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Sitting, Dwelling and the Unworthiness of the Messenger
There is a thread that runs through all of the lectionary readings for today. We see in Isaiah, Paul in 1 Corinthians and Peter in the Gospel reading the unworthiness of the messenger. This is evident in any number of ways in Isaiah 6, but one of the aspects of the reading I noticed is…
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Israel as Servant in Isaiah – Lectionary Reading
Today’s lectionary reading is one of the places in Isaiah where there is an explicit identification of the servant, as in the servant of the “Servant Songs.” Nothing new here for academics, but it throws a bit of a wrench in for those who grew up accustomed to thinking about many of the “Servant Songs”…
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Isaiah 49:15 – Our Mother, Who Art in Heaven (Video)
Nah, just kidding; however, there is some feminine imagery for God in Isaiah 49:15 as well as in other place in Second Isaiah. Isaiah 49:15 is part of the lectionary reading for today. I could have just pasted the verses in and made a few comments, but I’m still experimenting a bit with adding more…
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Eat or Be Eaten – Word Play in Isaiah 1
“Eat or be eaten” that’s what the prophet tells Israel their choice is in today’s lectionary reading from Isaiah 1, though I’m not using this idiom in the same way it is often used in English. It is more of obey or disobey and experience completely opposite results. This message comes in the form of…
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Isaiah 45 – A Litany of Montheistic Texts?
Today’s Old Testament lectionary reading is a litany of monotheistic-sounding statements spliced together from Isaiah 45. Or, at least in my seminary training I was taught to think in that manner. However, Daniel McClellan has a helpful post on why this is likely not the case HERE (If it looks familiar, I’ve linked to it…
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Isaiah 41 – An Interesting Translation Issue
I was reading the lectionary passage this morning from Isaiah 41 and came across an interesting translation issue in verse 14. The issue revolves around the translation of the word mªtey (sorry couldn’t find a superscript “e” in my special characters). So, I checked out the text in parallel versions. Isaiah 41.14 in Parallel Versions…
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Bad News for Twilight Fans – God Hates New Moons
Isaiah 1.14: Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. Just kidding. Not the same New Moon obviously. But, this may be the first in a long line of “new moon” references from the Bible to be featured on this…
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Isaiah 53:11 – An Important Textual Variant
The Old Testament lectionary reading for yesterday was Isaiah 53:10-11. Verse 11 contains an interesting textual variant revolving around whether or not the word “light” is a part of the text. It is one of those text critical issues where it really is a tough call. An older manuscript contains the word light; however, the…
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Ralph Klein's Summary of Isaiah 50.4-9 (and Free Book Chapters from Israel in Exile)
Here is Ralph Klein’s summary of Isaiah 50.4-9 (today’s Old Testament reading) from chapter 5 of his book Israel in Exile: 50:4-9. In this poem the servant commits himself to his vocation even in the face of opposition. Like the servant of the first poem (42:3), and like Yahweh himself (40:29-31), the servant helps and…
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Lectionary Insertions of "Thus Says the Lord"
I know that I have noticed this before today, but the lectionary inserts “Thus says the Lord” in places where it is not really there. For instance, the Old Testament lectionary reading for yesterday begins: Thus says the LORD: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God,… (Is.…