Five Types of Mentors

Although this article is geared for the business world, there is some helpful advice on mentors here.

Free Audio: Top Ten Discoveries in Biblical Archeology

Credo Courses is offering free audio of their "Top Ten Discoveries in Biblical Archeology" course here. It is unclear how long this offer will be available so you might want to get it while you can.

Although it is not a new offer, you can also download the Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries ebook for free here. 

Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets

There is a nice article here on the so-called Jeconiah’s (aka Jehoiachin) Rations Tablets" that help illustrate 2 Kings 25:27-30 and Jeremiah 52:31-34.

Free PDF of John Calvin's Commentary on Romans

Rob Bradshaw continues to bless us with free out-of-copyright biblical studies resources like John Calvin's commentary on Romans.

Suzerain-Vassal Treaty Forms and the Deuteronomistic History

I have often expressed my reluctance to using the so-called suzerain-vassal treaty forms as an interpretive grid for the Pentateuch. Although, I would disagree with Terence Fretheim on some aspects of the Deuteronomistic History theory, he raises a good point below on how the suzerain-vassal treaty approach might not reflect the God portrayed in Deuteronomy─Kings.

"It is often suggested that Israel’s understanding of the Sinai covenant was based upon analogy with international political treaties of the suzerainty type. However, such dependence, in the case of the Deuteronomic historian, is much less than is commonly claimed, particularly in drawing out theological implications of the covenant. As we shall see, the historian makes it abundantly clear that God is not bound to react to the people in some schematic or univocal fashion. The relationship between God and people is much too personally oriented, has too much flexibility in it, for contractual language to do it justice. God’s mercy and compassion go beyond simple justice, again and again. God is not bound by form in responding; his actions are not legalistically defined or determined in advance.”

Terence E. Fretheim, Deuteronomic History, Interpreting Biblical Texts (Nashville: Abingdon, 1983), 22.

Mounce on Acts 14:1

Bill Mounce has an interesting post here on the best way of translating a prepositional phrase in Acts 14:1.

Ethical Leadership

Although this post from the Harvard Business Review is not geared specifically to ministry, there is good advice that is applicable to ministry.

Sheep and Goats and Matthew 25:31-46

Ian Paul has an excellent discussion here of Matthew 25:31-46 and he is spot on concerning the identity of "the least of these."

The Latest Issue of the 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.

Noga Ayali-Darshan, Treading on the Back of Sea: The Combat between the Storm God and the Sea in Ancient Near Eastern Literature [Hebrew]
Reviewed by S. David Sperling

Cilliers Breytenbach and Christiane Zimmermann, Early Christianity in Lycaonia and Adjacent Areas: From Paul to Amphilochius of Iconium
Reviewed by Rosemary Canavan

Douglas S. Earl, Reading Old Testament Narrative as Christian Scripture
Reviewed by Benjamin J. M. Johnson

Jörg Frey and Enno Edzard Popkes, eds. Jesus, Paulus und die Texte von Qumran
Reviewed by Peter Porzig

Anthony Giambrone, Sacramental Charity, Creditor Christology, and the Economy of Salvation in Luke’s Gospel
Reviewed by Timothy W. Reardon

Christoph Heilig, J. Thomas Hewitt, and Michael F. Bird, eds. God and the Faithfulness of Paul: A Critical Examination of the Pauline Theology of N. T. Wright
Reviewed by Nijay Gupta

Christoph Levin and Reinhard Müller, eds. Herrschaftslegitimation in vorderorientalischen Reichen der Eisenzeit
Reviewed by Andrew Knapp
 
Alicia D. Myers, Blessed among Women? Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament
Reviewed by Matthew S. Collins

Christian R. Thauer and Christian Wendt, eds., Thucydides and Political Order: Concepts of Order and the History of the Peloponnesian War
Reviewed by Thomas P. Nelligan

K. Lawson Younger Jr., A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities
Reviewed by Stefania Mazzoni 

Esther from Memory

I was recently perusing through Morris Adler's The World of the Talmud and came upon the comment. It really does put my memorization efforts to shame.

"The process of writing text in Rabbinic times was both a difficult and costly process. Few could own copies, even of Scriptures. Rabbi Meir once came to a Jewish community in Asia Minor and could not find a single copy of the Scroll of Esther. Being a scribe by profession and a scholar by advocation, he was able to write on from memory" (The World of the Talmud. 2nd ed. [New York: Schocken, 1963], 33).

The Problem with Prophet, Priest, and King as a Modern Leadership Typology

Timothy Paul Jones has a very good caution here against using the roles of prophet, priest, and king as a pastoral leadership typology.

Raising Support for Seminary

Two posts here and here are are entitled, "How to afford Seminary," but they are really more about how to raise support for seminary. That being said, there is helpful advice to be had. Although, my approach was a bit different, support raising is one reason that I was able to complete three degrees with zero debt.

Free Dead Sea Scrolls Resource

Frank Turek has partnered with Rose Publishing to make their Dead Sea Scrolls booklet/brochure available as a free PDF download. You can access the offer here. You do have to sign up with your email to get this resource.

Psalm 139

The Zondervan Academic blog has posted here an excerpt from the new commentary on Psalm 139 from a new commentary by W. Dennis Tucker and Jamie A. Grant.

The Latest Issue of the 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.

Ken Brown, The Vision in Job 4 and Its Role in the Book: Reframing the Development of the Joban Dialogues
Reviewed by Tobias Häner

Danna Nolan Fewell, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Narrative
Reviewed by Hannah M. Strømmen

Dorotei Getov, A Catalogue of the Greek Manuscripts at the Ecclesiastical Historical and Archival Institute of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria: Volume I: Backovo Monastery
Reviewed by W. Andrew Smith

Dominic S. Irudayaraj, Violence, Otherness and Identity in Isaiah 63:1–6: The Trampling One Coming from Edom
Reviewed by Soo J. Kim

Robert Knapp, The Dawn of Christianity: People and Gods in a Time of Magic and Miracles
Reviewed by Lee M. Jefferson

Kevin McGeough, The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: Appreciations and Appropriations: I. Claiming and Conquering
Reviewed by Jason Anthony Riley

Jason M. Silverman and Caroline Waerzeggers, eds., Political Memory in and after the Persian Empire
Reviewed by Jenny Rose

David Stern, The Jewish Bible: A Material History
Reviewed by Barry Dov Walfish

Michael E. Stone, Uncovering Ancient Footprints: Armenian Inscriptions and the Pilgrimage Routes of the Sinai
Reviewed by Sergio La Porta

Timothy Wiarda, Spirit and Word: Dual Testimony in Paul, John, and Luke
Reviewed by Mark Matson