Steadfast Love Research Articles

Grace Unveiled: The Charm of חסד in the Book of Ruth and Its Transformative Message for Christian Life

This article delves into the significance of Hesed, or loyal love, in the Book of Ruth, examining its theological implications for both human-divine relationships and interpersonal connections. It investigates how Hesed is depicted in the narrative of Ruth and Boaz, elucidating its role in worship and daily life. Methodologically, the study involves a close textual analysis of the Book of Ruth, employing a theological lens to interpret God's message of steadfast love. The findings reveal a profound understanding of God's inclusive and universal Hesed, with implications extending into the New Testament through the actions of Jesus Christ. This underscores the significance of God's unwavering love as a guiding principle in our relationships with both God and fellow humans, shaping a life reflective of the values encapsulated in Hesed.

The Shoot Leadership Vs Babylonian Leadership: An Exposition of Isaiah 11:1-5, 11:1-22, 47:1-14 and its Implications for Leadership Today

The study of leadership is a subject that always arises in human life because of the changes and phenomena that continue to occur in leadership, especially in the context of the church. Problems that arise in the context of leadership in the church organisation make people turn to the Bible to find out the models of leadership that should be emulated or avoided. Using the exegesis method and supported by qualitative data from various sources, this article discusses the leadership models of the Shoot (Isaiah 11:1-5) and Babylon (14:1-22; 47:1-13). Based on the analysis, the leadership of the Shoot is based on the indwelling Spirit of God. Therefore, the Shoot has special skills in leading and the result is that his leadership is just and righteous, especially for the poor and oppressed. Furthermore, the success of the Shoot's leadership came about because it was based on righteousness and steadfast love. Babylon's leadership model, on the other hand, is prideful and relies on its own wisdom and understanding. This leads to a feeling of security to do evil. This also happened because it was supported by godless advisors. The result was total destruction for the nation itself. Today's modern leadership is expected to emulate the leadership of the Shoot and be careful not to emulate the leadership of Babylon

Divine Violence and the Character of God by Claude F. Mariottini

Reviewed by: Divine Violence and the Character of God by Claude F. Mariottini David Penchansky claude f. mariottini, Divine Violence and the Character of God (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022). Pp. xvii + 437. Paper $47. Thus says the Lord of hosts … go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. (1 Sam 15:3) A violent God commands King Saul to eradicate a community, killing every living thing. [End Page 342] These actions conflict with the standard portrait of the loving, compassionate, forgiving God. Mariottini faces this theological problem head-on. He examines virtually every depiction of divine violence in the Hebrew Bible. He asks and answers the question, How might one reconcile the loving God with a God who can command such atrocities? (pp. xvii, 18). He claims, "My intent is not to defend God but to see how and why God acted the way he did and to understand the reason for divine violence in the Old Testament" (pp. xvi–xvii). However, it appears to me the opposite is true. M. defends the behavior of God at every turn. To do so, he frequently quotes from Exodus: The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. (Exod 34:6) For M., this quotation suggests that, although Yhwh will occasionally commit acts of violence, it is not in God's nature to do so. Yet why should this particular declaration in Exodus be privileged, and why should one prefer what God says over what God does? For M., the presence of divine violence is a problem to be solved, a question to be answered, a nut to be cracked. First, he must establish the presence of divine violence in the Hebrew Bible. He does this by examining in detail the following: • God kills all humans and animals in the flood, except those on Noah's boat (Genesis 6–9). • God commands Joshua to kill all the inhabitants of Canaan in order to make room for Israel (Joshua 6; 8). • God tells Moses that he will punish the children and grandchildren of those who violate the covenant (Exod 20:5). • God destroys the city of Sodom, killing the innocent along with the guilty (Genesis 18–19). • God sends the Assyrians to destroy Israel, subjecting them to terrible suffering and death (2 Kings 17; Hos 13:16; Isa 10:5–13). Although one might discount the stories of divine violence, M. insists on their relevance. He defends God's violence by demonstrating how these actions conform to the affirmation of a merciful, gracious, and loving God. For M., the OT God gets hurt, angry, confused. M. draws from Abraham Heschel's notion of "divine pathos" to justify how God, enraged by human perfidy, commits acts of violence (p. 64). Therefore, he finds instances of divine violence both reasonable and necessary, manifestations of "the dark side" of God (p. 155), which is only a mask. Therefore, God is not responsible for the resulting carnage. These are his arguments: • God becomes violent to secure justice by punishing sinful behavior, an appropriate, congruent, and proportionate response to human violence (pp. 82, 116, 245). • God commits violence only reluctantly, but feels bad about it afterwards (pp. 63, 67, 69, 80). • Divine violence is necessary to save Israel from their enemies (pp. 247, 370). • God has proven merciful because, when Abraham, and then Moses, protested Yhwh's intended violence, God relented (pp. 78, 124, 141, 144–47, 202). • In the prophets, God sends foreign armies to punish Israel. These foreign armies are violent. If they are excessively brutal toward Israel, God is not to blame (pp. 162, 172, 176). [End Page 343] • The ancient world was a violent place. Those who single out divine violence as extraordinary and gratuitous read the Bible anachronistically (p. 84). Mariottini discerns an underlying, unifying narrative in the Christian Bible (OT and NT). In his view, God seeks to reconnect with humans after the Garden, trying first with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and then through Israel as a nation. Each...

