Archive for month: January, 2024

You are here: / / / January

2024, February 11 ~ 2 Kings 2:1-12; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 11, 2024

2 Kings 2:1-12

Reading

1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Commentary

The Book of Kings is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a didactic history of Ancient Israel from the time in the Wilderness (c. 1250 BCE, if the account is historical) to the Babylonian Captivity in 587 BCE. These books were given their final form around 500 BCE – long after the events they described.

The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that God controls history and it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. Because Elijah defeated and killed hundreds of Ahab’s prophets at Mount Carmel, Ahab’s wife (the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel), vowed revenge upon Elijah and caused him to flee to Beersheba in the south.

Today’s story recounts the succession of the prophet Elijah by his faithful disciple, Elisha, who asks for a “double share” (the share of an oldest son) of Elijah’s spirit (v.9). According to Biblical chronology, the events took place about 840 BCE, after the reigns of Ahab and the two kings who followed him. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary opines that the Deuteronomists included the stories of Elijah’s succession by Elisha and Elisha’s later actions because the stories “exemplify the conception of the prophet as the dominant figure throughout Israel’s history.”

The account of the transfer of spirit from Elijah to Elisha has many parallels to the stories of Moses and his successor, Joshua. Elijah and Elisha crossed from the west bank of the Jordan River to the east bank (v.8), just as Moses and Joshua crossed the Sea of Reeds. After Elijah was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot in the area near Mount Nebo where Moses died (v.11), Elisha parted the Jordan and crossed to the west side just as Joshua did (v.14). The NJBC notes that Elisha used Elijah’s cloak to perform these extraordinary acts because one’s clothes were seen as an extension of the person.

Because Elijah was raised to heaven “in a whirlwind” (v.1), he is thought not to have died. The Jewish Study Bible notes that Enoch in Gen. 5:24 was also understood in some Jewish traditions as not having died (“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him.”).

The text of today’s reading does not explain how the “disciples of the prophets” (v.3) or Elisha knew that the LORD would take Elijah away.

The JSB observes that Elijah’s assumption into the heavens “became the stuff of many legends in Judaism and traditions about him in prophetic circles. These legends suggest that Elijah periodically returns to the earth.” This return to earth was seen as a harbinger of the coming of the Messiah (Mal. 3:23-24). Even today, a place/chair for Elijah is left open at table (and often the doors of homes are left open) at Passover Seders in the event Elijah might return that night. In many ways, John the Baptist was portrayed as an Elijah-like figure in the Gospels.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Reading

3 Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Commentary

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic, and Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers also taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it means to be a Jesus Follower. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) (likely while Paul was in Ephesus) and presented his views on several issues.

Paul’s controversies with the Corinthians continued, and he wrote a number of letters to them. The Second Letter is a composite of fragments from these letters. In the Second Letter, Paul countered the positions of some Jewish Jesus Followers who were disagreeing with Paul and undermining his authority. The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that the letters were intended to maintain the exclusivity of Paul’s relationship with the Jesus Follower community it Corinth (with him as its apostle) and to maintain the gospel of Jesus as Paul proclaimed it.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible says: “This challenge to his missionary activity prompted Paul to visit Corinth a second time. The result was unfortunate: Evidently a member of the congregation offended him grievously (2.5-6); he later called this the ‘painful visit’ (2.1; 7.2). After his bitter departure, Paul wrote what he called the ‘letter of tears’ (2.4;7.8), a letter that is now lost. “Either despite or because of its severity, this letter evidently succeeded in persuading the majority of the church in Corinth to Paul’s position, as Titus reported when he met Paul in Macedonia (7.6-7).”

Today’s reading is part of the climax to Paul’s defense of his ministry and his response to a question of his competence raised in Chapter 2. The JANT understands verse 3 (“The gospel is veiled to those who are perishing”) to mean that the people who do not see the Gospel’s truth are spiritually blind and that is not a failing of Paul’s teaching. Paul’s reference to “the god of this world” (v.4) meant the Roman authorities as well as the secular wisdom of the current age. Paul affirmed that Jesus the Christ is the “image of God” (v.4) and the “Lord” (v.5). Paul paraphrased part of the First Creation Story (Genesis 1:3) regarding the creation of light and said that the light of the knowledge of God is found in Jesus the Christ (v.6).

Today’s reading comes right after Paul’s interpretation (3:16) of Exodus 34:29-35, in which Moses’ face shone after talking with God and receiving the tablets of the Law.

