Ada Blackjack

Since I was tagged to write about an impossible dream I have been wondering what to write. At the same time I have been reading the incredible drama of Ada Blackjack. Ada Blackjack is about a 23 year old Inuit woman who went on an Arctic Expedition organized by Vilhjalmur Stefansson in 1921. She went along to sew for the four young men who were to spend the year on Wrangel Island for some poorly conceived hairbrained reason.

The four young men are sent off with only enough food for six months as they are to live off the land. It seems that they did not even have adequate winter clothing since they panic when Ada does not get down to her sewing tasks right away. It soon becomes evident that of the four well-educated, fit and intelligent young men, none of them are a good shot with the rifles and ammunition dwindles as scarce game escapes their efforts to bring in an adequate food supply. Ada simply refuses to touch the guns at all and seems to have the idea that since she is sewing for the crew, she should be fed by them.

At the end of the first year one young man is seriously ill with scurvy and the food supplies are low. However, Steffanson does not have the resources to get a ship to the island to pick them up in spite of the pleading of the parents of the young men.

Finally realizing that their food and ammunition is running low, three of the group take the dog sleds and head north hoping to cross the ice to Nome, Alaska. They are never heard of again.

Ada and Knight are left together at the original camp. By this time Knight is seriously ill and Ada must now learn to shoulder the rifle and hunt for their survival. Day after day, she takes on the new task. She learns to handle the recoil. She learns to aim and bring down birds. She eventually is able to kill and retrieve a seal.

However, Knight, lying in bed, immobilized by scurvy is no longer able to swallow enough fresh meat to recover. He slowly wastes away and dies. Ada is left alone on Wrangel Island with a gun, the expedition cat, Knight's Bible and a typewriter. One of the passages that touches her deeply is the story of the Samaritan woman. Ada was a young Inuit woman, already married and divorced, the outsider of the group. The only survivor, she lived on after the others were gone with the Bible as her companion. At the end of the second year Ada is rescued. What we read in this book comes from her records and the diary of each of the young men.

Why do I think of this book as the impossible dream? I have a collection of books on Arctic exploration inherited from my mother and grandmother. I simply sat down and read them all one summer. Somehow, I think of the frontiers of the wilderness as their impossible dream. Why would two Victorian women make their main interest Arctic exploration? These books are, for the most part, devoid of a woman's point of view. This is the first time that I have read about Arctic exploration from the diary of a woman. Subtly the entire topic of Arctic exploration has shifted for me.

The story is told sympathetically and characters of the young men are drawn from interviews with relatives and letters from the parents, as well as diaries. How poorly prepared they all were! Ada had no special skill at survival as an Inuit. She accepted the challenge of survival when all other hope was gone. This story is fantastically well told and draws on amazingly detailed diaries. I highly recommend it but I do rejoice that Arctic exploration is not my impossible dream. Nonetheless we all have some notion of a personal frontier that we are reaching towards, whatever that may be.

One corner

This garden is full of the memories of my childhood. The Solomon seal, lily of the valley, and bleeding heart were favourites of my tiny self. They seemed to me in my childhood to be Biblical plants. The rest are poppies, ajuga, and oxalis. Other plants in the picture but not in bloom are foxgloves, oregon grape, hellebore, lamium, and heuchera. I cant believe that I forgot to mention the forget-me-nots!

Weird Worship

Growing up I went to meeting on the Lord's day in an old meeting hall. The brown linoleum floors had many cracks and wrinkles which provided much food for thought on those long Lord's morning breaking of bread services.

The voice of a woman was not heard in the hall while the meeting sat. The men, on the other hand, had every one of them to be ready at all times to share a word given by the Lord. My grandfather had his three favourite chapters from the scriptures, Gen. 22, Ps.. 22 and Phil. 2. He must have had a thing about two's. I don't know what.

We used to kneel by the wooden two-runged chairs during the long weekday evening prayer meetings . And some of the older young people learned to time the prayers. The longest one was 25 minutes. Oh, Lord, have mercy on our souls.

The occasions of weird worship from those long ago days are these.

In our meeting there was an older woman who was afflicted with a chronic condition of the hiccoughs. She could not control this, and once every ten or fifteen minutes, she would emit a resounding hiccough. And so every Lord's day, the Lord was never worshiped without the voice of a woman joining in.

One weekday evening as we knelt in worship and prayer, the boy who knelt beside his parents in the row behind us got bored and inserted his head between the rungs of the chair. He rotated his head and was then unable to extricate his head from its cage. He shook the chair in panic and had to be gently held and have his head ever so gently rotated back and withdrawn from between the rungs.

My grandfather lived with us in his final days before he died of Alzheimer's. He would often not go to bed before he had gathered his grandchildren in the living room for worship, and had read to us one of his favourite passages from the Bible, and then sent us off to bed. After that, he was sent to bed himself and we would reemerge to carry on with our homework.

A tired father, at the end of a long working day, came home at supper time, and directly took his place at the head of the table where all his children sat waiting for him to bless the meal. He bowed his head and closed his eyes and as if answering the phone, wearily incanted, "Maple Dairy."

A woman bent over the kitchen sink and immersed her hands in the warm suds. She started to wash the dishes then stood in quiet thought and slowly withdrew her hands and dried them on her apron. She reached over to the counter and took a kleenex tissue from a box and carefully spread it out on her head. She returned her focus to the sink and quietly worshiped as she washed.

Jewish Women in the Middle Ages

On Jewish Women’s Writings

One interesting example of the latter form of publication is the story of Rashi and his daughters. While many know of Rashi's liberal attitude towards his daughters' donning of tefillin, few may have heard that towards the end of his life, as Rashi grew ill, his daughters actually wrote many of his halachic responsa for him. As a battle wages on today over the issue of whether or not women can give halachic psak, this historical precedent is certainly worth considering.

Meanwhile, other learned Jewish women of the time were unabashedly writing works under their own names. Dulcie, the respected wife of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms, was known as a religious poetess. In addition, she would give public lectures on Shabbat, and in this way supported her family. She died in 1215, murdered by two Christian Knights of the Cross.

Then, too, there were women copyists like Paola, the granddaughter of Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel (1035-1110), who transcribed Biblical commentaries that may still be read today in Breslau archives. While transcription is hardly a form of original expression, it does attest to a level of scholarship achieved by women of this time, as well as the apparent social acceptance of women writing.

