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God the Midwife: a repost with new format

May 1, 2012 No comments

With mothers’ day coming up it seems a good time to reissue an old post, with a new format and somewhat cleaned up audio. I briefly remind you of some of the passages that picture God as a midwife. The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) regularly pictures Yahweh as intimately associated with forming in the womb and with birthing. In view of “his” role as midwife “he” can hardly have been thought of as a male god.

Remembering this stuff and celebrating motherly God (who is no god) is particularly appropriate as we approach mother’s day! Better for us than extra chocolate too ;) And it’s not un-topical here in NZ where the TV is showing a drama about Midwives just now, either.

God the Midwife [ 5:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
God the Midwife [ 5:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Gender, Genesis, Jeremiah, Job, OT, Psalms, Theology none

Humour in the Bible: Book 24: Jeremiah

September 9, 2011 No comments

Massebah at Gezer (Photo by Tim Bulkeley)

Back to the longer series, just in case you thought I’d forgotten. Jeremiah has a harsh and cutting humour on almost every page. In this post we’ll look at Jer 2:26-28. And just so you don’t think I am inventing the humour I find there I’ll cite some proper scholarship.1

Here’s the audio: Humour in the Bible: Book 24: Jeremiah

  1. William R. Domeris, “When metaphor becomes myth: A socio-linguistic reading.” In Troubling Jeremiah, edited by A. R. Diamond and Society of Biblical Literature. Composition of the Book of Jeremiah Group. Continuum, 1999, 257. [↩]
Humour, Jeremiah none

When prophecy turns sour: Jer 6:1-8

March 19, 2011 No comments

Back in the days before I was a professional Bible teacher I could never have imagined anyone wanting to rip the book of Jeremiah from Scripture. Jeremiah the emotional prophet, who speaks sometimes such lovely promises, who expresses how his own and God’s hearts are torn by the terrible future (and present) Judah’s apostasy and sin have brought upon Jerusalem the holy city, how could anyone not love Jeremiah!?

But then I was asked to teach Jeremiah, and once I did. In preparation I read the book, aloud into a recorder, and then listened to the recording, while driving to work. I discovered, to my horror, but more and more strongly that I detested the book. It is grubby, nasty and leaves such a sour taste that I wanted to spit it out.

And yet, I’ve continued to live with Jeremiah, it’s part of Scripture, it’s part of my Prophets in Context course… and perhaps I can see why it remains in the canon….

I’ll try to illustrate some of this looking at Jer 6:1-8 as a sample passage.

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Jeremiah, Prophets , ,

Jer 4:23-27 uncreation

March 6, 2011 No comments

Misty mountains, southern olympics by Julie Olson

We looked at this passage in class last week. I’ve based this podcast on my own very literal translation (so as to make spotting how if works easier). The translation with a couple of explanatory notes is here: Jeremiah 4:23-27 (translation and notes)

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Jeremiah none

Did God “seduce” Jeremiah?

February 13, 2011 No comments

My earlier podcast: The last Confession of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 20: Yahweh seduces his prophet I simply assumed the translation seduce” for patah But “seduce” is not a translation favoured by English translations.

I dealt with this issue briefly in a blog post Did Yahweh seduce Jeremiah? with a bibliographic note Did God seduce Jeremiah? Addendum but since the issue was raised orally it seems right to deal with it orally here.

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So, in Jer 20:7ff does Jeremiah claim YHWH seduced him, or not? Listen to the podcast and then you decide!

As well as Jer 20:7ff. these other places where patah is used in the piel are mentioned:

  • Gen 9:27
  • Ex 22:15 (v.16 in English)
  • Jud 14:15; 16:5
  • 1 Kgs 22:20,21,22 cf. 2 Chron 18:19,20,21
  • Ps 78:36
  • 2 Sam 3:25
  • Pr 24:28
  • Hos 2:1
  • Pr 1:10
  • Ez 14:9
Complaint, Jeremiah none

Jeremiah’s fourth confession: Jer 18:18-23 the continuing drama of Jeremiah and his Yahweh

February 8, 2011 No comments

Jeremiah by Michaelangelo from the Sistine Chapel roof (Wikimedia)

Sorry this podcast is firstly out of order (it should have come before the last confession ;) and then late (it should also have come a while back but I’ve been busy trying to get a paper on Isaiah finished :(

This fourth confession illustrates strongly both the dramatic narrative character of these “confessions” and that they are not to be taken as examples to follow, or as a mine from which we can quarry “texts”. For anyone who followed Jeremiah’s example would be rightly shunned, and any text torn screaming from this matrix would yield most unchristian applications!

No! Rather read this “confession” as a further episode in the continuing drama of Jeremiah and his Yahweh. As you read, allow yourself to be read, and you will listen with profit to the prophet ;)

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Arguing with God, Complaint, Jeremiah ,

The last Confession of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 20: Yahweh seduces his prophet

January 28, 2011 No comments

Jeremiah gets more personal in his complaints, but his “conversation” with YHWH still seems to shut out any response… curiouser and curiouser… and which ending will you choose of this series?

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characterisation, Complaint, Jeremiah , , , ,

Jeremiah’s third confession: Jer 17:12-18: How might YHWH respond?

January 27, 2011 No comments

Pulpit Bible by contemplativechristian

Jeremiah’s third confession is a monologue, mainly (or all, depending where we think it starts) addressed to God. Complaint is the dominant tone, and Jeremiah asks for vengeance on his opponents. So this text raises interesting questions about the nature of Scripture, and how God might read (some parts of) the Bible…

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Complaint, Jeremiah , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah’s second confession: Jer 15:10-21: complex relationships

January 26, 2011 No comments

Continuing a series on The Confessions of Jeremiah, we’ll explore the second of these rich and complex texts Jer 15:10-21. Although I only have 5 minutes I hope I’ll give you material to spark several times that of study of the biblical text ;) for it is out of such personal wrestling (sometimes like Jeremiah’s struggles with Yahweh) that we grow and learn from our Bible reading :)

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characterisation, Complaint, Jeremiah , , ,

Jeremiah’s first confession: Jer 11:18-12:6: Part Two Jeremiah and Yahweh

January 21, 2011 No comments

An Act against Atheism and Blasphemy, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1697 (Wikimedia)

In the previous two podcasts in this series I’ve introduced “the Confessions of Jeremiah” and the first confession (11:18-12:6). Here we’ll look at this text from the point of view of how it portrays the characters of Jeremiah (in the book the speaker of the passage) and his God (whom he often addresses and on whose behalf he speaks to others).

I’ll suggest that this passage is far from a neat static cartoon of Jeremiah and God on one side and the Judeans (or the “Men of Anathoth”) on the other, goodies and baddies. Rather it shows a rich depth of character as Jeremiah learns to experience God more profoundly.

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characterisation, Complaint, Jeremiah , , , ,
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