burned

January 1, 2019

Judah and Perez (Lk 3:33-3:33)

“The son of Amminadab,

The son of Admin,

The son of Arni,

The son of Hezron,

The son of Perez,

The son of Judah.”

 

τοῦ Ἀμιναδὰβ τοῦ Ἀδμεὶν τοῦ Ἀρνεὶ τοῦ Ἐσρὼμ τοῦ Φαρὲς τοῦ Ἰούδα

 

The two genealogies of Matthew and Luke are almost the same from Judah to Amminadab.  Luke listed them as Nahshon, the son of Amminadab (τοῦ Ἀμιναδὰβ), the son of Admin (τοῦ Ἀδμεὶν), the son of Arni (τοῦ Ἀρνεὶ), the son of Hezron (τοῦ Ἐσρὼμ), the son of Perez (τοῦ Φαρὲς), the son of Judah (τοῦ Ἰούδα).  Clearly, Judah had become the dominant tribe by the time of Jesus.  The story of the children for Judah is a very interesting tale as portrayed in Genesis, chapter 38.  Judah married a Canaanite woman named Bathshuah in Adullam.  They had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah.  Then the story got more complicated.  Judah found a lady named Tamar to be a wife for his first-born wicked son Er, whom Yahweh put to death.  Then Judah sent Onan, his second son, to produce children for his brother from Tamar, Er’s wife.  However, Onan spilled his semen on the ground, so that he would not have any children.  Thus, Yahweh put him to death also.  Judah then told Tamar to live as a widow in her father’s house, until his youngest son Shelah was older and able to marry her.  Tamar, in the meantime, saw that Shelah had grown up, but was not being offered in marriage to her.  She decided to throw off her widow garments, put a veil on, and sit on the road from Adullam to Timnah.  Now Judah, whose wife Bathshuah had died, was on this same road and thought that she was a prostitute, because her face was covered.  He gave her his signature ring and the cord as a pledge that he would pay her later for her sexual favors.  They had sex and she conceived by him.  Three months later, Judah found out that his daughter-in-law Tamar was pregnant as a result of prostitution.  He wanted her immediately burned, but she told Judah that the owner of a ring and cord made her pregnant.  Judah admitted that she was right.  Tamar then had twins from this pregnancy, Perez and Zerah, who disputed about who was the first out of the womb.  Interesting enough, the line of Judah would have died out without this prostitute episode.  Thus, the sacred lineage of Judah goes through a father-in-law having paid sex with his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who was a Canaanite.  According to Genesis, chapter 46:12, Perez, the son of Judah, had 2 sons, Hezron and Hamul. who went with Jacob to Egypt.  From 1 Chronicles, chapter 2:9-17, we learn about the linage of Hezron.  He had 3 sons, Jerahmeel, Aram, and Chelubai.  This Aram, Arni, or Ram was the father of Aminadab or Amminadab.  Luke added an Admin who is not found elsewhere or maybe another name for Ram.  Amminadab had a daughter, Elisheba, who married Aaron, the brother of Moses, in Exodus, chapter 6:23.  Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, the brother-in-law of Aaron and Moses.

June 13, 2018

The king was angry (Mt 22:7-22:7)

“The king was angry.

He sent his troops.

He destroyed

Those murderers.

He burned

Their city.”

 

ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ὠργίσθη, καὶ πέμψας τὰ στρατεύματα αὐτοῦ ἀπώλεσεν τοὺς φονεῖς ἐκείνους καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἐνέπρησεν.

 

Well, yeah, the king was enraged and angry.  First, he invited them to his son’s wedding feast.  Then they would not come after two specific invitations.  Finally, they mistreated and killed his own slaves.  In the equivalent Luke parable, nobody died.  But Matthew has a different story.  Jesus said that he wanted revenge for the death of this king’s slaves.  This king was very angry, provoked, and irritated (ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ὠργίσθη).  He sent his army of troops (καὶ πέμψας τὰ στρατεύματα αὐτοῦ) to destroy those murderers (ἀπώλεσεν τοὺς φονεῖς ἐκείνους).  Then he burned down their city (καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἐνέπρησεν).  This destruction of the city may have been a veiled reference to the fall of Jerusalem.  Don’t mess with the king and his slaves!

