Word Plays in Philemon

  

See Stephen Carlson's post on some word plays in Philemon.

  

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.

Daphna Arbel, J. R. C. Cousland, and Dietmar Neufeld
".And So They Went Out": The Lives of Adam and Eve as Cultural Transformative Story
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7606
Reviewed by Deborah Rooke
 
Ehud Ben Zvi, Diana Edelman, and Frank Polak, eds.
A Palimpsest: Rhetoric, Ideology, Stylistics, and Language Relating to Persian Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7582
Reviewed by Bob Becking
 
Martin Hengel; ed. Claus-Jürgen Thornton
Studien zur Christologie: Kleine Schriften IV
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5799
Reviewed by Lars Kierspel
 
Horace D. Hummel
Ezekiel 21-48
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7315
Reviewed by Ralph K. Hawkins
 
AnneMarie Luijendijk
Greetings in the Lord: Early Christians in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7685
Reviewed by Pieter W. van der Horst
 
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 Michael Labahn
 
Dermot Anthony Nestor
Cognitive Perspectives on Israelite Identity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7542
Reviewed by Frank H. Polak
 
Marco Nobile
Saggi su Ezechiele
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7149
Reviewed by Donatella Scaiola
 
Kelli S. O'Brien
The Use of Scripture in the Markan Passion Narrative
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7632
Reviewed by Maarten J. J. Menken
 
Horst Seebass
Numeri: Kapitel 22,2-36,13
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7573
Reviewed by John Engle

    

The Future of Seminary Education

  

See this article.

HT: Abraham Joseph

Parallels Between the Battle of David Against Goliath and Christ Against Satan

  
Nicholas Batzig draws some interesting parallels between he battle of David against Goliath and Christ against Satan. Some of the parallels are a bit more convincing to me than others but check it out here. 
  

Dogs in the Old Testament

  
See this post.
  

Akin on Ten Basic Principles of Hermeneutics

  
See this post by Daniel Akin offering the first five of ten basic principles of hermeneutics.
   

Books on Sale: Baptism and the Book of Hosea

   

The Westminster Bookstore has two volumes in the clearance section which might be of some interest.

Baptism: Three Views (Paperback) by David F.Wright, Bruce A, Ware, Sinclair B. Ferguson, and Anthony N. S. Lane. The bookstore has the $16.00 book at 69% off or $4.97. Go here.

The Book of Hosea, New International Commentary on the Old Testament by Andrew J. Dearman.. The bookstore has the $45.00 book at 50% off or $22.50. Go here. 
  

A Review of Keep Your Greek

 

Many Bible students, particularly seminarians, have invested significant time, sweat, and tears in learning Greek vocabulary, paradigms, and grammatical rules. Learning a language is not like riding a bike—you can actually forget how to read through disuse. Furthermore, if we are not careful, we can lose most of what we invested in the hectic pace and busyness of ministry. I am convinced that losing a facility for the languages correlates directly to the preference for topical rather than expository preaching.

So it was with no small delight and anticipation that I dived into a copy of Constantine Campbell’s Keep Your Greek: Strategies for Busy People. I was not disappointed. In general, Constantine argues for a strategy which involves some memorization and and habitual reading of the text. Constantine’s strategy is simple but not easy, it will require diligence to practice the advice set forth in the book. That being said, the book is more encouragement than admonition. This is a better course to take since many language students already wrestle with a bit of self-loathing and guilt for not being more conscientious in keeping up their Greek. Another positive feature of the book is its brevity. Readers will not spend so much time in the book that they have no time for the Greek text. I also liked the fact that the book addresses the numerous resources available to today’s reader. Constantine acknowledges the value of these resources on the one hand, and yet cautions against an over-reliance on another. One final advantage is the price, at $9.99 the book is easily within reach of most readers.

Thanks to the folks at Zondervan for the review copy. 

Thinking through James

  
There have been multiplied opinions on the central them (if any) and structure (if any) of the book. See this post for Matthew Malcom's attempt. Like other attempts to tame the book, it probably is a stretch at certain at certain points. But check it our here.
  

Blomberg on Exegesis and Systematic Theology

   

Craig Blomberg has noted four ways that systematic theology can trump biblical exegesis rather than having exegesis as the basis for our systematic theology.

• If the immediate, literary context of the verses is not examined
• When textual and contextual features are ignored
• When interpreters fail to observe differences between one biblical writer's or corpus's use of key words or concepts and another's
• If parallel accounts of the same teaching or event are inappropriately harmonized so as to lose sight of the distinctive message of each

Craig L. Blomberg with Jennifer Foutz Markley, A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), 321.