bodies

December 1, 2018

Pilate gave the body to Joseph (Mk 15:45-15:45)

“When he learned

From the centurion

That Jesus was dead,

He granted

The body

To Joseph.”

 

καὶ γνοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ κεντυρίωνος ἐδωρήσατο τὸ πτῶμα τῷ Ἰωσήφ.

 

This is similar to Matthew, chapter 27:58.  Luke, chapter 23:52, and John, chapter 19:38, who simply had this short statement, without any comment from Pilate.  Mark said when Pilate learned from the centurion (καὶ γνοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ κεντυρίωνος) that Jesus was dead, he granted the body to Joseph (ἐδωρήσατο τὸ πτῶμα τῷ Ἰωσήφ).  Thus, the body of Jesus left the control of the Roman and the Jewish authorities.  However, there was no mention of the bodies of the other two robbers who had been crucified with Jesus.

July 23, 2018

Tombs opened (Mt 27:52-27:52)

“The tombs also

Were opened.

Many bodies

Of the saints,

Who had fallen asleep.

Were raised.”

 

καὶ τὰ μνημεῖα ἀνεῴχθησαν καὶ πολλὰ σώματα τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων ἠγέρθησαν·

 

This is unique to Matthew, since the other 3 gospels do not mention anything about tombs, bodies, or saints being raised.  However, Matthew clearly said that the tombs were also opened (καὶ τὰ μνημεῖα ἀνεῴχθησαν), so that many bodies of the holy saints, who had fallen asleep (καὶ πολλὰ σώματα τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων), arose or were raised up (ἠγέρθησαν).  It was the general Jewish expectation that at the end times, the Day of Yahweh, that the dead would rise, especially among the Pharisees.  The holy ones or saints were the righteous ones who had died before Jesus.

March 20, 2017

The strange creatures in the foreign temples (Bar 6:20-6:23)

“The idols are just

Like a beam

In the temple.

It is said

That their hearts

Are eaten away,

When crawling creatures

From the earth

Devour them,

Along with their robes.

They do not notice

When their faces

Have been blackened

By the smoke

Of the temple.

Bats,

Swallows,

Birds,

As well as cats

Alight on their bodies

As well as their heads.

From this

You will know

That they are not gods.

So do not fear them!”

This author elaborates about the conditions that idols have in the foreign temples. They are just like wooden beams in the temple. Their hearts are being eaten away by crawling creatures that devour them along with their precious robes. These false idols do not even notice when their faces become blackened by the smoke in the temple. There are all kinds of creatures all over them. Bats, cats, swallows, and other birds have landed on their heads and bodies. Thus they should know that these are not really gods. Thus, there is nothing to fear from them.

January 8, 2017

Filling the large cistern pit with dead people (Jer 41:9-41:9)

“Now the cistern

Into which Ishmael

Had thrown

All the bodies

Of the men

Whom he had struck down

Was the large cistern

That King Asa

Had made for defense

Against King Baasha

Of Israel.

Ishmael,

The son of Nethaniah,

Filled that cistern

With those

Whom he had killed.”

Jeremiah explains that this big cistern was able to hold 80 bodies because this cistern was more like a pit or a trench that King Asa of Judah (911-870 BCE) had built over 300 years earlier. At that time he was having a war standoff with King Baasha of Israel (909-886 BCE) about Ramah. Thus, he built the city of Mizpah according to 1 Kings, chapter 15. This was then some kind of large trench pit rather than a simple well, so that it was able to hold all these bodies. There was no mention of the bodies of the other Judeans and Chaldeans who had been killed a couple of days earlier.

February 4, 2016

Religious vows (Prov 20:25-20:30)

“It is a snare for one to say rashly.

‘It is holy.’

Then only begin to reflect after making a vow.

A wise king winnows the wicked.

He drives the wheel over them.

The human spirit is the lamp of Yahweh.

It searches every innermost part.

Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king.

His throne is upheld by righteousness.

The glory of young men is their strength.

The beauty of the aged is their gray hair.

Blows that wound

Cleanse away evil.

Strokes make clean the innermost parts.”

Watch out for snares or traps. When someone thinks that something is holy and then makes a vow, they might be caught because only later do they think about what they just agreed to do. A wise king winnows or gets rid of the wicked ones. Then he drives a wheel over them. The human spirit is like God’s lamp that searches his most inner part. If the king is loyal and faithful he will preserve himself. Righteousness keeps the king on his throne. The glory of young people is their strength. However, the aged are beautiful because of their wonderful gray hair. Any blows that wound people clean up any evil in them. These strokes clean the innermost parts of their human bodies. This seems like an argument for corporal punishment.

November 4, 2015

National lament (Ps 79:1-79:4)

A psalm of Asaph

“O God!

The nations have come into your inheritance.

They have defiled your holy temple.

They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

They have given the bodies of your servants

To the birds of the air for food.

The flesh of your faithful has been given

To the wild animals of the earth.

They have poured out their blood like water,

All around Jerusalem.

There was no one to bury them.

We have become a taunt to our neighbors.

We are mocked.

We are derided

By those around us.”

