Introduction Overall, Old Testament (OT) wisdom books are fairly anthropocentric (man-centered) since they address the issues of everyday living faced by God’s people. That does not mean that they are not also theocentric (God-centered). God instructs His people to live their lives in view of His existence, presence, righteousness, and justice. Studying these books provides …
Sometimes things don’t go exactly as we plan. Those situations become the times “that try men’s souls,” as someone once so aptly announced. Shortly after my last posting near the end of December, a new update of the server software created a series of incompatibilities with my plug-ins and site management. That resulted in my …
I’ve taken the unusual step of recommending two books on the same topic this week. Too often, commentaries on Genesis 1-3 and Psalm 104 (just to cite two examples) conclude that “cosmic-conflict mythological language” permeates the biblical account (Longman, Psalms, TOTC, 360, about Psalm 104:5-9). Some Old Testament scholars in evangelical circles persist in identifying the …
My Recommendations: Books of the Week, September 10 Read More »
Completing the first third of Psalm 104, our analysis takes another distinct turn in its point of reference: the topic becomes the ongoing natural order of the earth as determined by its Creator. If, however, we are correct in understanding Psalm 104:6-9 as a reference to the Flood of Noah’s day, we must also see God …
Psalm 104 provides a break from the early psalms (Psalms 1-6) and from the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120-122). This psalm presents the poetic description of Creation as compared to the narrative of Genesis 1:1-2:3. An anonymous psalmist marked off this psalm’s 35 verses by means of an inclusio like that used in Psalm 103. …
Structural or logical line diagramming serves as one of the chief means by which the exegete can identify verse structure in the Hebrew Bible. Since this method unlocks so much of the biblical text, I have begun a series of study helps in order to enable others to learn the method and to gain a better understanding of how it aids the …