Mark 9:2-9

Reading

2 Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading is an account of the Transfiguration and is found in all three Synoptic Gospels, but not in the Fourth Gospel. In Mark’s account, Jesus took his “inner circle” (Peter, James, and John) and went up on an unspecified mountain (sometimes identified as Mount Tabor or as Mount Hermon) where he was “transfigured” (v.2). The NJBC says Jesus’ form was changed (metamorphōthe) and that the disciples were “granted a glimpse of him in his glorious state.” He appeared with Moses (the lawgiver) and Elijah (the great prophet whose return would be a sign of the coming of the Messiah). The NJBC says the inclusion of Moses and Elijah shows “the road upon which Jesus is embarking is in accord with the law and the prophets.”

Because the original ending of Mark’s Gospel did not include any resurrection appearances by Jesus, The JANT notes that some scholars see the Transfiguration account in today’s reading as a resurrection appearance placed back into the lifetime of Jesus.

Moses (representing the covenant of the Torah) and Elijah (representing prophetic denunciations of corruption and idolatry) were the two greatest prophets of the Hebrew Bible. Although Moses’ death is recorded, his burial place is unknown (Deut.34:6) and Elijah was taken up to heaven in fiery chariot. Accordingly, both were seen to stand in God’s presence and to communicate God’s word.

The JANT points out that “dazzling” clothes (v.3) suggest a mystical experience, citing Moses and Daniel 12:3 (“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky”).

Peter addressed Jesus as “rabbi” (v.5). The JANT points out that “Rabbi” in Hebrew means “my great one” or teacher and that it was not yet (in the first half of the First Century CE) a technical term for a religious leader.

Peter’s suggestion to make three dwellings (v.5) is reminiscent of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles. Sukkot is a harvest festival and a reminder of living in tents during the Israelites’ time in the Wilderness. In First Century Israel, it was one of the three feasts each year during which Jews were expected to make a pilgrimage for a week to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The JANT points out that the cloud (v.7) evokes the cloud of the LORD’s presence on Mount Sinai (Ex. 24:15-18) and the cloud of the tent of meeting (Ex. 40:34-38). It also is the cloud that led the Israelites in the Wilderness (Ex.13:23).

The “voice” (v.7) is similar to the voice and words spoken at Jesus’ baptism (1:11), except that now the others present hear the voice.

The reference to the “Son of Man” (v.9) is a reminder of the messianic vision in Daniel 7:13 – “I saw one like a human being [son of man] coming with the clouds of heaven.” Ordering the disciples to “tell no one about what they had seen” (v.9) is consistent with the “Messianic Secret” concept in Mark that Jesus’ Messiahship was not to be known by others (including his disciples) until his Crucifixion and Resurrection.

2024, February 4 ~ Isaiah 40:21-31; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 4, 2024

Isaiah 40:21-31

Reading

21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in,
23 who brings princes to naught and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted,
31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

Today’s reading is from the first chapter in “Second Isaiah.” This chapter earlier told the Judeans they had “paid their penalty” (v.2). and reassured them that YHWH is the creator of the universe and has power over all nations (vv.12-20). Accordingly, YHWH will restore them to Jerusalem.

YHWH also has power over the heavenly bodies because they are not divine beings and are created by YHWH (v.26). The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees the concluding verses (27-31) as “an attempt to answer the crisis of faith provoked by the political disaster by presenting the LORD as a cosmic rather than a purely national deity.” The Jewish Study Bible observes: “The Judean exiles have lamented that God no longer pays attention to them (v.27). But God is still able to listen to them, for God never grows tired (vv. 28-31).”

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that Second Isaiah argued that YHWH “announced” Israel’s destruction not out of weakness but out of concern for Israel’s moral integrity. It continues that Second Isaiah represented a “decided advance in Israel’s dedication to monotheism” and pointed out that the term for creating (bara) occurred for the first time in Second Isaiah. The term means the mighty act of YHWH involved the transformation of chaos into a well-ordered universe.

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Reading

16 If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

19 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Commentary

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the mid-50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community. According to Acts 18, Paul spent over a year organizing several house-assemblies after arriving in Corinth around the year 50. The letter is primarily addressed to Gentile Jesus Followers.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that 1 Corinthians is “one of the New Testament’s most important books” because it includes one of the earliest proclamations of both Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and Jesus’ resurrection, and has a basic formula for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion/Eucharist).

The JANT also notes that the letter is considered to have been written by Paul “with the exception of 14.33b-35, whose content – the silencing of women in the assemblies – contradicts 11.5 where Paul mentions, approvingly, women praying and prophesying.” The JANT observes that the later-written Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy and Titus) advocate women’s subordination, and speculates that the authors of those letters may have inserted these verses about women into Paul’s original letter.

Today’s reading is the continuation of an extended discussion in Chapter 9 in which Paul was responding to assertions that he was not entitled to be paid or receive food and drink for his work as an apostle. Paul responded (vv.1-14) that the other apostles (and priests in temples) received material benefits for their teaching and work and that he was similarly entitled. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary suggests: “Since Paul had not used an apostle’s right to be supported by the community, some concluded that he did not have the right and in consequence was not an apostle.”