Martha Sharp Joukowsky, 1936–2022

Martha Sharp Joukowsky, 1936–2022

Towards a Precise Translation of Psalm 115,1

Abstract The commonly accepted translation of Ps 115,1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory (כבוד ‪נתן) for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness,” does not express the full meaning of the phrase. Important precision is provided by examination of several neglected or unrecognized factors such as the meaning of “to us,” “give,” and “glory,” dialectical negation in the community’s petition, and the function of V 1 within the psalm.

The Imagery of Love in the Book of Hosea (Hosea 3:1-5): A Word Study

The book of Hosea presents sincere devotion and commitment to the Lord. The prophet’s message was mostly warnings, but there is a note of hope in the form of sincere repentance and asking for God's forgiveness, followed by a renewed commitment to the Lord. The people of Israel may find forgiveness and restoration to God’s favour and blessings. The prophet Hosea was instructed by God to symbolically prophesy to the Israelites about their disobedience to His call, and they would be punished if they did not return to the Lord their God. The prophecy is aptly represented in the marriage of Hosea to an adulterous woman, Gomer. God, represented by Hosea, had a covenant with Israel, but the latter turned him over to other gods. God foretold the punishment that would befall Israel, as well as the mercy that would befall them if they repented and returned to him through Hosea. The prophet’s message speaks of God’s steadfast love, portrayed through the suffering husband of an unfaithful wife. Hosea’s message is also considered a warning to them, and they will turn their backs on God’s love. Through the symbolic presentation of the marriage of Hosea and Gomer, God’s love for the idolatrous nation of Israel is displayed in a rich metaphor. This essay explains how the message of Hosea is relevant in the present context.

A Comparative Study of the Causes of the Tragic Love in A Dream of Red Mansions and Wuthering Heights

A Dream of Red Mansions is universally believed to be the most capacious work classical Chinese literature has ever presented, depicting vividly a good number of maidens that bear almost every possible charm traditional Chinese culture has ever endowed its earlier maidens with. Among all the maidens, Lin Dai-yu is most widely loved and sympathized with, whose ever shedding tears and steadfast love undoubtedly have accounted to a good degree for their love’s tragic feelings. Wuthering Heights comes as a cursing surprise to Victorian English literature, and turns to be gradually appreciated and still cherished and relished even today. The love story between Catherine and Heathcliff it has dedicated the whole of itself to can be a very good counterpart to that between Dai-yu and Bao-yu, which is as well founded upon long-term companionship from childhood and loyal oaths, only that no happy matrimony has been gained as wished and expected. This paper means no ambitious novelty, but to draw comparison between the two works and love stories, to trace every clue possibly accessible within the works themselves, and to compare and analyze those picked clues from angles of social and family background as well as personal character. Through such comparison and analysis, the paper attempts to present a clearer perception into the similarities and differences of the two love stories and the negative roles the social and family background and the character of the heroes and heroines have played for the tragic endings.

“A Throne Will Be Established in Steadfast Love”: Welcoming Refugees and the Davidic Kingdom in Isaiah 16:1–5

Abstract All commentators agree that Isaiah 16:1–5 is about refugees, yet the passage’s implications for forced migration have not yet been investigated. This article argues that it contains a prophetic call by Isaiah, speaking with God’s authority, that Jerusalem should welcome the Moabite refugees who have fled there for safety. Isaiah tells Jerusalem that by welcoming these refugees they are participating in the coming of a Kingdom and a Davidic King who will rule with justice, righteousness, love, and faithfulness.