Further evidence of this can be found in letters composed by women of this period which survived in the Cairo Genizah. Many of these letters are written in elegant Hebrew and reference various Biblical stories even as they speak of everyday affairs. For example, one letter written by Lady Maliha to her family in Egypt, opens with the following wish:

"May peace from Heaven...be bestowed upon you...and a long life like his who became father of the people, or his who was bound as a victim on a high mountain, or of Jacob, the plain man, or of him who sprinkled blood on the altar seven times."

Maliha's words attest to her knowledge of the stories of the patriarchs and Aaron the high priest. Thus many women at this stage were well-educated and had begun to write on a variety of topics, though none had yet published a halachic work under her own name.

During the Middle Ages, many more women began to write everything from memoirs to epics to halachic teshuvot.. The causes of this increase in authorship are numerous. The first major reason we have more literature from women of this period is simply historical: the more recent the era, the more documents will remain in our possession. Second, technological advances meant that writing implements and surfaces were more accessible.

Third and most importantly, by the fourteenth century, women's education had begun to improve dramatically. In the secular world, particularly Renaissance Italy, all kinds of educational opportunities were opening for interested ladies. The trend spread to the Jewish world, and in 1475, a group of Italian Jewish women began to operate a Talmud Torah for girls in Rome.

Literacy was increasing as well, and while many women still could not understand Hebrew, various Yiddish novels and mussar books were published for their benefit. This development allowed for the cultivation of a larger literary appreciation among women who might otherwise not have opened a book at all.

In the synagogue, where women had trouble reading and comprehending the Hebrew prayers, a tradition began of appointing a zogerke, a woman who would help lead the others through the service. Additionally, in the seventeenth century, Jewish men and women began to compose tkhines, or Yiddish prayers, written for women who felt too isolated by the Hebrew prayers they could not understand. The increasing communal commitment to women's education, literacy, and inclusion in ritual allowed for a dramatic increase in female authorship.

Erasmus Greek-Latin Bible

1516 Erasmus Greek-Latin Parallel
New Testament: First Edition An influential and very early work. We are not aware of any other copies for sale in the world. This edition was used by Tyndale to translate the New Testament into the English language for the first time. It was also used by Luther to translate the New Testament into the German language for the first time. Most scholars consider the 1516 Erasmus Parallel New Testament, in either the 1516 or the 1519 printing, to be one of the top ten most important books ever printed.

ERASMUS, Desiderius, ed. Latin and Greek New Testament
Basle: Johann Frobern: 1516

This is the first edition of this work, which was dedicated to Pope Leo X, whose courteous reply was printed in later editions of the book; nevertheless the publication was a great impetus to the Reformation and Luther's German New Testament was done from the second edition; Erasmus' own new Latin translation, printed parallel to the Greek Text, is different from the Vulgate, which papal authority subsequently declared should be used exclusively.

-----

Since Greek and Latin were printed side by side, I contend that no Bible lacks influence from Erasmus Latin paraphrase/translation. We know Tyndale was influence by Luther's translation and Coverdale mentions Pagnini. Do we really think that Tyndale was uninfluenced by a translation that was directly under his nose?

Photo: Ricoblog

Nechama Leibowitz

On Iyov's blog,

Observant Judaism has a rich tradition of women teachers. Any list of the top ten Bible teachers of the twentieth century would certainly include the great genius Nechama Leibowitz. Nechama was a deeply observant Orthodox Jew. She won the highest award granted to Israeli residents, the Israel Prize, very soon after it was created. She trained both men and women, and taught at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University. Her studies on the Torah are deep, and are still popularly consulted. (I consult them regularly -- and although I never met her, I consider her to be a deeply influential teacher to me.) Some of her gilyonos in English translation are collected here and in Hebrew here (HT to Gil Student for the Hebrew link).

(Note: while many of her materials are online, I recommend buying the multi-volume edition of her works -- this page sells her sets in both Hebrew and English.) Read the rest here.

In case you don't know Iyov, if he were a Shakespeare play he would be Hamlet. I answered that quiz myself, got a little muddled up on their website, didn't even like the play I turned out as, and decided not to post my results. But hey, it's a lot more fun than which church father you are.

Oh, this was my diagnosis. I think this is accurate enough.

You scored 27% = Tragic, 39% = Comic, 39% = Romantic, 30% = Historic

Hey, wait a minute. I am way more historic than that. What gives? Just post it, Suzanne, post it.

Leaving church

I read this post on leaving church at Pen and Parchment and I thought that I would write a quick response.

I did leave church.

I had attended a variety of fundamentalist assemblies and churches throughout my life, ending up at an evangelical Anglican church. It has increasingly come under the influence of the Sydney Diocese in Australia and Bishop Barnett was frequently invited to teach during the summer.

I finally left that church and did not attend any church for a full year. I did meet for Bible study in a variety of ways, but I did not attend a church per se. I wanted to be protected from the teachings of "church." My experience was that church had a combative atmosphere, and consisted of narrowing the perspective on a variety of issues, including women.

However, in the time that I did not go to church, I was unable to replace my previous negative experience with something better. Recently I have started to attend a local church which I appreciate very much.

Four passages of scripture are read every Sunday, communion is celebrated every Sunday, the sermon was surprisingly evangelical, and the priest is also a skilled cantor. That rather took me by surprise. I hadn't heard a service conducted like that before.

There is a strong focus on serving the local community, graduating new candidates for the priesthood and growing as a community. I enjoy the after church coffee, too. Actually they serve particularly good coffee.

There is also no powerpoint, no modern choruses, no handwaving, etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that. The sanctuary is quiet throughout the service, which seems to be a combination of the nature of the service and the acoustics. Hmm.

I even took communion without making sure that I did not have to receive communion from a male. I always used to avoid the men during communion in the other church because I would not receive communion from a person who treated me as one of that special class of humans that are not of his class of human, if you know what I mean. In that church, although women were not allowed to preach they could pass out communion. I was always grateful for small mercies.

This isn't very focused but I want to record the feelings that I had in church this morning. I felt safe for a change. I am thankful for this community and grateful to be somewhere else and not where I was. These are just thoughts on my particular situation. Just anecdotes. I am sure other people have their reasons for leaving church. And going back.

