Genesis 1:2 and Viennese German

This is an interesting article tracing how a phrase in Genesis 1:2 became part of German vocabulary.

HT: Sean du Toit

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.
 
Margaret Daly-Denton, John: An Earth Bible Commentary; Supposing Him to Be the Gardener
Reviewed by C. M. Blumhofer

Matthias Ederer, Das Buch Josua
Reviewed by Ed Noort

Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World
Reviewed by Warren Carter

Christopher D. Land, The Integrity of 2 Corinthians and Paul’s Aggravating Absence
Reviewed by Adam White

Nicholas de Lange, Japheth in the Tents of Shem: Greek Bible Translations in Byzantine Judaism
Reviewed by Edmon L. Gallagher

Rainer Metzner, Der Brief des Jakobus
Reviewed by Oda Wischmeyer

Mark A. Noll, In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492–1783
Reviewed by Thomas H. Olbricht

Michael E. Stone, Uncovering Ancient Footprints: Armenian Inscriptions and the Pilgrimage Routes of the Sinai Reviewed by Claude Cox

J. Michael Thigpen, Divine Motive in the Hebrew Bible: A Comprehensive Survey and Analysis
Reviewed by Pieter de Vries

Cynthia Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ
Reviewed by Susan E. Hylen

Theological Institutions and Accreditation

Roger Olson has some interesting thoughts on accreditation and theological institutions here.

Annotated Bibliography on Biblical Theology

See here for a very helpful annotated bibliography of 101 works on biblical theology.

Taking Risks in Teaching

Maryellen Weimer discusses taking risks in teaching here.

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. 

Craig G. Bartholomew and Heath A. Thomas, eds., A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation
Reviewed by Devin L. White

Elizabeth Boase and Christopher G. Frechette, eds., Bible through the Lens of Trauma
Reviewed by John R. L. Moxon

Mark J. Boda, Exploring Zechariah, Volume 2: The Development and Role of Biblical Traditions in Zechariah
Reviewed by Göran Eidevall

Philip R. Davies, The History of Ancient Israel: A Guide for the Perplexed
Reviewed by Daniel Pioske

Frances Flannery and Rodney A. Werline, eds., The Bible in Political Debate: What Does It Really Say?
Reviewed by Joel Stephen Williams

James R. Harrison and L. L. Welborn, eds., The First Urban Churches 1: Methodological Foundations
Reviewed by Jin Ki Hwang

Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels
Reviewed by Cornelis Bennema

C. Kavin Rowe, One True Life: The Stoics and Early Christians as Rival Traditions
Reviewed by Joshua Marshall Strahan

Stephen C. Russell, The King and the Land: A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World
Reviewed by Rachel Havrelock

Steve Smith, The Fate of the Jerusalem Temple in Luke-Acts: An Intertextual Approach to Jesus’ Laments over Jerusalem and Stephen’s Speech 
Reviewed by C. Jason Borders

Patmos

Carl Rasmussen has a brief but nice post on Patmos here.

Subtle Humor in Preaching

While some people would suggest that subtle humor is an oxymoron, Peter Mead suggests here that it might be the preferable way to use humor in preaching.

Shema Seal from Megiddo

Ferrell Jenkins has an interesting note and a picture related to the so-called  "Shema Seal" from Megiddo here.

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. 

James W. Aageson, Windows on Early Christianity: Uncommon Stories, Striking Images, Critical Perspectives
Reviewed by Evgenia Moiseeva

Eve-Marie Becker, The Birth of Christian History: Memory and Time from Mark to Luke-Acts
Reviewed by Tucker S. Ferda

Tony Burke, ed., Forbidden Texts on the Western Frontier: The Christian Apocrypha from North American Perspectives; Proceedings from the 2013 York University Christian Apocrypha Symposium
Reviewed by Sheldon Steen

Marvin L. Chaney, Peasants, Prophets, and Political Economy: The Hebrew Bible and Social Analysis
Reviewed by Victor H. Matthews

Walter Dietrich, ed., Die Welt Der Hebräischen Bibel: Umfeld – Inhalte – Grundthemen
Reviewed by Izaak J. de Hulster

Christoph Heilig, Paul’s Triumph: Reassessing 2 Corinthians 2:14 in Its Literary and Historical Context
Reviewed by Gudrun Nassauer

James D. Nogalski, The Book of the Twelve and Beyond: Collected Essays of James D. Nogalski
Reviewed by Aaron Schart

Joseph Poon, The Identities of the Beast from the Sea and the Beast from the Land in Revelation 13
Reviewed by Martin Karrer

Annette Weissenrieder and Robert B. Coote, eds., The Interface of Orality and Writing: Speaking, Seeing, Writing in the Shaping of New Genres
Reviewed by Brandon Walker

Ben Witherington III, Isaiah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics
Reviewed by Wilson de Angelo Cunha

The Value of a Theological Education

Claude Mariottini posts here on the value of a theological education.