April 30, 2018

Separate at harvest time (Mt 13:28-13:30)

“The householder answered.

‘An enemy has done this.’

The slaves or servants said to him.

`Then do you want us to go

And gather them?’

But he replied.

‘No!

In gathering the weeds,

You would uproot the wheat

Along with them.

Let both of them grow together

Until the harvest.

At harvest time,

I will tell the reapers,

‘Collect the weeds first!

Bind them in bundles to be burned!

But gather the wheat into my barn.’”

 

ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτοῖς Ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος τοῦτο ἐποίησεν. οἱ δὲ δοῦλοι αὐτῷ λέγουσιν Θέλεις οὖν ἀπελθόντες συλλέξωμεν αὐτά;

ὁ δέ φησιν Οὔ, μή ποτε συλλέγοντες τὰ ζιζάνια ἐκριζώσητε ἅμα αὐτοῖς τὸν σῖτον·

ἄφετε συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα ἕως τοῦ θερισμοῦ· καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς Συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ δήσατε αὐτὰ εἰς δέσμας πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτά, τὸν δὲ σῖτον συναγάγετε εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου.

 

There is no equivalent to this parable in the other synoptic gospels.   Only Matthew has this parable about the good seed and the weeds.  The head of the house answered his slaves or servants (ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτοῖς).  He said that an unnamed enemy had done this (Ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος τοῦτο ἐποίησεν).  The slaves or servants wanted to know what to do (οἱ δὲ δοῦλοι αὐτῷ λέγουσιν Θέλεις).  Did he want them to gather up the weeds (οὖν ἀπελθόντες συλλέξωμεν αὐτά)?  The head of the house said no (ὁ δέ φησιν Οὔ).  He was afraid that they would uproot the wheat along with the weeds (μή ποτε συλλέγοντες τὰ ζιζάνια ἐκριζώσητε ἅμα αὐτοῖς τὸν σῖτον).  Instead he wanted both of them to grow together until the harvest time (ἄφετε συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα ἕως τοῦ θερισμοῦ).  Then he would tell the harvest reapers to collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned (καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς Συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ δήσατε αὐτὰ εἰς δέσμας πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτά).  Then, they were to gather the wheat grains into his barn (τὸν δὲ σῖτον συναγάγετε εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου).  There was no explanation of this parable, but the sense is that the good and bad should live together until the harvest end times, when the bad would be burned.

March 9, 2018

The chaff burns (Mt 3:12-3:12)

“His winnowing fork

Is in his hand.

He will clear

His threshing floors.

He will gather

His wheat

Into the barn granary.

But he will burn

The chaff

With an unquenchable fire.”

 

οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ συνάξει τὸν σῖτον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ.

 

Once again, there is a common source for John’s menacing saying between Luke, chapter 3:17, and Matthew, perhaps Q. God, the Lord of this farmer, has the winnowing fork in his hand (οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ). He was going to clear the threshing floors (καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ,). He was going to gather his wheat into his barn in the granary (καὶ συνάξει τὸν σῖτον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην). The leftover chaff would be burned with an everlasting fire that could not be put out (καὶ συνάξει τὸν σῖτον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην). This was a warning against the useless ones who would burn in an unstoppable fire.

November 22, 2017

Against Samaria (Mic 1:5-1:7)

“All this is for

The transgression

Of Jacob.

This is for

The sins

Of the house of Israel.

What is the transgression

Of Jacob?

Is it not Samaria?

What is the high place

Of Judah?

Is it not Jerusalem?

Therefore,

I will make Samaria

A heap in the open country.

I will make it

A place for planting vineyards.

I will pour down

Her stones

Into the valley.

I will uncover

Her foundations.

All her images

Shall be beaten to pieces.

All her wages

Shall be burned with fire.

I will lay waste

To all her idols.

She gathered them

As the wages of a prostitute.

