Google Book Search

Google Book Search is developing the most comprehensive library in the Internet by digitizing thousands of books, many of them available only in research libraries. In Google’s collection, if a book is in the public domain, Google offers a free download of the book in a PDF format. If the book is under copyright, people are able to see a preview of the book.

Using Google Book Search, Mischa Hooker has developed a comprehensive bibliography of books dealing with the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity. It is an amazing collection. Hooker’s work will make these books easily available to scholars, pastors, and students. Visit Hooker's bibliography and enjoy the collection.

I would like to thank Jim West for sharing this information on his blog.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Bible Study, Biblical Resources, Google Books

What Would Jesus Do? : Politics and the Bible

The Republican presidential debate on November 28, 2007 in St. Petersburg, Florida focused on the role of the Bible on the life of the candidates.

Two questions reflect the mood of the audience: “Is every word in the Bible true?” and “What would Jesus do?”

To the question, “What would Jesus do?”, Mike Huckabee said: “Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office.’’

Do the candidates believe that the Bible is true? Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee offer their views about the Bible here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Bible, Politics

Nehemiah’s Wall

On November 28, 2007, The Jerusalem Post reported that archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar has uncovered the remains of Nehemiah’s wall in Jerusalem. The following is the news report published in The Jerusalem Post:

The remnants of a wall from the time of the prophet Nehemiah have been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's ancient City of David, strengthening recent claims that King David's palace has been found at the site, an Israeli archeologist said Wednesday.

The section of the 2,500-year-old Nehemiah wall, located just outside the Dung Gate and the Old City walls facing the Mount of Olives, was dated by pottery found during a recent dig at the site, said Hebrew University archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar.

The archeologist, who rose to international prominence for her recent excavation that may have uncovered the biblical palace of King David, was able to date the wall to Nehemiah as a result of a dig carried out underneath a nearby tower, which has been previously dated to the Hasmonean period, (142-37 BCE) but which now emerges was built centuries earlier.

As a result of the excavation, both the 30 meter section of the wall and a six-by-three-meter part of the previously uncovered tower have now been dated to the fifth century BCE based on the rich pottery found during the dig under the tower, she said.

Scores of bullae, arrowheads and seals from that period were also discovered during the excavation. "This find opens a new chapter in the history of Jerusalem," Mazar said. "Until now, we have never had such an archeological wealth of finds from Nehemiah's period."

Nehemiah, who lived during the period when Judah was a province of the Persian Empire, arrived in Jerusalem as governor in 445 BCE with the permission of the Persian king, determined to rebuild and restore the desolate city after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians a century earlier, in 586 BCE.

The Persians had conquered the Babylonian empire that had destroyed Jerusalem and taken most of the inhabitants of Judah into captivity in what is now modern Iraq.

The Bible relates that despite the resistance of hostile neighbors who had occupied the area around Jerusalem in the Jews' absence, the whole wall was completed in a speedy 52-day period.

The tower at the site lies on the back of the walls of the palace that Mazar uncovered at the site two years ago, indicating that the palace must have been built first and strengthening the claim that the site was indeed King David's palace, she said.

The three-year-old dig is being sponsored by the Shalem Center, a conservative Jerusalem research institute, where Mazar serves as a senior fellow, and the right-wing City of David Foundation which promotes Jewish settlement throughout east Jerusalem.

The discovery of Nehemiah’s wall by Eilat Mazar is part of her work in the City of David.

Claude F. Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Eilat Mazar, Nehemiah

Abraham’s Altars

The divine call came to Abraham while he was still in Haran (in the early patriarchal narratives. Abraham’s name appears as Abram. The new name of Abraham will be used throughout this article). The divine command was simple and yet demanding: “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Abraham’s response was striking: although he did not know his destination, he went without hesitation, without doubting God’s word.

When Abraham arrived in Canaan, he could not take immediate possession of the land because at that time, the Canaanites were still living in the land (Genesis 12:6). This statement implies that Abraham could not take possession of the land without a challenge. The only thing Abraham was able to do was to travel through the land which the Lord had promised to give to him.

After his arrival in Canaan, Abraham traveled through the land as far as Shechem and came to the site of the great tree of Moreh. In the history of Israel’s religious traditions, Shechem became an important religious site; it was the place where the Lord first appeared to Abraham after his arrival in the land of promise.

