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.

Amy L. Balogh, Moses among the Idols: Mediators of the Divine in the Ancient Near East
Reviewed by Paul Korchin

Cédric Brélaz, Philippes, colonie romaine d’Orient: Recherches d’histoire institutionnelle et sociale
Reviewed by D. Clint Burnett

Kristine Henriksen Garroway, Growing Up in Ancient Israel: Children in Material Culture and Biblical Texts
Reviewed by Claudia D. Bergmann

Getatchew Haile, ed. and trans., ‘Life’ and ‘Miracles’ of Abunä Akalä Krəstos
Reviewed by Nebeyou A. Terefe

Jione Havea, ed., Scripture and Resistance
Reviewed by Marshall C. Johns

John Paul Heil, The Gospel of Matthew: Worship in the Kingdom of Heaven
Reviewed by David Z. Blackwell

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

Gideon R. Kotzé, Christian S. Locatell, and John A. Messarra, eds., Ancient Texts and Modern Readers: Studies in Ancient Hebrew Linguistics and Bible Translation
Reviewed by Tarsee Li

Brian Neil Peterson, Qoheleth’s Hope: The Message of Ecclesiastes in a Broken World
Reviewed by Katharine Dell

Nadine Ueberschaer, Theologie des Lebens bei Paulus und Johannes: Ein theologisch-konzeptioneller Vergleich des Zusammenhangs von Glaube und Leben auf dem Hintergrund ihrer Glaubenssummarien
Reviewed by Kari Syreeni

Preaching Takeaways from the Latest in Social Science

 Interesting post here from Christianity Today.

Lamentations: What Kind of Grief?

I was recently listening to a podcast on teaching Lamentations where the point was being made that the book teaches about grieving generally. While there is much grief in Lamentations, is it really about grieving in the general sense? Aren't the poetic expressions about the devastating consequences of sin against God (historically of the devastation of Jerusalem in 586 BC by the Babylonians). While the podcast mentioned sin and judgment it was almost an aside. Lamentations is not really  designed primarily as a book of comfort for those who have experienced tragic and unimaginable losses but a warning that rejecting God has tragic and unimaginable consequences. Sin and judgment frame the grief so powerfully expressed in the text.We should preach and teach it accordingly.

Free Logos Book for October: Interpreting the Pentateuch

The free Logos Book for the Month for October is Interpreting the Pentateuch by Peter Vogt. You can also purchase Interpreting the Historical Books by David Howard, and A Commentary on 1-2 Chronicles by Eugene Merrill, Exodus by Duane Garrett, and What the Old Testament Authors Cared About edited by Jason DeRouchie for $1.99, $3.99, $5.99, and $7.99 respectively. While you are at it, you can register for a chance to win Kregel's 40 Questions Series Collection. For all these offers, go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.

Biblical Languages for Everyone

Ryan Martin lays out four benefits here of studying Hebrew and Greek for any serious student of the Bible. The benefits are spot on but I rarely find folks that are devoted enough to really move on from "they know enough to be dangerous" mode. If I could go back and speak to the younger version of myself, I would say that learning the languages is more of a journey than a destination.

Journal of Biblical Literature 139:3

Volume 139:3 of the Journal of Biblical Literature is now out. Here is a list of the articles with links to abstracts.

Contradictions, Culture Gaps, and Narrative Gaps in the Joseph Story
Richard C. Steiner

The Rhetoric of Condemnation in the Book of Job
Lance Hawley

“Woe Is Me!”: The Book of Jeremiah and the Language of Despair
Samuel Hildebrandt

The Animalistic Nebuchadnezzar and the Heroic Encounter: Daniel 4:30 Iconographically Revisited
Brian Charles DiPalma

Yedaniah’s Identity as Priest or Layperson and the Rhetoric of the Letter from the Judean Garrison of Elephantine to Bagavahya
Nathan Hays

Rethinking Luke 10: The Parable of the Good Samaritan Israelite
Matthew Chalmers

Imperial Divine Honors in Julio-Claudian Thessalonica and the Thessalonian Correspondence
D. Clint Burnett

Papias’s Prologue and the Probability of Parallels
Nevin Climenhaga

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.