Guarding Your Study Time

Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson has some good suggestions here.

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 but unfortunately you must be a SBL member.

Ward Blanton
A Materialism for the Masses: Saint Paul and the Philosophy of Undying Life
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9971
Reviewed by Steven J. Kraftchick
Reviewed by Joseph A. Marchal

Emma England and William John Lyons, eds.
Reception History and Biblical Studies: Theory and Practice
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10539
Reviewed by C. L. Seow

Irving Finkel and Jonathan Taylor
Cuneiform: Ancient Scripts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10593
Reviewed by John L. Ellison

Stephan Hagenow
Heilige Gemeinde – Sündige Christen: Zum Umgang mit postkonversionaler Sünde bei Paulus und in weiteren Texten des Urchristentums
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8883
Reviewed by Lars Kierspel

Julia Linke
Das Charisma der Könige: Zur Konzeption des altorientalischen Königtums im Hinblick auf Urartu
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10722
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

Caterina Moro
I sandali di Mosè: Storia di una tradizione ebraica
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8938
Reviewed by Andrea Ravasco

Daniel D. Pioske
David’s Jerusalem: Between Memory and History
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10823
Reviewed by Kyle H. Keimer

Pamela Shellberg
Cleansed Lepers, Cleansed Hearts: Purity and Healing in Luke-Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10239
Reviewed by Kindalee Pfremmer De Long
Reviewed by Sharon Jacob

Grant Osborne on the Book of Revelation

Grant Osborne writes about four keys to kindling your love for the Book of Revelation here.

Thoughts on Luke-Acts Commentaries

Joshua Mann has three very brief thoughts on Luke-Acts commentaries here.

Jesus and the Gospels Museum

This Jesus and the Gospels Museum is probably not new but it was new to me.

Free Logos Book for November: Philippians: How to Have Joy

The free Logos Book of the Month for November is Philippians: How to Have Joy from Precept Ministries International. You can also purchase the volume on Jonah for .99 cents. For  these offers you can go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.

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 but unfortunately you must be a SBL member.

Mette Bundvad
Time in the Book of Ecclesiastes
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10974
Reviewed by Doug Ingram

Douglas A. Campbell
Framing Paul: An Epistolary Biography
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10132
Reviewed by Matthew V. Novenson

Hubert Irsigler
“Denk an deinen Schöpfer”: Studien zum Verständnis von Gott, Mensch und Volk im Alten Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10647
Reviewed by Judith Gärtner

Yael Cameron Klangwisan
Jouissance: A Cixousian Encounter with the Song of Songs
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10473
Reviewed by Rhiannon Graybill

Judith Lieu
Marcion and the Making of a Heretic: God and Scripture in the Second Century
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10411
Reviewed by Dylan M. Burns

Nicholas P. Lunn
The Original Ending of Mark: A New Case for the Authenticity of Mark 16:9–20
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10054
Reviewed by Elizabeth E. Shively

Anna C. Miller
Corinthian Democracy: Democratic Discourse in 1 Corinthians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10354
Reviewed by Joseph A. Marchal

Takamitsu Muraoka
A Biblical Aramaic Reader: With an Outline Grammar
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10842
Reviewed by Jordan M. Scheetz

Thomas Römer
Dark God: Cruelty, Sex, and Violence in the Old Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9266
Reviewed by John E. Anderson

Alexei M. Sivertsev
Judaism and Imperial Ideology in Late Antiquity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8223
Reviewed by Adam Marshak

Latest Issue of Currents in Biblical Research

Here is a list of articles in the latest of Currents in Biblical Research. The link takes you to an abstract.

Eric A. Seibert – Recent Research on Divine Violence in theOld Testament (with Special Attention to Christian Theological Perspectives)

Arthur Keefer – Phonological Patterns in the Hebrew Bible: ACentury of Studies in Sound

Chris Kugler – Wright, Campbell, and the Four Beasts fromthe Sea

Gregory R. Lanier – Mapping the Vineyard: Main Lines ofInvestigation Regarding the Parable of the Tenants in the Synoptics and Thomas

Ole Jakob Filtvedt – ‘God’s Israel’ in Galatians 6.16: AnOverview and Assessment of the Key Arguments

Why Study Theology?

Scott Redd gives you seven reasons here.

Balancing Scholarship and Preaching

Chuck Swindoll addresses that issue here.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

National Geographic has an interesting story here on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the likely place of the death and burial of Christ. Ongoing renovations and repairs are exposing parts of the tomb which are not normally seen.

