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 to read them.

Francesco Arena, Prophetic Conflicts in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Micah: How Post-exilic Ideologies Created the False (and the True) Prophets
Reviewed by Samuel A. Meier

Hans Boersma, Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church
Reviewed by Miriam DeCock

Walter Bührer, ed., Schriftgelehrte Fortschreibungs- und Auslegungsprozesse: Textarbeit im Pentateuch, in Qumran, Ägypten und Mesopotamien
Reviewed by Markus Zehnder

Robert H. Gundry, Peter: False Disciple and Apostate according to Saint Matthew
Reviewed by Michael Kok

David Hamidović, Claire Clivaz, and Sarah Bowen Savant, eds., Ancient Manuscripts in Digital Culture: Visualization, Data Mining, Communication
Reviewed by Clark R. Bates

David Lincicum, Ruth Sheridan, and Charles M. Stang, eds., Law and Lawlessness in Early Judaism and Early Christianity
Reviewed by Michael F. Bird

Saul M. Olyan, Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible
Reviewed by Laura Quick

Anders Runesson and Daniel M. Gurtner, eds., Matthew within Judaism: Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel
Reviewed by Max Botner

Eckhard Schnabel, Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days
Reviewed by James P. Sweeney

Brian J. Tabb, All Things New: Revelation as Canonical Capstone
Reviewed by Paul M. Hoskins

Where is the Wadi Zered?

David Ben-Gad HaCohen has a very interesting discussion here on the location of a wadi mentioned in the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. I am not sure that I buy the author's final conclusions but I confess to geeking out on some of the geographical discussion.

William Oesterley’s Commentary on the Psalms

I have highlighted the great work the Rob Bradshaw before but he continues to provide good, out of copyright, biblical studies as free PDFs. He most recently highlighted his digitizing of William Oesterley’s Commentary on the Psalms. You can check it out here.

By the way, although it is fashionable to dismiss older works as simply out of date, there is still nuggets to glean. Recently one of my students pointed out an interesting insight into a passage that I was not aware of. I thought perhaps that he had made a novel discovery only to learn that though the more recent commentaries had not noted the point in question, an older work had. Take up and read!

Psalm 45 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 45 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

The Fathers on Psalm 45: https://pursuingveritas.com/2019/09/03/the-fathers-on-psalm-45

Ray Stedman., “The King in His Beauty,” Psalm 45: https://www.raystedman.org/old-testament/psalms/the-king-in-his-beauty

Into the Word with Paul Carter: https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/into-the-word/psalm-45

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps045.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_045.pdf Psalm 45 devotional: https://www.generations.org/devotionals/56

Daniel Stevens article: https://www.crossway.org/articles/taking-a-closer-look-at-psalm-45

Top 12 Romans Commentaries

B. J. Oropeza lists his top 12 Romans commentaries here.

HT: Brian Small

Psalm 44 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 44 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Into the Word with Paul Carter: https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/into-the-word/psalm-44

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps044.pdf

“Why Do Good People Suffer” Bruce Waltke: https://voice.dts.edu/chapel/why-do-good-people-suffer-bruce-waltke

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_044.pdf

David Guzik’s comments: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-44 Psalm 44 devotional: https://www.generations.org/devotionals/55

Top Deuteronomy Commentaries

Sandy Richter lists and annotates her top six commentaries on Deuteronomy at Nijay Gupta's blog here.

Samson Humor

 

Caesarea Maritima International Conference

The Caesarea Maritima International Conference held on June 13-15 can be viewed online here https://meetonline.co.il/single/SmallEvent/?Host=IsraelAntiquitiesAuthority. Here is the schedule.

Day 1: June 13, 2021

14:00 Opening Gala at the Vaults
15:15 Greetings – Caesar Yam venue
 
Session 1: Straton’s Tower and Sebastos along the Levantine Coast
Chair: Ayelet Gilboa
16:00 The Meaning of Caesarea’s Foundation Myths | Naoise Mac Sweeney
16:20 After the Crisis: Phoenician Settlement Renewal during the Persian Period | Yiftah Shalev
16:40 Herod’s Harbor: A New Reconstruction | Jacob Sharvit and Bridget Buxton
17:00 Q&A

