Free Josephus Audio

This is not not new news, but you can download free audio books of some of Josephus' works at LibriVox. Currently available are The Antiquities of the Jews (in four volumes), The Wars of the Jews, and  Minor Works of Josephus which includes Against Apion, Discourse To The Greeks Concerning Hades, and The Life of Josephus. You can use this general link or the individual links below for the zip files. 

The Antiquities of the Jews, volume 1

The Antiquities of the Jews, volume 2

The Antiquities of the Jews, volume 3

The Antiquities of the Jews, volume 4

The Minor Works of Josephus 

The Wars of the Jews

You can also access the audio of Antiquities on YouTube here, although I am not sure why one would want to do that. Audio of Wars can be accessed here but it looks like you have to register to download.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below. 
 
George J. Brooke, Daniel K. Falk, Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar, and Molly M. Zahn, eds.
The Scrolls and Biblical Traditions: Proceedings of the Seventh Meeting of the IOQS in Helsinki
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8622
Reviewed by Andrea Ravasco

Douglas Estes
The Questions of Jesus in John: Logic, Rhetoric and Persuasive Discourse
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8806
Reviewed by Cornelis Bennema

Amos Frisch
Torn Asunder: The Division of the Kingdom Narrative in the Books of Kings [Hebrew]
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9682
Reviewed by David A. Glatt-Gilad

Isaac Kalimi
Das Chronikbuch und seine Chronik: Zur Entstehung und Rezeption eines biblischen Buches
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9230
Reviewed by Ralph W. Klein

Mark C. Kiley
Gospel Essays: Frontier of Sacred and Secular
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8869
Reviewed by Douglas A. Hume

Carol Meyers
Rediscovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9354
Reviewed by Marianne Grohmann
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8796
Reviewed by Aren M. Maeir

David W. Pao
Colossians and Philemon
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8732
Reviewed by James P. Sweeney

Jonathan Stökl and Corrine L. Carvalho, eds.
Prophets Male and Female: Gender and Prophecy in the Hebrew Bible, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Ancient Near East
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9244
Reviewed by John W. Hilber
Reviewed by Ryan N. Roberts

In One Week: 2014 Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop

There is still time to sign up for this year's Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop scheduled for Monday, October 6, 2014 in The Riley Center on the campus of Southwestern Seminary. The focus of this workshop will be the book of Jonah. Registration, including lunch, is only $25. For more information go here or call 1.877.474.4769. You can also email at RileyCenterCalendar@swbts.edu.

How to Benefit from Reading Bible's Genealogies

Matthew Holst has six suggestions on how to benefit from reading the biblical genealogies here. Make sure to read the entire post, but here are Holst's six points.
 
1. Read Them
2. Pay Attention to Every Word
3. Pay Attention to Every Missing Word
4. Consider How They Remind Us of Life and Death
5. Consider How They Present to Us to Two Seeds
6. Consider How They Present to Us a Faithful, Promise-Fulfilling, Covenant Keeping God

HT: David Murray

The New Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation Commentary Series

The B&H Academic blog has a write-up about the forthcoming Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation commentary series here. The series looks interesting. Here is a list of the volumes and authors.

Old Testament contributors:

T. Desmond Alexander           Genesis

Mark Rooker                           Exodus

Paul Wegner                           Leviticus

Richard Averbeck                   Numbers

Ken Mathews                          Deuteronomy

David Firth                              Joshua

Iain Duguid                             Judges, Ruth

Robert Fyall                            1-2 Samuel

Bob Bergen                            1-2 Kings

Gary V. Smith                         1-2 Chronicles

Andrew Hill                             Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Barry Webb                             Job

James Hamilton                      Psalms

Allen Ross                               Proverbs

Ernest Lucas                           Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs

Jack Collins                             Isaiah

Stephen Dempster                  Jeremiah, Lamentations

Paul Williamson                      Ezekiel

Joe Sprinkle                            Daniel

Anthony Petterson                  Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah

Ray Clendenen                       Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

New Testament contributors:

Charles Quarles                       Matthew

Peter Bolt                                 Mark

Michael Wilkins                        Luke

Ardel Caneday                         John

Alan Thompson                        Acts

David G. Peterson                    Romans

Peter Davids                             1 Corinthians

Jason Meyer                             2 Corinthians

Matt Harmon                            Galatians

Greg Beale                               Ephesians

Doug Moo                                 Philippians

Joel White                                 Colossians, Philemon

Terry Wilder                              1-2 Thessalonians

Andreas Köstenberger             1-2 Timothy, Titus

Thomas Schreiner                    Hebrews

David Chapman                        James

Rick Melick                               1-2 Peter, Jude

Michael Martin                          1-3 John

Eckhard Schnabel                    Revelation

Thoughts on Joshua 5

Joshua 5:1–15 records Israel's final preparations before beginning the conquest at Jericho. Four specific preparatory events are related in this chapter. Here is a table noting the event and the message it is likely emphasizing.

