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Tyndale Bulletin |
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THREE WEDDINGS AND A DIVORCE: GOD'S COVENANT
WITH ISRAEL, JUDAH AND THE CHURCH
Pages 1-25
David Instone
Brewer
Summary
God is described in the Old Testament as married to Israel
and Judah, and in the New Testament the church is described as the Bride
of Christ. The marriage to Israel ended in divorce and the marriage to
Judah suffered a period of separation. Paul suggests that this marriage
ended when Christ died, in order that Christ would be free to marry the
Church with a better marriage covenant. These marriage covenants are
detailed by several authors in the Old and New Testaments. These several
accounts are consistent with each other and demonstrate that God subjects
himself to his own law in the matter of marriage and divorce.
Summary
Hamilton (using Bickermann) has suggested that in antiquity
a Hero was proven to be such by means of an empty grave. This view,
however, needs to be re-evaluated in the light of the 'empty tombs'
associated with Heroes and the 'tombs' associated with some of those
reputed to have been translated. This evidence is compared to Mark's
portrayal of Jesus' empty tomb to show that it is neither the empty tomb
of a Hero, nor of one who has been translated (as has been contended), but
of one who has been raised from the dead.
Summary
The Oracles against the Nations in Amos 1 and 2 give
important insights into the nature of God's involvement in human history
and the place of God's people in it. This essay draws on them in order to
evaluate Liberation Theology's claim that Yahweh acts in history for the
liberation of the oppressed. This theological conviction has gone
hand-in-hand with certain hermeneutical commitments as to how the biblical
text should be read. Two liberationists, Gustavo Gutiérrez and J. Severino
Croatto are cited in order to raise the key issues for discussion, and
then some alternative thoughts on hermeneutical and biblical method are
proposed. A literary reading of Amos 1 and 2 suggests that this text can
provide insights for a new understanding of God in history that might
illuminate the Latin American situation more adequately than the
liberation paradigm.
Summary
Acts 17:18 records that some Athenians perceived Paul to be
a 'herald of strange gods' because of his evangelistic activity in the
Agora. This essay examines the conventions surrounding a "herald's"
official introduction of new deities into the Athenian Pantheon, throwing
further light on Paul's Areopagus address and suggesting an alternative
translation of Acts 17:19-20.
Summary
Amos 7:14 is a key verse for the understanding of Israelite
prophecy. Among the unresolved issues relating to this verse is the
question whether the nominal clauses should be translated with a present
or a past tense. Neither of these alternatives seems to have proved
convincing, and therefore we should raise the more fundamental questions
as to how the prophet is using language. It is argued that his statement
only becomes intelligible when we acknowledge that he is using irony. Amos
perceived an ideological gap between his grand vision of YHWH's reign and
the reality of his people's situation, and was able to bridge this gap
through his use of irony.
Summary
The Matthean genealogy can helpfully be classified as an
annotated genealogy, a type of genealogy which is notable in Genesis.
Annotation and other forms of breach of standard patterns in the Genesis
genealogies function particularly to set genealogies into their wider
narrative context and to ensure that the genealogies function as
compressed tellings of the history that stands behind them. It is likely
that Matthew learned his craft for the creation of an annotated genealogy
from study of the genealogical material in Genesis.
Summary
Can we understand divine knowledge by analogy with human
knowledge? This essay approaches the question by examining two forms of
human knowledge: knowledge by creation and by understanding of classes of
things. It is suggested that two other forms of human knowledge, memory
and inference, may be less helpful as analogies for divine knowledge: if
God knows future choices of free agents, this entails knowledge by
experience. The essay examines the implications of divine knowledge of the
future for human freedom and discusses the question of 'middle knowledge'
of non-actual free choices. Certain problems raised by knowledge of
temporal events suggest (but do not entail) that God is timeless.
Summary
This article summarises both ancient and modern
interpretations of Genesis 4:17-24, paying particular attention to the
relatively unknown Jewish exegesis of this pericope. Usually there is a
relation between the social and cultural position of the exegete and his
positive or negative view of the technical achievements of Cain and his
posterity. After a long period of negative interpretation, Calvin is the
first to establish another outlook. In this century the discussion between
J. Gabriel and C. Westermann reveals many motifs.
Summary
The metaphor of 'father' played a significant role in the
pastoral practice of Paul. There is evidence that a major line of Paul's
use of paternal imagery can be reliably traced back into the Old Testament
and early Jewish tradition, namely the correction of his converts in 2
Corinthians 1-9. This finding suggests that Paul appears to owe much more
to his ancient Jewish environment for his use of the paternal metaphor
than has often been assumed, and sheds light on the nature and importance
of Paul's fatherly correction in his pastoral care of the Corinthian
community.
First paragraph:
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the
perception of Deuteronomy regarding Israel's ability to keep the covenant
requirements. Often Deuteronomy is regarded as an idealistic book, holding
out the possibility of utopia in an Edenic land. Yet the hope of
Deuteronomy is tempered by an acknowledgement of Israel's propensity to
fail. This contributes to a pessimistic expectation for the future which
lies in some tension with the book's optimism. It is the contention of
this thesis that all optimism in Deuteronomy is grounded in the
faithfulness of Yahweh to the Abrahamic promises and that, with regard to
Israel, there is only a pessimism about the future. Nonetheless, these two
strands are not in fundamental opposition to each other, as diachronic and
redaction critics frequently imply to be the case. This thesis, which
deals with the book synchronically, argues for the theological integrity
of these points of view within Deuteronomy.
First paragraph:
The Qumran biblical scrolls are of crucial
importance for developing our understanding of the textual diversity that
existed around the turn of the era, and for their text-critical
contributions. Biblical scholars have generally depended primarily upon
common sense and general scholarly judgement in reconstructing such
scrolls. Chapter 1 advances a range of scientifically-based tools for
reconstructing biblical scrolls, which will be summarised below under six
headings. In the remainder of the thesis, these tools are applied to the
reconstruction of the 4QSama fragments of 2 Samuel.
First paragraph:
This thesis seeks to challenge the account of the
reception of Karl Barth's theology within Scotland as offered by the
leading Scottish theologian Thomas Forsyth Torrance (1913-). Equally, and
consonant with that intention, it examines the nature of Hugh Ross
Mackintosh's (1870-1936) response to Barth's theology (both Mackintosh and
Barth having been teachers of Torrance). Torrance has championed Barth
within the English-speaking world as the theologian par excellence, and
presented his own thought as standing in self-conscious fidelity to that
of Barth. Therefore, his account of the reception is of crucial
significance.
First paragraph:
Considering the amount of material written on
Codex Bezæ down through the centuries, a detailed history of research into
the codex has long been overdue. Such a history is important not only to
give future researchers an understanding of what has gone on before, but
also to facilitate an understanding of the development of ideas and their
outcome. As Codex Bezæ is the principal witness of the so-called Western
text, much of what has been written focuses on its text. From the end of
the last century, however, there has been a growing awareness among
scholars of the need to give the other details contained within the codex
far more attention than hitherto.
First paragraph:
This dissertation explores two questions related
to the theme of faith and trust in Yahweh. First, what did Isaiah expect
faith to entail? Was faith understood negatively in terms of a rejection
of all human resources, be they alliances with foreign nations or one's
own defence preparations? Or was the faith he proclaimed a positive call
for fortitude and courage in the face of battle? Second, did Isaiah's
faith consist of an unswerving belief in Jerusalem's absolute and
unconditional inviolability? Or did his faith envisage the possibility of
Jerusalem's destruction?