READING ECCLESIASTICUS/SIRACH

PART XXIX

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Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 50:25-51:30

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The ending of Ecclesiasticus/Sirach consists of “bits and bobs” to use an Anglo-Saxon expression.  The book, having achieved its epic, “Let us now praise famous men” climax, has assorted material left.  The anticlimax fills 50:25-51:30.

The denouement begins with 50:25-26, one of those numerical proverbs one encounters occasionally in the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.  Ben Sira has a vexed soul.  Two nations–the Idumeans (in former Edom) and the Hellenized people in Philistia vex him.  So do the Samaritans, whom he describes as “no nation” and “a foolish people.”  The historical background is conflict with each group.  One may read 2 Maccabees 10:14-17; 1 Maccabees 5:68; 3:10; Deuteronomy 32:21; 2 Kings 17:24-41; Ezra 4:1-3; and Nehemiah 3:33-35.  Ben Sira’s nationalism is evident.

Next we have a natural conclusion to the book in 50:27-29.  Ben Sira identifies himself, blesses God, and encourages readers to heed his teachings:

Blessed is he who concerns himself with these things,

and he who lays them to heart will become wise.

For if he does them, he will be strong for all things,

for the light of the Lord is his path.

–50:28-29, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

Yet Ecclesiasticus/Sirach, as we have it, continues for one more chapter.  We read twelve verses of thanksgiving to God for deliverance from “the snare of a slanderous tongue” (v. 2).  Anyone who has studied and read the Book of Psalms will readily recognize the tone of 51:1-12.

The book concludes with an acrostic poem in twenty-three lines.  (It is a Hebrew acrostic poem.)  Here we have another echo of the Books of Psalms and Proverbs.  Wisdom is feminine, metaphorically.  We read of the author’s life-long dedication to divine wisdom. For the misogynistic Ben Sira, divine wisdom is the most desirable woman.  She speaks in verses 23-30 in an echo of Proverbs 9:4-6.

The personification of divine wisdom as a woman makes sense to me.  I recall having met more wise women than wise men.  I remember a history lesson about the role of wise women in keeping men in check in the constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy.  And, despite my egalitarian tendencies, I suspect that women, in some ways, are superior to men.  (I admit my bias.)  I have always preferred female company; the magnetism of the distaff persuasion has long exerted its pull on me.

Anyway, the inconsistency of Ben Sira regarding women is a major motif in Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.  He blamed women for being sexually distracting to men while he pursued and revered feminine wisdom.  The cognitive dissonance was staggering.

Thank you, O reader, for joining me for this journey through Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.  I have no successor project related to blogging planned, although I do have options.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS

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READING ECCLESIASTICUS/SIRACH

PART XXVIII

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Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 44:1-50:24

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We have arrived at perhaps the most famous section of Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.  It begins:

Let us now praise famous men,

and our fathers in their generations.

–44:1, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

They were men.  Ben Sira could have selected famous women from the Bible to list beside famous men, but chose not to do so.

I have already raided 44:1-50:24 during studies of 1 Samuel-2 Kings and the Books of the Maccabees.  So, I have decided not to write about 44:1-50:24 great man by great man.

The list begins with Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24) and concludes with the high priest Simon II “the Just” (served 219-196 B.C.E.).  Some theological emphases become obvious.  They include:

1. God works through people.
2. People are players in God’s covenants.
3. Ben Sira had nostalgia for the Davidic Dynasty.

Interpreting these chapters and verses in the light of living under the Seleucid occupation just a few years prior to the Hasmonean Rebellion may lead one to recognize a political agenda in this list.  Such an interpretation does fit with 36:1-17/22.

If I had examined 44:1-50:24 with a fine-tooth comb, I would have written about every instance of Ben Sira’s understanding of a particular great man differing with that in the Hebrew Bible–or with scholars of the Hebrew Bible, at least.  However, I chose to leave that task to professional exegetes.  I opted to focus on the forest, not the trees.

God works through people.  Do we recognize that?  How has God worked through you, O reader?  How is God working through you?  How will God work through you?  How has God worked through your congregation?  How is God working through your congregation?  How will God work through your congregation?

I could ask many other questions, too.

This section of Ecclesiasticus/Sirach concludes:

And now bless the God of all,

who in every way does great things;

who exalts our days from birth,

and deals with us according to his mercy. 

May he give us gladness of heart,

and grant that peace may be in our days in Israel,

as in days of old,

that Israel may believe that the God of mercy is with us

to deliver us in our days.

