Isaiah 8:1-15

Isaiah's Son a Sign of the Assyrian Invasion

8:1 Then the LORD said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, “Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” 2 and have it attested for me by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah. 3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the child knows how to call “My father” or “My mother,” the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.

5 The LORD spoke to me again: 6 Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and melt in fear before Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7 therefore, the Lord is bringing up against it the mighty flood waters of the River, the king of Assyria and all his glory; it will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks; 8 it will sweep on into Judah as a flood, and, pouring over, it will reach up to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.

9 Band together, you peoples, and be dismayed;

listen, all you far countries;

gird yourselves and be dismayed;

gird yourselves and be dismayed!

10 Take counsel together, but it shall be brought to naught;

speak a word, but it will not stand,

for God is with us.

11 For the LORD spoke thus to me while his hand was strong upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread. 13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over–a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken. (Isaiah 8:1-15, NRSV)

On December 16, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from December 11, 2004, (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One); the revised comments are repeated here with revision and supplement:

For a third time we meet a child whose name is symbolic. “Then the LORD said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’ and have it attested for me by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” (Isa. 8:1). This comes in what Joseph Blenkinsopp calls “the first of three speeches of the LORD to Isaiah (vv. 1-4, 5-10, 11-15)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 8:1-4). Benjamin D. Sommer calls attention to a change here from third person references to Isaiah to first person references: “In the oracles collected here, Isaiah refers to himself in the first person (unlike those in the previous ch., which refer to Isaiah in the third person). They consist of oracles dating from the beginning of the crisis through its aftermath” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Isaiah 8:1-22). The child’s name means, “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens” (NRSV text note a on Isa. 8:1).

Yesterday’s reading from Isaiah included the promise of a child named Immanuel, who was to be a sign (Isa. 7:14), for king Ahaz in the first place, but in the long run, also for us, as we Christian believe. Earlier, Isaiah’s son, Shear-jashub, “a remnant shall return” (NRSV text note b on Isa. 7:3), was a sign for Ahaz (Isa. 7:3). Today’s reading, as noted above, includes another child, whose name is symbolic. This “sign” is introduced more formally. Isaiah is to have the name–and presumably the accompanying prediction (v. 4)–formally “attested [or ‘notarized,” as we might have done] for me [i.e., the LORD] by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” (8:2). Isaiah reports the birth of his son. “And I went to the prophetess (hx!yb9n04h1, hann ^evî’āh), and she conceived and bore a son” (v. 3a). “The prophetess” says Blenkinsopp, was “Isaiah’s wife, perhaps in the service of the temple or court” op. cit., on v. 3). Julie Ann Hilton says that Isaiah,

married a so-called prophetess who bore him two sons . . . [with names] which are obviously symbolic names indicative of the contemporary political scene and the prophet ‘s message. However, his wife is not reported as having an independent prophetic ministry. Her only action in the narrative is one of childbearing. Thus, although Israel did admit female prophets, possibly her title is honorary by virtue of her marriage to Isaiah. She may have been specifically mentioned because of her influence on him, contributing to his insightful use of maternal imagery. (The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 353, in the Introduction to Isaiah)

Isaiah reports that the LORD interpreted the sign. “Then the LORD said to me, Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz; for before the child knows how to call ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria” (v. 3b, 4).

As the second oracle in this series is introduced, we learn that, as in the case of the previous signs, Ahaz refuses this one. “The LORD spoke to me again: Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and melt in fear before Rezin and the son of Remaliah,” says Isaiah (vv. 5-6). And he reports the predicted consequence. “Therefore (Nk2l!v4, w^elākēn), the Lord is bringing up against it the mighty flood waters of the River, the king of Assyria and all his glory; it will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks” (v. 7). The contrast is evident between “the waters of Shiloah that flow gently,” and “the mighty flood waters of the River.” According to P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., the “Siloam Inscription, a Hebrew inscription recovered from the Siloam tunnel in Jerusalem . . . commemorates the excavation of the tunnel, which connected the spring of Gihon, the principal source of water for ancient Jerusalem, with a reservoir within the city known as the pool of Siloam.” He adds that “the reference in Isa. 8:6 to ‘the waters of Shiloah that flow gently’ probably reveals the name for this water system that was in use during the reign of Ahaz. ‘Siloam’ is a later, Greek form of ‘Shiloah’ ” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v., Siloam Inscription). “The River,” says J. J. M. Roberts, “[is here] symbolizing Assyria” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Isa. 8:7). Sommer says, “The comparison of the Assyrian king to a devastating flood appears in Assyrian documents. Multitude [NJPS 1985, 1999] could be translated ‘glory’ [as in NRSV], a term also used in Assyrian descriptions of their king’s terrifying power” (op. cit., on vv. 7-8).