But Paul said that he “made no use of any of these rights” (v.15). In today’s reading, he emphasized that he was an apostle and his preaching of the gospel was an “obligation laid on me” (v.16) – just as prophets were “required” to speak the word of God. He continued to urge the Corinthians to rise above their own sense of “liberty” (freedom from the constraints of ordinary human affairs through “secular wisdom”) so that the Corinthians would participate fully in the gospel of love and enable others to participate also. For Paul, being able to proclaim the gospel pursuant to a divine imperative (a commission) was its own reward (v.18).

As The JANT points out, Paul “asserted that he is not pretending to be something he is not in order to persuade people under false pretenses to join the community.” Rather, he said that he became a “slave” to all (v.19). To spread the gospel, he became “as a Jew,” “as one under the law,” and as one “outside the law” (v.20-21). Paul – who was a Jewish Jesus Follower — was referring, respectively, to Jews, to “God Fearers” who were not Jews but who observed some of the Jewish Law. Paul stated, in effect, that he presented the gospel in terms with which each group might resonate.

His statement that he “became weak” and “became all things to all people” (v.22) reflected his empathetic presentation of the gospel. The reference to “the weak” also related back to the last part of Chapter 8 in which Paul urged the Corinthians not to eat meat sacrificed to idols if this would cause someone whose conscience was weak to fall (8:10-13).

In Paul’s view, the gospel transformed the exclusively Jewish Torah covenant into the Gentile-inclusive Christ’s law. The freedom vis-à-vis the Jewish law that had been transformed into the law in Christ was not a license to immorality but rather a freedom to live righteously.

Mark 1:29-39

Reading

29 After Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 And he cured many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Capernaum is a town on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee and appears to have been the center of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. Even today, there are remains of a Second Century synagogue there as well as the traditional site of Peter’s home.

In today’s reading, there is the story of the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law, which was repeated in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (though in Matthew and Luke, only Peter is present). Peter’s mother-in-law was not encountered again in the gospels. The JANT points out that in saying that Peter’s mother-in-law began to “serve them” (v.31b), the Greek word is diakoneo, the root word for “deacon,” and anticipated Jesus’ commending of service to others (10:45) as well as the other women who ministered to Jesus (15:41). The NJBC observes that 1 Corinthians 9:5 suggest that Peter’s wife accompanied him on his Apostolic journeys.

With customary hyperbole, the author said “all” who were sick or possessed by demons were brought to Jesus (v.32) and the “whole city” gathered around the door (v.33).

Scholars are not sure what kinds of ailments were encompassed within “possession by demons” but they might (in today’s vocabulary) include any form of mental illness or aberration.

The NAOB points out that although Jesus commanded the demons not to speak (v.34), the hearers of the Gospel (like the demons) knew who Jesus is from the beginning (1:1). The NJBC says: “Jesus’ refusal to allow them to speak is usually taken as part of the so-called messianic secret in Mark. While the preternatural opponents of Jesus know who he is, human beings (represented by the disciples) need to get a fuller picture of Jesus before they can know him as the dying and rising Messiah.”

The reference in verse 39 to “their” synagogues is an anachronism. During Jesus’ lifetime, his followers would have (as Jews) regarded the synagogues as their own — just as any other Jews. In last week’s gospel, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum (Mk. 1:21).

It was not until after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE and the beginnings of the “Parting of the Ways” in the next 20 years that Matthew and Luke began to refer to the synagogues as “theirs” – meaning the Pharisees, the predecessors of Rabbinic Judaism (see, for example, Matt. 23:34).

2024, January 28 ~ Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JANUARY 28, 2024

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Reading

15 Moses said: The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. 16 This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” 17 Then the LORD replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. 19 Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20 But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.”

Commentary

Deuteronomy is the fifth (and last) book of the Torah and (as a literary device) was presented as Moses’ final speech to the Israelites just before they entered the Promised Land.

“Deuteronomy” comes from Greek words that mean “Second Law” and the book was structured as if it were a “restatement” of the laws found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Parts of Deuteronomy were revised as late as 450 BCE, but the bulk of the book is generally dated to the reign of King Josiah of Judea (640-609 BCE). Many of the reforms under Josiah, particularly the centralization of sacrificial worship in Jerusalem, are stipulated in Deuteronomy.

It is also the first book of the didactic “Deuteronomic History” which consists of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. This “History” taught that when the people and kings of Israel and Judea worshiped YHWH properly, they prospered, but when they worshiped false gods, other nations (Assyria in 722 BCE and Babylon in 587 BCE) conquered them. For the Deuteronomists, these conquests occurred because of false worship, not because the Assyrians and Babylonians were wealthier countries with larger armies. In this way, the Deuteronomists “preserved” the notions of YHWH’s being the all-powerful protector of Israel and Judea, that YHWH was faithful to the promises made by YHWH, and that YHWH controlled everything that occurred.

