Journal for the Study of the New Testament 42:4

The latest issue of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament is out. Here is a list of the articles and links to abstracts. 

"The Cost of Baptism? The Case for Paul’s Ritual Compensation"
Brigidda Bell

"1 John 3.12, Early Judaism and the Greek Life of Adam and Eve"
John R. Levison

"Paul’s Letter to Free(d) Casual Workers: Profiling the Thessalonians in Light of the Roman Economy"
Unchan jung

"The Reception of the Gospel of John in the Long Recension of Ignatius’s Letters 
Jonathan Lookadoo

"Sacrifice, Session and Intercession: The End of Christ’s Offering in Hebrews"
Nicholas J. Moore

"Jesus as Interceding High Priest and Sacrifice in Hebrews: A Response to Nicholas Moore"
David Moffitt 

Paul and Silas Appearance Before the Magistrates at Philippi

Carl Rasmussen has an interesting post here about the location of Paul and Silas' appearance before the magistrates and Philippi (Acts 16:19-21). I had always been taught that it was the bema but Rasmussen points out (and I think rightly) that this is probably incorrect. In sum he suggests that,

The magistrates (στρατηγὸς) of Philippi would have tried legal cases either in the Bouleuterion (Latin Curia) or the nearby Basilica—not at the bema, which was the “raised speaker’s platform.” 

By the way, if you are interested in biblical geography and history or just the Bible in general you should check out Rasmussen's website. He has a lot of good materials.

Andreas Köstenberger on the Gospel of John

Andreas Köstenberger has videos here of talks that he did on the Gospel of John during two yearly For The Church Workshops in 2019 and 2020 hosted by Midwestern Seminary.

Judean Pillar Figurines

One of the presentations made for the Temple Mount Sifting Project Symposium (see here) was by Aaron Greener on “The Characteristics of the Terracotta Figurines from the Temple Mount Soil.” Greener provided a good overview of these terracotta pillar figurines. When I was first exposed to these figurines, I was told without equivocation that these were fertility idols. And they very well may be. But some good work has been done on these figurines since then and rather than confirming this identification, more questions have been raised. Here is slightly modified version of bulleted information from Greener’s presentation.

Identification

• Local Goddess (Ashtoreth, Asherah, Astarte)
• A human female figure
• Biblical “Teraphim” (idols or household gods)?

Use

• Religious/Cultic (in private homes, mostly by women) – As part of the official religion or as idol worship
• For fertility and birth
• Eroticism
• Apotropaic talismans against the evil eye
• Toys

Why are they found broken?

• Broke Naturally
• Were broken intentionally as part of the ritual
• Were broken as part of the religious reforms of kings Hezekiah and Josiah (2 Kgs 23; 2 Chr 34)

Here is an article from Greener on this topic in 2016.

Here is a picture of two styles of figurines from the Biblical Archaeology Society. 

Ruth 4:5

Gary Rendsburg has a fairly technical explanation here of how he understands Ruth 4:5. Although the discussion is technical Rendsburg does a good job explaining things. I am not sure I agree with the conclusion but it is worth considering.

Ecclesiastes in a Syllogism

Shawn Lazar has a helpful short post on Ecclesiastes here. He gets bonus points for referencing Peter Kreeft's book, Three Philosophies of Life: Ecclesiastes, Life As Vanity; Job, Life As Suffering; Song of Songs, Life As Love.

Canaanite Prisoner Scene

There is an interesting article related to a find by a six year old child at Tel Jemmah/Gama near the Gaza border in The Times of Israel here. Supposedly, it is "3,500-year-old depiction of a naked, humiliated Canaanite prisoner and his victorious warden." The clay artifact found in March is mold-made, and measures 2.80 x 2.80 centimeter (1.1 inch square). It was apparently found in March.


3,500-year-old Canaanite clay piece found on Tel Gama (the Canaanite city of Yarza), March 2020. (Israel Antiquities Authority)

Psalm 21 Links

I have been working on a commentary on the Psalms. I have decided to compile some helpful links that I discovered during my research. It includes a mix of exegetical and sermonic links. Here is what I have for Psalm 21 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Literary analysis of Psalm 21: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-21

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps021.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_021.pdf

Explaining the Book: https://www.explainingthebook.com/psalm-21-meaning 

Charles Spurgeon, Treasury of David: https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=spur&b=19&c=21