There, at Shechem, the Lord appeared to Abraham. This theophany was the first of many appearances of God to Abraham. Stephen mentioned that God had appeared to him while he was in Ur (Acts 7:2), but there is no mention of altars built by Abraham in Ur or Haran.

In Shechem, God renewed the promise he had made to Abraham: “I am going to give this land to your descendants.” Although the land was inhabited by the Canaanites, Abraham believed God’s promise even though he was an old man, seventy-five years old, and a man without a son.

In Shechem Abraham built an altar to the God who appeared to him in order to acknowledge, with a grateful heart, God's kindness to him and his family and by this act, he reaffirmed his trust in the promise which God had made to him (Genesis 12:7).

From Shechem, Abraham traveled south and set up his tent in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. While at Bethel, Abraham built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and there Abraham “called upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 12:8).

The expression to call upon the name of the Lord is a term for the worship of God. The expression appears in Genesis 13:4 and 26:5 in connection with the building of altars.

However, Abraham did not stay in Bethel very long. He had not yet found a permanent place in which to settle in the new land. He was only a stranger and sojourner in the land, wandering from place to place, stopping here and there to find adequate pasture to feed his flock. Thus, Abraham continued his journey south, until he reached the Negev.

The act of building altars conveyed a significant religious message to the inhabitants of the land. When Abraham arrived in the land of Canaan, he was a sojourner there, living among the Canaanites and their religious practices, and yet he was able to establish the worship of God in the land. An important factor in Abraham’s pilgrimage was that wherever he pitched his tent he also built an altar to God.

Although Shechem was a Canaanite city and although the site of Moreh was a holy place for the inhabitants of the land, Abraham’s altar was an implied message that his God was different from the gods of the land. Abraham could not worship with the Canaanites because the worship of YHWH was incompatible with the cultic practices of the Canaanites. As Walter Brueggemann (Genesis [Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982], p. 123) wrote: “Abraham is called always to be a minority report among those who live and manage society against the promise.”

In addition, the building of an altar in the land was, in fact, a form of taking possession of it. The worship of God in the new land expressed Abraham’s faith in the fulfilment of the divine promise. Abraham was already in the land of promise, and could leave the future implementation of the promise to God. Thus, Abraham was, by building those altars, taking possession of the land.

In the narrative of Abraham coming to Canaan, three places are mentioned: Shechem (Genesis 12:6), the region between Bethel and Ai (Genesis 12:8), and the area of the Negev (Genesis 12:9). These are three of the sites occupied by the Israelites in the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua and the army of Israel.

When Abraham arrived in Canaan, he went to Shechem and built an altar, thus claiming the land for his God. Then he went to Bethel, with Bethel in the west and Ai in the east and there he built an altar to God. From there he journeyed to the Negev and in Hebron he bought the field of Machpelah.

The places Abraham visited were the same places the armies of Israel conquered when they entered the land of Canaan. After the fall of Jericho, the first city the Israelites conquered was Ai, the location of which is expressed with the same words used in Genesis 12:8: “With Bethel on the west and Ai on the east” (see Joshua 7:2; 8:9, 8:12). After the conquest of Ai, the Israelites built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal, an area near Shechem (Joshua 8:30).

The building of altars by Abraham and his purchase of the field of Machpelah was an indirect way of claiming the land for God. Thus, in the theology of the patriarchal narratives, the conquest of the land of Canaan had already begun when Abraham built those altars and when he bought the land of Machpelah.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Further Reading:

For another perspective of this topic, read Abraham and the Promises of God.


Tags: Abraham, Altars, Machpelah, Promise

The Golfer and the King: An Update

In response to my post on The Golfer and the King, Doug, at CoffeeSwirls looked the story on Snopes and he concluded that it seems that the story is an urban legend. It seems that the story of the golfer and the king has been circulating since 1949.

Here is the story that appeared in Reader’s Digest in 1949:

Lowell Thomas tells about an explorer who brought an Indian maharajah some gifts which were unobtainable in Asia. The grateful potentate wanted to reciprocate, and after much pleading he finally got the explorer to suggest: "Oh, well, if in your travels around England you happen to find any golf clubs, buy a few for me."

Later the maharajah reported: "I've bought two golf clubs for you. Both have 18 holes, and one even has a swimming pool. But I have a disappointment for you. St. Andrews refuses to sell."

