Saintliness is sometimes nothing but impure temptation.

Rebbe Mikhal of Zlotchev. From Souls on Fire, by Elie Wiesel, p. 49.

This story [the birth of Moses] fits in with a well known theme in the Old Testament. True, this story is unique in the Bible. No other baby survives birth in quite the same way. But countless stories describe births to mothers who were previously barren. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, Samson’s unnamed mother – all were barren, but God opened their womb. Why so many troubled births? In this way, God makes it clear that these children, including Moses, are special gifts of God. These are the ones who either continue the line of promise or save God’s people from destruction. It is against this background, as a matter of fact, that we should understand the significance of Jesus’ virgin birth. It is not just a “signs and wonders” show. The virgin birth makes an important theological statement. If Isaac and Moses, among other Old Testament characters, are shown in this way to be gifts of God by virtue of their birth to previously barren women, how much more so Jesus, born from a virgin’s womb.

p.100-101

Though I was aware of some of the connections between, say the birth of Samuel and his mother Hannah, and the birth of Jesus and his mother Mary, I had not thought of seeing the virgin birth of being a heightened example of the barren womb narrative. Very cool.

More of these beautiful illustrations can be found here. A little more info about what these illustrations are from can be found on this Wikipedia article.

Let us dwell for the time being on the unity of Scripture. It is a theological datum. But it is not simply imposed from the outside on what is in itself a heterogeneous ensemble of writings writings. Modern exegesis has brought to light the process of constant rereading that forged the words transmitted in the Bible into Scripture: Older texts are reappropriated, reinterpreted, and read with new eyes in new contexts. They become Scripture by being read anew, evolving in continuity with their original sense, tacitly corrected and given added depth and breadth of meaning. This is a process in which the word gradually unfold its inner potentialities, already somehow present like seeds, but needing the challenge of new situations, new experiences and new sufferings, in order to open up.

p. xviii-xix

A couple of notes:

First, I’ve been reading Exodus with one group at church, and may very well be doing so in a second group, and drawing on Peter Leithart’s book A House for My Name, I’ve been talking about how the author of Exodus is drawing on already established scenes to integrate the new characters into the broader story of Israel. For example: In Exodus 2, when Moses meets Jethro’s daughters at a well, we realize we have seen this “man-woman-well” combo before. Abraham’s servant finds Rebekah at a well, and Jacob meets Rachel at a well. This story is told yet again in John 4, one of the many clues that we should understand Jesus as being deeply connected with story of Israel.

Secondly, I simply note that among the catalysts for opening up new understandings of the word is “new sufferings.”

There is indeed something to those books of wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures – “wine maketh merry” and “bread strengthens the heart,” is how it goes, I believe.

Happy New Year, folks.

The forerunners and leaders of the Renaissance and the Reformation (fourteenth-fifteenth centuries), and especially Martin Luther and William Tyndale (sixteenth century), made use of Latin translations of the classic Jewish commentators Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Kimhi (eleventh-thirteenth centuries), whose works were imbued with the direct knowledge of the Targums [ancient Aramaic translations of the Tanakh]. Luther was greatly indebted to Nicholas of Lyre (1270-1349), who had adopted Rashi’s exegesis for his Latin Bible commentary.

From the Preface to the JPS translation of the Tanakh, page xvi.

Thought this was interesting, I knew of the Luther and Nicholas of Lyre connection, but did not know that Nick had used Rashi’s exegesis. Interesting bit of info.