Minor Prophets

Minor Prophets Fred W. Guyette, Christopher T. Begg, Ian T. Kinman, and John M. Halligan 641. [Minor Prophets; Day of the Lord] Heather Bunce, "The Day of the Lord in the Book of the Twelve: Cycle of Creation," The Earth Is the Lord's, 84-100 [see #783]. The Book of the Twelve describes The Day of the Lord as a cycle of creation, uncreation, and re-creation. We can understand this cycle better by looking at the prophets within their ANE milieu. Tablets describing the exploits of Baal were discovered in the 1930s, and these happenings are sometimes referred to as the Baal Cycle. Hundreds of years separated the thriving culture of Ugarit from the time in which Israel's prophets would have been writing, but Ugaritic literature left its mark on the region. There are specific Ugaritic images, such as "Cloud-Rider," warrior, and Baal's mountain stronghold that the prophets borrow to express their understanding of Yhwh's power to create, destroy, and recreate. Amos 5:8 says Yhwh created the constellations Pleiades and Orion. In Jonah 1:9, the prophet is explaining his faith to the pagan sailors on the storm-tossed ship and tells them, "I worship the Lord, who made the dry land and the sea." Zeph 1:15-16 uses many images of judgment and destruction to describe the Day of the Lord: a day of chaos and destruction, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry. However, the theme of judgment in these texts does not eclipse the repentance motif. Repentance leads to changed hearts and actions. A form of the Hebrew word šûb "to return" occurs 83 times within the Book of the Twelve. Joel 2:12–14 says, "Return (šûb) to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return (šûb) to the Lord, your God, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love." As Hos 14:1-7 puts it, on that day, "God will be like the dew and Israel like the plants which are beginning to take root and bloom once more."—F.W.G. 642. [Book of the Twelve; Messiah] Anthony Petterson, "The Messiah in the Book of the Twelve: Glory through Suffering," The Seed of Promise, 219-41 [see #797]. The prophet Hosea is deeply saddened by the violence he has witnessed and the political assassinations that have thrown the land of Israel into a state of upheaval. Amos protests the injustices of the king against the poor, and says the time for repentance is over. God's judgment is coming. Micah says the people will be removed from the land—that's how great their sin is. But God will forgive their sins and cast them into the depths of the sea. Habakkuk's message: God delivered Israel from Egypt and he will do it again for a later generation. Haggai sees the Temple lying in ruins, but he anticipates a glorious day when Jerusalem will be rebuilt. These are just a few of the ways that the role of the Messiah is tracked across the Book of the Twelve. God's anointed one will judge, teach, bless, and redeem all those who turn to him in repentance and faith.—F.W.G. 643. [The Twelve; Wisdom] Daniel C. Timmer, "Where Shall Wisdom Be Found (in the Book of the Twelve)?" Riddles and Revelations, 147-64 [see #772]. Seeing how it can be hard to juggle twelve balls at once, T. decides to work with just a few, to see what he can discover from these about the relationship between wisdom and [End Page 221] prophecy. Job (wisdom literature), Habakkuk, and Nahum (both prophets) exhibit some intriguing similarities and differences: (1) In these books the cosmos is currently under God's control but is not without mystery or unpunished sin; (2) they approach the timing and/or degree of realized divine justice as a problem to...

The Eternal God's Response to Man's Cry in His Passing “Days” and “Years” (Ps 90)

In Ps 90, the poet expresses his perception of man's time as marked by dynamic of passing away, fear of death, destruction, and futility. At the same time, he speaks of God's “eternity” as “You are” (v. 2). He discovers the astonishing influence of “eternity” on “time.” The prayer of the “servants” makes the distant God (full of anger and indignation – v. 11) come close to them and act in their fleeting time to evoke His “mercy,” “steadfast love,” “joy” “glorious power,” thereby making time “stable” and “permanent” (v. 17). This is anchored in God's eternity, even in God's “You are” (v. 2). In the short and transient “days” and “years” of His “servants” and their “sons,” God writes an intense experience of His eternity. The extraordinary coexistence, even the interpenetration of time and eternity in the experience of the believer (people), is perhaps the most crucial theological intuition of Ps 90.

