A Review of New Testament Exegetical Guides

Tim Miller provides a helpful review here of three of the more popular published exegetical guides on the New Testament. He interacts with the Summer Institute of Linguistics' Exegetical Summaries, B&H Academic's Exegetical Guides to the Greek New Testament, and Baylor's Handbook on the Greek New Testament. I am personally a fan of all three resources.

Latest Issue of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry

The spring 2018 issue of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry published by new Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is available for free here. I have not had to peruse the entire issue but R. Larry Overstreet's article, "Hermenuetical Problem? Homiletical Opportunity!" looks interesting.

Grace and Hebrews

Henry Neufeld makes the interesting argument here that grace is a "critical key" to understanding the book of Hebrews.

The 10 Most Significant Discoveries in the Field of Biblical Archaeology

Tim Challies' blog identifies the 10 most significant discoveries in the field of biblical archaeology here. As with any list like this one, there could be some disagreement. For example, I would substitute the Pontius Pilate inscription for the crucified man's ankle bone. Nonetheless, this is a solid list.

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.

Polymnia Athanassiadi
Mutations of Hellenism in Late Antiquity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10761
Reviewed by Evgenia Moiseeva

David J. H. Beldman
The Completion of Judges: Strategies of Ending in Judges 17–21
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11732
Reviewed by Victor H. Matthews

Julia Watts Belser
Power, Ethics, and Ecology in Jewish Late Antiquity: Rabbinic Responses to Drought and Disaster
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10604
Reviewed by Joshua Schwartz

Ginny Brewer-Boydston
Good Queen Mothers, Bad Queen Mothers: The Theological Presentation of the Queen Mother in 1 and 2 Kings
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11207
Reviewed by Laura Quick

Gay L. Byron and Vanessa Lovelace, eds.
Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11450
Reviewed by Amanda Mbuvi

Samuel Byrskog, Tom Holmén, and Matti Kankaanniemi, eds.
The Identity of Jesus: Nordic Voices
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10266
Reviewed by Eve-Marie Becker

Christoph Markschies
Christian Theology and Its Institutions in the Early Roman Empire: Prolegomena to a History of Early Christian Theology
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10808
Reviewed by Joseph Azize

Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Daniel J. Treier
Theology and the Mirror of Scripture: A Mere Evangelical Account
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11008
Reviewed by Joel Stephen Williams

Donald Dale Walker
Beyond the Obvious: Doorways to Understanding the New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10553
Reviewed by J. Andrew Doole

Stephen Westerholm and Martin Westerholm
Reading Sacred Scripture: Voices from the History of Biblical Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11168
Reviewed by Christopher T. Holmes

Genesis 24:63-64

This article on Genesis 24:63-64 by Rabbi Pete Tobias is interesting. Rabbi Tobias suggests that Isaac's activity described by the Hebrew verb lasu’ach causes Rebekah to fall off of her camel.  He concludes, "So whatever Isaac was doing, when Rebecca saw it, she tumbled, perhaps in amusement, perhaps in alarm." But this seems to be an over-interpretation. First, as the rabbi notes, lasu’ach is a hapax legomenon. So while there is ambiguity as to what exactly Isaac was doing, there is no reason to think that he was doing anything that was amusing or alarming (although it cannot be ruled out either). Second, while Tobias is correct that a literal reading of v. 64 could be, “She fell off her camel,” it seems that Rebekah's dismount is idiomatic (see 2 Kgs 5:21 where the same verb is used). 

Based on the questionable conclusion that Isaac was doing something humorous or alarming, Rabbi Tobias suggests that "many of the Torah’s stories are intended to amuse and entertain a Biblical audience" and that we should not treat biblical characters "with unnecessary reverence." I think the rabbi is correct in these affirmations but not on the basis of Genesis 24:63-64. This might be a good reminder that knowing the languages might cause you to over-interpret a passage.

NT Textual Criticism Resources

Mark Hoffman has a nice post identifying and interacting with the major digital New Testament textual criticism resources here.

Sermon Prep

Matt Capps discusses and illustrates his sermon preparation process here. Discussions like these often affirm what I am doing already and give me ideas on how to improve.

Genesis and Easter

William Barrick has a good post here asking, "What Does Easter Have To Do With Genesis?"

Free Logos Book for April: Between the Cross and the Throne: The Book of Revelation

The free Logos Book for the Month for June is Between the Cross and the Throne: The Book of Revelation. You can also purchase Grant Osborne's Colossians and Philemon Verse by Verse for $1.99 and Linguistics and Biblical Exegesis in the Lexham Methods Series for $4.99. You can register for a chance win the Lexham Discourse Bundle. For all these offers, go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.

He Is Risen!

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.