In today’s reading, Moses told the Israelites that YHWH will raise up a prophet “like me” [Moses] as requested by the people at Horeb (the Deuteronomists’ name for Mount Sinai). Moses “recounted” that YHWH told him that the prophet would be from their own people, YHWH would put words in the prophet’s mouth, and the prophet would speak in YHWH’s name (v.18). The appointment by YHWH will make the prophet independent of all other institutions and therefore able to challenge these institutions. The Deuteronomists saw Moses as the paradigmatic prophet.

The Jewish Study Bible sees these verses as creating a “uniquely Israelite model of prophecy, patterned after Moses, which understands the prophet to mediate God’s word to the people.” It continues that unlike other offices which achieve their continuity by means of professional training and appointment (such as judges), or dynastically (such as kings), or by tribal membership (such as the Levitical priesthood), God alone appoints prophets.

These verses in Deuteronomy also formed a basis for the vision that the Messiah would be a prophet and the “New Moses.” This vision was one of the many different visions of the Messiah in circulation in the First Century, including the “New David,” the Son of Man, and the New High Priest. Because of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, Gospel writers also found other images of a Messiah who was a “suffering servant” as described in Isaiah 52 and 53, and a Paschal Lamb as found in Exodus.

The Gospel According to Matthew specifically presented Jesus of Nazareth as the New Moses. This Gospel contains stories about Jesus that are not in any other Gospels and are direct parallels to stories about Moses in the Hebrew Bible. For example, by unusual means, Moses and Jesus avoided death at the hands of temporal rulers (Pharaoh and Herod) who tried to kill all the male infants. Moses and Jesus both left Egypt for the Promised Land under God’s protection. Moses went up on the mountain (Sinai or Horeb) to obtain the Law, and Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount to fulfill the Law.

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Reading

1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3 but anyone who loves God is known by him.

4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth – as in fact there are many gods and many lords – 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Commentary

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the mid-50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community. According to Acts 18, Paul spent over a year organizing several house-assemblies after arriving in Corinth around the year 50. The letter is primarily addressed to Gentile Jesus Followers.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that 1 Corinthians is “one of the New Testament’s most important books” because it includes one of the earliest proclamations of both Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and Jesus’ resurrection, and has a basic formula for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion/Eucharist).

The JANT also notes that the letter is considered to have been written by Paul “with the exception of 14.33b-35, whose content – the silencing of women in the assemblies – contradicts 11.5 where Paul mentions, approvingly, women praying and prophesying.” The JANT observes that the later-written Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy and Titus) advocate women’s subordination, and speculates that the authors of those letters may have inserted these verses about women into Paul’s original letter.

In today’s reading, Paul appears to be addressing an issue raised in a letter from the Corinthians. It is difficult to know exactly when Paul is quoting Hellenistic/Corinthian “knowledge” and whether he is quoting it approvingly or not. (Quotation marks were unknown in the First Century. The early predecessors to quotation marks were not used until the 3rd or 4th Century CE. Quotation marks as we know them were developed in the 17th Century.)

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that “generally speaking, meat was available in the ancient world only after great festivals, when the priests sold the surplus of the meat of the sacrificial victims that was their share.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible says that “food sacrificed to idols” (v.1) referred to food sacrificed in the presence of an idol and eaten in the temple precincts. The JANT describes it as “a derogatory word (Gk eidōlothutos) used by Jews and Christians for pagan sacrifices. Some believers may have eaten the food for reasons relating to social status and familial loyalties. Jews generally avoided such fare and pagan ceremonial meals.”

Paul walked a fine line: he did not forbid Corinthians from eating meat, but he cautioned Jesus Followers that if they ate meat sacrificed to idols (particularly if they thought they had “knowledge” or religious wisdom), this might harm those who did not fully understand that “no idol in the world really exists” (v.4) and those for whom eating meat sacrificed to idols was a “stumbling block” (v.9). Paul admonished that wounding the conscience of one who is weak in this matter would be a sin against the Christ (v.12).

Mark 1:21-28

Reading

21 Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

According to The JANT, synagogues existed as early as the First Century BCE, and were well-established in the Galilee in the first half of the First Century CE (before the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE). Synagogues were local Jewish town meetings or civic associations, and in the First Century CE, they were also beginning to be centers of study and worship. Because Mark noted that the people gathered on the sabbath (v.21), Mark assumed the synagogue had a worship function also. The NJBC points out “anyone of sufficient learning could be invited to teach; there was no need for rabbinic ‘ordination’ in Jesus’ day.”

Capernaum is a town on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee and appears to have been the center of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. Even today, there are remains of a Second Century synagogue there as well as the traditional site of Peter’s home.