To dictate to

Is this the proper exercise of authority in the church? Many suggest that it is. They say that a woman shall not teach or "exercise authority" over a man. 1 Tim. 2:12. And they infer from this that a woman should not have a leadership role in the church. Even those who believe that a woman should have leadership in church still think that this is what this verse says. Hmm.

Here is the verse,

διδάσκειν δὲ γυναικὶ οὐκ ἐπιτρέπω οὐδὲ αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός ἀλλ' εἶναι ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ

I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

However, the BDAG has,

authenteo, (Philod., Rhet. II p. 133, 14 Sudh.; Jo. Lydus, Mag. 3, 42; Moeris p. 54; cp. Phryn. 120 Lob.; Hesychius; Thom. Mag. p. 18, 8; schol. in Aeschyl., Eum. 42; BGU 1208, 38 [27 BC]; s. Lampe s.v.) to assume a stance of independent authority, give orders to, dictate to w. gen. of pers. (Ptolem., Apotel. 3, 14, 10 Boll-B.; Cat. Cod. Astr. VIII/1 p. 177, 7; B-D-F §177) avndro,j, w. dida,skein, 1 Ti 2:12 (practically = ‘tell a man what to do‘[Jerusalem Bible]; Mich. Glykas [XII AD] 270, 10 ai` gunai/kej auvqentou/si t. avndrw/n. According to Diod. S. 1, 27, 2 there was a well-documented law in Egypt: j, cp. Soph., OC 337-41; GKnight III, NTS 30, ’84, 143-57; LWilshire, ibid. 34, ’88, 120-34).—DELG s.v. authenteo. M-M.

In fact, every Bible translator knows that this is the lexical meaning for authenteo in 1 Tim. 2:12.

This verse was translated over the centuries as a synonym for the Hebrew mashal "to rule" or "be a tyrant" in Gen. 3:16. So how does this look, if we put Gen. 3:16 and 1 Tim. 2:12 together?

καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἡ ἀποστροφή σου καὶ αὐτός σου κυριεύσει LXX

διδάσκειν δὲ γυναικὶ οὐκ ἐπιτρέπω οὐδὲ αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός GNT


et sub viri potestate eris et ipse dominabitur tui Jerome's Vulgate

ocere autem mulieri non permitto neque dominari in virum Jerome's Vulgate


und dein Verlangen soll nach deinem Manne sein, und er soll dein Herr sein. Luther

Einem Weibe aber gestatte ich nicht, daß sie lehre, auch nicht, daß sie des Mannes Herr sei Luther


and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. KJV

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, KJV


Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." ESV

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; ESV

So where did the switch come from? Erasmus, in 1516, paraphrased Jerome's Vulgate and wrote, "authoritatem usurpare" instead of "dominari" and then Tyndale, in 1525, translated the Latin of Erasmus as "to have auctoritie" and the KJV, 1611, as "to usurp authority."

There never has been any evidence that authentein meant "to have authority" in a positive sense, or it would be quoted in articles, I would assume. In fact, I believe that Tyndale simply misunderstood how usurpare was to be translated.

It is also worth noting that Erasmus did not translate the Hebrew scriptures so he may have been unaware of how Jerome had made the Hebrew mashal and the Greek authentein synonymous in his translation.

There is good reason for Jerome doing this. Each of these words are used for astronomical bodies.

And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule (mashal) the day, and the lesser light to rule (mashal) the night; and the stars.

Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos III.13 [#157] (second century A.D.): "Therefore, if Saturn alone takes planetary control of the soul and dominates (authenteō ) Mercury and the moon ..." Gen. 1:16

I suggest that Jerome was right in translating authenteo as dominari. I often wonder if there is adequate evidence to consider "to have authority" as an alternative meaning for authentein, but so far I haven't seen any. I don't think authentein refers in any way to the proper exercise of leadership in either church or home. We should simply accept the meaning as presented in the BDAG, if there is no contrary evidence. Just my thoughts.

I hope others can make use of this. I am tired of knowing that those who read the scriptures in English see something different from what I see. It makes me feel alone.

I have written more about the lexical evidence here.

Cathie Nicoll

I wrote about Cathie Nicoll the other day, but it was absorbed into the larger context,

In the local church that I attended women had also been welcome in the pulpit. One occasional speaker was Cathie Nicoll, a long-time Inter Varsity worker who received the Order of Canada. She was a mentor of my mother and a much respected Bible teacher.

However, about 10 years ago the local congregational climate changed toward women. The priest was from the diocese of Sydney and Jim Packer was an honourary assistant.

After Cathie Nicoll passed away, I believe that no other women ever stood in the pulpit on a Sunday morning. This was a deliberate decision of the priest although I am not sure that the congregation was ever consulted on this practice. It is contrary to the expectations of Canadian Anglicans.

A reader of this blog emailed me,

I just read your post about Cathy Nicoll. Interesting. She led my late mother in law to Christ as well. My late mother in law grew up in Winnipeg. She became a believer while in college (nursing) and was a great dear friend of Cathy Niccol.

Then yesterday on the phone a friend told me about how she went to the hospital every day to stay with Cathie in the last few days of her life before she died in Calgary at the age of 93, in 2004. It made me happy to think that such a warm and loving person was with Cathie during that time.

We also talked about Cathie's sermon planning before she came from Calgary to preach at St. John's Shaughnessy for the last time. My friend was in Calgary and discussed the sermon before hand with her and I was in Vancouver to hear her sermon. It was well accepted. I missed hearing women preach after that.

Cathie worked with Inter-Varsity and Pioneer Camps all her life. She mentored many young people, both men and women, and preached with the bishop in the audience.

Here are a couple of links for Cathie Nicoll. Leading Women, and Imago.

