Jeremiah 23:1-6 The prophet Jeremiah may have witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in the early sixth century B.C.E. Likely his words were preserved, edited and expanded upon during the exile as a testament to the pain sustained by the people of Judah, an exploration of the reasons behind the…

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 These passages first describe David and his company taking the ark out of the home of Abinadab with great rejoicing, then state that God blessed the household of Obed-edom “because of the ark.” The change of household names alerts the careful reader (or listener) to a bit of lectionary sleight of…

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 In last week’s reading from the Hebrew scriptures, we heard how David mourned over the death of Saul, his predecessor, friend, mentor and finally enemy. We then skip forward over most of four chapters until we hear how David had been king of the tribe of Judah (one of the twelve…

Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15; 2:23-24 The five verses of the lection (out of a range of two chapters – forty verses!) are a distillation of the author’s answer as to why there is good and evil, and why we should choose the good. God created all there is; and because of God’s goodness, the essence…

1 Samuel 17:57-18:5 What could it mean that “the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David”? Note that the Hebrew word used for “soul” here is transliterated as nephesh. While nephesh is translated in this passage as “soul,” it can also refer to other aspects of life, and people and animals are considered to have…