And so the River is a threatening menace, for “it will sweep on into Judah as a flood, and, pouring over, it will reach up to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel” (v. 8). “Invasion,” says Blenkinsopp, “is often represented as an inundation or deluge (Ps. 124:4-5; Jer. 47:2). Here the Immanuel (‘God is with us’) theme may have an ominous connotation” (op. cit., on v. 8). But Roberts sees a positive turn here. “And its outspread wings, he suggests would be translated “better ‘But his (God’s) outspread wings.’ The antecedent of the pronoun is probably the LORD in v. 7; although a standard metaphor for God’s protection (Deut. 32:11; Pss. 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:1-4), wings is never used of rivers, and Immanuel suggests a positive word (see v. 10)” (op. cit., on v. 8). Sommer sees some hope here: “Isaiah expresses the doctrine of Zion’s inviolability poetically: The Assyrians will decimate the land of Judah but not Judah’s head, which is Jerusalem” (op. cit., on v. 8). A flood reaching up to the neck reminds us of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib’s army (Isa., chaps. 36-37), but that comes later, when Hezekiah is king. In Ahaz’s day, God is ready to deliver his people.

In the midst of two mainly prose chapters (Isa. 7; 8 NRSV; though 8:6-10, 12-16 are printed in poetic lines in NJPS 1985, 1999), we come to a poetic section, of which Blenkinsopp says, “A brief hymn expands on the Immanuel theme with reference to the victorious Jerusalem of the future” (op. cit., on 8:9-10). The prophet speaks: “Band together, you peoples (Mym09f1 , ‘ammîm), and be dismayed (UTHov!, wāchōttû); / listen, all you far countries; / gird yourselves (Urz04x1t4h9, hith’azz^erû) and be dismayed (UTHov!, wāchōttû); / gird yourselves (Urz04x1t4h9, hith’azz^erû) and be dismayed (UTHov!, wāchōttû)!” (v. 9). Judah’s enemy nations are challenged to “gird themselves” for war against her, but ironically, they will be dismayed, a fate for the enemies that is stressed by the repeated verbs. “Take counsel together,” says the prophet to the enemy nations, “but it shall be brought to naught; / speak a word, but it will not stand”–Why? We (or they) may ask–“for God is with us (lx2 Unm0!f9, ‘immānû ’ël)” (v. 10). Sommer notes that “failure awaits the plotters,” his name for the enemies here. “The identity of the plotters is enigmatic: Are they (1) the Arameans and Israelites who attack Judah, (2) Judeans who support them against King Ahaz, (3) King Ahaz, who creates a conspiracy with the Assyrians against the Arameans and Israelites, or (4) the Assyrians who plan to take over the land of their new Judean ally–or all of these?” (op. cit., on vv. 9-10). Sommer leaves this as an open question.

Isaiah continues with personal testimony. “For the LORD spoke thus to me,” he says, “while his hand was strong upon me” (v. 11a). According to Joseph Blenkinsopp, “The hand of the LORD signifies possession by the spirit of God, resulting in transformed prophetic consciousness (1 Kings 18:46; 2 Kings 3:15; Ezek. 1:3; 3:22; 8:1; 33:22, etc.)” (op. cit., on Isa. 8:11-15). The LORD’s message for Isaiah is “not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ‘Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread’” (vv. 11b, 12). Apparently, says Blenkinsopp, “Isaiah’s opposition to Ahaz and his circle has . . . led to accusations of conspiracy directed against him and his followers” (ibid.). And reassuring exhortations for Isaiah himself continue. “But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (v. 13). “He [i.e., the LORD] will become a sanctuary,” Isaiah is told, “a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over–a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (v. 14). “And many among them shall stumble,” says the LORD; “they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken” (v. 15). According to Blenkinsopp, “Isaiah’s opposition to Ahaz and his circle has apparently led to accusations of conspiracy directed against him and his followers” (ibid.). According to Sommer, verses 11-15 “are linguistically and interpretively very difficult. They seem to reflect the fact that Isaiah’s advice opposes all his contemporaries’ perspectives: He advocates joining neither the anti-Assyrian coalition nor the Assyrians themselves” (op. cit., vv. 11-15).

Whether Isaiah is thus isolated, or for some other reason, the continuation here (in Monday’s reading) will instruct him to “Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples” (v. 16), thus to preserve the record (cf. Blenkinsopp on vv. 16-22).

2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

Warning against Idleness

6 Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 9 This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13 Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

14 Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.