I want to thank Doug for leading me to this story on Snopes. If you want to read the background of this urban legend, visit Snopes by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Golf, Joel Osteen

The Golfer and the King

Joel Osteen, in his book Your Best Life Now (New York: Warner Faith, 2004), p. 11-12, tells the following story:

Years ago, a famous golfer was invited by the king of Saudi Arabia to play in a golf tournament. He accepted the invitation, and the king flew his private jet over to the United States to pick up the pro. They played golf for several days, and enjoyed a good time. As the golfer was getting on the plane to return to the United States, the king stopped him and said, “I want to give you a gift for coming all this way and making this time so special. Anything you want. What could I get you?"

Ever the gentleman, the golfer replied, “Oh, please; don’t get me anything. You’ve been a gracious host. I’ve had a wonderful time. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The king was adamant. He said, “No, I insist on giving you something so you will always remember your journey to our country.”

When the golfer realized that the king was resolute, he said, “Okay, fine. I collect golf clubs. Why don’t you give me a golf club?”

He boarded the plane, and on his flight back home, he couldn’t help wondering what kind of golf club the king might give him. He imagined that it might be a solid gold putter with his name engraved on it. Or maybe it would be a sand wedge studded with diamonds and jewels. After all, this would be a gift from the oil-rich king of Saudi Arabia.

When the golfer got home, he watched the mail and the delivery services every day, to see if his golf club had come yet. Finally, several weeks later, he received a certified letter from the king of Saudi Arabia. The U.S. professional thought that rather strange. Where’s my golf club? he wondered. He opened the envelope, and to his surprise, inside he discovered a deed to a five-hundred-acre golf course in America.

Sometimes kings think differently than you and I think. And friend, we serve the King of kings. We serve the Most High God, and His dream for your life is so much bigger and better than you can even imagine. It’s time to enlarge your vision!

I have never heard this story and wonder whether the story is true. Joel Osteen preaches a gospel of prosperity. In his book, he says that God wants to show Christians his special favor. God’s special favor is manifested in his blessings: God wants to increase what we have; he wants to give us more. The story above is an example of what God can do.

But what if the story is not true? What if this pro never received the deed for a golf course and the King of Saudi Arabia never gave such a gift?

After I read this story, I stopped reading the book. I want to find out whether the story is true, for if the story is false, then why bother reading the rest of the book.

I am asking your help. Do you know whether this story is true? Do you know who this golfer was? If you have any idea about the veracity of this story, please let me know.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary.

UPDATE:

This story seems to be an urban legend. Read an update to this story by clicking here.


Tags: Golf, Joel Osteen

The Savage God

During the SBL meeting in San Diego, I attended a conference on the characterization of God in the book of Hosea. One of the speakers called the God of the Old Testament “the Savage God.” According to the speaker, the savage God is the God who is cruel and violent, unjust and harsh in his dealing with the Israelites and with peoples from other nations. The notion of the savagery of God arises when people are unable to reconcile the love of God with God’s demands for righteousness and justice. The God of the Bible is merciful and loving, but he is also a God who requires justice from people.

According to some people, the savage God of the Bible is the God who arbitrarily demanded the destruction of entire cities and the killing of men, women, and children. The savage God is the God who allows drought, hurricanes, tornados, and other natural disasters to cause havoc to cities and to bring misery to thousands of people. If God is a merciful and loving God, how could this God allow the destruction of innocent people?

The reason people believe that the God of the Bible is a savage God is because God exercises divine justice when people fail to meet divine standards. As the prophet Jeremiah wrote: “I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and I delight in these things” (Jeremiah 9:24). God delights in justice and justice is what God demands from Israel and all peoples.

The reality of divine justice does not mean that there is a standard of justice for Israel and one for the rest of the world. On the contrary, there is a single standard of justice for all. God’s judgment falls not only upon Israel but also upon other nations when they fail to meet the moral standard set by God. In order to dispense justice, God intervenes in human history to redress injustice and restore the moral order of society.

When one considers the theme of justice in the Hebrew Bible, one encounters a different perspective from that which appears in the popular understanding of justice. Justice means a restoration of normalcy in society, a return to a condition where human rights are recognized.