Cathie Nicoll, or “Nicky”, as she was known to thousands of students and friends from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, left us peacefully on May 3, 2004. Born of Scottish missionary parents in Chefoo, Shantung, China. In September of 1930, Noel Palmer, Inter-Varsity’s first full-time General Secretary, hired a half-time secretary to assist him in the office for the grand sum of $10 a week. And so, Cathie began her half-century of work with Inter-Varsity, a fledgling student mission. Cathie was instrumental in beginning Inter-School Christian Fellowship, Varsity Christian Fellowship and Teachers’ Christian Fellowship in Jamaica. As mentor and Bible teacher, she influenced a generation of students and campers. In 1987, her remarkable role among youth in Canada was recognized by the Rt. Hon. Jeanne Sauve when she received the Order of Canada. Her contribution to Inter-Varsity’s work and her profoundly biblical leadership principles were demonstrated in the 1990 video “This May Be Your Life’s Work”.

This is one more installment in my series, (so far unlabeled, sorry) of "faithful women." Previous faithful women featured here are Grace Irwin, Elizabeth Wilson, Florence Li Tim Oi, Catherine Booth and Marie Dentiere.

The LCMS report on authentein

I have been asked to comment on the concluding sentence of the LCMS Authentein report, Adopted April 16, 2005,

In the Commission’s view the English Standard Version accurately translates 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”

This document reviews studies of authentein by Wilshire, Knight, Baldwin, Kostenberger and Wolters. However, my response is that the evidence quoted in the studies reviewed does not support the above conclusion, but demonstrates that the meaning of authentein is more likely "dominate," as Jerome translated it in the Vulgate.

In fact, of 82 examples of authentein in the Baldwin report, only one precedes the epistle to Timothy. (The next occurrence is one century after the epistle, and refers to astronomy.)

BGU 1208 (first century B.C.): "I had my way with him [authenteō ] and he agreed to provide Calatytis the boatman with the full payment within the hour."

This citation is listed in the original study by Baldwin under the meaning of "to compel, to influence someone." and Grudem agrees with the translation "compel." (Ev. Fem & Biblical Truth. page 677 - 680.) According to Grudem other translators suggest "prevail" and mention that this is a hostile relationship involving insolence.

However, on his blog, Biblical Foundations, in this post, 1 Timothy 2:12—Once More, 06-16-06, Kostenberger writes,

the likelihood was suggested that “exercise authority” (Grk. authentein) carries a neutral or positive connotation, but owing to the scarcity of the term in ancient literature (the only NT occurrence is 1 Tim. 2:12; found only twice preceding the NT in extrabiblical literature) no firm conclusions could be reached on the basis of lexical study alone.

The two pieces of evidence which Kostenberger cites are,

41These two references are: Philodemus (1st cent. BCE): “Ought we not to consider that men who incur the enmity of those in authority (συν αυθεντουσιν) are villains, and hated by both gods and men”;

and BGU 1208 (27 BCE): “I exercised authority (Καμου αυθεντηκοτος) over him, and he consented to provide for Calatytis the Boatman on terms of full fare, within the hour.” For full Greek texts and translations, see Baldwin, “Appendix 2” in Women in the Church, 275–76. (in the PDF page 13)

Note first that the citation from Philodemus does not exist. This fragment is made available here, and clearly it is not possible to tell whether the verb authentein was ever in the fragment, nor how to translate it. Kostenberger has associated the words συν αυθεντουσιν at random with the English phrase "of those in authority" although there is no warrant for this. This evidence should be set aside.

For Kostenberger, the second piece of evidence, BGU 1208, has the phrase "exercise authority." This is a strange thing to say if you are an average citizen without any official capacity, but you made sure that someone else did something within an hour. The letter that this line is taken from is one of a collection of family letters with no reference to official capacity. It would be best to understand that authentein means simply "made him" or "compelled him" as even Grudem admits in Ev. Feminism and Biblical Truth.

So, in sum, the one piece of evidence is rather negative, and not, as Kostenberger says, "neutral or positive." However, Kostenberger does admit that, "no firm conclusions could be reached on the basis of lexical study alone." I conclude that Kostengerger's research does not offer sufficient basis for agreeing that authentein could mean "to exercise authority over" in a neutral or positive sense.

Another important study quoted by the LCMS study is that of Al Wolters. However, his study covered the cognates of authentein and only referred summarily to authentein. Because of the vagueness of Wolters' conclusions in that study I emailed him and received this response,

I've puzzled long and hard over authentew in BGU 1208 and in the Philodemus fragment. Although most of the lexicographical authorities seem to give it the meaning "have authority over" in those contexts, I don't think anyone can really be sure. Most people ... are too sure about their conclusions in this regard. I do think it's quite well established that authentes and its cognates often have to do with mastery and authority.

These are the very tentative conclusions that Wolters makes. However, these studies by Kostenberger and Wolters are the very studies which the LCMS report uses to come to its conclusion.

One study which was not considered by the LCMS report was "Teaching and Usurping Authority: 1 Timothy 2:11-15" (Ch 12) by Linda L. Belleville in Discovering Biblical Equality, 2004, ed. Pierce and Groothuis.

In this study Belleville provides the information which I used to find the original publication of the Philodemus fragment and establish that it is not readily translatable. She examines the translation of authentein through the centuries and concludes that Jerome's choice of wording seems most appropriate. The Vulgate translates 1 Tim. 2:12,

docere autem mulieri non permitto neque dominari in virum sed esse in silentio

Belleville concludes her lexical review of authentein with these words,

So there is no first century warrant for translating authentein as "to exercise authority" and for understanding Paul in 1 Timothy 2:12 to be speaking of the carrying out of one's official duties. Rather the sense is the Koine "to dominate, to get one's way." The NIV's "to have authority over" therefore must be understood in the sense of holding sway or mastery over another. This is supported by the grammar of the verse. If Paul had a routine exercise of authority in view, he would have put it first, followed by authentein as a specific example. Given this word order, authentein as a specific example. Given this word order, authentein meaning "to dominate"or "gain the upper hand of" provides the best fit in the context. Discovering Biblical Equality, page 216-217

I assume that the reason this study was not quoted by the LCMS report on authentein is that it was published too recently to have come to the attention of the authors.

It appears from a careful review of all the evidence that there was no connection between the word authentein and the holding of church office or exercising leadership functions. Therefore, this verse should not be quoted, as it often is, to keep women from leadership roles, or to place women under the authority of their husbands.

When assessing a matter of accuracy in Biblical studies it is important to review at least a sample of the evidence independently in order to determine its reliability. Do not depend on the conclusions alone. I feel that pastors should keep up with the best of current scholarship on gender issues, and I would highly recommend Discovering Biblical Equality by Pierce and Groothuis.

