Morning links

I don't often read many of the 100+ blogs that I follow but there are a few posts this morning that I will draw your attention to.

James McGrath reviews Tony Burke, ed., Ancient Gospel or Modern Forgery? The Secret Gospel of Mark in Debate: Proceedings from the 2011 York University Christian Apocrypha Symposium. The full review is rather good, very thorough in summarizing the state of the conflict over this text.

The volume illustrates the difficulties involved in drawing conclusions about the authenticity of Secret Mark. If I had read only the papers that call it a forgery, I would be certain they were right. If I had read only the others, it would baffle me how anyone can still think it is a forgery. Reading both, I think that the case for authenticity is significantly stronger.

Perhaps it is that the release of my own book, Seen from the Street, after 10 years sitting on the shelf makes me see the explanations that people offer in scholarship and science as insufficient to the mystery that is our lives. I don't know if the Morton Smith fragments are a hoax. I doubt it. Crossan, (Birth of Christianity 1998) and Funk (The Complete Gospels 1992) give them some serious citation. There is no shadow of controversy in these books from the 1990s, yet they too deal only with scholarship, not with experience. I had forgotten how the Secret Gospel may have influenced my writing, not for its content as scholarly, but that it referred to my own knowledge gathered independently of the act of reading.

From the science of OUP comes a post on the importance of testosterone.

Humans have developed unique ways of regulating the primal actions of testosterone. Ethics, laws, social and religious prohibitions – all have been developed to control what it does. These controls have not been devised by the parts of the brain on which testosterone acts, but by more recently evolved areas, responsible for the amazing inventiveness and flexibility of human behaviour. The two domains work together, sometimes in synchrony, at other times in opposition.

One could of course put the whole ignorant knowledge base of experience down to accident (not necessarily from fast cars). This is the intent of blind evolution. It should not surprise us that the human can consider both accident and purpose in its imaging of life.

And Tim Bulkeley reposts an old post of his on covering the feet as a Biblical euphemism. wash-your-hairy-feet-or-sometimes-a-foot-is-just-a-foot/. Yes sometimes a foot is just a foot, but not in the passages he cites.

For me the modesty of the angels is a pointer to the love of God. All could be 'explained' of course, but explanation will not do as a substitute for knowledge.

Is concordance useful or necessary?

When it comes to concordance, what is important and why? In what follows, I explore some of the thoughts I have when reading in a foreign tongue.

I'll start with the word for word, thing, or matter, דבר. I wonder how important this 'thing' is. The stem -d-b-r- occurs four times in the 69 verses of Deuteronomy 28 (a long chapter). Is it word, thing, or matter, or some other gloss here (like pestilence as in Psalm 91)?

• Word is dark and sombre sounding, serious, recalling the word of Yahweh in which the heavens were made, and in parallel the wind, breath, spirit of his mouth. 
• Thing is lighter, lesser perhaps, recalling Dr. Seuss's thing1 and thing2. With green hair if I remember. I read דבר as thing in Qohelet frequently. 
• Matter is material, sensible, touchable, incarnate. Strangely, I have used it rarely in Psalms, and once in Ruth 4:7. But these are all the same three-letter stem in Hebrew. 
• And there is also the Hebrew homonym rendered as pestilence - and surely words can be pestilence also.

Maybe it doesn't matter? Matter! Here in Deuteronomy, it is usually Moses' plural words that are referred to. I varied the gloss in this chapter, things in one case and words in two, and pestilence where it seemed apt. (verse 21)

Yahweh will make the pestilence cling in you until he consumes you from off the ground toward which you, yourself, are coming to possess.

But hang on a minute, is it the word of instruction which clings negatively? People might notice this - the word sticks in your throat, as it were. Or is it an allusion to Psalm 91? Would this be important in that Psalm 91 responds to Psalm 90 and Psalm 90 is inscribed as of Moses?

Such concordance is more important in poetry for the similar sounds. So is a treaty poetry? (No, it's a legal document). And it might be dramatic rhetoric and it might be hopeful and on other matters (words).

Here's another example. The word I have rendered infirmity occurs in this form only here and in Deuteronomy 7:15. Is this possibly a frame in the book? Yes, it is. This is an objective aspect of repeating words. And this is a rare root, used only half a dozen or so times in the Bible. To have it used exactly twice near the beginning of Deuteronomy and near the end marks this book as having some single intent whoever wrote it or redacted it. I am a long way from any firm conclusion on these matters. I'll be looking for more frames eventually. But where it occurs in Job, I will try and link it to Deuteronomy since Job seems to have some literary dependency on Deuteronomy.

Now I have come across faithful in this chapter? You would recognize the Hebrew. It is amen, אמן.

