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.

František Ábel, The Psalms of Solomon and the Messianic Ethics of Paul
Reviewed by Kenneth Atkinson

Euan Cameron, ed., The New Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 3, From 1450 to 1750
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Morrow

Barry S. Crawford and Merrill P. Miller, eds., Redescribing the Gospel of Mark
Reviewed by Barry L. Blackburn
Reviewed by Thomas P. Nelligan

Thomas B. Dozeman, The Pentateuch: Introducing the Torah
Reviewed by Rachelle Gilmour

Mignon R. Jacobs, The Books of Haggai and Malachi
Reviewed by Stacy Davis

Nathaniel J. Morehouse, Death’s Dominion: Power, Identity, and Memory at the Fourth-Century Martyr Shrine
Reviewed by Carly Daniel-Hughes

Stanley E. Porter, The Apostle Paul: His Life, Thought, and Letters
Reviewed by H. H. Drake Williams III

Philip Sumpter, The Substance of Psalm 24: An Attempt to Read Scripture after Brevard S. Childs
Reviewed by David Cohen

Gillian Townsley, The Straight Mind in Corinth: Queer Readings across 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 Reviewed by James N. Hoke

10 Ways the Bible Uses Apologetics

See this post.

Machaerus, the Mishnah, and the Second Temple

I recently had the opportunity to meet Professor Gyozo Vörös, the director of the Hungarian Academy of Arts excavations at Machaerus. We were not able to talk long but I was very interested in their work at Machaerus. Apparently much work has been done since I visited in 2007. Below is one fairly recent article on a recent find and its implications for understanding the second temple in Jerusalem.

"The monumental miqweh that has recently been unearthed at the Herodian hill fortress of Machaerus is an important addition to the corpus of this type of installation. Several of its features are true to type – its general form with a stairway leading down to the bottom, which extends across its entire width, the plaster coating and even the associated storage tank which is known from other miqwa'ot, although was fairly uncommon for the period. However, the stairway stands out on account of its resemblance to the staircase that led up to the Sanctuary of Herod’s Temple from the Court of the Priests, the detailed form of which is known only from tractate Middot of the Mishnah. Both stairways comprise twelve steps, arranged in groups of three, separated by deeper intermediate landings. Such ‘interrupted’ flights of stairs are characteristic of the late Second Temple Period and in different contexts: miqwa'ot, thoroughfares, Herod’s Temple and tomb complexes, as has been pointed out.

"The new finding at Machaerus demonstrates the remarkable accuracy of detail about the Temple that can be gleaned from the Mishnah. Many scholars have questioned the reliability of tractate Middot as a source of information on this edifice, on the grounds that it is not contemporaneous, only being codified in the 3rd century CE, but here we clearly see an example of its trustworthiness, provided that it is used critically."

David M. Jacobson, “A New Discovery at Machaerus Shines Light on Herod's Temple,” Revue Biblique 124 (2017), 583.

Writing a Thank You Note

Here is a helpful post on writing thank you notes. There are many contexts in ministry where such notes are appropriate. Unfortunately, it seems that many have forgotten this skill.

Free Logos Book for August: Joshua: Two Horizons Commentary

The free Logos Book for the Month for August is Gordon McConville's and Stephen Williams' commentary on Joshua from The Two Horizons Commentary series. You can also purchase the volumes on 1 Peter and Lamentations in the same series for $1.99 and $4.99 respectively. There is also a contest to win the 15 volume Pillar New Testament Commentary series. For all these offers, go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.

Da Vinci's To Do List

One underappreciated and underemphasized quality of good preachers and teachers is curiosity.  So I found this article on Leonardo Da Vinci's to do list from the fifteenth century quite interesting.

Free Biblical, Theological, and Ministerial Online Classes

Tavis Bohlinger has posted an outstanding list of online courses here.

Defacing Statues in Antiquity

Roger Pearse has an interesting post on defaced statues in antiquity here.

Genesis 1:2 and Viennese German

This is an interesting article tracing how a phrase in Genesis 1:2 became part of German vocabulary.

HT: Sean du Toit

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.
 