Final Greetings and Benediction

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.

17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-18, NRSV)

On April 26, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), comments were repeated with revision and supplement (to include vv. 1-4) from December 16, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments for 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18 were repeated with revision and adaptation from May 20, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two) and from December 11, 2004, (Saturday of the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One). The comments are repeated here again with editing and supplement:

Paul begins 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3 with a request that the Thessalonian believers pray for him and his coworkers. “Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you” (2 Thess. 3:1). In particular, Paul requests prayer “that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people; for not all have faith” (v. 2). Paul may have already experienced severe persecutions (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23-29), but if so, he chooses not to elaborate on them at this point. Instead, he focuses on his readers. He assures them that God “will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” (3:3), expresses his confidence in them (v. 4), and prays that the Lord may “direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (v. 5).

After further thanksgiving and prayer for the Thessalonian believers (yesterday’s reading), Paul moves toward the closing of 2 Thessalonians with another warning against idleness. “Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us” (2 Thess. 3:6). This reminds us of Paul’s earlier admonition, “And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them” (1 Thess. 5:14). On whether the admonition relates to idleness or disorderliness, see the comments of last Tuesday (Dec. 9, 2008). But whereas 1 Thessalonians quickly moves on to other admonitions, “See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:15-18), 2 Thessalonians dwells on the subject of idleness (or disorderliness(. Paul presents himself as a role model. “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle (htakthvsamen, ētaktēsamen; see the comments of last Tuesday as noted above) when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you” (vv. 7-8). This reminder recalls Paul’s earlier description of his work in Thessalonica. “You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thess. 2:9). And Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers, as elsewhere he tells the Corinthians, that he did not accept payment for his work of ministry in Thessalonica, for “we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you” (2 Thess. 3:8). “This was not because we do not have that right,” he says, “but in order to give you an example to imitate” (v. 9; cf. 1 Cor. 9:3-15). Paul reminds them of his earlier command, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (v. 10). He has been informed of some laxity in this area, “For we hear that some of you are living in idleness (peripatou:ntaV . . . ajtavktwV, peripatountas . . . ataktōs), mere busybodies, not doing any work” (v. 11) For Paul, this state of affairs will not do, and he gives a further command. “Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (v. 12). Perhaps some of the people, remembering Paul’s statement that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2), believed that regular work was pointless; the end would come soon. Second Thessalonians counters that view. The community of believers is exhorted to “not be weary in doing what is right” (v. 13), but to “take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed” (v. 14). But those so shamed are not to be regarded as “enemies,” but warned “as believers” (v. 15). “Despite the stern warning against behavior,” says Abraham Smith, “the goal for the writer is reclamation” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on 2 Thess. 3:15).

The wish for peace (v. 16a) reminds us of a similar wish for peace in the earlier letter. “May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23). Paul authenticates the letter with a greeting in his own hand. “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write” (2 Thess. 3:17). Perhaps this explains the repeated benedictions, “The Lord be with all of you” (v. 16b), from the amanuensis (scribe), and “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you” (v. 18), from Paul himself.

Luke 22:31-38

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial (Mt 26.31-35; Mk 14.27-31; Jn 13.36-38)

31 “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 33 And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.”

Purse, Bag, and Sword

35 He said to them, “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “No, not a thing.” 36 He said to them, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted among the lawless’; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.” 38 They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” He replied, “It is enough.” (Luke 22:31-38, NRSV)

On June 29, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year One), comments were repeated with editing from December 16, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were combined with revision and supplement from December 11, 2004, (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from June 24, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Sunday Closest to June 22, Year One); the combined comments are repeated here:

Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial is presented in each of the four Gospels, with some variation in emphasis. Apart from minor details, the reports of Matthew and Mark are very similar. There is more difference in the accounts of Luke and John, as the following table shows:

The context differs in Luke and John from that of Mark and Matthew. The discussion of rank and status among the disciples (Mk. 10:41-45; Mt. 20:21-28; 19:28; Lk. 22:24-30), precipitated by the request for James and John to have special seats of honor in the kingdom (Mk. 10:35-45; Mt. 20:20-28), and Jesus’ emphasis on servant leadership in contrast to the pattern among the Gentiles (Mk. 10:42-44; Mt. 20:25-27; Lk. 22: 25-27), comes soon after Jesus’ third Passion Prediction in Mark and Matthew (Mk. 10:32-34; Mt. 20:17-19; Lk. 18:31-34), but at the Last Supper in Luke (cf. Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet and the lessons drawn from this act, Jn. 13:3-20).