אִם־לֹ֨א תִשְׁמֹ֜ר לַעֲשׂ֗וֹת אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵי֙ הַתּוֹרָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את הַכְּתוּבִ֖ים בַּסֵּ֣פֶר הַזֶּ֑ה לְ֠יִרְאָה אֶת־הַשֵּׁ֞ם הַנִּכְבָּ֤ד וְהַנּוֹרָא֙ הַזֶּ֔ה אֵ֖ת יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ	58	If you do not keep and do all the words of this instruction written in this record, to fear this glorious and fearful name, Yahweh your God,	24 22	44 35
וְהִפְלָ֤א יְהוָה֙ אֶת־מַכֹּ֣תְךָ֔ וְאֵ֖ת מַכּ֣וֹת זַרְעֶ֑ךָ מַכּ֤וֹת גְּדֹלוֹת֙ וְנֶ֣אֱמָנ֔וֹת וָחֳלָיִ֥ם רָעִ֖ים וְנֶאֱמָנִֽים	59	then Yahweh will make your defeats and the defeats of your seed extraordinary, great and faithful defeats and evil faithful sicknesses.	16 21	26 32
וְהֵשִׁ֣יב בְּךָ֗ אֵ֚ת כָּל־מַדְוֵ֣ה מִצְרַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָגֹ֖רְתָּ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְדָבְק֖וּ בָּֽךְ	60	and he will return within you all the infirmities of Egypt whose presence you were afraid of, and they will cling within you.	19 4	33 7

The element of surprise for me in this is faithful applied to defeat and sickness. My current solution is to use a synonym for faithful like dependable: so great and dependable defeats and evil dependable sicknesses. Then I can mimic depend on in verse 66.

Of course it is not traditionally translated as faithful, so such a connection is missed in other translations. REB has for example,

the LORD will strike you and your descendants with unimaginable plagues, virulent and chronic, and with lingering and severe sickness.

JB has

Yahweh will strike you down with monstrous plagues, you and your descendants, with plagues grievous and lasting, diseases pernicious and enduring.

These translations do not consider repeating words significant. (And sometimes I don't either). Both use the derived noun (מכה from נכה) as a verb (that's often necessary). Both have rendered 'faithful' with synonyms related to time: enduring, lingering, chronic, or lasting, following the 'long continuance' of the KJV, suggesting for me words like עלם or נזח, which might also have called up words like everlasting or enduring, or persistent. While the inventive translation is fine and modern in its 'dynamic equivalence', here it misses the semantic domain of faithful and misses the link with verse 66, which I haven't read yet. But it's close enough that some link might be appropriate. REB has that word in verse 66 rendered as 'security', KJV as 'assurance', JB as 'certain'. Emotionally, semantically, and legally we are all over the map with these renderings. We have to have some sort of map, perhaps not as rigid as mine currently is, but equally not so flexible that we lose an important link in the thought behind the words. For example, REB has already anticipated the detail of verse 61 (below) in verse 59, thus missing the rhetorical climax and legal catch-all.

Then in this passage in verse 61, I find the root עלה, which I have rendered in several ways, burnt offering, offer up, ascend, brought up (and bring/brought is a word that I use with various prepositions, up for עלה, out of for יצה, and probably some others for various Hebrew roots - one of the unavoidable compromises in my readings). What will I use here? Already in this chapter I have used ascendancy in various guises, so I will repeat it here - including in this treaty every imaginable failure or disease whether mentioned or not.

גַּ֤ם כָּל־חֳלִי֙ וְכָל־מַכָּ֔ה אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א כָת֔וּב בְּסֵ֖פֶר הַתּוֹרָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את יַעְלֵ֤ם יְהוָה֙ עָלֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד הִשָּׁמְדָֽךְ

61

Furthermore all illness and all defeat that is not inscribed in the record of this instruction Yahweh will make ascendant over you until you are exterminated.

21 11

35 19

What I read into it in this passage is that God does not even consider the possibility of failure of the words of this instruction (Torah) in the long term. Such a failure will be taken as a return to the infirmities of Egypt, a backwards move into slavery. The words of the covenant inherit the faithfulness of the Holy One. They cannot then fail. Is this again where Paul is stretching to in Romans 9-11?

Do you see how subject you are to the whims of the translator? And imagine the arguments if there is a translation committee? (Fortunately I am too old to be considered for one of those.)

It is very hard to talk about. I hope it is useful preparation for my third run at Job. I have so many thoughts while reading, I can scarcely keep them from running into each other.

What's this - a new book?

You can't be serious, a book takes years to write. And you haven't mentioned this one.

