Examples of Positive Uses of "Xmas" in Late 19th/Early 20th Century Latter-day Saint Writings

(I know it is a few months away from Xmas, but thought I would share) 

 

I cannot call you Arthur, because it does not have the genuine sound to me. Yours of Nov. 18, arrived this morning, and I was so glad when I peered from my window and saw the many stamped envelope in the post-man's hand. I knew there was a treat for me. Only on one consideration will I consent to shorter letters, & that is that you write me once a week if only a few lines, which will be all I'll send this time as it is within 25 min[utes]. of collecting mail, & I want the cards to reach you by Christmas. Dearest, I see by your letter that I have written a great deal of foolishness, some of which I fear has grieved you, for which I ask sincerely for your pardon. The only palliation I can now offer is that it will give you a clearer idea of the mercurial tendency of my disposition & know better how to deal with me. I have invariably written to you just as I felt at the time, knowing you would like that style better than any attempt at disguise. The "suppressed grief" you speak of is imagination on your part. I whine it all out to you. My health is better, and I see the necessity of taking better care of myself. We will move from here soon, direct your letters to Liverpool. Life moves on in happier measures, and it don't seem long before "I'll return to my country & you love." I sighed to think how soon I am forgotten when I read of Hiram [Clawson]'s abstraction. Read & give him the enclosed Xmas card. It may revive his flickering recollection of one of "Auld lang Syne." (Martha Hughes Cannon, Letter, December 6, 1886, repr. The Correspondence of Martha Hughes Cannon and Angus M. Cannon, 1886-1888, ed. Constance L. Lieber and John Sillito [Significant Mormon Diaries Series No. 3; Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1989], 80-81)

 

 

What a happy New Year to us to think how things have "quirked"1 in our behalf, but by all means be cautious, for of a surety I believe they are preparing to pounce upon you again, and will put forth tremendous effort to make of it a sure thing next time. The Grand Mogul won't be whipped without severe retaliation. Yours of the 3rd ult. reached me Xmas day with draft. (Emma Quirk, Letter to Angus M. Cannon, January 3, 1887, repr. The Correspondence of Martha Hughes Cannon and Angus M. Cannon, 1886-1888, ed. Constance L. Lieber and John Sillito [Significant Mormon Diaries Series No. 3; Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1989], 83)

 

 

Your kind Xmas greeting was handed me last eve by one who came to attend the Conference in the great metropolis. Glad was I to hear from you, & to learn of your joy in meeting your loved ones on the birthday of our Savior (Emma Quirk, Letter to Angus M. Cannon January 18, 1887, repr. The Correspondence of Martha Hughes Cannon and Angus M. Cannon, 1886-1888, ed. Constance L. Lieber and John Sillito [Significant Mormon Diaries Series No. 3; Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1989], 89)

 

 

We spent Xmas with my husband’s cousin Isaac Conway Morris who lived in a house on North Temple and near Fourth West Street. The room was without ceiling and I think without plaster. The fi re was composed of three small sticks of wood placed across two adobes and the sticks were so green that we could see the sap ooze out of them and hear it sing. Wood was scarce everywhere, as the canyon had been snowed up since the autumn. They had a little baby, born on the plains September 13th, three months previous, and as they had been in our ten, we were acquainted with the circumstance. .

 

Our supper was very plain, consisting of potatoes, some kind of bread and I think a small amount of meat, perhaps a little piece of bacon.

 

The house was very cold, and we sat keeping warm this fire of three green sticks, and all the light we had came from the same source. And so passed our first Xmas in the Valley. (“Sketch of the Life of Mary L. Morris, 1835-1887,” in Before the Manifesto: The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris, ed. Melissa Lambert Milewski [Life Writings of Frontier Women 9; Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007], 109)

 

 

And now Christmas, 1865 was approaching and I wondered what I could do for my little ones, for every little girl at lease wants a doll. It is always well to begin to think of Xmas early and I think this was the year in which we did as follows.

 

. . .

