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.

Carol Bakhos, The Family of Abraham: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Interpretations
Reviewed by John W. Fadden

Craig G. Bartholomew, Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics: A Comprehensive Framework for Hearing God in Scripture
Reviewed by S. D. Giere

Andrew K. Boakye, Death and Life: Resurrection, Restoration, and Rectification in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians
Reviewed by Dain Alexander Smith

Theodore S. de Bruyn, David G. Hunter, and Stephen A. Cooper, Ambrosiaster’s Commentary on the Pauline Epistles: Romans
Reviewed by H. H. Drake Williams III

Roy E. Garton, Mirages in the Desert: The Tradition-Historical Developments of the Story of Massah-Meribah
Reviewed by David Frankel

Erhard S. Gerstenberger; Ute E. Eisen and Christl M. Maier, eds., Die Hebräische Bibel als Buch der Befreiung: Ausgewählte Aufsätze
Reviewed by Catherine Petrany

Mark W. Hamilton, A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament
Reviewed by John Goldingay

Gudrun Holtz, Die Nichtigkeit des Menschen und die Übermacht Gottes: Studien zur Gottes- und Selbsterkenntnis bei Paulus, Philo und in der Stoa
Reviewed by Justin M. Rogers

Dru Johnson, Scripture’s Knowing: A Companion to Biblical Epistemology
Reviewed by Matthew Lloyd Halsted

Edward Lipiński, Toponymes et gentilices bibliques face à l’historie
Reviewed by André Lemaire

Kenneth Mtata and Craig Koester, eds., To All the Nations: Lutheran Hermeneutics and the Gospel of Matthew
Reviewed by Sung Cho

Jason Thompson, Wonderful Things: A History of Egyptology 1: From Antiquity to 1881 
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Morrow

What Is the Main Subject of Luke 7:1-10?

This semester I have been asked to help evaluate some of our student's preaching. This has been a helpful exercise for me and I hope also for the students. Yesterday, a student was preaching on Luke 7:1-10, the healing of a centurion's servant. There was much to commend about the message but the student seemed to struggle with the central idea of the text (i.e., the CIT or message). In my remarks, I suggested that one should remember that in narrative, dialogue/monologue when present, tends to do the heavy lifting an therefore one should start there in seeking to find the main subject. Indeed, when dialogue/monologue is present, the main function of the rest of the narrative is often to frame it. In 7:1-10, most would identify three monologues. 

The Jewish elders tell Jesus: “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue” (vv. 4-5).

The centurion's friends tell Jesus: “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (vv. 6-8). 

And then Jesus himself states: “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith” (v. 9).

Now if one looks at the words of the elders (vv. 4-5), one might think that "piety" might be the main subject of the passage. Piety might also find some affirmation in the words of the centurion's friends (vv. 6-8). But Jesus words in v. 9 do no highlight the centurion's piety.

One might also look at the longest bit of monologue (vv. 6-8) and guess that perhaps authority or humility are the main subject. Concerning the former, one could find some implicit support in that the Jewish elders are authoritative figures and the fact that another authoritative figure, a centurion is involved, and that ultimately Jesus has the authority to heal. But again, Jesus words in v. 9 do not seem to directly address the issue of authority or humility. Indeed, Jesus' authority to heal is implicit: "And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well" (v. 10).

As you might have guessed by now, Jesus' [1] words hold the key to the main subject, namely faith. The Jewish elders appeal is based on merit and not faith. Note the subtle rebuke in v. 9: "not even in Israel." The centurion's friends do talk about authority but as Jesus notes, the words ooze with faith. Jesus does not "marvel" at the centurion's piety, authority, or humility, but his faith.

So if this is correct, the main subject of 7:1-10 is faith. From there one might decide whether authority, humility, etc., might be complements and therefore still included in one's CIT.



[1] In examining monologues and dialogues one should also take into consideration "who" is speaking. Some words are more significant because some characters are more significant. This is generally true when you have round versus flat characters. In the Gospels, it is obvious that Jesus and his words have pride of place and therefore, his words trump the words of others. It is also word noting that Jesus' words are the most direct words in this pericope. The Jewish elders convey the request of the centurion and the centurion's friends convey the words of the centurion. Indeed, the centurion never addresses Jesus directly. Only Jesus speaks for himself.