–50:22-24, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

The historical context of the book is that of communal distress, as I have already noticed.  The message here is to stand in the tradition of these great men against the onslaught of Hellenism.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PETER OF CHELCIC, BOHEMIAN HUSSITE REFORMER; AND GREGORY THE PATRIARCH, FOUNDER OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH

THE FEAST OF FREDERICK J. MURPHY, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF GODFREY THRING, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JANE CREWDSON, ENGLISH QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF  NARAYAN SESHADRI OF JALNA, INDIAN PRESBYTERIAN EVANGELIST AND “APOSTLE TO THE MANGS”

THE FEAST OF ROBERT GUY MCCUTCHAN, U.S. METHODIST HYMNAL EDITOR AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER

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READING ECCLESIASTICUS/SIRACH

PART XXIII

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Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 36:18/23-39:11

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Despite some cringe-worthy attitudes on display in 36:18/23-37:31, Ben Sira’s point is sound.  That point is to have wise advisors, so as to decide wisely.  Ben Sira’s definition of a wise advisor is a godly man who keeps the commandments.  Given Ben Sira’s audience and context, he means a man.  We may, in our time and place, expand that word to “human being.”  Ben Sira’s counsel also assumes that the man seeking advice keeps the commandments, too.  So, we add that detail to the context of 36:18/23-37:31.

King Rehoboam was a son and the first successor of King Solomon.  King Rehoboam came to the throne in 928 B.C.E.  He foolishly heeded the advice of counselors who encouraged him to continue his father’s policy of forced labor.  A revolt ensued, and ten of the twelve tribes formed the (northern) Kingdom of Israel that year (1 Kings 12:1-24; 2 Chronicles 10:1-11:4).

Given that Ben Sira adderssed the sons of the elites of Jerusalem (as I have been noting since the first installment in this series), I wonder if he had that example in mind.  Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 47:23 may indicate that he did:

Solomon rested with his fathers,

and left behind him one of his sons,

ample in folly and lacking in understanding,

Rehoboam, whose policy caused the people to revolt.

Also Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin

and gave to Ephraim a sinful way.

—Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

Of course, hindsight proves helpful in discerning between good advice and foolish counsel.  I, as a student of history, recognize some U.S. policies during the Cold War which backfired on September 11, 2001.  In that light,

It seemed like a good idea at the time,

rings hollow.

Ben Sira also taught regarding professions.  He liked physicians (38:1-15) yet regarded the scribal profession as superior (38:24-39:11).  Perhaps Ben Sira was an elitist; he did teach the sons of elites.  Ben Sira wrote that people who work with their hands cannot become wise because the “opportunity of leisure” is necessary for wisdom (38:24f).  Yet, he taught:

they keep stable the fabric of the world,

and their prayer is in the practice of their trade.

–38:34, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

In other words, all professions which build up the common good are essential.  One may think of a different metaphor–one borrowed from St. Paul the Apostle–when addressing the house churches in Corinth in the 1950s C.E.  All members are vital, with different roles to play and spiritual gifts with which to perform them.  All members belong to the body of Christ.  Members of the upper class, regarding their lower-class counterparts contemptuously, set up that lesson, as I hope everyone remembers.

Likewise, in society, we need a variety of skills and professions.  Bad jobs do exist, contrary to what some people claim.  One may understand that bad jobs exist by listening to or reading descriptions of some forms of work.  And some work is morally objectionable.  One may cite “mafia executioner” as an example.  Nevertheless, most work is honorable and necessary.  And a society which does more than pay lip service to the importance and dignity of work will compensate it properly, with a living wage.

38:16-23 focuses on mourning.  This advice is, frankly, unhelpful:

Do not give your heart to sorrow;

drive it away, remembering the end of life.

Do not forget, there is no coming back;

you do the dead no good, and you injure yourself.

–38:20-21, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

We do well to remember that Ben Sira did not believe in the afterlife, as I have pointed out repeatedly, starting with the first post in this series.  Even if he did believe in the afterlife, though, he still would have been a jerk.

