Papers by Jacob Smith
There is large-scale agreement amongst commentators that Jeremiah 33.14-26 represents an editoria... more There is large-scale agreement amongst commentators that Jeremiah 33.14-26 represents an editorial addition that was not part of the book's original composition. 1 The primary reasons given in support of this conclusion are: (1) vv. 14-26 are absent in the LXX; 2 (2) there are apparent oddities or examples of carelessness in the Hebrew text; (3) there is an infusion of ideas concerning particular Davidic or Levitic promises that are supposedly "foreign" to Jeremiah (viz. notions of a perpetual covenant); and (4) the pericope evidences the presence of repetitious material drawn from earlier portions of the book. For most, this addition is understood to stem from the work of a later redactor(s)-although scholars are in disagreement as to the date and provenance of this redaction; others however (primarily early commentators), have attributed the addition to the work of the prophet himself or to his scribe Baruch. 3
According to Proverbs 8, Wisdom is heralded as the inception point ִית( ֵאשׁ )ר of all God's... more According to Proverbs 8, Wisdom is heralded as the inception point ִית( ֵאשׁ )ר of all God's work in creation, constantly ָמ)ן( )א present at the Lord's side as he brought creation into existence. However, determining the identity of "Wisdom" in Proverbs 8, and specifically its role in the work of creation, has formed the center of an ongoing debate in biblical studies. As von Rad has noted, the proper understanding of the various "didactic poems" on Wisdom (e.g., Prov. 8; Job 28; Sir. 24) as a of special pleading-a reading back into the text something that is not germane to it? Can John be charged with a type of eisegesis? These are the sort of questions this paper intends to address. This paper will attempt to (1) provide an adequate OT defense for the NT writer's Christological interpretations of the creation event (cf. John 1:1ff; Col. 1:15ff); and to (2) outline a Christological reading of the divine "Let us" cohortative and the involvement of Wisdom in creation in Proverbs 8, that is not guilty of doctrinal proof-texting or linguistic speculation, but instead is organically rooted in the text. The purpose of this twofold approach is to provide a holistic account of the work of the Son as the active agent of creation. To that end, this paper will first seek to provide a linguistically informed and contextually satisfactory account of the 'royal-we' cohortative of Genesis 1, and develop its connections to the divine Word. Secondly, it will survey the innerbiblical exegesis of the creation account developed in Proverbs 8, with an eye to its particular focus on Wisdom as the "beginning" of God's work. Finally, by drawing these observations together, a unified vision of the OT's organic depiction of Christ, the divine Word, as the active agent of creation will be evidently seen. THE IMAGE OF GOD The divine commissive of Genesis 1:26 initiates the narrative high-point of the creation account: The creation of man. The pronoun shift from third-person singular ַשׂ( ַע ַיּ ,ו v.25) to firstperson plural ֶה( ֲשׂ ֽע ַ ,נ v.26) has resulted in a considerable debate over how to properly identify the intended referent(s). Commentators have outlined at least six interpretive possibilities: (1) it represents a polytheistic vestige of an earlier creation myth; (2) it refers to the "heavens and earth"; (3) it represents a plural of majesty; (4) it represents a plural of self-deliberation; (5) it reflects a divine address either given to, or given in the midst of the angelic host; or (6) it is a dialogue within the Godhead. 3 Of these six possibilities, options (1) and (2) can be immediately ruled out. The notion 3
An examination of the Lexical and Thematic connections between Adam and Solomon, and their relati... more An examination of the Lexical and Thematic connections between Adam and Solomon, and their relationship to Christ.
"OVER SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW" - Gal. 5:16-24 Exegesis
But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desir... more But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the desires of the Spirit, and the Spirit is against the flesh, for they oppose one another, in order to keep you from doing what you wish. 18 But if the Spirit leads you, you are no longer under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are clearly seen in whatever is sexually immoral, unclean, uncontrolled sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfish ambition, divisions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things such as these. I warn you ahead of time, just as before, that the ones who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control-over such things there is no law. 24 And the ones who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
A Text-Critical paper on Psalm 42:5
The Masoretic Text (MT) begins chapter 2 here, whereas the English translations place this verse ... more The Masoretic Text (MT) begins chapter 2 here, whereas the English translations place this verse at the end of chapter 1. In this paper, we will follow the versification of the MT, unless otherwise noted. has come up before Him. Jonah, however, declines the mission and instead boards a ship bound for the opposite direction. Once onboard, Jonah retreats "down" 2 into the ָה כ ְרֵ י 3 of the ship, and falls into a deep sleep. While asleep below deck, the sailors work tirelessly on the top deck to keep the ship from breaking apart, for Yahweh had sent a great storm upon the seas, in pursuit of His runaway prophet. In 1:7ff, we find that Jonah has been awakened and he and the sailors are at an impasse over what to do to quiet the raging storm. Jonah has already told them that the storm is due to his fleeing from Yahweh, and the only way to quiet the sea is for them to "lift him up" 4 and "hurl him" into the sea. It is interesting to note in passing that Jonah's response to the storm, of which he knows the cause (i.e. his flight from "the presence of the LORD"), is not to petition Yahweh to still the storm (as the captain requests, v.6), but rather, to be "lifted up" and "hurled" into the sea. It would appear that Jonah would rather die than go and call Ninevah to repentance. The sailors, however, are not yet convinced of their fate. Instead, they determine to "dig" hard into the water to get back to dry land. Interestingly, the verb used in 1:13a is not the normal verb used to denote rowing a boat. 5 Instead, it is usually used to describe the action of digging into a wall (cf. Job 24:16; Ezek. 8:8; 12:5, 7, 12), or of someone digging into the ground, into Sheol (cf. Amos 9:2). This last use of the verb is especially helpful for us in understanding the author's point. While the sailors were attempting to row back to dry land to save both themselves and Jonah, they were in reality, "digging a hole to 2. The attentive reader should take note of the prophet's trajectory here in the first chapter: downward. The word ד ָרַ י appears three times in chapter 1 (twice in verse 3 and once in verse 5), and one final time in 2:6, as a culmination of the downward trajectory of the disobedient prophet. 3. The word ָה כ ְרֵ י means something like, "far ends" or "extremities," and is used also in Isa. 14:15 to speak of the far ends of the grave. There may be an intended connection here between the deep sleep of the prophet Jonah in the deep part of the ship, with the coming deep (read: death) sleep of the prophet Jonah in the deep part of the fish's stomach. See
A closer look at a number of inner-textual links between Genesis 3:7 and 6:4.
Book Reviews by Jacob Smith
Review of Daniel Wilson's Syntactic and Semantic Variation in Copular Sentences
Review of Carolyn Sharp's commentary on Jeremiah 26–52 in the IECOT series
Jeremiah in History and Tradition brings together a collection of essays on the book of Jeremiah ... more Jeremiah in History and Tradition brings together a collection of essays on the book of Jeremiah from multiple different (but complementing) perspectives, such as historical criticism, textual criticism, redaction criticism, feminist criticism, and reception history. The goal of the book is to reexamine Jeremiah "through the lens of intertextuality and reception history" (i), providing a fresh look at many old issues (e.g. Jeremianic texts found at Qumran) as well as developing new theories of interpretation (e.g. Isaiah's absence in MT Jer 26). The book is divided into two parts: the first part ("Jeremiah in History") contains different reading strategies that all utilize some form of classical historical criticism; part two ("Jeremiah in Tradition") engages how the book and the figure of Jeremiah have been used in extra-biblical
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Papers by Jacob Smith
Book Reviews by Jacob Smith