Properly Formatting Titles

I know that formatting issues are not of interest to everyone. But some might be interested in this post from the SBL Handbook of Style blog on how to properly format titles from books to blogs. 

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 but unfortunately you must be a SBL member.

G. K. Beale, with David H. Campbell
Revelation: A Shorter Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10185
Reviewed by Paul B. Duff
Reviewed by Andrew Guffey

Russell W. Dalton
Children’s Bibles in America: A Reception History of the Story of Noah’s Ark in US Children’s Bibles
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11010
Reviewed by Gottfried Adam

Eric Eve
Behind the Gospels: Understanding the Oral Tradition
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9907
Reviewed by Jonathan M. Potter

G. Scott Gleaves
Did Jesus Speak Greek? The Emerging Evidence of Greek Dominance in First-Century Palestine
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10449
Reviewed by Hughson T. Ong

Robert P. Gordon and Hans M. Barstad, eds.
“Thus Speaks Ishtar of Arbela”: Prophecy in Israel, Assyria, and Egypt in the Neo-Assyrian Period
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9570
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

Magdalena Maczynska
The Gospel according to the Novelist: Religious Scripture and Contemporary Fiction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10734
Reviewed by Scott S. Elliott

Roland Meynet
Les huit psaumes acrostiches alphabétiques
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10700
Reviewed by Paul Sanders

Peter Nagel
Codex apocryphus gnosticus Novi Testamenti: Evangelien und Apostelgeschichten aus den Schriften von Nag Hammadi und verwandten Kodizes. Koptisch und deutsch
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9894
Reviewed by Simon Gathercole

Julien Ogereau
Paul’s Koinonia with the Philippians: A Socio-historical Investigation of a Pauline Economic Partnership
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10376
Reviewed by David E. Briones

Annick Payne
Hieroglyphic Luwian: An Introduction with Original Texts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10476
Reviewed by Alice Mouton

Dieter T. Roth, Ruben Zimmermann, and Michael Labahn, eds.
Metaphor, Narrative, and Parables in Q
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9848
Reviewed by Joshua L. Mann

Michele Renee Salzman, with Michael Roberts
The Letters of Symmachus: Book 1
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8377
Reviewed by Timothy Pettipiece

Emanuel Tov
The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10765
Reviewed by Leonard J. Greenspoon

Elizabeth B. Tracy
See Me! Hear Me! Divine/Human Relational Dialogue in Genesis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10695
Reviewed by Karolien Vermeulen

James W. Watts, ed.
Iconic Books and Texts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10635
Reviewed by Ryan P. Bonfiglio

The Hebrew Papyrus Mentioning Jerusalem

A few days ago I posted on an ancient papyrus which contains the word “Yerushalma” (possibly meaning “to Jerusalem”). Today, two of my favorite bloggers have posts containing additional information on this manuscript here and here.

What Will People Say at Your Funeral?

Gary Ledbetter has some thoughts here.

Benefits of Expositional Preaching

Todd Scacewater shares 14 of them here.

Reading of the Gospels

George Guthrie discusses 6 ways to transform your reading of the Gospels here.

Vary Your Illustrations

Peter Mead reminds us to do just that here.

7th Century Papyrus Mentioning Jerusalem?

Apparently, a 8th century BC papyrus which mentions the word “Yerushalma” (possibly meaning “to Jerusalem”) has been discovered. You can read about it here. 

Correction: The news story above dated the manuscript to the 8th century but the IAA actually reports it as a 7th century text.

Do We Still Need Campus Libraries?

Ann Michael thinks so in this post.

Using Humor in Preaching

According to a recent Preaching magazine survey, humor is used quite often in preaching. Respondents were asked, "How often do you use humor in preaching?" Here are the results.

Frequently - 54%
Sometimes - 44%
Rarely - 2%
Never - 0%

An interesting follow up survey might relate to what kind of humor is used or used most frequently (e.g., jokes, sight gags, dry humor, etc.).

St. Luke's Day

See this post related to St. Luke's Day and the accompanying sonnet by Malcom Guite.

Video of the 2016 Advanced Expository Workshop

You can access all the sessions of the 2016 Advanced Expository Workshop here. This year's focus was on the book of Ruth. 

Top 10 Books Every Pastor Should Read

Here is a list of the top 10 books every pastor should read.

Biblical Foods

See this interesting article on biblically-related foods.