They shall again be used

As the wages of a prostitute.”

Yahweh was coming because of the transgressions of Jacob, the sins of the house of northern Israel at the very place of Samaria.  The high place of Judah was Jerusalem.  Thus, Yahweh, was going to make Samaria like a heap in an open field or a place for vineyards.  He was going to take all their stones and throw them in the valley, as he would uncover their foundations.  All the idol images would be smashed to pieces, so that all their idols gods would be destroyed.  The wages of the temple prostitutes would be burned.  Whatever wages they had gained would be used against them.

October 12, 2017

The cry to Yahweh (Joel 1:19-1:20)

“To you!

O Yahweh!

I cry!

Fire has devoured

The pastures

Of the wilderness.

Flames have burned

All the trees

Of the field.

Even the wild animals

Cry to you.

Because the water streams

Are dried up.

Fire has devoured

The pastures

Of the wilderness.”

Joel cried out to Yahweh. He called the drought of this locust plague a fire. He repeated twice that this fire had devoured the pastures in the wilderness. The dry flames had burned the trees of the fields. The wild animals were also crying out to Yahweh. The streams of water had dried up. This was a desperate situation.

October 4, 2017

The assassinations of the Israelite kings (Hos 7:5-7:7)

“On the day of our king,

The officials

Became sick

With the heat of wine.

He stretched out his hand

With mockers.

They are kindled

Like an oven.

Their hearts

Burn with intrigue.

All night,

Their anger smolders.

In the morning,

It blazes

Like a flaming fire.

All of them are hot

As an oven.

They devour their rulers.

All their kings have fallen.

None of them calls upon me.”

Yahweh was upset about the northern Israelite kingdom. Even at the enthronement of the king, some conspirators, drunk with wine, were plotting an overthrow of the new king. This intrigue burned in their hearts. Finally, this smoldering anger would blaze into a flaming fire. They devoured their own rulers. Many kings had fallen. Thus, one of the wicked deeds of the northern kingdom of Israel was their various assassination plots that changed kings. At least 7 kings were murdered in this northern territory. King Pekah (737-732 BCE) had murdered King Pekahiah (7378-737 BCE), the son of King Menahem (743-738 BC). However, the worst crime of all was that no one called on Yahweh for help.

August 29, 2017

The little horn beast was killed (Dan 7:11-7:11)

“I watched then

Because of the noise

Of the arrogant words

That the horn

Was speaking.

And as I watched,

The beast

Was put to death.

Its body destroyed.

It was given over

To be burned

With fire.”

Daniel watched as the noisy arrogant little horn beast was killed. His body was burned and destroyed. There seemed to be a lot of anger at this little horn, the Greek King Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-163 BCE), perhaps indicating the date of this work. 1 Maccabees, chapter 1, went into great detail about this king.

July 10, 2017

The burnt bull sin offering (Ezek 43:21-43:21

“You shall also take

The bull                                   

Of the sin offering,

It shall be burnt

In the appointed place

Belonging to the temple,

Outside the sacred area.”

The sacrificed bull was a sin offering that had to be burned in an appropriate place in the Temple area, but not in the holy sacred area of the holy of holies.

 

May 17, 2017

The boiling rusted pot (Ezek 24:9-24:11)

“Therefore

Thus says Yahweh God!

‘Woe to the bloody city!

I will even make

The pile great!

Heap up the logs!

Kindle the fire!

Boil the meat well!

Mix in the spices!

Let the bones

Be burned!

Stand it empty

Upon the coals!

Thus it may become hot.

Its copper will glow.

Its filth

Will melt in it.

Its rust

Will be consumed.’”

Once again Yahweh, via Ezekiel, pronounced a curse against the bloody city of Jerusalem. Yahweh was going to pile up logs and kindle a fire. He wanted to boil the meat with lots of spices. He wanted this meal so well cooked that even the bones would be burned. He wanted this pot to stand empty on the hot coals until its copper glowed. He had hoped that the filth would melt out of this pot. That way, all the rust would be consumed and gone, since this burning pot was Jerusalem.