The Writings: Psalms

The WritingsPsalms Christopher T. Begg 1333. [Servant of the Lord in the Psalter] Egbert Ballhorn, "Von David dem Knecht zum Volk der Gottesknechte im Psalter," Zur Theologie des Psalters, 287-315 [see #1618]. The title "servant of the Lord" is used in two different ways in the Psalter: On the one hand, it is a self-designation used by the pray-er in his relationship to God, while on the other it functions as a title ascribed to King David. That title is so impregnated with the figure of David that every individual pray-er who uses the designation of himself stands in the succession of David, with consequences not only for the pray-er's relationship to God but also for his status as God's chosen one. [Adapted from published abstract] 1334. [Psalms; Chronicles] Ehud Ben Zvi, "Psalms, Chronicles, and Matters of Social Memory in the Early Second Temple Period: Some Introductory Considerations," Psalmen und Chronik, 243-56 [see #1555]. B. Z. seeks to identify a "social memory system" unifying both Chronicles and the Psalter as well as these books' respective receptional circles. In so doing, he cautions, with regard to such comparisons, against taking the modern understanding of the two textual complexes as a basis. Chronicles, on the one hand, does indeed concern itself with psalms and pieces of song, but does not, however, present the "actual content of the songs," while, on the other hand, the Psalter features later resignifications, contemporaneous with Chronicles, [End Page 452] of Chronistic personages. Taking the Persian or early Hellenistic period as background, B. Z. sets out to selectively ascertain how old psalms were remembered and newly interpreted. Thus, the psalm titles refer to David as a "master musician." In Chronicles, on the basis of this already existent memory of David as a musician, the figure of David is further developed. Psalms and Chronicles both participate in a common "mnemonic system," wherein, by way of the Davidic figure, sacrificial cult and psalms are interwoven. The Levitical singers Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun represent another example of shared memory. They are mentioned in Psalms 39, 50, 62, 73–88, 89, and also appear in Chronicles. Likewise psalmic formulations such as the refrain "for his steadfast love endures forever" show themselves to have been especially suitable for memory formation. In Psalms 106, 107, 118, and 136 this formula occurs a total of 32 times, while in 1 Chr 16:34; 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3, 6; 20:21, it is used in the articulation of the praise of Yhwh. In addition, B. Z.'s contribution devotes particular attention to psalmic citations in 1 Chr 16:8-36 and 2 Chr 6:41-42. For ancient recipients the question of the origin of the above formula—did it originate in Chronicles or in the Psalter—was not an issue. Far more important than the certainly greater age of Pss 96:1-13; 105:1-15; 106:47-48; and 132:8-10 vis-à-vis the citations of these verses in Chronicles is the mutual illumination of both Chronicles and the Psalter via the reception process. Both complexes have had a part to play in the formation of Israel's memory. This becomes clear in that in the "narrative" of Chronicles the psalms initiated by David are at the same time reflective of the postexilic situation (see 1 Chr 16:15). A similar situation occurs in 2 Chr 6:41-42, where Ps 132:8-10 is paraphrased. In 2 Chronicles 6 these verses are the conclusion of Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple and reflect changes to the source text of 1 Kings 8. In dealing as it does with its source material, 2 Chr 6:41-42 emphasizes that the foundations of the Temple cult go back to Yhwh alone. [Adapted from published abstract] 1335. [Psalms; Isaiah; Zion] Joseph Blenkinsopp, "Zion as Reality and Symbol in Psalms and Isaiah," Essays on the Book of Isaiah, 122-34 [see #1628]. B. opens this brief essay with the statement (p. 122): "Psalms and Isaiah . . . have a great deal in common. Their intertextual relations are...

The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology: Three Creedal Expressions

The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology: Three Creedal Expressions

What Can One Say? Last Words to an Individual in Hospice.

What Can One Say? Last Words to an Individual in Hospice.