I cannot speak or write for you, O reader.  So, I do so only for myself.  Grief is a constant companion.  As I type these words, I approach the fourth anniversary of the death of my beloved, the woman who changed my life forever.  I wonder how many people Ben Sira loved then lost to gut-wrenching death.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF KASPAR BIENEMANN, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ERNEST EDWIN RYDER, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMNAL EDITOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCISCUS CH’OE KYONG-HWAN, KOREAN ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR, 1839; SAINTS LAWRENCE MARY JOSEPH IMBERT, PIERRE PHILIERT MAUBANT, AND JACQUES HONORÉ CHASTÁN, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS, MISSIONARIES TO KOREA, AND MARTYRS, 1839; SAINT PAUL CHONG HASANG, KOREAN ROMAN CATHOLIC SEMINARIAN AND MARTYR, 1839; AND SAINTS CECILIA YU SOSA AND JUNG HYE, KOREAN ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1839

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOSIAH IRONS, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS DAUGHTER, GENEVIEVE MARY IRONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC HYMN WRITER

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READING ECCLESIASTICUS/SIRACH

PART I

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What to call this book seems like an ideal point to address first.  Traditional names of the book are  the Book of Sirach, the Book of Ecclesiasticus, and the Wisdom of Ben Sira.  “Ecclesiasticus,” or “Church Book,” derives from Liber Ecclesiasticus, a name due to the frequency with which Holy Mother Church has quoted Sirach.  The name of the book depends upon the translation one reads.  The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) calls the book “The Wisdom of Ben Sira.”  The Revised English Bible (1989) calls this book “Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach.”  The Saint Athanasius Academy Septuagint, in The Orthodox Study Bible (2008), names this book “The Wisdom of Sirach.”  For the sake of clarity, I prefer “Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.”

The author’s name is Yeshua Ben Eleazar Ben Sira (50:27).  That Hebrew name, translated into Greek, is Jesus son of Eleazar son of Sira.  “Sirach,” as a title for this book, derives from the Greek form of “Sira.”

We read an English translation of a Greek translation (after 117 B.C.E.) of a Hebrew text dated circa 175 B.C.E.  The translator, in his prologue, identifies himself as the grandson of the author.  That prologue describes the author–Yeshua Ben Eleazar Ben Sira–as a devout Jewish sage and a resident of Jerusalem.  We read that the grandfather followed the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets.  We also read that the grandson translated the book into Greek in Egypt after the reign of King Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Physcon (r. 170-163; 145-117 B.C.E.).

Persecution frames Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.  An eagle-eyed student of history may recall that, circa 175 B.C.E., the Seleucid Empire was persecuting devout Jews in the Jewish homeland.  One may also remember that Ptolemaic monarchs persecuted Jews, although not constantly.  And, if one puts the pieces together, one understands that militant devotees of Hellenism persecuted those who refused to conform, whether in Egypt or in Palestine.

The Wisdom of Solomon (perhaps from as late as 50 C.E.) combined Judaism and Greek philosophy in an attempt (a) to persuade errant Jews to return to the fold, and (b) reach out to Gentiles.  In contrast, Ecclesiasticus/Sirach (hostile to Greek philosophy) focused narrowly on Jews and did not syncretize.  Both books, despite their differences, belong to the genre of sacred literature which proclaims fidelity to God in the midst of oppression.  Two notable examples of this genre in the New Testament are Hebrews and Revelation.

Imagine, O reader, that you were a young man studying at the academy of Yeshua Ben Eleazar Ben Sira in Jerusalem.  The contents of this book would have been familiar to you.

We, in 2023, can, in a way, attend that academy.  Some of the attitudes will properly offend our egalitarian sensibilities.  The grandfather’s teachings reflect a fondness for patriarchy and misogyny (7:23-29; 22:3; 25:13-26; 26:12).   Yet this book, like the Song of Songs, delights in feminine beauty (26:17-18).  And not one woman features in 44:1-50:24, a hall of fame of faithful people.  One may identify faithful, named women in the Hebrew Bible, but Ecclesiasticus/Sirach does not.

I, standing within my Christian tradition, feel free to critique it.  Respect for one’s tradition need not devolve into blind traditionalism.  Traditions are living and flexible, not rigid and dead.

Another point of critique of Ecclesiasticus/Sirach is the book’s theology of the afterlife.  Ecclesiasticus/Sirach does not indicate a belief in the afterlife.  The book, therefore, is proto-Saddusaic.

The author of the Epistle of James (probably composed in the 80s or 90s C.E.) knew Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.  I encourage you, O reader, to compare Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 2:1-6; 5:9-14 to James 1:12-15; 3:1-12.