True, but its been there for many years. I started writing it in 1994. Madness I know. I didn't finish it till 2005 and I let it lie fallow for 10 years. Then a tweet came to me from 12 and a half time zones away asking if I would like to share in the royalties of e-books made from my blog. I listened, and having met Dr. Ravinder Ozha, I heard him say "I want to publish your work as a book which is more handy and precisely approachable for all."

and I thought, why not? perhaps the time is right. So we began with my story, and here it is and I hope there will be more in the time to come.

What 49 intersecting parts in 7 chapters with 7 centers looks like

The story is in 49 pieces in seven chapters so it has 7 centers and of course there is therefore a center of the centers. The story is about Jesus and the new thing that was abroad concerning the Holy in that first century. It's a substantial read, about 72,000 words in 250 pages.

Hear what Dr. Ravinder says of it in his editorial introduction. He correctly assesses that this is a novel about purity. 

Definitely, Bob is a son of Jesus who presented this work for world to get purify. Really, you are going to enjoy each chapter of this novel even I will say each dialogue of this complete novel. Those who do not believe in God still this book is for them because this story is going to give all the answers. For religious readers this is gem of purity. 

Let’s start the process of purifying our self by going through each chapter of this book. Step by step you will feel an inner change as I felt. Each chapter is complete and connected to next one be it Law, Gospel, Sin and my favorite one Sacrifice. Each chapter is interlocked.

(The italics are mine.) I could not ask for such a response. I am deeply moved. In 1 John 1:4, the author says he is writing that his joy may be complete. My joy is complete (but I do have more work to do). No one has ever called me a 'son of Jesus', but listen to this phrase in Hebrews put into the mouth of the Son: here I am with the children whom God has given me. (Isaiah 8:18 cited in Hebrews 2:13, one of the few parts of the dialogue between the Father and the Son in that letter to the Hebrews that is not from the Psalms).

And, friends, do we get 'purify'? Do we get it? Is it not a struggle, even lifelong? But again, 1 John is apposite: (1 John 3:3) Anyone who has this hope in himself purifies himself as he is pure. Raymond Brown points out that this verse is the only verse in the Johannine literature that uses the words 'hope' and 'pure'. There is work for us to do.

I would myself demur from giving 'all the answers' to those who do not believe in God. But that is because I like the questions. (My brother, Bill, taught me this and it was confirmed when I read a little Northrope Frye.) Nonetheless, if someone's question is answered, I would not speak against it. And perhaps only one simple answer is needed for those who do not believe in God (such a simple question - without even a credal statement). That answer is - yes to God. The consequence of the answer is - responsibility. It is clear that such an answer takes elapsed time to work through.

What is tougher is for those of us who have believed perhaps too much about God. There is still a risk that we cannot get out of our prejudices or are blind to them. We go to Church on Sunday but do not understand the policies that benefit us and, as a byproduct, create poverty in our streets. That question remains with us. Again - work to do...

Anyway - do buy the book - you might like the result. It reads well on Kindle. Even on a PC, the software is pleasing to use. Amazon provides a PC Kindle app for free.

You can find it on my Amazon page. You can find it also using any of the links below. Pick your country code... You will find more about the contents of the book there.

Dr Ravinder Ozha is described this way

He is a Hindu Brahmin (Priest). He completed a Master of Commerce degree in 2006 and a Doctor of Commerce and Business Administration degree in 2012 at Ch. Charan Singh University. He currently resides in New Delhi with his younger sister, Advocate, Garima Ozha. 

He is experienced in outsourced business and online marketing and in sharing of some important, inspiring and motivational learning techniques to achieve individual or organizational goals. 

He is a training consultant in the area of solution-centric skills, customer service excellence, Emotional Intelligence enhancement, personal development, motivation, stress management, and thinking power enhancement. 

Dr. Ozha had researched over external affairs and business relations among India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, China, Japan, South Korea and USA.

Deuteronomy 28:46-57 - bear with it

You sure have to search for the tenderness in some passages. Here as in Lamentations and a couple of other places in the prophets that I haven't got to yet, it is promised that the consequence to the people of failing in this treaty with their God will be for them to be reduced to eating their own offspring and more. (You'll have to read the text to find out why I said more - O the euphemistic KJV).

This is a treaty. A treaty is between two warring parties. In this case it is them and God. God is the adversary, and God, in this case, is agreeing to a holy relationship with the people, but there are teeth in the consequential clauses of this treaty.

Just how low can we go without the presence of God? (Well, my Love, Let's just go a little farther and see.) Just how severe is the illness of sin compared to our desire for good governance, the easy life, and all human tenderness, and even the good of self-protection? (Me, ill? Surely not.) But at whose cost and why do we protect ourselves in business and national interests? (Hm, perhaps there is some tension.) By all means let such be engines for creativity and good governance, but how will we define the good apart from recognizing the real Enemy? (Hey, isn't that a bit of a show-stopper?)