 

Xmas came, and the new dolls were a great source of joy to my little girls, but poor little Addie was doomed to sorrow for her precious doll dropped upon the hearthstones and was shattered to fragments. Who could comfort her? I had no money, or prospect of any, so all I could do was to gather up the pieces and put them away in a drawer for she would not hear of their being destroyed, and there she would go and peep in, sobbing as if her heart would break, just as a bereaved mother might look at her departed baby. This, I think, must have been Addie’s first sorrow. (“Sketch of the Life of Mary L. Morris, 1835-1887,” in Before the Manifesto: The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris, ed. Melissa Lambert Milewski [Life Writings of Frontier Women 9; Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007], 139, 140)

 

 

The second book, given with the same kind spirit for Addie, had belonged to Mrs. Stenhouse’s little Florence and had been kept with the same care as the other one. The title was “Hop o’ My Thumb”, and towards Xmas I managed to get a dime or so and bought a small, but very pretty book for my little Conway. This was “Mother Goose’s Rhymes”, daintily illustrated. (“Sketch of the Life of Mary L. Morris, 1835-1887,” in Before the Manifesto: The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris, ed. Melissa Lambert Milewski [Life Writings of Frontier Women 9; Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007], 146)

 

 

The following winter she went to school. About Christmas time Sister Sarah M. Kimball, president of our Relief Society, offered a prize of a gold ring for the best essay on the Birth of Christ. Sister Kimball remarked that if her daughter Lizzie [Kimball] would read it, she would write an essay for her upon this subject. I concluded that if it was right for Sister Kimball to indite the paper for her daughter, it was perfectly proper for me to do so for mine, knowing that with her retiring nature, Effi e would deserve the ring if she could get suffi cient courage to read the essay. So I carefully read over the story as contained in the Gospels and one morning I arose early and taking my paper in hand, asked for Divine guidance upon my labor. Sister Kimball had charge of the affair which was to be held on Christmas Day. The meeting house was darkened and candles burning upon a large Xmas tree gave a subdued but beautiful illumination. Bishop Edward Hunter, of the Presiding Bishopric was the guest of honor and Mrs. Belle Guthrie and Bro. T. C. Griggs the adjudicating committee, with one other. Effi e wore a very plain, neatly fi tting black and blue plaid dress with a pink ribbon. One of the girls who was competing was a rather pompous person and dressed accordingly, and as Effi e passed her she seemed to feel an infl uence come from her, which might have been expressed in these words;—“You need not think that a poor little thing like you can get the prize”. This added to poor little Effi e’s nervousness and lifting up her heart to God she asked Him to cause that the one who deserved the prize might get it. This simple earnest prayer could not fail to ascend to the place to which it was wafted by a sincere heart. I suppose too, that Effi e read the little essay in a spirit of humility, trusting in God alone. In any case, it proved satisfactory to the adjudicators and she received the ring. This added to the enjoyment of our Xmas repast, to which we had invited Mrs. Lulu [Louisa Lula] Green Richards, Editor of the Woman’s Exponent and herhusband Elder Levi W. [Willard] Richards, fellow missionary with your father, to Great Britain. Your dear Aunt Aggie and Aunt Kesiah [Keziah Downes] Pratt were also our guests upon this occasion. One of the dishes we had for dinner was dressed ducks. Your father said something about the bones, and Bro. Richards rather humorously remarked that he supposed they were made to hold the meat that was on them. (“Sketch of the Life of Mary L. Morris, 1835-1887,” in Before the Manifesto: The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris, ed. Melissa Lambert Milewski [Life Writings of Frontier Women 9; Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007], 163-64)

 

 

The next day it was again wet and miserably cold but as Sunday is the day for pleasure and also a great day for business, and as this was my only chance to buy some drawn work which I wanted for Xmas presents, I in company with one of the sisters, went over the border to do a little shopping. We visited a number of stores and saw a great quantity of drawn work of different grades. One of the pieces was worth $150.00 and took an expert hand a year to make. There was also a great amount of silk shawls, filigree work, shell work, etc. The sister said that this was a very wicked place and I certainly seemed to feel a strange influence as I went from store to store. This feeling of Oppression seemed to weigh me down, mind and body. Upon reaching home, even, I could not escape from it, for it seemed to have followed me. I proposed that we have evening prayer. Just then our Good Shepherd, as we calledour faithful guide and companion, happened to come in and he knelt with us, asking that this influence might be removed, and it was, and peace abode with us. (“Exile in Mexico, 1902-1905,” in Before the Manifesto: The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris, ed. Melissa Lambert Milewski [Life Writings of Frontier Women 9; Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007], 536)

