New Preaching Podcast

David Allen is starting a new preaching podcast. You will be able to access it here.

Greek New Testament Wordle

I don't play many games but this one created by James Tauber might be one worth trying.

HT: Mark Hoffman

Psalms Humor

Seen on Facebook.

 

Slavery in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy

Zev Farber has a good discussion here of the different laws related to slaves in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. I would not hold to many of his conclusions but Farber does a pretty good job of laying out the data.

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.

Helen K. Bond and Edward Adams, eds., The Bible on Television
Mary Ann Beavis

Max Botner, Justin Harrison Duff, and Simon Dürr, eds., Atonement: Jewish and Christian Origins
Brian Yong Lee

David Burr, The Book of Revelation
Paul M. Hoskins

Holger Gzella, Aramaic: A History of the First World Language
Craig E. Morrison

Matthias Henze and Rodney A. Werline, eds., Early Judaism and Its Modern Interpreters
Peter Porzig

Joseph Jensen, God’s Word to Israel: New and Augmented Edition
Leslie J. Hoppe

Dennis R. MacDonald, Luke and the Politics of Homeric Imitation: Luke-Acts as a Rival to the Aeneid
Olegs Andrejevs

Thomas Renz, The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah
Steven Tuell

Jon Stewart, The Emergence of Subjectivity in the Ancient and Medieval World: An Interpretation of Western Civilization
Carol A. Newsom

Justin David Strong, The Fables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke: A New Foundation for the Study of Parables
Peter J. Tomson

Free Webinar: Colossae, Colossians, and Archaeology

Clinton Arnold has noted that Tutku Educational Travel is hosting a free webinar on "Colossae, Colossians, and Archaeology." The webinar will be Sunday, February 27 at 7 AM PST or 9 AM CST. Arnold is one of the speakers and will be blogging about it at the Good Book Blog. 

 

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 44:3

The latest articles from of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament are available now. Here is a list of the articles and links to abstracts. The whole Kujanpää is accessible as a free PDF.

A Postmodern Riddle? Gaps, Inferences and Mark’s Abrupt Ending
Kelly R. Iverson

Paul and the Author of 1 Clement as Entrepreneurs of Identity in Corinthian Crises of Leadership
Katja Kujanpää

‘If they Will Enter my Rest’: The Impact of the Greek Translation Technique of Psalm 95 for the Argument of Hebrews 3 and 4J.
Michael McKay, Jr

The Eyewitnesses in their Own Words: Testing Richard Bauckham’s Model Using Verifiable Quotations
Jeffrey Tripp

In Defence of New Testament Satanologies: A Response to Farrar and Williams
Tom de Bruin

To Quote or Not to Quote? Categorizing Quotations in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Mark Cooper

Advice for Preaching through Longer Books

Jeff Wiesner has some pretty good advice here.

Top Ezra–Nehemiah Commentaries

Aubrey Buster lists and annotates her top "six" (actually 8) commentaries on Ezra–Nehemiah on Nijay Gupta's blog here.

The Honesty of the Psalter

"Perhaps one reason for the enduring power of the Psalter, despite its troubling aspects, is its blistering honesty; not only does the Psalter not shrink from owning negative emotions, but it also does not underplay the experience of abandonment by God voiced in laments that dominate the first third of the Psalter. It is precisely this experience of abandonment, also placed in the mouth of Jesus as he died, that discomfits later theologians who have consistently sought to tidy up psalmic theology to protect a presupposed view of God as present, gracious, and powerful. Ironically, admitting that one does not always experience God this way vitalizes these poems. They showcase people struggling to make sense of God in the face of deep doubts and sometimes frankly failing in that endeavor. That the canonizers included this 'counter testimony' in the canon attests to their refusal to whitewash the problem of theodicy. The poets address people where they are, even when doing so flies in the face of authorized theological expectation."

Ellen Charry, Psalms 1–50 (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2015), XIX.

Top 10 Commentaries on 2 Corinthians

B. J. Oropeza lists his here.

HT: Brian Small

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.