I appreciate that many people bring a hermeneutic to the scriptures which accords equal function to women. However, others do not. We are in the best position to serve the church well if we start off with an accurate assessment of the evidence. There is no sense in which this review of authentein is intended to go against the rest of scripture. It is clear that Paul welcomed "leading women" into the early church, and so should we.

And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. Acts 17:4 ESV

The ordination

Today a few new priests were ordained. This is a little different from the licensing of those who were already ordained. That was yesterday. There were several bishops and priests present from all over the world as well as the new ordinands.

A few young adults from the youth group were hanging around chatting afterward. One boy was new to that church so he asked,

- How come they were all men up there at the front?

- That's because men are the head authority over women.

- They are?

- Yeah, men are the servant leaders, and women are the servant helpers.

- Why is that?

- Genesis.

- What about the authority? Why are men the authority?

- Because in Timothy it says women shall not have authority over men.

- But, hey, look this Bible says women can't assume authority or teach a man in a domineering way.

- No way, that is not the right Bible. I don't agree with the doctor when he says that you can't find new life in that Bible you have there. That is too much, but just the same it is not a trustworthy Bible. Here is the right Bible, see a woman cannot have authority.

_________________

One miserable young woman came home and asked her mom when she was going to write her a book. Mom said that they were all full of crap.

PS I get pretty depressed about the anti-TNIV stuff being passed around the teens and young adults. When will they stop?

The licensing

Here is a comment I made on Peter's blog.

_______________________

I was at the licensing of the Canadian Anglican Network clergy by Greg Venables of the Southern Cone yesterday afternoon. It was an excellent service.

I am not personally either supportive or non-supportive of this move, but went as an interested observer and as a friend and relative of others there.

There about 14 bishops from around the world. Venables, along with the two Canadian network bishops, Harvey and Harding, commissioned a group of about 25 men and 5 women from across Canada.

The Southern Cone does not ordain women but the Canadian female ministers whose churches wanted to join the network were accepted, and these women were licensed and commissioned today under Harvey and Harding.

Venables gave a heart warming and positive sermon, but the highlight was when someone’s cellphone went off. He said “Is that my pacemaker or your computer? I hope I remembered to put new batteries in my pacemaker after all the jumping up and down last night.” My daughter said that Venables was a big hit at the youth night on Friday.

And this is from my comment on John's blog.

_____________________

The present events in the Anglican Church of Canada has little to do with the ordination of women. It centres around the disputed same sex blessing.

The Anglican Communion has several levels of governance - national, provincial, diocesan and congregational.

The Anglican Church of Canada has ordained women since 1976, when John and I were both at the U. Of Toronto. As far as I am aware this has not been an issue in Canada.

Anglican women ministers are as likely to be white-haired little old ladies as much as anything else. Women were licensed as layreaders in British Columbia during and after WWII so it was a common sight in isolated areas to see a woman in the pulpit and it was much appreciated.

Florence Li Tim Oi, ordained in China in WWII later lived in Toronto and was a testimony to the service that Anglican women offer the church. This has a long and continuous tradition and women have been highly respected in the Anglican Church.

In the local church that I attended women had also been welcome in the pulpit. One occasional speaker was Cathie Nicoll, a long-time Inter Varsity worker who received the Order of Canada. She was a mentor of my mother and a much respected Bible teacher.

However, about 10 years ago the local congregational climate changed toward women. The priest was from the diocese of Sydney and Jim Packer was an honourary assistant.

After Cathie Nicoll passed away, I believe that no other women ever stood in the pulpit on a Sunday morning. This was a deliberate decision of the priest although I am not sure that the congregation was ever consulted on this practice. It is contrary to the expectations of Canadian Anglicans.

However, the ministerial staff of this church made known their discomfort with women in positions of authority to the diocesan staff. Since Dr. Packer and the priest are both non-Canadians, I am sure that this played a part in their views on women not being found acceptable to the diocesan staff. It would normally be a condition of employment in the ACC to accept women as equals in ministry. It simply did not occur to anyone at the time that someone coming in from outside would bring with them a view of women not equal in function. When Dr. Packer came to Canada 29 years ago, women were already being ordained in all dioceses.

When a group of churches broke off to form the Anglican Network over same-sex blessing, churches which had women ministers were not excluded from joining. The two Canadian Anglican Network bishops have been overtly welcoming to women.

So this is the current situation.

The Province of the Southern Cone does not ordain women priests. The two Canadian Anglican Network bishops have accepted ordained women into the group and licensed them. The church which Dr. Packer attends does not ordain women.

We have yet to see whether women will be ordained in the Network. My expectation is that the bishops Harvey and Harding will ordain women, but Dr. Packer's church will not. The province of the Southern Cone gave a hand of fellowship to Canadian female priests yesterday.

What grieves me is that when I first attended the church which Dr. Packer also attends, women were allowed to preach there. That was one reason that I was happy to attend that church. In the time that I spent there I was distressed by the theological, although not social, marginalization of women as women were excluded from ministerial leadership. This is my personal view on this situation.

I am personally happy to now attend a small local Anglican congregation not in the Network where the scripture is read and the gospel is preached and secondary issues are not a matter of dispute.

James Packer leaves the Anglican Church of Canada

From yesterday's Vancouver Sun

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Influential evangelical theologian latest to split with Anglican Church

James Packer says he believes many of Canada's Anglican bishops are 'arguably heretical'

Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun

Published: Saturday, April 26, 2008

One of the world's most famous evangelical theologians quit the Anglican Church of Canada this week because he believes many of its bishops are "arguably heretical" for adhering to "poisonous liberalism."

James Packer, whom Time magazine recently named as one of the planet's 25 most influential evangelicals, said he hesitated before using the harsh terms to describe the Anglican bishops, but believed he must do so in the name of truth.

Vancouver-based Packer, who has sold more than four million copies of his many books, said he and 10 other B.C. Anglican clergy left the national denomination this week to operate under the authority of a South American Anglican archbishop because they felt they were being "starved out and worn down."