 

 

Although it was winter the sun was constantly shining so I made two sun-bonnets out of a piece of old sheeting, with paper slats inserted to stiffen them. Being a milliner by trade I had not forgotten how to do such things and one I made for Baby particularly was considered very cute. I also made another for a Xmas present for Baby Jasamine from a piece of clean white flour sack, but it was neat and as becoming as the one made for our own baby, and pronounced very cute by her parents. Aunt Margaret said she would have her picture taken in it as a souvenir of our fi rst Christmas in Mexico. (“Exile in Mexico, 1902-1905,” in Before the Manifesto: The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris, ed. Melissa Lambert Milewski [Life Writings of Frontier Women 9; Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007], 538)

 

 

The day before Christmas I was very busy preparing for the feast, for Aunt Margaret’s family and our own were to celebrate the day together. I cleaned and prepared the turkey and made a plum pudding. On Xmas morning as the pudding was boiling merrily upon the stove, I was invited to see the Christmas tree and the presents.

 

. . .

 

During the afternoon, little Miss Exora, daughter of our friend Mrs. Bently, called to see us and was invited to eat gingersnaps, and telling her mother later of this little enjoyment, the next morning Sister Bently sent me a loving Christmas card, which touched my heart in its finest fibers being a stranger in a strange land. It occurred to me that the card might have been the only one in the settlement and it is now safely placed in my box of treasures. We spent the evening pleasantly in Aunt Margaret’s cozy parlor and before separating, Margaret read a portion from the Book of St. Matthew and then we had prayers and so ended our first Xmas in Old Mexico.(“Exile in Mexico, 1902-1905,” in Before the Manifesto: The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris, ed. Melissa Lambert Milewski [Life Writings of Frontier Women 9; Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007], 539)

 

 

 

 

Ipswich, England Sept. 11 — 06

 

Dear Zina —

 

As my health has been failing for some time past, it has been deemed wisdom for me to spend this month visiting in the different branches of the conference, and especially the towns on or near the coast, so I am now in my old field, Ipswich, where I was laboring one year ago, and already I feel the effect of the bracing sea breezes which blow over the city. I will not do any tracting this month but will spend my time as a real—tired gent, trying to grow fat as I have lost thirty pounds in weight since xmas so you can imagine what I look like (a lamp post minus the lamp). (Hugh B. Brown, Letter to Zina Card Brown, September 11, 1906, repr. An Abundant Life: The Memoirs of Hugh B. Brown, ed. Edwin B. Firmage [Salt Lake City: Signature Book, 1988], 35)

 

 

Cardston, Alta. Apr. 27 — 07

 

My Dear Zina;—

 

Yes, I am in Canada once more. How strange it all seems, but, when I step out in the blizzard that is sweeping over this country, I cannot doubt that it is "Canada." It has been snowing and blowing here for several days and looks more like xmas than spring. (Hugh B. Brown, Letter to Zina Card Brown, April 27, 1907, repr. An Abundant Life: The Memoirs of Hugh B. Brown, ed. Edwin B. Firmage [Salt Lake City: Signature Book, 1988], 42)

 

 

Wilford Woodruff's December 16, 1877 Vision and Isaiah 4:1

  

A Vision

Salt Lake City, Night of Dec 16, 1877

 

I [      ] went to bed at my usual hour half past nine oclok. I had been reading the Revelations in the French Language. My mind was Calm, more so than usual if possible to be so. I Composed myself for sleep but Could not sleep. I felt a strange stupor Come over me and apparently became partially unconscious. Still I was not asleep, nor awake With a strange far away dreamy feelings.

 

The first I recognized was that I was in the Tabernacle at Ogden sitting on the back seat in the Cornor for fear they would Call upon me to Preach which after singing the second time, they did by Calling me to the Stand.