One good example of divine justice at work is found in the book of the prophet Amos. Amos proclaimed that since God was the sovereign Lord over all nations, his demand for justice was universal and that it applied to all. To Amos, God was not only the guarantor of Israelite laws, but also of the entire moral order. God’s universal requirements applied to Israel and included the conventional norms of international behavior. Amos saw God’s universal requirements as justice, and his judgment as a punishment for injustice against members of the community.

God’s universal requirements demand right conduct of individuals and nations. God’s righteousness is manifested not only in the judgments which he brings to individuals and nations, but also in his acts of mercy and salvation toward Israel and, eventually, towards all peoples.

In Amos’ oracles against the foreign nations, we see divine justice at work.

In Amos 1:3, God spoke through Amos and said:

“The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges.”

The principal transgression of the Aramean kingdom was the threshing of the people in Gilead with iron threshing-machines. When the Arameans conquered Israel, they crushed the prisoners to pieces with iron threshing-machines. This act of cruelty against the people of Gilead reflects a barbarous war-practice that was prevalent in the ancient Near East.

Since no one could bring Ben-Hadad to justice, God intervened and caused the invasion of Damascus by the Assyrians and the deportation of the Arameans to Kir (Amos 1:5; 2 Kings 16:9).

In Amos 1:6, God spoke through Amos and said:

“The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sent whole villages into exile, selling them as slaves to Edom.”

The captives of war mentioned here were sold as slaves by the Philistines to the Edomites, the arch-enemies of Israel. According to Amos, the captivity was so devastating that not a single captive remained. Entire villages were taken away and none of them ever returned to their land.

Since there was no way the people taken as slaves could obtain redress in a court of law, God intervened and the Philistines were threatened with divine retribution for having plundered the land and sold the captives as slaves. To vindicate the oppressed slaves, God promised that the king of Ashdod would be destroyed (Amos 1:8). The divine judgment came by the hands of Sargon, king of Assyria, and his army after Assyria conquered Ashdod (Isaiah 20:1).

In Amos 1:9, God spoke through Amos and said:

“The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They broke their treaty of brotherhood with Israel, selling whole villages as slaves to Edom.”

The people of Tyre are charged with selling people to Edom, but not by having conquered them. This implies that Tyre bought war prisoners from an enemy of Israel, and then sold them as slaves to Edom.

Tyre was a nation known by its trade and commerce, thus, it is possible that Tyre carried out an extensive slave business and that they probably purchased prisoners from different nations and sold them as slaves to more nations than just Edom.

Slaves have no one to fight for them and vindicate their cause. So, God intervened and promised that the fortresses of Tyre would be destroyed. The prophet Isaiah announced the destruction of Tyre: “This message came to me concerning Tyre: Weep, O ships of Tarshish, for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone! The rumors you heard in Cyprus are all true” (Isaiah 23:1). Whether the destruction was caused by the Assyrians or the Babylonians, Isaiah was clear on who brought the demise of Tyre:

“Who has brought this disaster on Tyre, that great creator of kingdoms? Her traders were all princes, her merchants were nobles. The LORD of Heaven's Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth's nobility” (Isaiah 23:8-9).

In Amos 1:13, God spoke through Amos and said:

“The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders, they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.”

The ripping up of the women with child was one of the many atrocities that came as a result of the many wars in the ancient Near East (see 2 Kings 8:12; 15:16). This cruel act was practiced by the Arameans, the Assyrians, the Ammonites, and even by an Israelite king. The Ammonites are singled out by Amos for the cruelty which they inflicted upon the Israelites during a time of war.

Since the victims were powerless to defend themselves and bring justice to their cause, God intervened and as a punishment for this cruel act, the Ammonite capital was to be burned, and the king and his officials would go into exile (Jeremiah 27:1-6).

In Amos 2:1, God spoke through Amos and said:

“The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They desecrated the bones of Edom's king, burning them to ashes.”

According to Amos, the people of Moab opened the grave of one of the kings of Edom and burned his bones. The king’s bones were burned so completely that the bones turned into ashes. This desecration of the dead king was unacceptable to God. Since the dead king was unable to defend himself, God intervened and promised to bring judgment upon Moab by the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

These examples show that the God of the Bible is not a savage God. He is a God of justice who vindicates the oppressed and who acts as the sovereign judge to bring justice to people and nations on behalf of victims of violence and brutality. God acts on behalf of nations other than Israel to bring justice upon evildoers.

