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Aug 18 ā¢ 10 tweets ā¢ 2 min read
THREAD: Theology in Syntax (š§µ)
Ephesians 1.3ā10 is a majestic statement. It opens in the heavenly realms, before the foundation of the world, and concludes in the fulness of time, with all things in heaven and earth united in Christāa grand sweep of divine history.
It is an awesome and extraordinary declaration of Godās plans. And its syntax matches its message.
Jul 20 ā¢ 29 tweets ā¢ 5 min read
THREAD: Job 28āA Journey into the Mines
The text of Job 28 is a beautiful composition. It reveals important truths about the nature of wisdom and at the same time paints an exquisite picture of the book of Jobās central theme.
For a brief intro to the book, see below:
The Biblical narrative contains numerous examples of ārighteous sufferersāāmen who suffer not as a result of their own sin, but because of and to some extent *for* the benefit of others.
Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiahāthe list goes on.
The most dramatic OT example of a righteous sufferer, however, is surely Job.
May 17 ā¢ 17 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
THREAD: The Trinity in Creation
Scripture opens with an account of a triune God who creates the heavens and earth over the course of a seven-day week.
Whatās the connection between these numbers? Could a triune God have created the world over any period of time he chose?
No doubt he could. But a sevenfold week seems particularly apt. Hereās why.
Apr 18 ā¢ 17 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
<SCARLET THREAD>
Blood in the Biblical Narrative
As Christians, itās natural for us to associate bloodshed with redemption. In light of the Gospel, the idea seems intuitive.
That bloodshed can bring about redemption, however, is an unusual idea,ā¦
ā¦which is revealed to us *gradually* as the Biblical narrative unfolds.
Mar 25 ā¢ 33 tweets ā¢ 6 min read
THREAD: Joseph, Jesus, & the Descent to Egypt
Joseph is a well known type/picture of Christ, so itās natural for us (as Christians) to want us to map his experiences directly onto Jesusās, all of which is well and goodā¦
ā¦But we can learn a great deal from a contemplation of Josephās life in its original (OT) context. For a start, letās have a think about Genesisās general flow.
Jan 28 ā¢ 31 tweets ā¢ 5 min read
š§µ THREAD
The text of Mark 2.26 has caused quite a few folk quite a few problems.
Jesus seems to have thought David took the showbread from the sanctuary when Abiathar was the high priest, but the text of Samuel suggests he did it on Abimelechās watch.
Whatās gone wrong here?
Well, first of all, we need to consider a couple of relevant historical questions.
Jan 22 ā¢ 35 tweets ā¢ 6 min read
āŗ THREAD (š§µ)
āŗ Cleanness, Holiness, & Forbidden Mixtures: Some Thoughts
(The-platform-formerly-known-as-Twitter seems as good a place for them as any.)
The Levitical system views the world in terms of four basic categories:
āŗ clean,
āŗ unclean,
āŗ common,
āŗ holy.
These are often thought of in terms of a three-tier hierarchy (with āuncleanā omitted for some reason),
Well, weāre told three main things about him in his propheciesā first two verses:
š¹ he was a priest;
š¹ he lived in Anathoth; and
š¹ he was the son of a certain Hilkiah.
Below, weāll consider these facts in a bit more detail.
Letās start with Anathoth.
Anathoth wasnāt just any old city; it was a highly significant one.
It was allotted to the line of Aaron, i.e., the line of Israelās high priest (Josh. 21.13ff.).
As a result, it was where Eli lived.
Nov 13, 2023 ā¢ 20 tweets ā¢ 6 min read
š§µ THREAD:
Keen to tackle the big questions of the day, I wondered if some thoughts on the thorny matter of hedgehog words in Scripture might be in order (with thanks to the Christmas card below for inspiration).
Modern-day Arabic dialects have quite an array of words for the hedgehog,
Aug 25, 2023 ā¢ 8 tweets ā¢ 1 min read
š§µ: Sometimes animals have more sense than both men and angels.
Balaamās donkey could see what the great seer couldnāt (Num. 22).
ā¦
Two wayward priests carried the ark into battle and lost it, but a couple of well-directed cows brought it back home. Unlike the priests, āthey turned neither to the right nor the leftā (I Sam. 6.12).
Jul 25, 2023 ā¢ 6 tweets ā¢ 2 min read
NOTE: In Revelation 4, John is taken into heavenās throne-room.
The appearance of the one seated there is compared to ājasperā and ācarnelainā (ĻĪ±ĻĪ“Ī¹ĪæĪ½), and around the throne is an āemeraldā rainbow.
