Samson and Applying the Bible

See Ken Berding's illustration here of how one might apply Judges 16:28-30.

Ezekiel 4:9 Bread

Years ago my health-conscious daughter introduced me to Ezekiel 4:9 bread. It never really caught on with me but to each his/her own. Apparently the health benefits have been recognized by others (see here) but this bread really has nothing to do with what Ezekiel 4:9 means. Eat if you will but it is not any more "biblical" than any other brand of bread. 

Ezekiel's Temple

Tova Ganzel's article here seeks to root Ezekiel's temple vision in Babylonian temples and practices. While I am a bit skeptical in the linkage, the whole of the article seems to provide good evidence that Ezekiel's vision expected an actual temple. For example Ganzel notes that Ezekiel describes "in elaborate detail the measurements of its gates and passages: sixty-three verses are devoted to the gates, courts, and the wall surrounding the temple." She later adds, "By focusing on structural and ritual features that would safeguard the sanctity of the temple compound, Ezekiel works to ensure that the Divine Presence will remain there for eternity—a clear response to the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E."

I have long argued that any attempt to get away from the idea of a literal temple has to resort to a number of interpretive gymnastics. While one can debate the need for, the merits of, and the problems with, a literal future temple, the starting place for those discussions should be acknowledging that Ezekiel envisioned a physical temple.

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 to read them.

Craig G. Bartholomew, The Old Testament and God (Baker Academic)
R. W. L. Moberly

David G. Firth and Brittany N. Melton, eds., Reading Esther Intertextually (T&T Clark)
Else K. Holt

Jennifer Awes Freeman, The Good Shepherd: Image, Meaning, and Power (Baylor University Press)
Nicola E. Hayward

Bruce McComiskey, Rhetoric and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Purity, Covenant, and Strategy at Qumran (Pennsylvania State University Press)
Gareth J. Wearne

Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, Luke in His Own Words: A Study of the Language of Luke-Acts in Greek (T&T Clark)
Kenneth D. Litwak

Ryan S. Schellenberg and Heidi Wendt, eds., T&T Clark Handbook to the Historical Paul (T&T Clark)
J. Andrew Doole

Konrad Schmid, The Scribes of the Torah: The Formation of the Pentateuch in Its Literary and Historical Contexts (SBL Press)
Kenneth Bergland

Daniel A. Smith and Christoph Heil, eds., Prayer in the Sayings Gospel Q (Mohr Siebeck)
Dieter T. Roth

Holger Strutwolf, Georg Gäbel, Annette Hüffmeier, Marie-Luise Lakmann, Gregory S. Paulson, and Klaus Wachtel, eds., The Gospel according to Mark (German Bible Society)
Elizabeth E. Shively

Abeneazer G. Urga, Intercession of Jesus in Hebrews: The Background and Nature of Jesus’ Heavenly Intercession in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Mohr Siebeck)
William R. G. Loader