Nov 20, 2020
The Latest Issue of the Review of Biblical Literature
Elizabeth A. Clark, The Fathers Refounded: Protestant Liberalism, Roman Catholic Modernism, and the Teaching of Ancient Christianity in Early Twentieth-Century America
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Morrow
Claire Clivaz, Ecritures Digitales: Digital Writing, Digital Scriptures
Reviewed by Clark Bates
Febbie C. Dickerson, Luke, Widows, Judges, and Stereotypes
Reviewed by Abraham Smith
Jutta Jokiranta and Molly Zahn, eds., Law, Literature, and Society in Legal Texts from Qumran: Papers from the Ninth Meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies, Leuven 2016
Reviewed by Carol Newsom
Anthony Keddie, Class and Power in Roman Palestine: The Socioeconomic Setting of Judaism and Christian Origins
Reviewed by Benjamin D. Gordon
Daniel Marguerat, Les Actes des Apôtres (13–28)
Reviewed by Abson Joseph
Martti Nissinen, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East
Reviewed by Jonathan Stökl
Jonathan E. Soyars, The Shepherd of Hermas and the Pauline Legacy
Reviewed by H. H. Drake Williams III
Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos, The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges
Reviewed by Gregory Mobley
Eric Ziolkowski, The Bible in Folklore Worldwide: A Handbook of Biblical Reception in Jewish, European Christian, and Islamic Folklores
Reviewed by Dan Ben-Amos
Nov 19, 2020
The Sheep and Goats Parable in Matthew 25
Ian Paul has very good post here dealing with Matthew 25:31-46. The last few years has seen a frequent misuse of this passage and I think this post provides a helpful corrective.
Nov 18, 2020
Esau as a Representive of Christianity
Barry Walfish has a very interesting post here about the presentation of Esau in Jewish Scripture and tradition.
Nov 17, 2020
Psalm 36 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 36 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.
Literary analysis of Psalm 36: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-36-source-life-light-light
Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps036.pdf
William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_036.pdf
Steven Cole Sermon: https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-36-deceived-sin-or-delighted-god
James Limburg, Commentary on Psalm 36:5-10: https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=498
Nov 16, 2020
Proverbs and Biblical Theology
I have been enjoying the online presentations for this year's Evangelical Theological Society annual meeting. One advantage of having the meeting online rather than in-person is that one can see many more presentations. It is an example of the old adage, "when life gives you lemons . . . ." In any case, one paper I have enjoyed was Daniel Estes' paper, "Proverbs and Biblical Theology: Can This Slipper Fit?" Estes rightly decries the general failure to integrate material from Proverbs in many recent biblical theologies. I often tell my students that the wisdom literature is where biblical theologies go to die!
That being said, Estes does note that there are five contexts in which biblical theologians have tried to incorporate Proverbs. They are (1) connection to Solomon, (2) creation, (3) covenant, (4) general coherence with the worldview that pervades the Bible, and (5) the connection between Jesus and wisdom. Estes also suggests other possible ways but I will leave that for the video in the Biblical Theology: Wisdom and Biblical Theology section.