Psalm 79 is another psalm of Asaph. This national lamentation deplores the defeat and ruin of Jerusalem and its Temple, probably at the time of the captivity around 587 BCE. The bodies of the faithful were given over to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Their blood was all around Jerusalem. No one was there to bury them. The Israelites had become a taunt to their neighbors. They were mocked and derided by everybody around them.

July 12, 2015

Zophar responded about the wicked ones (Job 20:1-20:11)

“Then Zophar the Naamathite answered.

‘Pay attention!

My thoughts urge me to answer,

Because of the agitation within me.

I hear censure that insults me.

A spirit beyond my understanding answers me.

Do you not know this from of old?

Ever since man was placed on earth,

The exulting of the wicked is short.

The joy of the godless is but for a moment.

Even though they mount up high as the heavens,

Even if their head reaches to the clouds,

They will perish forever like their own dung.

Those who have seen them will say.

‘Where are they?’

They will fly away like a dream.

They will not be found.

They will be chased away like a vision of the night.

The eye that saw them will see them no more.

Their place will not behold them anymore.

Their children will seek the favor of the poor.

Their hands will give back their wealth.

Their bodies,

Once full of youthful vigor,

Will lie down in the dust with them.’”

Zophar said that he could not restrain himself anymore since he was so agitated about this matter. He maintained that since the beginning of man on earth, the wicked have tried to succeed. However, they have been unsuccessful. Their joy is fleeting, even though they have tried to reach the heavens. The wicked would perish like their own dung. They will seem to vanish as if they were never here. Eyes will not seem them anymore. Their children will be like the poor as their wealth will be dissipated. Their bodies would return to dust.

June 23, 2015

The dead Jewish soldiers were idolaters (2 Macc 12:39-12:42)

“On the next day, as had now become necessary, Judas Maccabeus and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen. He wanted to bring them back to lie with their kindred in the sepulchres of their ancestors. Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. It became clear to all that this was the reason that these men had fallen. So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous judge, who reveals the things that are hidden. They turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out. The noble Judas Maccabeus exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin. They had seen with their own eyes what had happened as the result of the sin of those who had fallen.”

This is one of the few passages where there seems to be respect for the fallen soldiers, other than the leaders. They went out to pick up the bodies of the dead Jewish fighters so that they could be put in the tomb of their ancestors. To their surprise, they found that all the dead Jewish fighters were wearing the sacred tokens of the idols from Jamnia. How and why they had these tokens was not clear. Of course, this was forbidden to all Jewish people. They then prayed that the sins of these fallen men might be blotted out. Judas Maccabeus reminded them to keep themselves from sin. They had seen with their own eyes what happened to sinners.

June 12, 2015

The seventh son speaks out (2 Macc 7:30-7:38)

“While she was still speaking, the young man said.

‘What are you waiting for?

I will not obey the king’s command.

I obey the command of the law

That was given to our ancestors through Moses.

You have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews.

You will certainly not escape the hands of God.

We are suffering because of our own sins.

If our living Lord is angry for a little while,

To rebuke and discipline us,

He will again be reconciled with his own servants.

You are an unholy wretch.

You are the most defiled of all men.

Do not be elated in vain.

Do not be puffed up by uncertain hopes,

When you raise your hand against the children of heaven.

You have not yet escaped

The judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God.

Our brothers,

After enduring a brief suffering.

They have drunk of ever-flowing life,

Under God’s covenant.

But you,

By the judgment of God,

You will receive just punishment for your arrogance.

I, like my brothers,

Give up body and life for the laws of our ancestors.

We, appeal to God,

To show mercy soon to our nation.

By afflictions and plagues,

We will make you confess that he alone is God.

Through me and my brothers

To bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty

That has justly fallen on our whole nation.’”

The last young son finally spoke out. He asked the king what he was waiting for. He was not going to obey the king. He only obeyed the Mosaic laws. In fact, he threatened the king, saying that he would not escape the wrath of God. They were suffering for their sins, being disciplined for a little while. However, King Antiochus IV was an unholy wretch, the most defiled of all humans. The judgment of the almighty God was coming to him. He could not escape from the all seeing God. His brothers would have an ever-flowing life. He would receive an eternal judgment. They were giving up their bodies for the laws of their ancestors, hoping for mercy. Perhaps this would help others to see that God alone was in charge. This was a very strong theological development of about the meaning and person of God.

May 16, 2015

King Ptolemy VI sees the destruction at Azotus (1 Macc 11:4-11:7)

“When King Ptolemy approached Azotus, they showed him the burnt out temple of Dagon, Azotus, and its suburbs destroyed. The corpses were lying about. The charred bodies of those whom Jonathan had burned in the war had been piled in heaps along his route. They also told the king what Jonathan had done, to throw blame on him. However, the king kept silent. Jonathan met the king at Joppa with pomp. They greeted one another and spent the night there. Jonathan went with the king as far as the river called Eleutherus. Then he returned to Jerusalem.”

It was hard to tell what King Ptolemy of Egypt thought about the destruction at Azotus. There were dead bodies piled up all over the place. The temple of Dagon had been destroyed. They told the king that Jonathan had done all this. Jonathan then met the king at Joppa. They greeted each other and stayed 1 night together. The next day, Jonathan left the king at the River Eleutherus, which is north of Tripolis, to return to Jerusalem.