But put it another way: Just how low can the Enemy go? At times this reads like a video game, a comic book, or a horror story. Is that the reality of the Enemy or of us?

Put it yet another way, if we worship fear, or the economy, or our own possessions, and deny the mystery by whatever name we assign It, do we not shirk our own responsibility also? Especially for the poor among us who are made poor by our success. It's a jump from theology to politics, isn't it. Some may think I encourage 'the welfare state' as if I would be pleased with incorporated irresponsibility. Far from it. Don't we remember Khrushchev (I think it was him - but maybe Gorbachev) who marveled at how rich Canada was in spite of its sparse population. Our riches, as in all places, are in the people. If we impoverish ourselves through special interests, crony capitalism (the equivalent of which is found in every nation in every time under different names), then we cannot buy the products of our invention and the whole body suffers.

Are we richer then than now? (O my Love, the young won't know and the old won't remember.) My mother was concerned with the old men in the park, but I doubt they were too troublesome, for I walked to school at age 6 and 7 without supervision, up the hill, past the swans, along the path, through the playground and into the school (1/2 km maybe).

I won't attempt policy based answers, because prescriptive law and policy are likely, like any closed system, inadequate to the task. What would be adequate? Perhaps something as simple as seeing our negative tendencies and their power over us and then asking for help - in the depths of our hearts - now. And on this issue we might well be mute. Or as simple as giving secret thanks for our blessings.

I also see suspicion of the religious impulse - you remember Solomon's dictum in Ecclesiastes 4:17 about the religious:

Keep your footing as you are walking to the house of God, and more ready to hear than to give an offering among the dullards,
for they haven't a clue that what they do is evil.

Religion like any other human institution can be engaged with the spirit of self-preservation also. Power is unavoidably there everywhere in our faces. We must have a treaty. Then perhaps a multiplicity of unity will be achieved and God will be One and His Name One in all the earth.

Enough - here is the section - 12 hard working verses - i.e. hard work to get through, of Deuteronomy 28. Oh will this exercise help me with Job - I really wonder... Perhaps though it has something to do with the way we mismanage logic.