Event	Emphasis
Re-institution of circumcision (5:2–9)	Covenant with God
Observance of Passover (5:10–11)	Redemption of God
No more manna (5:12)	Provision of God
Encounter with a “Man” with sword (5:13–15)	Conquest by God

It might also be worth noting that Joshua's encounter with the "man" with a sword is preceded by the statement, "when Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold" (v. 13, my bold). The only prior occurrence of this threefold statement occurs in relation to Abraham in Genesis 18:2: "He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him" (my bold). This comparison is even more striking when one considers the theophanic nature of both encounters and that both encounters occur before the destruction of prominent cities (Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jericho). This might also link Joshua, not only to Moses (Josh 1), but also to Abraham.

Blogging and an Academic Career

Fellow blogger Nijay Gupta has some insightful remarks concerning blogging and its benefit/detriment to pursuing an academic career here.

Hurtado on Acts and Some Acts-Related Books on Sale

Larry Hurtado has some helpful summarizing thoughts on the continuing and renewed focus given to the book of Acts here. Those interested in Acts might also be interested in a sale that Eisenbrauns has on select books on Acts here. 

Comparing the Crossing of the Red/Reed Sea with the Crossing of the Jordan River

I made this table for a class I am teaching.

Some Comparisons between the Crossing of the Red/Reed Sea with the Crossing of the Jordan River
Exodus	Joshua
God separated the waters (14:21; 15:8)	God separated the waters (3:13, 15–16)
The waters piled up and stood up in a heap (15:8)	The waters stood and rose up in a heap (3:13, 16)
Israel passed through on dry ground (14:22, 29)	Israel passed through on dry ground (3:17; 4:22)
Moses affirmed (14:31)	Joshua affirmed (4:14)
Surrounding nations respond in fear (15:15–16)	Surrounding nations respond in fear (5:1)
Exiting Egypt	Entering Canaan

Preaching Ezra and Nehemiah

The Southern Blog has a nice interview with James Hamilton related to the development of his new book Exalting Jesus in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Ebooks and Seminary Textbooks

John Aloisi has a discussion about the purchase of seminary textbooks and ebooks here. The post provides a helpful list of fairly inexpensive theological books available in ebook format. But I would note that his list of books consists of older works and that most are almost certainly out of copyright and at least some surely could be found for free online. And while I cannot speak for all seminarians, none of the listed texts were required textbooks during my seminary days. That is not to say that these works lack value. Most probably do belong in a well-rounded theological library. But the post might not really address the challenge faced by budget-challenged students who are typically asked to purchase never, and more expensive, textbooks. For newer textbooks, I have typically found that there are minimal differences in cost between a hard copy and the ebook format. 

More Similarities between Moses and Jesus

A couple of days ago I posted on some similarities between the birth of Moses and the birth of Jesus (see here). James Gray has now posted a table with a fairly extensive list of similarities between Moses and Jesus in general (see here).

A Daily Dose of Greek

There are many ways to keep up with the Greek that you learned in seminary. If your way is not working for you, you might consider signing up Rob Plummer's "Daily Dose of Greek." Plummer is a professor of Greek and New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The plan is fairly simple. Sign up by email and starting October 1, you will be emailed a link to a two minute "daily dose" video five days a week. You can check out the website and view the introductory video here. There are also resources available at the website.

HT: Brandt Vanroeckel

The Birth of Moses and the Birth of Jesus

Recently while working through Exodus, it struck me that there are a number of similarities between the birth narratives of Moses and Jesus. Consider the following list.

