Genealogies matter. The Biblical narrative is fundamentally a record of events—births, deaths, k... more Genealogies matter. The Biblical narrative is fundamentally a record of events—births, deaths, kings enthroned, kings deposed, covenants made, covenants broken, etc. The Bible’s genealogies are the backdrop against which these events unfold. As such, they are a fundamental part of the fabric of Scripture. They tell us when things happen and who is involved in them. And, by extension, they often give us clues as to why.
The story of Scripture (on the Christian view) opens with an account of a triune God who creates ... more The story of Scripture (on the Christian view) opens with an account of a triune God who creates the heavens and earth over the course of a seven-day week. What's the connection between these numbers? Could a triune God have created the world over any period of time he chose? No doubt he could. But a sevenfold week seems particularly apt. It also sheds light on one of Genesis 1’s more unusual details, namely God’s reluctance to ‘look’ at Day Two’s events.
Summary: The book of Jonah is far more than an unusual sea-story. It’s a story about a God who ... more Summary: The book of Jonah is far more than an unusual sea-story. It’s a story about a God who hurls a wind down to the earth in such a way as to stir up a previously undisturbed sea, so as to lead its sailors to hurl/cast lots and subsequently hurl Jonah overboard, just in time to be swallowed by a fish and spewed out on the dry land three days later, all of which has been convened so as to foreshadow Israel’s long history, ultimately to be lived out by God’s own Son in his (Jonah-like) death, resurrection, and acceptance among the Gentiles. Key words: Jonah, Noah, plant, worm, Noah, dove, Peter, Gentiles. Date: Mar. 2021.
The Exploitation of Power in the Biblical Narrative: Sex, Lies, & Intertextuality
Summary: In t... more The Exploitation of Power in the Biblical Narrative: Sex, Lies, & Intertextuality
Summary: In the present note, I explore the Bible’s portrayal of the exploitation of power by means of two canonically separate yet textually related Biblical narratives. Keywords: David, Bathsheba, Ahab, Naboth, intertextuality, power, exploitation. Date: Dec. 2020.
Summary: In the present note, I seek to trace the story of Benjamin as it unfolds on the pages o... more Summary: In the present note, I seek to trace the story of Benjamin as it unfolds on the pages of Scripture—a story of grace, preservation, and redemption.
Summary: Daniel’s solution to the riddle inscribed on Belshazzar’s wall (viz. MNHMNHTKLWPRSYN)1 ... more Summary: Daniel’s solution to the riddle inscribed on Belshazzar’s wall (viz. MNHMNHTKLWPRSYN)1 is analytically elegant and prophetically accurate. It’s also a lot more involved than it seems. Daniel decomposes the king’s riddle into three triliteral nouns—meneh, tekel, and peres—, which form the basis of his solution. (He begins the first line of his solution with the word mene, the second with tekel, and the third with peres.) But why is ‘decomposition’ necessary? If God’s message to Belshazzar could have been summed up in three triliteral nouns, then why doesn’t the Masoretic Text simply have God inscribe the letters MNHTKLPRS on Belshazzar’s wall (as Greek translations and the Vulgate do)? Why do we instead find parsin (the plural of peres) in the king’s riddle yet peres in its solution? And why, while we’re on the subject, do we find two occurrences of the word meneh in the riddle yet only one in its solution? Indeed, why are three different weights mentioned at all? Such questions are typically answered by recourse to the (inferred) pre-history of Daniel 5. A careful analysis of the text, however, explains the MT as we have it. The extra meneh, the plural parsin, and the specific weights mentioned in Belshazzar’s riddle turn out to be integral to its message. Meanwhile, a consideration of the text’s numerical properties and canonical context reveals the genius of Daniel’s workmanship. Daniel distils the king’s riddle into a 3 x 3 matrix of letters, and then—with the help of known Mesopotamian techniques—expands the matrix into a second 3 x 3 matrix, which not only predicts Babylon’s fall, but corresponds with extraordinary precision to: a] the numerico-gematrial properties of his first matrix, and b] the astronomical conditions at the time of Babylon’s fall. Daniel thus beats Babylon’s stargazers at their own game and justifies his reputation as a master of his art. Keywords: Daniel, riddle, wordplay, prophecy, Mesopotamian omens, gematria.
Summary: In the present note, I discuss the relationship between Job’s structure and message. T... more Summary: In the present note, I discuss the relationship between Job’s structure and message. The book of Job, I submit, has a highly unified and tightly integrated structure, which: a] illuminates a number of important aspects of Job’s message, and b] makes it difficult to view the book of Job as the product of multiple authors.