 

I arose to speak and said I did not Know that I had any thing special to say Except to bear my Testimony to the Truth of the Latter Day work when all at once it seemed as though I was lifted out of myself, and I said "yes I have sumthing to Say, it is this--some of my brethren present have been asking me what is Coming to pass, what is the wind blowing up. I will answer you right here what is Coming to pass shortly.

 

I was immediately in Salt Lake City wandering about the streets in all parts of the City and On the door of every house I found a badge of mourning, and I Could not find a house but what was in mourning. I passed by my own house and saw the same sign there, and asked "Is that me that is dead?" Sumthing gave me answer "No youll live through it all."

 

It seemed strange to me that I saw no person [on] the street in my wandering about through the City. They seemed to be in their houses with their Sick and Dead. I saw no funeral possession, or any thing of that kind, but the City looked vary Still and quiet as though the people were praying and had Controll of the desease what ever it was.

 

I then looked in all directions over the Territory, East west North and South, and I found the same mourning in every place throughout the Land. The next I knew I was Just this side of Omaha. It seemed as though I was above the Earth, looking down to it as I passed along on my way East and I saw the roads full of people principally women with just what they Could Carry in bundles on their backs travelling to the mountains on foot. And I wondered how they Could get there, with nothing but a small pack upon their backs. It was remarkable to me that there were so few men among them. It did not seem as though the Cars were running. The rails looked rusty, and the road abandoned, And I have no conception how I travelled myself.

 

As I looked down upon the people I Continued Eastward through Omaha and Council Bluffs which were full of disease, and women every whare. The States of Missouri and Illinois were in turmoil and Strife, Men killing each other, and women joining in the fight, family against family Cutting each other to pieces in the most horrid manner.

 

The next I saw was Washington, and I found the City a Desolation, The white House Empty, the Halls of Congress the same Every thing in ruins. The people seemed to have fled from the City and left it to take Care of itself.

 

I was next in the City of Baltimore and in the square whare the Monument of 1812 Stands, in front of St Charles and other Hotels I saw the Dead piled up so high as to fill the square. I saw Mothers Cut the throats of their own Children for the sake of their blood, which they drank from their veins, to quench their thirst and then lie down and die. The waters of the Chesapeake and of the City were so stagnant and such a stench arose from them on account of the putrefaction of Dead bodies that the vary smell Caused Death and that was singular again I saw no men except they were dead, lying in the streets, and vary few women, and they were Crazy mad, and in a dying Condition. Every whare I went I beheld the same all over the City, And it was horrible, beyound description to look at.

 

I thought this must be the End. But No I was seemingly in Philadelphia and there every thing was Still. No living soul was to be seen to greet me, and it seemed as though the whole City was without an inhabitant. In arch and Chestnut Street and in fact Every whare I went the putrifaction of the Dead bodies Caused such a stench that it was Impossible for any Creature to Exhist alive, nor did I see any living thing in the City.

 

I next found myself in Broad way New York and here it seemed the people had done their best to overcome the Disease. But in wandering down Broadway I saw the bodies of Beautiful women lying stone dead, and others in a dying Condition on the side walk. I saw men Crawl out of the Cellars and rob the dead bodies of the valuables they had on and before they Could return to their coverts in the cellars they themselves would roll over a time or two and die in agony. On some of the back streets I saw Mothers kill their own Children and Eat raw flesh and then in a few minuts die themselves. Whareever I went I saw the same scenes of Horror and Desolation rapine and Death. No Horses or Carriages, No busses or Street Cars, but Death and Destruction every whare.

 

I then went to the Grand Central Park and looking back I saw a fire Start and just at that moment a mighty East wind sprang up and Carried the flames west over the City, and it burned untill there was not a single building left Standing whole Even down to the wharfs. And the shiping all seemed to be burned and swallowed up in the Common destruction and left Nothing but a Desolation whare the great City was a short time before. The Stench from the bodies that were burning was so great that it was Carried a great distance across the Hudson River and bay, and thus spread disease and death whareever the flames penetrated. I Cannot paint in words the Horror that seemed to Encompass me around. It was beyound description or thought of man to Conceive.