Why these gemstones in particular?
Well, the names of the twelve tribes are engraved on the high priestās ephod in order of birth (Exod. 28.10),
so it would make sense to take the twelve gemstones on the high-priestās breastplate to have been arranged similarly.
Apr 16, 2023 ā¢ 60 tweets ā¢ 12 min read
THREAD: The Chroniclerās Theology
Paul views Israelās temple as an essentially human structure, fulfilled in believers on earth as they worship the God of heaven.
Yet Paulās theology isnāt an NT innovation; itās rooted in the Hebrew Bible, most particularly in Chronicles.
Chronicles is few peopleās favourite book.
The index to Walter Moberleyās āOld Testament Theologyā contains over 600 OT references, only two of which come from the book of Chronicles,
and neither of them has anything to do with its genealogical material.
Apr 10, 2023 ā¢ 42 tweets ā¢ 7 min read
THREAD: Easter, Esther, & the Third Day
In and through Jesusā resurrection, the third day is associated with new life.
But the association of life with a third day isnāt a New Testament innovation; itās deeply engrained in the Biblical narrative.
In the very first chapter of Scripture, on the third day of Creation week, land emerges from the worldās watery depthsāfrom a world full of raw potential and yet devoid of actual life.
Grass springs up from the earth, followed by fruit trees.
Jan 8, 2023 ā¢ 16 tweets ā¢ 4 min read
š§µ THREAD: Elijah, Some Patronyms, and an Egyptian Mongoose
For the details, scroll down. ā¤µ
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is told to anoint three different folk (1 Kgs. 19.16ff.).
One of them is āJehu the son of Nimshiā,
whose name is worthy of attention.
Dec 12, 2022 ā¢ 24 tweets ā¢ 4 min read
š§µ THREAD: Into the Christmas Narratives Againā¦
TITLE: The Shepherds, the Manger, the River Chebar, and the Siege of Jerusalem
As the time for nativity sermons draws near, may I suggest a reconsideration of the sometimes overlooked connections between Luke and Ezekiel 1ā11?
One of the primary themes of Lukeās birth narrative(s) is the return of Godās presence and glory to his Temple.
That theme is brought to our attention by Luke at in at least three different ways.
ā”ļø First, by means of his description of Maryās pregnancy.
Dec 6, 2022 ā¢ 37 tweets ā¢ 6 min read
š§µ THREAD: Ezraās clans, the Jubilee, and 153 Fish.
Exegesis by numbers.
Image by A. Levin.
Ezra 2ās list of clans deserves serious attention.
Consider, for a start, some of its numerical properties:
ā”ļø It begins with the classic introduction to Biblical lists of people, viz. āNow these...ā (×Ö°×Öµ×Ö¶Ö¼×), which has a gematrial value of 42.
Nov 24, 2022 ā¢ 70 tweets ā¢ 9 min read
š§µ Lamentations is a book of pain & sorrow.
Yet amidst its pain, somehow, is beauty,
& its sorrow is underlain by hope, which briefly (& triumphantly) rises to the surface.
Moreover, the bookās lament provides us with an exquisite picture of the work and woes of the Messiah.
One of the most important features to grasp in an analysis of Jeremiahās lament is its direction of travel.
Oct 26, 2022 ā¢ 17 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
š§µ THREAD: Daniel and the Prayer of Nabonidus
THE QUESTION: Who borrowed what from whom?
In 1948, a text known as āThe Prayer of Nabonidusā was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Itās pretty short (a hundred words or so) and badly damaged,
but the details below at least can be made out.
Jun 13, 2022 ā¢ 76 tweets ā¢ 13 min read
THREAD: Jesusā Two Genealogies
Why two?
Why genealogies at all?
And what if we donāt know the answers?
For a few thoughts on the matter, please scroll down.
#GodIsInTheDetails
Bart Ehrman says genealogies arenāt among most peopleās favourite passages in Scripture.
Heās probably right (though thereās time for that to change: Eph. 4.11ff.).
Jun 3, 2022 ā¢ 51 tweets ā¢ 9 min read
THREAD: Would the real Priestly source please stand up!
Since today is a special day the in the UK, some thoughts about the *dates* recorded in Scripture might be in order (as might apologies for the rather weak visual pun).
Question: What kind of events does Scripture assign exact dates to, and what kind of events does it leave largely undated?
Letās consider a few events in Israelās history and find out.