Mar 2, 2013

Preparing for a Holy Land Tour

  
Wayne Stiles has some good advice on "How to Prepare for a Holy Land Tour" here.
  

Mar 1, 2013

Titles in the Psalms

  
I know that it has become passé in some corners of biblical studies to reject the superscriptions or titles of the Psalms. But I believe this is a mistake. Apparently Gordon Wenham does so as well. In a chapter on reading the Psalms messianically he writes:

“The main assault on the Psalms took the form of discarding the titles. It was argued that the title were later additions to the text and were therefore worthless as a guide to the authorship of psalms or their content. At a stroke they were no longer the psalms of David or Asaph or the sons of Korah, dating from the time of the early monarchy—i.e., tenth century BC—but anonymous compositions mostly from the postexilic era down to the Maccabean era, roughly 500 to 150 BC. By writing off the titles in this way, skeptics eliminated the clearest marks of order in the Psalter. In the Psalms’ final form the sequence of titles does point to careful arrangement. For example all except one (untitled) psalm in Psalms 3–41are called psalms of David.”

Gordon Wenham, The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 86.

 

Feb 28, 2013

Old Testament Commentary Recommendations

  
J. Paul Tanner has compiled a list of top evangelical commentaries on the Old Testament. The list was last updated in 2006 so it might be a bit out of date. But you can access the PDF here

By the way, Dr. Tanner has a number of helpful resources at his website here. Note that the PDFs are formatted to A4 size which might make printing a bit tricky.
   

Barnabas and Cyprus

  
See this interesting article on some of the Cypriot church traditions surrounding Barnabas.
 

Feb 27, 2013

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. 

Jeffrey Brodd and Jonathan L. Reed, eds.
Rome and Religion: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue on the Imperial Cult
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8384
Reviewed by Edmund Cueva
Michael Cameron
Christ Meets Me Everywhere: Augustine's Early Figurative Exegesis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8598
Reviewed by Blossom Stefaniw

Melissa A. Jackson
Comedy and Feminist Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible: A Subversive Collaboration
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8656
Reviewed by Kathryn D. Blanchard

Tremper Longman III
Introducing the Old Testament: A Short Guide to Its History and Message
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8551
Reviewed by Trent Butler

Dennis R. MacDonald
Two Shipwrecked Gospels: The Logoi of Jesus and Papias's Exposition of Logia about the Lord
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8565
Reviewed by John Kloppenborg
Reviewed by James F. McGrath

Steve Moyise
The Later New Testament Writings and Scripture: The Old Testament in Acts, Hebrews, the Catholic Epistles, and Revelation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8517
Reviewed by Amy Peeler

James D. Nogalski
The Book of the Twelve: Hosea-Jonah
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8461
Reviewed by Beth Stovell

Kathleen M. Rochester
Prophetic Ministry in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8537
Reviewed by Wilhelm J. Wessels

Thomas P. Scheck
St. Jerome's Commentaries on Galatians, Titus, and Philemon
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7934
Reviewed by Gerald Bray

 

Feb 26, 2013

John Oswalt Teaching Isaiah

  
The Francis Asbury Society is hosting a teaching series on Isaiah featuring John Oswalt. You can download class handouts here and access video here


Feb 25, 2013

The Tetragrammaton in Roman Catholicism

  
This is an interesting article on the use, or more accurately disuse, of the Tetragrammaton in Roman Catholicism.
 

Feb 24, 2013

Sin as a Scent?

  
The winner of the SMH award has to go to Kilian Hennessey's new collection of perfumes. This perfume had the following a write up in the February 21, 2013 edition of the Dallas Morning News.

"In the Garden of Good & Evil, plays on the myth of original sin with a trio of scents: Good Girl Gone Bad, Forbidden Games and in the City of Sin. Each swoon-worthy fragrance, a different blend of sweet fruit, spice and woody notes, is housed in a lacquered white clutch with a serpent ornament. Use with guile. 1.7 ounces, $245 at . . ."