In the present note, I consider the general picture painted by the Bible’s chronological data-poi... more In the present note, I consider the general picture painted by the Bible’s chronological data-points, and then zoom in on a few key dates and details. In all, I make three distinct claims. First, that the ‘year-stamps’ inherent in the text of Scripture form a plausible pattern. Second, that the text of Scripture contains traces/memories of a consistently-reckoned Jubilee cycle. And, third, that the vast majority of the ‘day-stamps’ recorded in Scripture are closely connected with the priesthood.
Keywords: Biblical chronology, Jubilee cycles, Sabbatical years, priestly texts, Ezekiel, time-stamps, Judges. Date: May 2020.
Summary: In the present note, I outline some reasons why I find attempts to view/interpret the b... more Summary: In the present note, I outline some reasons why I find attempts to view/interpret the book of Daniel as a 2nd cent. composition unsatisfactory. Key words: Daniel, Maccabean, date, composition, critical, evangelical. Date: Dec. 2019.
Summary: Some notes on Biblical currencies in their narratival and Ancient Near Eastern context.... more Summary: Some notes on Biblical currencies in their narratival and Ancient Near Eastern context. Key words: Biblical weights, measures, metrology, mina, shekel, talent. Date: Oct. 2020.
Summary: Balaam’s story is a strange one. Quite apart from its account of Balaam’s dialogue wit... more Summary: Balaam’s story is a strange one. Quite apart from its account of Balaam’s dialogue with his donkey, it includes a highly irregular incident, in which YHWH tells Balaam to go to Moab and then becomes angry with Balaam when he does so (Num. 22.22). The irregularity of the aforementioned incident has often been explained by reference to the text’s (assumed) diachronic development and accrual of dissimilar sources/theologies.
In the present note, however, I want to proffer a different analysis of the story—one which focuses not on its supposed developed, but on its final form and resonance with the wider Biblical canon. As readers of the Biblical narrative, we know YHWH to be a God of immense power who has greatly blessed his people, Israel. By means of 22.20–22’s irregularity, the text raises an important issue: the issue of whether YHWH’s commitment to his people is subject to change. It does so in characteristically subtle fashion. YHWH issues a command which seems to represent such a change of mind on his behalf; Balaam finds the prima facie sense of YHWH’s command convenient (and hence ‘obeys’ it); and, soon afterwards, Balaam discovers YHWH has not in fact changed his mind—a fact which leads him to bless Israel by means of his attempted curses. Our text thus fulfils at least two important functions. First (discussed last), it advances the story of Israel’s election as it unfolds on the pages of Scripture. And, second (discussed first), it teaches us an important lesson about YHWH’s manner of communication. Ambiguity in YHWH’s commands is only apparent. It is not the hallmark of a deity who is unsure of his mind; it is the hallmark of a deity who wants us to engage carefully and thoughtfully with his words.
Ingeniously, then, our text functions as its own object lesson, since it puts its readers in a similar position to Balaam. Faced with an apparently inconsistent set of commands, what will we do? Dismiss the text as incoherent or as a mere smorgasbord of ideas (from which we are free to take our pick), or engage with its details all the more determinedly?
Summary: The text of Exod. 3–15 is a carefully structured narrative, over the course of which th... more Summary: The text of Exod. 3–15 is a carefully structured narrative, over the course of which the full measure of YHWH’s judgment is outpoured on Egypt. At the same time, Pharaoh’s heart becomes progressively hardened (to what is right and proper), even as YHWH becomes more actively involved in its state. Particularly important in Pharaoh’s journey are two Hebrew verbs (כבד and חזק), which provide a nuanced account of YHWH’s interaction with the human heart.
Summary: Jonah’s response to Nineveh’s salvation is generally taken as an example of how not to ... more Summary: Jonah’s response to Nineveh’s salvation is generally taken as an example of how not to order one’s affections. And rightly so. But, when we consider why Jonah is so aggrieved and set his story alongside the text of Exodus 32–34, Jonah’s response is instructive. It teaches us about YHWH’s character, YHWH’s acts of revelation, and the nature of atonement. Keywords: Jonah, Exodus 32–34, Moses, intertextuality, sacrifice, atonement. Date: Dec. 2020.
Summary: In the present note, I share some brief thoughts about the lines of Zerah and Perez and... more Summary: In the present note, I share some brief thoughts about the lines of Zerah and Perez and their respective destinies. Keywords: Judah, Zerah, Perez, Jericho, genealogies. Date: Jan. 2020.
Summary: In the present note, I discusse the literary and narratival significance of the many li... more Summary: In the present note, I discusse the literary and narratival significance of the many lists found in Daniel 3. Keywords: Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar, Dura, ceremony, instruments. Date: Jan. 2020.