Thus, divine justice is the process by which God renders redress on behalf of those who are unable to act on their own behalf. Since God in his nature is righteous, God imposes righteous laws on his creatures and executes them righteously. Justice is not an optional product of his will, but an unchangeable principle of his very nature. As Creator, God requires his creatures to conform to his moral laws. When they fail to do so, God acts and justice is upheld.


What people believe to be divine savagery, it is nothing but God’s dealing with his accountable creatures according to the requirements of his laws.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Amos, Divine Justice, Savage God

Africa and the Old Testament

Philip Jenkins, an evangelical scholar and Professor of Religious Studies and History at Pennsylvania State University, speaking in San Diego to members of the Evangelical Theological Society, said that Africans understand the Old Testament better than Westerners do.

According to an article published by the Associated Baptist Press, Jenkins said that many things about life and practice in the Old Testament are difficult to convey to a contemporary Western audience.

The following is an excerpt from the article published by the Associated Baptist Press:

Cultures that espouse tribal identities and are intimately acquainted with animal sacrifice, dietary restrictions, polygamy, sacred rocks and the like are well-equipped to read and identify with the Hebrew Bible's stories, Jenkins said.

"Teaching people [in the developing world] to obey the Bible if it means the Old Testament is not difficult," he said. "In fact, for many of the new Christians in the world today the big problem is . telling people that the old law must be made subordinate, must be treated as inferior, to the new law."

In Africa, Jenkins continued, Western missionaries often must convince people that the Old Testament is not the only or primary revelation of God's work.

If Martin Luther hated it, he joked, it goes down great in Africa.

On the up side, Jenkins said, African and Asian tribes can easily recognize and understand aspects of the traditional religion of the Old Testament as shaping what they should practice in light of the New Testament. And they often understand those aspects better than Christians in the Western world.

In Western societies, many people have never seen an animal sacrifice or lived in an agricultural community. To them, such a way of life is foreign to their culture and difficult to understand. Thus, I believe that, to some extent, Jenkins in right. And this may explain the reason the church is growing in Africa and Latin America and it is stagnant in Europe and in the USA.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Africa, Church, Philip Jenkins

The Google Phone

I can't wait for the Google Phone. Look at what is coming.




Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Google Phone

The SBL in San Diego

I leave Thursday morning to go to San Diego, California, to attend the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. The annual meeting of the SBL is a time for graduate students, lay people, and scholars to get together to attend conferences where academic papers are read.

I enjoy going to the SBL. Someone said that the best part of the annual meeting of the SBL is when you see old friends again. I hope to make new friends in San Diego and get together with old friends.

Since I will be away for the annual meeting, I will be unable to post to the blog until after Thanksgiving. After the holidays, I hope to begin to blog regularly. I have several ideas that I want to develop into articles for the blog.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Celebrating the Latin Mass

The Catholic Church is returning to the celebration of the Mass in Latin. The New York Times has released an audio slide show of the celebration of Latin Mass and how it is beginning to attract priests and parishioners in the U.S.

Click here to view the audio slide show.

When I was living in Brazil, I grew up in a Catholic home. My family and I attended a church which celebrated the Mass in Latin. My family and I did not understand Latin, so the celebration of the Mass was mostly unintelligible to us. As the slide show demonstrates, most people are attracted to the “mystery” which they perceive is present in the Latin Mass.

The return of the Latin Mass reminds me of the words of Paul: “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:19).


Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Catholic Church, Latin Mass, Mass

The Seven Wonders of Egypt

People are fascinated with ancient Egypt! I am.

The Travel Chanel has prepared a slide show featuring the seven wonders of Egypt. The following descriptions were taken from the slide show:

1. The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids. It is the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the World.

2. The Great Sphinx

It is one of the largest single-stone statues on Earth. The Sphinx is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the 3rd millennium BC.

3. The Temple of Luxor

The Temple of Luxor was the center of the Festival of Opet, the most important festival in Luxor (Thebes). Dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun-Re, his wife Mut, and his son Khonsu, the temple's purpose was to host the rituals of the festival.

4. Cairo

Founded in 648 AD, it has a metropolitan area population of 15.75 million people and it's the most populous metropolitan area in Africa.

