| 7915 1QM 17.5–6; Perkins, «John,» 972, cites 1QM 1.1, 5, 13; 4.2; 11.8; 1QS 1.18; 2.19; 3.20–21. Brown, John, 1:468, rightly compares John and the Scrolls here. Cf. repeatedly «Prince Mastema» ! .]ub. 17:16; 18:9, 12; 48:2,9,12, 15; though elsewhere sometimes simply «Mastema,» e.g., 49:2); the «Prince of Darkness» (Pesiq. Rab. 20:2; 53:2). 7918 E.g., Lucan C.W. 6.742–743; Segal, «Ruler,» 248–49; the Demiurge in Irenaeus Haer. 1.5.4. Pagans did not scruple to speak of even a chthonic deity as «ruler of the earth» (Smith, Magician, 52, citing Lucian Pharsalia 6.697). See demonic «world-rulers» in Eph 6:12 ; T. So1. 8:2–7 (third century C.E.); in the magical papyri, see Arnold, Ephesians, 65; later astrological powers in MacGregor, «Principalities»; Lee, «Powers,» 60. 7919 Ovid Metam. 15.758–759,859–860; cf. other rulers in p. c Abod. Zar. 3:1, §3; Exod. Rab. 5:14. One might think of a coalescence of imperial and antichrist images if John " s emphasis lay here. 7924 T.Roš Haš. 1:18; " Abot R. Nat. 2A; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 5:13; 23:4; p. Roš Haš 1:3, §28; cf. m. Roš Haš. 3:1; p. Roš Haš. 3:1, §17. When earthly courts could not execute a requisite death sentence, the heavenly court would do so (t. Sanh. 14:16; Sanh. Mak. 5:16; " Abot R. Nat. 25A; p. Ketub. 3:1, §8; Deut. Rab. 5:5; Midr. Pss. 72, §3). 7925 Cf. similar language for the expulsion of Cronus by Zeus at the fall of the Titans (e.g., Cornutus 7.p.7, 20, in Van der Horst, «Cornutus,» 171). 7926 John derives the terms «glorified» and «lifted up» from Isa 52LXX (e.g., Lightfoot, Gospel, 252; see comment on 3:14). The potentially relevant Targum Isaiah, to which some would like to appeal, however, does not predate the NT (Chilton, «John xii34»). 7930 Cicero Verr. 2.4.10.24 (sustulit). Despite allegorizing some other matters, ancient commentators typically understood that 12refers in context to the cross (Augustine Tr. Ev. Jo. 52.11.3). 7931 Callisthenes Alex. 2.21.7–11 (Boring et a1., Commentary, 260–61). Because crucifixion involved «exaltation,» a dream about it signified good for a poor man (Artemidorus Om " r. 2.53; Malina and Rohrbaugh, John, 212–13). |
| 5885 Sib. Or. frg. 7. 5886 Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.167. 5887 Alexander son of Numenius Rhetores graeci 3.4–6 (Grant, Religions, 166); PGM 13.843; Iamblichus Myst. 7.2. The highest good had to be self-sufficient (Aristotle N.E. 1.7,1097B). 5888 E.g., Aristotle Heav. 1.9, 279a.l l-b.3; Pyth. Sent. 25; Marcus Aurelius 7.16; Plutarch Isis 75, Mor. 381B; Maximus of Tyre Or. 38.6; in Jewish sources, Let. Aris. 211; 3Macc 2:9; Josephus Ant. 8.111; Ag. Ap. 2.190; Philo Creation 100; Acts 17:25. On sources of Philós portrait of God " s transcendence, see Dillon, «Transcendence.» 5889 E.g., 2 Bar. 21:10; Pesiq. Rab. 1:2; «who lives forever» (e.g., Tob 13:1, ζν …); for the " liv-ing God,» cf., e.g., Marmorstein, Names, 72; Rev 7:2; also Deut 5:26 ; Josh 3:10; 1Sam 17:26,36; 2 Kgs 19:4, 16; Ps 42:2; 84:2 ; Isa 37:4,17; Jer 10:10; 23:36 ; Dan 6:20, 26 ; Hos 1:10 ; Matt 16:16; 26:63; Acts 14:15; Rom 9:26 ; 2Cor 3:3; 6:16; 1 Thess 1:9; 1Tim 3:15; 4:10 ; Heb 3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22. 5890 Tob 13:1,6; 1Tim 1:17 ; 1 En. 5:1; 25:3,5; Sib. Or. 1.45,50,53,56,73,122,152,167,232; 3.10, 276, 278, 302, 328, 582, 593, 600–601, 604, 617, 628, 631, 698, 717; 8.428; Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.167; Philo Creation 100; Good Person 20; Ps.-Phoc. 17; T. Ab. 15:15A; 2Bar. 21:10; CI] 1:489, §677; cf. Plutarch Isis 1, Mor. 351E; PGM 13.843. 5891 Sib. Or. 3.15–16; cf. Plutarch Ε at Delphi 17, Mor. 392A. 5892 PGM 4.640–645 (Betz, Papyri, 50). 5893 To others God commits temporary, limited political authority (19:11) or the authority to become his children (1:12), but only to Jesus does God entrust authority over all humanity (17:2). 5894 For refutation, see Brown, John, 1:215, whom we follow here. 5895 For the admonition not to marvel along with provision of evidence, cf. 3:7–8; probably 6:61–62; for the principle, see Mark 2:9–11 . 5896 E.g., Apocr. Ezek. introduction. 5897 Also, e.g., Hanson, Gospel 52. 5898 Bailey, Poet, 62, sees a chiastic structure, but if one is present, it is highly asymmetrica1. |
| 5864 Dan 7:22 ; Wis 3:7–8; 1 En. 95:3; 98:12; lQpHab 5.3–4, misinterpreting Hab 1:12–13; 1QM 14.7; 16.1. In Dan 7 , the «saints» must represent God " s people (Di Leila, «Holy Ones»; Poythress, «Holy Ones»; Hasel, «Saints»), not angels (pace Dequeker, «Saints»). 5865 See, e.g., m. " Abot 4(God " s prerogative alone); Deut. Rab. 1:10; 2 Bar. 19:3; Urbach, Sages, 1:123; more broadly, Sib. Or. 4.183–184; 1 En. 9:4; 60:2; 62:2; 47with 46:2; T. Ab. 14:6A. This point is often noted by commentators (e.g., Schnackenburg, John, 2:107; Morris, John, 319). 5866 E.g., 3 En. 31:1; p. Sanh. 1:1, §4; Pesiq. Rab. 10:9. 5867 E.g., with reference to the new year; t. Roš Haš. 1:13; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 2:4; 23:1. 5868 Cf. Carson, John, 254. 5869 E.g., Philo Sacrifices 9; Num. Rab. 15:13. 5870 Mek. Pisha 1.88ff. Some later rabbis even interpreted Isa 42:8, which reserves God " s glory for himself, to claim that God would not share glory with another besides Israel (Pesiq. Rab Kah. 21:2). 5871 Vespasian, linking himself with Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius, in CIL 6.930; ILS 244 (Sherk, Empire, 124–25). 5872 Realized and future eschatologies are hardly incompatible and need not suggest later redaction. Qumran " s collection includes various eschatological schemes (cf. Mattila, «Eschatologies,» on 4Q246 and 1QM). 5873 Cf., e.g., Dio Cassius 45.47.5; Lucretius Nat. 3.1046; Macrobius Comm. 1.11.2 (Van der Horst, «Macrobius,» 224); Epictetus Diatr. 1.5.4; Heraclitus Ep. 5; Sir 22:11–12 ; Eph 2:1 ; Gen. Rab. 39:7; Exod. Rab. 5:4; Ecc1. Rab. 9:5, §1; Gen 2as understood in Philo Alleg. Interp. 1.106; perhaps 4 Ezra 7:92; cf. spiritual resurrection in Jos. Asen. 8:9/11. 5874 So the Targumim (Abrahams, Studies, 2:44; McNamara, Targum, 123). The twofold death in some MSS of Gen. Rab. 96simply refers to the pain of a Diaspora burial, as the «second death» of Phaedrus 1.21.11 refers to ridicule at death. For more on «life,» see comment on 1:4–5. 5875 E.g., Josephus Ant. 8.220–221; Dio Cassius R.H. 19.61; Diodorus Siculus 4.10.3–4; Moses in Josephus Ant. 3.85–87; 4.329; see further in introduction, pp. 310–17. |
| 8623 Lev. Rab. 29:7; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 23:7; 25:4. Cf. Le Déaut, «L " intercession,» 49–50. This image is of course natural, given the prominence of patriarchal merit in these texts. 8627 Elsewhere God bears witness on behalf of the righteous (4 Ezra 7:94). Cf. the common image of God also as «helper» (βοηθς) more generally, e.g., Jdt 9:11. 8628 Trites, Witness, 118, points out that in Isa 40–55 and Job the same person could function as both witness and advocate. 8630 Exod. Rab. 15:29, with citations from Isaianic texts that suggest that such a combination would have been perfectly natural in the biblical period as wel1. Cf. also R. Johanan (early third century) in Ruth Rab. proem 1. 8631 Deut. Rab. 3:11. The Holy Spirit appears as a «helper» in the sense of one that upholds (samak) the righteous in the Qumran hymns (Bruce, «Spirit,» 52), but this is a much broader usage than we are considering here. Johansson, Parakletoi, 84–95, seeks evidence for the Spirit as intercessor in early Judaism, but his evidence is less than impressive here, and we may wonder whether early Christianity did not develop its Spirit intercession (e.g., Rom 8:26 ) from its image of Christ intercession ( Rom 8:34 ) and its experience of the Spirit. 8633 Men of God and prophets, Johansson, Parakletoi, 3–21; angels (in Job and Zechariah), 22–40; the intercessor as witness, way-leader, and mediator (Mittler), 41–48; concept of intercessor and the servant of YHWH as a leader, 49–62. 8634 In the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha excluding 1 Enoch, Johansson, Parakletoi, 65–95; in 1 Enoch, 96–119; in 3 Enoch, Midrash, and Talmud, 120–78. Le Déaut, «L " intercession,» 38–45, shows how the group of intercessors was enlarged, with divergences in kind; this includes prophets, 41ff, esp. 43–44; cf. also Bamberger, «Prophet,» 305. 8637 See Dion, «Paraclet,» 148 (review of Betz). For the breadth of the figures, besides Johansson, see Le Déaut, «L " intercession,» 35–57. It is also true, as Brown notes («Paraclete,» 126), that «there is not the slightest evidence in John " s picture of the Paraclete that these remote angelic origins have remained influentia1.» |
| 8437 Thus the artificial similarity of the three questions (14:5,8, 22) need not require pure invention, which might not well explain the citation of the obscure Judas (Brown, John, 2:641). 8438 Those who deny this acceptance (e.g., Bultmann) must employ a standard of consistency not applicable to other ancient sources, then impose their exegesis of some texts on the whole of John " s theology by resorting to excising as interpolations passages for the removal of which there is no evidence. 8439 Segovia, «Structure,» 482–84, followed by Berg, «Pneumatology,» 111, suggest three elements in 14:4–14: (1) an opening christological statement (14:4, 7, 10); (2) the state of the disciples» belief 14:5, 8, 11); and (3) expansion of the opening christological statement (14:6, 9, 12–14), climaxing in 14:12–14. 8442 Recognized, e.g., by Carson, Discourse, 26, though he believes that 14refers to a future coming. 8447 DeConick, Mystics, 69–73 (citing Philo Migration 168–175, plus the later Odes of Solomon and Hermetica); cf. also Porphyry Marc. 6.105; 8.136. She also suggests that the way " s localization in Jesus is meant to counter the Gospel of Thomas (the traditions of which are echoed in Thomas " s ignorance in 14:5). 8452 E.g., Tob 1:3; Jub. 20:2; 23:20–21; 4Q400 frg. 1, co1. 1 line 14; Sib. Or. 3.233. Cf. the use of «way» in Islamic Arabic (Bishop, Apostles, 107–8); and various pedagogic approaches in Iamblichus V.P. 19 (on which see Dillon and Hershbell, «Introduction,» 28). 8454 Philo Confusion 95–96; τπον here invites some comparison with the later rabbinic use of mokom for God " s omnipresence (for Torah as a surrogate for God " s presence, cf. Patte, Hermeneutic, 25). The Logos is God " s house in Philo Migration 5–6. 8457 Cf. also Pryke, «Eschatology,» 49. The Qumran sect " s depiction of themselves as the «way» 1QS 9.17) probably also stems from Isa 40 (1QS 8.14; note also the allusion in 1QS 9.19–20). 8458 Older commentators cited the literal path through which mystery initiates discovered esoteric lore (Ramsay, Teaching, 302). |
| 1096 Sanders, Jesus and Judaism, 106–7, surveys contemporary Jewish texts in which repentance and eschatology occur together (cf. 92 for John the Baptist); cf. also 1 En. 50:3–5 (in the Similitudes, of uncertain date); Pss. So1. 9:7; T. Ab. 10:14A; 11:10B; m. «Abot 2:10; Yoma 8:8; t. Kip. 4:7; »Abot R. Nat. 39A-40; 15,29, §62B; b. Šabb. 153a; Roš Haš. 16b; Pesiq. Rab Kah. Sup. 3:2, and often in rabbinic literature (where repentance makes one right before the Judge). 1097 Philosophers could describe such a change by other means (Cicero Tusc. 3.27.58), while using this specific term rarely (e.g., Marcus Aurelius 8.10). John " s regeneration language ( John 1:12, 3:3–5 ) indicates the radical transformation of conversion. 1098 See also the conclusions of Hengel, «Throngemeinschaft,» who compares Revelation " s Christology with that of the Gospel and 1 John. 1099 Some commentators think that the emperor was worshiped as Apollo, son of Zeus, in Thyatira (Fiorenza, Revelation, 193); others associate the two (Caird, Revelation, 43, based on numismatic evidence). 1100 The association with a paschal lamb is clear, since his blood delivers his people (7:3) from participation in the plagues. 1101 This was associated with Torah (Sipre Deut. 47.3.2; b. " Abot 6:7; Lev. Rab. 9:3, 25:1, 35:6; Num. Rab. 13:12; Ecc1. Rab. 1.4, §4; also Targumim according to McNamara, Targum, 121) because of its identification with Wisdom in Prov 3:18 . The imagery can be explained without recourse to Torah associations, however (e.g., Prov 11:30; 13:12; 15:4; 4 Macc 18:16; Pss. So1. 14:3–4; in Rev 22:2, Gen 2is explicitly in view), where the end time includes a restored beginning-time paradise, as in some other apocalyptic texts (4 Ezra 8:52; Gk. Apoc. Ezra 2:11; 5:21). 1102 The light in Revelation is probably eschatological, cf. Isa 58:8–10, 60:1–3; Wis 3:7–8, 5:6; 1QM 1.8; 1QH 18.28–29; 1 En. 1:8; 39:7; 50:1; 51:5; 58:2–6; 91:16; 96:3; 108:11–15; 2 En. 65:10; 65A; 3 En. 5:3; 4 Ezra 7:39–44,97; 2 Bar. 10:12; Sib. Or. 2.329 (probably Christian redaction); 4.190–192; in rabbinic literature, cf. Sipre Deut. 47.2.1–2; b. Sank. 100a; and Ya1. Ps. 72 in Abelson, Immanence, 89. On different applications of light imagery, see our commentary on John 1:4–5 , below. |
| 1–6 cf Faber: «Teste enim Plinio 1. 10. cap. 3 et aliis, aquila firmat et munit nidum suum lapide Aetite contra venena, qui quasi praegnans alium intra se continet, nec quidquam igné deperdit. De qua re etiam Hieronymus in Isa. 65. ait: »Inter caeteras animantes omnes aquilarum quidem Maximus in pullos est amor, quae in excelsis et inaccessis locis nidos collocant, ne coluber foetus violet. Amethystum (sic enim vocal Hieronymus) quoque inter pullos eius lapidem reperiri scribunt, quo omnia venena superentur, etc.«’ 11. 7–12 cf Faber: «Recte nidum Christi, interpretamur Ecclesiam: »Quemadmodum enim aquila, inquit S. Ambrosius 1. 2. de Salom. cap. 2. colona quasi mater nidi semper unius est, nec ad procreandam sobolem aliud quandoque cubile perquirit: ita Christus Dominus unam diligit Ecclesiam ut aquila nidum suum, quam aestu persecutionis, alarum suarum défendit umbraculo.» Sic Ambr. Hanc ergo firmavit Christus in Sede Apostolica velut Petra praegnante et continente intra se aliam, id est, alium et alium Petri successorem: ita ut contra earn praevalere nequenat omnes portae inferi et colubri haereseon.» For doctrinal reasons Simeon departs from Faber " s interpretation of the image. Церковь 3 . Taken from Faber, Dominica 16 Post Pentecosten, No. 3 «Dierum festivorum profanatio reprehenditur», Thema. 11. 1–8 cf Faber: «Unum templum cultui divino erexit Salomon in Ierusalem: in contrarium duos lucos erexit mox Ieroboam, et in eis duos aureos vitulos, unum in Bethel, alterum in Dan, ad avertendum a divino cultu et templo Ierosolym itano populum; factumque ut Hebraei abirent potius ad vitulos, etiam usque Dan (qui erat terminus Iudaeae) quam ad templum Dei veri, 3. Reg. Kings 12.26–33].» 11. 9–16 cf Faber: «Simillima ratione erexit Christus templum, et in eo cultum divinum, festivis persolvendum diebus: in contrariurm diabolus eregit non unum, sed com plures lucos vitulosque aureos, choreas, comessationes, luxum, aleas pugilum spectacula, mercim onia, aliasque vanitates et illecebras peccatorum, fitque ut his potius quam divino cultui plerique omnes vacent.» |
| They could not come to Jesus without the Father " s enabling, Jesus claims, because Scripture promised that God " s eschatological people would learn directly from him (6:45). Yet Jesus» interlocutors here fail to «hear» him (cf. 5:37; 6:60; 7:51; 8:38,43,47; 10:3). Jesus claims the fulfillment of the promise that God " s people in the time of restoration would learn from God (Isa 54:13; cf. 1 Thess 4:9); 6184 the Father " s witness should therefore besufficient to bring those who are truly the remnant of Gods people to Jesus ( John 6:45 ). Like other midrashic interpreters, Jesus is explaining the text from the Torah proper in light of a text from the prophets; indeed, allusions to the larger context of Isa 54–55 seem to be presupposed in the rest of the discourse. 6185 (The direct allusion to Isaiah obviates the need to appeal to other ancient claims to direct instruction by God, though they did appear.) 6186 That Jesus appears as the «teacher» from God par excellence in this Gospel is significant (3:2; 6:59; 7:14, 28, 35; 8:20; 18:20); Jesus learned from the Father (8:28; cf. 7:15–17; cf. 8:26, 40) and the Spirit would continue Jesus» ministry (14:26; cf. Luke 12:12; 1Cor 2:13 ). Again, Christology impacts ecclesiology (see our introduction, on background; and comment on 10:3–4). God had taught Israel at Sinai, 6187 and would teach them again at the eschatological giving of his Word (Isa 2:2–4). Here the Father, the great teacher, sends his disciples to Jesus, as John the Baptist had (l:36–37). 6188 Interpreters could debate the identity of the one who sees God in 6:46. On the one hand, Jesus could speak generically about all who see God in him (1:18; 14:7–9). Although that may seem out of place at this point in the Gospel, it fits the context quite well: those who learn from the Father (6:45) also see the Father " s glory as reflected in the Son (6:46; cf. 1:51; 5:37; 11:40; 12:41; 15:24; 1 John 3:6; 3 John 11 ). These believers contrast starkly with Jesus» accusers, who never did see God, despite their claims about Sinai (5:37). On the other hand, and more likely, one could view the «one who has seen God» (6:46) as Jesus (cf. 8:38), the only one in the Father " s bosom (1:18; cf. 1 John 4:20 ) and the one sent directly παρ God (7:29; cf. 1:6). In this case, Jesus as the only one from above (3:13) is the one who causes others to be born from above and see God " s kingdom (3:3). John could therefore be providing an aside: «hearing» and «learning» from God (6:45) differs from «seeing» him (6:46). 6189 In either case, believers ultimately see God " s revelation only by means of the Son. And in either case, this language may allude to the theophany at Sinai as in 1:14–18. 6190 |
| 6500 E.g., t. Roš Haš. 1:13; Pesiq. Rab Kah. Sup. 7:2; p. Roš Haš. 1:3, §43; perhaps also m. Roš Haš. 1(but cf. m. Ta c an. 1:1). Cf. the association instead with his decrees at the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) in Sipre Deut. 40.4.2; p. Roš Haš. 1:3, §§45–46. 6501 B. Ta c an. 25b. 6502 Cf. also the invitation of a sage to drink from the wisdom he offers ( Sir 51:23–24 ; cf. here, e.g., Reim, Studien, 193); wisdom or wise speech (Philo Worse 117; Sib. Or. 1.33–34) and prophecy (Plutarch Obso1. 5, Mor. 41 IF) as a stream or river. Some (e.g., Blenkinsopp, «Quenching,» 44–45; Pancaro, Law, 480–81; Whitacre, John, 193; cf. Turner, Spirit, 62) find wisdom background here; Jeremias, Theology, 159, finds the familiar cry of the seller of water (cf. Isa 55:1). Contrast the fanciful identification with John the Baptist in Thiering, Hypothesis, 191. 6503 Noted by Painter, John, 49. 6504 M. «Abot 1:4; 2:8; Mek. Vay. l:74ff.; Bah. 5:99; Sipre Deut. 48.2.7; 306.19.1; 306.22–25; »Abot R. Nat. 18 A; cf. b. Ta c an. 7a; B. Qam. 17a, 82a; Gen. Rab. 41:9, 54:1, 69:5, 70:8–9, 84:16, 97:3; Exod. Rab. 31(Wisdom); 47:5; Song Rab. 1:2, §3; as a well, Sipre Deut. 48.2.7; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 24:9; for heresy as bad water, m. " Abot 1:11; Sipre Deut. 48.2.5. 6505 Some suggest the Spirit may take here the role the Torah held in early Judaism (e.g., Freed, Quotations, 38). 6506 Gen 1may associate the Spirit more with wind than with water itself. 6507 E.g., p. Sukkah 5:1, §3 and Ruth Rab. 4:8, citing Isa 12:3; Pesiq. Rab. 1:2. People reportedly sang from Isa 12during the water libations (Westcott, John, 123). 6508 E.g., Lightfoot, Gospel, 184; Bowman, Gospel, 323; Lee, Thought, 217; Hunter, John, 84; Barrett, John, 329. Dodd, Interpretation, 350–51, also cites «a somewhat vague tradition» that the Messiah might appear near the time of this festiva1. 6509 Assuming the correctness of the attribution to R. Joshua b. Levi in Pesiq. Rab. 1:2. 6510 Gen. Rab. 70:8. 6511 On the symbolism of Rev 22:1, see, e.g., Ladd, Revelation, 286. |
| 35 . When what has been created in time according to the temporal order has reached maturity, it ceases from natural growth. But when what has been brought about by the knowledge of God through the practice of the virtues has reached maturity, it starts to grow anew. For the end of one stage constitutes the starting-point of the next. He who has put an end to the root of corruption in himself by practising the virtues is initiated into other more divine experiences. There is never an end, as there is never a beginning, to the good which God does: just as the property of light is to illuminate, so the property of God is to do good. Thus in the Law, which is concerned with the structure of temporal things subject to generation and decay, the sabbath is honoured by rest from work (cf. Exod. 31: 14), whereas in the Gospel, which initiates us into the realm of spiritual realities, lustre is shed on the sabbath by good actions (cf. Luke 6: 9; John 5: 16 – 17 ). This is so in spite of the indignation of those who do not yet understand that ‘the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath’, and that ‘the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath’ ( Mark 2: 27 – 28 ). 36 . In the Law and the prophets reference is made to the sabbath (cf. Isa. 66: 23), sabbaths (cf. Exod. 31: 13) and sabbaths of sabbaths (cf. Lev. 16: 3 I. LXX); and to circumcision and circumcision of circumcision (cf. Gen. 17: 10 – 13 ); and to harvest (cf. Gen. 8: 22 ) and harvest ofharvest, as in the text, ‘when you harvest your harvest’ (cf. Lev. 23 : 10 ). The texts about the sabbath surely refer to the full attainment of practical, natural and theological philosophy ; the texts about circumcision, to separation from things that are subject to generation and from the inner principles of these things; the texts about harvest, to the ingathering and enjoyment of more exalted spiritual principles on the part of the senses and the intellect. Through studying these three sets of texts the person of spiritual knowledge may discover the reasons why Moses, when he dies, takes his sabbath rest outside the holy land (cf. Deut. 34: 5 ), why Joshua carried out the circumcisions after crossing the Jordan (cf. Josh. 5: 3), and why those who inherited the promised land brought to God the superabundant fruits of the double harvest (cf. Lev. 23: 11 ). |
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