Broken Covenant

I co-wrote (with friend and colleague, Nell Goddard) this week’s ‘Word for the Week’, a weekly email service from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, currently reflecting on Lamentations during this period of Lent.

The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;
he has poured out his fierce anger.
He kindles a fire in Zion
that consumed her foundations...

But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
the blood of the righteous.

Lamentations 4:11, 13

The hope of chapter 3, it seems, has faded, and the present reality of the suffering is described as the poet contrasts the ‘then’ of pre-siege Jerusalem with the ‘now’ of today’s suffering.

But even more than that, the poet now seems to be seeking out someone or something to blame for the situation in which Jerusalem finds herself. And the answer is clear: ‘The Lord has given full vent to his wrath... it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests.’

The judgment of God has come upon Jerusalem because the leaders disregarded justice and sinned against God, ignoring countless warnings and failing to adhere to his laws, and so he has ‘poured out his fierce anger’.

To talk about suffering as a punishment from God is to venture into difficult territory. Suffering is a multi-faceted issue in the Bible, with different parts of Scripture addressing it from different perspectives. It is, of course, important to remember that not all suffering is a punishment from God.

Lamentations, however, is clear that the particular suffering it describes does come about as a direct result of God’s doing. It is not always easy to discern the difference between this type of suffering and that which is merely a natural outworking of our own actions, and we must always be careful not to go beyond the Bible in deciding what counts as God’s punishment and what does not.

The whole thrust of this book, however, suggests that the poet is aware that God is ultimately responsible for bringing about the suffering they are experiencing. This matches with all the warnings of the prophets of the exile, like Zephaniah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah himself, all of whom warn the people in no uncertain terms that God himself will judge them if they continue to break the terms of his covenant with them. This, in turn, goes back to the warnings of Moses in Deuteronomy 28 and elsewhere which say that the Lord himself will be active in bringing about the covenant curses resulting in the sort of suffering portrayed in Lamentations.

As we have seen in the rest of the book, these are deep questions to which there are no simple answers. There are great mysteries here.

If nothing else, they must cause us to throw ourselves afresh on God’s mercy demonstrated supremely in the cross of Jesus Christ.

Currents in Biblical Research 14, 3 (June 2016)

The latest Currents in Biblical Research recently arrived, with titles and abstracts of the main articles as below.

Russell L. Meek

Twentieth- and Twenty-first-century Readings of Hebel (הֶבֶל) in Ecclesiastes

The meaning of הֶבֶל is a crux interpretum for the book of Ecclesiastes. Notwithstanding some variation, Jerome’s vanitas reading of הֶבֶל in Ecclesiastes dominated scholarship for several centuries. Since the rise of modern biblical scholarship, הֶבֶל as ‘vanity’ has been largely rejected; however, little consensus has been reached regarding the word’s meaning. The result has been a rich history of interpretation as scholars develop various suggestions for how הֶבֶל should be understood in Ecclesiastes. This essay briefly sketches the history of interpretation of הֶבֶל, then surveys proposals for the meaning of הֶבֶל in Ecclesiastes during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Amy Erickson and Andrew R. Davis

Recent Research on the Megilloth (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther)

Until recently, study of the Megilloth as a coherent canonical grouping has been minimal. On the whole, the lateness and fluidity of the collection within the Jewish canon has negated its value for biblical scholars, who have long preferred texts and categories thought to be ‘early’ or ‘original’. The state of the field has begun to shift, however, as scholars are giving more attention to connections between individual books of the Megilloth and the coherence of the collection as a whole. This new interest coincides with the growing recognition among scholars that the later (re)uses of a biblical text are constitutive of its interpretation; thus the lateness of the Megilloth (if the collection really is late) does not preclude interpretation but shapes it. Recent studies in the Megilloth as a coherent collection include canon-historical approaches, which trace the formation of the Megilloth within the Jewish canon; intertextual approaches, which focus on allusions to earlier biblical traditions and on literary connections within the five scrolls; and theological approaches, which adopt a synchronic method that puts the Megilloth in dialogue with contemporary theological discourse.