In Mark’s Gospel, the attribution of “authority” (exousia in Greek) and “power” (dunamis) are common notions. In attributing “authority” to Jesus, the Gospel writer noted that Jesus did not generally rely on the prior thinking of others to express his understandings of the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God. The “scribes” (v.22) to whom Jesus was compared were the literate elite scholars-lawyers who represented and advised the Jerusalem priestly rulers, the Sadducees. They were interpreters and teachers of the Scriptures.

The NAOB opines that “a man with an unclean spirit” (v.23) was one “possessed by an alien force or demon” and suggests that Jesus’ struggle against superhuman demonic spirits paralleled his political conflicts with the rulers and their scribal representatives. The NJBC observes that “You have come to destroy us” is a better translation of v.24b in that the coming of God’s Kingdom would spell the end of the demons’ power.

The translation that Jesus told the unclean spirit to “be silent” (v.25), the Greek words are literally “be muzzled” — a phrase that appears other times when Jesus confronted unclean spirits in this Gospel.

2024, January 21 ~ Jonah 3:1-5,10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JANUARY 21, 2024

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Reading

1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Commentary

The Book of Jonah is one of the shortest in the Bible and is included with the 12 Minor Prophets. Even though Jonah is never described in the Book as a “prophet,” he is a “reluctant prophet” who speaks for YHWH (translated as “LORD” in the NRSV) by urging the Assyrians to repent (3:4). Ironically, although Jonah rejected YHWH’s call, he was — according to the story – the most successful prophet ever.

The Book of Jonah, unlike the other prophetic books, is a narrative. It was written during the “Persian Period” (539 BCE to 333 BCE). The story, however, was necessarily set hundreds of years earlier in the period of Assyrian power – a time of Assyrian conquests and threats against Israel and Judea (850 to 612 BCE).

Sending Jonah to convert Nineveh (the Assyrian capital, and modern-day Mosul) at the height of Assyria’s power would be seen by everyone as a “Mission Impossible” task. When told by God to go to Nineveh, Jonah got on a ship for Tarshish (the end of the earth for a Mediterranean person, namely, Spain) – about as far from Assyria as he could possibly go.

Notwithstanding his attempts to avoid his mission to Nineveh, the story recounted that Jonah was thrown overboard by the sailors because his disobedience to God was seen by the sailors as the cause of a great storm. A fish then swallowed him, and he was spit out by the fish on the shore and went to Nineveh. Once there, he accepted his commission and warned the Assyrians of impending destruction if they did not repent. To Jonah’s amazement, the Assyrians and their king repented (vv. 5-6). God’s mind was changed, and God decided not to punish them (v.10).

Today’s reading recounts Jonah’s preaching in Nineveh, the repentance of the people, and God’s relenting in the decision to destroy Nineveh.

The story emphasized two theological understandings that are found in many of the stories in the Hebrew Bible: (1) God directs and controls all that happens and (2) God sometimes has a change of mind.

The Jewish Study Bible points out that the themes derived from the book have included: (1) the power of repentance; (2) a contrast between a doctrine of retributive justice and one of divine grace; (3) a conflict between God’s universalist approach and Jonah’s nationalistic tendencies; and (4) a conflict between an understanding of God as constrained by particular rules as known to human beings and another understanding that stresses the radical independence of God.

In the next chapter of the book, Jonah became angry with God for being merciful to the Assyrians. Echoing YHWH’s “self-description” in Exodus 34:6 that God is merciful and abounding in steadfast love, Jonah told YHWH that he fled to Tarshish precisely because he knew God would be willing to relent from punishing the Assyrians (4:2). Jonah wanted Nineveh to be punished and was so angry about God’s relenting that he preferred to die (4:3, 4:8) rather than see the “enemy” repent and receive God’s mercy.

The Jonah story is not history. Nineveh never repented in the 8th Century BCE. The Assyrian Empire destroyed the Northern 10 tribes (Israel) in 722 BCE. Assyria put Judea under siege for many years around 700 BCE. By the time of the writing of this story, Nineveh had long since been destroyed by the Babylonians in 612 BCE and was never rebuilt.

The JSB raises interesting questions: “What are the readers of the book supposed to make of the well-known fact in their time [the Persian Period] that historic Nineveh had long been destroyed and never rebuilt? Surely, they thought, such destruction must have been a manifestation of God’s will. But if so, are some of God’s words, as recorded in the prophetic books, valid at one time but not another, even if God’s explicit argument seems universal? Are prophetic words contingent on a particular set of historical circumstances and therefore of no absolute value and general scope? Is it possible to distinguish between the contingent and noncontingent words, and if so how? Or are all of them contingent?”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that archaeological excavations show that Nineveh was about 3 miles long with a wall of eight miles around it. The city was not a “three days’ walk across” (v.3) – which would be about 90 miles (3 mph x 10 hours x 3 days). The exaggeration was intended to show the difficulty of the task facing Jonah, the vastness of his success, and the expanse of God’s mercy.

