Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below but unfortunately you must be a SBL member.

Jonathan J. Armstrong
The Role of the Rule of Faith in the Formation of the New Testament Canon according to Eusebius of Caesarea
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10801
Reviewed by Chris L. de Wet

L. Julianna M. Claassens
Claiming Her Dignity: Female Resistance in the Old Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11420
Reviewed by Dora Mbuwayesango

David E. Garland
A Theology of Mark’s Gospel: Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10845
Reviewed by Stephen C. Barton

Benjamin D. Giffone
‘Sit At My Right Hand’: The Chronicler’s Portrait of the Tribe of Benjamin in the Social Context of Yehud
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11459
Reviewed by Leslie C. Allen

Donna Laird
Negotiating Power in Ezra-Nehemiah
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11385
Reviewed by Bob Becking

Anthony Le Donne
A Study Companion to The Bible: An Introduction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9904
Reviewed by José Gómez Galán

Nazek Khalid Matty
Sennacherib’s Campaign against Judah and Jerusalem in 701 B.C.: A Historical Reconstruction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11455
Reviewed by Ernst Axel Knauf

Scott Shauf
The Divine in Acts and in Ancient Historiography
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10360
Reviewed by Kenneth D. Litwak

Markus Tiwald
Das Frühjudentum und die Anfänge des Christentums: Ein Studienbuch
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11103
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek

David L. Turner
Israel’s Last Prophet: Jesus and the Jewish Leaders in Matthew 23
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11203
Reviewed by Akiva Cohen

Syllabus Strategies

There are a number of great suggestions here on preparing for a new semester. I have actually employed a number of these. But even though I am fairly well organized and disciplined, I more than once found that my best intentions and plans would go by the wayside. Nonetheless, having a strategy will help at least in some cases

Solar Eclipses and Establishing an Old Testament Chronology

Carl Rasmussen has a simple and brief overview here of how ancient solar eclipses helps to establish an Old Testament chronology.

Preachers Using Technology

Justin Trapp has written a reminder here that preachers throughout history have utilized technology to further the gospel.

Photo Companion to the Bible: The Gospels

BiblePlaces has just announced the release of a new photo collection called the Photo Companion to the Bible. This new series will illustrate the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. I know of no other resource like this one. If you want to use visuals in your preaching and teaching that are good, effective, relevant, and biblical then this collection is a must have.
 
The volumes on Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are now available. You can check it out and order here. This collection comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee but I am guessing you won’t need it. I have been using BiblePlaces' resources since 1999 and have never been disappointed.

Top Ten Jewish Books

Here is a rabbi's list of the top ten Jewish books

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below but unfortunately you must be a SBL member. 

Walter DietrichSamuel (1 Sam 13–26)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11808
Reviewed by Mark W. Hamilton

David J. Downs
Alms: Charity, Reward, and Atonement in Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11263
Reviewed by Anthony Giambrone

Thomas J. Kraus and Michael Sommer, eds.
Book of Seven Seals
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11424
Reviewed by Garrick V. Allen

Minkyu Lee
The Breaking of Bread and the Breaking of Boundaries: A Study of the Metaphor of Bread in the Gospel of Matthew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10658
Reviewed by Wongi Park

Alice Mouton
Rites, mythes et prières hittites
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11235
Reviewed by Robert Marineau

Anton Pritula
The Warda: An East Syriac Hymnological Collection: Study and Critical Edition
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11050
Reviewed by Robert A. Kitchen

Susanne Scholz, ed.
Feminist Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Retrospect: Biblical Books
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9644
Reviewed by Jan Jaynes Quesada

Mark A. Seifrid
The Second Letter to the Corinthians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10006
Reviewed by James P. Sweeney

Mark R. Sneed, ed.
Was There a Wisdom Tradition? New Prospects in Israelite Wisdom Studies
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10687
Reviewed by JiSeong Kwon

Külli Tõniste
The Ending of the Canon: A Canonical and Intertextual Reading of Revelation 21–22
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11196
Reviewed by Darian R. Lockett

Reading 4Q124

This article explains how one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q124, was deciphered.