• Both birth narratives are associated with Egypt
• Both birth narratives occur during times of oppression (Egypt, Rome)
• Both birth narratives involve potential infanticide
• Both birth narratives involve a non-biological parent (Pharaoh’s daughter, Joseph)
• Both birth narratives highlight the role of the mother
• Both birth narratives involve a baby who will deliver his people
• Both birth narratives involve population concerns (growth of the Israelites and the census in Luke)
• Both birth narratives note the placement of the child (Moses in a basket, Jesus in a manger
• Both birth narratives highlight the etymological significance of the naming of the child (Exod 2:10; Matt 1:23-25)
• Although not strictly part of the birth narrative, the accounts of both Moses and Jesus move quickly from birth to adulthood (little is said related to childhood and adolescence)

How to Research Well

The Study Hacks blog has a helpful post discussing the correlation between the best young professors and research. According to the post, the following four characteristics typified these professors and their research habits.

• The exemplary faculty did not wait for “ideal” times to write.
  As Boice explains: “waiting for ideal times such as binges induces more than mere uninvolvement…[i]t can also bring procrastination and dissatisfaction.”
• The exemplary faculty instead maintained a regular writing habit.
  As Boice explains: “[they] pay close attention to regiment…[those who] did not establish a regiment of writing regularly did not establish productivity.”
• The exemplary faculty put thought into how to be more productive.
  As Boice explains: “[new faculty] would do well to take more notice of knowledge, usually untaught in open systematic ways, about survival, including self-management.”
• The exemplary faculty looked for outside help in improving their academic productivity.
  As Boice explains: “The quick starters depicted here, unlike their counterparts, were proactive in soliciting collegial advice. They were quick to dismiss the idea that they had to figure out the subtle rules of productivity on their own.”

How Long It Takes To Read The World's Most Popular Books

See this article and infographic listing 64 of the world's most popular books, including the Bible, with estimates related to total reading time of an average reader reading 300 words per minute.

HT: Matt Larsen

The Didache

David Capes has posted on the Didache here. He provides a good summary of this early Christian document. I also found it interesting that he taught a series on the Didache in a church context. Unfortunately, I am not sure that most Christians would be interested in such a study. 

The Dating of Deuteronomy and the Suzerain-Vassal Treaty Forms

I think that too much is often made of the similarities between the suzerain-vassal treaty forms and the books of Torah, most notably Deuteronomy. But whatever the similarities exist between Deuteronomy and the treaty forms seem to better fit the extant second millennium forms rather than the much later Neo-Assyrian forms. If correct, this supports a much earlier date of composition for Deuteronomy than is typically held in critical scholarship. So I think that Aaron Koller is spot on in his article "Deuteronomy and Hittite Treaties" in Bible and Interpretation here. See the abstract below but make sure to read the article.

"There has long been one very good reason to consider dating Deuteronomy far earlier than the seventh century, and to the second millennium BCE: certain core elements of the book seem to be based on treaty forms most similar to the Hittite treaties known from the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE. That Deuteronomy relies on the form of a treaty is another well-established consensus position in biblical scholarship."

A. T. Robertson on the Purpose of Seminaries

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary blog recently had a nice post on A.T. Robertson here. The blog post focuses on Robertson views related to the purpose of seminaries. According to the authors, Robertson "rejected the idea that the purpose of the seminary was to make scholars." And that, "The question for him was: 'Does the college and seminary training tend to make better preachers?'” To which Robertson responds,

"If not, it is a failure. The German idea is to make scholars first and preachers incidentally. But ours is to make preachers, and scholars only as a means to that end. We have small need in the pulpit for men that can talk learnedly and obscurely about the tendencies of thought and the trend of philosophy, but do not know how to preach Christ and him crucified. The most essential thing to-day is not to know what German scholars think of the Bible, but to be able to tell men what the Bible says about themselves. And if our system of theological training fails to make preachers, it falls short of the object for which it was established. But if it does meet the object of its creation, it calls for hearty sympathy and support. … But my plea is for scholarship that helps men to preach. For after all, the great need of the world is the preaching of the gospel, not saying off a sermon, but preaching that stirs sinful hearts to repentance and godliness" (Archibald Thomas Robertson, “Preaching and Scholarship” [Louisville: Baptist Book Concern, 1890], 9–10, 15–16).

The Primary Aim of Text-Criticism

Concerning text criticism, Michael V. Fox states,

“The primary aim of text criticism is representation of authorial intent. The recovery of intention is the essence of interpretation. A text, strictly speaking, doesn't mean; it transmits meaning. Again, the willingness to correct typos is proof that we all are ready to override what is written in favor of what was intended.”

