do only that which he has ordained that they should do; yet they are truly free agents, in the sense that their decisions are their own, and they are morally responsible for them (cf. Dt. 30:15ff.). A distinction, however, must be drawn between God’s allowing (or ‘giving up’) sinners to practise the evil that they have preferred (Ps. 81:12f.; Acts 14:16; Rom. 1:24–28), and his gracious work of prompting his people to will and do what he commands (Phil. 2:13); for in the former case, according to the biblical rule of judgment, the blame for the evil done belongs entirely to the sinner (cf. Lk. 22:22; Acts 2:23; 3:13–19), whereas in the latter case the praise for the good done must be given to God (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10).
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
ˈdriftˌwoŏd|
driftwood |ˈdriftˌwoŏd|
noun
pieces of wood that are floating on the sea or have been washed ashore.
noun
pieces of wood that are floating on the sea or have been washed ashore.
Monday, August 18, 2008
presumptuous
presumptuous |priˈzəmp ch (oō)əs|
adjective
(of a person or their behavior) failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate : I hope I won't be considered presumptuous if I offer some advice. See note at bold .
DERIVATIVES
presumptuously adverb
presumptuousness noun
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French presumptueux, from late Latin praesumptuosus, variant of praesumptiosus ‘full of boldness,’ from praesumptio (see presumption ).
Thesaurus
presumptuous
adjective
that was quite a presumptuous remark brazen, overconfident, arrogant, bold, audacious, forward, familiar, impertinent, insolent, impudent, cocky; cheeky, rude, impolite, uncivil, bumptious; informal sassy. See note at bold .
adjective
(of a person or their behavior) failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate : I hope I won't be considered presumptuous if I offer some advice. See note at bold .
DERIVATIVES
presumptuously adverb
presumptuousness noun
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French presumptueux, from late Latin praesumptuosus, variant of praesumptiosus ‘full of boldness,’ from praesumptio (see presumption ).
Thesaurus
presumptuous
adjective
that was quite a presumptuous remark brazen, overconfident, arrogant, bold, audacious, forward, familiar, impertinent, insolent, impudent, cocky; cheeky, rude, impolite, uncivil, bumptious; informal sassy. See note at bold .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
