To Cite or Not

Recently a prominent biblical scholar was convicted of possessing child pornography. A number of years ago I was tasked with reviewing a book that was part of a major commentary series. As I was looking for material on the author to include in the review, I found that he had also been convicted of a similar crime. A decision was made not to include that as part of the review. I still wonder whether that was the right decision. The issue of whether to interact with and/or cite works from tainted authors was also part of an online conversation that I had a few days ago. For some, the issue is straightforward and clear-cut. But I for one, find it more complicated. The fact is, every human author has shortcomings of some kind, albeit some are considerably more serious than others. This editorial by Mary Beard raises some of the complexities of the issues involved. In the end, I feel that it is a judgment call involving a variety of factors that could go either way. One thing I am sure of though, sin always makes things more complicated.

Matthew 14: The Feeding of the 5,000

Ian Paul has a good post here on Matthew's account of the feeding of the 5,000.

University of Facebook

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Teaching 1 Chronicles

Nancy Guthrie talks to Richard Pratt about teaching 1 Chronicles here.

Psalm Songs

Brett McCracken lists seven different musical renditions of eight different psalms (19, 23, 46, 73, 90, 119, 121, 131) here. I was aware of some but not all of these. I created a Spotify playlist devoted to Psalm songs a while back and hope to add some of these.

Carta Books on Sale

Hendrickson Academic is offering Carta titles at a 60% discount here. Note that this sale is only good from July 27-31 so you will need to act quickly. 

Reconstructing Solomon’s Temple

Madeleine Mumcuoglu and Yosef Garfinkel have a nice article here trying to envision the architectural features of Solomon's temple based on archaeological discoveries.

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.

Maxime Allard, Emmanuel Durand, and Marie de Lovinfosse, eds., Fins et commencements, Renvois et interactions: Mélanges offerts à Michel Gourgues
Reviewed by Jean-François Racine

Brian J. Arnold, Justification in the Second Century
Reviewed by Chris Kugler

Ruth Ebach and Martin Leuenberger, eds., Tradition(en) im alten Israel: Konstruktion, Transmission und Transformation
Reviewed by Peter Porzig

Benedikt Eckhardt, ed., Private Associations and Jewish Communities in the Hellenistic and Roman Cities
Reviewed by John S. Kloppenborg

Mari Joerstad, The Hebrew Bible and Environmental Ethics: Humans, Nonhumans, and the Living Landscape
Reviewed by Margaret M. Daly-Denton

Ralph J. Korner, The Origin and Meaning of Ekklēsia in the Early Jesus Movement
Reviewed by James R. Harrison

David G. Peterson, Commentary on Romans
Reviewed by Andrew B. Spurgeon

Jens Schröter, Simon Butticaz, and Andreas Dettwiler, eds., Receptions of Paul in Early Christianity: The Person of Paul and His Writings through the Eyes of His Early Interpreters
Reviewed by Benjamin A. Edsall

Nicole L. Tilford, ed., Women and the Society of Biblical Literature
Reviewed by Alice Ogden Bellis

James W. S. Yansen Jr., Daughter Zion’s Trauma: A Trauma-Informed Reading of the Book of Lamentations
Reviewed by Barbara Bakke Kaiser

Free Credo Course: Bibliology and Hermeneutics

You can get free video and audio of a bibliology and hermeneutics course here.

Psalm 23 Links

I have been working on a commentary on the Psalms. I have decided to compile some helpful links that I discovered during my research. It includes a mix of exegetical and sermonic links. Here is what I have for Psalm 23 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section. 

Spokane Bible Church: http://www.spokanebiblechurch.com/books/psalm-23

Literary analysis of Psalm 23: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-23

Ray Stedman., “The Shepherd Psalm,” Psalm 23: https://www.raystedman.org/old-testament/psalms/the-shepherd-psalm

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps023.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_023.pdf

“The Good Shepherd” David Klingler: https://voice.dts.edu/chapel/the-good-shepherd-klingler-david-r

John Piper, The Shepherd, the Host, and the Highway Patrol: https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-shepherd-the-host-and-the-highway-patrol

New Old Resource on the Book of Ruth

I have noted the ministry of Rob Bradshaw and is website before. Rob is making a number of out-of-copyright biblical studies volumes available in PDF. He just noted this one, The Book of Ruth. The Hebrew Text with Grammatical Notes and Vocabulary by Archibald Robert Stanley Kennedy available here. I just quickly scanned through it and it looks helpful for those that have studied Hebrew.

"Contradictions" in Proverbs

Readers of the Book of Proverbs are sometimes surprised when they read Proverbs 26:4-5 since the divinely inspired advice seems to be contradictory.