Jeremy Corley, writing in The New Collegeville Bible Commentary:  Old Testament (2015), outlines Ecclesiasticus/Sirach accordingly:

1. Understanding Wisdom (1:1-4:10),
2. Using Wisdom Personally (4:11-6:17),
3. Applying Wisdom Socially (6:18-14:19),
4. Wisdom in Speech and Thought (14:20-23:27),
5. Wisdom in Domestic Life (24:1-32:13),
6. Using Wisdom to Make Good Decisions (32:14-38:23),
7. Demonstrating the Results of Wisdom (38:24-42:14),
8. Wisdom in Creation and History (42:15-50:24), and
9. Postscripts and Appendices (50:25-51:30).

James L. Crenshaw, writing in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 5 (1997), differs slightly.  Crenshaw divides Ecclesiasticus/Sirach into only eight sections.  His schema differs from that of Corley after the fourth section:

1. Part V (24:1-33:33:19),
2. Part VI (33:20-39:11),
3. Part VII (39:12-43:33), and
4. Part VIII (44:1-51:30).

As Dianne Bergant wrote in her introduction to Ecclesiasticus/Sirach in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003), the structure of this book is difficult to determine.

Despite the different attitudes of Ecclesiasticus/Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon regarding Greek philosophy in the context of Hellenism, both books address an overarching issue germane in 2023.  How can the people of God remain faithful to God and their tradition in a hostile society?  Particulars vary according to circumstances.  People live in circumstances, not abstractions.  Yet timeless principles persist.  The greatest challenge to believers may be to pursue a strategy by which our actions in the name of following God do not belie our intention.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 4, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWNLIE, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRÉDÉRIC JANSSOONE, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND FRIAR

THE FEAST OF LAMBERT BEAUDUIN, BELGIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND PIONEER OF LITURGICAL RENEWAL

THE FEAST OF SARAH PLATT DOREMUS, FOUNDER OF THE WOMEN’S UNION MISSIONARY SOCIETY

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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  A Yoke

Image in the Public Domain

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Zechariah 9:9-12

Psalm 45:1-2 (3-13), 14-22 (LBW) or Psalm 119:137-144 (LW)

Romans 7:15-25a

Matthew 11:25-30

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God of glory, Father of love, peace comes from you alone. 

Send us as peacemakers and witnesses to your kingdom,

and fill our hearts with joy in your promises of salvation;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25

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Grant, Lord, that the course of this world

may be so governed by your direction

that your Church may rejoice

in serving you in godly peace and quietness;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 68

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Zechariah 9:9-12 depicts a future scene, in which the Messiah, an ideal king, approaches Jerusalem at the culmination of history–the Day of the LORD.  This is the scene Jesus reenacted during his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, without being a regnant type of Messiah.

The image of YHWH as king exists in the assigned readings from Psalms.

In Romans 7:15-25a we read St. Paul the Apostle’s confession of his struggles with sins.  We may all relate to those struggles.

My tour of the readings brings me to Matthew 11:25-30 and the topic of yokes.

Literally, a yoke was a wooden frame, loops of ropes, or a rod with loops of rope, depending on the purpose.  (See Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; and Jeremiah 28:10.)  A yoke fit over the neck of a draft animal or the necks of draft animals.  Alternatively, a captive or a slave wore a yoke.  (See Jeremiah 28:10; 1 Kings 12:9; 2 Chronicles 10:4; and 1 Timothy 6:1).  Also, a yoked pair of oxen was a yoke.  (See 1 Samuel 11:7; 1 Kings 19:21; Luke 14:19).

Metaphorically, a yoke had a variety of meanings, depending on the circumstances.  It often symbolized servitude and subjection.  Forced labor was an unjust yoke (1 Kings 11:28; 12:11, 14).  Slavery was a yoke (Sirach 33:27).  Hardship was a yoke (Lamentations 3:27; Sirach 40:1).  The oppression and humiliation of one nation by another was the yoke of bondage (Jeremiah 27:8; 28:4; Hosea 11:7; Deuteronomy 28:48; and Isaiah 47:6).  To break out of subjugation or slavery was to break the yoke (Jeremiah 28:2; Isaiah 9:4; 14:25).  God promised to break the yoke of Egypt in Ezekiel 30:18.  To break away from God was to break God’s yoke (Jeremiah 2:20; 5:5; Sirach 51:39).  Sin was also a yoke (Lamentations 1:14).

