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THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book V
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book V
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book V (Psalms 107-150) Book V of the Psalter opens with Psalm 107, a community hymn celebrating God’s graciousness in delivering the community of faith from exile in Babylon. The psalmist says: “Let the redeemed of YHWH say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from…
The Women's Bible Commentary - A "Woman of Substance"
The Women's Bible Commentary - A "Woman of Substance"
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
A “Woman of Substance” Picking up the term hayil (31:3), Proverbs ends with the portrait of “a woman of substance” (’eshet-hayil). Men with hayil, like Lemuel and Boaz in the book of Ruth (2:1), are honourable and affluent. They may be kings, landowners, or those who serve the co…
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” (…
We come, O God, to celebrate
We come, O God, to celebrate
by Jacqui Horton
We come, O God, to celebrate, our hearts and voices raise; For all the ways the Spirit works, we give you thanks and praise. We come, O God, to celebrate the preacher’s noble art; The opening of Your Word today to move the listening heart. We come, O God, to celebrate the preachi…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Apocalyptic Expectations
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Apocalyptic Expectations
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Apocalyptic Expectations: The Afterlife, Labor Pain and New Birth (1 Thessalonians 4: 13- 5: 28) The recent death of believers in the community prompts Paul to expound on the afterlife. Again he employs the issue of suffering as a marker to distinguish between the Thessalonian co…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Comment: 2 John
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Comment: 2 John
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Comment: 2 John The author of 2 John, who identifies himself as the “elder” (v. 1), uses feminine imagery to speak of the church. The community to which he writes is addressed as “elect lady” (vv. 1, 5), and the community from which the elder writes is identified as “your elect s…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Creating and Ordering the World
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Creating and Ordering the World
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Creating and Ordering the World (Genesis 1-11) Creation is not merely the initial coming into being of the universe and its life forms; it includes also the ordering and continuous unfolding of the world. All of Genesis 1–11 is about the creation of the cosmos, including the more…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Creation and Destruction of the Heaven and the Earth
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Creation and Destruction of the Heaven and the Earth
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Creation and Destruction of the Heaven and the Earth (2 Peter 3: 1-13) In order to counter the arguments of the “scoffers” who deny the promise of the Lord’s coming, the author of 2 Peter asserts that “the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire” (3:7), and “the ele…
The Women's Bible Commentary - David and Jonathan
The Women's Bible Commentary - David and Jonathan
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
David and Jonathan Jonathan, Saul’s son and king-in-waiting (or so it would seem), is a pivotal character in David’s replacement of Jonathan’s father as king. Immediately after the Goliath incident, we are told that Jonathan felt he was a soul mate of David’s and loved him as muc…
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 - 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 - Excursus 4: Echoes of Mercy
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Excursus 4: Echoes of Mercy
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Excursus 4: Echoes of Mercy Through a lens of slavery and segregation, African Americans read Acts 10:34–36 and 17:26 as biblical critiques of oppression. Acts 10 became a rallying cry against slavery from the early part of the nineteenth century…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - End of the Age
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - End of the Age
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
End of the Age (Matthew 24: 1-51) Maternal imagery continues into the fifth discourse. Signs of destruction are “birth pangs” (24:8); the metaphor graphically indicates the inevitability as well as the increasing intensity associated with the end time…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Family Wisdom
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Family Wisdom
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Family Wisdom (Prov. 1-9) A prologue announces that the book aims to impart wisdom (1:2–7). Thick with vocabulary essential to that endeavor, the prologue defines wisdom primarily in relational terms. Wisdom requires that everyone, the young and the wise alike, listen to instruct…
The Women's Bible Commentary - From the Household into the World
The Women's Bible Commentary - From the Household into the World
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
From the Household into the World Proverbs 1–9 culminates at a crossroads. The youth hears the voices of wisdom (9:3–6) and folly (9:16–17) beckoning him home for supper, each with initially identical invitations (“you who are naive, turn in here,” 9:4, 16). Wisdom and folly, it …
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - God's Realm Breaking In
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - God's Realm Breaking In
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
God’s Realm Breaking In (Mark1-3) Jesus and the Realm of God (Mark 1:1–45) Although “According to Mark” was added later, Mark’s Gospel does have a functioning title in 1:1: “The beginning of the good news [gospel] of Jesus Christ, Son of God.” Each term is important. While “Jesus…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - God as "Father"