David's Unfortunate Census

David's unfortunate census is recorded in 2 Samuel 24:1-17 and 1 Chronicles 21:1-30. There are a number of interpretive challenges related to this event, but perhaps one of the stickiest is whether David's numbering was prompted by God (2 Sam 24:1) or Satan (1 Chr 21:1). Sinclair Ferguson attempts to address this conundrum here. While I tend to agree with the principles behind his proposed theological solution, I do wish he would have spent more time in the actual texts of 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles and looking first at the possible textual reasons behind the different approaches taken by the authors of the respective books. 

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.

Kai Akagi, Proclaiming the Judge of the Living and the Dead: The Christological Significance of Judgment in Acts 10 and 17
Reviewed by Steve Walton

Warren Carter, Mark
Reviewed by Barry S. Crawford

Matthew Colvin, The Lost Supper: Revisiting Passover and the Origins of the Eucharist
Reviewed by Brant Pitre

Brian P. Gault, Body as Landscape, Love as Intoxication: Conceptual Metaphors in the Song of Songs
Reviewed by Laura Quick

Jione Havea, ed., Sea of Readings: The Bible in the South Pacific
Reviewed by Michelle Eastwood

Michael R. Licona, Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? What We Can Learn from Ancient Biography
Reviewed by Eve-Marie Becker

David Marcus, Hidden Treasure: Doublet Catchwords in the Leningrad Codex
Reviewed by Timothy G. Crawford

Stephen Mitchell and Philipp Pilhofer, eds., Early Christianity in Asia Minor and Cyprus: From the Margins to the Mainstream
Reviewed by Raymond Van Dam

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

Joachim Schaper, Media and Monotheism: Presence, Representation, and Abstraction in Ancient Judea
Reviewed by Dominik Markl

Free Conference: The Archaeology of Israel: Where Are We Today?

The Purchase College History Program and the History Club is offering a free conference via zoom on "The Archaeology of Israel: Where Are We Today?" The webinar will be on October 13, 2020 at 4:00 PM EST, Unfortunately, there are no details about the speaker(s) or topics. Hopefully, these details will be shared soon. You can see a web page on the event here.

Psalm 31 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 31 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Literary analysis of Psalm 31: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-31

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps031.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_031.pdf

Sermon Writer: https://sermonwriter.com/biblical-commentary/psalm-31-commentary 

Steven J. Cole, “Psalm 31: The Remedy for Stress”: https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-31-remedy-stress

Erastus of Corinth

Carl Rasmussen has a helpful post here on Erastus of Corinth, a personage mentioned in Acts 19:22; Romans 16:13; 2 Timothy 4:20.

Where Was Galatia and Who Were Considered Galatians?

Wrapped up in the seemingly innocuous question above is a much discussed debate about the dating of Paul's epistle to the Galatians and the correspondence of Galatians 2:1-10 and the book of Acts, most notably Acts 11:30/12:25 or Acts 15:1-35. The issues are complex and part of the discussion is sometimes simply framed in academic shorthand as the Northern or Southern Galatian views. I fall within the less popular Southern Galatian view and see correspondence between the Jerusalem visits noted Galatians 2 and Acts 11. So I was happy to see Mark Wilson's recent, brief but informative, article in Biblical Archaeology Review: "Galatia in Text, Geography, and Archaeology” (Fall 2020). The article's main contribution in my view is to provide inscriptional evidence that might support the Southern Galatian view. You can read a condensed version for free here but if you are interested in the topic, you should take a look at the complete article.

Psalm 30 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 30 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Literary analysis of Psalm 30: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-30-turned-lament-dancing

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps030.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_030.pdf

Three Lessons from David’s Fall and Forgiveness

Jim Newheiser has a good discussion here highlighting three lessons drawn from the fallout from David's sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11). As I often say, David messed up royally (pun intended) but the Lord does not allow sin to have the last word.

"The Land that I Will Show You”: Recent Archaeological and Historical Studies of Ancient Israel

A free Zoom conference focusing on recent archaeological and historical studies of ancient Israel is scheduled for October 25-28, 2020. Registration for the conference is free but required. A full program schedule and registration information will be made available soon here.