Mr. Dog

Mr. Dog Don Zancanella (bio) Every night Vic's children want to hear him read Goodnight Moon. He's not sure where the book came from. Maybe it was a baby shower gift, maybe his in-laws sent it, but it's definitely the current favorite of four-year-old Leah and little Marie: Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere. The girls' enthusiasm isn't shared by their mother. Teri finds the book tedious. "When they ask for it, I tell them to pick a different one," she says. "Enough is enough." At a backyard cookout, Vic mentions Goodnight Moon to some other parents. Every one of them nods in recognition and says something like, "Isn't it great?" or "It might be the best kids' book ever." But when they're done exclaiming, Teri says, "I liked it at first but not any more. The day they outgrow it can't come soon enough." "Be careful what you wish for," replies their friend Melissa, whose children are eight and ten. "Mine just want to play games on my tablet. Bedtime reading is a thing of the past." One day Vic looks at the copyright page and is surprised to find Goodnight Moon was published in 1947. He doesn't remember encountering the book during his own childhood. Or even books like it. Maybe that's because his parents weren't big readers. They subscribed to the daily newspaper, but books belonged in school. In Vic's opinion it's the language of Goodnight Moon that makes it so beloved. The illustrations are bright and childlike but that's not what kids find engaging. In fact, Leah and Marie no longer care if he even shows them the pictures. He asks them what they like about the book [End Page 394] and, although they're not a religious family, Leah says, "It's kind of like a prayer." It occurs to him that the author, Margaret Wise Brown, might have written more books, so the next time he takes the girls to the public library, he investigates. Sure enough, there are several others (alongside multiple well-worn copies of Goodnight Moon). One is called The Important Book, another The Runaway Bunny, and a third one is Mr. Dog. He finds himself unexpectedly intrigued. Everyone agrees Goodnight Moon is excellent but he's never heard anyone express a more general appreciation for "the works of Margaret Wise Brown." Perhaps she was the kind of writer who produced a single masterpiece and nothing afterward quite measured up. He checks out all three so they can judge for themselves. They'll read them before bed tonight. The Runaway Bunny is forgettable. A baby bunny runs away and the mother bunny chases after him, presumably demonstrating the mother's steadfast love. But the plot is predictable from page one and there's no phrase that even comes close to matching "goodnight air." Marie's eyes glaze over and Leah starts talking to her orange elephant before he's halfway through. The Important Book is more interesting. On each page is a picture of an object, followed by its attributes: "A spoon is like a little shovel, you hold it in your hand, you can put it in your mouth …" However, the description ends with a subtle twist: "But the important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it." It's as if the author is saying, "Ignore the form, it's the function that counts." Leah and Marie are interested but also bewildered. "Daddy, I don't understand," Leah says. "What's it about?" He's not sure what to say. Each page is a small philosophical puzzle. It's not surprising that it's less popular than Goodnight Moon, but it has its own charm. However, the one that really grabs him is Mr. Dog. It's about a boy and a scruffy dog who meet and become great friends. Eventually they move in together. The dog is exceptional. According to Brown, "he [End Page 395] belonged to himself." Not only that, but he likes strawberries and his name is Crispin's Crispian, of all things. This one the girls...

