John The People's Commentary - One Man Must Die for the People
John The People's Commentary - One Man Must Die for the People
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
One Man Must Die for the People In a paradox typical of John, this chapter about giving life ends with the threat of death. In Chapter 9, Jesus took the blind man out of darkness to see the light, while the religious leaders went from seeing into self-imposed darkness…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status Crisis and the Cross
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status Crisis and the Cross
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Status Crisis and the Cross The status problems hinted at in chapters 1–7 are presented in chapters 10–13 as a full-blown crisis. Paul has been shamed and humiliated by some rivals he calls “super-apostles,” itinerant ministers who have captured the minds and hearts of his Corint…
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Let Me Tell You Another Story
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Let Me Tell You Another Story
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Let Me Tell You Another Story On the way out of chapel yesterday, we bumped into the provost (his position stands midway between being the principal and the vice-principal in U.K. terms). Before he became provost a few months ago, we had dinner with him and his wife, but we have …
The Women's Bible Commentary - Hagar: Mothering a Hero
The Women's Bible Commentary - Hagar: Mothering a Hero
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Hagar: Mothering a Hero The story of Hagar leads to a wider discussion of the major themes of this study: the barrenness of the patriarch’s wives, the annunciation scenes, and the wives’ positions as mother of the patriarch of the next generation…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Tamar: Trickster Would-be Mother
The Women's Bible Commentary - Tamar: Trickster Would-be Mother
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Tamar: Trickster Would-be Mother Genesis 38 begins as a story of Judah, who is left in the land of Canaan during Joseph’s ordeal in Egypt. In the Joseph narrative, Judah is one of the villain brothers. He does not actually want to kill the boy Joseph but suggests he be sold to a …
The Women's Bible Commentary - My Brother Esau Is a Hairy Man and I Am a Smooth Man
The Women's Bible Commentary - My Brother Esau Is a Hairy Man and I Am a Smooth Man
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
My Brother Esau Is a Hairy Man and I Am a Smooth Man The ancestor hero of Israel, Jacob, father of the Israelites, is smooth, whereas the founding father of the neighboring, related, Semitic-speaking people, the Edomites, is hairy. Particular cultural messages are encoded in such…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Rebekah the Trickster
The Women's Bible Commentary - Rebekah the Trickster
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Rebekah the Trickster In Genesis 27, the woman herself is the trickster who formulates the plan and succeeds, moving the men around her like chess pieces. Lest the reader think that here one finally encounters a more liberated woman, beware that again success is gained through th…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Inadmissible Mixtures
The Women's Bible Commentary - Inadmissible Mixtures
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Inadmissible Mixtures Deuteronomy 22:1–12 interweaves cases expressing concern for the neighbor (22:1–3, 4, 6–7, 8) and prohibitions against inadmissible mixtures (22:5, 9, 10, 11). The first of these, verse 5, prohibits cross-dressing: “No warrior’s object shall be on a woman, n…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Division of Property
The Women's Bible Commentary - Division of Property
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Division of Property These chapters of Joshua contain the continued efforts to drive out the remaining Canaanites and divide the land among the tribes. These chapters reflect the bureaucratic work of conquest: negotiating, maintaining, allotting, and defining boundaries…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Gang-Rape, Murder, and Dismemberment in Times of Peace
The Women's Bible Commentary - Gang-Rape, Murder, and Dismemberment in Times of Peace
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Gang-Rape, Murder, and Dismemberment in Times of Peace In Judges 19, an unnamed woman, identified as pilegesh, a Hebrew term of unclear social status and often translated as “concubine” but sometimes also as “secondary wife,” runs away from her husband, a Levite…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Genocide and More Rape in Times of War