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1 Kings

1 Kings 13:1-10*

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Note: taken from  “The Contexts of 1 Kings XIII,  Jerome T. Walsh, Vetus Testamentum, Vol. 39, 1989, pp. 355-370”

A. 1 Kings 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel:

B. and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Andhe cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

C1. 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

C2. 4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

C1*. 5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

C2*. 6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

B’. 7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

A’. 10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

Exodus

Exodus 2:11-25

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A. 11 … and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

B. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian,

C. and hid him in the sand.

A’.  13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

B’. 14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?

C’. And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

—–

A. 15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

B. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters:  and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

C. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

D. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

C’. 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

B’. 20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.

A’. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

—–

A. 23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage,

B. and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

C.  24 And God heard their groaning,

B’. and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

A’. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Note: in verse 23 the word for “bondage” is cognate with “serve” in Genesis 15:13 referring to the prophecy God made to Abraham about his descendants being in bondage in Egypt.  This elucidates the parallel between bondage and God remembering His covenant with Abraham.
Moses has just released Reuel’s daughters from their labour. Now God through Moses will release Israel from theirs.

Exodus

Exodus 2:1-11

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Note: the first structure hinges on Miriam staying around to find out what happened to her brother. Because of this and her courage Moses was nursed by his real mother, the centre of the second pattern, and thereby would have learned who “his brethren” were (v11) despite being adopted as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. .

 A. 2:1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

B. 3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein;

C. and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

D. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

C’. 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

B’. 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept.

A’. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

A. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

B. 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.

C. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

B’. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

A’. 11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens:

Matthew

Matthew 27:1-14

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A. 27:1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: 2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

B. 3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.

C. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

C’. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

B’. 6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.  7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

A’. 11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

A. 12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

B. 13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

A’. 14 And he answered him to never a word;

B’. insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Matthew

Matthew 13:1-43

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Note: Only the parables of the sower and tares are explained. There is a regular pattern, with the reference as to why Jesus spoke in parables separating each  parable from its explanation. However, bundled with the parable of the tares are two other parables introduced by the term “Another”. (The parables later in the chapter are introduced by “Again”.) In this symmetry the all embracing parable of the response to the gospel is matched against parables that specify – predictions of false teaching and false disciples, but also of the victory of the gospel.  The injunction – Who hath ears to hear, let him hear – comes after the parable of the sower but after the explanation of the parable of the tares.

A. 13:1- 9 Parable of Sower.

B. 13:10-18 Why did Jesus  speak in parables.

C. 13:19-23 Explanation of parable of sower.

A’. 13:24-33 Parables of wheat and tares, mustard seed and leaven.

B’. 13:34-35 Why did Jesus speak in parables.

C’. 13:36-43 Explanation of parable of the tares.

A. 13:1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables,  saying,

Parable of the Sower
Way side – Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Stony places – 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:  6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Thorns – 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

Good ground – 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

B. Why Jesus spoke in parables
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? … 

C. Explanation of Parable of the Sower

Way side – 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Stony places – 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Thorns – 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Good ground – 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

A’. Parable of the tares
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed

in his field:

25 But while men slept, his enemy came

and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,

Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:

but gather the wheat into my barn.

Parable of the mustard seed
31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Parable of the leaven
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

B’. Why Jesus spoke in parables
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them …

C’. Explanation of parable of the tares
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them,

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38 The field is the world;

 the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil;

the harvest is the end of the world;

 and the reapers are the angels.

 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.  41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

James

James 4

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Note: I have set this out as I understand  the general sense rather than just using the repetitions as structure. There appear to be sets of regular “Hebrew” parallelisms which give symmetry the sections. As always comments and corrections most welcome.

4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you?

A . come they not hence, even of your lusts (pleasures) that war in your members?

B. i. 2 Ye lust, and have not: 

ii.  ye kill, and desire (covet) to have, and cannot obtain:

iii. ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 

A’. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,  that ye may consume it upon your lusts (pleasures).

A. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses,

B. know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?

B’. whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

A’. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

A. 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith,
God resisteth the proud,
but giveth grace unto the humble.

B’. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.
             Resist  the devil,  and he  will flee from you.
             8 Draw nigh to  God, and he will draw nigh to you.

C. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
 and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

B’. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:
           let your laughter be turned to mourning,
          and your joy to heaviness.

A’. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and he shall lift you up.

A. 11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren.

B.  He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law:

B’. but if thou judge the law,  thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: 

A’.  who art thou that judgest another?

A. 13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

B. 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.

C. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

B’. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

A’. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

James

James 1:12-27

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A. 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

B. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:

C. for God cannot be tempted with evil,

C’. neither tempteth he any man:

B’. 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

A’. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

A. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

B. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

A’. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

B’. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

A. 22 But be ye doers of the word,

B. and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

C. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

C’. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and con tinueth therein,  he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

B’. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

A’. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

James

James 5:1-6

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Note: A – describes the end of the rich, A’ – why this has happened. 

A. 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

B. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth:

B’. and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

A. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.  6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Genesis

Genesis 4

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Note: ch 4 appears to be a unit of thought as it begins and ends with Adam and Eve having a children. The first half of the chapter has to do with Cain and faithful Abel, and the second with the development of the  line of Cain. Cain seeks to reverse the effect of banishment by building a city and Cain’s descendants become even more wicked. 

4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel.  And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

——–

A. Acceptance of Abel and rejection of Cain.
a. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

b. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.

b’. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

a’. 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.

B. Cain’s hatred results in murder
a. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

b. 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?

b’. and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

a’. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

B’.  Cain called to account for murder
a. 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?

b. And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

a’. 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

A’. Cain rejected.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

——–

A. Cain considers banishment – 13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

B. sevenfold vengeance  – 15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

A’. Cain builds a dynasty – 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. 19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.  20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. 

B’. Seventy seven fold veangeance – 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: For I have slain a man to my wounding, And a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

——-

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

Joshua

Joshua 23:5-13

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From Matt Van Dyken – The first half focuses on the promises of the LORD and what the Israelites are called to do, and the second half focuses on what the Israelites are called NOT to do, and what the LORD will do if they do that. 

A. 5 The LORD your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,

B. 7 that you may not mix (בּוֹא)

C. with these nations remaining among you (בַּגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אִתְּכֶ֑ם) or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them,

D. 8 but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day.

E. For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations.  And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day.

E’. 10 One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. 

D’.11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God. 12 For if you turn back and cling to

C’. the remnant of these nations remaining among you (הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אִתְּכֶ֑ם)

B’. and make marriages (בּוֹא) with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 

A’. 13 know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.