by Justin Marple | Sep 19, 2010 | Genesis Commentary, OT Torah Commentary, TEACHING
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” By starting “in the beginning,” the author already betrays an eschatological (speaking of last things) focus. When we read “in the beginning” the expectation would be that eventually we will get to its antonym...
by Justin Marple | Mar 24, 2010 | Genesis Commentary, OT Torah Commentary, TEACHING
The current sermon series, I have been preaching on the temptations and the trial of Christ, has driven me back to the beginning. Book One of Genesis displays the same themes that I have been preaching.In Book One, Adam is the one being tested but he responded by...
by Justin Marple | Feb 15, 2010 | Canon Commentary, OT Torah Commentary, TEACHING
Sailhamer notes that form-critical studies see a lament pattern common in the Psalms as follows: emergency, promise, faith, certainty. He sees the same pattern in the Torah. Genesis 15 and Exodus 3-4 both reveal this pattern. Numbers 14 and 20 also show this pattern...
by Justin Marple | Sep 19, 2009 | Canon Commentary, OT Torah Commentary, TEACHING
As Sailhamer points out, reshith is the antonym of aharith. Or in English, beginning is the antonym of last. Thus the Torah begins, “In the beginning” (bereshith) (Gen 1:1) and then the poetic climaxes are explained as telling what will happen “in...
by Justin Marple | Sep 2, 2009 | Deuteronomy Commentary, OT Torah Commentary, TEACHING
Generally in a literary-canonical approach we do not dive into questions of multiple authors but simply study the text as we have it. Usually such lines of inquiry have been laden with faulty presuppositions and with agendas to undermine the word of God as we have it...
by Justin Marple | Aug 30, 2009 | Deuteronomy Commentary, OT Torah Commentary, TEACHING
I have noted before that the Torah as a whole follows a pattern of narrative, poetry, epilogue. Genesis follows this pattern. Exo-Num follows this pattern. And Deuteronomy follows this pattern. Before each of the key poems the Hebrew text uses the word...
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