The yokes of God and Christ carry positive connotations.  The yoke of obedience to God is easy.  It is also the opposite of the yoke of subordination and subjugation.  This positive yoke is the yoke in Matthew 11:28-30.  It is the yoke St. Paul the Apostle wore (Philippians 4:3).  It is the yoke in Psalm 119:137-144.

Draw near to me, you who are untaught, 

and lodge in my school.

Why do you say you are lacking in these things,

and why are your souls very thirsty?

I opened my mouth and said,

Get these things for yourselves without money.

Put your neck under the yoke,

and let your souls receive instruction;

it is to be found close by.

See with your eyes that I have labored little

and found for myself much rest.

Get instruction with a large sum of silver

and you will gain by it much gold.

May your soul rejoice in his mercy,

and may you not be put to shame when you praise him.

Do your work before the appointed time,

and in God’s time he will give you your reward.

–Sirach 51:23-30, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

You, O reader, will serve somebody or something.  That is not in question.  Whom or what you will serve is a germane question.  Why not serve God, the greatest king?  In so doing, you will find your best possible state of being.  The path may be difficult–ask St. Paul the Apostle, for example–but it will be the best path for you.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 14, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FRANCIS MAKEMIE, FATHER OF AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANISM AND ADVOCATE FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERATION

THE FEAST OF SAINT CARTHAGE THE YOUNGER, IRISH ABBOT-BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA DOMINICA MAZZARELLO, CO-FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODORE I, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF SAINTS VICTOR THE MARTYR AND CORONA OF DAMASCUS, MARTYRS IN SYRIA, 165

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Adapted from this post

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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LIII

Above:  Icon of the Ascension, by Andrei Rublev

Image in the Public Domain

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Luke 24:50-53

Acts 1:1-11

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Given that I have written numerous blog posts about the Ascension, and given that they are available at this weblog, I do not seek to replicate them in this post.

As I continue through Luke-Acts, I notice a narrative contradiction.  Luke 24:50-53, read within the narrative context of chapter 24, dates the Ascension to Easter Day.  Yet Acts 1:3 dates the Ascension to forty days after Easter Day.  Interpretations of this discrepancy include:

1. “Forty days” is symbolic,
2. The forty days fill out the calendar, and
3. Acts 1:3 corrects Luke 24 after St. Luke the Evangelist uncovered more information than he had when he wrote the Gospel of Luke.

I am not a fundamentalist.  Biblical inerrancy and infallibility are utter nonsense.  If St. Luke changed his mind, so be it.  If “forty days” is symbolic, so be it.  I do not know which interpretation is corect.

Forty is frequently a symbolic number in the Bible.  One may recall that the reign of King David lasted for about forty years, that the Hebrews wandered in the desert for forty years, that Jesus spent forty days in the desert, and that the mythical Great Flood lasted for forty days and forty nights.  Forty is a sacred number in the Bible.  It, therefore, recurs in the Bible for many more examples than i have cited.  Forty, symbolically, is a round number that designates a fairly long time in terms of human existence or endurance.

So, even if the forty days (Acts 1:3) are symbolic, they still contradict Luke 24, with Jesus’s resurrection and the Ascension occurring on the same day.

Anyway, “ascension” may not be the most accurate word for Jesus’ departure.  “Assumption” may be better.  Christ’s departure resembles the assumptions of Elijah (2 Kings 2:9-11; Sirach 48:9) and Enoch (Genesis 5:23-24; Sirach 49:14b), with apocalyptic imagery added.

The priestly gestures and blessings of Jesus before his departure, followed by worship, close the Gospel of Luke fittingly.  Recall Luke 1:20-23, O reader:  the priest Zechariah could not pronounce a blessing.

The Lukan accounts of the Ascension of Jesus also draw from Sirach 50:1-21, about the high priest Simon II.  The account of Simon II depicts him as the culmination of Israel’s history, at the point of the composition of that book.  Luke-Acts, which postdates Sirach, depicts Jesus as the culmination of Israel’s history.

In Luke 24, the Ascension is the fitting end of the story of Jesus.  In Acts 1, however, the Ascension is the beginning of the story of the mission of the Church.  Placing the two Lukan interpretations side-by-side provides the full picture.

I also detect one of St. Luke’s organizing principles in Luke 24 and Acts 1.  Luke-Acts finishes focusing on one story before focusing on another one, although the stories may overlap.  Consider the focus on St. John the Baptist (Luke 3) before the focus on Jesus (Luke  4-24), O reader.  Then we come to a different focus, starting in Acts 1.