Oxford-trained Packer was interviewed at a Friday gathering of about 300 members of the breakaway Anglican Network in Canada, which officially welcomed South American Anglican Primate Gregory Venables to Canada as their spiritual leader -- against the express wishes of Canada's top Anglican, Primate Fred Hiltz.

Packer, 81, said he can no longer serve under Vancouver-area Bishop Michael Ingham, who in 2002 sanctioned a diocesan vote that eventually permitted the blessing of same-sex couples at eight out of 67 parishes.

"He is a bishop who appears heretical," Packer said, comparing Ingham to high-profile progressive U.S. Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong and Church of England Bishop Richard Holloway.

Packer is a long-time member of St. John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church in Vancouver, which in February left the 640,000-member Anglican Church of Canada to join with 14 other congregations from across the nation to operate under the authority of the South American prelate.

Known for the way he does not sugarcoat his conservative Christian beliefs despite his soft-spoken, gracious demeanour, Packer said the Bible is the "absolute" authority on divine truth, which clearly describes homosexuality as a grave sin.

Opening his English Standard Version of the Bible, of which he was chief editor, Packer read out passages from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, in which the apostle Paul compares "men who lie with men" to drunkards, thieves, slanderers and adulterers, none of whom will enter the kingdom of heaven.

"That's a very solemn apostolic warning," said Packer, a self-described "Calvinist Anglican" who wrote the book, The Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life.

The priest at St. Mary's Anglican Church in Kerrisdale, which is seeking permission to bless same-sex relationships in the future, said Packer's decision to raise the concept of "heresy" to describe his theological opponents stunts dialogue and honest intellectual exploration.

"I think it's very unfair when any new insight that departs from an accepted position is labelled 'heretical'," said Rev. Kevin Dixon.

The priest called the Vancouver-area diocese's decision to bless same-sex relationships "a recognition of what's true in light of contemporary research in genetics and psychology."

Dixon said Packer is adopting a "literalistic" reading of the Bible when he takes Paul's 2,000-year-old words as proof for all time that the Supreme Being condemns homosexuality.

"It's the same process of logic that leads to supporting slavery," Dixon said, noting that the apostle of Jesus also did not oppose slavery.

"It's important for people to understand that the holy scriptures is a very nuanced document. I think we need to allow people room to come to a new understanding," said Dixon.

"I have not always held the view that same-sex relationships are consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ, but now I do."

Even though several Anglican dioceses have recently joined Vancouver in voting to allow same-sex blessings, the governing body of the national Anglican Church of Canada in 2007 narrowly defeated a motion approving the rites.

For his part, Packer described the blessings that many of Canada's Anglican bishops' are willing to give to active gays and lesbians, as well as the bishops' openness to diverse ways of interpreting the Bible, as "persistent unrepentant doctrinal disorder."

The author of the 1973 book, Knowing God, which alone has sold more than three million copies, said it is "utterly tragic" that some conservative Anglicans felt they had no option but to leave the Anglican Church of Canada.

Asking himself why God would allow "poisonous liberalism" and its views of God and homosexuality to grow and flourish in Europe and North America, Packer said it must be so the West would eventually realize how dangerous such ideas are -- "so the poison will be fully squeezed out."

Packer maintained it is top leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada, not he and more than 2,000 fellow conservatives in the Anglican Network in Canada, who have changed their interpretation of Christianity since he moved from Britain to Canada more than 29 years ago to teach at Vancouver's Regent College.

"I'm simply being an old-fashioned mainstream Anglican," Packer said.

The Bible teaches, he said, that people who feel erotic attractions to people of the same gender "are called by God to remain chaste," avoiding sexual relationships.

Packer urged Anglicans who are adamantly opposed to liberal developments in the Anglican church in Canada and the U.S. to remain "tough" as they re-align themselves under Archbishop Venables into a new non-geographically-based form of Anglicanism.

To reach Douglas Todd, go to his blog at www.vancouversun.com/thesearch

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Let Her Speak for Herself

Marion Ann Taylor and Heather Weir have written Let Her Speak for Herself 2006. Here are some of the endorsements,

"It is hard to imagine that anyone could discover a genuinely fresh approach to modern biblical interpretation, yet Taylor and Weir have done just that. At the same time, they offer new insight into the life, learning, and thinking of nineteenth-century women, both Jews and Christians. Their careful work will benefit scholars and students of modern history, biblical studies, and women's studies."
-Ellen Davis, Duke Divinity School

"This remarkable volume not only fills a painful lacuna in the history of biblical interpretation, but it opens up a new field within the discipline by recovering hundreds of forgotten female voices. I am confident that this volume will serve as an important catalyst to subsequent generations who will be stimulated to pursue a gripping subject matter still largely unexplored."

-Brevard S. Childs, Sterling Professor of Divinity emeritus, Yale University

"An invaluable collection of rare primary sources. Taylor and Weir's introductions to the authors and summarizing analyses enhance the significance of this book for the history of biblical interpretation, women's studies, and nineteenth century cultural history."

- Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, Eisenberger Professor of Old Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

Here is the Introduction.

Bruce Ware on the constitutional inequality of women

Bruce Ware's article on the Summaries of the Egalitarian and Complementarian Positions, posted on CBMW's website, opens with this claim,

God created male and female as equal in all respects. Gen. 1:26-27 makes no distinction between woman and man insofar as both are equally made in His image (i.e., ontological equality), and both are given the responsibility to rule over His creation (i.e., functional equality).

However, elsewhere on the CBMW site we can hear exactly what Ware means by "equal in all respects,

"Man is the image of God directly, woman is the image of God only through the man… Because man was created by God in His image first, man alone was created in a direct and unmediated fashion as the image of God, manifesting then the glory of God in man, that is male man… If male headship is rooted in the image of God itself, then it isn’t just a functional distinction of how we work out. It really does mean we are made in a different way.

It may be best to understand the original creation of male and female as one in which the male was made in the image of God in a direct, unmediated and unilateral fashion, while the female was made image of God through the man and hence in a indirect, mediated and derivative fashion. So while they are both fully image of God, there is also a God intended priority given to the man as the original image of God through whom the woman, as image of God, derived from the male comes to be…

Identity is rooted in priority given to the male… Her identity as female is inextricably tied to and rooted in the identity of the male… Her created glory is a reflection of the man’s… has her glory through the man. Seth is the image of God because he was born through the fatherhood of Adam. Specifically Adam is mentioned and not Eve. As Seth is born in the likeness and image of Adam, so is he born in the likeness and image of God. Male headship is a part of the very constitution of woman." Bruce Ware in his lecture Building Strong Families in Your Church

If male headship is part of the constitution of women, and headship is used with the meaning of leadership, then women are not equal to men in their constitution.