 

I supposed this was the End but I was here given to understand, that the same horror was being enacted all over the Country, North South East and West, that few were left alive. Still there were some.

 

Immediately after I seemed to be standing on the west bank of the Missouri River opposite the City of Independance but I saw no City. I saw the whole States of Missouri & Illinois and part of Iowa were a Complete wilderness with no living human being in them. I then saw a short distance from the river Twelve men dressed in the robes of the Temple Standing in a square or nearly so. I understood it respresented the Twelve gates of the New Jerrusalem, and they were with hands uplifted Consecrating the ground and laying the Corner Stones. I saw myriads of Angels hovering over them and around about them and also an immens pillar of a Cloud over them and I heard the singing of the most beautif[ul] music the words "Now is esstablished the Kingdom of our God and his Christ and He shall reign forever and Ever, and the Kingdom shall never be Thrown down for the Saints have overcome." And I saw people Coming from the River and different places a long way off to help build the Temple, and it seemed that the Hosts of the angels also helped to get the material to build the Temple. And I saw some Come who wore their Temple Clothing Robs to help build the Temple and the City and all the time I saw the great pillar of Cloud hovering over the place.

 

Instantly I found I was in the Tabernacle at Ogden yet I Could see the building going on and got quite animated in Calling to the people in the Tabernacle to listen to the beautiful music that the Angels were Making. I Called to them to look at the Angels as the House seemed to be full of them and they were saying the same words that I heard Before "Now is the Kingdom of Our God Esstablished forever & Ever." And then a voice said "Now shall Come to pass that which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet "That seven women shall take hold of one man saying &c.

 

At this time I seemed to Stagger back from the pulpit & F D Richards and some one els Caught me and prevented me from falling when I requested Brother Richards to apologise to the audience for me because I stoped so adruptly and tell them I had not fainted but was exhausted. I rolled over in my bed and heard the City Hall Clock Strike Twelve. (Wilford Woodruff, Journal, June 15, 1878, in Wilford Woodruff’s Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, ed. Scott G. Kenney, 9 vols. [Midvale, Utah: Signature Books, 1985], 7:419-23)

 

What stood out for me from the above is how Wilford Woodruff interpreted Isa 4:1, not as a positive view of polygamy per se, but as a prediction of a then-future destruction resulting in a paucity of men to marry.

Sharon Moughtin-Mumby on Hosea's Negative Portrayal of Those Labelled כהן KHN of His Time

The following stands out as it shows that Hosea speaks ill of those labeled כהן, not simply כמר:

 

In 4: 10, הזנו appears at the end of a passage accusing the priests of deliberately leading the people into sin so that they themselves might profit. To my mind, if the priests are causing the people to sin in this context, then it makes sense that they are also causing ('encouraging') the people to 'prostitute'. 'The sin of my people they devour;| And for their guilt they are greedy!| So it will be like people, like priest,| I will punish him for his ways| And return his deeds upon him;| They will eat but not be satisfied!| They will encourage prostitution (הזנו), but not increase!| For they have forsaken YHWH to hold fast to prostitution.' (4: 8–10). The causative reading of the Hiphil allows us to read 'They will encourage prostitution, but not increase' in parallel with 'They will eat but not be satisfied', with the priests as the subject of both threats. We could even read 'increase' (יפרצו) as a word-play between 'increasing in number' (as a consequence of 'prostitution') and 'increasing in wealth', as the priests are warned that they will no longer gain as a result of encouraging the people to sin.

 

If the priests are condemned for 'encouraging prostitution' in 4: 10, it seems to me that this message is echoed in 5: 3. Wolff has already argued for a causative reading of the Hiphil, הזנית, in 5: 3, underscoring the possibilities. However, he understands Ephraim to be the subject of the verb: 'For you, Ephraim, taught whoredom,| Israel is defiled.' Given the uncertain thrust of this accusation, however, it seems more likely that Ephraim should be understood as the object of the Hiphil, so that we can read Ephraim and Israel in parallel as the objects of defilement by others: 'I knew Ephraim;| And Israel was not hidden from me.| But now you have led Ephraim into prostitution (הזנית),| Israel has been defiled!' (5: 3).

