The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below.
OED Bennett and David B. Growler, eds.
Radical Christian Voices and Practice: Essays in Honour of Christopher Rowland
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8488
Reviewed by Yongbom Lee
Alexander Böhlig; Siegfried G. Richter and Peter Nagel, ends.
Die Bibel bei den Manichäern und verwandte Studien
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9138
Reviewed by Jason Beduhn
Brian Arthur Brown
Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, and Quran
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8603
Reviewed by John Kaltner
Mary L. Coloe and Tom Thatcher, eds.
John, Qumran, and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Sixty Years of Discovery and Debate
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8186
Reviewed by Jörg Frey
Deborah A. Green
The Aroma of Righteousness: Scent and Seduction in Rabbinic Life and Literature
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8191
Reviewed by Bálint Károly Zabán
Joseph A. Marchal, ed.
Studying Paul’s Letters: Contemporary Perspectives and Methods
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8493
Reviewed by Robert N. Stegmann
Victor H. Matthews and James C. Moyer
The Old Testament: Text and Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8559
Reviewed by Aren M. Maeir
John F. A. Sawyer
Sacred Texts and Sacred Meanings: Studies in Biblical Language and Literature
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8956
Reviewed by Albert Wolters
John H. Walton
Job
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8653
Reviewed by Martin A. Shields
Hans-Ulrich Weidemann, ed.
Er stieg auf den Berg … und lehrte sie (Mt 5,1f.): Exegetische und rezeptionsgeschichtliche Studien zur Bergpredigt
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8837
Reviewed by Edwin Broadhead
Oct 12, 2013
Oct 11, 2013
Gerald Bray on Biblical Genealogies
Sometime back, I posted a quote from Gerald Bray's book God is Love (here). Here is another quote that I think is worth noting, especially since I have an interest in biblical genealogies (see here).
"What do the genealogies reveal about God? They tell us that He is a faithful Lord, who keeps His covenant from one generation to another. Whoever we are and however far we may have descended from the source of our human life in Adam, we are still part of God’s plan. Over the centuries we have developed differently, we have lost contact with one another, and we have even turned on each other in hostility, but in spite of all that, we are still related and interconnected in ways that go beyond our immediate understanding or experience.
"Secondly, what do the genealogies say about us? They say that from the world’s point of view, most of us are nobodies. We live and die in a long chain of humanity, but there is not much that anyone will remember about us as individuals. Yet without us, future generations will not be born and the legacy of the past will not be preserved. We are part of a great cloud of witnesses, a long chain of faithful people who have lived for God in the place where he put them. Even if we know little about our ancestors, we owe them a great debt of gratitude for their loyalty and perseverance, when they had little or nothing to gain from it or to show for it.
"Finally, what do the genealogies say about God’s dealings with us? They tell us that we are called to be obedient and to keep the faith we have inherited, passing it on undiminished to the next generation. They remind us that there is a purpose in our calling that goes beyond ourselves. Even if we are not celebrated by future generations and leave little for posterity to remember us by, we shall nevertheless have made an indispensable contribution to the purpose of God in history. So the genealogies bring us a message from God, even if they appear on the surface to be barren and unprofitable. All we have to do is ask the right questions, and their meaning will be quickly opened to us."
Gerald Bray, God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 59..
"What do the genealogies reveal about God? They tell us that He is a faithful Lord, who keeps His covenant from one generation to another. Whoever we are and however far we may have descended from the source of our human life in Adam, we are still part of God’s plan. Over the centuries we have developed differently, we have lost contact with one another, and we have even turned on each other in hostility, but in spite of all that, we are still related and interconnected in ways that go beyond our immediate understanding or experience.
"Secondly, what do the genealogies say about us? They say that from the world’s point of view, most of us are nobodies. We live and die in a long chain of humanity, but there is not much that anyone will remember about us as individuals. Yet without us, future generations will not be born and the legacy of the past will not be preserved. We are part of a great cloud of witnesses, a long chain of faithful people who have lived for God in the place where he put them. Even if we know little about our ancestors, we owe them a great debt of gratitude for their loyalty and perseverance, when they had little or nothing to gain from it or to show for it.
"Finally, what do the genealogies say about God’s dealings with us? They tell us that we are called to be obedient and to keep the faith we have inherited, passing it on undiminished to the next generation. They remind us that there is a purpose in our calling that goes beyond ourselves. Even if we are not celebrated by future generations and leave little for posterity to remember us by, we shall nevertheless have made an indispensable contribution to the purpose of God in history. So the genealogies bring us a message from God, even if they appear on the surface to be barren and unprofitable. All we have to do is ask the right questions, and their meaning will be quickly opened to us."
Gerald Bray, God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 59..
Oct 9, 2013
Latest Issue of Southwestern News
The latest issue of Southwestern News, a publication of
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, is focused on archaeology. It
includes articles on Archaeology 101, Gezer, Cyprus, and the Tandy Institute for Archaeology. You can read through the entire issue here.
Oct 8, 2013
Sermon Preparation Time
See this interesting post that survey's some well-known preachers concerning the time that they spend in sermon preparation.
HT: Denny Burk
HT: Denny Burk
Oct 7, 2013
Deborah as Comic Book Heroine
Daniel Bernard who has a Ph.D. in religion, has created a comic book based on Deborah from the Book of Judges. You can read more about it here.
Oct 6, 2013
David Allen: Outlining Hebrews 10:19-25
See this post by Dr. David Allen on outlining Hebrews 10:19-25. Dr. Allen has a fine commentary on Hebrews in the New American commentary series.