Peter Claver Ajer
The Death of Jesus and the Politics of Place in the Gospel of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11423
Reviewed by Gilberto A. Ruiz

Menahem Ben-Yashar and Jordan Penkower
The Bible in Rabbinic Interpretation: Rabbinic Derashot on Prophets and Writings in Talmudic and Midrashic Literature, Volume Two: Joel and Amos [Hebrew]
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10502
Reviewed by Joshua Schwartz

Thomas Boomershine
The Messiah of Peace: A Performance-Criticism Commentary on Mark’s Passion-Resurrection Narrative
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10501
Reviewed by David Seal

Sebastian P. Brock and George A. Kiraz
Gorgias Concise Syriac-English, English-Syriac Dictionary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10884
Reviewed by Lindsey A. Askin

Sarah S. U. Dixon
The Testimony of the Exalted Jesus in the Book of Revelation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11740
Reviewed by Robyn Whitaker

John H. Elliott
Beware the Evil Eye: The Evil Eye in the Bible and the Ancient World: Volume 4: Postbiblical Israel and Early Christianity through Late Antiquity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11704
Reviewed by Nicole L. Tilford

Florence M. Gillman, Mary Ann Beavis, and HyeRan Kim-Craag
1–2 Thessalonians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11622
Reviewed by Jennifer Houston McNeel

Juan Manuel Granados Rojas
La teología de la reconciliación en las cartas de san Pablo
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11282
Reviewed by Thomas W. Hudgins

Hermann Gunkel
Elijah, Yahweh, and Baal
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10177
Reviewed by Bálint Károly Zabán

Robert Kitchen, trans.; George A. Kiraz, ed.
The Book of Acts according to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10881
Reviewed by David A. Smith

Thomas J. Kraus and Michael Sommer, eds.
Book of Seven Seals
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11424
Reviewed by Darius Müller

James D. Nogalski
The Book of the Twelve and Beyond: Collected Essays of James D. Nogalski
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11733
Reviewed by Soo J. Kim

Lidija Novakovic
Resurrection: A Guide for the Perplexed
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11192
Reviewed by Archie T. Wright

Katharine E. Southwood
Marriage by Capture in the Book of Judges: An Anthropological Approach
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11664
Reviewed by George G. Nicol

Matthew Thiessen
Paul and the Gentile Problem
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11230
Reviewed by Nijay Gupta

Free Gary Habermas Course on the Resurrection

You can access most of Gary Habermas' Credo Course on the Resurrection for free here. Free resources include the PowerPoint/Keynote, PDF of the workbook, and video and audio downloads. There is a cost if you want hard copies of the DVD's ($25) or workbook ($15). I don't see a deadline for the offer so you might want to act sooner rather than later. The website was a bit slow so you might need to be patient.

10 Pointers for Preaching Easter Messages

See Peter Mead's helpful suggestions here.

Reconstructions of Seven Ancient Ruins

Although not strictly biblical, I enjoyed these reconstructions of seven ancient sites.

Journal of Biblical Literature 137:1

Volume 137:1 of the Journal of Biblical Literature is now out. Here is a list of the articles with links to abstracts.

The Meanings of the Book of Job
Michael V. Fox
abstract

The Impact of Siege Warfare on Biblical Conceptualizations of YHWH
Elizabeth Bloch-Smith
abstract

Double Trouble: Counting the Cost of Jephthah
Robin Baker
abstract

2 Kings 6:24–30: A Case of Unintentional Elimination Killing
Kristine Garroway
abstract

Transformations in Translation: An Examination of the Septuagint Rendering of Hebrew Wordplay in the Fourth Book of the Psalter
Elizabeth Backfish
abstract

A Call to Law: The Septuagint of Isaiah 8 and Gentile Law Observance
Alex P. Douglas
abstract

The End of Exile: The Reception of Jeremiah’s Prediction of a Seventy-Year Exile
Steven M. Bryan
abstract

The Elijah Forerunner Concept as an Authentic Jewish Expectation
Anthony Ferguson
abstract

A Tense Discussion: Rethinking the Grammaticalization of Time in Greek Indicative Verbs
Timothy Brookins
abstract

A Greek Papyrus Fragment with a Citation of Matthew 1:20
Brice C. Jones
abstract

The Question of Punctuation in John 1:3–4: Arguments from Ancient Colometry
Dan Nässelqvist
abstract

How Jewish Is God? Divine Ethnicity in Paul’s Theology
Paula Fredriksen
abstract

Subsistence, Swapping, and Paul’s Rhetoric of Generosity
Ryan S. Schellenberg
abstract

Is There a Kenosis in This Text? Rereading Philippians 3:2–11 in the Light of the Christ Hymn
Dorothea Bertschmann
abstract

Some Study and Research Links

Steve Walton has a helpful list of his favorite study and research links here.