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
      lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
      lest he be wise in his own eyes.

But in reality this reflects the complexities of life. Secular wisdom reflects this. For example, one might be told, "he who hesitates is lost" or "haste makes waste." Can both be true? Many would probably say, "yes" because one might relate this circumstance while the other to another circumstance. Yet the struggle is real. Raymond C. Van Leeuwen also notes.

Modernity has objected most to the unscientific, contradictory character of proverbs. But it is precisely the ability of proverbs to contradict one another that lends them their versatility and power. Rather than being a defect, this is essential to the genre. A proverb, even when couched in a universal form, is not a universal absolute, like the law of gravity or the speed of light. Proverbs are diverse and contradictory because human life is contradictory and diverse.

Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, “In Praise of Proverbs,” in Pledges of Jubilee: Essays on the Arts and Culture in Honor of Calvin G. Seerveld, ed. Lambert Zuidervaart and Henry Luttdchuizen (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 318.

Matthew 27:52-53

Greg Lanier has a good discussion on the raised saints in Matthew 27:52-53 here. I would prefer that this would not be called a resurrection event (as implied in the title). The more theologically correct term is resuscitation or as I call events like this, a "resusurrection" (see 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.

Brian J. Arnold, Justification in the Second Century
Reviewed by H. H. Drake Williams III

Alisa Hunt and Hilary Marlow, eds., Ecology and Theology in the Ancient World: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives
Reviewed by Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

David Janzen, Trauma and the Failure of History: Kings, Lamentations, and the Destruction of Jerusalem
Reviewed by Rachelle Gilmour

Jessica M. Keady, Todd E. Klutz, and C. A. Strine, eds., Scripture as Social Discourse: Social-Scientific Perspectives on Early Jewish and Christian Writings
Reviewed by Dominic S. Irudayaraj

Atar Livneh, Studies on Jewish and Christian Historical Summaries from the Hellenistic and Early Roman Periods
Reviewed by Erich S. Gruen

Ágnes T. Mihálykó, The Christian Liturgical Papyri: An Introduction
Reviewed by Jade Weimer

John R. L. Moxon, Peter’s Halakhic Nightmare
Reviewed by David Lertis Matson

Martti Nissinen, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East
Reviewed by Bob Becking

Brent Nongbri, God’s Library: The Archaeology of the Earliest Christian Manuscripts
Reviewed by Roberta Mazza

John C. Reeves and Annette Yoshiko Reed, Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, Volume 1: Sources from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Reviewed by Theron Clay Mock III

Michael D. Swartz, The Mechanics of Providence: The Workings of Ancient Jewish Magic and Mysticism
Reviewed by Jesse Rainbow

Florian Theobald, Teufel, Tod und Trauer: Der Satan im Johannesevangelium und seine Vorgeschichte
Reviewed by Eve-Marie Becker

John H. Walton and J. Harvey Walton, Demons and Spirits in Biblical Theology: Reading the Biblical Text in Its Cultural and Literary Context
Reviewed by Maryann Amor

James W. Watts, Understanding the Pentateuch as a Scripture
Reviewed by Jean Louis Ska

D. H. Williams, Matthew: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators
Reviewed by Tobias Ålöw

The Battle over Israel's Biblical Archaeology

Archaeology as a discipline has always involved battles over interpretations and conclusions drawn from material discoveries, methodologies, and presuppositions. Biblical archaeology is no different. But what surprises some is that a significant part of the dissension involves competing schools in Israel itself. This article does a decent job of highlighting this.

J. I. Packer (1926–2020)

J. I. Packer has gone to be with the Lord. I only me him briefly once  in 1998 but he had a profound life-long influence on my theology and thinking.

Caronavirus Like Preaching

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Ataroth and the Book of Numbers

Ataroth is an obscure biblical place name (mentioned only twice in the book of Numbers) but some archaeological discoveries noted in this post shed some light on it.

Ketef Hinnom Inscriptions

Here is a pretty good article on the discovery of the Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls and the inscription from the priestly blessing (Num 6:24-26) that they contain. 

The Romance of Preaching

I really enjoyed listening to this message by Dr. Richard Bewes called, "The Romance of Preaching" given at Beeson Divinity School in 2001.You can also access a transcript here.

Application in Preaching

Kelly Burton has a post here entitled, "Sources of Application." There is some helpful information in the short post but I am not crazy about the title. The source of application should be grounded in the text at hand. As such there are not other "sources." It doesn't do much good if you nail the interpretation, excel in the explanation, and then go to another planet for the application. Those who hear our messages need to be able to see how one moves from understanding the text to applying the text. If your application does not derive from the text then who do you need the text at all.

"Doubting" Thomas

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