Oct 27, 2012

Groupon for Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit

  
Some might be interested in Groupon's offer for the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit that is currently being hosted by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. For details on the exhibit go here. Groupon is offering two adult admissions for $25 or four admissions for $49. This is at least 50% less than the normal single adult admission which costs $25 to $28 each. You can check out the offer here. The Groupon offer is good for three more days.

  

Oct 26, 2012

The Joy of Holiness


"Many of us associate holiness with a kind of melancholy grimness. One passage that God used to explode this myth was the account of Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile (Neh. 8:1–12). Ezra gathered the people and read from the law of God. As he was reading, the people’s hearts ached so deeply from hearing the Scriptures that they began to weep. What happened next is illuminating:

"And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved” (Neh. 8:9–11 NKJV).

"From God’s point of view, holiness is the partner of joy, not sorrow. The closer we are to God, the more consistently we exhibit the joy of his character. To be at his right hand is to know the eternal pleasures that he supplies (cp. Ps. 16:11)."


Doug McIntosh, Deuteronomy, Holman Old Testament Commentary, ed. Max Anders (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002), 275-76.
   

Oct 25, 2012

Some Principle Ancient Sources for Studying Daniel 11:2-35


Gleason Archer provides a helpful list of some of the primary ancient sources for studying Daniel 11:2-35. Archer lists the following: 

“The principal ancient sources of information concerning this period are as follows: (1) Polybius of Megalopolis (203-111 B.C.), who composed the general history in forty volumes, comprising the history of the Roman world from 199-167 B.C.; (2) Titus Livius of the first century B.C., who in his monumental history of Rome (Ab Urbe Condita Libri CLXII) treats of the Roman contacts with the Near East up to the death of Philip V of Macedon in vols. 31-60: (3) Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian of the late first century A.D., whose principal works (Antiquities of the Jews and The Wars of the Jews) were composed in Greek; (4) Appianus Historicus (his other names are not known), who composed most of his works in Greek, although Bella Civilia survives only in Latin. He came originally from Alexandria but transferred to Rome for his adult career during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. His Suriakhv (Syriake) relates particularly to the Seleucid and Ptolemaic period; (5) Lucius Annaeus Florus, likewise in the time of Trajan (early second cent. A.D.), composed Epitome de Gestis Romanorum; (6) Marcus Junianus Justinus (of the late second cent. A.D.) composed a summary of the work of an earlier historian named Trogus. It was entitled Historiarum Philippicarum et Totius Mundi Originum … ex Trogo Pompeio Excerptarum Libri XLIV and was dedicated to Marcus Aurelius.” 

Gleason Archer, “Daniel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel, the Minor Prophets, ed. Fran E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), 134–35, n. 9.
  

Oct 24, 2012

Free Martin Luther Audio

  
To celebrate Reformation Day, Christianaudio.com is offering Martin Luther: In His Own Words as a free audiobook download through October 31. (They also made this offer last year.) This is a compilation of many of Luther's most important writings, including the Ninety-Five Theses and six other works.
 

Oct 23, 2012

Translating Humor

  
This essay from the New York Times is not specifically related to biblical studies, but it does point out some of the challenges of translation in general and humor in particular.
 

Oct 22, 2012

Genesis 22: The Aqedah

  
Abraham Kuruvilla discusses Genesis 22 and has a link to his recent article in the Journal of the Evangelical Society entitled "The Aqedah (Genesis 22): What Is the Author Doing with What He Is Saying?" here.
  

Oct 21, 2012

Simon Gathercole Video

  
A September 8 lecture by Simon Gathercole on Jesus in the (the Gospels of Thomas, Mary, Judas, and Philipcanonical Gospels in comparison with four well-known rivals) is now available here. The video also includes responses by David Chapman, professor at Covenant Theological Seminary, and Mark Lanier, a Bible teacher and owner of the Lanier Theological Library.