prayers, with an emphasis on their positive side (e.g., Neh 9:17; Pss 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; see also Joel 2:13, and with irony in Jon 4:2), and then in a fearful twist where the emphasis lies on the negative (Nah 1:2–3, with more irony). The positive side appears again in John’s description of Jesus as “full of grace and truthfulness” (Jn 1:17); in other words, Jesus was the very embodiment of God as God described himself at Sinai. In substance, both sides appear when Paul declares that God’s putting