"Gladly wold he lerne and gladly teche"
One of my bugbears as a classicist is the way NT scholarship has accepted the thesis that the pastoral epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) are pseudepigraphic, largely on the grounds of style. My main reason for rejecting such arguments comes from a moment’s consideration of the way my own style differs when I [ ]
The Seventh Council s (2nd Nicea) attempt to distinguish latreia from proskynesis is not sustainable by the Biblical evidence. Neither Deut. 6:13 (in Codex Alexandrinus) nor Jesus s quotation of that passage to Satan in Mt. 4:10 can support this distinction. Both are echoes of Ex. 20:5 s words οὐ προσκυνήσεις αὐτοῖς οὐδὲ μὴ λατρεύσῃς αὐτοῖς. The concern [ ]
Most of us who move in the circles of Anglicans, Lutherans, or Presbyterians-with-robes have probably heard the etymological claim in a sermon or read it in a blog post: “Liturgy means ‘the work of the people.’” It’s a well-intentioned idea, and I am deeply appreciative of the ministry of the brothers who say it. It [ ]
One of the biggest problems when discussing the question of Eucharistic adoration is what is meant by the phrase Real Presence . In the history of the English Church, one can find this phrase both affirmed and rejected by men whose doctrine of the Eucharist was the same. The same phrase — or close variants like [ ]
In discussion with one of my Greek students, a Lutheran from Australia, who was acting as though an ontological “real presence” view of the Supper were the natural and obvious reading of the Bible’s words, I noted that Jesus does not say “This bread is my body”; and likewise, Paul does not say, “The bread [ ]
Exodus 10 10:6 καὶ ἐκκλίνας Μωυσῆς ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ Φαραω “and Moses turned away and went out from [the presence of] Pharaoh.” This is a narrative marker showing that Moses is not present for the discussion between Pharaoh and his servants. 10:7 Pharaoh’s servants, confronted with the threat of locusts, ask their master, [ ]
I had the pleasure of delivering a talk for the Davenant Institute’s Teaching Fellows lecture series. It is up on YouTube now. Among the topics discussed are… Methods of communicating to one audience while leaving another in the dark: dramatic irony, Socratic irony, the words of Boaz in Ruth 4:5, and Jesus’ parables. What’s wrong [ ]
Exodus 9 9:3 ἐν τοῖς κτήνεσίν σου ἐν τοῖς ἵπποις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις καὶ ταῖς καμήλοις καὶ βουσὶν καὶ προβάτοις Moses enumerates the livestock of Egypt in a polysyndetic list for emphasis. We are reminded of Apollo shooting his plague-arrows in Iliad 1.50: οὐρῆας μὲν πρῶτον ἐπῴχετο καὶ κύνας ἀργούς, “he went for [ ]
Exodus 8 8:1 καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς διώρυγας “and over the ditches,” a reference to irrigation channels in Egypt. καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἕλη “and over the marshes” 8:2 καὶ ἀνεβιβάσθη ὁ βάτραχος καὶ ἐκάλυψεν τὴν γῆν Αἰγύπτου “and the frog was brought up and covered the land of Egypt.” Note the collective [ ]
6:30 Moses protests that he has a speech impediment. The Greek word is ἰσχνόφωνος, from ἰσχνός, “dry, withered, weak” and φωνή, “voice.” 7:1 The Lord’s shocking statement, “Behold I have given you as God to Pharaoh” indicates that Moses is a stand-in for YHWH in relation to the king of Egypt. But he [ ]