Garrick V. Allen

Scriptural Allusions in the Book of Revelation and the Contours of Textual Research 1900-2014: Retrospect and Prospects

This article traces the contours of the past century of discourse surrounding the underlying textual form of allusions embedded in the book of Revelation. Special attention is paid to the rapid developments on this issue in the past thirty years, a period in which New Testament scholarship has grappled with the textual complexity of the Hebrew Bible presented by the scrolls from the Judaean Desert. The question of textual form is of foundational importance for analysing the reuse or interpretation of Scripture in the book of Revelation. Despite this reality, it is common to find assumptions or misconceptions in recent studies that obfuscate the textual reality of the Hebrew Bible and its early Greek versions the first century CE. The appraisal of scholarship on this issue allows scholars to better contextualize their own approaches to the text of allusions in the light of previous research. This analysis also highlights the changing methods and approaches by which scholars analyse the text of allusions and suggests some avenues for future research on the allusions embedded in the Apocalypse.

Patrick Schreiner

Space, Place and Biblical Studies: A Survey of Recent Research in Light of Developing Trends

This article surveys developing research on the nature of space and place. It summarizes the arguments proposed by geographers and philosophers outside biblical studies, and then illustrates how biblical scholars have employed these theories in the study of the biblical text. The review focuses on the theoretical underpinning and then examines a number of scholars who have appropriated what they call ‘critical spatiality’ to historical, sociological, and narratival readings. In short, some now describe space in a tri-part division; the physical world in which people exist, the ideological underpinnings of understanding places, and the lived practices of people within those places that sometimes challenge and sometimes reaffirm the expected uses of such places.

Yael Shemesh

Directions in Jewish Feminist Bible Study

The article highlights various possible directions that Jewish feminist Bible scholarship can take. Even though this field has naturally been influenced by feminist scholarship in general, I believe that it does have a number of unique traits, with regard both to content (such as pointing out the Christian source of certain misogynistic interpretations) and form (commentaries oriented to the weekly Torah portion). The first part of the article deals with these unique features of Jewish feminist Bible scholarship. In the second part I look at four goals shared by feminist Bible scholarship in general and the Jewish subgenre, while focusing on the latter: (1) Emphasizing that the Bible is a patriarchal and androcentric – some would say misogynistic – text; (2) highlighting the voices for equality that can be found in the Bible; (3) focusing on biblical women and recounting her-story rather than the traditional his-tory that has been dominant for generations; (4) discovering the female authors of biblical texts, or at least the women’s voices that emerge from it. In the third section I draw on several Jewish feminist Bible scholars’ treatment of three issues to exemplify how the same underlying data led different readers to different and even contradictory attitudes and assertions about the biblical text. Two of these issues relate to narrative – the characterization of Eve and that of Ruth and Naomi and their relationship. The third issue comes from the legal corpus – the laws of menstrual impurity (Lev. 15.19-24). Here we saw not only the different positions taken by different scholars, but also the change over time in the view of Rachel Adler, which corresponds with the change in her religious perspective and move from one religious denomination to another.

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 4, 1 (2015)

The latest issue of the Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is freely available online. The main articles (listed below with their abstracts) are available from here, with a pdf of the entire issue available here. As always, it’s worth checking out its book reviews as much as anything else.

Greg Goswell

Assigning the Book of Lamentations a Place in the Canon

Lamentations is one of a number of books that is found in more than one position in the different canons of Scripture. These canons are a product of different reading communities, each with their own interpretation of the biblical books. The present study is based on the premise that where a biblical book is placed relative to other books reflects an evaluation of the book by ancient readers, with the ordering of books viewed as a paratextual phenomenon. With regard to Lamentations, two different positions (each with its own rationale) are found in the Hebrew and Greek canons. The alternate placements of the book of Lamentations reveal that the compilers of these canons viewed its theological and historical meanings in different ways. These two different contexts are intended to shape the reader’s perception of what the book is about. Consciously or unconsciously, the contemporary reader is influenced by the positioning of a biblical book. Thus, canonical placement is not value-neutral and needs to be critically evaluated.

Charles Meeks

Will the Real Job Please Stand Up? Politico-Pastoral Exegesis of Job 38 in the Wake of Nicaea

Ancient Christian commentaries on the Book of Job, and specifically reflection on Job’s direct theophanic interaction with God in Job 38, offer important insights into the contexts of their writers and the writers’ congregations. This is especially clear in the case of two roughly contemporary “commentaries” produced by John Chrysostom and Julian the Arian. These are two of the earliest extant works on Job in the Christian East in the wake of the Nicene and non-Nicene theological and political disputes occurring at the turn of the fourth century. For these two exegetes, Job becomes a moldable figure identified with the key tenets of their theological systems, experiencing direct revelation as a result of his exemplification of the exegetes’ favored spiritual charisms and political biases due to his ambiguous place in the scheme of salvation-history. Despite each theologian sharing similar methodology, their exegesis produces two vastly different depictions for their readers of what is involved in leading a godly life in general, and how one should attempt to emulate Job himself to become closer to God.