Household Gods in the Greco-Roman World

Carl Rasmussen has a post here on how household gods might have been worshiped in New Testament times by looking specifically at ruins in Ephesus and Pompeii.

Whales, Leviathan, Jonah, and the Talmud

Here is an interesting article related to recent discoveries both archaeological and actual whales in the Mediterranean Sea.

Reading Those with Whom You Disagree

Marty Duren makes the case here for reading those with whom you disagree.

Greg Beale on Biblical Theology

Fred Zaspel interviews Greg Beale here on the subject of biblical theology.

2018 Text-Driven Preaching Workshop

Mark your calendars for the 2018 Text-Driven Preaching Workshop at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This year's focus will be on the book of Job. You can get details here.

Turning True Statements into Truth Nuggets

Merely articulating a truth can be helpful but packaging that truth in a winsome or memorable way is usually preferable. So Michael Cooper explains how he turns true statements into truth nuggets that transform lives here.

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. 

Garrick V. Allen, The Book of Revelation and Early Jewish Textual Culture Reviewed by Juan Hernández Jr.

Paul N. Anderson, Felix Just, S.J., and Tom Thatcher, eds., John, Jesus, and History, Volume 3: Glimpses of Jesus through the Johannine Lens
Reviewed by Harold W. Attridge

Drew W. Billings, Acts of the Apostles and the Rhetoric of Roman Imperialism
Reviewed by Davina C. Lopez

Dylan M. Burns, Apocalypse of the Alien God: Platonism and the Exile of Sethian Gnosticism
Reviewed by Glen Fairen

Micah D. Kiel, Apocalyptic Ecology: The Book of Revelation, the Earth, and the Future
Reviewed by Héctor Martín

Max Kunze, ed., Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem: Führer durch die Sammlungen
Reviewed by Wolfgang Zwickel

Alan Moss, Proverbs
Reviewed by Bernd U. Schipper

Nele Spiering-Schomborg, “Man kann sich nicht entscheiden, als was man geboren wird”: Exodus 1 im Horizont von Intersektionalität und empirischer Bibeldidaktik
Reviewed by Gottfried Adam

Michael E. Stone, Armenian Apocrypha Relating to Angels and Biblical Heroes
Reviewed by Adam Carter Bremer-McCollum

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, Ezra-Nehemiah: Israel’s Quest for Identity
Reviewed by Lester Grabbe

Amillennialism and Revelation 20

Matt Waymeyer has a post here challenging the standard Amillennial approach to Revelation 20.

Parents and Children in the Old Testament

Claude Mariottini has a helpful post here related to parents and children in the Old Testament and how the godliness (or lack thereof) of the parent is not a reliable indicator of how their children turn out. There is also also a good pastoral word to believing parents whose children are not walking in wisdom or obedience.

LMLK Seals

Here is a pretty good article on Judean LMLK seals.

John 2 and the Wedding at Cana

Ian Paul has a helpful post on the wedding of Cana pericope in John 2 here. I hold that a creation motif runs through the account and that the turning of the water to wine is a divine act of creation. On an additional note, during a recent trip to Israel I was able to visit a late Second Temple stoneware factory and found a couple of fragments from stone vessels.

Free Audio Book of the Month: Reading the Bible Supernaturally

Christianaudio.com is offering John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally as their free audio download for the month of July. To read more about this resource and to get your free audio download in either MP3 or M4B formats go here.

Free Logos "Book" for July: Mobile Ed: NT308 The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts Course

The free Logos "Book" for the Month for May is Craig Evans' The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts course. You can also purchase Mark Strauss' Introducing Bible Translations course for $9.99 and/or Craig Keener's Critical issues in the Synoptic Gospels course for $19.99 and register to win the four-course Text of the Bible bundle. For all these offers, go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.

The Portrayal of Nebuchadnezzar in 2 Kings and Jeremiah

Claude Mariottini has a nice post here about the portrayal of Nebuchadnezzar in 2 Kings and Jeremiah.