The Book of Jonah emphasized the inclusivity of God’s love and mercy for all, not just the people of Israel and Judea. Similarly, the Book of Ruth (in which a Moabite woman – the Moabites were a hated enemy of Judea — became the great grandmother of King David) and portions of the Book of Isaiah convey the message that God’s mercy and love are inclusive.

Other books of the Bible, such as Ezra and Nehemiah (written around 450 BCE), required the Jewish people be exclusive. Some of the Jews who remained in Jerusalem during the Exile had intermarried. After the Exile, Ezra required them to send away their foreign wives and the children they had by them (Ezra 10:3).

The tension (and disagreement within Judaism) between inclusivity and exclusivity continued into the First Century of the Common Era. In opposition to the exclusivist Sadducees, Jesus of Nazareth was clearly presented in the Gospels as an inclusivist.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Reading

29 I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Commentary

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the mid-50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community. According to Acts 18, Paul spent over a year organizing several house-assemblies after arriving in Corinth around the year 50. The letter is primarily addressed to Gentile Jesus Followers.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that 1 Corinthians is “one of the New Testament’s most important books” because it includes one of the earliest proclamations of both Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and Jesus’ resurrection, and has a basic formula for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion/Eucharist).

The JANT also notes that the letter is considered to have been written by Paul “with the exception of 14.33b-35, whose content – the silencing of women in the assemblies – contradicts 11.5 where Paul mentions, approvingly, women praying and prophesying.” The JANT observes that the later-written Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy and Titus) advocate women’s subordination, and speculates that the authors of those letters may have inserted these verses about women into Paul’s original letter.

Today’s reading is lifted from a chapter that dealt primarily with Paul’s views on sexual morality, and that responded to part of a letter to him from the Corinthians that said: “It is well for a man not to touch a woman.” (7.1) The NAOB and The JANT regard this saying as “another Corinthian slogan.”

In the first part of this Chapter, Paul rejected mandatory celibacy and presented a more nuanced approach. But because he believed the current age was about to end (“in view of the impending/present crisis” (v.26)), Paul was more concerned with changes in marital status than with marriage per se.

The verses for today reflected Paul’s understanding that the current economic system in Corinth (private property, slavery, commerce) and social forms (such as patriarchal marriage) were about to disappear (v. 31) when a new order arrived. Accordingly, Paul urged persons to practice abstinence, and to behave contrary to their expected roles in preparation for the end time.

These notions of a new order evolved into the idea of the “Second Coming” of the Christ. This “Second Coming” developed relatively early in the Jesus Follower Movement because the Jesus Followers recognized that Jesus of Nazareth had not fulfilled all the traditional “job descriptions” of the Messiah in his earthly life – the nation was not unified; the Romans were not expelled; and Shalom (peace and order) did not reign. It became understood that at the Second Coming, all will be fulfilled.

Mark 1:14-20

Reading

14 After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea – for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and formed the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85-90 CE. Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Like all the other gospels, it is anonymous (the names of the gospels were given in the late 2d Century CE). The New Oxford Annotated Bible describes it as a story of Jesus of Nazareth’s “multiple conflicts” – with the high priestly rulers and their Roman overlords and with his disciples (who consistently failed to understand him and deserted him at the end).

The Gospel was written in “everyday” (koine) Greek, and its style was not as elegant as Luke’s. The Gospel introduced a new literary genre, the evangelion (or “good news”), which was distinguished from a “history.” The NAOB points out that the “good news” always referred either to the act of preaching or its content. Outside the Christian Scriptures, the term was used for various happy announcements such as a military victory, the birth of a son or a wedding. The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that the word was intended to suggest the good news of God’s deliverance.

The JANT observes: “Although Mark presents an earthly Jesus and not the heavenly mediator emphasized in Paul’s letters (e.g., Phil. 2.6-11), Mark and Paul share several important themes: the centrality of the followers’ faith, the emphasis on Jesus’ death rather than his resurrection, and reservations about Peter’s role.”

In some respects, Mark has a “lower Christology” than the other gospels in that it placed more emphasis on Jesus’ humanity. Each of the gospels has its own “special theme” – and Mark’s presentation of Jesus used the motifs and imagery of the “Suffering Servant” found in Isaiah 52 and 53. It also substantially based many details of the Passion and Crucifixion on Psalm 22.

Today’s reading contains the first words of Jesus that are reported as part of his public ministry. In saying the “Kingdom of God has come near (v.15), Jesus proclaimed that the ideal state is beginning but has not yet been accomplished. In preaching repentance, Jesus (like John the Baptist) called for a “change of mind” in which one’s heart and whole inner being is called to “return” to God. The JANT observes “in ancient Israel and Mark as well “faith” and “believe” often connoted faithfulness and trustworthiness regarding both humans and God.”