G. Geoffrey Harper

The Theological and Exegetical Significance of Leviticus as Intertext in Daniel 9

Daniel 9 is renowned for the textual and theological problems it raises for interpreters, and for the diverse readings it generates. Yet Dan 9 also presents a fascinating tapestry of inner-biblical quotations and allusions. Within this matrix, however, the voice of Leviticus has not been fully appreciated. Nonetheless, Levitical terminology and thought forms pervade the chapter and perform a significant function. The combined force of these parallels suggests the raison d’être for Daniel’s prayer, elucidates the mediated response and suggests a theological coherence to the chapter as a whole. Thus, this article argues that intertextual sensitivity to the array of Leviticus connections made can constrain exegesis of Dan 9, while at the same time generating new insights into its theological perspective.

Russell L. Meek

“I Was King Over Israel in Jerusalem”: Inerrancy and Authorial Ambiguity in Ecclesiastes

Solomon has been traditionally regarded as the author of Ecclesiastes; however, a review of the evidence for the book’s authorship is inconclusive. Because the authorship of Ecclesiastes cannot be proved definitively and the book itself makes no explicit claims of authorship, it is crucial to disentangle the conversation over the book’s authorship from the issue of inerrancy. In our defense of God’s inerrant and infallible word, evangelical scholars must be careful not to argue more than the text itself will allow. There are compelling arguments for and against Solomonic authorship of Ecclesiastes, but ultimately the ambiguity of the biblical evidence cautions against dogmatism on this point. Therefore, the debate over Solomonic authorship should not be couched in terms of one’s view of inerrancy.

Book Reviews

International Bulletin of Missionary Research 39:2 (April 2015)

The latest issue of International Bulletin of Missionary Research carries several feature articles on the theme of ‘Hostility against Mission’.

Here are the opening paragraphs from J. Nelson Jennings’ Editorial:

‘Theodicy, or vindicating God in light of the existence of evil, is a relatively safe philosophical exercise. Actually undergoing suffering inflicted by hostile opponents, however, is excruciating trauma. The former presents a genuine intellectual challenge to faith; the latter brings debilitating pain and anguish. Reports from around the world suggest that more persecution and more martyrdoms have occurred during the past two to three generations than in all previous history. Indications are that the trend will continue or even increase.

‘Participants in Christian mission are, quite obviously, not the only people who suffer brutal attacks or systematic oppression. Moreover, specifically religious motivations for harming Christ’s servants are often intertwined with or even overshadowed by political, ethnic, economic, social, historical, or other driving factors. Even so, hostile actions against missionaries and others associated with Jesus Christ are proportionally higher than statistical projections would lead one to expect, whether or not those acts have been primarily religiously motivated.’

The issue includes an essay by Chris Wright on Lamentations, excerpted and adapted from his forthcoming ‘Bible Speaks Today’ commentary on that book.

The whole issue is available as a pdf here.

Word for the Week: Whole Life, Whole Bible (21/50) – The Loss That Comes with Exile: Exiled and Forsaken?

‘Word for the Week: Whole Life, Whole Bible’, from London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, is a series of fifty emails designed to look at the main milestones of the biblical story, seeking to show how whole-life discipleship is woven through Scripture as a whole, from beginning to end. Here is the twenty-first of the fifty emails, this one written by Margaret Killingray.

In the days of her affliction and wandering
Jerusalem remembers all the treasures
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into enemy hands,
there was no one to help her.
Her enemies looked at her
and laughed at her destruction…
‘Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look around and see.
Is any suffering like my suffering
that was inflicted on me,
that the LORD brought on me
in the day of his fierce anger?’
Lamentations 1:7, 12

At the heart of the Old Testament story – and arguably at the heart of all human life – is experience of loss. All of us have some understanding of what loss can mean, whether personal loss through death, broken relationships, theft or ill health, or the more extensive losses of war and destruction, flood and fire.