Margaret Daly-Denton, John: An Earth Bible Commentary; Supposing Him to Be the Gardener
Reviewed by C. M. Blumhofer

Matthias Ederer, Das Buch Josua
Reviewed by Ed Noort

Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World
Reviewed by Warren Carter

Christopher D. Land, The Integrity of 2 Corinthians and Paul’s Aggravating Absence
Reviewed by Adam White

Nicholas de Lange, Japheth in the Tents of Shem: Greek Bible Translations in Byzantine Judaism
Reviewed by Edmon L. Gallagher

Rainer Metzner, Der Brief des Jakobus
Reviewed by Oda Wischmeyer

Mark A. Noll, In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492–1783
Reviewed by Thomas H. Olbricht

Michael E. Stone, Uncovering Ancient Footprints: Armenian Inscriptions and the Pilgrimage Routes of the Sinai Reviewed by Claude Cox

J. Michael Thigpen, Divine Motive in the Hebrew Bible: A Comprehensive Survey and Analysis
Reviewed by Pieter de Vries

Cynthia Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ
Reviewed by Susan E. Hylen

Theological Institutions and Accreditation

Roger Olson has some interesting thoughts on accreditation and theological institutions here.

Annotated Bibliography on Biblical Theology

See here for a very helpful annotated bibliography of 101 works on biblical theology.

Taking Risks in Teaching

Maryellen Weimer discusses taking risks in teaching here.

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. 

Craig G. Bartholomew and Heath A. Thomas, eds., A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation
Reviewed by Devin L. White

Elizabeth Boase and Christopher G. Frechette, eds., Bible through the Lens of Trauma
Reviewed by John R. L. Moxon

Mark J. Boda, Exploring Zechariah, Volume 2: The Development and Role of Biblical Traditions in Zechariah
Reviewed by Göran Eidevall

Philip R. Davies, The History of Ancient Israel: A Guide for the Perplexed
Reviewed by Daniel Pioske

Frances Flannery and Rodney A. Werline, eds., The Bible in Political Debate: What Does It Really Say?
Reviewed by Joel Stephen Williams

James R. Harrison and L. L. Welborn, eds., The First Urban Churches 1: Methodological Foundations
Reviewed by Jin Ki Hwang

Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels
Reviewed by Cornelis Bennema

C. Kavin Rowe, One True Life: The Stoics and Early Christians as Rival Traditions
Reviewed by Joshua Marshall Strahan

Stephen C. Russell, The King and the Land: A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World
Reviewed by Rachel Havrelock

Steve Smith, The Fate of the Jerusalem Temple in Luke-Acts: An Intertextual Approach to Jesus’ Laments over Jerusalem and Stephen’s Speech 
Reviewed by C. Jason Borders

Patmos

Carl Rasmussen has a brief but nice post on Patmos here.

Subtle Humor in Preaching

While some people would suggest that subtle humor is an oxymoron, Peter Mead suggests here that it might be the preferable way to use humor in preaching.

Shema Seal from Megiddo

Ferrell Jenkins has an interesting note and a picture related to the so-called  "Shema Seal" from Megiddo here.

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. 

James W. Aageson, Windows on Early Christianity: Uncommon Stories, Striking Images, Critical Perspectives
Reviewed by Evgenia Moiseeva

Eve-Marie Becker, The Birth of Christian History: Memory and Time from Mark to Luke-Acts
Reviewed by Tucker S. Ferda

Tony Burke, ed., Forbidden Texts on the Western Frontier: The Christian Apocrypha from North American Perspectives; Proceedings from the 2013 York University Christian Apocrypha Symposium
Reviewed by Sheldon Steen

Marvin L. Chaney, Peasants, Prophets, and Political Economy: The Hebrew Bible and Social Analysis
Reviewed by Victor H. Matthews

Walter Dietrich, ed., Die Welt Der Hebräischen Bibel: Umfeld – Inhalte – Grundthemen
Reviewed by Izaak J. de Hulster

Christoph Heilig, Paul’s Triumph: Reassessing 2 Corinthians 2:14 in Its Literary and Historical Context
Reviewed by Gudrun Nassauer

James D. Nogalski, The Book of the Twelve and Beyond: Collected Essays of James D. Nogalski
Reviewed by Aaron Schart

Joseph Poon, The Identities of the Beast from the Sea and the Beast from the Land in Revelation 13
Reviewed by Martin Karrer

Annette Weissenrieder and Robert B. Coote, eds., The Interface of Orality and Writing: Speaking, Seeing, Writing in the Shaping of New Genres
Reviewed by Brandon Walker

Ben Witherington III, Isaiah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics
Reviewed by Wilson de Angelo Cunha

The Value of a Theological Education

Claude Mariottini posts here on the value of a theological education.