Where Does the Parable of the Sower Begin?

Peter Williams has an interesting post here on where the "parable of the sower" paragraph in the Gospel of Mark should begin. I confess that I find this stuff fascinating.

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 but unfortunately you must be a SBL member. 

Ernst Baasland
Parables and Rhetoric in the Sermon on the Mount: New Approaches to a Classical Text
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10579
Reviewed by Samuel Lamerson

John M. G. Barclay
Pauline Churches and Diaspora Jews
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11353
Reviewed by Matthew V. Novenson

A. Andrew Das
Galatians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11108
Reviewed by Nijay Gupta

R. Michael Fox
A Message from the Great King: Reading Malachi in Light of Ancient Persian Royal Messenger Texts from the Time of Xerxes
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11074
Reviewed by Aaron Schart

Michaela Geiger, Ruth Poser, and Charlotte Voß, eds.
Visionen im Dialog: Der Schluss des Amosbuches (Am 7–9)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11362
Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Joel S. Kaminsky and Joel N. Lohr
The Hebrew Bible for Beginners: A Jewish and Christian Introduction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10578
Reviewed by Valeriy A. Alikin
Reviewed by William L. Lyons

Mary E. Mills
Jeremiah: Prophecy in a Time of Crisis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11605
Reviewed by Leslie C. Allen

Jane Lancaster Patterson
Keeping the Feast: Metaphors of Sacrifice in 1 Corinthians and Philippians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10771
Reviewed by Kenneth Schenck

Gerry Schoberg
Perspectives of Jesus in the Writings of Paul: A Historical Examination of Shared Core Commitments with a View to Determining the Extent of Paul’s Dependence on Jesus
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9990
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Cockrell

Foothills of Judah Conference

This is a bit late, but if you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area you might be interested in this conference. You can register here.

Teacher Entitlement

I have posted several times on the the phenomenon of "student entitlement." But as this post points out another problem might be "teacher entitlement." And perhaps "teacher entitlement" helps foster "student entitlement." Here is a comment worth considering.

If we act in ways that aren’t entitled, ways that treat students with respect, that deliver the quality educational experiences they deserve, our leadership creates a different set of expectations. If we say we’ll have the test/paper/projects grades done by Friday, we meet that deadline. We don’t come to class on Friday with excuses and a promise that maybe they’ll be graded by Monday. We arrive to class on time, not several minutes late because we’re busy and important and just expect students to show respect by waiting for us to show up. When students come to us with questions after class, we keep our phones away and talk with them rather than sort of half-listen and try to steal glances to see what messages we might have missed. Respect extended is generally respect returned. And when it isn’t, we stand tall and give students part of what a college experience entitles them to receive.

A Biblical Genealogy Can Change Your Life

I often remind my students that many Bible readers zip past the biblical genealogies to get to the "good stuff" but that if read carefully, the biblical genealogies can also be the "good stuff." In this post, Jordan Standridge writes about how a genealogy changed his life.