Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

  

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below.

David Brakke
The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7825
Reviewed by James F. McGrath
 
Mark Andrew Brighton
The Sicarii in Josephus's Judean War: Rhetorical Analysis and Historical Observations
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7070
Reviewed by Catherine Jones
 
James H. Charlesworth and Lee Martin McDonald, eds.
Jewish and Christian Scriptures: The Function of 'Canonical' and 'Non-Canonical' Religious Texts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7865
Reviewed by Everett Ferguson
 
Jean Delorme and Isabelle Donegani
L'Apocalypse de Jean: Révélation pour le temps de la violence et du désir
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7610
Reviewed by Nils Neumann
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek
 
Ian J. Elmer
Paul, Jerusalem and the Judaisers: The Galatian Crisis in Its Broadest Historical Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7377
Reviewed by Davina C. Lopez
 
André Myre
Pour l'avenir du monde: La résurrection revisitée
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6262
Reviewed by Jeffrey F. Cayzer
 
Randall W. Reed
A Clash of Ideologies: Marxism, Liberation Theology, and Apocalypticism in New Testament Studies
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7745
Reviewed by Leif E. Vaage
 
Karlheinz Schüssler, ed.
Das sahidische Alte und Neue Testament: Vollständiges Verzeichnis mit Standorten sa 621-672
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7381
Reviewed by Robert Paul Seesengood
 
Hal Taussig
In the Beginning Was the Meal: Social Experimentation and Early Christian Identity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7094
Reviewed by Pieter J. J. Botha

 

Free E-Books from the Biblical Archaeology Society

  
The Biblical Archaeology Society has seventeen free e-books here.
 

Creation: Biblical Options, a Gracious Dialogue

  

If you live in or near the Houston area, you might be interested in attending the Creation: Biblical Options, a Gracious Dialogue conference on October 28–29, 2011 at Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land, TX. Early bird registration has ended but yit looks like they have some good speakers including Todd Beall, Craig Blaising, Ligon Duncan, Walter Kaiser, John Mark Reynolds, John Walton, and Bruce Waltke. You can find more information here.

 

Ten Common Problems with Much Old Testament Teaching

See this excellent post by David Murray. I say amen and amen.
  

The Introverted Leader

  
The introverts in ministry out there might find this article interesting.
 

Ossuary Related to Caiaphas

  
I am not sure how "new" this is, but some readers might be interested in this news article on an ossuary that appears to be related to the family of the high priest Caiaphas.
 

BibleWorks 9

  

I recently received a review copy of BibleWorks 9 and was quite excited about some of the new features that I had been hearing about. I have been a BibleWorks user from almost the beginning and have always found it to be a valuable exegetical tool. Here are some initial thoughts on BibleWorks 9.

Installation: I found this version easier to install than previous versions. It is not that earlier versions were difficult, but this time out, everything went quite smoothly.

New Features: I count around thirty-five new features, resources, or translations in BibleWorks 9. Of course, what features one finds most exciting will vary from user to user. Here are few of my early favorites.

BibleWorks Manuscript Project

The BibleWorks Manuscript Project's initial release covers the following:

• Sinaiticus
• Vaticanus
• Alexandrinus
• Bezae
• Washingtonianus
• Boernerianus
• GA1141

For these manuscripts, the BibleWorks Manuscript Project includes the following:

• New full transcriptions
• Complete digital image sets (over 7.5 GB!!)
• Verse location tagging in images
• Extensive transcription notes
• MSS comparison tool
• Morphological tagging (not complete for all manuscripts but updates will be provided free of charge to BibleWorks 9 users as they become available)

The manuscripts above are fully searchable and integrated with the BibleWorks analysis tools. You can compare, examine, and analyze the text and images of these key manuscripts by using a new image processing panel.

CNTTS NT Critical Apparatus

The New Testament Critical Apparatus from the Center for New Testament Textual Studies (an organization led by  Bill Warren of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) is being made available for the first time for PCs. This exhaustive apparatus covers the entire New Testament.

The Moody Atlas of the Bible

Seasoned Bible students are already aware of the value of Barry Beitzel's atlas and now it is included in BibleWorks 9. This includes 118 high-resolution maps and dozens of photos.

    

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

  
The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below.

J. A. van den Berg
Biblical Argument in Manichaean Missionary Practice: The Case of Adimantus and Augustine
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7674
Reviewed by Jason BeDuhn
 
Gordon Campbell
Bible: The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7831
Reviewed by Mark Elliott
 
John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow, eds.
The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7875
Reviewed by Siam Bhayro
 
Michael R. Cosby
Apostle on the Edge: An Inductive Approach to Paul
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7644
Reviewed by James M. Howard
 
Jeffrey A. Gibbs
Matthew 11:2-20:34
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7916
Reviewed by Warren Carter
 
James W. Hardin
Lahav II: Households and the Use of Domestic Space at Iron II Tell Halif: An Archaeology of Destruction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7851
Reviewed by Raz Kletter
 
Robert W. Jenson
Canon and Creed
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7881
Reviewed by Lee Martin McDonald
 
Scot McKnight
The Letter of James
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7918
Reviewed by Alicia J. Batten
 
Lawrence H. Schiffman
Qumran and Jerusalem: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Judaism
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7591
Reviewed by Matthew A. Collins
 
David F. Watson
Honor among Christians: The Cultural Key to the Messianic Secret
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7796
Reviewed by Adam Winn

C. K.. Barrett (1917-2011)

  
C. K. Barrett, the well-know New Testament scholar has passed away.

Ryken on the King James Bible

  
See Leland Rykan's tribute to the King James Bible in this Wall Street Journal article.
 