“Text Criticism and Literary Criticism,” in Built by Wisdom, Established by Understanding: Essays on Biblical and Near Eastern Literature in Honor of Adele Berlin, ed. Maxine L. Grossman (Bethesda, Maryland: University Press of Maryland, 2013), 354.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below. 

C. Clifton Black
The Rhetoric of the Gospel: Theological Artistry in the Gospels and Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9310
Reviewed by Geert Van Oyen

Wally V. Cirafesi
Verbal Aspect in Synoptic Parallels: On the Method and Meaning of Divergent Tense-Form Usage in the Synoptic Passion Narratives
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9297
Reviewed by Steven E. Runge

David J. A. Clines
Job 38-42
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9405
Reviewed by Norman Habel

Katharine J. Dell
Job: Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9330
Reviewed by Martin A. Shields

Craig A. Evans
Matthew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8907
Reviewed by Robert H. Gundry

Camilla Hélena von Heijne
The Messenger of the Lord in Early Jewish Interpretations of Genesis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8211
Reviewed by Koog P. Hong

Daniel Keating
First and Second Peter, Jude
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9017
Reviewed by Abson Joseph

Steven T. Mann
Run, David, Run! An Investigation of the Theological Speech Acts of David's Departure and Return (2 Samuel 14–20)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9315
Reviewed by David G. Firth

James M. Robinson
The Story of the Bodmer Papyri: From the First Monastery’s Library in Upper Egypt to Geneva and Dublin
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9225
Reviewed by Tommy Wasserman

Christopher W. Skinner and Kelly R. Iverson, eds.
Unity and Diversity in the Gospels and Paul: Essays in Honor of Frank J. Matera
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8849
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 37:1

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.

Jesus in Jerusalem: Armed and Not Dangerous
Dale B. Martin

Grace, the Law and Justification in 4 Ezra and the Pauline Letters: A Dialogue
David A. deSilva

Tongue-tied and Taunted: Paul, Poor Rhetoric and Paltry Leadership in 2 Corinthians 5.13
C. Andrew Ballard

Perception and Prosopagnosia in Mark 8.22-26
Brian Glenney and John T. Noble

A Tale of Two Riots: The synkrisis of the Temples of Ephesus and Jerusalem in Acts 19–23
Jeffrey M. Tripp

Journal of Biblical Literature 133:3

The lasted volume of the Journal of Biblical Literature is now out. Here is a list of the articles with links to abstracts.

Aaron D. Hornkohl, "Her Word versus His: Establishing the Underlying Text in 1 Samuel 1:23"
abstract

Mika S. Pajunen ,"4QPs^x: A Collective Interpretation of Psalm 89:20–38"
abstract

Hector Avalos, "Nebuchadnezzar’s Affliction: New Mesopotamian Parallels for Daniel 4"
abstract

Stuart A. Irvine, "Idols [ktbwnm]: A Note on Hosea 13:2a"
abstract

Jonathan M. Gibson, "Cutting Off “Kith and Kin,” “Er and Onan”? Interpreting an Obscure Phrase in Malachi 2:12"
abstract

Katell Berthelot, "Reclaiming the Land (1 Maccabees 15:28–36): Hasmonean Discourse between Biblical Tradition and Seleucid Rhetoric"
abstract

Tucker S. Ferda, "Matthew's Titulus and Psalm 2’s King on Mount Zion"
abstract

Adam Winn, "Resisting Honor: The Markan Secrecy Motif and Roman Political Ideology"
abstract

Toan Do, "[Monon] or [monon]? Reading 1 John 2:2c from the Editio Critica Maior" 
abstract

Blake E. Wassell and Stephen R. Llewelyn, “'Fishers of Humans,” the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor, and Conceptual Blending Theory"
abstract

Adele Reinhartz, "The JBL Forum, an Occasional Exchange"

Serge Frolov, "The Death of Moses and the Fate of Source Criticism"
abstract

Philip Y. Yoo," The Place of Deuteronomy 34 and Source Criticism: A Response to Serge Frolov"

Shawna Dolansky, "Deuteronomy 34: The Death of Moses, Not of Source Criticism" 

Unified until Proven Disunified? Assumptions and Standards in Assessing the Literary Complexity of Ancient Biblical Texts
David M. Carr 

The Importance of Biblical Geography

I am a big proponent of the idea that geography is an important component of a well-rounded biblical understanding. I find it puzzling that the some who devote themselves to learning the biblical languages and Second Temple Judaism are relatively unconcerned with developing a competency in biblical geography. So I am always encouraged when I find a commentary that highlights the importance of geography. Here is a rather longish quote from an older commentary on Joshua by George C. M. Douglas. 