Summary: The book of Esther recapitulates the age-old rivalry between Saul and Agag (and, more p... more Summary: The book of Esther recapitulates the age-old rivalry between Saul and Agag (and, more prototypically, between Jacob and Esau), yet it departs from the story of Saul and Agag at a critical juncture. At the very moment when Saul starts to get ideas above his station, Esther remains humble. And so, as Esther’s star continues to rise, Haman’s begins to fall, which is reflected in our text by means of a number of important allusions to the books of Samuel. Keywords: Esther, Ruth, Mordecai, Haman, intertextuality, Saul, Esau, Jacob. Date: Feb. 2020.
The text of Esther is built around a chiastically-structured plot, the shape of which reflects th... more The text of Esther is built around a chiastically-structured plot, the shape of which reflects the reversal of the Jews’ fate and of Haman’s plans. The text also employs a number of carefully arranged subplots and literary features which serve to frame it as a replay of a previous event in world history.
Summary: When the king backs Haman’s decree, Esther is saddled with a difficult mission. She ha... more Summary: When the king backs Haman’s decree, Esther is saddled with a difficult mission. She has been selected as Persia’s replacement queen not only because of her natural beauty, but because of her (apparent) lack of allegiance to a particular people. Yet Esther soon finds herself required to defend her people--a people who exhibit exactly the kind of insubordination as Vashti did (briefly). To her credit, Esther succeeds in her mission, which has a number of Messianic overtones.
Keywords: Esther, Ahasuerus, Haman, Messianic, Jewish tradition, liturgy, Psalm 22. Date: Jul. 2019. Credits: R. David Fohrman’s The Queen You Thought You Knew.
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Tweets/Notes by James Bejon
Summary: In the present note, I explore the Bible’s portrayal of the exploitation of power by means of two canonically separate yet textually related Biblical narratives. Keywords: David, Bathsheba, Ahab, Naboth, intertextuality, power, exploitation. Date: Dec. 2020.
Keywords: Benjamin, Saul, Gibeah, Judges, Samuel, narrative. Date: Dec. 2019.
Key words: Job, structure, literary analysis, redaction, unity, coherence. Date: Jan. 2020.
Keywords: Biblical chronology, Jubilee cycles, Sabbatical years, priestly texts, Ezekiel, time-stamps, Judges. Date: May 2020.
In the present note, however, I want to proffer a different analysis of the story—one which focuses not on its supposed developed, but on its final form and resonance with the wider Biblical canon. As readers of the Biblical narrative, we know YHWH to be a God of immense power who has greatly blessed his people, Israel. By means of 22.20–22’s irregularity, the text raises an important issue: the issue of whether YHWH’s commitment to his people is subject to change. It does so in characteristically subtle fashion. YHWH issues a command which seems to represent such a change of mind on his behalf; Balaam finds the prima facie sense of YHWH’s command convenient (and hence ‘obeys’ it); and, soon afterwards, Balaam discovers YHWH has not in fact changed his mind—a fact which leads him to bless Israel by means of his attempted curses. Our text thus fulfils at least two important functions. First (discussed last), it advances the story of Israel’s election as it unfolds on the pages of Scripture. And, second (discussed first), it teaches us an important lesson about YHWH’s manner of communication. Ambiguity in YHWH’s commands is only apparent. It is not the hallmark of a deity who is unsure of his mind; it is the hallmark of a deity who wants us to engage carefully and thoughtfully with his words.
Ingeniously, then, our text functions as its own object lesson, since it puts its readers in a similar position to Balaam. Faced with an apparently inconsistent set of commands, what will we do? Dismiss the text as incoherent or as a mere smorgasbord of ideas (from which we are free to take our pick), or engage with its details all the more determinedly?
Key words: Balaam, Numbers 22–24, narrative, coherence, intertextuality, serpent, donkey, animals, typology
Citation: Bejon, J., 2019. ‘Balaam in Light of the Biblical Narrative’ in Plērōma anul XXI nr. 1 (2019), pp. 11–38. «http://jurnalulpleroma.itpbucuresti.ro/revista-online/», accessed 2021.
Keywords: Exodus, Pharaoh, plagues, hardness, heart, desires, narrative. Date: Sep. 2019.
Keywords: Esther, Mordecai, Haman, intertextuality, literary structure, literary analysis. Date: Jul. 2019.
Keywords: Esther, Ahasuerus, Haman, Messianic, Jewish tradition, liturgy, Psalm 22. Date: Jul. 2019. Credits: R. David Fohrman’s The Queen You Thought You Knew.