May 25, 2019

The Latest Issue of the 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.


Tzvi Abusch, The Witchcraft Series Maqlu
Reviewed by Adam E. Miglio

Gary A. Anderson and Markus Bockmuehl, eds., Creation ex nihilo: Origins, Development, Contemporary Challenges
Reviewed by Thomas Olbricht

Laurel Bestock, Violence and Power in Ancient Egypt: Image and Ideology before the New Kingdom
Reviewed by Rita Lucarelli

Daniel I. Block, The Triumph of Grace: Literary and Theological Studies in Deuteronomy and Deuteronomic Themes
Reviewed by A. J. Culp

Julie Galambush, Reading Genesis: A Literary and Theological Commentary
Reviewed by R. W. L. Moberly

Christian Hofreiter, Making Sense of Old Testament Genocide: Christian Interpretations of Herem Passages
Reviewed by Eric A. Seibert

Justin R. Howell, The Pharisees and Figured Speech in Luke-Acts
Reviewed by David B. Gowler

Larry W. Hurtado, Ancient Jewish Monotheism and Early Christian Jesus-Devotion: The Context and Character of Christological Faith
Reviewed by James F. McGrath

Craig S. Keener, Galatians
Reviewed by Nijay K. Gupta

Markus Lang, ed., Ein neues Geschlecht? Entwicklung des frühchristlichen Selbstbewusstseins
Reviewed by Jonathon Lookadoo

Paul Middleton, The Violence of the Lamb: Martyrs as Agents of Divine Judgment in the Book of Revelation
Reviewed by Gregory Stevenson

Susanne Scholz, ed., Feminist Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Retrospect II: Social Locations
Reviewed by Vanessa Lovelace

May 24, 2019

Psalm West

I imagine most of the readers of this blog do not keep up with the Kardashians. However, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian named their newest child Psalm West. As you may have guessed, they named their son after the biblical book. People magazine has an explanation here.

May 23, 2019

Preaching Versus Teaching?

I have often been asked about the difference between preaching and teaching. I usually mumble that one is more informational and the other more transformational and hope that I do not get pressed too hard to explain how preaching does not involve information and how teaching is not intended for transformation. Or I might say that the difference involves delivery but again the distinction can be hard to break down. Preachers and preaching books also often want to maintain this distinction. But the older I get, I wonder about the value and validity of maintaining such a distinction. 

Hughes Oliphant Old in his magisterial work on the history of preaching states, “The earliest church understood preaching to be at the heart of its mission. The Great Commission had made it clear: “‘Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them . . . teaching [διδάσκω] them to observe all that I have commanded you’” (Matt 28:18-20)” (The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church: Volume 1: The Biblical Period [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998], 7, my bold and insertion of Greek). This quote seems to suggest that perhaps the distinction between preaching and teaching is unimportant or at least not as great as some suggest.

May 22, 2019

Bad Biblical Theology Preaching

Samuel Enmadi identifies four ways that bad biblical theology leads to bad preaching here.

May 21, 2019

Weights and Measures

Claude Mariottini posts about how ancient Israel established weights and measures here.

May 20, 2019

The Book of James

Preaching Source has recently posted a series of blog posts on the book of James.

  • Mark Taylor discusses the themes in James here.
  • Kie Bowman discusses the genre of James here.
  • Matt Emerson discusses how to find pericopes in James here.
  • Craig Etheredge discusses the context of James here
  • Jason Kees discusses important words in James here
  • Scott Pace discusses some potential "potholes" in explaining the text of James here.
  • David Goza discusses ways to illustrate James here.