For You Were (Not) Slaves in Egypt?

My students are often very surprised that many Jewish people deny that that the Exodus every happened. But as this Haaretz story unfortunately hidden behind a paywall states quite explictly, 

"The Passover narrative is one of the greatest stories ever told. More than any other biblical account, the escape of the enslaved Hebrews from Egypt is the foundational story of the Jewish faith and identity, one that all Jews are commanded to pass on from generation to generation.
 
"Also, it never happened."

This is akin to Christians denying Jesus' resurrection which unfortunately some do. Sad all the way around.

Self-Forgiveness

John Beeson rightly questions the popular but likely wrong-headed notion of self-forgiveness here.

Acts 28:1-6

Phil Long does a nice job explaining these verses here. I enjoyed preaching on this passage some years ago. Here is a simple alliterated outline.

I.   God’s Providential Preservation (v. 1)
II.  God’s Providential Provision (v. 2)
III. God’s Providential Protection (vv. 3-6)

Yahweh, the God of Amen

Claude Mariottini has a nice post here describing the term "amen" especially from a Hebrew Bible perspective.

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.

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.

Phillip Arrington, Eloquence Divine: In Search of God’s Rhetoric
Reviewed by Thomas H. Olbricht

Roderick Elledge, Use of the Third Person for Self-Reference by Jesus and Yahweh: A Study of Illeism in the Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Texts and Its Implications for Christology
Reviewed by Paul Sanders

Moshe Garsiel, The Book of Samuel: Part One, Studies in History, Historiography, Theology, and Poetics Combined
Reviewed by Rachelle Gilmour

Aleksander Gomola, Conceptual Blending in Early Christian Discourse: A Cognitive Linguistic Analysis of Pastoral Metaphors in Patristic Literature
Reviewed by Robert H. von Thaden Jr.

Katharine M. Hockey, Madison N. Pierce, and Francis Watson, eds., Muted Voices of the New Testament: Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews
Reviewed by Mari Leesment

Carl R. Holladay, Introduction to the New Testament: Reference Edition
Reviewed by Matthew Collins

Brittany N. Melton, Where Is God in the Megilloth? A Dialogue on the Ambiguity of Divine Presence and Absence
Reviewed by Aaron Koller

Robert D. Miller II, The Dragon, the Mountain, and the Nations: An Old Testament Myth, Its Origins, and Its Afterlives
Reviewed by Brandon R. Grafius

Marius Nel, Jan G. van der Watt, and Fika J. van Rensburg, eds., The New Testament in the Graeco-Roman World: Articles in Honour of Abe Malherbe
Reviewed by Christopher R. Hutson

C. Marvin Pate, Interpreting Revelation and Other Apocalyptic Literature: An Exegetical Handbook
Reviewed by Michael Naylor

Raymond F. Person Jr. and Robert Rezetko, eds., Empirical Models Challenging Biblical Criticism

Reviewed by Leonardo Pessoa da Silva Pinto

Carla Swafford Works, The Church in the Wilderness: Paul’s Use of Exodus Traditions in 1 Corinthians
Reviewed by Greg Carey

Lament in the Church

Lament is an important part of the Scriptures. Around half of the psalms in the book of Psalms is characterized as laments. And there is a book called Lamentations. So it is a bit puzzling that churches have struggled to incorporate lament into their gatherings. So I appreciated this article on the issue.

Dealing with Text-Critical Issues in a Church Setting

Justin Dillehay has some helpful suggestions here in a post entitled, "4 Ways to Shepherd Your Flock through Textual Variants."

Cain and Abel

National Geographic has a story here on the conflict between Cain and Abel. Unfortunately, the article does not really reflect the biblical account all that well.

Free Video from the Egypt and Ancient Israel Conference

The Tandy Center for Archaeology and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary hosted a one-day conference entitled "Egypt and Ancient Israel: Merneptah's Canaanite Campaign - History or Propaganda" on March 26.

You can now access the videos from the conference here.

Two Reasons for Learning Greek

William Varner enumerates and discusses them here.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Iterative Prayer

I think that Ken Berding has got it right in his view of the much misunderstood statement in 1 Thessaloninas 5:17 to "pray without ceasing." You can read his thoughts here.