Dispensational Humor

  
C. Michael Patton has the "Top Ten reasons the Dispensationalist Did Not Cross the Road" here.
  

Reminder: Advanced Expository Preaching Conference

The Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop to be held September 26, 2011 in The Riley Center on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is now only a month away.

This conference is designed to assist pastors in mastering the techniques of preaching and will focus this year on Genesis 1–11.Speakers this year include Drs. Allen Ross, Paige Patterson, Matthew McKellar, and David Allen.

Registration is $25 for all participants and includes lunch. For more information, please see this link, call 1-877-474-4769, or email RileyCenterCalendar@swbts.edu.

Overnight guest accommodations are available. Call 817-921-8800.

Handout on the Mishna

  
Simon Holloway has made a nice handout on the Mishna that he created available here as a PDF.
 

Eugene Nida (1915-2011)

  

Eugene Nida has died and the United Bible Societies has posted an obituary here. He was well-known primarily for his translation work and a lexicon that he worked on with J. P. Louw (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains).

HT: John Byron
 

Salvation in Hebrews

Marie Isaacs makes the following interesting observation concerning salvation in Hebrews:

"One of the striking features of Hebrews is that more often than not its author describes salvation in terms of place rather than time. Thus, the consummation of God's purposes, which in Jewish and New Testament tradition alike is predominantly expressed temporally as the age in which God's kingdom will be established, is depicted here spatially as a place: the promised land (3.7–4.11); the shrine's inner sanctum (6.2–10.18); and Mount Zion (12.18–24) – each location becoming a symbol of that most sacred of all space, heaven." 

Marie E. Isaacs, "Hebrews," in Early Christian Thought in its Jewish Context, ed. John Barclay and John Sweet (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 146.
 

Consecutive Expository Preaching

  
David Murray has a good post on the advantages and pitfalls to avoid in practicing consecutive expository preaching here.
 

Nineveh

  
See this article on ancient Nineveh and modern attempts to preserve it.
 

Neglecting the Greek New Testament

  

"One of the most heart-breaking and deplorable things in the 2000 years of church history, is the almost universal neglect by preachers, of the Greek New Testament, with the consequent impoverishment of its message. What a wealth of truth the church has missed in all these years, hidden away back there in the Greek text. Only the one who has fallen in live with the Greek New Testament, only the one who has tasted of its riches, can appreciate the loss involved in its neglect. As the apostasy grows, and the darkness of this age grows deeper, it behooves those servants of God who have a knowledge of Greek, to make the best use of their Greek New Testaments. Thus, the light of the gospel will become more intense and will pierce the surrounding darkness with a brighter beam, lighting many a ship-wrecked sailor on the vast ocean of human life, to the haven of rest, even the Lord Jesus. The Greek New Testament blazed the way for the Reformation, and pierced the spiritual darkness of the middle ages, lighting up the whole of Europe. The Word of God will glow with a great brilliance in the pulpit of any pastor who is a student of that Book of books."

Kenneth S. Wuest and revised by Donald L. Wise, The Practical Use of the Greek New Testament, Revised ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1982), 114.
 

Some Resources on Biblical Chronology

  
The most recent edition of the Associates for Biblical Research Newsletter contains a link to some chronology resources written by Rodger Young. You can access the resources here.
 

Wallace on Mark 2:26

  
Dan Wallace has a fairly thorough post on the problems associated with the reference to Abiathar in Mark 2:26 here.
  

Challenges for Biblical Archaeology

  
“Today biblical archaeology is facing many of the same challenges encountered in biblical studies during the past 15 years. It is ironic that a wealth of archaeological and epigraphic finds has become available just as the prevailing intellectual trends of our time tend to discount the concepts of history and purposeful text. According to this late modern view, little of the Bible’s historical record can be trusted, regardless of ‘objective’ evidence. Paradoxically, the ‘Battle for the Bible’ has migrated to the realm of history, language, and archaeology at precisely the moment when corroborative evidence, which abounds as never before, is intentionally swept aside.”

John M. Monson, "The Role of Context and the Promise of Archaeology in Biblical Interpretation," in The Future of Biblical Archaeology, ed. James K. Hoffmeier and Alan Millard (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 315–16.
  

Seminaries Are Changing

  
See this article.
 

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

  

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below.

Cheryl B. Anderson
Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies: The Need for Inclusive Biblical Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7761
Reviewed by William R. G. Loader
 
Joshua Blau
Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew: An Introduction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7654
Reviewed by Jeremy M. Hutton
 
J. Harold Ellens
The Son of Man in the Gospel of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7731
Reviewed by Cornelis Bennema
 
Shelly Matthews
Perfect Martyr: The Stoning of Stephen and the Construction of Christian Identity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7840
Reviewed by Robert Brawley
Reviewed by Richard I. Pervo
 
Allan J. McNicol, David B. Peabody, J. Samuel Subramanian, eds.
Resourcing New Testament Studies: Literary, Historical, and Theological Essays in Honor of David L. Dungan
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7659
Reviewed by M. Eugene Boring
 
Daniel C. Snell
Religions of the Ancient Near East
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7891
Reviewed by Gert T. M. Prinsloo
 
Robert B. Stewart, ed.
The Reliability of the New Testament: Bart Ehrman and Daniel Wallace in Dialogue
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7905
Reviewed by Tony Costa
Reviewed by Michael R. Licona
 
Bruce K. Waltke and James M. Houston, with Erika Moore
The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7903
Reviewed by Eduan Naudé

Atonement Models

  
Michael Jensen has a helpful table of atonement models or views here.

Red Sea or Sea of Reeds?

  
See this article at Bible and Interpretation.