 

Macintosh considers the possibility of such a reading, yet rejects it, due to the unclear identity of the masculine singular 'you'. The desire for such clarity, however, would negate the possibility of reading much of the poetry in the prophetic books. If we were to ask to whom this indictment might be addressed, then the passage's introduction in 5: 1 usefully indicates three groups as possibilities (the priests, the establishment, and the royal house), and it is possible that one from among these is implied. Given the strikingly similar accusation in 4: 10, the most likely contender is the priests, and it is therefore of interest to note that כהן appears in the singular in 4: 4–9 (cf. 4: 4). Whether כהןrefers to a specific priest or is a collective singular ('priesthood') is debated, although the latter seems more likely. Either way, it appears that this כהן is the most likely identity of the mysterious 'you' in 5: 3, revealing a provocative message that powerfully echoes 4: 10 and indeed much of Hosea 4–14: it is the leadership, particularly the priesthood, of Israel who are responsible for the people's outrageous behaviour. Once again, we witness attempts to smooth over the idiosyncrasies of Hosea 4–14, betraying a significant underestimation of this inimitable prophetic poetry. The 'prostitution' motif of Hosea 4–14 is not as clichéd and formulaic as traditional translations and commentaries suggest. Indeed, the examples we have seen so far are trivial compared to this poetry's daring metaphorical language, which is consistently reflected in other appearances of the 'prostitution' motif. (Sharon Moughtin-Mumby, Sexual and Marital Metaphors in Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel [Oxford Theological Monographs; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008], 65-66, emphasis in bold added)

 

 

Klyne R. Snodgrass and Stephen J. Chester on δικαιοω in Romans 6:7 and Paul's Theology of Baptism

 

The other, more likely explanation seeks to interpret the vb. [δικαιοω] not as “free,” but as “justify, acquit” in the genuine Pauline sense, and [sin], not in the sense demanded above (something like “obligation to the Torah”), but in its Pauline sense, an act against the will of God (so Lyonnet, Romains, 89; Cranfield, Romans, 310–11): the one who has died has lost the very means of sinning, “the body of sin,” so that one is definitively without sin; one has been freed of the fleshy, sin-prone body. In either case, a change of status has ensued; the old condition has been brought to an end in baptism-death, and a new one has begun (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary [AYB 33; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008], 437)

 

For Paul, baptism justifies because it is a real participation in the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (Brant Pitre, Michael P. Barber, and John A. Kincaid, Paul A New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2019], 203)

  

In their work on Romans 6, Protestants Klyne R. Snodgrass and Stephen J. Chester render Rom 6:1-7 as follows:

 

¹What shall we say then? Shall we continue with a relation to sin so that grace might increase all the more? ²No Way! How can those of us who died in relation to sin live in it? ³Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were buried with him through baptism into death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also should live [lit., “walk”] in newness of life. ⁵For if we have been united to a death like his, indeed we will be united to a resurrection like his. ⁶We know that our old being was crucified with him so that the body dominated by sin might be nullified, so that we no longer are enslaved to sin. ⁷For the one who died has been acquitted [lit., “justified”] from sin. (Klyne R. Snodgrass and Stephen J. Chester, Dead to Sin, Alive to God in Christ: Romans 6 For the Life of the Church [Touchstone Texts; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2026], 37, comments in square brackets in original)

 

They offer the following commentary on Rom 6:7 and the use of δικαιοω, and baptism being the instrumental means of justification in the above pericope:

 

The purpose of all this dying, of course, is living and freedom, no longer being a slave of sin. Later in 6:14 and 7:6 Paul will use the similar language of being under the law and of being released from the law. The wording in 6:6 and 7:16 is close in that both have a form of the verb “nullify” (katargeō), have the infinitive “to be a slave” (douleuō), have a form of the word “old” (palaios/palaiotēs), and see death as the means of release from bondage. While the thought of death being the way to freedom may seem odd, it was not odd for Paul. We die in order to live. Being joined to Christ’s death and resurrection is an identity changing event, for all relation to a former destructive tyrant is cut off, and one is free to live in productive and meaningful ways.