Hannes Bezzel and Reinhard G. Kratz, eds., David in the Desert: Tradition and Redaction in the “History of David’s Rise”
David G. Firth

Christa Gray and James Corke-Webster, eds., The Hagiographical Experiment: Developing Discourses of Sainthood
Jennifer Barry

Daniel M. Gurtner, Introducing the Pseudepigrapha of Second Temple Judaism: Message, Context, and Significance
Lydia Gore-Jones

Johan Leemans, Geert Roskam, and Josien Segers, eds., John Chrysostom and Severian of Gabala: Homilists, Exegetes and Theologians
Robert Edwards

Tobias Nicklas, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, and Mikhail Seleznev, eds., History and Theology in the Gospels: Seventh International East–West Symposium of New Testament Scholars, Moscow, September 26 to October 1, 2016
Andrew McGowan

Wesley G. Olmstead, Matthew: A Handbook on the Greek Text
Olegs Andrejevs

Aaron Ricker, Ancient Letters and the Purpose of Romans: The Law of the Membrane
William Horst

Dalit Rom-Shiloni, Voices from the Ruins: Theodicy and the Fall of Jerusalem in the Hebrew Bible
Jina Kang

Loren R. Spielman, Jews and Entertainment in the Ancient World
Joshua Schwartz

Bruce K. Waltke and Ivan D. V. De Silva, Proverbs: A Shorter Commentary
David Penchansky

Deborah, Jael and Sisera’s Mother, Themech

This is an interesting post that looks at the retelling of the story of Jael (or Yael) in Judges 4 and 5 in the first century AD document Biblical Antiquities. Even though I I am  not convinced by some of the article's conclusions, there are lessons to be learned about what happens when we as preachers and teachers retell biblical stories.

Most Embarrassing Pastoral Wedding Mistakes

Ed Stetzer asked pastors to share their most embarrassing wedding mistakes and this article shares some of the responses.

Free Tutku Webinar

Tutku, and education travel company is hosting a free webinar via Zoom on Bible and Holy Land related topics. Here are the details.

Date and Time: January 16, 2022, 14:00 - 17:45 (Turkey time)
Zoom link:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6297308579...
Meeting ID: 629 730 8579
Passcode: tutku

 

Six Stone Water Jars in John 2

Ian Paul has a good post here related to interpreting the six water jars in the water to wine sign of John 2:6. I especially appreciate his recognition of the historical veracity of John's Gospel. 

But I would add that one needs to wrestle with why the author mentions that the jars were made of stone and why there were six of them. If one simply wanted to relay the miracle of water to wine, then the author could have said there were several water jars and still conveyed the basic essence of the story. As good writers know, the inclusion or exclusion of details can make or break a story. Too many or too few can have a negative impact on the story. 

The details for me echo creation and Genesis 1–2. For example, the similarity of John 1:1 to Genesis 1:1 sets things up, the reference to “day” (2:1), the reference to water (Gen 1:2), the number six (six days of creation), the stone vessels representing purity echoing the repeated refrain of “good” or “very good,” the presence of God implied in the first “marriage” (Gen 2:22-24), the fact that speech is involved in the creative act (2:5, 7, 8) as it is in Genesis (“and God said,” ) suggest to me that there are intended allusions to creation and Genesis 1–2. And creation is a divine prerogative. As such, this dovetails with the author stated purpose that his readers might know that Jesus is “the Son of God” (20:31).

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.

Lisa M. Bowens, African American Readings of Paul: Reception, Resistance, and Transformation
Neil Elliott

Walter Brueggemann and Tod Linafelt, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination
Jordan M. Scheetz

Nikolaos Domazakis, The Neologisms in 2 Maccabees
Joshua Alfaro

Amiel Drimbe, The Church of Antioch and the Eucharistic Traditions (ca. 35–130 CE)
H. H. Drake Williams III

Sandra Huebenthal, Reading Mark’s Gospel as a Text from Collective Memory
Richard Horsley

Libor Marek, A Star from Jacob, a Sceptre from Israel: Balaam’s Oracle as Rewritten Scripture in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Franziska Ede

Eric F. Mason and Darian R. Lockett, eds., Reading the Epistle of James: A Resource for Students
Wesley H. Wachob

Christina Petterson, Acts of Empire: The Acts of the Apostles and Imperial Ideology
Steve Walton

Christopher R. Seitz, Convergences: Canon and Catholicity
Rick Wadholm Jr.

Bruce K. Waltke and Ivan D. V. De Silva, Proverbs: A Shorter Commentary
Mark Sneed