וְהָי֣וּ בְךָ֔ לְא֖וֹת וּלְמוֹפֵ֑ת וּֽבְזַרְעֲךָ֖ עַד־עוֹלָֽם	46	And they will be in you for a sign and for a miracle and in your seed for evermore.	10 7	16 12
תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּבְט֣וּב לֵבָ֑ב מֵרֹ֖ב כֹּֽל	47	In that you did not serve Yahweh your God with gladness and with a good heart, out of all the abundance.	22 3	36 5
וְעָבַדְתָּ֣ אֶת־אֹיְבֶ֗יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְשַׁלְּחֶ֤נּוּ יְהוָה֙ בָּ֔ךְ בְּרָעָ֧ב וּבְצָמָ֛א וּבְעֵירֹ֖ם וּבְחֹ֣סֶר כֹּ֑ל וְנָתַ֞ן עֹ֤ל בַּרְזֶל֙ עַל־צַוָּארֶ֔ךָ עַ֥ד הִשְׁמִיד֖וֹ אֹתָֽךְ	48	And you will serve your enemies that Yahweh will send against you in scarcity and in thirst and in blindness and in lack of everything. And he will give you a shackle of iron on your neck until it exterminates you.	30 17	49 28
יִשָּׂ֣א יְהוָה֩ עָלֶ֨יךָ גּ֤וֹי מֵרָחוֹק֙ מִקְצֵ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר יִדְאֶ֖ה הַנָּ֑שֶׁר גּ֕וֹי אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תִשְׁמַ֖ע לְשֹׁנֽוֹ	49	Yahweh will lift up a nation against you from afar, from the extremity of the earth and he darts like the eagle, a nation whose tongue you will not hear.	25 10	39 16
גּ֖וֹי עַ֣ז פָּנִ֑ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־יִשָּׂ֤א פָנִים֙ לְזָקֵ֔ן וְנַ֖עַר לֹ֥א יָחֹֽן	50	It is a nation of strength of presence that will not bear the presence of the aged and will not be gracious to youth.	5 16	9 25
וְ֠אָכַל פְּרִ֨י בְהֶמְתְּךָ֥ וּפְרִֽי־אַדְמָתְךָ֮ עַ֣ד הִשָּֽׁמְדָךְ֒ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־יַשְׁאִ֜יר לְךָ֗ דָּגָן֙ תִּיר֣וֹשׁ וְיִצְהָ֔ר שְׁגַ֥ר אֲלָפֶ֖יךָ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת צֹאנֶ֑ךָ עַ֥ד הַאֲבִיד֖וֹ אֹתָֽךְ	51	It will eat the fruit of your cattle and the fruit of your ground until you are exterminated. It will not warehouse grain for you, or new wine or clarified oil or the issue of your drove or the breeding of your flock until it makes you perish.	45 7	71 11
וְהֵצַ֨ר לְךָ֜ בְּכָל־שְׁעָרֶ֗יךָ עַ֣ד רֶ֤דֶת חֹמֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ הַגְּבֹה֣וֹת וְהַבְּצֻר֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֛ה בֹּטֵ֥חַ בָּהֵ֖ן בְּכָל־אַרְצֶ֑ךָ וְהֵצַ֤ר לְךָ֙ בְּכָל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ בְּכָ֨ל־אַרְצְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֛ן יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לָֽךְ	52	And it will be your adversary in all your gates until your haughty walls come down and the enclosures, the ones that you trust in through all your land. And it will be your adversary in all your gates through all your land which Yahweh your God gave to you.	39 27	56 38
וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ פְרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֗ בְּשַׂ֤ר בָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֖ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּמָצוֹר֙ וּבְמָצ֔וֹק אֲשֶׁר־יָצִ֥יק לְךָ֖ אֹיְבֶֽךָ	53	And you will eat the fruit of your belly, the flesh of your sons and your daughters that Yahweh your God gave to you, in the siege and in the agony that your enemy will make you agonize.	30 15	42 24
הָאִישׁ֙ הָרַ֣ךְ בְּךָ֔ וְהֶעָנֹ֖ג מְאֹ֑ד תֵּרַ֨ע עֵינ֤וֹ בְאָחִיו֙ וּבְאֵ֣שֶׁת חֵיק֔וֹ וּבְיֶ֥תֶר בָּנָ֖יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר יוֹתִֽיר	54	The tender man among you and very delicate, his eye will bring evil against his brother and against the wife of his embrace and against the surplus of his children that he has left over.	12 21	17 38
מִתֵּ֣ת ׀ לְאַחַ֣ד מֵהֶ֗ם מִבְּשַׂ֤ר בָּנָיו֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֹאכֵ֔ל מִבְּלִ֥י הִשְׁאִֽיר־ל֖וֹ כֹּ֑ל בְּמָצוֹר֙ וּבְמָצ֔וֹק אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָצִ֥יק לְךָ֛ אֹיִבְךָ֖ בְּכָל־שְׁעָרֶֽיךָ	55	He will refrain from giving to one of them from the flesh of his children that he eats in that there is no meat for him, in the siege and in the agony that your enemy will make you agonize in all your gates.	21 21	38 32
הָרַכָּ֨ה בְךָ֜ וְהָעֲנֻגָּ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־נִסְּתָ֤ה כַף־רַגְלָהּ֙ הַצֵּ֣ג עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ מֵהִתְעַנֵּ֖ג וּמֵרֹ֑ךְ תֵּרַ֤ע עֵינָהּ֙ בְּאִ֣ישׁ חֵיקָ֔הּ וּבִבְנָ֖הּ וּבְבִתָּֽהּ	56	The tender and delicate woman among you that will not tempt to exhibit the sole of her foot on the earth out of delicacy and out of tenderness, her eye will bring evil against the man of her embrace and against her son and against her daughter.	31 14	46 25
וּֽבְשִׁלְיָתָ֞הּ הַיּוֹצֵ֣ת ׀ מִבֵּ֣ין רַגְלֶ֗יהָ וּבְבָנֶ֙יהָ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֵּלֵ֔ד כִּֽי־תֹאכְלֵ֥ם בְּחֹֽסֶר־כֹּ֖ל בַּסָּ֑תֶר בְּמָצוֹר֙ וּבְמָצ֔וֹק אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָצִ֥יק לְךָ֛ אֹיִבְךָ֖ בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ	57	And of the afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and toward her children that she has given birth to, for she will eat them when lacking everything, in secret, in the siege and in the agony that your enemy will make you agonize in your gates.	30 19	50 30

Green shadow-man

It is so difficult to stop once one is started

I should go outside, but as I was putting my bookmark into Deuteronomy 28 - verse 46 where I stopped, I had to notice that it was almost completely translated by my algorithm that suggests translations so here it is with a little adjustment here and there for grammar.

And they will be in you for a sign and for a miracle and in your seed for evermore.

All these curses, summed up in that word denial, are for a miracle upon all generations of the people - isn't that astonishing? Curses a miracle, a sign, really, then, an act of love to something beyond our perception of time.

Paul must have been reading Deuteronomy when he wrote Romans 9 to 11. I won't quote the specific verse I am thinking of but the whole fits in this fearful and wonderful land we have been given.