Susanna Rowson: Sentimental Prophet of Early American Literature by Steven Epley

Reviewed by: Susanna Rowson: Sentimental Prophet of Early American Literature by Steven Epley Kate Silbert (bio) KEY WORDS Susanna Rowson, American literature, American theater, Religion, Christianity, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Susanna Rowson: Sentimental Prophet of Early American Literature. By Steven Epley. (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2016. Pp. 240. Paper, $34.95.) Susanna Rowson has commanded remarkable longevity within early American scholarship. Known first as a first herself—early actor and playwright on the American stage, writer of the nation’s first best-selling novel, and pioneer of women’s education—Rowson’s lifetime of transatlantic experiences, varied occupations, and diverse written works have continued to captivate historians of the early republic as well as literary critics. Scholars initially portrayed Rowson as an exception: the rare woman active and acclaimed in the early American public sphere. More [End Page 704] recent work, particularly Marion Rust’s deftly composed Prodigal Daughters: Susanna Rowson’s Early American Women, instead has framed the author and educator as a telling embodiment of the era’s gendered contradictions, one of many highly literate white women navigating the narrow channel of female empowerment and submission set forth by the “paternalistic social and political entity” of the early republic.1 Steven Epley’s Susanna Rowson: Sentimental Prophet of Early American Literature calls attention to another aspect of this prolific figure and her work: her sustained engagement with religious ideas, most especially those of the Old Testament. The intellectual possibilities signaled in Epley’s title—of casting Rowson as “sentimental prophet”—are tantalizing. How might she have drawn, in equal measure, on the eighteenth century’s transatlantic culture of sentiment, that era’s volatile sparks of prophecy and revivalism, and the longer tradition of prophetic biblical literature? What would such an interweaving of rhetorical modes have meant to her early American readers, themselves immersed in, or at least aware of, each of these traditions? And how might such a framework productively refresh scholarly thinking on the origins of American literature, the rise of the novel, or the gendered prescriptions of authorship? Epley, though, elects a different focus than his provocative title suggests. A literary critic with an intricate knowledge of Judeo–Christian theology, he selects a portion of Rowson’s works through which to explore hesed, the concept of covenantal loyalty laid out in Hebrew scripture. Deploying an approach that “blends religious studies, biblical hermeneutics, feminism, and literary analysis,” Epley argues that one can read in Rowson a greater engagement with themes of loyalty, obedience, and steadfast love—values he ascribes primarily to the book of Deuteronomy—than with the spiritual conversion narratives often associated with Christianity (31). Thus, the moral failing at the core of Charlotte Temple, Rowson’s most famous work and the text that Epley analyzes most extensively, is not the unmarried title character’s sexual transgressions, but the disloyalty she commits toward her parents in choosing to leave school and run away with her seducer in the first place. At the novel’s conclusion, the restoration of the covenantal relationship [End Page 705] between Charlotte and her parents, however brief, signifies God’s steadfast love for his chosen people; even with Charlotte’s death, her parents extend the promise of future blessings to her newborn daughter Lucy, just as God renews covenant with Israel. In addition to Charlotte Temple, Epley brings his framework to bear on Rowson’s Biblical Dialogues, a scriptural paraphrase; Reuben and Rachel, a historical novel set in North America; Lucy Temple, the posthumously published sequel to her bestselling work; and, to a lesser extent, the provocative stage drama Slaves in Algiers. Despite the absence of historical methodology in Epley’s approach, his work nonetheless makes claims about the past, and it is here, for a historically minded reader, that the project founders. At issue, to be clear, is not a literary critic seeking to contribute to historical scholarship, nor one choosing not to do so. The problem is in predicating a historical interpretation on a scholarly reading that includes neither robust engagement with current historiography nor substantial archival research. In the work under discussion, the most jarring of these historical assertions is two-fold: If Rowson, a “pioneer of Christian...

Do Justice and Peace Really Kiss Each Other?

While Lady Wisdom, Zion and Jerusalem, for example, are well-known and frequently analyzed personifications in the Old Testament, the study of personifications in the book of psalms is a research desideratum. After presenting the theoretical background of the term personification with special focus on the function of the verb, I will present the results of verb personifications in the psalter followed by a textual analysis of the personified virtues of steadfast love, truth, justice and peace in Ps 85:11. One example of the encounter between justice and peace in the form of a kiss, from Christian reception history, forms the last part of the article. The paper aims to contribute to the broad and intense discussion of metaphor analysis in psalms research on the three levels of theory, of textual analysis of the whole book of psalms and of Ps 85,11 and the reception history of metaphors.

Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology Fred W. Guyette and Hemchand Gossai 2073. Mark Boda, The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology: Three Creedal Expressions (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2017). Pp. xv + 220. Paper $22.99. ISBN 978-0-8010-3089-5. There are three major forms of expression that communicate the OT's redemptive theology, i.e., narrative, character, and relational creeds are found throughout the OT. First, B. provides a brief overview of major shifts in the discipline of OT Theology: J. Wellhausen's history-of-traditions approach has given way to views more like those of [End Page 683] H. Spieckermann—"God's Steadfast Love: Toward a New Conception of Old Testament Theology"—and the model presented by W. Brueggemann: testimony, dispute, advocacy. G. E. Wright focused on God's mighty acts in Exodus, while Gerhard von Rad turned scholarly attention to the creedal expressions found in Deuteronomy 2; Deuteronomy 26; and Joshua 24. What is God's character? Exodus 34 says God is compassionate, gracious, and slow to anger. What does Scripture say about God's relational character? He is a covenant-making God: "I will take you to myself as my people" (Exodus 6 and Jeremiah 31).—F.W.G. 2074. John Goldingay, Reading Jesus's Bible: How the New Testament Helps Us Under stand the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017). Pp. vii + 262. Paper $24, £19.99. ISBN 978-0-8028-7364-4. What Bible did Jesus read? For Jesus and the first disciples, the Scriptures were made up of the books Christians call the OT. Today, scholars and teachers are accustomed to saying that the OT provides the key to understanding what is going on in the NT. But especially for Christians who know little about the OT, suppose we run that equation "backwards" and inquire about how the NT guides our hearts and our minds when we study the OT? How would things look then? Romans provides a good example. We might be surprised to find out the extent to which Paul's Letter to the Romans continues a dialogue with theological conversations that emerged first in the OT. G. discusses five major ways the NT uses the OT. (1) According to Matt 1:1-17, the First Testament tells a story and Jesus is the climax of that story. (2) The NT understands what God did through Jesus in light of themes highlighted by the prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve. (3) The moral/theological "lexicon" of the NT comes from the First Testament; Hebrews 11, for example, shows us that trust and hope were already lively realities in the experience of the people in the OT. (4) What is it like to have a relationship with Jesus? When the NT speaks of prayer, praise, confession, testimony, worship, it does so using terms very similar to those first employed in the OT. And (5) Jesus' awe-inspiring life—his words, his deeds, his kingdom—are best understood as the fulfillment of what the OT anticipates (see Matt 5:21-49).—F.W.G. 2075. [Zech 7:10] Shabu Joseph Thottumkl, sdb, "Do not Oppress!" (Zechariah 7:10): The Widow, the Orphan, the Sojourner and the Poor in Post-exilic Israel (Bengalaru, India: Kristu Jyoti, 2016). Pp. 311. $12, €10. ISBN 978-81-87370-98-7. In this volume, a revision of his doctoral dissertation, T. examines the theme of oppression with regard to widows, orphans, sojourners and the poor with particular reference to Zech 7:10. He situates his study within two broad contexts, namely, the socio-religious context of the ANE and the Hebrew Bible; the two opening chapters examine in detail the widow, orphan, and sojourner in these two contexts. T. sees his work as "concentric" in structure, with a phenomenological approach in the first two chapters; phenomenological and exegetical in the third; exegetical in the fourth; and theological in the fifth and concluding chapter. The two final chapters provide a focused analysis of Zech 7:9-10. T. contends that every civilized society, ancient and modern, places a premium emphasis on caring for the disenfranchised...

Jeremiah 32:17-18a: The great and powerful God shows steadfast love to thousands, but punishes sin

It is frequently assumed that Jeremiah 32:18 quotes from the creedal affirmation in Exodus 34:6-7. This paper sets to show that the variance in vocabulary between Jeremiah 32:18 and the creedal affirmation in Exodus 34:6-7 cannot be attributed to deliberate modifications of the latter text. I will argue that the author of Jeremiah 32:18 did not quote from Exodus 34:6-7, but gave expression to conceptions of YHWH's character which were distinctly reflected on in the statement in Exodus 34:6-7. The paper, furthermore, demonstrates that the characterization of YHWH as the great and powerful God, who shows steadfast love to thousands, is prominent both in the prophet's prayer as well as in YHWH's response to the prayer(Jeremiah 32:16-44). Jeremiah 32:18 attests to a distinctive use of the grace formula.

A Flurry of Blessings

Chi Zijian paints a kindhearted tale of a tireless working-class couple whose steadfast love for one another provides them with a bountiful life and keeps them warm against the harsh winter backdrop of poverty and constant, back-breaking labor.

Klaagliedere 3:42: vergifnis of nie-vergifnis?

This article investigates the short prayer of Lamentations 3:42, the only text in the prayer literature that uses the particle al (no) together with the term jls (forgive). The exegetical study focuses on the literal, historical and theological dimensions of the short prayer. The questions posed by this article is: Does this text portray God’s unwillingness to forgive? Does Lamentations 3 only speak about punishment and judgement or do we find references to divine forgiveness? Lamentations 3 speaks about punishment, but not rejection or unwillingness to forgive. The worshipper in verse 42 confronts God with his real self: He is supposed to forgive. In the rest of chapter 3 we find reminders of God’s forgiving heart: mercy and compassion (vv. 22, 32); faithfulness (v. 23); kindness (vv. 25, 26, 27); salvation (v. 26); and steadfast love (v. 32).