Some might be interested in Groupon's offer for the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit that is currently being hosted by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. For details on the exhibit go here. Groupon is offering two adult admissions for $25 or four admissions for $49. This is at least 50% less than the normal single adult admission which costs $25 to $28 each. You can check out the offer here. The Groupon offer is good for three more days.
"Many of us associate holiness with a kind of melancholy grimness. One passage that God used to explode this myth was the account of Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile (Neh. 8:1–12). Ezra gathered the people and read from the law of God. As he was reading, the people’s hearts ached so deeply from hearing the Scriptures that they began to weep. What happened next is illuminating:
"And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved” (Neh. 8:9–11 NKJV).
"From God’s point of view, holiness is the partner of joy, not sorrow. The closer we are to God, the more consistently we exhibit the joy of his character. To be at his right hand is to know the eternal pleasures that he supplies (cp. Ps. 16:11)."
Doug McIntosh, Deuteronomy, Holman Old Testament Commentary, ed. Max Anders (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002), 275-76.
Gleason Archer provides a helpful list of some of the primary
ancient sources for studying Daniel 11:2-35. Archer lists the following:
“The
principal ancient sources of information concerning this period are as follows:
(1) Polybius of Megalopolis (203-111 B.C.), who composed the general history in
forty volumes, comprising the history of the Roman world from 199-167 B.C.; (2)
Titus Livius of the first century B.C., who in his monumental history of Rome (Ab
Urbe Condita Libri CLXII) treats of the Roman contacts with the Near East
up to the death of Philip V of Macedon in vols. 31-60: (3) Flavius Josephus,
the Jewish historian of the late first century A.D., whose principal works (Antiquities
of the Jews and The Wars of the Jews) were composed in Greek; (4)
Appianus Historicus (his other names are not known), who composed most of his
works in Greek, although Bella Civilia survives only in Latin. He came
originally from Alexandria but transferred to Rome for his adult career
during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. His Suriakhv (Syriake)
relates particularly to the Seleucid and Ptolemaic period; (5) Lucius Annaeus
Florus, likewise in the time of Trajan (early second cent. A.D.), composed Epitome
de Gestis Romanorum; (6) Marcus Junianus Justinus (of the late second cent.
A.D.) composed a summary of the work of an earlier historian named Trogus. It
was entitled Historiarum Philippicarum et Totius Mundi Originum … ex Trogo
Pompeio Excerptarum Libri XLIV and was dedicated to Marcus Aurelius.”
Gleason Archer, “Daniel,”
in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel, the Minor Prophets, ed.
Fran E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1985), 134–35, n. 9.
To celebrate Reformation Day, Christianaudio.com is offering Martin Luther: In His Own Words
as a free audiobook download through October 31. (They also made this offer last year.) This is a
compilation of many of Luther's most important writings, including the
Ninety-Five Theses and six other works.
This essay from the New York Times is not specifically related to biblical studies, but it does point out some of the challenges of translation in general and humor in particular.
Abraham Kuruvilla discusses Genesis 22 and has a link to his recent article in the Journal of the Evangelical Society entitled "The Aqedah (Genesis 22): What Is the Author Doing with What He Is Saying?" here.
A September 8 lecture by Simon Gathercole on Jesus in the (the Gospels of Thomas, Mary, Judas, and Philipcanonical Gospels in comparison with four well-known rivals) is now available here. The video also includes responses by David Chapman, professor at Covenant Theological Seminary, and Mark Lanier, a Bible teacher and owner of the Lanier Theological Library.
William Varner has posted the following rhyme as an aid to remembering the Minor Prophets and their basic messages. I have posted the first three prophets. Go here for the rest.
Hosea pictures faithful love,
to man below from God above.
In Joel locusts strip the land,
and then comes judgment from God’s hand.
The plumbline shows in Amos’ book
the grim results when God’s forsook.
"In truth, we will never be in the position to evaluate God's justice. In order to appraise the justice of a decision, we must have all the facts, for justice can be derailed if we do not have all the information. Because we never have all the information about our lives, we cannot judge God when he brings experiences to us or makes claims or demands. we cannot reach an affirmation about God's justice through our own limited insight or experiences. We affirm his justice by faith directed toward his wisdom. As we will see, God's speech at the end does not offer a defense of his justice, but of his wisdom and power."
John H. Walton, Job, NIVAC, ed. Terry Muck (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 22-23.
I had no idea that St. Luke had a feast day in some church calendars. In any case, today is the day. Celebrate by reading from Luke, Acts, or maybe even Hebrews.
Chuck Swindoll and Insight for Living now have a free app that allows you to listen, watch, and read material from Chuck. You can access the app here.
After an extensive discussion of how the ancients understood the "ends of the earth" (pp. 704-8), Keener notes the following concerning Acts 1:8.
"Therefore it seems likely that Luke's "ends of the earth," while prefigured at various stages (including his own conclusion), looks beyond the close of his work to the continuing mission. The "open end" of Acts invites Luke's audience to participate in this universal mission. Ultimately, context determines meaning; the ends of the earth meant different things in different contexts, but the LXX uses the phrase to emphasize universality. Thus there is a real sense, no outline after Samaria; the mission "reaches beyond the end of Acts."
Craig S. Keener, Acts an Exegetical Commentary: Volume1: Introduction and 1:1–2:47 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2012), 708.
The Huffington Post has a article on the "Most And Least Christian Cities In America" here.
This has apparently been available for some time, but the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology has some free PowerPoint presentations related to Jerusalem here.
Carl Rasmussen has two interesting posts with pictures, here and here, of the possible tomb of the high priest Annas (AD 6-15). Annas is mentioned in Luke 3:2; John 18:13, 24, Acts 4:6.
You can watch a twenty-five minute segment of The Mysterious Prophecy of Isaiah 53, a video featuring Darrell Bock, Walt Kaiser. Michael Brown, Michael Rydelnik here.
Dan Wallace has posted on "Fifteen Myths about Bible Translation" here.
On October 8, AD 451, one of the most significant church councils were convened in Chalcedon. You can read more about it here.
Haaretz has an interesting article ("Following the dream of a Third Temple in Jerusalem") on the dream of some Israelis to build the third temple. I am not sure how long the article will be available, but you can currently access it here.
Fellow blogger and Holy Land tour guide Ferrell Jenkins is featured in this article highlighting an upcoming six-part lecture series on “Bible History and Archeology.” If you are Murfreesboro, TN you might want to check it out.
I recently posted a quote on genre here. Michael Jensen has now posted a nice discussion on the topic here.