The story of the mission of the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, follows.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 2, 2022 COMMON ERA

ASH WEDNESDAY

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READING HABAKKUK, PART I

Above:  Icon of Habakkuk

Image in the Public Domain

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Habakkuk 1:1

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The situation for Judah had become worse since the days of the prophet Nahum, shortly before the Fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.E.).  King Josiah of Judah (r. 640-609 B.C.E.; 2 Kings 22:1-23:30; 2 Chronicles 34:1-35:27; 1 Esdras 1:1-33; Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 49:1-6) had died in combat against Pharaoh Neco II (r. 610-595 B.C.E.).  The Egyptian leader had sought to establish power in Syria; Judah was between Egypt and Syria.  The Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire had terminated Neco II’s plans for Syria.

In the wake of King Josiah’s death, Judah had become a vassal state of Egypt.  Pharaoh Neco II had chosen the next two Kings of Judah.  Jehoahaz/Jeconiah/Shallum (2 Kings 23:31-35; 2 Chronicles 36:1-4; 1 Esdras 1:34-38) had reigned for about three months before becoming a prisoner in Egypt.  Then Neco II had appointed Eliakim and renamed him Jehoiakim (r. 608-598 B.C.E.; 2 Kings 23:36-24:7; 2 Chronicles 36:5-8; 1 Esdras 1:39-42).  Jehoiakim was always a vassal while King of Judah.  After being the vassal of Neco II of Egypt for about three years, he became a vassal of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire in 605 B.C.E.  He died a prisoner in that empire.

Two more Kings of Judah reigned; both were vassals of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire.  Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah (2 Kings 24:8-17; 2 Kings 25:27-30; 2 Chronicles 36:9-10; 1 Esdras 1:43-46) reigned for about three months before going into exile in that empire.  The last King of Judah was Zedekiah, born Mattaniah (2 Kings 24:18-25:26; 2 Chronicles 36:11-21; 1 Esdras 1:47-58).  He reigned from 597 to 586 B.C.E.  The last events he saw before Chaldean soldiers blinded him were the executions of his sons.

The Book of Habakkuk exists within the context of three years–605, 598/597, and 586 B.C.E.–and two Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian invasions of Judah.  The book, in its original form, dates to closer to 605 and 598/597 B.C.E. than 586 B.C.E.

The superscription tells us almost nothing about the prophet.  “Habakkuk” derives from an Arabic word meaning “dwarf.”  He may have been a cultic prophet.  The superscription does not even reveal the name(s) of the King(s) of Judah when Habakkuk prophesied.

The Book of Habakkuk contains fifty-six verses in three chapters.  The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) gives short shrift to the book, assigning only eight verses once every third years.  Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 is one of two options for the Old Testament reading on Proper 26, Year C.  The lectionary includes:

the righteous live by their faith

(2:4b), taken out of textual context.

I invite you, O reader, to join me as I read all of the Book of Habakkuk, in historical and textual context.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 5, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT DOROTHEUS OF TYRE, BISHOP OF TYRE, AND MARTYR, CIRCA 362

THE FEAST OF BLISS WIANT, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, MUSICIAN, MUSIC EDUCATOR, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR, ARRANGER, AND HARMONIZER; AND HIS WIFE, MILDRED ARTZ WIANT, U.S. METHODIST MISSIONARY, MUSICIAN, MUSIC EDUCATOR, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF INI KOPURIA, FOUNDER OF THE MELANESIAN BROTHERHOOD

THE FEAST OF MAURICE BLONDEL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHER AND FORERUNNER OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL

THE FEAST OF ORLANDO GIBBONS, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER; THE “ENGLISH PALESTRINA”

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READING ZEPHANIAH, PART I

Above:  Zephaniah Addressing People

Image in the Public Domain

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Zephaniah 1:1

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The text of the Book of Zephaniah reveals little about Zephaniah ben Cushi.  We read that he prophesied during the reign (640-609 B.C.E.) of King Josiah of Judah.  One can read about Josiah’s reign in 2 Kings 22:1-23:30; 2 Chronicles 34:1-35:27; 1 Esdras 1:1-33; and Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 49:1-4.  King Josiah’s religious reformation, prominent in his positive evaluation in the Hebrew Bible, seems not to have occurred yet in the Book of Zephaniah.  For this reason, dating the Book of Zephaniah to early in King Josiah’s reign–between 630 and 620 B.C.E.–is commonplace.

