Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:
http://www.textweek.com/yeara/propera12.htm
Proper 12, Ordinary 17, Pentecost +7
July 27, 2014
- Bellis, Alice Ogden, "A Sister Is a Forever Friend: Reflections on the Story of Rachel and Leah,"Journal of Religious Thought, 1999.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
“Whether the relationship between Leah and Rachel was more tragic than that of Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, or Joseph and his brothers is debatable. In each case, a degree of reconciliation can be seen toward the end of the story. The biggest difference between the stories of the brothers and that of the sisters is that the brothers experienced significant periods of separation, while the sisters had to live with the tensions of their situation in proximity to one another.”
- Williams, Michael J., "Lies, Lies, I Tell You! The Deceptions of Genesis," Calvin Theological Journal, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
“When we apply this definition to the narratives of Genesis, we find that over a quarter of its chapters contain an episode of deception! Additionally, this does not even include the much greater amount of material that deals with the lead-up to the deception or its subsequent effects. We are also not even considering those cases where there is some ambiguity about whether or not a deception took place. Only allowing for clear cases of unambiguous deception, we find no fewer than fifteen!”
Anderson, John E., "Jacob, Laban, and a divine trickster? The covenantal frameowrk of God's deception in the theology of the Jacob Cycle," Perspectives in Religious Studies 2009.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
“I have sought in the foregoing analysis to understand theologically the image of God as deceiver in the Jacob narratives—no doubt a difficult task!—by using Gen 31:1-16 to define the theological "problem." My contention is that deception is not a category utterly alien to God, but rather, when read within the appropriate context of covenant, promise, and blessing established throughout the ancestral narratives, makes a strong theological statement about God's character, more specifically about His covenantal fidelity. With the intent of bearing out this context, I examined four passages in Genesis from the Jacob/Laban cycle of stories: 28:13-15, 29:31-30:24, 30:27, and 31:24. These four texts revealed that the primary divine concern moving the narratives forward is grounded in the covenant and the ardent desire that God would fulfill His promise and blessing, seemingly at the expense of everything else.”
Pyper, Hugh S., "Judging the Wisdom of Solomon: The Two-Way Effect of Intertextuality," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1993.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
“In his recent article in JSOT on 2 Kings 6.24-33 (Lasine 1991), Stuart Lasine raises the issue of the relationship between that story and the Judgment of Solomon in 1 Kings 3 and how our reading of 2 Kings 6 is illuminated by our knowledge of 1 Kings 3. This response to that article is a tribute to the stimulation Lasine's work has been to me in trying to understand the interaction of such stories and the effect of this on the reader. In this case, however, I want to draw attention to an aspect of the matter that I believe Lasine has not examined: the influence of 2 Kings 6 on our reading of 1 Kings 3.”
Seow, Choon Leong, "The Syro-Palestinian Context of Solomon's Dream,," Harvard Theological Review, 1984.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
“While materials from Egypt are often helpful in our understanding of biblical texts, it seems methodologically sound to begin one's exegesis with parallels from within the Bible itself and from the corpora of West-Semitic inscriptions. Indeed, any Egyptian influence on 1 Kings 3 may be secondary, having filtered into Israel through her Canaanite neighbors. It is necessary, therefore, to give due attention, if not priority, to the parallels mustered in this essay. Finally, it must be reiterated that the references to the sacrifice and the dream of the king are not mere details in a good story: they are integral elements in the legitimation of Solomonic kingship.”
- Bartlett, David, "Preaching for Ordinary Time,"Journal for Preachers, 2008. (Section on this text begins on page 46.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
“…in our passage for today, Paul sets out three great hopes.”
Mc Millon, Phillip, "Psalm 105: History with a Purpose,"Restoration Quarterly, 2010.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
(scroll down a couple of pages from the link to this article) “Psalm 105 calls for both praise and obedience. At the core of the psalm is the story of what God did on behalf of his people. God showed his love for his people through his care for them at various stages of their history, God called, guided, protected, and delivered the people of Israel. Only after Israel had seen the work of the Lord were they called to respond in obedience and in praise. Perhaps Ps 105 can serve as a reminder of this important lesson that is still significant today.”
Toussaint, Stanley D. and Jay A Quine, "No, Not Yet: The Contingency of God's Promised Kingdom," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2007.
“Whatever view one takes of the kingdom in Matthew, all agree that the parables of Matthew 13 are descriptive of the present age. The first parable (w. 3-23) serves as an introduction to all the parables and explains why the Lord spoke in parables. This, He said, would conceal the truth from unbelievers and reveal new truth to His disciples (w. 11-13). The parable of the sower and the soils illustrates this well.”
Comments