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. 

James Aston and John Walliss, eds.
Small Screen Revelations: Apocalypse in Contemporary Television
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9378
Reviewed by Sylvie Raquel

Joseph A. Bessler
A Scandalous Jesus: How Three Historic Quests Changed Theology for the Better
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9263
Reviewed by Mary K. Schmitt

Daniel Bodi, ed.
Abigail, Wife of David, and Other Ancient Oriental Women
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9648
Reviewed by Benjamin J. M. Johnson

Jared C. Calaway
The Sabbath and the Sanctuary: Access to God in the Letter to the Hebrews and Its Priestly Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9475
Reviewed by Carl Mosser

Ohad Cohen
The Verbal Tense System in Late Biblical Hebrew Prose
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9569
Reviewed by Bálint Károly Zabán

John Granger Cook
Crucifixion in the Mediterranean World
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9807
Reviewed by Charles L. Quarles

Jerome F. D. Creach
Violence in Scripture
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9513
Reviewed by Pieter G. R. de Villiers

Arthur J. Dewey and Robert J. Miller, eds.
The Complete Gospel Parallels
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9264
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus

Matthew Drever
Image, Identity, and the Forming of the Augustinian Soul
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9279
Reviewed by Cheuk Yin Yam and Anthony Dupont

Diana V. Edelman, ed.
Deuteronomy-Kings as Emerging Authoritative Books: A Conversation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9772
Reviewed by Trent C. Butler

Shawn W. Flynn
YHWH is King: Development of Divine Kingship in Ancient Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9608
Reviewed by Michael B. Hundley

Steven J. Friesen, Sarah A. James, and Daniel N. Schowalter, eds.
Corinth in Contrast: Studies in Inequality
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9668
Reviewed by Thomas R. Blanton IV

Matti Friedman
The Aleppo Codex: In Pursuit of One of the World’s Most Coveted, Sacred, and Mysterious Books
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9675
Reviewed by Paul Sanders

Cornelis den Hertog
The Other Face of God: ‘I Am That I Am’ Reconsidered
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9064
Reviewed by Richard S. Briggs

Christl M. Maier and Carolyn J. Sharp, eds.
Prophecy and Power: Jeremiah in Feminist and Postcolonial Perspective
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9733
Reviewed by Andrew Shead

Heinz-Günther Nesselrath and Florian Wilk, eds.
Gut und Böse in Mensch und Welt: Philosophische und religiöse Konzeptionen vom Alten Orient bis zum frühen Islam
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9538
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

Jonathan Miles Robker
The Jehu Revolution: A Royal Tradition of the Northern Kingdom and Its Ramifications
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8671
Reviewed by Aren M. Maeir

David C. Sim and James S. McLaren, eds.
Attitudes to Gentiles in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9707
Reviewed by Avram Shannon

Mirjam van der Vorm-Croughs
The Old Greek of Isaiah: An Analysis of Its Pluses and Minuses
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9920
Reviewed by Randall X. Gauthier

Stephen Westerholm
Justification Reconsidered: Rethinking a Pauline Theme
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9508
Reviewed by David J. Neville

Comparing Jesus' Baptism and His Transfiguration

Careful readers of the Gospels have noted the similarities between the accounts of Jesus' baptism and His transfiguration. Charles Talbert has created the following table that shows these similarities.

Parallels between Jesus’ Baptism and Transfiguration
Baptism	Parallel	Transfiguration
3:13–16a	Setting	17:1–2
3:16b	And behold	17:3a
3:16c	Vision	17:3b
3:17a	And behold	17:5b
3:17	Heavenly voice	17:5c

 
Charles H. Talbert, Matthew, Paideia, ed. Mikeal C. Parsons and Charles H. Talbert (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010), 58.

Similarites between Moses on Mt. Sinai and Jesus' Transfiguration

Careful readers of the Gospel of Matthew have noted the numerous similarities between Moses' experience on Mt. Sinai and Jesus' transfiguration. The following table tries to illustrate these similarities.

 

Some Similarities between Moses’ Sinai Experience (Exodus 24) and Jesus’ Transfiguration (Matthew 24)
After six days (24:16)	After six days (17:1)
Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu are singled out (24:1, 9)	Peter, James, and John are singled out (17:1)
Mount Sinai (24:16)	A high mountain (17:1)
Moses is on the mount	Moses is on the mount (17:3)
God speaks	God speaks (17:5)
Moses’ face shines in 2nd visit to Sinai (34:29–30, 35)	Jesus face shines (17:2)
Cloud covering the mountain (24:15–18)	A bright cloud (17:5)
Moses returns to a problematic situation (Exod 32)	Jesus returns to a problematic situation (17:14–18)

This second table containing similar but additional information comes from Charles Quarles.

Features Reminiscent of Moses in the Accounts of Jesus’ Transfiguration
Exodus	Matthew	Mark	Luke
after six days (24:16)	17:1	9:2
on a high mountain (24:12, 15-18; 34:3)	17:1	9:2	9:28
a cloud descends and covers the mountain (24:15-18; 34:5)	17:5	9:7	9:34
a voice speaks from the cloud (24:16)	17:5	9:7	9:35
central figure reflects or radiates the divine glory (34:29-30, 35)	17:2	9:3	9:29
three individuals are given special mention (24:1)	17:1	9:2	9:28
bystanders react with fear (34:29-30)	17:6	9:6	9:34

Charles L. Quarles, A Theology of Matthew: Jesus Revealed as Deliverer, King, and Incarnate Creator, Explorations in Biblical theology, ed. Robert A. Peterson (Phillipsburg, PA: P & R, 2013, 45.

The Authority of Biblical Narrative

C. Richard Wells has an interesting chapter on Applying the Old Testament from Reclaiming the Prophetic Mantle: Preaching the Old Testament Faithfully. This work looks to be out of print and Amazon has used copies starting at $172! In any case, consider the following quote that builds on the work of David Bartlett (The Shape of Scriptural Authority [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983]).

"The authority of narrative rests on deeds. Bartlett points out that biblical narrative differs from ordinary biographical narrative in three ways: (1) the goal of biblical narrative is theological, not historical; (2) the technique of biblical narrative is persuasive not descriptive; and (3) the sources of information about the events in biblical narrative are themselves largely biblical, not 'secular' and not 'verifiable' (pp. 44-47). Thus, Old Testament narrative functions interpretively. It establishes patterns which recur both in later Old testament sections and in the New Testament. It formulates the context within which we must understand both the unfolding of history of salvation and our own milieu" ("Changing the Church with Words from God: Applying the Old Testament," in Reclaiming the Prophetic Mantle: Preaching the Old Testament Faithfully, ed. George L. Klein [Nashville: Broadman, 1992], 259).

I am still thinking about how Old Testament narratives function interpretively. Does it only establish recurring patterns?

Views on the Non-Prevailing Gates of Hell

In Matthew 16:18, the Lord states, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (ESV). Just about every point in this verse is debated. One debated issue relates to the statement that the gates of hell will not prevail. Davies and Allison list eleven different explanations of this point (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew: Volume 2, Commentary on Matthew 8–18, International Critical Commentary [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1991], 631–32). Here are some of the more popular views.

1. The attacks of satanic persons or powers will not prevail over the church
2. The power of death will not prevail
3. Martyrdom will not destroy the church
4. The gates representing Satan and his minions will not be able to withstand the attack of the church

In my opinion, views 2 and 4 seem most likely.