5. Abu Simbel

The two massive rock temples were orginally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC druing the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The monument to Ramesses II and his queen, Nefertari, commemorates his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh.

6. Saqqara

Imhotep for King Djoser designed the world's oldest standing step pyramid. Saqqara is a vast ancient burial ground in Egypt with the earliest burials traced back to the First Dynasty.

7. The Temple of Karnak

The Temple of Karnak is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. It is the second most visited historical site in Egypt - second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo.

The pictures are beautiful. Take your time and enjoy the slide show featuring the seven wonders of Egypt.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Archaeology, Egypt

Does God Wait On Us?

Healtheland, writing at Jesus Christology, asked a very interesting question: “Do We Wait On God? Or Does God Wait On Us?” The question comes out of the writer’s discussion of the problem of prosperity preachers on the radio talking about people who have been tithing and giving their offerings to God but who have not received their blessing yet.

Healtheland wrote:

What is worse? What is more dangerous? The coercive idolatry of the conservative movement or the false doctrine of the prosperity teachers? Whatever the answer, it just so happened that my mood at that particular time was more conducive to suffering the latter than the former. And as it happens, the false teacher DID raise a sort of a theological dilemma for me. Does a sovereign omniscient timeless (meaning transcending and existing outside of time) God wait on man? And does man wait on God?

In answer to those two questions, Healtheland said: “I say that the answer to the former is unknowable.”

From an Old Testament perspective, it seems to me that it is possible to know the answer to Healtheland’s question. The Old Testament seems to point to the fact that, at times, God waits on us. We can learn this truth from the story of Abraham.

In the book of Genesis, Yahweh and his two companions come to pay a visit to Abraham to announce that Sarah would conceive a child and to tell him the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18). In the story, Yahweh’s two companions depart to go to Sodom and Yahweh and Abraham remain alone, with Abraham standing before the Lord, as a servant before his master and as man before his God (Deuteronomy 4:10; Jeremiah 35:19; 2 Chronicles 9:7).

The text says: “The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord” (Genesis 18:22).

The footnote of the NIV has an important note. The note says: “Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the LORD remained standing before Abraham.”

According to the Masoretes, the text originally read, “And the Lord stood before Abraham,” but the scribes changed the text because, in their eyes, it was not proper to speak of God standing in the presence of a creature. This emendation of the scribes is called a tiqqune sopherim.

According to Masoretic tradition, there are eighteen passages in the Old Testament that have been emended by scribes for theological reasons. These changes were made by the scribes early in the transmission of the text to remove irreverent expressions concerning God. One of these emendations is Genesis 18:22 where the text was emended in order to remove the idea that Yahweh waited on Abraham.

Some scholars accept the text as it appears in the Old Testament and reject the idea that Genesis 18:22 is a tiqqune sopherim, that is, that the text contains a scribal emendation. However, as Walter Brueggemann (Genesis. Interpretation [Atlanta, John Knox Press, 1982], p. 168) wrote:

The relation of Abraham and Yahweh in this passage is worth noting in detail. We may observe a remarkable textual problem which illuminates the matter. As it stands, the text in 18:22 now says, “Abraham stood before the Lord,” suggesting the subordination of Abraham to Yahweh. This is what we should expect. But a very early text note (not to be doubted in its authority and authenticity) shows that the text before any translation originally said, “Yahweh stood before Abraham.” The picture is one which agrees with our comments about Abraham as Yahweh’s theological instructor. It is as though Abraham were presiding over the meeting. But that bold image of Yahweh being accountable to Abraham for this theological idea was judged by the early scribes as irreverent and unacceptable. Therefore, the text was changed to read as we have it. But the early version suggests with remarkable candor what a bold posture Abraham assumes and how presumptuous is the issue he raises. Whether the textual change is accepted or not, this text reports that Yahweh must think a quite different theological thought. God is pressed by Abraham to consider an alternative.

Brueggemann’s statement may be too radical for some people, but it clearly expresses the true character of the God of Israel as revealed in the Old Testament. This view of God may be foreign to modern readers of the Bible, but it was very familiar to Israelites who depended on the patience of a patient God.

So, the answer to Healtheland’s question is not “unknowable” after all. At times, the God of the Bible chooses to wait on us. Although many times we try the patience of God (Isaiah 7:13), the Lord is patient for our sake (2 Peter 3:9 NLT).