The arrest of John (v.14) is presented as the triggering event for Jesus to begin his public ministry. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes that instead of “arrested,” the Greek should be translated as “handed over” – the same way that Jesus was “handed over” (14:44) by Judas to the authorities at the Garden of Gethsemane.

The NOAB sees verse 15 as a “summary of Jesus’ program and of the Gospel according to Mark. At the right time, in fulfillment of long-standing yearnings and hopes, God is finally acting to reestablish his beneficent will for the people.”

The area called “the Galilee” was, according to The JANT, the area north of Judea, and had “indistinct boundaries.” It was more rural and less Hellenized in the First Century than Judea. The people there thought of themselves as “Israelites” (see John 1:47) and distinct from the Judeans.

The NAOB points out that the Sea of Galilee is also called the Lake of Gennesaret and “is a large lake in a deep basin mostly surrounded by high hills.” It is about 10 miles from North to South, and about 6 miles from West to East. It is fed by the Jordan River on the north, and its outlet is to the Jordan River to the south.

The call of disciples in Mark in today’s reading is quite different from the story last week in the Fourth Gospel of the calls of Andrew, Peter, Phillip and Nathaniel. In last week’s story, John the Baptist referred to Jesus a “the Lamb of God” (John 1:36) to two of his disciples, one of whom was Andrew. Andrew found his brother Simon and told him “We have found the Messiah” (v.41). Andrew brought Simon to Jesus who told Simon, “You are son of John…You are to be called Cephas (Peter)” (v.42). Jesus then went to the Galilee and “found” Philip and said, “Follow me” (v.43) and Philip went and found Nathaniel (v.45).

Simon is later called “Peter.” James (son of Zebedee) is to be distinguished from James the brother of Jesus who became the leader of the Jesus Follower Movement in Jerusalem and from James “the Less” (another apostle).

In the First Century, it would have been unusual for a rabbi/teacher to call disciples. Typically, disciples sought out a master. Here, the Gospel writer follows a pattern set by Elijah in his call of Elisha to be his disciple (1 Kings 19:19).

2024, January 14 ~ 1 Samuel 3:1-20; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:53-51

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JANUARY 14, 2024

1 Samuel 3:1-20

Reading

1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So, he went and lay down. 6 The LORD called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 17 Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.”

19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD.

Commentary

The Book of Samuel is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covers the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the beginning of Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 550 BCE and continued to be revised even after that.

The Deuteronomic authors artfully wove together numerous sources to form the Book of Samuel. They used the stories in these books to demonstrate that that God controls history and to assert that it was the failures of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The Book of Samuel (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the Time of the Judges (c.1030 BCE) to the last years of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE). The Book of Samuel notes that the Book of Judges ended on a low note in terms of YHWH worship — “the word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread” (v.3:1).

Today’s reading describes the call by YHWH of young Samuel (whose name means “God [el] has heard”) and his elevation to prophet. Samuel is described as the last of the Judges and the first of the great prophets of Israel. He is a towering and admirable figure in the Hebrew Bible. His mother, Hannah, was barren until YHWH “remembered” her in response to her prayers in which she “bargained” with YHWH (1:11). As she had promised, Hannah dedicated Samuel to YHWH as a “nazirite” (1 Sam.1:9) — one who would never cut his hair and or touch wine or strong drink. Other identified nazirites in Scripture were Samson (who did not fulfil his vows) and John the Baptizer.

Among his significant acts, Samuel (at YHWH’s direction) anointed the first two kings of Israel (Saul and David). The Book of Samuel was derived from at least two sources and is therefore ambivalent about whether having a king was good for Israel because it united the tribes politically against their enemies or bad because Israel ceased to be a theocracy (governed by YHWH through priests).

In setting the scene of Samuel’s call, the text says, “the lamp of God had not yet gone out” (v.3) which The New Oxford Annotated Bible interprets as the time just before dawn. The “iniquity” of Eli’s sons (vv.13-14) was their failure to worship YHWH properly.

The Jewish Study Bible suggests that it is Samuel’s state of awe that caused him not to add “YHWH” in his response (v.10) as Eli instructed him to do (v.9). It also notes Samuel’s humility – in spite of his extraordinary experience with YHWH, he continued to carry out his usual duties (“opened the doors”) (v.15) and did not report his conversation with YHWH to Eli until asked about it (v.18).

As a concluding note, because all of Samuel’s sayings were eventually found to be true, the Deuteronomist described him as “trustworthy” (v.20).