Matthew and Mark begin the current selection by stating that “When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Mk. 14:26; Mt. 26:30), as compared with the later reference to departure for the Mount of Olives in Luke (Lk. 22:39). In Luke, Jesus initiates the discussion by addressing Simon (Peter) directly. “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Lk. 22:31-32). Luke’s version of Jesus’ warning to Peter seems more personal and directed especially to Peter (Lk. 22:31-34; cf. Mt. 26:30-34; Mk. 14:26-31; Jn. 13:36-38). In the phrase “all of you” (v. 31), the pronoun is plural (uJma:V, hymas), but in the continuation, Jesus says, “I have prayed for you (sou, sou),” with the second person singular pronoun. The prayer anticipates Peter’s failure but Jesus prays for Peter’s faith that it “may not fail” and that, after repentance, he will “strengthen your brothers” (v. 32). It is for you, Peter, that I have prayed. Peter responds bravely, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” (v. 33). “The prophecy of Peter’s denial looks forward,” says G. W. H. Lampe, “as Mk’s version does not, to his restoration and leadership of the apostles” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 733d, pp. 840-841, on Lk. 22:31-34). But, as in all the Gospels, Jesus predicts Peter’s threefold denial (v. 34).

Luke alone calls special attention to Satan in this context. According to Lampe,

Luke sets this in the context of the Supper and the teaching about the Kingdom; Mk. on the way to Gethsemane. Satan has gained power over all the disciples (like Job), to ‘sift’ them. Jesus prays for Peter as the apostolic leader, that his steadfastness may not permanently fail. He is to be converted and strengthen the others. Peter prefers to trust in himself and asserts his devotion in words recalling Ittai’s devotion to David (2 Sam. 15:20-21), a passage recalled also in Jn. 18:1). (ibid., p. 841).

In the other Gospels, Peter takes the initiative. Following Jesus statement that they will “all become deserters” (Mk. 14:27a; Mt. 26:31a), and the quotation from Zechariah, “I will strike the shepherd, / and the sheep [of the flock] will / be scattered” (Mk. 14:27b; Mt. 26:;31b), Peter protests. “Even though all become deserters, I will not” (Mk. 14:29; cf. Mt. 26:33; and the repetition, Mk. 14:31; Mt. 26:35). Luke reports only the single confident (rash?) assertion of Peter, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” (Lk. 22:33). In John, Peter’s question and assertion, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you” (Jn. 13:37), break into Jesus discussion of his soon departure (vv. 31-35). In each Gospel, these statements lead to Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial (Mk. 14:30; Mt. 26:34; Lk. 22:34; Jn. 13:38).

Discussion of supplies, and the advice to buy a sword,(Lk. 22:35-38), is presented only by Luke. Jesus tells the group about coming changes. “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” (v. 35; cf. 9:3; 10:4). When Jesus sent out the twelve “to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal (Lk. 9:3), and when he sent out the “seventy” (10:1), as part of his instructions he said “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money–not even an extra tunic (9:3), and “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals” (10:4). In today’s reading, he reminds them of the earlier instructions (Lk. 22:35), but reverses them (v. 36), adding that “the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one” (v. 36). According to Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger, verse 36 provides “an example of Jesus’ fondness for striking metaphors . . . but the disciples take it literally. The sword apparently meant to Jesus a preparation to live by one’s own resources against hostility. The natural meaning of v. 38 is that the disciples supposed he spoke of an actual sword, only to learn that two swords were sufficient for the whole enterprise, i.e. were not to be used at all” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994. on Lk. 22:36). Were they ready for Gethsemane (vv. 39-53)? The reference to the provisions, the purse and the bag (v. 36) may have application to the longer range work of the apostles, and of Luke’s own church community. The swords were probably for protection on similar journeys–protection from animals? Two swords would not be enough to fend off the temple police who would come to arrest him (vv. 37-54). And Jesus was certainly not advocating warfare, for when a sword was used to cut off the right ear of the high priest’s slave (v. 50), Jesus says, “No more of this!” and heals the ear. How could the disciple sever an ear? One doesn’t chop down with a sword. He apparently swung the sword horizontally, aiming for the neck, but when the slave ducked sideways, the sword clipped the ear. Jesus quotes Isaiah, “and he was counted among the lawless” (Lk. 22:37b, citing Isa. 53:12, “and was numbered among the transgressors”). He thus points to his forthcoming crucifixion as the fulfillment of scripture, and, according to Lampe, the quotation identifies “Jesus directly with the Servant. The disciples’ unperceptive literalism [about the swords] evokes an ironical dismissal of the subject” (op. cit., sec. 733e, p. 841, on Lk. 22:35-38).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net