Aug 8, 2020

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.

Alan H. Cadwallader, The Politics of the Revised Version: A Tale of Two New Testament Revision Companies
Reviewed by Geoffrey R. Treloar

John F. Evans, You Shall Know That I Am Yahweh: An Inner-biblical Interpretation of Ezekiel’s Recognition Formula
Reviewed by Julie Galambush

Paula Fredriksen and Jesper Svartvik, eds., Krister among the Jews and Gentiles: Essays in Appreciation of the Life and Work of Krister Stendahl
Reviewed by Richard Horsley

Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher and Maria Häusl, eds., Prayers and the Construction of Israelite Identity
Reviewed by Brian Rainey

Gary N. Knoppers, Judah and Samaria in Postmonarchic Times: Essays on Their Histories and Literatures
Reviewed by Lisbeth S. Fried

M. David Litwa, How the Gospels Became History: Jesus and Mediterranean Myths
Reviewed by Alan Kirk

Joel Marcus, John the Baptist in History and Theology
Reviewed by Rivka Nir

Mark D. Nanos, Reading Paul within Judaism: Collected Essays of Mark D. Nanos, Vol. 1
Reviewed by J. Thomas Hewitt

Gregorio del Olmo Lete, The Private Archives of Ugarit: A Functional Analysis
Reviewed by Joseph Lam

Jack Shechter, The Idea of Monotheism: The Evolution of a Foundational Concept
Reviewed by James W. Haring

James P. Ware, Paul’s Theology in Context: Creation, Incarnation, Covenant, and Kingdom
Reviewed by Jonathan More

Lindsay C. Watson, Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome
Reviewed by Michael V. Flowers

Aug 7, 2020

The Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship

You can now access the presentations from the recent conference, "The Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship" here.

Aug 6, 2020

Psalm 24 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 24 (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-24

Literary analysis of Psalm 24: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-24-mount-adonai

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps024.pdf William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_024.pdf


Lee Irons on Standing with the Lord (Ps 24:4): https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/standing-with-the-lord-ps-244

Aug 5, 2020

Lessons from Samson

Brooks Waldron has a helpful post here that looks more deeply than some treatments of Samson in the book of Judges.

Aug 4, 2020

Free eBook: After Crucifixion

Wipf and Stock is offering a free eBook copy of After Crucifixion by Craig Keen. The offer is only good until August 21 so you have to act quickly. Here are the instructions to get your copy.

1. Click on this link
2. Click "ADD TO CART" on the eBook option
3. Code "ebookfree" is automatically applied within the shopping cart
4. Upon checkout completion, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions of how to download your free eBook

Aug 3, 2020

A New New Testament Backgrounds Resource

Years ago, Bruce Longenecker's Lost Letters of Pergamum was a required text for a New Testament Introduction class for which I was a teaching assistant. Then some time after that Intervarsity Press began publishing a series of books with the title A Week in the Life of . . . . These volumes were an attempt to familiarize readers with the Greco-Roman backgrounds of the New Testament through fictional, but historically-accurate, accounts. The fictional stories are a means of introducing material in a creative and memorable way.

In a similar vein, Dr. Christopher Stanley, a professor at
St. Bonaventure University, has written two volumes of a projected trilogy set in Roman Asia Minor about, "A slave without a past. A master without a future. A journey of discovery that will forever change the lives of both men." While I haven't had a chance to finish either volume, what I have read so far seems very promising.

The books are accompanied by a very nice website here where you can order the book through Amazon and access free supplementary resources, such as plot summaries, commentary, etc. The links alone are well worth a visit. You can also peruse the books by downloading the first five chapters here

So if you are still looking for some summer reading or maybe ways to introduce students or church members to New Testament backgrounds you might want to check these volumes out.

https://www.aslavesstory.com

Aug 2, 2020

"Son"

My friend Mathew Tanner has composed and performed a wonderful song called, "Son." The song begins with David's response to the death of Absalom and moves to the death of Jesus. It is not strictly an exercise in typology but it is an interesting move biblically and beautifully done musically. I encourage you to check it out. You can listen to the song, watch the video, or purchase a copy of the song here.

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mathewtanner/son?fbclid=IwAR1oAHcmp0A0CAdvtGU1xETxoTeNHLRqLx35XBCB8YBoZeIgfsMbJg38m14