SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Passion of Jesus
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Passion of Jesus
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Passion of Jesus Jesus’ conflict with the Jerusalem authorities escalates. Our labels for these authorities are problematic at best: “Jewish” is anachronistic; “religious” as opposed to “political” is modern and Western. In first-century Jerusalem, the temple authorities, who…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Prelude to the Passion of Jesus
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Prelude to the Passion of Jesus
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Prelude to the Passion of Jesus Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is marked with a curiously ambiguous story, the so-called triumphal entry. On the way into the city, the people welcome him with honor, although their reference to “the coming kingdom [realm] of our ancestor David” (…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Risk of Serving the Powerless
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Risk of Serving the Powerless
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Risk of Serving the Powerless Chapters 11–16, set in Jerusalem, parallel chapters 1–8, set in and around Galilee; each section has a major speech of Jesus in the middle: chapter 4 (parables) and chapter 13 (eschatological discourse)…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Main Point
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Main Point
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Main Point Hebrews 04: 14-10: 39 The central section consists in large part a series of technically sophisticated allegorical arguments from Scripture arguing that Jesus is a suitable and effective high priest, indeed, the great high priest of “the true tent that the Lord, an…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - New Covenant
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - New Covenant
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
New Covenant Jeremiah 31: 31-34 A fundamental aspect of that restored society is that in it everyone “from the least of them to the greatest” will live in covenant relationship. In this famous passage (31:31–34), God promises to make a new covenant with the whole of Israel…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Suffering and Blessing and Judgment
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Suffering and Blessing and Judgment
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Suffering and Blessing and Judgment (1 Peter 3: 13- 5: 11) The author encourages those who suffer with the assurance of God’s blessing and of God’s future judgment of evil and of good. Here, unlike in 2:21–25, both Christ’s passion and his resurrection are cited, in such phrases …
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - First Lesson
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - First Lesson
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
First Lesson (Mark 8: 22- 9: 50) The two-stage healing of the blind man from Bethsaida serves both as the conclusion to the journeys back and forth across the sea in chapters 4–8 and as the introduction to the journey from Galilee to Jerusalem in chapters 8–10. Physical sight has…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status Negotiations
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status Negotiations
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Status Negotiations (2 Corinthian 1-7) These chapters are exceedingly difficult, with abrupt changes in tone and interrupted trains of thought. Even in sections where the subject matter remains fairly constant, sentences are repetitive, convoluted, at times almost incoherent. Whe…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - God as Faithful Husband, Israel as Faithless Wife
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - God as Faithful Husband, Israel as Faithless Wife
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
God as a Faithful Husband, Israel as Faithless Wife (Hosea 1-3) In Hosea 1:2, YHWH commands Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a promiscuous wife and bear children of promiscuity, for the land fornicates away from YHWH” (my trans.). Hosea then marries Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, a…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jesus and the Traditional Community
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jesus and the Traditional Community
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Jesus and the Traditional Community (Mark 2: 1- 3:6) Four of the five stories that follow begin, as stories before them did, as stories of healings (paralytic; man with a withered hand), or calling disciples (Levi the toll collector), or events that occur on the Sabbath (plucking…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Second Isaiah
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Second Isaiah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) The sixteen chapters that begin with “Comfort, comfort my people” comprise a complex but thematically continuous piece focusing on Jerusalem’s restoration as the Babylonian era ended. The prophet is self-effacing and barely visible, but certain aspect…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Elisha and the House of Ahab
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Elisha and the House of Ahab
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Elisha and the House of Ahab (2 Kings 1-8) Second Kings begins at the death of Ahab and the accession of his son Ahaziah. The break between 1 and 2 Kings is purely a pragmatic move, to divide the longer narrative into more manageable chunks, so readers should regard the narrative…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Idol Meat and Class conflict
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Idol Meat and Class conflict
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Idol Meat and Class Conflict (1 Corinthians 8-10) The problem Paul addresses in these chapters is that some members of the church feel free to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols, while for others this creates a crisis of faith…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Distribution of Powers
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Distribution of Powers
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Distribution of Powers (Deuteronomy 16: 18-18:22) Deuteronomy 16:18–18:22 deals with four national offices that together comprised Israel’s leadership: the judiciary (16:18–20; 17:8–13); kingship (17:14–20); priesthood (18:1–8); and prophecy (18:10–22). The chapters raise three i…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sex and Spirituality
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sex and Spirituality
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Sex and Spirituality (1 Corinthians 7: 1-40) Paul begins here to respond to the issues the Corinthians raised in their earlier letter. His obvious concern in this chapter, to present arguments that are balanced in their treatment of women and men, is striking…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jonah's Second Call
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jonah's Second Call
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Jonah’s Second Call (Jonah 3:1-10) Jonah 3:1 echoes 1:1: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” As in the first scene, the Deity commands Jonah to “arise,” “go,” and “call out” (3:2, my trans.). This time, however, Jonah does not flee but immediately obeys. It seems that Jonah get…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sexual Immorality and Lawsuits