 

Themes in Hosea

Although the article is not new, I found this one on motifs or themes in Hosea by Ralph Smith to be helpful.

The Akedah: Genesis 22:1-19

The Akedah ("The Binding") is the Jewish designation for the story in Genesis 22 where Abraham is called upon to sacrifice his son Isaac. It is one of the most important events narrated in Genesis. In this post Aaron Koller posits that, "Abraham passes the test of the Akedah but fails as a father." While I disagree with Koller's conclusion the post does provide an interesting study of the passage.

Thirty OT/HB Scholars to Read and Follow

Nijay Gupta is starting a new blog series on thirty current Old Testament and/or Hebrew Bible scholars to read and follow today with Walter Moberly. You can read it here. Today's Old Testament scholarship is a mixed bag but at the very least it is helpful to know who some of the major players are.

Psalm 29 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 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

J. Clinton McCann: https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3655

Literary analysis of Psalm 29: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-29

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps029.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_029.pdf Glory from Beginning to End: Ten Things About Psalm 29: https://davidschrock.com/2019/08/09/glory-from-beginning-to-end-ten-things-about-psalm-29

Biblical Theology Myths

Drew Hunter talks about five of them here. I would add the "myth" that there is a consensus on the definition of biblical theology.

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.

Jaap Doedens, The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4: Analysis and History of Exegesis
Reviewed by Michael Hundley

Mark S. Gignilliat, Reading Scripture Canonically: Theological Instincts for Old Testament Interpretation
Reviewed by Robert L. Foster

Allison M. Jack, The Prodigal Son in English and American Literature: Five Hundred Years of Literary Homecomings
Reviewed by Anthony Swindell

Alan T. Levenson, Joseph: Portraits through the Ages
Reviewed by Corinne E. Blackmer

Hélène Sader, The History and Archaeology of Phoenicia
Reviewed by Helen Dixon

Patrick Schreiner, Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus
Reviewed by Marc Groenbech-Dam

Mark S. Smith, The Idea of Nicaea in the Early Church Councils, AD 431–451
Reviewed by Young Richard Kim

Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Beth Langstaff, and Michael Tilly, eds., “Make Disciples of All Nations”: The Appeal and Authority of Christian Faith in Hellenistic-Roman Times
Reviewed by S. Scott Bartchy

Meredith J. C. Warren, Food and Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Literature
Reviewed by Cynthia Shafer-Elliott

Chun Ling Yu, Bonds and Boundaries among the Early Churches: Community Maintenance in the Letter of James and the Didache
Reviewed by Kyle R. Hughes

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 43:1

The latest issue of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament is out. Here is a list of the articles and links to abstracts.

The Gospel of John as Model for Literate Authors and their Texts in Epistula Apostolorum and Apocryphon of James (NHC I,2)
Julia D. Lindenlaub

Scaling Gaius and Diotrephes: Socio-economic Stratification in 1 and 3 John
Jon-Michael Carman

Paul’s Absence from Corinth as Voluntary Exile: Reading 2 Corinthians 1.1–2.13 and 7.5-16 as a Letter from Exile
Adam G. White

The Authentication of the Past: Narrative Representations of History in the Gospel of John
Susanne Luther

Translating from Greek as Source Language? The Lasting Influence of Latin on New Testament Translation
Hans Förster

A Linguistic Analysis of πίστις χριστοῦ: The Case for the Third View
Kevin Grasso

Leviticus 16 and the Scapegoat

The meaning of Leviticus 16 and the scapegoat is debated by interpreters but that is the passage that I thought of when I saw this comic.

When the Psalms Strike You the Wrong Way

Trevin Wax talks about it here.

Predictability in Preaching

While there might be good reasons for preaching predictable messages such as the practice of sound methodology, changing things up can also be beneficial. Matt Henslee suggests some ways to do that here.

Psalm 28 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 28 (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-28

Literary analysis of Psalm 28: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-28-song

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps028.pdf 

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_028.pdf