Readers Reply

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Don’t Give Up

Every time I read a cancellation letter, I want to write you and say, keep up the good work. Not everyone is able to consider other viewpoints, but that, in fact, is what scholarship is all about!

God Bless BR

I just want to say “wow” in response to the last couple Readers Reply sections! No one is forcing anyone to read this magazine. Praise God that we live in a country where different viewpoints (even on Scripture) are actually encouraged! Kudos to you for printing this heavy criticism as well as Mary Joan Winn Leith’s hotly contested article on Jezebel!

The real reason I’m writing is to tell you (and I wish I could do it personally) how much I appreciate and respect your magazine. I have gained numerous insights into and perspectives of Scripture through your magazine’s articles. I praise God for your faithfulness and calling, and ask God to continue blessing your ministry with words of wisdom.

Pray for BR

The Bible plainly states, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom!” I believe that with all my heart, although I’m sure some of your people (editors, proofreaders, contributors, etc.) will get a great big laugh out of that statement.

The Bible also says that Hell is a place where the fire is not quenched and the worm dies not. This means (I am sure) that there will be eternal suffering for some!

I feel certain that some of your more intellectual contributors will be able to take those same verses and reinterpret them so that Hell seems more like Heaven or, worse yet, so that Hell seems not to exist.

Would I deprive your contributors of an outlet for their nefarious writings? No, but I would suggest they write for something other than a supposedly Bible-oriented magazine. Perhaps the Daily Agnostic or even Today’s Atheist would be more appropriate for their work.

You will not be receiving a renewal from this former reader, although I will be praying for your contributors’ eventual salvation.

Columns

In Praise of Leith

I noticed that BR didn’t publish any letters that were really supportive of Mary Joan Winn Leith’s conclusions and suggestions in her column “First Lady Jezebel” (August 2004). I’m here to tell you I loved the article and thought it very well written with provocative and plausible conclusions drawn. I’m so very glad that BR has columnists such as her.

Offended

I take high offense at the letter written by John R. McCain (December 2004) in response to Mary Joan Winn Leith’s column on Jezebel. [McCain suggested that Leith could “only understand a marriage arrangement in which she, the female, has power and control” and that she was probably “a feminist liberal who eagerly yearns for a female president.”—Ed.] I subscribe to BR and your other two magazines because I am interested in history, secular and religious. However, seeing you publish such a blatantly sexist letter has ruined all the enjoyment for me. Please cancel all my subscriptions forthwith.

Likes Leith

I enjoy Mary Joan Winn Leith’s writing. It is fresh and thought provoking.

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Genealogy

Why Women?

I enjoyed the article “Before Mary: The Ancestresses of Jesus” (December 2004), based on Jane Schaberg’s research on the women included in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. However, I do think that the author has missed the true significance of these women. Schaberg seems to point to some sort of feminist purpose in Matthew’s use of this material in his genealogy. Not only is this anachronistic, it misses out on the other themes in Matthew’s gospel that this passage is pointing towards. Why are these women included? Because Matthew is challenging the popular understanding of what kind of person can be righteous and acceptable to God. According to the popular understanding, only a Jewish male with no public sins could qualify. Not only are these four women, they are Gentiles (Schaberg plays this down too much). Not only are they Gentiles, but they are known sinners (as opposed to the rest of us who keep it much more secret). These women are mentioned not to introduce Mary but to add to her testimony that despite her gender and the questions surrounding the conception of her child, she was chosen by God. All of this prepares the readers for the ministry of Jesus, who himself did not fit the ideal model of a religious leader and who called both men and women from questionable backgrounds and lifestyles to be his followers.

The Step-Mothers

Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1–17) traces Jesus’ line back from Joseph (the husband of Mary) to David and Abraham. I don’t understand this genealogical bloodline, as Joseph was not Jesus’ father. Jesus had a more heavenly Father. The lineage seems possible only if Mary herself is a descendant of David and Abraham. Wouldn’t a more appropriate title be “The Step-Ancestresses of Jesus”?

What Bathsheba Did

A couple of years ago, I read, with much pleasure, Robert Alter’s The David Story (Norton, 1999). His interpretation of Bathsheba’s role in convincing David to anoint Solomon king stuck in my mind. Thus, Jane Schaberg’s interpretation of Bathsheba as totally passive struck me as wrong. I went back to Alter’s book and, sure enough, he portrays her as quite active in convincing David to anoint Solomon. Bathsheba doesn’t just repeat what the prophet Nathan tells her, but adds material to ingratiate herself with David and to flatter him. In addition, she shows her initiative by magnifying David’s importance with the words, “And you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him” (1 Kings 1:20). Thus, Bathsheba uses her skill with language (something not seen previously in the David story) to secure the throne for Solomon and to ensure her own safety.

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I’m not a biblical scholar, but Alter’s analysis of Bathsheba’s speeches convinces me of her ability to play an active role in her and her son’s destiny.

You’re Right

The caption for the image of Bathsheba on page 21 of the December 2004 issue concludes, “Her heir is conceived outside of marriage.” My understanding is that the illegitimate child dies in childhood and that the “heir,” Solomon, was conceived after her marriage to King David.

Sorry, we made a mistake.—Ed.

Zephaniah

A Prophet for Every Day

I enjoyed Marvin Sweeney’s exposition of “Zephaniah: Prophet of His Time—Not the End Time” (December 2004). However, I’m not convinced that we have to choose between interpreting the text for his time and the end time. Why can’t prophecy apply to both?

At Synagogue

Marvin Sweeney opens his article on the nearly forgotten book of Zephaniah by pointing out (correctly) that no parts of the book are read in the synagogue on Sabbath and festivals. Although a single hand clapping may make no sound, the absence of Zephaniah from the Haftarah cycle (prophetic readings assigned to accompany the Torah reading on Sabbaths and holidays) may have left a small echo elsewhere in the daily synagogue liturgy.

How so? In the preliminary blessings of all sorts that open the morning service, there is a citation of Zephaniah 3:20: “At that time I will bring you in, and at that time I will gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.” In the so-called Ashkenazic version of the Jewish liturgy, which is the one used in most synagogues in America and other English-speaking countries, this verse is cited anonymously, without even the formula “as is written” or “as is said,” which is occasionally used to introduce a biblical passage. Not so, however, in the Sephardic version of the liturgy. In prayer books following this tradition, the verse is introduced not with one of these simple formulas but with an expanded formula the likes of which are found nowhere else: “as you said by agency of Zephaniah your seer.” I surmise that this unique way of presenting the verse from Zephaniah stemmed from the fact pointed out by Prof. Sweeney in his article, namely, that this prophet’s book was not read regularly, and was the only one of the major or minor prophets whose books never made it into the annual cycle of biblical readings.

Don’t Give Up
Every time I read a cancellation letter, I want to write you and say, keep up the good work. Not everyone is able to consider other viewpoints, but that, in fact, is what scholarship is all about!