4 Ezra (2 Esdras 3-14); Luke 9:28ff; Isaiah 65:17-25; Rev 12; Rev 21; 2 Cor 3. Finally we come to our last episode on the Readable Books. 4 Ezra, also known as 2 Esdras, the Apocalypse of Ezra, or the Prophecy of Ezra, is not found in many Orthodox Bibles, though we see it inContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 32: The Ezra Apocalypse and Transfiguration”
Tag Archives: Deuterocanon
Light from the Readable Books 31: 1 Esdras, the Domestic, and the Divine
1 Esdras 3:1-5:6 (OSB 1 Ezra); 1 Corinthians 13; Proverbs 31; Psalm 119 [118]:160; Matthew 19:5; Matthew 24:35 Tucked into the historical books of the Orthodox Old Testament (which is based on the Septuagint, or Old Greek version) is the composite book of 1 Esdras (as it is known in the Greek tradition), also calledContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 31: 1 Esdras, the Domestic, and the Divine”
Light from the Readable Books 29: Psalm 151 and David the Small
Psalm 151; 1 Kingdoms/2 Samuel 17; 1 Corinthians 1:22-27 Orthodox stand pretty much alone in including Psalm 151 in the OT Psalter, though it has its uses also in the Armenian and Coptic churches. In the past, though, it was used as a canticle even some “Western” lands, alongside others like the Song of theContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 29: Psalm 151 and David the Small”
Light from the Readable Books 28: 4 Maccabees, God’s Reason, and the Passions
4 Maccabees, Hebrews 11, Acts 22, Revelation 12. “But why the Maccabees?” asked St. Gregory Nazianzen in an Oration given during a celebration of the martyrs (Oration 15). He went on to answer an assumption in his own day that martyrs can only be called such if they die for Christ, and so the MaccabeesContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 28: 4 Maccabees, God’s Reason, and the Passions”
Light from the Readable Books 26: Maccabean War and Peace, Martyrdom and Resurrection
1 Maccabees 9:24-16:24; 2 Maccabees 7; 1 Kings (3 Kingdoms) 5:4; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 8:4; Ezekiel 34:27; Hebrews 12; Romans 4:17 We have already devoted two episodes to the first nine chapters of 1 Maccabees. There we saw the witness of the patriarch Mattathias, and the prowess of his son Judas, who made a goodContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 26: Maccabean War and Peace, Martyrdom and Resurrection”
Light from the Readable Books 25: Judas Maccabeus, the Happy Warrior
1 Macc 3:1-9:22, 1 Samuel/2 Kingdoms 17, Psalm 100 (MT 101) Who is the happy Warrior? Who is heThat every man in arms should wish to be?…[It is that one] Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!Turns his necessity to glorious gain. The term “Happy Warrior,” used by FranklinContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 25: Judas Maccabeus, the Happy Warrior”
Light from the Readable Books 23: God’s “Timefulness” and 1 Maccabees
1 Maccabees 1, Hebrews 11:34-35, 1 Cor 10:11, Daniel 9:27 and 11:31. In our survey of the Readable Books, we have considered stories such as Susanna and Judith, poetry such as the Song of the Three, visions such as Mordecai’s dream of the dragons, sayings of wisdom such as those found in Wisdom of SolomonContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 23: God’s “Timefulness” and 1 Maccabees”
Light from the Readable Books 21: The Epistle of Jeremiah and False Gods
The Epistle of Jeremiah (found sometimes as Baruch 6), Mat 6:21; Numbers 21:4-9, 4 Kingdoms/2 Kings 18:4, Jer 2:13, 1 Cor 8 and 10, Philippians 3:18-19, Col 3:5 The Epistle of Jeremiah is an ancient work, written to encourage God’s people in the Dispersion in Babylon (and elsewhere) to remain true to the only realContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 21: The Epistle of Jeremiah and False Gods”
Light from the Readable Books 21: Baruch and the New Name
Baruch 4:9-5:9; Isaiah 60:14; 2 Tim 4:8, Rev 21:1-4, 22-26, Isaiah 61:1-4, 9-10. The prophet Jeremiah, because of the hard judgments that he had to proclaim, and because of his book of Lamentations, became the inspiration for the term “Jeremiad” –a mournful complaint or list of woes. Baruch, his secretary, follows his master’s example forContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 21: Baruch and the New Name”
Light from the Readable Books 20: Glimpsing Baruch’s Mystery of Wisdom
Baruch 3:9-4:8, Deuteronomy 3:11-14, Romans 10:5-13, 1 Cor 1:30-31. With Baruch 3:9-4:8, we come to the inner mystery of his prophecy. To this point in the book, we have heard of the tragic exile of the bulk of the people of God, of the exiles’ fondness for ravaged Judea and those few who still remainContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 20: Glimpsing Baruch’s Mystery of Wisdom”
Edith M. Humphrey 