"In reading almost any book of the Old Testament, we have to take notice of geography if we are to appreciate fully what we read: but what is thus true in general attains its most emphatic exemplification in the book of Joshua. The study of the geography of the Holy Land is as old as the study of the Old Testament by Christians outside that country: and to this hour we are told by travellers that there is no better guide to their geographical studies than the book of Joshua. I have occasion often to mention the great contribution to sacred geography in the first Christian centuries, the Onomasticon, or list of names, written by the Greek bishop Eusebius, and edited half a century later by the great Hebrew scholar among the Latin fathers, Jerome. The Christian (not to speak of the Jewish) pilgrims before the Crusades, and during them, and after they were over collected a mass of traditions which have been laboriously sifted. From the dawn of modern times there have been intelligent travellers, who have accumulated stores of information for us: and in the latter part of last century, and in the early years of this one, these travellers went to work more scientifically and systematically than any of their predecessors, aided no doubt by the accurate and learned work Palæstina, by the Dutch scholar Reland. It is still some years under fifty, however, since a vast step in advance was made by the late Dr. Edward Robinson of New York, aided by his countrymen the missionaries at Beyrût, one of whom, Dr. Thomson, still living, has given much information in a popular form in his Land and the Book. It would be invidious to single out names of others, both dead and living, who have carried on a noble work. But there is no indelicacy in mentioning the labours of a society, that of the Palestine Exploration Fund, which has accomplished what individuals were not in circumstances to achieve, and whose labours have reached a climax in giving to the world in 1880 the map of a trigonometrical survey of Palestine west of the Jordan, on the scale of an inch to the mile, accompanied by memoirs which are in process of publication, and to be followed as quickly as possible by maps on a somewhat reduced scale (one just published, three-eighths of an inch to the mile, is admirable) with the ancient as well as the modern names, to suit them to the wants of the readers of the Old and of the New Testaments. We have had many good maps before, among which those of the Dutch traveller C. W. Van de Velde and of President Porter in Murray’s Handbook may be singled out: but it is no reproach to earlier labourers in this field to say that the Palestine Exploration maps must displace or essentially modify all earlier efforts, at least so soon as the part of Palestine east of the Jordan has also been surveyed and published. And among the workers on this survey, speaking of geographical research over the whole country, not of topographical research in Jerusalem, for instance, it is no disparagement to the others to single out Lieutenant Conder, R.E., because his duties have led him to take a specially prominent position. It has been no small labour to go over and digest all the information communicated in these publications, and in the quarterly statement of the Society; and after all, I fear that I have to admit that pages of this Handbook must be unspeakably dry, particularly in chapters 15–19, so that sometimes nothing better can be recommended than to pass them over. Yet I felt it impossible to publish the book without the summary of this information; and I am sure that there are those who will take the map and carefully trace the lists which seem so dry to others, and find them deeply interesting. I may say in a sentence, that the boundaries of the tribes are still in many cases doubtful; but that there is hardly room for doubt that in some cases very considerable modifications must be made of preconceived opinions, in the case of the group of Issachar and Western Manasseh and Ephraim, and in the group of Zebulun and Asher and Naphtali. When the Palestine Exploration Society have done for the country east of Jordan what they have accomplished for Canaan proper, the next great service to scriptural geography will be a careful survey of the Negeb and the desert of Et Tih, that is, of the southern extremity of Canaan from about Beersheba outwards to the great desert in which the children of Israel wandered. It is true that this will have less influence on the geography of the book of Joshua than their present labours: yet there are important points for it also. Especially it will settle how far south the limits of Judah and Simeon are to be extended; and this in connection with the very interesting question of the situation of Kadesh-barnea; see notes on 15:3. The Rev. H. A. Trumbull (Quarterly Paper, July 1881, pp. 208–212), while not committing himself finally, gives strong evidence from personal examination in favour of Rowlands’ view."

Preaching Philemon

David Allen highlights a book by O. S. Hawkins as a resource for preaching Philemon. You can access Allen's thoughts here.