Feb 20, 2021

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. 

Delbert Burkett, An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity
Reviewed by Susan E. Myers

Mordechai Z. Cohen, The Rule of Peshat: Jewish Constructions of the Plain Sense of Scripture and Their Christian and Muslim Contexts, 900–1270
Reviewed by Michael Carasik

David N. Gottlieb, Second Slayings: The Binding of Isaac and the Formation of Jewish Memory
Reviewed by Charles Hughes Huff

Brandon R. Grafius, Reading the Bible with Horror
Reviewed by Carl S. Ehrlich

Matthew J. Lynch, Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible: A Literary and Cultural Study
Reviewed by Joel Kaminsky

Paul McKechnie, Christianizing Asia Minor: Conversion, Communities, and Social Change in the Pre-Constantinian Era
Reviewed by Richard Last

James Chukwuma Okoye, Genesis 12–50: A Narrative-Theological Commentary
Reviewed by R. W. L. Moberly

Brian Rainey, Religion, Ethnicity and Xenophobia in the Bible: A Theoretical, Exegetical and Theological Survey
Reviewed by Arthur Jan Keefer

Mark Sameth, The Name: A History of the Dual-Gendered Hebrew Name for God
Reviewed by Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos

John Van Seters, My Life and Career as a Biblical Scholar
Reviewed by Jennifer M. Matheny

Ian G. Wallis, The Galilean Wonderworker: Reassessing Jesus’ Reputation for Healing and Exorcism
Reviewed by David A. Fiensy

Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos, The Land and Its Kings: 1–2 Kings
Reviewed by Bob Becking

Feb 19, 2021

Preaching and "Low Fences"

Peter Mead has some good thoughts here on what he calls "low fences" in preaching.

Feb 18, 2021

Three Lessons from the Book of Numbers

There are at least a three lessons that I have observed while revisiting the book of Numbers. 

First, past preparation is no guarantee of future success. The Israelites made extensive preparations to enter the Promised Land in 1:1–10:10 and yet they failed to do so by making a forty-year mistake at Kadesh Barnea (13:1–14:45). This is a point that I try to drive home to my seminary students. All their ministerial preparation could be brought to nothing by failing to trust the Lord.

Second, yesterday's obedience no matter how frequent can be nullified by today's disobedience no matter how rare. I count over fifteen statements in Numbers 1–10 related to the obedience of either of Moses, Aaron, the Levites, or Israel (e.g., 1:17-19, 54; 2:34; 3:16, 42, 49-51; 4:34-37, 41, 45, 49; 8:3, 20, 22; 9:5, 19-23; 10:13) and yet a disastrous decision at Kadesh Barnea made all that obedience for naught. 

Third, God's purposes will prevail whether in the current generation or the next. In Numbers 26, we begin the preparation for the next generation, the generation that will enter the Promised Land. This is both solemn reminder and spiritual goad.  

Feb 17, 2021

Piper on Baptism

John Piper has a succinct and spot-on post here on the importance of baptism.

Feb 16, 2021

Psalm 40 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 and in this case a song by the band U2. Here is what I have for Psalm 40 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Literary analysis of Psalm 40: http://psalmsstudy.com/psalms-literary-analysis-by-chapter/literary-analysis-psalm-40-urgently-hoped-god-bent-heard-voice

Ray Stedman., “Lo, I Come,” Psalm 40: https://www.raystedman.org/old-testament/psalms/lo-i-come

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps040.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_040.pdf

U2 song "40": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z_LBNF_-xI

Feb 13, 2021

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. 

G. K. Beale, Colossians and Philemon
Reviewed by Ernest P. Clark

Christy Cobb, Slavery, Gender, Truth, and Power in Luke-Acts and Other Narratives
Reviewed by Shawn Kelley

Zeba A. Crook, ed., The Ancient Mediterranean Social World: A Sourcebook
Reviewed by David B. Gowler

Deryn Guest, YHWH and Israel in the Book of Judges: An Object-Relations Analysis
Reviewed by Klaas Spronk

John H. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach
Reviewed by John Oswalt

Jeanette Matthews, Prophets as Performers: Biblical Performance Criticism and Israel’s Prophets
Reviewed by Rosanne Liebermann

Steven J. Patterson, The Forgotten Creed: Christianity’s Original Struggle against Bigotry, Sexism, and Racism
Reviewed by Vincent L. Wimbush

Ilan Peled, Law and Gender in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible
Reviewed by Vien V. Nguyen, SCJ

Peter Schäfer, Two Gods in Heaven: Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity
Reviewed by Shaye J. D. Cohen

Miles V. Van Pelt, Biblical Hebrew: A Compact Guide
Reviewed by Robert D. Holmstedt

Jacqueline Vayntrub, Beyond Orality: Biblical Poetry on its Own Terms
Reviewed by Steven Bishop

Bruce K. Waltke and James M. Houston, The Psalms as Christian Praise: A Historical Commentary
Reviewed by David G. Firth

Feb 12, 2021

Sermon on Psalm 2 by Steve Walton

Although this is a little different from the sermons I usually watch, I enjoyed this one from Psalm 2 by Steve Walton.