We should be glad that the Lord waits on us. As Peter wrote: “Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation” (2 Peter 3:15).

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Abraham, Genesis 18, Patience, Tiqqune Sopherim

The Google Meme

David Ng at The World’s Fair published a blog on October 23, 2007 in which he proposed a Google meme. He called it “‘I rank number one on google’ meme!!”

This is what he proposed:

I'd like to suggest a meme, where the premise is that you will attempt to find 5 statements, which if you were to type into google (preferably google.com, but we'll take the other country specific ones if need be), you'll find that you are returned with your blog as the number one hit.

David’s proposal has spread throughout the blogsphere. I have collected a few of the sites that have accepted David’s challenge. The sites are listed according to the dates of their posts.

The World’s Fair , October 23, 2007

Abnormal Interest , October 24, 2007

Creek Running North , October 24, 2007

Northstate Science , October 24, 2007

Pharyngula , October 24, 2007

Sandwalk , October 24, 2007

Thoughts in a Haystack , October 24, 2007

Adventures in Ethics and Science, October 24, 2007

tales of an ordinary girl , October 24, 2007

The Mosquito Eater, October 24, 2007

A Blog Around the Clock, October 24, 2007

Our Descent Into Madness , October 24th, 2007

Drdubious , October 24, 2007

Reality Conditions , October 24, 2007

Stupid Reality , October 25, 2007

Shakesville , October 25, 2007

Healthedia , October 26, 2007

Frogs and Ravens , October 26, 2007

Camera Obscura , October 26, 2007

Ramblings of a Math Mom , October 26th, 2007

Arcadian Functor , October 26, 2007

Clastic Detritus , October 27th, 2007

A brood comb, October 28th, 2007

If I Ran the Zoo , October 31, 2007

Dr. Claude Mariottini, November 1, 2007

Dr. Platypus , November 2, 2007

Alone on a Limb , November 04, 2007

Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength , November 04, 2007

Exploring Our Matrix , November 5, 2007

Notes From Off Center , November 5t 2007

There are other blogs that have a Goggle meme and the number continues to grow. These blogs listed here, however, are the ones which took David's challenge as soon as it was proposed.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

The Leaning Church

The National Geographic is reporting that a church in Germany beats the Tower of Pisa as the most titled structure in the world:

The battle for the most-tilted-tower title has gotten downright medieval, with a 13th-century German church flattening the circa-1372 Leaning Tower of Pisa's record, Guinness World Records announced this week. Compromised by a wooden foundation and sodden soil, the Suurhusen church's 15th-century steeple addition tilts at a 5.07-degree angle, versus the Italian tower's current 3.97 degrees, according to Olaf Kuchenbecker of Guinness World Records' German office.

If you notice the picture of the leaning church, at least the church leans to the right.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Photo: National Geographic

Tags: Leaning Church, Leaning Tower, Pisa, Suurhusen Church

John Calvin: Baptists Don’t Dance

First was YouTube. Now is GodTube.

From GodTube we hear John Calvin’s say that Baptists don’t dance.




Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Baptists, Dancing, John Calvin

It Is Finished

Today was the last day of our Self-Study process. The Visiting Team had its last meeting this morning, they presented their preliminary findings, and then, they left.

The exit interview culminates a process that began in September 2004 when the president of Northern Baptist Seminary wrote a letter inviting me to serve as the Director of the Self-Study. When I accepted the invitation to guide the Self-Study process, I knew that leading a Self-Study was hard work, but I had no idea how hard the work would be.

For the past three years, I have led the seminary in doing a comprehensive study of itself. Each department and each program prepared written reports detailing their work for the past ten years. Then, the seminary evaluated its work by applying the standards of accreditation established by the Association of Theological Schools and the criteria of accreditation established by the Higher Leaning Commission of the North Central Association. Then, using all this information, I wrote the final Self-Study Report.

Because of my work on the Self-Study, my blogging has suffered. Since last year, I have been involved in preparing for the Self-Study visit, which occurred on November 4-7. The preliminary results of the visit are encouraging and we should have the final results in January.

So, my work with the Self-Study is finished. Now, I can return to blogging on a more regular basis and I plan to do this beginning in the next couple of days.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

God Save the Queen

Yahoo News has published a list of the ten most ridiculous British laws:

1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.

2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down.

3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store.

4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day.

5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter.

