That the Coming Generation Might Praise the Lord: Family Discipleship in the Old Testament (original) (raw)
Related papers
Making the Ten Count: Reflections on the Lasting Message of the Decalogue
For Our Good Always: Studies on the Message and Influence of Deuteronomy in Honor of Daniel I. Block, 2013
This is the second of my studies on the Decalogue (see also "Counting the Ten"), this one considering the exegetical, theological, and pastoral payoff of numbering the Ten Words as I do. Consideration is given to the development of the law theme in biblical theology, the meaning of the call to love God and neighbor portrayed in the Ten, the role of the Mosaic law in pointing to Christ, and the relationship of old covenant law in general and the Sabbath law in particular to Christians. The essay ends with an appendix that offers five guidelines for the Christian appropriation of old covenant law.
THE INTRUSIVE PROPHET: THE NARRATIVE FUNCTION OF THE NAMELESS PROPHET IN JUDGES 6
This paper utilizes a literary theological approach to explore the role of the prophet of Judges 6 within the narrative context of the Midianite oppression, the story of Gideon and the larger narrative of the book of Judges. Although the appearance of the nameless prophet is commonly regarded as a late addition to the Gideon cycle (Judges 6-8), it is argued here that the literary dimensions of the final form of the text should be considered. It is concluded that elements of the prophet's message intersect with prominent motifs in the Gideon story and in the broader context of Judges and that the prophetic speech signals the onset of the second of three stages in the narrative structure of Judges.
Written in honor of and gratitude to Michael V. Fox, this essay (originally a contribution to an inter-disciplinary conference (biblical scholars and Germanists) on "Practices of Written Communication" in September 2014. Learning in ancient Israel, as in most societies of its time, was first and foremost a process of internalization of traditional teaching, teaching that was hallowed by itsantiquity and its authority. A main goal of such teaching was verbatim memorization such that the student was to take into himself(or sometimes herself) the most cherished wisdom of earlier generations. Sometimes such teaching used written texts to facilitate memorization of ancient wisdom, but very few explicitly refer to writing of any kind. This essay focuses on two sets of biblical texts, one in Proverbs and the other in Deuteronomy, that use the trope of “writing” to talk about the learning process, and even these textual references turn out to refer to a type of writing that has little to do with education – writing on jewelry and entryways.
From Condemnation to Righteousness: A Christian Reading of Deuteronomy
The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 2014
This paper provides a thematic overview of Deuteronomy's message within the framework of whole-Bible theology. It argues that Moses would have agreed with Paul that the old covenant bore a ministry of condemnation in the hope of a new covenant that would bear a ministry of righteousness. Messiah Jesus is the telos of Deuteronomic hope and the one through whom Deuteronomy itself bears a lasting message for the new covenant church.
It is argued in this article that the common interpretation of Ps 1 as a call for obedience, a view exemplified by Walter Brueggemann's influential article, " Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms as Canon, " does not quite capture the emphasis of the text. While it is true that Ps 1 affirms the lifestyle of the " righteous, " righteousness is not limited to or equated with " obedience. " The psalm points to the affections rather than to behaviour as the key element of the righteous person— " his delight is in the Torah of Yahweh " (Ps 1:2). Instead of calling for obedience to the Torah, Ps 1 evokes affection for the Torah. This important move suggests that the study of biblical poetry in general and of the Psalms in particular can benefit from an approach that is attuned to the passions that are inherent in the text and the passions that are brought to the text by the interpreter .