In his study of Judaic Baptism, James W. Dale quotes Jewish War , 3.7, where Josephus speaks of a city being, in Dale’s translation, “overmersed” ( epibaptizo ). Dale comments, “It is intolerable to suppose that a city is figured, through the departure of an individual [in this case, Josephus himself] as dipped into water, immersed in the sea, overwhelmed by a flood, or sunk in the ocean.”
Really? It seems perfectly consistent with biblical imagery to suggest a city overrun by enemies as a “flooded” city, and particularly when the city is Jewish and the enemies part of the “sea of Gentiles.”
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Letters
Glenn C. Loury makes several points with which I can’t possibly disagree (“Tucker and the Right,” January…
Visiting an Armenian Archbishop in Prison
On February 3, I stood in a poorly lit meeting room in the National Security Services building…
Christians Are Reclaiming Marriage to Protect Children
Gay marriage did not merely redefine an institution. It created child victims. After ten years, a coalition…
