Iron in Ancient Israel

Naama Yahalom-Mack has an interesting article here on the history of iron in Israel.

The Merneptah Stele

Here is a nice overview of an important biblically-related artifact.

Israel and the Land Promise in the NT

Gerald McDermott has a good post here on how the land promise made to Abraham and hos descendants are treated in the New Testament.  

The Length of the Egyptian Sojourn

One might not agree with the author's conclusions but this post has a good discussion (especially involving Jewish tradition) in seeking to answer the question, "How Many Years Were the Israelites in Egypt?"

The Salvation of all Israel in Romans 11:26?

Jared Compton has a pretty good post here on what Paul means by "all Israel will be saved’ in Romans 11:26.

The Historical Reliability of the Old Testament

Most of my students are surprised and some are scandalized when I tell them that there is a great deal of skepticism in the scholarly community in reference to the historical reliability of the biblical record to describe the history of Israel. Andrew Tobolowsky helps illustrate this with the following observation.

Very few scholars suggest that biblical descriptions of the periods prior to the appearance of Israel in Canaan contain more than vague, distorted memories, and potentially nothing of historical value. Discussions of the pre-monarchical period have also been characterized in recent years primarily by a growing hesitance to make concrete assertions about the nature of ethnic realities prior to the monarchy. Few doubt that the Merneptah Stele is hard evidence that a group called Israel existed in the highlands of Canaan already by the beginning of the Iron I, but there is now nearly as universal an agreement that Israel was only one of many groups active in that region and time (Fleming 2012: 254; Mazar 2007a: 91; K. Sparks 1998: 11; Killebrew 2005). However, while for Fleming, Miller, and others, this and new ways of thinking about ethnicity generally mean that, in Miller’s words, a ‘pre-monarchic Israel’ is ‘simply too difficult to reconstruct with any confidence’ (J. Miller 2008: 176). For many others, this ‘proto-Israel’ is clearly related to monarchical Israel in crucial and foundational ways (Faust 2006: 173; R. Miller 2004: 63; Killebrew 2005) ("Israelite and Judahite History in Contemporary Theoretical Approaches," Currents in Biblical Research 17 [2018]: 39-40).

The rest of Tobolowsky's article is unfortunately equally pessimistic. My experiences in the academy and archaeology have confirmed this type of skepticism. Those of us who affirm biblical historicity are definitely in the minority.

Cyril of Alexandria, Jacob and Esau, and the Future of Israel

Recently while working on Genesis 33, I came upon this interesting quote attributed to Cyril of Alexandria (AD 378-444).

"At the end of time our Lord Jesus Christ will be reconciled with Israel, his ancient persecutor, just as Jacob kissed Esau after his return from Haran. No one who listens to the words of holy Scripture can actually doubt that with the passing of time Israel also will have to be received again into the love of Christ through faith. The Lord proclaims to everybody through the voice of one of the holy prophets: “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without priesthood and without manifestations. And afterward the children of Israel shall return and shall seek the Lord, their God, and David, their king, and shall be amazed at the Lord and at his goodness in the latter days.” While Christ, the Savior of us all, gathers believers from the nations, Israel is deserted, since it has no law to elect its leaders, and it cannot offer to the divine altar the sacrifices prescribed by the laws. It therefore awaits Christ’s return from his action of converting the nations, so that he may receive it as well and unite it with the law of his love to the others. See how Jacob, who rejoiced in the generation of his children and in his numerous herds of sheep, came back from Haran and received again Esau into his friendship. In time Israel itself will be converted after the calling of the nations and will admire these riches in Christ" (Glaphyra on Genesis 5.3). 

Although, I don't think this allegorical reading of Genesis 33 is correct but it is interesting that Cyril sees an eschatological future for ethnic Israel. 

Mark Sheridan, ed., Genesis 12–50, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament II, gen. ed. Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002), 225.

Ancient Chicken Eggs in Jerusalem

I'm not sure whether or how the findings in this article on ancient chicken eggs helps to better understand the biblical text but it is interesting.

14 Must-Read Books about Israel

Jessica Halfin has a list here. The titles are not all related to biblical studies but still an interesting list.

A Review of Israel, the Church, and the Middle East

Bock and Glaser, eds., Israel, the Church, and the Middle East: A Biblical Response to the Current Conflict (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2018).

Israel, the Church, and the Middle East (ICME) is a collection of mostly essays (one section contains the results of a survey and another a statement from the Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem) that challenges the idea of supersessionism is presents a positive case for Israel’s distinctive eschatological future and how that might or might not relate to the modern nation of Israel. The issue is a timely one both theologically and geopolitically.

Ironically, the best place to start is probably with the final chapter, which contains Darrell Bock’s summary of the previous chapters. This provides a good orientation and distillation of the main points for the various essays that are grouped into four sections: (1) Biblical Foundations, (2) Theology and the Conflict, (3) Yeshua in the Midst of Crisis, and (4) Current Challenges to Peace in Israel.

The most compelling and convincing arguments against supersessionism, or put more positively, the case for a distinctive eschatological future for ethnic Israel, is probably put forward exegetically in the chapters by Yarbrough and Blaising, hermeneutically by Rydelnik who argues for a consistent interpretive approach in both Testaments, and historically by Vlach, who notes that the “restorationism” (“national Israel remains theologically significant in God’s plans”) is neither new nor uniquely dispensational (pp. 119, 134).