Comparisons are odious

Better is a word to be avoided. Conclusions are destructive. Abstractions distance us from reality. What then should one dare say about God in these days of brutality and remembrance of horror?

I read the extended curses in Deuteronomy with fear of drawing the wrong conclusions. I will not put some things together in a sentence. And what you infer from these words is equally dangerous. God is love. How dangerous is that?

I am concurrently dipping into the first epistle of John aided by The immense commentary of Raymond Brown with pages and pages of interpretation of every word - whether the masculine or feminine or neuter is of metaphysical import or not. He is a lovely writer and occasionally I laugh at the extremes to which humans will go when reading a text that has become canonized. Everything is in the metaphysics. Does 'was' include the time before all things were or does it not?

So between extended curses in a treaty that stamps and seals the people as God's own people - he is determined that this be the case - and endless speculative interpretations of the NT, I begin to wonder if abstraction and understanding trump obedience, the obedience of faith working itself out in love, that is.

I also laugh at the curses. They are over the top. Piling on. And we aren't even finished the chapter. But if you look closely, love appears between the cracks. If the whole of TNK is a love song, then there's some learning to do - not so that we can stand over it and say 'Ah, I have success' but so that we can live in those cracks where the love pours through in potentially blinding light. For as 1 John tells us that God is love, so also he / they / the author / the majesty of the authorial we / tell us that God is light.

Some ancient correspondents would tell me that these are tired metaphors. Not so really. Conditionals and future tenses are equally destructive of obedience. There is no condition we can escape to and no false hope in an alternative future that will avoid confrontation (as I read verse 45 in this subdivision of the text). We are confronted every day by greed, by poverty, by violence, and by prejudice that comes only from ourselves. These may not create earthquakes but we are beginning to think they create weather. Come now, let us reason together... (There's snow in this passage from Isaiah, and red blood - more tired metaphors?)  No. Let us restore the white snow that supplies our glaciers and our water. Good government and a healthy fear of those enemies that are in us and therefore subject to a creative destructive force, a death that is desirable, that comes out of the love of the one who gave himself for the life of the world, and therefore through the stamp and seal of baptism includes new life, and a hope that will not disappoint.

This is the continuing record of the treaty curses of Deuteronomy 28 - what sort of a God is our partner? God is one whose words of promise that satisfy are hidden in every verse. So verse 21 - the land towards which we are coming to possess - yes there is possession, but not by greed or economics falsely understood. Possession comes in not grasping, and by faith. We may grasp at faith, for it cannot be held by possessiveness, but it is possessed in the presence, face to face. (Maybe I can allow Raymond Brown his astonishing depths of exploring the metaphysics of the scholarly community.) So let us be face to face with each other, 'living in the truth' as we may read in the third letter of John (the one to Gaius).

Dies illa, dies irae, ...