The prophet, whose name meant, “YHWH protects,” was an aristocrat, perhaps a descendant of King Hezekiah (r. 727/715-698/687 B.C.E.), the last religious reformer monarch prior to Josiah.  Zephaniah was a prominent resident of Jerusalem who had connections to the Temple and the royal family.

The original form of the Book of Zephaniah is not the version in Bibles.  The final version, a product of the time after the Babylonian Exile, contains obvious evidence of editing after the time of Zephaniah ben Cushi.  I know about this matter in the Books of Hosea, Amos, and Micah, as well as the First Isaiah material from the Book of Isaiah, based on recent blogging through Hebrew prophetic books.  When I encounter obviously subsequently edited texts, I acknowledge their nature.  I do not try to rationalize away the objectively accurate state of affairs.

The geopolitical situation had changed since the days of Hosea, Amos, Micah, and First Isaiah, about seven decades prior.  The Assyrian Empire had entered terminal decline.  The Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians were rising.  The (Cushite/Nubian) Twenty-Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, which had encouraged regional rebellion against Assyria, had fallen.

Zephaniah was a contemporary of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah.

My immediate plan is to blog through Zephaniah (of course) then the other short books of Nahum and Habakkuk, each one with three chapters.  Then I intend to blog my way through the (long) Book of Jeremiah, with fifty-two chapters.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 2, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177

THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”

THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPH HOMBURG, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR, CIRCA 1075

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READING FIRST ISAIAH, PART XIV

Above:  The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., 1965

Photographer = Warren K. Leffler

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-49864

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Isaiah 22:1-25; 28:1-29:24; 32:1-20

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In 701 B.C.E., during the reign (727/715-698/687 B.C.E.) of King Hezekiah of Judah, King Sennacherib of Assyria (r. 705-681 B.C.E.) besieged Jerusalem.  That invasion of the Kingdom of Judah failed, by the hand of God (2 Kings 18:13-37; 2 Chronicles 32:1-23; Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 48:17-25; Isaiah 29:1-8; Isaiah 30:27-33; Isaiah 36:1-37:38).  In that context, widespread rejoicing ensued in Judah.  Isaiah ben Amoz was not impressed.

What is the matter with you now, that you have gone up,

all of you, to the housetops,

you who were full of noise,

tumultuous city,

exultant town?

–Isaiah 22:1-2a, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)

Or maybe the rejoicing occurred because, in the failure of the Philistine-led revolt against the Assyrian Empire during the reign (722-705 B.C.E.) of Assyrian King Sargon II, Assyrian forces bypassed Jerusalem.  King Hezekiah had wisely not joined that uprising.  Yet Judah remained a vassal of the Assyrian Empire.  Either way, rejoicing was premature.  The Assyrian Empire remained a threat, and Judah was still subject to divine punishment for forsaking the covenant.  Judah still ignored the moral demands for righteousness and justice, in violation of the Law of Moses.  And Judah’s leaders bore the heavy load of responsibility for the kingdom’s predicaments.

An editor repurposed Isaiah 28:1-6, originally about the (northern) Kingdom of Israel, applied that passage to the Kingdom of Judah, and used 28:1-6 as the introduction to a condemnation of Judah.  Apart from one word (“Ephraim”), Isaiah 28:1-6 could be about Judah.  The oracle originally meant for Judah (28:7f) accused the ruling class of that kingdom of having made a covenant with death–not God–death.  Destruction would ensue, but it would not be complete.

The same themes repeat in the portions of scripture I grouped together for this post.  Isaiah 32 concludes with another condemnation of widespread, systemic unrighteousness and injustice, and a vision of how the people will benefit from the rule of a just and righteous government.

On April 4, 1967, at the Riverside Church, New York, New York, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke without equivocation against United States participation in the Vietnam War.  He also offered a moral critique of his country.  The United States of America needed to experience a

moral revolution of values,

King argued.  It was a thing-oriented society; the society needed to value people more highly than money and property, King contended.  King was correct.  He had also read the Hebrew prophets carefully.

King was a modern-day prophet.  He was also as unpopular in his day as many Hebrew prophets were in theirs.  The vision of a society standing humbly before God, recognizing its complete dependence on God, and acknowledging mutuality has remained an unfulfilled dream.

