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Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.
The propositional components of this verse are:
(1) Just as
(2) through one man sin entered into the world
(3) and death through sin
(4) and so
(5) death spread to all men because all sinned
The broad flow of the verse is governed by (1) and (4). The words indicated by (1) are important to isolate because they anticipate a parallel or a comparison through (4). (2) and (3) together will be the content joined to (5) by (1) and (4). In other words, there will be a parallel between the intent of “through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin” and the intent of “death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Defining the terms: The flow of (2), (3), and (5) hinges on identifying some generic terms which will indicate where Paul is expecting an identifiable (if not fully equivalent) relationship between terms or phrases. So, in (2), “through one man” refers to the act of one man, which will be labeled “A”, for “Adam sinned”. Read the rest of this entry »

KJV:
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

Comments:
darkness: The parallelism ubiquitous in Hebrew thought and literature continues in this verse. “Without form and void” synonymously parallels “darkness on the face of the deep” as “darkness on the face of the deep” antithetically parallels ‘the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.”

the face of the deep: In Psalm 36:5-7, a passage which appeals to the merism from heaven to the deep, the heavens relate to the covenantal mercy of God while the deep relates to His judgments. And, by the way, the same image of hovering (which governs the last phrase of this verse) is present in verse 7 of that Psalm. Of course, the literal void of darkness is replaced by the literal light of the next verse. But the more significant void of darkness is replaced by the active presence and judgment of God throughout the creation (creation both as a specific act and as the whole of existence). Darkness is not evil in this verse, but it does evidence to readers the need for God’s presence and judgment.

Expanded Paraphrase:
And the empty darkness penetrated all the way to the bottom of the earth, the depths of the waters.

A Jerry Johnson Live broadcast from April 4, 2008: Remembering the lives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and William F. Buckley, Jr. and the value that ties their legacies together.