It is important to understand that women have their identity rooted in and tied to the male. Women do not have an identity in Christ apart from the male. Woman is, by constitution, second to man. There is nothing equal about this.

This is the declared platform of CBMW, the organization which defines complementarianism. Many complementarians are preserved by God's grace from living out the priority of the male and the derivative nature of the female in every day life. They treat each other as human beings. However, what Ware writes about men and women is the foundation of the complementarian position. I personally do not think that it is appropriate for mainstream Christians to endorse any part of this teaching or those associated with it.

HT Wade Burleson

Julia Greswell

Last fall Dave Reimer sent me a link to this book, thinking it would help me with my studies in the Hebrew Psalter, and it has.

Julia Greswell's Grammatical Analysis of the Hebrew Psalter, 1873, has been the perfect companion to my studies this winter in the Hebrew Psalter. It was written to help divinity students get through their Hebrew studies, and includes notes for each psalm and an index to all the vocabulary and forms in the Hebrew Psalter.

The "advertisement" for this book is as follows,

I fear that it will be thought presumptuous in a Lady to undertake to write a work, the professed intention of which is to afford assistance to Beginners in the Study of Hebrew. It is, therefore, in the way of self-defence against any such charge of presumption, that I am induced to prefix to my volume the accompanying Letters, which have been received by my father, the Rev. Richard Greswell, from two very distinguished Hebrew Scholars, who have been pleased to express their opinion concerning the probable usefulness of my 'Grammtical Analysis of the Hebrew Psalter.'

The letters are by J. J. Stewart Perowne and R. Payne Smith who comments about the book,

It will prove a great boon to Students preparing for the Divinity Schools at Oxford, and generally to those who wish to learn Hebrew. ... I think our students and the younger Clergy generally have reason to be very grateful to Miss Greswell for producing a work which will make the acquisition of Hebrew so much more easy; and I trust that it may aid in inducing a larger proportion of them to study that language in which so large a part of the Scripture is written.

Elizabeth Wilson

Two years ago I wrote about Elizabeth Wilson, who taught me Latin and Greek. She died last year of Alzheimer's in her late 80's.

Last week another former student of Miss Wilson's emailed me and shared some more memories. Robin wrote,

Miss Wilson did more than teach me that ancient language, she brought that ancient time to life again. I had never been to Italy, nor even out of North America, but she filled my mind with pictures of Rome and especially Pompeii. I longed to go to Pompeii more than any place because of those hours spent in that first floor classroom which was always cool and dim, (she liked to keep the nasty overhead fluorescents turned off and I have preferred dimmer lighting ever since).

I remember one long, hot day when I lay slumped on my desk, drained of all energy, listening to her read some boring passage from some boring book - such was my attitude as a bright but disengaged teenager in the 80's. She paused and that smile curved over her face as she gazed down at us.

"Here's a word for you - susurrus". Her voice was a caress and I looked up, suddenly engaged.

"Suuuuuuu-surrrrrrrr-ussssssssssssssss". Her eyes were half-closed with that familiar, knowing smile playing on it, but suddenly the air seemed charged. I stared at the slight woman with the long grey hair wrapped around her head, and suddenly to me she seemed decades younger, those remarkable blue eyes clear with youth's light, and she seemed to flit in and out of the shadows cast by billowing curtains suddenly moved by the first breeze of that sultry afternoon.

"It is my favourite word and isn't it splendid? Onomatopoeia at it's finest - it sounds like a whisper. She said the word again and for the first time, the dusty academic was revealed as a real woman. I whispered the word and felt it tingle in secret places and it must have shown on my face because her eyes twinkled as they caught mine and then she moved on, breaking the spell.

Two years ago, I finally made it to Pompeii and it was even more glorious than I had imagined. I sat on the steps of the amphitheatre, gazing around and remembering Miss Wilson, her eyes alight and her voice clear as she prowled the front of the classroom describing the wonders of the very place I was now in. I shed a few tears then and I shed a few more when I read on your blog about her having Alzheimer's. I hope the people who have been/are caring for her know what a remarkable and unforgettable woman she was. A class-act all the way and I will always remember her.

Andreas Kostenberger, did you really mean to say that?

Or, no end of nonsense on the internet continued.

Andreas Kostenberger, on his blog, Biblical Foundations, 06-09-06 wrote,

While the senses “source” and “pre-eminent” have been proposed for kephalē, no passage is extant where that sense is favored by the context. In fact, every time one person is referred to as the “head” of another person in both biblical and extrabiblical literature, the person who is the “head” has authority over the other person and kephalē conveys the notion of authority.

For further study see my forthcoming commentary on the Pastoral Epistles in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary Vol. 12 (Zondervan); God, Marriage & Family; and my various other publications on Gender and Family.

Did he really write "no passage is extant where that sense is favoured by the context"? Now let's scan back to the CBMW blog and see what Grudem, the king of kephale researchers wrote (no date) here,

I once looked up over 2,300 examples of the word "head" (kephal¯e) in ancient Greek. In these texts the word kephal¯e is applied to many people in authority, but to none without governing authority:


• the king of Egypt is called "head" of the nation

I am only supplying Grudem's premiere example, not the lesser ones. You would think that this example at least would show a person in authority over the persons over whom he was the kephale.

Here is the quote about the king of Egypt,

the whole family of the Ptolemies was exceedingly eminent and conspicuous above all other royal families, and among the Ptolemies, Philadelphus was the most illustrious; for all the rest put together scarcely did as many glorious and praiseworthy actions as this one king did by himself, being, as it were, the leader of the herd, and in a manner the head of all the kings. Moses 2:30

Here Philadelphus was the most illustrious of his family who were "eminent and conspicuous." Philadelphus had no governing authority over his father. The statement made by Grudem is false, and the statement made by Kostenberger is doubly false. Remember that this example was chosen by Grudem as the citation to place first in line. It is clear that Philadelphus was never called "head" of the nation. It is hard to believe that Grudem made that up but he did.