Demonstrating the multiplicity of sources, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that the accusation that Eli did not “restrain” his sons (v.13) is directly contradicted by 2:22-25 which contains an account of Eli rebuking his sons for their behaviors.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Reading

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.” 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body.

Commentary

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the mid-50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community. According to Acts 18, Paul spent over a year organizing several house-assemblies after arriving in Corinth around the year 50. The letter is primarily addressed to Gentile Jesus Followers.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that 1 Corinthians is “one of the New Testament’s most important books” because it includes one of the earliest proclamations of both Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and Jesus’ resurrection, and has a basic formula for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion/Eucharist).

The JANT also notes that the letter is considered to have been written by Paul “with the exception of 14.33b-35, whose content – the silencing of women in the assemblies – contradicts 11.5 where Paul mentions, approvingly, women praying and prophesying.” The JANT observes that the later-written Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy and Titus) advocate women’s subordination, and speculates that the authors of those letters may have inserted these verses about women into Paul’s original letter.

Today’s reading appears to be in response to a letter received from Corinth, as shown by the Hellenistic (“enlightened”) statements in verses 12 and 13 that Paul quoted (and refuted) in today’s reading. The JANT and The NJBC advise that these were “Corinthian slogans” consistent with the Greek philosophical views of Epictetus and the Cynics.

Paul discussed the human body and rejected fornication/sexual impurity, not because of the Law, but on the bases that Jesus Followers are members of Christ (v.15) and united to the Lord (v.17) so that one’s body is a temple/sanctuary (v.19). Paul concluded that one should glorify God in one’s body (v.20). In verse 16, Paul said that immoral intercourse corrupts a person’s nature by changing it.

The NAOB observes that in vv.14-16 “Paul is warning of the logical implications of the Corinthians’ principle, not necessarily their actual behavior…. Paul is insisting on what is ‘beneficial’ (v.12) to the whole community, as opposed to individual enlightenment.”

Paul’s emphasis on the sacredness of the body expressed traditional Jewish respect for the body (as part of an integrated human person) in opposition to the Platonic notion that only spiritual essence (or soul) is what is important and that the body is an irrelevant appendage. In referring to the body as a “temple of the Holy Spirit” (v.19), Paul was emphasizing the integral relationships one has with God, the Christ, the Spirit and one another.

Both The JANT and The NJBC understand “bought with a price” (v.20) to convey the image of ransoming a slave or a prisoner. Having been ransomed, we should serve others.

John 1:43-51

Reading

43 Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Commentary

The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.

The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who was described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder to be held the night he died. The Synoptic Gospels are set primarily in the Galilee with a trip to Jerusalem at the end. In the Fourth Gospel, the time of the public ministry is three years, with movement back and forth between the Galilee and Jerusalem.

Most scholars agree that an anonymous author wrote the Gospel around 95 CE, at a time when the “parting of the ways” between the Jesus Follower Movement and Rabbinic Judaism was accelerating. The NAOB says: “The major concerns of the Gospel are engendering faith in the person of Jesus (20.21) and discrediting the Temple-centered, hereditary religious authorities who present a collective obstacle to the acceptance of faith in Jesus.”

In today’s reading, places that are mentioned include Bethsaida (a town on the NW shore of the Sea of Galilee) and Nazareth, a small insignificant town about 16 miles west of the Sea of Galilee – not a likely place from which the Messiah would come.

The NAOB says that Nathaniel (whose name means “God [el] has given”) “may be a collective character representing those in Israel who have no deceit [v.47], i.e., none of the qualities of Jacob before he became Israel.” It continues: “Because of their openness to Jesus they will see him in the fullness of his role as mediator between heaven and earth.” The NJBC describes Nathaniel as “the exemplary Israelite.”

The author of the Fourth Gospel knew the Hebrew Scriptures well. The reference to “him about whom Moses wrote in the law” (v.45) is a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 (“The LORD God will raise up a prophet like me [Moses] from among your own people.”)

The JANT notes that the Gospel refers to Jesus as “son of Joseph” (v.45) without any mention of a virginal conception.

Nathaniel called Jesus the “Son of God” (v.49) – a reference derived from to 2 Sam. 7:14 (“I will be a father to him [David and his offspring] and he shall be a son to me”) and to Psalm 2:7b (“He said to me [David, the “traditional author” of the Psalms], ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you”).

The reference to angels ascending and descending (v.51) was to the ladder in Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28 and is understood by scholars as implying that Jesus is the ladder connecting heaven and earth.

The reference to the Son of Man (v.51b) is derived from Daniel 7:13 in which one “like a human being” (a Son of Man) comes upon the clouds – a customary Messianic image in the First Century and associated with apocalyptic eschatology. The words “Very truly” (v.51) are literally “Amen, Amen” (or “it is so” or “it is true.” According to The JANT, they are a formula for emphasis in both the Bible and in the Dead Sea Scrolls.