Feb 9, 2021

How Long Does it Take to Prepare a Sermon?

The answer to this question varies and it really does come down to a number of different factors. Peter Mead does a good job of outlining some of those factors in this post.

Feb 8, 2021

The Salvation of all Israel in Romans 11:26?

Jared Compton has a pretty good post here on what Paul means by "all Israel will be saved’ in Romans 11:26.

Feb 7, 2021

Hershel Shanks (1930–2021)

Word began getting out yesterday that Hershel Shanks had passed away. A brief obituary can be read here. I did not know Hershel personally, but he helped feed my interest in biblical archaeology primarily through the magazine he founded and edited, the Biblical Archaeology Review. I started reading back in the 90s and have a hard copy of every issue except one.

Feb 6, 2021

Joseph Weeping in Genesis

Mitch Chase has a good post here related to the seven times that Joseph is said to weep in Genesis.

Feb 5, 2021

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. 

Samuel L. Adams and Matthew Goff, eds., The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature
Reviewed by David Penchansky

Matthew R. Crawford, The Eusebian Canon Tables: Ordering Textual Knowledge in Late Antiquity
Reviewed by Jean-François Racine

Febbie C. Dickerson, Luke, Widows, Judges, and Stereotypes
Reviewed by Vien V. Nguyen, SCJ

Josette Elayi, Sargon II, King of Assyria
Reviewed by Samuel L. Boyd

Jan Christian Gertz, Corinna Körting, and Markus Witte, eds., Das Buch Ezechiel: Komposition, Redaktion und Rezeption
Reviewed by Rosanne Liebermann

John Kaltner and Steven L. McKenzie, Sleuthing the Bible: Clues That Unlock the Mysteries of the Text
Reviewed by James F. McGrath

Jermo van Nes, Pauline Language and the Pastoral Epistles: A Study of Linguistic Variation in the Corpus Paulinum
Reviewed by Benjamin White

Sarah Parkhouse, Eschatology and the Saviour: The “Gospel of Mary” among Early Christian Dialogue Gospels
Reviewed by Deirdre Good

Melvin L. Sensenig, Jehoiachin and His Oracle: A Jeremianic Scribal Framework for the End of the Deuteronomistic History
Reviewed by Marvin A. Sweeney

Dillon T. Thornton, Hostility in the House of God: An Investigation of the Opponents in 1 and 2 Timothy
Reviewed by Andrew M. King V

Feb 4, 2021

Jesus’ Parables of the Master of the House and Ramat haNadiv

Leen Ritmeyer has an interesting and nicely illustrated post here on the imagery related to two of Jesus parables in Matthew 20:1-16 and 21:33-39.

Feb 2, 2021

Jephthah's Daughter

The story involving Jephthah and his daughter in Judges 11 is a difficult one to read, interpret, and preach. Claude Mariottini focuses here on just one aspect of the story, Jephthah's daughter.

Feb 1, 2021

Free Logos Book for February: 1 Peter and A Cultural Handbook to the Bible

The free Logos Book for the Month for February is Joel Green's 1 Peter in the Two Horizons series and John Pilch's A Cultural Handbook to the Bible.

You can also purchase Justice and Loyalty: A Commentary on the Book of Micah by Juan Lalfaro for $0.99, Psalms by Geoffrey Grogan for $2.99, The Letters to Timothy and Titus by Robert Yarbrough for $3.99,
The Eerdman's Companion to the Bible edited by Gordon Fee and Robert Hubbard for $5.99, A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming by Walter Brueggemann for $7.99,The Book of Revelation by Robert Mounce for $9.99, The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 by Bruce Waltke for $14.99, and you can pre-order Doug Moo's revised edition of The Letter of James for $19.99.

You can also register for a chance to win the 38-volume Eerdmans Biblical Reference Collection series. For all these offers, go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here and here.

Jan 29, 2021

Proverbs 18:24

Jeff Weddle has a humorous post on the meaning and application of Proverbs 18:24 here. I would like to think that Jeff and I are friends but I am wondering about that now! LOL!

Jan 28, 2021

The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 7/2

The latest issue of the Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies is out now and available for free as individual articles here or as the complete journal here.

HT: Antony Billington

Jan 27, 2021

A New Manuscript Viewer from the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

For those interested in textual criticism, the CSNTM has a pretty nifty new website viewer. It was announced here with instructions on how to navigate it here.

Jan 25, 2021

Overdoing the Sermon

Peter Mead has a good word here in using appropriate force in preaching.

Jan 24, 2021

Pursuing a Ph.D.

Daniel Trier has written a very helpful piece here related to whether a Ph.D. is worth pursuing.