Category Archives: Bite-Sized Exegesis

Marcus Aurelius – Meditations 9.6

Ryan Holiday structures his book, The Obstacle is the Way, based on Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations 9.6. As we read this text carefully and in Greek, do we find that Holiday has correctly applied this text? Is his preferred translations accurate, and does it affect his application of the text?

The Importance of the Punctuation of John 1:3-4

While the traditional reading of John 1:3-4 divides the sentences between the verses, there is some text-critical evidence that the perhaps the period should come before the last couple of words of verse 3. Which one is the correct reading, and how can we know?

Forsaking the Spring for Broken Cisterns

Jeremiah accuses the Israelites of doing something incredibly foolish: forsaking a reliable source of water for cisterns that cannot even hold water. The prophet uses this image as a metaphor for Israel’s religious infidelity.

Joel and Israel’s End Time Hopes

Joel sees the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as an eschatological event, an event that demarcates what was for him the “age to come” from what was his “present age”. As Christians, we live in the “age to come” and are beneficiaries of the ideal experience of all Israel having the Spirit and prophesying that is anticipated by Moses in Numbers 11:24-30.

Translating Joel 2:32

A translation and commentary on Joel 2:32 – “And it will be that all who call upon the name of the LORD will be saved. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be an escape, just as the LORD has said, and among the survivors, whom the LORD is calling.”

Psalm 5: A Morning Devotional Prayer or Something Else?

The KJV rendering of Psalm 5:3 can give one the impression that this is a prayer of general devotion to be recited in the morning. However, a careful reading of the psalm shows that quite a bit more is going on here.

Towards a “Definition” of Holiness

The biblical concept of “holiness” is not simply “doing good”, but it is the context that defines what is good and infuses our doing good with divine significance. The relationship between holiness and what the world sees as “good” is complex: sometimes they coincide, sometimes they are askew, and sometimes they come directly into conflict.

The Structure and Message of Psalm 2

Psalm 2 is a celebration of the unquestionable supremacy of God and his Messiah over all the rebellious forces of humanity. Not only is this the message of the Psalm’s content, it is even embedded in the Psalm’s concentric structure.

Shaken in a Sieve – Amos 9:8-10

Amos reaffirms that the judgment that is coming will be a targeted one rather than an indiscriminate one. God will shake the world as if in a sieve. A righteous remnant will be preserved. The wicked, however, in particular those who are convinced that nothing bad will happen to them, will perish.