On that depressing note, I conclude this journey through First Isaiah.  Thank you, O reader, for joining me.  My next step on my trek through Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in chronological order, will be the Book of Zephaniah.  I invite you to join me there, too.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 2, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177

THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”

THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPH HOMBURG, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR, CIRCA 1075

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READING FIRST ISAIAH, PART I

Above:  Isaiah

Image in the Public Domain

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Isaiah 1:1

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The Book of Isaiah contains the works of multiple authors writing over a span of centuries, from circa 742/733 B.C.E. to after 537 B.C.E.  The traditional division of the Book of Isaiah (First Isaiah = chapters 1-39, Second Isaiah = chapters 40-55, and Third Isaiah = chapters 56-66) is overly simplistic.  I follow the division from The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003):

1. First Isaiah = chapters 1-23, 28-33;
2. Second Isaiah = chapters 34-35, 40-55;
3. Third Isaiah = chapters 24-27, 56-66; and
4. A historical appendix verbatim from 2 Kings 18:13-20:19, except for King Hezekiah’s prayer of thanksgiving (Isaiah 38:9-20) = chapters 36-39.

I wrote about Isaiah 36-39 relatively recently, when blogging through the Second Book of Kings.

Isaiah ben Amoz (First Isaiah) was a resident of Jerusalem.  He, an aristocrat, may have been a priest serving at the Temple.  Isaiah’s name meant “the Lord is salvation.”  First Isaiah did not compose all of Isaiah 1-23, 28-33.  Multiple authors contributed to chapters 1-12 alone, for example.

The superscription names four Kings of Judah:

1. Azariah/Uzziah (r. 785-733 B.C.E.); see 2 Kings 15:1-7; 2 Chronicles 26:1-23);
2. Jotham (r. 759-743 B.C.E.); see 2 Kings 15:32-38; 2 Chronicles 27:1-9);
3. Ahaz (r. 743/735-727/715 B.C.E.); see 2 Kings 16:1-20; 2 Chronicles 28:1-27); and
4. Hezekiah (r. 727/715-698/687 B.C.E.); see 2 Kings 18:1-20:21; 2 Chronicles 29:1-32:33; Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 48:17-22 and 49:4).

Placing dates from the period of Uzziah through Hezekiah on the Gregorian Calendar and the B.C./B.C.E.-A.D./C.E. scale is notoriously difficult.  If one consults five commentaries and study Bibles, one may find as many estimates of any given important date, such as the year in which King Uzziah died  and Isaiah ben Amoz received his prophetic commission from God (Isaiah 6:1).  I prefer to cite dates from The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), as much as possible.  When I consult study Bibles and commentaries, I find a range of years (742-733 B.C.E.) for the death of King Uzziah.

The royal chronology included at least one co-regency, that of Azariah/Uzziah and Jotham.  The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), in the back, holds that the reigns of Azariah/Uzziah and Ahaz may have overlapped.  Other study Bibles I consult indicate that these two reigns did not overlap.

Anyway, Isaiah ben Amoz (First Isaiah) prophesied during perilous times.  The Assyrian Empire loomed in the distance at the beginning of this prophetic career.  Also at the beginning, tensions with the Kingdom of Aram and the (northern) Kingdom of Israel were prominent.  After Assyria conquered Aram then Israel, that empire posed a greater threat to Judah.  Meanwhile, on the domestic front, economic injustice was increasing.  First Isaiah was a contemporary of Hosea, Amos, and Micah, who prophesied regarding those problems, too.

The Books of Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Isaiah have existed in their current forms since after the Babylonian Exile.  This reality has presented many interpretive difficulties for themselves for years.

So be it.  The subsequent editing of texts to address then-current conditions provides a useful model for interpretation.  Despite the historical-critical methodological difficulties inherent in the final versions of these books–First Isaiah, in this case–they continue to address societies and nation-states in the present day.  I acknowledge the historical reality without any fear of offending God as I ask, in the words of a spiritual mentor of mine from the 1990s:

What is really going on here?

Any historical hiccups which may exist will not stand in the way of answering that question.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 28, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN H. W. STUCKENBERG, GERMAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND ACADEMIC

THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNARD OF MENTHON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ARCHDEACON OF AOSTA

THE FEAST OF EDWIN POND PARKER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JEREMIAS DENCKE, SILESIAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND ORGANIST; AND SIMON PETER AND JOHANN FRIEDRICH PETER, GERMAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS, EDUCATORS, MUSICIANS, AND MINISTERS

THE FEAST OF ROBERT MCAFEE BROWN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, ACTIVIST, AND ECUMENIST

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