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Tag: Song of Songs

Of Secular and Sacred Wisdom: Socrates —

Part III. “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Juxtaposing the ancient wisdom of the Athenian gadfly and Jerusalem’s philosopher king.

Of Secular and Sacred Wisdom: Socrates —

Part III. “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Juxtaposing the ancient wisdom of the Athenian gadfly and Jerusalem’s philosopher king.

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The ancient Near East held to a spiritually intimate, yet cosmic view of wisdom, a kind of judicial sovereignty over chaos and order. Israel identified this source of wisdom as Yahweh––the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob––who was also the Creator of the cosmos and Author of life. The Greeks
Of Secular and Sacred Wisdom: Solomon —

Part II. “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Juxtaposing the ancient wisdom of the Athenian gadfly and Jerusalem’s philosopher king.

Of Secular and Sacred Wisdom: Solomon —

Part II. “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Juxtaposing the ancient wisdom of the Athenian gadfly and Jerusalem’s philosopher king.

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On the cusp of East and West, one thousand years before the apostle Paul addressed the Areopagus, and well before Aristotle (c.384-322 BC), Plato (c.428-347 BC), and Socrates (c.469-399 BC) catapulted a new era of Western philosophy that still persists today, and roughly four hundred years before natural philosopher Thales
Temple as Eden —

How the Temple was designed to look like the Garden of Eden.

Temple as Eden —

How the Temple was designed to look like the Garden of Eden.

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As meeting places for God and men, ancient temples were created to reflect the ideal environment for such an event: the Garden of Eden, also called the “Garden of Plenty” or “Paradise” in surrounding cultures. The Jerusalem Temple, built by Solomon was no exception. The Bible gives a detailed description
Pomegranates —

The rich symbolism of the humble pomegranate.

Pomegranates —

The rich symbolism of the humble pomegranate.

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In the ancient Near East, the pomegranate was a widely accepted symbol of fertility. This was due to the many seeds contained in each fruit; the pomegranate’s potential for reproducing seems nearly unlimited. So, standing as a symbol for fruitful potential, productivity, and abundance was quite appropriate. It’s red, blood-like
Ancient Signatures —

How did the ancient world sign important documents before ink, pen and paper?

Ancient Signatures —

How did the ancient world sign important documents before ink, pen and paper?

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In the times of the Bible, documents like peace treaties, sale of land certificates, business transactions, adoptions, marriages and the like were authenticated using the ancient version of the signature: a seal. Ancient seals as we know them came in two forms: (1) the signet or stamp type, and (2)
Literary Genre of the Song of Solomon —

What influenced Solomon's poetic writing style?

Literary Genre of the Song of Solomon —

What influenced Solomon's poetic writing style?

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The first sentence in the Biblical book of Song of Solomon makes a claim of authorship: “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s”. That Solomon, the third king of Israel and son of David wrote this poetry was taken for granted throughout Jewish and Christian history, and even today stands