יַדְבֵּ֧ק יְהוָ֛ה בְּךָ֖ אֶת־הַדָּ֑בֶר עַ֚ד כַּלֹּת֣וֹ אֹֽתְךָ֔ מֵעַל֙ הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ	21	Yahweh will make the pestilence cling in you until he consumes you from off the ground toward which you, yourself, are coming to possess.	10 22	16 33
יַכְּכָ֣ה יְ֠הוָה בַּשַּׁחֶ֨פֶת וּבַקַּדַּ֜חַת וּבַדַּלֶּ֗קֶת וּבַֽחַרְחֻר֙ וּבַחֶ֔רֶב וּבַשִּׁדָּפ֖וֹן וּבַיֵּרָק֑וֹן וּרְדָפ֖וּךָ עַ֥ד אָבְדֶֽךָ	22	Yahweh will strike you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with scorching and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish.	36 8	50 12
וְהָי֥וּ שָׁמֶ֛יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ֖ נְחֹ֑שֶׁת וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ בַּרְזֶֽל	23	And your heavens that are over your head will become brass but the earth that is under you, iron.	15 11	21 17
יִתֵּ֧ן יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־מְטַ֥ר אַרְצְךָ֖ אָבָ֣ק וְעָפָ֑ר מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ יֵרֵ֣ד עָלֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד הִשָּׁמְדָֽךְ	24	Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust. From the heavens it will descend to you until you are exterminated.	15 13	23 21
יִתֶּנְךָ֨‬ יְהוָ֥ה ׀ נִגָּף֮ לִפְנֵ֣י אֹיְבֶיךָ֒ בְּדֶ֤רֶךְ אֶחָד֙ תֵּצֵ֣א אֵלָ֔יו וּבְשִׁבְעָ֥ה דְרָכִ֖ים תָּנ֣וּס לְפָנָ֑יו וְהָיִ֣יתָ לְזַעֲוָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל מַמְלְכ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ	25	Yahweh will give you plague in the face of your enemies. In one way you will go out to him and in seven ways you will withdraw into his presence and you will be a quavering to all the kingdoms of the earth.	32 16	54 23
וְהָיְתָ֤ה נִבְלָֽתְךָ֙ לְמַאֲכָ֔ל לְכָל־ע֥וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּלְבֶהֱמַ֣ת הָאָ֑רֶץ וְאֵ֖ין מַחֲרִֽיד	26	And your corpses will become food to all the fowl of the heavens and the beasts of the earth and there is nothing but apprehensiveness.	23 5	36 9
יַכְּכָ֨ה יְהוָ֜ה בִּשְׁחִ֤ין מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ וּבַטְּחֹרִ֔ים וּבַגָּרָ֖ב וּבֶחָ֑רֶס אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תוּכַ֖ל לְהֵרָפֵֽא	27	Yahweh will strike you with the ulcers of Egypt and with the tumours and with the hemorrhoids and with scab and with sunburn, that you cannot heal.	20 9	35 14
יַכְּכָ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה בְּשִׁגָּע֖וֹן וּבְעִוָּר֑וֹן וּבְתִמְה֖וֹן לֵבָֽב	28	Yahweh will strike you with craziness and with blindness and with astonishment of heart.	12 5	21 10
וְהָיִ֜יתָ מְמַשֵּׁ֣שׁ בַּֽצָּהֳרַ֗יִם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יְמַשֵּׁ֤שׁ הָעִוֵּר֙ בָּאֲפֵלָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א תַצְלִ֖יחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ וְהָיִ֜יתָ אַ֣ךְ עָשׁ֧וּק וְגָז֛וּל כָּל־הַיָּמִ֖ים וְאֵ֥ין מוֹשִֽׁיעַ	29	And you will be groping at noon, as the blind grope in the gloom and you will not thrive in your ways and you will surely be oppressed and ravaged every day and there is none to save.	34 19	47 32
אִשָּׁ֣ה תְאָרֵ֗שׂ וְאִ֤ישׁ אַחֵר֙ יִשְׁכָּבֶ֔נָּה בַּ֥יִת תִּבְנֶ֖ה וְלֹא־תֵשֵׁ֣ב בּ֑וֹ כֶּ֥רֶם תִּטַּ֖ע וְלֹ֥א תְחַלְּלֶּֽנּוּ	30	A wife you will betroth and someone following will lie down with her. You will build a house and not sit in it. A vineyard you will plant and not begin to use it.	22 10	35 15
שׁוֹרְךָ֞ טָב֣וּחַ לְעֵינֶ֗יךָ וְלֹ֣א תֹאכַל֮ מִמֶּנּוּ֒ חֲמֹֽרְךָ֙ גָּז֣וּל מִלְּפָנֶ֔יךָ וְלֹ֥א יָשׁ֖וּב לָ֑ךְ צֹֽאנְךָ֙ נְתֻנ֣וֹת לְאֹיְבֶ֔יךָ וְאֵ֥ין לְךָ֖ מוֹשִֽׁיעַ	31	Your bull will be slaughtered in your sight and you will not eat from it. Your ass will be robbed before your face and will not return to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies and there will be none for you to save.	30 17	48 26