Now let's see how else Philo uses the word kephale.

If, then, any one proves himself a man of such a character in the city he will appear superior to the whole city, and if a city show itself of such a character it will be the chief of all the country around; and if a nation do so it will be the lord of all the other nations, as the head is to the body occupying the pre-eminence of situation, not more for the sake of glory than for that of advancing the interests of those that see.

For continual appearances of good models stamp impressions closely resembling themselves on all souls which are not utterly obdurate and intractable; (115) and I say this with reference to those who wish to imitate models of excellent and admirable beauty, On Rewards and Punishment 114

Oh, here it actually says "pre-eminent." I guess this is the passage from which people got the bizarre idea that kephale meant pre-eminent. How did Kostenberger miss this? And what about governing authority? It may appear that is in included, but actually, the man talked about here is the virtuous or wise man,

For virtue and goodness are judged of not by quantity but by quality, for which reason I look upon it that even one day spent with perfect correctness is of equal value with the entire good life of a wise man.

The wise man is the kephale. And so what does that mean exactly? The passage explains, the wise man is a "model of excellence and admirable beauty." Philadelphus is an example of this kind of man. He is the kephale, the leader of the herd. The herd is the family of kings that precede him and follow him over whom he had no authority.

What does all this have to do with kephale in the Bible? Is God the model for Christ and the husband the model for the wife? I don't see the connection myself. Unlike Grudem and Kostenberger, I see no way to derive an interpretation of the kephale passages of the scriptures from these citations.

However, I wish Grudem and Kostenberger would face up to the facts. The premiere example of kephale meaning governing authority speaks only of the wise and virtuous man who is a model of excellence. What a lesson has been missed. They seek power and are blind to virtue.

Judith Plaskow

Judith Plaskow is an important Jewish feminist and theologian. She comments on how easy it is for Christian feminists to imply that the God of the Hebrew Bible is a warrior God and a patriarchal deity while the God of the Christian scriptures is a God who divests himself of power. She writes,

There are several problems with this dualistic depiction of the two natures of God, the most serious of which is that it projects a tension that exists within Judaism and Christianity as a conflict between Judaism and Christianity. In the so-called Old Testament, God is fully developed as a God of justice and a God of mercy. page 103

She continues,

It is easier for Christian feminists to point the finger at problematic aspects of the Christian tradition as they also appear within Judaism than it is to deal with them within Christianity itself.

Plaskow remarks that Christian feminists want to contrast Jesus with his Jewish context and focus on how freeing his ministry was to women. Jesus is a feminist if we say that the Judaism of that period was uniquely misogynist.

And yet we can find in the writings of Christian authors for the last 2000 years misogyny of all sorts. We need to realize that the desire to subordinate women resides in all religions, and the desire to subordinate other resides in all humans. We end up finding the enemy within ourselves.

Women can read about Rebekkah, who, beautiful and beloved, wanted control and managed to get it. Within the patriarchal narratives are women who were painfully subordinated and ruthlessly dismissed as well as those who got their own way, one way or another.

There were also women who were generous and loving heroes. They weren't Christian women, but they were real women of a generous and adult nature, Ruth, Esther, and Rahab. What society shaped these women and gave them values?

I have wandered away from Judith Plaskow's thesis. However, one point remains to be made. Of all the female theologians I have read recently - essays by about 10 different women, Plaskow stands out as saying some very important things. She is not to be missed.

Plaskow, Judith. and Donna Berman. The Coming of Lilith: essays on Feminism, Judaism and Sexual Ethics

masculine Israel and feminine Zion

In Hebrew it is clear that Israel is masculine and Zion is feminine. Both of these represent the people of God. It is to be regretted that this is usually obscured by translation. Here is John F. Schmitt on this topic,

A study Bible should try to convey the ways of thought and expression that are characteristic of the original. So human an interest as gender seems unworthy of suppression. None of the newer translation remove from Israel his sonship in Ex. 4:22 yet they are often careless in other regards. (81) If masculine Israel can keep his gender there, why should not Zion be able to maintain her femininity elsewhere? The parallel between masculine Israel and feminine Zion is one that the Bible itself maintains. page 119 *

The author is referring to a lack of feminine pronouns and inflections. I want to explore how this works. Here is one contrasting example of gender treatment with regard to Zion and Jerusalem in Isaiah 37:22,

this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him: She despises you, she scorns you - virgin daughter Zion; she tosses her head - behind your back, daughter Jerusalem. NRSV

this is the word the LORD has spoken against him: "The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises and mocks you. The Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. NIV

The TNIV, HCSB, and many others concur with the NRSV that Zion is herself the daughter. The other translations, NIV, ESV, KJV and others infer that the virgin is the daughter of Zion and not Zion herself.

However, in the NRSV the gender of the pronoun is, in fact, suppressed in Isaiah 29:2,

Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the festivals run their round. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and Jerusalem ^F81 shall be to me like an Ariel.

The TNIV, also a gender inclusive translation has,

Woe to you, Ariel, Ariel,
the city where David settled!
Add year to year
and let your cycle of festivals go on.

2 Yet I will besiege Ariel;
she will mourn and lament,
she will be to me like an altar hearth. ^[a]

So far, with respect to keeping the gender of Zion clear, the TNIV outperforms the others. The KJV has "daughter of Zion" which, I think, obscures the gender of Zion herself.

But perhaps this is not fair, since in verse 7 we see,

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. NRSV.

What is difficult to explain is that all pronouns in this passage from beginning to end refer to the city as feminine. What is especially missing in English is the capacity to say "you" in the feminine singular - "you" meaning "you, the one woman that God is speaking to." I am not sure that any translation can create the effect that the Hebrew does.

However, this does not mean that the people of God are always feminine in relation to a masculine God. Far from it. Israel, also the people of God, is masculine; and God has the feminine feelings of a mother for her child in regard to her people. The interplay of gender in the Hebrew scriptures is complex.


*Schmitt, John J. The city as woman in Isaiah 1-39 in Evans, Craig and Craig C. Broyles, Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah: Studies of an Interpretive Tradition (2 vols., VTSup 70; FIOTL 1; Leiden: Brill, 1997).