Struggling Seminaries

This Wall Street Journal article highlights some of challenges facing seminaries today.

Ktiv: The International Collection of Digitized Hebrew Manuscripts

According to this article, the National Library of Israel has created a massive online database of ancient Jewish manuscripts and images from around the world. "The archive contains nearly 4.5 million images from 45,000 manuscripts, including prayer books, biblical texts, commentary, philosophy, literature and scientific writings in various Jewish-related languages such as Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and Judeo-Arabic." You can access the database here.

Haddon Robinson Remembered

As many of you may know, Haddon Robinson recently passed away. DTS Magazine has a nice article here on the man and his ministry. The piece was actually published before Dr. Robinson's death but is still worth reading or rereading. In 2010, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Robinson in person. I found him to be as gracious and wise as the article suggests. 

James Charlesworth's and Lee McDonald's Lectures at the Lanier Theological Library

I just noticed that the videos of James Charlesworth's talk, “The Theological Value of the ‘Rejected Texts’ and Dead Sea Scrolls for Understanding Jesus,” and Lee McDonald's "Why and When Was Scripture Written? Looking at the New Testament Writings” are now available.

The ISBN

Here is an article on the mysterious ISBN for all my book nerd friends.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below but unfortunately you must be a SBL member.

Margaret Aymer, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and David A. Sánchez, eds.
Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10189
Reviewed by Jacqueline M. Hidalgo

Mark J. Boda, Michael H. Floyd, and Colin M. Toffelmire, eds.
The Book of the Twelve and the New Form Criticism
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11093
Reviewed by Aaron Schart

Joshua Ezra Burns
The Christian Schism in Jewish History and Jewish Memory
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11175
Reviewed by Michael Rosenberg

Timo Eskola
A Narrative Theology of the New Testament: Exploring the Metanarrative of Exile and Restoration
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10568
Reviewed by Abson Joseph

Wesley Hill
Paul and the Trinity: Persons, Relations, and the Pauline Letters
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10284
Reviewed by Edmon L. Gallagher

Bo Isaksson and Maria Persson, eds.
Strategies of Clause Linking in Semitic Languages: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Clause Linking in Semitic Languages, Kivik, Sweden, 5–7 August 2012
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10533
Reviewed by Benjamin J. Noonan

Max Küchler
Jerusalem: Ein Handbuch und Studienreiseführer zur Heiligen Stadt
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10984
Reviewed by James F. McGrath

Andrew M. Mbuvi
Jude and 2 Peter: A New Covenant Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10946
Reviewed by Darian R. Lockett

Mark McEntire
A Chorus of Prophetic Voices: Introducing the Prophetic Literature of Ancient Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10829
Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Jorunn Økland, J. Cornelis de Vos, and Karen J. Wenell, eds.
Constructions of Space III: Biblical Spatiality and the Sacred
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11305
Reviewed by Bart B. Bruehler

Tips on Writing and Scholarship

The Eerdmans Blog has tips from some of its authors on writing and scholarship here.

Learning Student's Names

This article provides some helpful tips for learning student's names.

Anti-Traditional Biases in Biblical Studies?

I posted a link to Joshua Berman's article on the corruption of biblical studies some time back and now Michael Kok has listed links to a number of responses here.

Twelve Pastoral Commitments

Kevin DeYoung has twelve pastoral commitments drawn from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 that are worth considering here.

Free Logos Book for August: Why I Am a Christian

The free Logos Book of the Month for August is Why I Am a Christian by John Stott. You can also purchase Stott's The Incomparable Christ for $1.99. For both offers you can go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.

Ten Ways to Organize Your Bookshelf

This article discusses ten ways to organize your bookshelf. But for an OCD academic like myself, organizing by color or randomly (is that an oxymoron?) is anathema!

The Problem of Academic Language

This article bemoaning the difficulties associating with much academic language probably also relates to biblical studies as well.

Four Common Misconceptions about Learning

Here is a brief but helpful reminder concerning four common misconceptions about learning. I actually shared similar points with a student recently.