Firth Week 10

Tim Stephenson

- 2 minutes read - 303 words

Continuum between theonomy and dispensationalism

  • Longman understands theonomy to be more dangerous not that he agrees more with dispenationalism

  • interpretation covers exegesis and application

  • dispensationalism emphasises the discontinuity, for example living in the dispensation after Jesus the Law—​and entire OT—​is irrelevant except for the bits that point to Jesus and they’re in the NT anyway.

Exodus 20:1-17

  • Firth: v7 You should not bear the Lord’s name in vain.

  • Firth: v13 murder: unlawful and unjustified killing.

    • Hebrew includes English 'murder' but not as wide as English 'kill'.

  • v2: addressed to the people anticipating the prpomised land, after God’s rescue.

  • v12: 'Honour your father and mother…​' suggests the elders, those who, in an agrarian culture, are no longer a lot of help around the farm.

  • v12: 'so that you live long in the land' clearly anticipatory, not reflecting back to Egypt.

Exodus 21:12-17

Diff between apodictic (direct instruction as in 10 commandments) and casuistic (if …​ then …​ examples) law.

v12: examples to help work through

Numbers 35: tells us the sole killing that must result in death penalty. Hence most times death penalty is maximum, not necessary penalty (idiom that we lose in translation).

v28: Goring ox law: every ancient law code needs one! Once again, working through possible cases and how to respond to them appropriately providing circuit breakers for violence.

Conclusion

OT law is itself incomplete. Its an attempt to work out what it is to live as a redeemed people in the ancient world. Go and do likewise in the modern world.

Writing an exegesis

  • Read the document on Moodle.

  • Doing (like Gorman) is not the same as writing.

  • Also Logos has a workflow

Tyndale pattern updated when Firth became editor:

  • Context

  • Paragraph by paragraph

  • Meanings

Application to today is allowed but not necessary. If included, put it in the conclusion.