Ten Reflections/Recommendations on Seminary Life

Josh Philpot has a nice discussion of ten reflections concerning his seminary experiences. Josh has provided some sound advice to those who are considering seminary or those who are already in seminary. You can read Josh's reflections and recommendations here.

McKnight Recommended Commentaries on Ephesians

See this post for Scot McKnight's recommendations concerning commentaries on Ephesians. McKnight lists:

Markus Barth: Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3 (Anchor Bible, Vol. 34) and Ephesians: Translation and Commentary on Chapters 4-6: Anchor Bible 34A (Anchor Bible).

Andrew Lincoln:Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 42, Ephesians .

Ernest Best: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians (International Critical Commentary) .

Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians: The NIV Application Commentary.

The Dating of Galatians

One of the debated issues in New Testament studies is the dating of Paul's writing of Galatians.

Traditionally, interpreters have taken what is called the North Galatian theory. That is, Galatians was originally written to churches in the geographical region known as Galatia, in north central Asia Minor. In this view, Paul visited the region during his second missionary journey (cf. Acts 16:6; 18:23) and his visit to Jerusalem is recorded in Galatians 2 and Acts 15. This would mean that Paul likely wrote Galatians in A.D. 55 or 56 during his third missionary journey, probably while he was in Corinth (see Acts 20:3).

However, beginning in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a new view called the South Galatian Theory began to be promoted, most notably by W. M. Ramsey. In this view Galatia is not a geographical designation but a Roman political designation for an area south of geographical Galatia. That is, Paul was referring to the province of Galatia which included cities such as Lystra, Derbe, and Iconium. These cities were visited during Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–14:28). In this view, one is not necessarily committed to identifying Paul’s Jerusalem visit in Galatians 2 with Acts 15. Galatians could then be dated as early as A.D. 47–49, prior to the Jerusalem Council. In this scenario Paul is likely written from Antioch.

Having said all that, Daniel Doleys has posted a helpful list of the proponents for both positions. For what its worth, I hold to the South Galatian view.

Essential Reading for A Course on the Book of Romans

Mike Bird has posted on what he considers essential reading for a course on Romans.

A Biblical Theology of Cooperation

Eric Schumacher has a nice post on a biblical theology of ccoperation as traced through redemptive history. His main points are:

My initial definition of Biblical Cooperation was:

Biblical Cooperation happens when God's people, under God's rule, trust God's promises and obey God's commission in the pursuit of God's glory.

My seven main points were as follows:

1. Cooperation was Founded in Creation.

2. Cooperation was Distorted in the Fall.

3. Cooperation was Foreshadowed in the Law but Failed in Israel.

4. Cooperation was Foretold by the Prophets.

5. Cooperation was Redeemed in the Gospel.

The result of the Gospel is Christian Cooperation: God's people (believers in Jesus), under God's rule (the Lordship of Jesus Christ), trust God's promises (believe the Gospel) and obey God's commission (the Great Commission, and all that Jesus commands) in the pursuit of God's glory (the display of God's excellence in Jesus Christ).

6. Cooperation is Applied in Local Churches.

7. Cooperation will be Perfected in Eternity.

You can also access audio of Schumacher's message entitled "Cooperation from Genesis to Revelation" here.

HT: Jim Hamilton

Hoffmeier on Immigration

Justin Taylor has posted a fascinating interview with James Hoffmeier, professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, on his recent book The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible. I have not read the book, but I appreciate what is said in the interview. Even if you don't end up agreeing with the authors conclusion, you can see how one can methodologically apply the Old Testament to contemporary concerns. You can access the interview here.

Master Scripture Index for New Studies in Biblical Theology

Andy Naselli has done us a great service by compiling a master Scripture index for the New Studies in Biblical Theology series edited by D. A. Carson into a single spreadsheet. Furthermore Andy has placed an asterisk by each page number where there is a discussion rather than merely a reference or brief comment. Since I own a number of volumes in the Biblical Theology series this is a wonderful resource to have.

You can see Andy's post here with a further description, explanation, and a link to the Excel file.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

A. Berlejung and P. van Hecke, eds.
The Language of Qohelet in Its Context: Essays in Honour of Prof. A. Schoors on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6794
Reviewed by Max Rogland

Joshua A. Berman
Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6939
Reviewed by Mark Leuchter

Constantine R. Campbell
Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6873
Reviewed by C. Michael Robbins

Sang Youl Cho
Lesser Deities in the Ugaritic Texts and the Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Study of Their Nature and Roles
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7005
Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

A.-F. Christidis, ed.
A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6748
Reviewed by Douglas Estes

Lowell K. Handy
Jonah's World: Social Science and the Reading of Prophetic Story
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6865
Reviewed by Karl Moller

Richard A. Horsley
Jesus in Context: Power, People, and Performance
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6716
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek

Peter Jeffery
The Secret Gospel of Mark Unveiled: Imagined Rituals of Sex, Death, and Madness in a Biblical Forgery
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5627
Reviewed by J. Harold Ellens

Katrin Keita
Gottes Land: Exegetische Studien zur Land-Thematik im Hoseabuch in kanonischer Perspektive
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6486
Reviewed by Sven Petry

Edward W. Klink III
The Sheep of the Fold: The Audience and Origin of the Gospel of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6594
Reviewed by Cornelis Bennema

Chaim Navon
Genesis and Jewish Thought
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6438
Reviewed by Bradley Embry

Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright III, eds.
A New English Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included υnder That Title
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6729
Reviewed by Wolfgang Kraus

Thomas R. Schreiner
New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6526
Reviewed by Panayotis Coutsoumpos

Katherine M. Stott
Why Did They Write This Way? Reflections on References to Written Documents in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Literature
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6672
Reviewed by Werner H. Kelber

David Shepherd, ed.
Images of the Word: Hollywood's Bible and Beyond
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6913
Reviewed by Christopher Fuller

17 Ways A Pastor Can Shorten His Sermon Prep Time

Joe McKeever has written a funny but serious reminder for preachers entitled " "17 Ways a Pastor Can Shorten His Sermon Prep Time." You can read it here.

HT: Colin Adams

Sermon or Pulpit Plagiarism

Ron Forseth, general editor of SermonCentral.com, has a thoughtful article on the topic of sermon or pulpit plagiarism here.

Top Five Commentaries on Joel

Keith Mathison Ligonier Ministries has a list and discussion of his top five commentaries on Joel at the Ligonier Ministries blog. The list is solid but I would replace Hubbard and Robertson with Duane Garrett (Hosea, Joel, NAC) and Thomas Finley (Joel, Amos, Obadiah) respectively. To the Runners Up category I would add Barton (OTL), Crenshaw (AB), and Wolff (Her). In any case, Mathison’s top five are:

1. Douglas Stuart -- Hosea-Jonah (Word Biblical Commentary, 1987).
2. Thomas E. McComiskey -- The Minor Prophets (2009 [1992]).
3. David Allan Hubbard -- Joel & Amos (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 1989).
4. O. Palmer Robertson -- Prophet of the Coming Day of the Lord: The Message of Joel (Welwyn Commentary Series, 1995).
5. Leslie C. Allen -- The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 1976).