Jacob Smith | Reformed Theological Seminary (original) (raw)

Papers by Jacob Smith

Charting the various new approaches to biblical interpretation that have arisen since the latter-... more Charting the various new approaches to biblical interpretation that have arisen since the latter-half of the 20 th century, Mangum and Estes' Literary Approaches to the Bible provides an accessible introduction to the field of literary-critical biblical interpretation that is aimed at the beginning student. As such, this book does an excellent job distilling and simplifying a rather complex and diverse field of interpretation. The book's opening chapter (Estes) provides an overview of the different literary-critical approaches, how they came about, where they focus in relation to the text (e.g., author-focused, reader-focused, etc.), and

According to Proverbs 8, Wisdom is heralded as the inception point ‫ִית(‬ ‫ֵאשׁ‬ ‫)ר‬ of all God's... more According to Proverbs 8, Wisdom is heralded as the inception point ‫ִית(‬ ‫ֵאשׁ‬ ‫)ר‬ of all God's work in creation, constantly ‫ָמ)ן(‬ ‫)א‬ present at the Lord's side as he brought creation into existence. However, determining the identity of "Wisdom" in Proverbs 8, and specifically its role in the work of creation, has formed the center of an ongoing debate in biblical studies. As von Rad has noted, the proper understanding of the various "didactic poems" on Wisdom (e.g., Prov. 8; Job 28; Sir. 24) as a of special pleading-a reading back into the text something that is not germane to it? Can John be charged with a type of eisegesis? These are the sort of questions this paper intends to address. This paper will attempt to (1) provide an adequate OT defense for the NT writer's Christological interpretations of the creation event (cf. John 1:1ff; Col. 1:15ff); and to (2) outline a Christological reading of the divine "Let us" cohortative and the involvement of Wisdom in creation in Proverbs 8, that is not guilty of doctrinal proof-texting or linguistic speculation, but instead is organically rooted in the text. The purpose of this twofold approach is to provide a holistic account of the work of the Son as the active agent of creation. To that end, this paper will first seek to provide a linguistically informed and contextually satisfactory account of the 'royal-we' cohortative of Genesis 1, and develop its connections to the divine Word. Secondly, it will survey the innerbiblical exegesis of the creation account developed in Proverbs 8, with an eye to its particular focus on Wisdom as the "beginning" of God's work. Finally, by drawing these observations together, a unified vision of the OT's organic depiction of Christ, the divine Word, as the active agent of creation will be evidently seen. THE IMAGE OF GOD The divine commissive of Genesis 1:26 initiates the narrative high-point of the creation account: The creation of man. The pronoun shift from third-person singular ‫ַשׂ(‬ ‫ַע‬ ‫ַיּ‬ ‫,ו‬ v.25) to firstperson plural ‫ֶה(‬ ‫ֲשׂ‬ ‫ֽע‬ ַ ‫,נ‬ v.26) has resulted in a considerable debate over how to properly identify the intended referent(s). Commentators have outlined at least six interpretive possibilities: (1) it represents a polytheistic vestige of an earlier creation myth; (2) it refers to the "heavens and earth"; (3) it represents a plural of majesty; (4) it represents a plural of self-deliberation; (5) it reflects a divine address either given to, or given in the midst of the angelic host; or (6) it is a dialogue within the Godhead. 3 Of these six possibilities, options (1) and (2) can be immediately ruled out. The notion 3

An examination of the Lexical and Thematic connections between Adam and Solomon, and their relati... more An examination of the Lexical and Thematic connections between Adam and Solomon, and their relationship to Christ.

"OVER SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW" - Gal. 5:16-24 Exegesis

But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desir... more But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the desires of the Spirit, and the Spirit is against the flesh, for they oppose one another, in order to keep you from doing what you wish. 18 But if the Spirit leads you, you are no longer under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are clearly seen in whatever is sexually immoral, unclean, uncontrolled sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfish ambition, divisions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things such as these. I warn you ahead of time, just as before, that the ones who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control-over such things there is no law. 24 And the ones who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

A Text-Critical paper on Psalm 42:5

The Masoretic Text (MT) begins chapter 2 here, whereas the English translations place this verse ... more The Masoretic Text (MT) begins chapter 2 here, whereas the English translations place this verse at the end of chapter 1. In this paper, we will follow the versification of the MT, unless otherwise noted. has come up before Him. Jonah, however, declines the mission and instead boards a ship bound for the opposite direction. Once onboard, Jonah retreats "down" 2 into the ‫ָה‬ ‫כ‬ ‫ְרֵ‬ ‫י‬ 3 of the ship, and falls into a deep sleep. While asleep below deck, the sailors work tirelessly on the top deck to keep the ship from breaking apart, for Yahweh had sent a great storm upon the seas, in pursuit of His runaway prophet. In 1:7ff, we find that Jonah has been awakened and he and the sailors are at an impasse over what to do to quiet the raging storm. Jonah has already told them that the storm is due to his fleeing from Yahweh, and the only way to quiet the sea is for them to "lift him up" 4 and "hurl him" into the sea. It is interesting to note in passing that Jonah's response to the storm, of which he knows the cause (i.e. his flight from "the presence of the LORD"), is not to petition Yahweh to still the storm (as the captain requests, v.6), but rather, to be "lifted up" and "hurled" into the sea. It would appear that Jonah would rather die than go and call Ninevah to repentance. The sailors, however, are not yet convinced of their fate. Instead, they determine to "dig" hard into the water to get back to dry land. Interestingly, the verb used in 1:13a is not the normal verb used to denote rowing a boat. 5 Instead, it is usually used to describe the action of digging into a wall (cf. Job 24:16; Ezek. 8:8; 12:5, 7, 12), or of someone digging into the ground, into Sheol (cf. Amos 9:2). This last use of the verb is especially helpful for us in understanding the author's point. While the sailors were attempting to row back to dry land to save both themselves and Jonah, they were in reality, "digging a hole to 2. The attentive reader should take note of the prophet's trajectory here in the first chapter: downward. The word ‫ד‬ ‫ָרַ‬ ‫י‬ appears three times in chapter 1 (twice in verse 3 and once in verse 5), and one final time in 2:6, as a culmination of the downward trajectory of the disobedient prophet. 3. The word ‫ָה‬ ‫כ‬ ‫ְרֵ‬ ‫י‬ means something like, "far ends" or "extremities," and is used also in Isa. 14:15 to speak of the far ends of the grave. There may be an intended connection here between the deep sleep of the prophet Jonah in the deep part of the ship, with the coming deep (read: death) sleep of the prophet Jonah in the deep part of the fish's stomach. See

A closer look at a number of inner-textual links between Genesis 3:7 and 6:4.

"OVER SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW" - Gal. 5:16-24 Exegesis

A Text-Critical paper on Psalm 42:5

A closer look at a number of inner-textual links between Genesis 3:7 and 6:4.