 

That Paul states so clearly in 6:6 that the destruction of the body of sin ends slavery to sin implies that freedom follows. This is a truth that Paul will state explicitly later in verses 18 and 22, although there he will carefully define the nature of freedom from sin by [pairing it with enslavement to righteousness and to God. Here at 6:7 he instead states that “the one who died has been justified [dedikaiōtai] from sin.” Yet English translations routinely fail to reflect Paul’s choice of verb. Apart from the Revised Version (1881), it is necessary to go back to the sixteenth century to find an accurate translation into English. Instead of respecting Paul’s use of the verb “justify,” most other versions read as if Paul’s use of the verb “justify,” most other versions read as if Paul here used the verb “free, set free” (eleuthero): “Whoever has died has been freed from sin.” This reflects what translators feel would have made sense for Paul to say at this point in his argument. Not what Paul actually says.

 

Such translations are problematic. If a verb that seems to fit the context does not appear, translators and exegetes should not suppose that Paul unaccountably uses one verb when he should have used another and should not base their translations and interpretations on what they believe he ought to have written. Instead, they should reflect on why the verb that does appear was selected, for Paul’s use here of the verb “justify” serves two very clear purposes. First, its use in a location where the announcement of an end to enslavement to sin could have led smoothly into a discussion of freedom from sin highlights the liberative dimension of justification. Justification is a legal image, denoting the acquittal of the one accused, but those acquitted are also set free by the judge. English readers can miss this dimension of what Paul means by justification if another verb is used.

 

Second, the use of “justify” at 6:7 connects justification with baptism. Those baptized into Christ’s death are those who have been justified from sin. If another verb is used, this connection between justification and baptism may also be missed by English readers. In seeking to clarify Paul’s meaning by specifying that those baptized have been set free from sin, translators have only obscured it. The connection Paul makes here between justification and baptism matters because it assists the reader in understanding the work of the cross as it applies to them. Paul has emphasized that justification does not come through the law but instead takes place by the grace of God through Christ’s sacrificial death (3:24-25). Believers have been justified by his blood (5:9). These texts speak powerfully of divine mercy for human transgressions. To be justified is to be forgiven (see 4:7-8).

 

But the truth of Christ’s death for us is not the whole of what Paul wants to say about justification and the cross. He also emphasizes the necessity for believers to die with Christ, for Christ’s saving work not only brings them forgiveness for their sins but also makes possible their death to sin so that they can walk in newness of life (6:4). Therefore, Paul can say that Christ “was raised for our justification” (4:25 NRSV). Liberation from sin is also part of the gift of justification, and Paul highlights this by saying that those who have died with Christ in baptism have been justified from sin. The cross and the justifying power of faith in the saving death of Jesus are ritually embodied in baptism It is no surprise that Paul’s confidence that believers can have victory over sin is based on their union with Christ in baptism.

 

Romans 6:7 thus makes it clear that justification is a participatory concept. (Klyne R. Snodgrass and Stephen J. Chester, Dead to Sin, Alive to God in Christ: Romans 6 For the Life of the Church [Touchstone Texts; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2026], 76-78, italics in original)

 

 Further Reading:

Refuting Jeff McCullough ("Hello Saints") on Baptismal Regeneration

Philip Edgcumbe Hughes on the Use of the Plural “Better Sacrifices” in Hebrews 9:23

  

To take the latter question first, there is general agreement among commentators that the plural better sacrifices is not a precise but a generic plural, corresponding or accommodated to the plural “these rites” in the first clause of the verse: the inferior sacrifices of the levitical system called, speaking generally, for better sacrifices. To be specific, however, they were superseded not by many sacrifices but by one, namely, the unique and fully adequate self-offering of the incarnate Son on the cross of Calvary (as our author repeatedly insists—see 7:27; 9:12, 14; 10:10, 12, 14, so that he is not open to the charge of imprecision). His is the “one sacrifice for sins for ever” (10:12 KJV). Hence it is described here as better: it accomplishes once and for all that complete and eternal redemption which the imperfect sacrifices of the former system never could accomplish. (Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews [The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977], 379)

 