And this exile involved every kind of loss – the loss of men in battle, as well as all the casual and brutal deaths of executions, occupation and forced marches; the loss of routines and practices that provided daily security in familiar places; the knowledge that the land and city they loved, temple and palace, homes and fields, were a deserted wasteland; the loss of structures and liturgies that supported their communal faith and worship.

The LORD is righteous,
yet I rebelled against his command…
The LORD has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled his word,
which he decreed long ago.
He has overthrown you without pity…
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
Lamentations 1:18, 2:17, 3:19

And, of course, loss brings the added anguish of questions about meaning and purpose; why has this happened? Why do the wicked and cruel get their way? Is this judgment or simply blind chance? Do we forgive or cry out for vengeance?

The prophets who had spoken God’s word to the people knew the truth – God had said over and over again, ‘If you obey me… If you return to me… then I will not destroy you’. The God of Abraham, Moses and David, their God, had at last lost patience and was willing to see Jerusalem destroyed, all his promises put on hold, and his people killed, or destitute and enslaved in a foreign land among foreign gods. And knowing that made the loss of exile even more bitter.

But, after the anguish of loss expressed in this powerful book, the writer of Lamentations ends with a prayer of humility and acceptance:

You, LORD, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
Why do you always forget us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return;
renew our days as of old
unless you have utterly rejected us
and are angry with us beyond measure.
Lamentations 5:19-22

Margaret Killingray

For further reflection and action:

1. Read through Psalm 137. How do you react to the last verse? Think about the difference between wanting to see the Babylonians called to account and judgment, and wanting to exact personal vengeance. How should this difference work out in social issues of law and justice, and in personal loss and hurt?

2. In Stainer’s musical meditation, Crucifixion, the words from Lamentations, ‘Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?’ are used in an appeal by Jesus from the cross. Reflect on the view which understands that all the loss of exile and pain of judgment are taken into the self-giving ‘loss’ of Jesus’ death, and dealt with for ever in the resurrection.

Barry G. Webb on The Scrolls

Barry G. Webb, Five Festal Garments: Christian Reflections on the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther, New Studies in Biblical Theology No. 10 (Leicester: Apollos, 2000), 151pp., ISBN 0851115187.

[The following is a lightly-edited version of a review first written in November 2000 and published on London School of Theology’s website.]

Barry Webb’s work (in the ‘New Studies in Biblical Theology’ series) takes up the five generally neglected Old Testament books traditionally known as ‘the Scrolls’ – Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther.

His discussion of each book is divided into three parts: first, he looks at the book itself, allowing it to set its own agenda; second, he then reads the book against its wider Old Testament context; then third, because Webb is self-consciously offering ‘Christian reflections’ on these works (as indicated in the volume’s subtitle), he looks at how the book in question relates to the gospel as proclaimed by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. As such, the volume provides a concise overview of the books themselves and worked examples of looking at them from a biblical-theological perspective, offering helpful perspectives on what he sees as their themes – Song of Songs as the garment of love, Ruth as the garment of kindness, Lamentations as the garment of suffering, Ecclesiastes as the garment of vexation, and Esther as the garment of deliverance.

A few points for dialogue could be raised. With the possible exception of Ecclesiastes, all books have had considerable input from ‘feminist’ interpreters, but you wouldn’t really know it from Webb’s work. One doesn’t have to agree with all that is said in the name of feminist approaches to the Bible to appreciate some of the challenge such interpretations bring to the contemporary church. Even if one starts from the text (as well we should) rather than impose ideological agendas onto the text, we have to do justice to the significance of the singing voice of the woman in Song of Songs, to the mournful cries of the widowed ‘daughter of Zion’ in Lamentations, to the role of the central female characters in Ruth and Esther – all within a broader biblical-theological reflection on the relationship between men and women in Christ.

Also somewhat lacking is discussion of the interface between Christianity, Judaism and biblical theology (an ongoing and controversial topic in current scholarly debate on biblical theology and Christian theology more widely). This is particularly ironic, as Webb has chosen to tackle these books as the ‘Scrolls’ which are gathered together in the third part of the Hebrew canon (the ‘Writings’) and which were adopted for reading at five major Jewish festivals, but which are separated in the Christian canon (!) and apparently serve no function as a unit.

But these are simply indications that we all still have a lot more work to do. If these volumes and others like them continue to be published, we may be both optimistic and excited for the future of biblical theology.