Spiritual Gift Quiz

I just had to chuckle at this spiritual gifts inventory in Babylon Bee.

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.

John J. Collins
The Invention of Judaism: Torah and Jewish Identity from Deuteronomy to Paul
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11673
Reviewed by Marvin A. Sweeney

John J. Collins, T. M. Lemos, Saul M. Olyan, eds.
Worship, Women and War: Essays in Honor of Susan Niditch
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10901
Reviewed by Bob Becking

Frank Dicken
Herod as a Composite Character in Luke-Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11621
Reviewed by Alexander P. Thompson

Courtney Friesen
Reading Dionysus: Euripides’ Bacchae and the Cultural Contestations of Greeks, Jews, Romans, and Christians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10566
Reviewed by J. R. C. Cousland

Robert H. Gundry
Peter: False Disciple and Apostate according to Saint Matthew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10540
Reviewed by Sonya S. Cronin

Jione Havea and Peter H. W. Lau, eds.
Reading Ruth in Asia
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10929
Reviewed by Woo Min Lee

Hyun Chul Paul Kim
Reading Isaiah: A Literary and Theological Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11617
Reviewed by Torsten Uhlig

Karl Allen Kuhn
The Kingdom according to Luke and Acts: A Social, Literary, and Theological Introduction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10274
Reviewed by Brian W. Bunnell

Stefan Nordgaard
Possessions and Family in the Writings of Luke: Questioning the Unity of Luke’s Ethics
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11803
Reviewed by Thomas E. Phillips

Marion Ann Taylor and Christiana de Groot, eds.
Women of War, Women of Woe: Joshua and Judges through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=11657
Reviewed by Susanne Scholz

Preaching the Parables

Although this article on preaching the parables came out last year, I somehow missed it. In any case, I think it provides some Screwtape-like cautions and good advice.

The Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for the Study of the New Testament

I appreciate the caution expressed below by Loren Stuckenbruck in using the Dead Sea Scrolls to shed light on the New Testament (see here for the book section).

The recognition of essential differences between “the New Testament” and “the Dead Sea Scrolls” as collections is enough to demand that we be cautious about attempting to draw any direct lines of connection between or of influence from one to the other. Such lack of caution is especially apparent in comparisons which have centred on some of the following sorts of claims: (a) that this or that figure in the Dead Sea Scrolls can be identified with this or that figure in the New Testament (as proposed, for example, by Barbara Thiering and Robert Eisenman); (b) that this or that idea or practice of “Essenes” or “the Qumran community” gave rise to or is responded to by the same in early Christian communities (so e.g. Brian Capper, Rainer Riesner, Yigael Yadin, and Hans Kosmala); and (c) that some of the instructions in the New Testament were specifically formulated with “Qumran Essenes” in mind, whether adopting them straight out – as in Jesus’ radical instructions on divorce (Mark 10:2-9) and oath-taking (Matt 5:33-37) – or rejecting them – as in Jesus’ directive to love one’s enemy over against those who endorse a view to love their neighbor and hate their enemy (Matt 5:43).

Loren Stuckenbruck, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament,” in Qumran and the Bible: Studying the Jewish and Christian Scriptures in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Nóra Dávid and Armin Lange (Leuven: Peeters, 2010), 134–35.

That being said Stuckenbruck identifies seven “kinds of contributions Scrolls research can make to our understanding of traditions that circulated through the writings of Jesus’ immediate followers and early Christian communities” (pp. 137–68).

Eight Questions to Ask in Mentoring

Although this article is written from a business perspective, it does provide some helpful questions to ask in the mentoring process and it wouldn't take too much effort to adapt these to a ministry context.

Ten Things You Should Know about the Exodus

Alistair Roberts identifies ten truths that you should know about the Exodus here. This is a list of the tend but do read the fuller discussion using the link.

1. The deliverance from Egypt is not the first example of the exodus pattern in the Bible.

2. The exodus is a pattern that can be broken down into many stages.

3. It is an event in which God discloses his identity.

4. The exodus is institutionalized and made foundational for the future self-understanding of the people of God.

5. The exodus and the exodus pattern help us to understand the meaning of and connections between events.

6. The exodus is a basis for prophetic expectation.

7. The exodus provides us with a framework within which to understand the work of Christ.

8. The exodus reveals the unity of Scripture and of the work of redemption to which it bears witness.

9. Both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper draw upon an exodus pattern.

10. The exodus gives us a sense of our place in God’s work of redemption.

Wipf & Stock Sale

Wipf & Stock is offering 50% off of their entire inventory until April 3. Use the code INV50 during checkout. Note that all sales are non-refundable. You can access the website here or the list of titles here.

Why You Should Be Reading

I am probably preaching to the choir here, but here is another article touting the benefits of reading.