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.

Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary
Reviewed by Edward L. Greenstein

Caroline Blyth and Alison Jack, eds. The Bible in Crime Fiction and Drama: Murderous Texts
Reviewed by Peter J. Sabo

Dirk Büchner, ed., The SBL Commentary on the Septuagint: An Introduction
Reviewed by T. V. Evans

Mark Edwards, Aristotle and Early Christian Thought
Reviewed by Adam Ployd

Paula Fredriksen, Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn

Mary Healy, Hebrews
Reviewed by Benjamin Rojas Yauri

Jill Hicks-Keeton, Arguing with Aseneth: Gentile Access to Israel’s Living God in Jewish Antiquity
Reviewed by Christy Cobb

Judith Lieu and Martinus de Boer, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies
Reviewed by R. Alan Culpepper

Maurizio Marcheselli, Studi sul vangelo di Giovanni: Testi, temi e contesto storico
Reviewed by José Antonio Caballero-García

Martin Meiser, Michaela Geiger, Siegfried Kreuzer, and Marcus Sigismund, eds., Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz: 6. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 21.–24. Juli 2016
Reviewed by Leonard Greenspoon

Terri Moore, The Mysteries, Resurrection, and 1 Corinthians 15
Reviewed by Donghyun Jeong

Joy A. Schroeder, The Book of Genesis
Reviewed by Nathan MacDonald

Katharine E. Southwood, Marriage by Capture in the Book of Judges: An Anthropological Approach
Reviewed by T. M. Lemos

Meredith J. Stone, Empire and Gender in LXX Esther
Reviewed by Vien V. Nguyen, SCJ

Ellen White, Layer by Layer: A Primer on Biblical Archaeology
Reviewed by John T. Strong 

Bring Your Greek and Hebrew Bibles to Church?

Andrew King argues not to do it here. I agree with much in the article but I think there are good reasons to bring the texts and ways to do so that mitigates some of the pitfalls. Bringing the texts to church simply provides me another way to keep up with the languages. I follow along when the text is being read or just take a quick read when there is some down time before or after the service or classes, etc. I don't bring my hard copy texts but I do have the texts on my phone and/or iPad. So unless someone is looking specifically at my device, they really can't tell what I am looking at. In the past, I have brought Hebrew and Greek texts but I did feel that doing so was not helpful. But I like the happy compromise of following along on my devices. I do agree that one needs to leave their academic snobbery at home though. 

The Theme of Clothing in the Bible

The Jerusalem Post has an interesting article here on the role of clothing in biblical narratives.

Psalm 14 Links

I have been working on a commentary on the Psalms. I have decided to compile some of my favorite links that I discovered during my research. There is a mix of exegetical and sermonic links. Here is what I have for Psalm 14 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Spokane Bible Church: http://www.spokanebiblechurch.com/books/psalm-14

Literary Analysis of Psalm 14: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-14

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps014.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_014.pdf 

Of Preaching and Manuscripts

Michael Kruger addresses the oft-debated issue of preaching and manuscripts here. There are number of helpful points made and perhaps most importantly noting the distinction between what I call "manuscripting" and preaching from a manuscript. The former is more helpful than the latter.

Preaching Ephesians

In my experience, most preachers don't need much encouragement when it comes to preaching Ephesians. But if you are interested in doing so then you can start with this brief post.

Free Logos Book for March: Lexham Research Commentary: Genesis 1–11

The free Logos Book for the Month for March is the Lexham Research Commentary: Genesis 1–11. You can also purchase the volumes on Jonah and 1 Peter for $4.99 and $9.99 respectively. While you are at it, you can register for a chance to win all twenty volumes of the Lexham Research Series. For all these offers, go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.