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:

François Bovon
L'Evangile selon saint Luc 19,28-24,53
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7257
Reviewed by Richard I. Pervo

Robin Gallaher Branch
Jeroboam's Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament's Lesser-Known Women
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7166
Reviewed by Wil Gafney

Jean-Marie van Cangh
Les sources Judaïques du nouveau testament: Recueil d'essais
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6693
Reviewed by Peter Tomson

Shawna Dolansky, ed.
Sacred History, Sacred Literature: Essays on Ancient Israel, the Bible, and Religion in Honor of R. E. Friedman on His Sixtieth Birthday
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6941
Reviewed by Bob Becking

Pamela Eisenbaum
Paul Was Not a Christian: The Original Message of a Misunderstood Apostle
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7327
Reviewed by Yung Suk Kim

Dirk Hartwig, Walter Homolka, Michael J. Marx, and Angelika Neuwirth, eds.
"Im vollen Licht der Geschichte": Die Wissenschaft des Judentums und die Anfänge der kritischen Koranforschung
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6632
Reviewed by Ernst Axel Knauf

Bernard M. Levinson
Legal Revision and Religious Renewal in Ancient Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6786
Reviewed by Bruce Wells

Lee Martin McDonald
Forgotten Scriptures: The Selection and Rejection of Early Religious Writings
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7205
Reviewed by Francis Dalrymple-Hamilton

Paul Middleton, Angus Paddison, and Karen Wenell, eds.
Paul, Grace and Freedom: Essays in Honour of John K. Riches
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7199
Reviewed by Michael J. Lakey

Mogens Müller
The Expression 'Son of Man' and the Development of Christology: A History of Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7145
Reviewed by Rollin Kearns

Eckart Otto
Die Tora: Studien zum Pentateuch: Gesammelte Schriften
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7226
Reviewed by Trent C. Butler

C. Kavin Rowe
World Upside Down: Reading Acts in the Graeco-Roman Age
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7214
Reviewed by V. Henry Nguyen

Karel van der Toorn
Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6755
Reviewed by Richard Weis

Alexander Tsutserov
Glory, Grace, and Truth: Ratification of the Sinaitic Covenant according to the Gospel of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7157
Reviewed by Christopher W. Skinner

Paul's Parallels

One of the books that I want to get soon is Paul's Parallels, edited by Patricia Elyse Terrell and published by T & T Clark. The publisher's description states:

Paul's Parallels is the first and only New Testament resource text in tables format presenting Paul's verses in column one, next to a row of parallels, echoes, or like-minded quotes from Old and New Testament resources as well as other extant biblical materials. The passages are cited in full.

This master of the epistolary writings, gives a verse by verse demonstration of Paul's thoughts, his ethic, and his actions that were picked-up by later Christian writers, copied by pseudo-Pauline admirers. It delineates some as distinctively Christian while others remained only in Paul's writing.

In addition, Luke's history about Paul in Acts is presented using the same format so the reader can easily cross-reference each epistle to its chronological setting. Documenting the history of Paul’s ministry in the same text allows the reader to instantly turn to the time and place in which Paul wrote that particular message. While investigating serious textual, literary, genre, and other theological characteristics, the reader has the opportunity of simultaneously locating Acts in its historical context.

The book is a bit pricey at $225 ($205 at Amazon), but a fifty-five page section can be seen in this pdf.

Comparing Preachers

Peter Mead provides some helpful insight into the problems associated with comparing preachers. Since such comparisons are practically unavoidable he offers three suggestions.

1. Don’t try to copy another preacher, but do learn from them.
2. Don’t be intimidated by other preachers.
3. Be wary of inter-church competition, esteem God’s work elsewhere.

Read the entire post here.

Interpreting Ecclesiastes

"Of no book of the Bible is it more true than of Ecclesiastes that people have tended to read into it what they want to hear, and to get out of it what agrees with their own prejudices and convictions."

Robert Davidson, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon, DSB (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986), 3.

E. Earle Ellis (1926–2010)

It is being reported that E. Earle Ellis, the well-respected New Testament scholar, has gone to be with the Lord. Although, I cannot say that I knew Dr. Ellis well, I did have the privilege of meeting him on several occasions and found him to be gracious in answering questions and discussing issues.

Witherington on Jesus' Narrative Thought World and Message

See this post from Ben Witherington III on Jesus' Narrative Thought World and Message here.

Pillar Commentary Sale at Westminster Bookstore

Westminster Bookstore is offering a special through March 9 involving the thirteen volumes in the Pillar New Testament Commentary series, including Peter O'Brien's brand new Hebrews commentary (pictured) . These volumes are already discounted 36-45% off and buy two or more titles and you will get an additional 10% discount. You also get $1 shipping for orders over $35. The discount is automatically calculated in your cart. The following volumes are available.

The Gospel According to Matthew by Leon Morris – $30.50 - 39% Off

The Gospel According to Mark by James Edwards – $31.50 - 37% Off

The Gospel According to John by D. A. Carson – $30.72 - 36% Off

The Acts of the Apostles by David Peterson – $39.65 - 39% Off

The Epistle to the Romans by Leon Morris ­– $27.00 - 40% Off

The Letter to the Ephesians by Peter T. O’Brien – $28.16 - 36% Off

The Letter to the Philippians by Walter Hanson – $28.16 - 36% Off

The Letter to Colossians and Philemon by Doug Moo – $24.20 - 45% Off

The Letters to the Thessalonians by Gene Green – $28.80 - 36% Off

The Letter to the Hebrews by Peter O’Brien – $27.50 - 45% Off

The Letter of James by Doug Moo – $20.40 - 40% Off

The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude by Peter Davids – $23.76 - 34% Off

The Letters of John by Colin Kruse – $21.76 - 36% Off

Free Audio Downloads of Bonhoeffer and Piper

Christianaudio.com is offering two free audio downloads this month. The first is Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic The Cost of Discipleship. The second free download is John Piper's Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Go here and use the coupon code MAR2010.

The Noahic Covenant

“The Noahic covenant, including the various divine promises which accompany it, guarantees God's commitment to creation, and in particular, the preservation of life on the earth. It thus provides the necessary foundation for the story of redemption–life on earth is guaranteed to continue in spite of human sin.”

Aaron Chalmers, “The Importance of the Noahic Covenant to Biblical Theology,” Tyndale Bulletin 60 (2009): 209.