Ken Penner on Isaiah 56:6-7 (LXX)

  

6 Scribe B made no break here at the beginning of Isa 56:6, but the later scribe who numbered the sections made a division.Whether or not we start a new section here, there is no new finite verb in this verse, so the dative continues the αὐτοῖς of 56:5. Ottley spells ἀλλογενέσι as ἀλλογενέσιν. The reading δουλεύειν (also in A and B and followed by Rahlfs and Ziegler) is a change by scribe B himself, from δουλεύεις. Swete spells ἀγαπᾶν as ἀγαπᾷν. The recurrence of φυλασσομένους recalls 56:1, 2, and 4. There are three accusatives governed by the preposition εἰς: bondmen and bondwomen and sabbath-keepers; these three are what the God-fearing foreigners become.

 

7 The future of εὐφραίνω is used, with the accusative indicating the person cheered. The neuter τὰ ὁλοκαυτώματα must be nominative, in parallel with αἱ θυσίαι. See Acts 10:35 for the connection with salvation and δεκταὶ, doing what is right. Paul mentioned the acceptable sacrifice in Phil 4:18: ἀπέχω δὲ πάντα καὶ περισσεύω· πεπλήρωμαι δεξάμενος παρὰ Ἐπαφροδίτου τὰ παρ’ ὑμῶν, ὀσμὴν εὐω- δίας, θυσίαν δεκτήν, εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ. The passive κληθήσεται has the nominative οἶκος as its subject. Mark 11:17 has the full quote Ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν; Matt 21:13 shortens it to Ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευ- χῆς κληθήσεται; Luke 19:46 (S*) has the even shorter ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς. The point made in the context of Isaiah, namely that the house of prayer is πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, is lost in Matthew and Luke. Here the eunuchs and foreigners are accepted; in Luke 17:18 it is the leper that is the foreigner; in Acts 8:27 the eunuch. (Ken Penner, Isaiah [Septuagint Commentary Series; Leiden: Brill, 2021], 614)

 

Ken Penner on Isaiah 14:12 (LXX)

  

12 A parallel rhetorical question introduced by πῶς matches that of 14:4, introducing a paragraph of the dirge that continues to express astonishment at the fate of such a lofty person as the king of Babylon falling so low. The height from which he fell is connoted by the label ἑωσφόρος, etymologically “dawnbringer,” the name of the star that appears at the dawn. Greek ἀστήρ had the same connotation of “star” as English; it could be applied to an outstanding person. The bright star ἑωσφόρος was also known as Ἀφροδίτης ἀστήρ (Eudoxus, Ars astronomica 5.2), which was in turn also called Φωσφόρος (Geminus, Elementa astronmiae 1.28), meaning “light-bearer,” which is translated into Latin as lucifer. (ἑωσφόρος appears in some manuscripts of 2Pet 1:19 for Φωσφόρος.) In any case, an illustrious person is meant. The connection between Lucifer and Satan is therefore not made here in Isaiah, but by Luke 10:18; Ottley also noted the similarity between Luke 10:15 and Isa 14:13, 15. Origen saw Lucifer as one of the fallen angels (Hom. Jos. 1.6) but did not imply he is their chief. In Comm. Ro. 8.9.4 he suggested Lucifer might be referring to Israel. Eusebius in his Commentary on Isaiah gave not the slightest indication of the interpretation of this fallen star as Satan, even though 2.7 shows he was familiar with fallen stars in the context of Satan falling from heaven by alluding to Luke 10:18 there. Rather, in commenting on 14:8–21, Eusebius took great pains to argue that this whole prophecy refers to the historical king of Babylon. Nevertheless, in Praep. ev. 7.16 he did connect Isaiah 14:12 with the leader of the fallen evil spirits. The participle ἀποστέλλων has a definite article in the other uncials; it has phonetic similarity to ἀνατέλλων earlier in the verse. G misread חולש as שולח and probably also על as כל . The ideas of falling to the earth are taken up in 2Macc 9:7–8, but the parallels are not mainly on the level of vocabulary. (Ken Penner, Isaiah [Septuagint Commentary Series; Leiden: Brill, 2021], 444)