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:

Craig L. Blomberg
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7602
Reviewed by Robert H. Gundry

Hallvard Hagelia
The Dan Debate: The Tel Dan Inscription in Recent Research
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7502
Reviewed by George Athas

Harry A. Hoffner Jr.
Letters from the Hittite Kingdom
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7222
Reviewed by Paul Sanders

Petri Kasari
Nathan's Promise in 2 Samuel 7 and Related Texts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7460
Reviewed by David G. Firth

Craig S. Keener
The Historical Jesus of the Gospels
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7385
Reviewed by Craig L. Blomberg

Lloyd Kim
Polemic in the Book of Hebrews: Anti-Judaism, Anti-Semitism, Supersessionism?
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5699
Reviewed by Lars Kierspel

Dan Lioy
Axis of Glory: A Biblical and Theological Analysis of the Temple Motif in Scripture
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7682
Reviewed by Timothy D. Howell

Joel N. Lohr
Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7302
Reviewed by Dale Patrick

Daniel C. Matt
The Zohar: Pritzker Edition (vol. 4)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6161
Reviewed by Marvin Sweeney

Maarten J. J. Menken and Steve Moyise, eds.
The Minor Prophets in the New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7547
Reviewed by Matthew Mitchell

Romano Penna
Paolo e la Chiesa di Roma
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7461
Reviewed by Sean Martin

J. Goldingay and P. Scalise
Minor Prophets II
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7464
Reviewed by J. Clinton McCann Jr.

J. David Schloen, ed.
Exploring the Longue Durée: Essays in Honor of Lawrence E. Stager
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7114
Reviewed by Raz Kletter

Bernard A. Taylor
Analytical Lexicon to the Septuagint (Expanded Edition)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7447
Reviewed by Martin Roesel

Brian L. Webster
The Cambridge Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (with CD-ROM)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7413
Reviewed by Andrew Davies

Cerebral Preaching

I am all for preaching that does not insult one's intelligence, but some preaching fails to travel the eighteen inches from the head to the heart. Here is a quote from an article (albeit a bit dated, e.g., cassettes, overhead projectors) that makes a pointed critique of the problem.

"It is an overly-cerebral event. There is no confrontation. There is little application. There is no focus on the affections, to stir people to be broken over their sins or to be moved to love God more. The preacher's focus, mistakenly, is the intellect and the correct explanation of the passage of the Bible. The danger is that you could learn just as much from that approach by staying at home and reading a commentary.

"Al Martin says, 'The preacher must employ the rhetoric which Jael used upon Sisera, putting his nail to the head of the auditor, and driving it sheer and clean through his brain.' Most preaching today simply takes the tent peg and loosens the dandruff on Sisera's head, instead of fastening his skull to the ground.

"If preaching is to be searching and lively in application, it must go beyond shaking a few flakes loose, and get to the real business of fastening the truth firmly into the heads of the listeners."

Make sure to read the entire article.

Entering Job's Story

"To enter the story of Job as a participant in a real-life drama is to identify with the characters, fell the intensity of the conflict, stand at the turning point, follow the path of resolution, see the revelation, and know the reconciliation. Like a peak experience in the theater, Job leaves us awed with its power, moved by its passion, stretched by its thought, and irrevocably changed by its message."

David McKenna, Job, Mastering the Old Testament (Dallas: Word, 1986), 20.

Bible Professors Reminisce

Bible Professors Reminisce from Oklahoma Christian on Vimeo.

Advanced Expository Preaching Worshop Featuring the Book of Hebrews

Some readers might be interested in this preaching workshop.

Sermon Titles

Peter Mead has a good post on the challenges of creating sermon titles.

Sermons on Ezra

James Hamilton has a posted a link to some sermons that he recently preached on Ezra. Check it out here.

Free College Press Commentaries

The ever prolific Michael Halcomb has links to free pdf's of College Press' commentaries, over 25,000 pages worth. Check it out here.

Free Bible E-Charts

Just in case some of you were not aware of this, Rose Publishing offers free e-charts taken from some of their posters and pamphlets. You can get the details here.

Resources on Joshua

Shane Lems has a nice discussion on resources for preaching and teaching Joshua here.

Teaching Biblical Studies

See this post by Chris Skinner.

Missing the Point in Genesis 22

This article in the Huffington Post on Genesis 22 misses the point concerning the book of Genesis in general and the significance of the binding of Isaac episode in particular. In the article, rabbi Sid Schwarz suggests that the main point was really about Abraham's repentance ("return") concerning his mistreatment of Ishmael! As I read Genesis, one of the main themes of the book is the fulfillment of God's promises through an elect line, a line that includes Isaac but not Ishmael. Whether Abraham should have treated Ishmael differently is debatable, but I seriously doubt that Abraham's treatment of Ishmael was what God was trying to teach him on Mount Moriah.

What is a Seminary Professor?

See this post by Alvin Reid who asks and answers the question "What is a Seminary Professor?"