Session 2: The Urban Development of Caesarea
Chair: Yosef Porath
17:30 A Miqveh in an Urban Roman villa at Caesarea Maritima | Joseph Patrich
17:50 Urban Development of Roman and Late Antiquity Caesarea Maritima | Peter Gendelman
18:10 Topography, Economy, and Religion at Two Ports in the Roman Mediterranean | Joseph Rife
18:30 Q&A

Session 3: Caesarea and the Province
Chair: Orit Peleg-Barkat
20:00 Caesarea as a Roman Colony: Literary Texts and Inscriptions | Benjamin Isaac
20:20 To Take Center Stage: Focal Points in Herodian Horticulture Architecture | Guy Stiebel
20:40 Hilly Lords of the Middle Sea: Client Kingship and the Imperial Eastern Mediterranean in Antiquity | Yifat Thareani
21:00 Q&A

Day 2: June 14, 2021

Session 4: Caesarea - Between Conflicts and Coexistence: Religions and Communities
Chair: Joseph Geiger
15:00 Origen’s Newly Discovered Homilies as a Window into the Contacts and Competitions between the Religions in Third Century Caesarea | Maren Niehoff
15:20 Caesarea and the Great Revolt against Rome | Lawrence Schiffman
15:40 Eusebius' Concept of Christ as the Incarnate | Volker Drecoll
16:00 Q&A
16:20 Allegory as Battlefield of Religion: Exegetical Strategies in Eusebius of Caesarea and Porphyry | Irmgard Männlein-Robert
16:40 Caesarea: The Talmudic Evidence | Jeffrey Rubenstein
17:00 Q&A

Session 5: New Excavations and Research
Chair: Yardenna Alexandre
17:30 “Picking Up the Pieces”: Caesarea's Trade Networks during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Periods in Light of a Ceramic Assemblage from the Western Façade of the Temple’s Platform | Yuval Hai
17:45 In search of the Elusive ‘Caesarean Clay Type’: Characterizing the Production of Bag-Shaped Amphorae during the Roman and Byzantine Periods through Ceramic Petrography and Technology | Liora Bouzaglou
18:00 An Early Roman-Period Burial Cave at Caesarea | Eriola Jakoel
18:15 King Herod’s Building Projects at Caesarea Maritima – a Close Look at Plasters and Bonding Materials | Meidad Shor
18:30 Q&A

Session 6: Caesarea: Traditions and Innovations in Material Culture Studies
Chair: Gideon Avni
20:00 At the Front of and Behind the Screen: Screen panels from Caesarea Maritima | Rivka Gersht
20:20 Caesarea, Cathedral Church of St Peter - A Tale of Two (?) Churches | Vardit Shotten-Hallel
20:40 A Byzantine Flushing Mechanism | Yeshu Dray
21:00 Q&A

Day 3: June 15, 2021

Session 7: Sebastos and Caesarea - Research of the Harbors
Chair: Deborah Cvikel
15:00 Rethinking Built Harbors from the Iron Age to the Roman Period: A Typology of White Elephants? | Assaf Yasur-Landau
15:20 From Akko to Giza, Geoarchaeology of Mediterranean Harbors, New Avenues of Research? | Christophe Morhange
15:40 The Nature of the Pumiceous Ash and Tuff used for the Construction of the Sebastos Harbor | Yotam Asher
16:00 Q&A

Session 8: Caesarea and Heritage Management: Planning, Conservation, and Reconstruction
Chair: Raanan Kislev
16:30 Caesarea Maritima as Israel's Flagship in - p.i.s.a (P.I.SS.A) Project of the Meda Heritage I, as Part of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership | Yaacov Schaffer
16:50 Conservation in Caesarea 2015-2019 | Yoram Saad
17:10 Do Shelters Really Protect the Mosaics at Caesarea? | Yael Alef
17:30 Q&A

Session 9: Caesarea - Past, Present, and Future
The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation and The Caesarea Development Corporations– a unique model of operation assuring the continuance of 140 years of pioneering by the Rothschild family in Israel
Chair: Vardit Gilor
18:00 Elli Booch, Director of Philanthropy, The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation
18:15 Michael Karasenti, CEO, The Caesarea Development Corporations
18:30 Concluding Remarks

10 Fun Facts About Aramaic

 Andrew Knapp shares them here.

Steve Walton Introduces Romans

Steve Walton has posted two videos introducing Romans here.