6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet.

7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen.

8. It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing.

9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour.

10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow.

Someday I will try to find the ten most ridiculous laws in the United States.

God save the Queen.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

UPDATE: Peter Kirk at Gentle Wisdom has sent me a link to the BBC which presents an updated list of these laws.


Tags: British Laws

King Tut’s Face - The Pictures

Archaeologists have open King Tut’s sarcophagus and shown King Tut’s face for the first time.

Click here to see other great pictures of King Tut’s face.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

King Tut’s Face

Archaeologists have revealed the face of King Tut for the first time. It has been more than 3,000 years since one of the most famous pharaohs of Egypt died and was buried in his underground tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

According to the press release,

Archeologists carefully lifted the fragile mummy out of a quartz sarcophagus decorated with stone-carved protective goddesses, momentarily pulling aside a beige covering to reveal a leathery black body.

The linen was then replaced over Tut's narrow body so only his face and tiny feet were exposed, and the 19-year-old king, whose life and death has captivated people for nearly a century, was moved to a simple glass climate-controlled case to keep it from turning to dust.

Read the article in its entirety by clicking here.

King Tut has become the most famous and the best known pharaoh of Egypt. Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass has done a magnificent job in the restoration of King Tut's remains.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

The Google Meme

While I was reading Duane Smith’s blog, I came to a very interesting meme. Duane mentioned that David Ng at The World's Fair, had suggested a Google meme:

I'd like to suggest a meme, where the premise is that you will attempt to find 5 statements, which if you were to type into google (preferably google.com, but we'll take the other country specific ones if need be), you'll find that you are returned with your blog as the number one hit.

Duane tried and he found his five statements. I tried and here is the result as of November 1, 2007. Since the rankings at Google changes, I date the search to confirm the returns.

Here are my 5 statements:

“Atheism and the Culture of Denial”

“The Ten Commandments: The computer animated version”

“Amos, Justice and the NIV”

“George Bush, King of Iraq”

“The Complementarian-Egalitarian Divide”

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII

John Hobbins at Ancient Hebrew Poetry has posted his review of the best blogs for the month of October. Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII introduces several new blogs and many interesting entries. John takes a different approach in compiling the Carnival but the result of his work is a confirmation that biblioblogging is alive and prospering.

Visit Ancient Hebrew Poetry and read John’s selection for Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII. Read also the additional entries to Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII.

While you are visiting John’s blog, read the list he has compiled of blogs dealing with biblical studies. John’s list introduces many bibliobloggers whose blogs are not listed in Biblioblogs.com.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

The Reformation Polka

Although Reformation Sunday has come and gone, this modern day view of the Reformation is unique.

Watch the Video

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Northern’s Continuing Accrediation Visit

Northern Seminary has released the following press release:

Northern’s Reaccrediation Visit

Northern Seminary is a graduate school accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). Northern's central purpose is to offer graduate, professional and academic, evangelical theological education to men and women for Christian ministries. Northern offers equal opportunity for students, administrative staff and faculty concerning matriculation, employment, or service without regard to matters of sex, race, ethnic heritage, nationality or economic position.

At the present Northern Seminary is going through a process of reaccreditation with both institutions of higher education. On November 5-7, 2007 a visiting team from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (HLC/NCA) will be on campus to conduct a study of the work of the Seminary.

Students, alumni, friends of the Seminary, and the public-at-large are invited to meet with the visiting team and speak on issues related to the work and mission of Northern Seminary. If you are interested in meeting with a member of ATS or of HLC/NCA, you may contact Dr. Claude Mariottini, Director of the Self-Study at (630) 620-2186 or email him at cmariottini@seminary.edu.

You may contact ATS directly at the Association of Theological Schools, 10 Summit Park Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1103, phone: (412) 788-6505. ATS is the national accrediting agency for theological schools in the United States and Canada.

You also may contact the HLC/NCA at the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, 30 North LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504, phone: (800) 621-7440.

Because of my work with the Self-Study, I have been unable to blog regularly for the past three weeks. The end of a three-year process ends next week. The many demands associated with the work of the Self-Study are time-consuming and require much reading and writing.

I appreciate the words of support and encouragement I received from many of you. Unfortunately, some correspondence remains unanswered. I will return to my regular work after the work of the Self-Study is finished.

I will be back!

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary