OT Archives - Honor Shame

Shame in the Old Testament

By HonorShame Posted on February 16, 2021 Posted in OT, Shame 1 Comment

Shame is a hot topic in the Old Testament! To convey the concept of shame, the OT uses at least ten different words over 300 times. With many different words, shame is the proverbial ice in Eskimo culture. Several verses …

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Honor in the Old Testament

By HonorShame Posted on February 9, 2021 Posted in Honor, OT 2 Comments Tagged with Honor, OT

“How heavy are you?” In Western contexts, this question can be offensive. But in honor-shame cultures, the very question can be a gesture of respect because their mindset often assumes “weight=honor.” Here are a few examples from Central Asia. The …

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4 Honor-Shame Motifs of Lamentations 1

By HonorShame Posted on July 22, 2020 Posted in Bible, OT 1 Comment Tagged with lament, OT

The realities of dishonor and shame pervade the book of Lamentations (see previous post). Four motifs express the honor-shame dynamics in Lamentations 1—defilement, loneliness, subjugation, and desperation, as this post explores. Defilement The poet portrays the destruction of Israel is …

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Honor and Shame in Lamentations

By HonorShame Posted on July 15, 2020 Posted in Bible, OT No Comments Tagged with lament

The book of Lamentations features two of my least favorite things in the world—poetry and suffering. I enjoy many other biblical books more than Lamentations. But in seasons of loss and anguish, the voice of Lamentations has drawn my attention …

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Honor and Shame in Letter of Aristeas

By HonorShame Posted on May 27, 2020 Posted in Bible, NT, OT 1 Comment Tagged with bible, culture

Letter of Aristeas is a second-century BC “historical letter” explaining the composition of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament, i.e., LXX) by Jews in Alexandria. Honor and shame are prominent motifs in the story. The Plot The …

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The Meaning of “Sodomy”

By HonorShame Posted on November 6, 2019 Posted in OT 26 Comments Tagged with homosexuality, hospitality, OT, sodom

You know the definition of the English word sodomy? The word derives from the ancient city of Sodom, which was famously destroyed for their wickedness (Genesis 19). So what made Sodom so wicked and worthy of destruction? The standard answer has …

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New Book—Malachi: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase

By HonorShame Posted on June 5, 2019 Posted in Honor-Shame Paraphrase, OT No Comments Tagged with honor-shame paraphrase, HSP

The new book Malachi An Honor-Shame Paraphrase is now available (Kindle edition). Along with 1 Peter, Esther, Psalms, and James, this is the fifth title in the Honor-Shame Paraphrase series. The prophetic book of Malachi reveals the nature of Israel’s covenant relationships with God in the Old Testament. …

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The Honor-Shame Paraphrase

By HonorShame Posted on May 17, 2017 Posted in Bible, Culture, NT, OT, Theology 2 Comments Tagged with book, Honor, HSP, paraphrase, shame

Reading the Bible across cultures can be difficult; however, the task is certainly not impossible. With cultural awareness, people today can accurately interpret the Bible by bridging the cultural gap between our world and the biblical world. The Honor-Shame Paraphrase …

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The Problem with Bible Translations: Your Culture

By HonorShame Posted on May 10, 2017 Posted in Bible, Communication, Culture, NT, OT, Theology, Wesetern 13 Comments Tagged with community., HSP, individualism, interpretation

Anyone who reads the Bible today faces an unavoidable fact—Scripture was originally written in and for a culture different than our own culture. This makes the Bible difficult to understand. Consider the meaning of these words: He whistled at her, …

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Improving Anselm’s Atonement Theory

By HonorShame Posted on April 13, 2017 Posted in Bible, Honor, Jesus, NT, OT, salvation, Shame, Sin, Theology, Wesetern 3 Comments Tagged with Anselm, atonement, cross, Jesus, PSA, substitutionary, theory

Anselm’s satisfaction theory (explanation here) has shaped Western atonement theory. Unfortunately, Anselm’s theology “went wrong” in two ways: (1) Anselm himself overlooked key parts of biblical theology, and (2) then latter theologians misinterpreted Anselm. Making Anselm More Biblical Anselm’s Cur …

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Can You Shame God?

By HonorShame Posted on March 29, 2017 Posted in Bible, Honor, NT, OT, Shame, Theology 10 Comments Tagged with david, despise, Jesus, prophets, proverbs, Romans, Torah

Can you shame God? The biblical answer is yes. Though this may initially sound sacrilegious, the fact that people shame God pervades scripture and profoundly impacts your relationship with God. People despise and scorn God. In other words, we fail to …

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New Book: Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures (IVP)

By HonorShame Posted on October 5, 2016 Posted in Bible, Honor, Ministry, Missiology, NT, OT, Resources, Shame, Theology 1 Comment Tagged with book, ministry, missiology, NT, OT, resource, theology

My latest book Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures: Biblical Foundations and Practical Essentials (InterVarsity Press) is now available.This 270-page book equips Christians to proclaim and embody the gospel in honor-shame contexts. Our aim was simple: to show how honor-shame is central …

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Sarah & Hagar: A Struggle for Honor

By HonorShame Posted on September 21, 2016 Posted in Bible, OT, Theology 5 Comments Tagged with Abraham, God, OT, Sarah, story, theology

Dr. Marvin J. Newell is Senior Vice President of Missio Nexus, a network that connects evangelical mission agencies, churches and training centers across North America. He served over two decades in Indonesia and teaches at Moody and Western. This article …

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Honor & Shame in God’s Revelation (1 Kgs 22)

By HonorShame Posted on July 13, 2016 Posted in Bible, ethics, OT, Theology No Comments Tagged with bible, culture, OT, revelation, theology

Martin Munyao (Th.M., Daystar Academy of Nairobi) was a pastor and theology teacher in Kenya. He is earning his Ph.D. at Concordia Theological Seminary.How did God use Israel’s cultural dynamics of honor-shame to reveal himself? As an example, we take the …

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The Law is NOT Legal

By HonorShame Posted on July 6, 2016 Posted in Bible, OT, salvation, Theology 7 Comments Tagged with bible, Israel, law, OT, salvation

In the Bible, the “law” is not primarily a legal concept. For Western Christians, their view of the “law” is heavily influenced by cultural assumptions. (Some might call this “syncretism.”)When teaching about the “law,” I prefer to use the original words …

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How David Sinned with Bathsheba

By HonorShame Posted on April 27, 2016 Posted in OT, Relationships, Shame, Sin, Theology 12 Comments Tagged with bible, david, OT, shame, sin, theology

When David slept with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:1-13), why was that sin? David thought nothing was amiss, “but the thing that David had done displeased Yahweh” (2 Sam 11:27). Exactly why was God displeased? Despite common assumptions, the Bible does not portray David’s …

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Did Bathsheba Seduce David?

By HonorShame Posted on January 12, 2016 Posted in OT, Theology, Uncategorized 14 Comments Tagged with Bathsheba, david, OT, shame, sin

Did Bathsheba purposefully seek to seduce David when bathing? Some books say Bathsheba “intended” to be seen by the king, presumably to seduce David and get closer to the seat of power. But I think this is misreading Scripture. The Bible portrays …

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Yahweh’s Counter-Cultural Honor

By HonorShame Posted on July 23, 2015 Posted in Culture, Honor, OT, Theology 2 Comments Tagged with bible, culture, God, Honor, OT

Guest Ron Mudge (Ph.D., Concordia Seminary) has served as a missionary to Ivory Coast and Togo, West Africa (1996-2006), and is presently the Rouse Associate Professor of Pre-Seminary Studies at Concordia University Wisconsin. Here is a summary of his article, …

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God’s Face

By HonorShame Posted on June 3, 2015 Posted in Culture, OT, Shame, Theology 5 Comments Tagged with cain, face, God, OT, shame

Christian workers will never eliminate social face, nor should they attempt to. A better approach to “face” is to reorient cultural face around God’s face. Fortunately, the Bible has much to say about face; it is a significant concern for …

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Honor-Shame Theology in Proverbs

By HonorShame Posted on March 18, 2015 Posted in OT, Theology No Comments Tagged with bible, OT, proverbs, theology

The previous post listed 50 biblical proverbs about honor and shame. The seven categories frame the primary theological themes of Proverbs in relation to honor-shame.Honor is a reward.Pride leads to shame.Fools are shameful.Humans (dis)honor God.A good name reflects honor.Wisdom herself is honorable.The family …

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