The question of how or if modern Israel fits into a restoration matrix is addressed in sections three and four. Bailey asks and answers the question, “Should Christians support the modern state of Israel,” with a nuancing that is too often lacking from both sides of the debate. And kudos to editors in general, and Brown in particular, for not avoiding the thorny and controversial “two-state solution” that many see as the most viable way forward in the Middle East.

Balance is also exhibited in the fact that though the essays are decidedly in favor of a distinctive eschatological future for ethnic Israel, Jews generally, and modern Israel specifically, are not given a biblical, ethical, or political “blank check.” This is evident in Averbeck’s call for Jewish acceptance of the gospel and Bock’s caution against an ethically blind “nationalism” and his call for Israel to seek restoration and justice.

But perhaps the most enlightening and challenging discussions for me were the one’s related to the messianic movement in Israel and the Palestinian church. One can see a field ripe to harvest but also fraught with obstacles, misunderstandings, and downright persecutions. Yet, seeing the faith and love of these Christ followers was exhilarating and convicting.

In sum, ICME is a helpful entrée for those seeking to better familiarize themselves with the case for what Vlach calls “restorationism.” But it is also valuable refresher for those like this reviewer who are relatively familiar with the issues and arguments. 

Thanks to Kregel who provided the free review copy used in this unbiased review.

One can access an excerpt here.

Egypt as Divine Incubator

I was reminded recently of how Egypt served as a divine incubator of sorts for Jacob's family (Gen 46-50). The two great dangers facing the incipient nation of Israel was assimilation and/or elimination. Certain aspects related to Egypt provided protection from both. Here is a simple table I created for a recent class on Genesis. (I apologize that I couldn't get the formatting quite right but you get the idea.)

 

Egypt as a Divine Incubator
Isolation to Avoid Assimilation	Protection to Avoid Elimination
·  Egyptians don’t like eating with foreigners (43:32) ·  Egyptians don’t like shepherds (46:34)	·  Protection of the Egyptian army ·  Protection against famines

 

The Lord with His People in the Wilderness

One aspect of blogging that I find helpful is the opportunity to be exposed to what others are reading and studying. a case in point is this post by Shane Lems summarizing part of Timothy Laniak's, Shepherds After My Own Heart, where he discusses three ways in which the Lord helped His people in the wilderness.

First Century Jews Still in Exile?

Mike Bird discusses the question of whether first century Jews considered themselves to be still in exile here. The discussion is brief and will not shed much light on the particulars but Bird does provide a good bibliography on the topic. 

Another List of Archaeological Discoveries in 2016

A few days ago, I posted on Christianity Today's list of top ten Bible-related archaeological discoveries in 2016. Now Haaretz here has a list of the best archaeological discoveries in Israel for 2016.

The Earliest Synagogue in Israel?

Carl Rasmussen has an interesting discussion and photos of an ancient synagogue, perhaps the oldest discovered. You can about it here.

Supersessionism: Three Issues

Michael Vlach in Has the Church Replaced Israel?, argues that supersessionists (those that hold that the church replaces Israel) need to prove their position in three areas to be considered a biblical doctrine.
 
1. “Supersessionists need to explain how God can multiple eternal and unconditional promises and covenants to the nation of Israel and then not fulfill these promises with this specific group.” 

2. “It must be shown that the church is now considered the new or true Israel.”

3.”Supersessionists need to show that the church inherits national Israel’s promises and covenants in such a way that we should not expect a future fulfillment of these with national Israel.”

I think that Vlach is correct and supersessionists have failed to provide persuasive arguments especially as it relates to 1 and 3.

Michael J. Vlach, Has the Church Replaced Israel? (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010), 2.

The Geographical Setting of King Saul's Final Battle Against the Philistines

Leon Mauldin has a nice write-up here on King Saul's final battle against the Philistines. This is a good example of how one can use geography to enhance one's understanding of events in the Bible.

Samaria

Ferrell Jenkins has a nice post here related to a recent visit to Samaria. It has been about four years since I was there so his comments were interesting to me. By the way, if you have any interest in the Holy Lands you might want to visit Ferrell's blog on a regular basis as I do.

Review of Early Explorers of Bible Lands

Jack P. Lewis, Early Explorers of Bible Lands (Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 2013). Early Explorers of Bible Lands is a fascinating, inspiring, and sometimes humorous glimpse into the lives of ten nineteenth-century men who made significant contributions to our understanding of the geography, and to some extent the archaeology, of the Bible lands. The highlighted explorers include John Lewis Burckhardt, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, Conrad Schick, William Francis Lynch, James T. Barclay, Charles William Wilson, Charles Clermont-Ganneau, Selah Merrill, Claude Conder, and Archibald Henry Sayce.
 

This book is fun to read. The individual stories are relatively short and focused primarily as one would expect, on their times in the Bible Lands. But there is sufficient personal detail to give the reader a sense of the person. Lewis also does a good job highlighting the personal sacrifices that were often made, and the dangers and interpersonal conflicts that each one seemed to encounter. There is even a bit of humor thrown in. For example, William Lynch’s affirmation while staying in Tiberias that the rumor, “the king of the fleas holds his court in Tiberias” was true (p. 78). The book also contains a fairly thorough bibliography although it does lack a subject index. Those who have traveled to, or are interested in, the Bible lands should consider reading this book.

Much thanks to Abilene Christian University Press for providing the copy used in this review.

BiblePlaces at SBL

A few days ago I noted that those going to SBL might want to stop by the Bibleplaces booth (#411). I did today. They have significant discounts on the collections, plus a free volume of choice for just stopping by. If you teach the Bible and are looking for an outstanding collection of Holy Land photos then you really should check it out..