בָּנֶ֨יךָ וּבְנֹתֶ֜יךָ נְתֻנִ֨ים לְעַ֤ם אַחֵר֙ וְעֵינֶ֣יךָ רֹא֔וֹת וְכָל֥וֹת אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם כָּל־הַיּ֑וֹם וְאֵ֥ין לְאֵ֖ל יָדֶֽךָ	32	Your sons and your daughters will be given to another people and your eyes will see and faint for them all the day long but there is no capacity at your hand.	29 7	47 10
פְּרִ֤י אַדְמָֽתְךָ֙ וְכָל־יְגִ֣יעֲךָ֔ יֹאכַ֥ל עַ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־יָדָ֑עְתָּ וְהָיִ֗יתָ רַ֛ק עָשׁ֥וּק וְרָצ֖וּץ כָּל־הַיָּמִֽים	33	The fruit of your ground and all your labour a people you do not know will eat. And you will certainly be oppressed and splintered every one of the days.	20 14	31 23
וְהָיִ֖יתָ מְשֻׁגָּ֑ע מִמַּרְאֵ֥ה עֵינֶ֖יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּרְאֶֽה	34	And you will be driven crazy from the appearance in your eyes that you will see.	7 10	9 17
יַכְּכָ֨ה יְהוָ֜ה בִּשְׁחִ֣ין רָ֗ע עַל־הַבִּרְכַּ֙יִם֙ וְעַל־הַשֹּׁקַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תוּכַ֖ל לְהֵרָפֵ֑א מִכַּ֥ף רַגְלְךָ֖ וְעַ֥ד קָדְקֳדֶֽךָ	35	Yahweh will strike you with evil ulcers on the knees and on the legs that you cannot heal from the sole of your foot to your scalp.	25 11	45 15
יוֹלֵ֨ךְ יְהוָ֜ה אֹֽתְךָ֗ וְאֶֽת־מַלְכְּךָ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּקִ֣ים עָלֶ֔יךָ אֶל־גּ֕וֹי אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־יָדַ֖עְתָּ אַתָּ֣ה וַאֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ וְעָבַ֥דְתָּ שָּׁ֛ם אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִ֖ים עֵ֥ץ וָאָֽבֶן	36	And Yahweh will usher you and your king that you place over you to a nation that you do not know, you or your ancestors, and there you will serve other gods of tree and stone.	34 15	52 23
וְהָיִ֣יתָ לְשַׁמָּ֔ה לְמָשָׁ֖ל וְלִשְׁנִינָ֑ה בְּכֹל֙ הָֽעַמִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־יְנַהֶגְךָ֥ יְהוָ֖ה שָֽׁמָּה	37	And you will be a desolation, a parable and a gibe among all the peoples where Yahweh will drive you.	14 15	20 23
זֶ֥רַע רַ֖ב תּוֹצִ֣יא הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וּמְעַ֣ט תֶּאֱסֹ֔ף כִּ֥י יַחְסְלֶ֖נּוּ הָאַרְבֶּֽה	38	Abundant seed you will bring out to the field but little will you gather in for the locust will decimate it.	8 13	14 21
כְּרָמִ֥ים תִּטַּ֖ע וְעָבָ֑דְתָּ וְיַ֤יִן לֹֽא־תִשְׁתֶּה֙ וְלֹ֣א תֶאֱגֹ֔ר כִּ֥י תֹאכְלֶ֖נּוּ הַתֹּלָֽעַת	39	Vineyards you will plant and you will serve, but wine you will not imbibe and not store for the worm will devour it.	9 19	13 30
זֵיתִ֛ים יִהְי֥וּ לְךָ֖ בְּכָל־גְּבוּלֶ֑ךָ וְשֶׁ֙מֶן֙ לֹ֣א תָס֔וּךְ כִּ֥י יִשַּׁ֖ל זֵיתֶֽךָ	40	There will be olive trees for you through all your borders but with oil you will not rub yourself for your olive will drop off.	12 12	19 19
בָּנִ֥ים וּבָנ֖וֹת תּוֹלִ֑יד וְלֹא־יִהְי֣וּ לָ֔ךְ כִּ֥י יֵלְכ֖וּ בַּשֶּֽׁבִי	41	Sons and daughters you will beget but they will not be for you for they will walk on into captivity.	7 11	14 19
כָּל־עֵצְךָ֖ וּפְרִ֣י אַדְמָתֶ֑ךָ יְיָרֵ֖שׁ הַצְּלָצַֽל	42	All your tree and the fruit of your ground the cicada will possess.	9 6	14 9
הַגֵּר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּקִרְבְּךָ֔ יַעֲלֶ֥ה עָלֶ֖יךָ מַ֣עְלָה מָּ֑עְלָה וְאַתָּ֥ה תֵרֵ֖ד מַ֥טָּה מָּֽטָּה	43	The guest that is among you will have ascendancy over you, ascendancy, ascendancy, and you, yourself, will be descending down, down, down.	18 9	27 13
ה֣וּא יַלְוְךָ֔ וְאַתָּ֖ה לֹ֣א תַלְוֶ֑נּוּ ה֚וּא יִהְיֶ֣ה לְרֹ֔אשׁ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה לְזָנָֽב	44	He will lend to you and you will not lend to him. he will be the head and you will be subservient.	11 13	18 23
וּבָ֨אוּ עָלֶ֜יךָ כָּל־הַקְּלָל֣וֹת הָאֵ֗לֶּה וּרְדָפ֙וּךָ֙ וְהִשִּׂיג֔וּךָ עַ֖ד הִשָּֽׁמְדָ֑ךְ כִּי־לֹ֣א שָׁמַ֗עְתָּ בְּקוֹל֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֛ר מִצְוֺתָ֥יו וְחֻקֹּתָ֖יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּֽךְ	45	And all these denials come upon you and they pursue you and overtake you until you are exterminated for you have not heard with the voice of Yahweh your God to keep his commandments and his statutes that he is commanding you.	26 25	40 43