Preaching Geography-Heavy Texts

Bryan Murawski has four helpful tips here for preaching geographically heavy texts

Free Audio: The Confessions of St. Augustine

Christianaudio.com is offering the classic The Confessions of St. Augustine as a free download. To read more about this resource and to get your free audio download in either MP3 or M4B formats go here.

Memorization Techniques in the Middle Ages

This is a fascinating post on medieval memorization techniques which can be gleaned by examining ancient Psalm manuscripts.

HT: Drew Longacre

Free eBook: I Will Tell You the Mystery

Wipf and Stock is offering a free eBook copy of I Will Tell You the Mystery: A Commentary for Preaching from the Book of Revelation by Ronald J. Allen. I did not see an expiration date so you might want to act sooner rather than later. Here are the instructions to get your copy.

1. Click on this link.
2. Click "BUY" on the eBook option.
3. Click "Add Coupon" and use the code "FREEALLEN"
4. Upon checkout completion, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions of how to download your free eBook.

Archeological Evidence for Hezekiah’s Reforms

Sabine Kleiman has a good article on the topic 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 to read them.

Andrew T. Abernathy, Discovering Isaiah: Content, Interpretation, Reception (Eerdmans)
Marvin A. Sweeney

James W. Barker, Tatian’s Diatessaron: Composition, Redaction, Recension, and Reception (Oxford University Press)
Ulrich B. Schmid

Sebastian P. Brock, The Bible in the Syriac Tradition (Gorgias)
David Kiger

Jione Havea and Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon, eds., Bible Blindspots: Dispersion and Othering (Pickwick)
Angela N. Parker

William R. G. Loader, Sexuality and Gender: Collected Essays (Mohr Siebeck)
Laura Quick

Frank Matheus, A Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon (GlossaHouse)
Benjamin J. Noonan

Matthew V. Novenson, Paul, Then and Now (Eerdmans)
Paula Fredriksen

Jens Schröter, Soham Al-Suadi, and Konrad Schwarz, eds., Gleichnisse und Parabeln in der frühchristlichen Literatur: Methodische Konzepte, religionshistorische Kontexte, theologische Deutungen (Mohr Siebeck)
Lauri Thurén

Free Psalms Book

The Good Book Company is offering a free epub version Christopher Ash's Psalms For You by Christopher As in exchange for an email address here.

HT: Antony Billington

Free Logos Books for September

Logos is offering Ruth and The Letter to Philemon in the Anchor Bible series as their free books for September. You can also purchase other resources at significant discounts and enter to win the 65-volume International Critical Commentary series. These offers can be accessed here and here.

Is Sermon Preparation Spiritual?

Peter Mead asks and answers the question here.

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 45:1

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. You can access the complete articles by McDonald, Fredriksen, and Breu for free.

FH Luke’s ‘Unpicking’: Some Observations on Francis Watson’s Recent Analysis (2018) and the Extent of the Phenomenon

Olegs Andrejevs

‘Ex-Pagan Pagans’? Paul, Philo, and Gentile Ethnic Reconfiguration

Denys N. McDonald

Paul, Pagans and Eschatological Ethnicities: A Response to Denys McDonald

Paula Fredriksen

Mark’s Miraculous Disciples: ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν αὐτούς (Mark 6.48) as Jesus’ Desire for the Disciples to Walk on Water

Bruce Henning

Female Seed as a Metaphor: Queer Kinship in Revelation 12, Ancient Medical and Literary Texts and the Septuagint

Clarissa Breu

The Alleged ‘Letter Allegedly from Us’: The Parallel Function of ὡς δι’ ἡμῶν in 2 Thessalonians 2.2

Timothy A. Brookins

The Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:9-13)

Brian Rosner provides helpful insights here on how one can find their true identity in the Lord's Prayer.

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.

James P. Byrd, A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood: The Bible and the American Civil War (Oxford University Press)
Adele Reinhartz

Bart L. F. Kamphuis, New Testament Conjectural Emendation in the Nineteenth Century: Jan Hendrik Holwerda as a Pioneer of Method (Brill)
Chris S. Stevens

Joachim J. Krause and Kristin Weingart, eds., Exegetik des Alten Testaments: Bausteine für eine Theorie der Exegese (Mohr Siebeck)
Thomas Hieke

Bernd U. Schipper, Proverbs 1–15 (Fortress)
Richard J. Clifford

Joseph Too Shao and Rosa Ching Shao, Joel, Nahum, and Malachi: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary (Langham Global Library)

Mitchel Modine

Lieve M. Teugels, The Meshalim in the Mekhilot: An Annotated Edition and Translation of the Parables in Mekhilta de Rabbi Yishmael and Mekhilta de Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Mohr Siebeck)
Joshua Schwartz

Mark Zhakevich, Follow Me: The Benefits of Discipleship in the Gospel of John (Lexington/Fortress Academic) Christopher Seglenieks

The Theology of Ephesians

Ben Merkle writes about it here.

What Your Professors Wish You Knew

This is a very good post articulating much of what I eventually understood as a student and what I believe now as an educator.

HT: Sheri Klouda

What Creation Teaches Us about God

There is a brief but helpful discussion here.

Psalm 87

I am 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 87 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps087.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_087.pdf

Psalm 87 devotional: https://www.generations.org/devotionals/100

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.

Rachelle Gilmour, Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel (Oxford University Press)
Diana Abernethy

Heidi J. Hornik, Ian Boxall, and Bobbi Dykema, eds., The Art of Biblical Interpretation: Visual Portrayals of Scriptural Narratives (SBL Press)
Nicola E. Hayward

Jacob Klein and Yitschak Sefati, From the Workshop of the Mesopotamian Scribe: Literary and Scholarly Texts from the Old Babylonian Period (Eisenbrauns)
John Hayes

Scot McKnight and B. J. Oropeza, eds., Perspectives on Paul: Five Views (Baker Academic)
B. G. White

Benedict Schöning, Geschwisterlichkeit lernen: Eine neue theologische Einschätzung der Aufstiegserzählung Davids (Kohlhammer)
Sara Kipfer

Nicklas Tobias, Studien zum Petrusevangelium (Mohr Siebeck)
Angela Standhartinger

The Meaning of “Stronghold” in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Ken Berding has a good explanation here of the meaning of “stronghold” in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. I also agree that, "when we use biblical language, we ought to use it the way the Bible uses it" and unfortunately, Christians often don't when it comes to this term.

God’s Righteousness and Justice in the Old Testament

This looks looks to be an interesting study in two important themes in the Old Testament.

Seven Reasons for John's Specialness

Michael Kruger identifies seven reasons why the Gospel of John is so special here.

The Shema

Reuven Kimelman has an excellent post on the Shema (Deut 6:4-9) here.

Psalm 86

I am 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 86 (in no particular order). Feel free to mention any that you find helpful in the comments section.

Analysis by C. J. Labuschagne: https://www.labuschagne.nl/ps086.pdf

William Barrick’s notes: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_086.pdf

Psalm 86 devotional: https://www.generations.org/devotionals/99