BibleX

Review of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary , Volume 5

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:28:00 +0000

Thanks to Jesse Hillman at Zondervan for the free review copy.

The following review relates specifically to volume five, but I trust that the comments will have general relevance to all the volumes. Volume five covers the Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. I won’t list all the authors here, but a complete list of contributors can be seen here.

In general, I can happily add my hearty affirmation to the growing and glowing recommendations of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary (ZIBBCOT). The book is well-designed and attractively produced. The quality and quantity of content of individual chapters vary somewhat as one might expect from the utilization of different authors. But having said that, every chapter in the volume that I reviewed proved to be both insightful and helpful. The boxed topical discussions such as Sovereign Lord” on page 67 generally provide solid discussions of the main issues at hand. Furthermore, the selection and quality of the pictures were as a whole outstanding. There is a nice margin provided on the open side of the page for readers who like to make notations in their books.

That Zondervan has provided a nice resource for biblical studies seems obvious. The question remains though, what is the best way to use this resource? My answer is that would best serve as an intermediate introduction to background issues related to the books of the Old Testament. Four observations can be made on this point. First, I would suggest that it is intermediate in the sense that beginning readers might be a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material. Also some of the commentary is probably a bit beyond the neophyte student. Second, this volume raises the whole issue of how background material ought to be utilized (note: this is a question of how rather than if). For example, how does one avoid the problem of parallelomania associated with written texts noted nearly fifty years ago by Sandmel. This issue is covered to some degree in Walton’s introductory essay. But some users of ZIBBCOT will either not read the introductory essay or forget/ignore the ten “principles” on p. xii. Third, it is important to remember that ZIBBCOT is introductory in the sense that the texts and artifacts in the book are often and necessarily presented without the larger context. This means that responsible students will need to refer to more comprehensive resources to look at these texts/artifacts in context before drawing too many conclusions. Texts for example will need to be read in their larger contexts in volumes such as Hallo and Younger’s The Context of Scripture. Fourth, ZIBBCOT is introductory in the sense that while it presents commentary on the biblical text, the commentary is selective, and in this sense, inadequate. One will either need to turn to ZIBBCOT after doing the exegetical work and interacting with exegetical commentaries or begin with ZIBBCOT and then do one’s exegesis and interaction with more detailed exegetical commentaries.

Although my view of this work is overwhelmingly positive there are a few minor criticisms. First, I wonder about the propriety of some of the images. For example, in the chapter on Habakkuk, the first image is from an Assyrian relief. This could be potentially confusing since the foreign threat in Habakkuk is Babylonian rather than Assyrian. It is possible that the image was chosen because it pictures ramparts and ramparts are mentioned in Habakkuk 2:1. But even if this is the reason for the inclusion, no link is made in the description itself. This problem could be easily alleviated by the inclusion of a simple text reference such as (see Hab 2:1). Second, there are times when it seems that appropriate images are left out. For example, it seems strange that an image of the Cyrus Cylinder is not utilized once in the chapters devoted to the Post-Exilic Prophets. Third, some interpreters will be troubled by certain assumptions that are made without qualification and presentation of other views. For example, the assumed identification of Daniel/Dane’l in Ezekiel 14:14, 20 as a mythical Ugaritic character rather than the prophet Daniel in the Book of Daniel seems to merit at least some qualification. While this Ugaritic identification is not uncommon, it is not a settled matter either, especially among some Evangelical interpreters (see for example Daniel Block’s discussion in his Ezekiel commentary (NICOT). Wouldn’t at least a footnote be merited in cases like this? Fourth, while I appreciate the picture index, its utilization of categories (e.g., “amulets”) might be helpful in some ways, but unhelpful in others since the reader will need to know what category that the image that they are looking for falls under. Perhaps a supplementary general alphabetical index would help to make the volume more user-friendly. A Scripture index would also be helpful and should be considered mandatory for modern reference works such as this one. Finally, and this is a matter of personal preference, I would have preferred footnotes rather than endnotes. But these criticisms are minor and should not detract significantly from the overall value of the work as a whole.

Statement of Teaching Philosophy

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Michael Halcomb has done it again! He has now created and made available a document on how to create a statement of teaching philosophy. Check it out here. While there, check out Michael's other helpful resources.

Theology of the Catholic (or General) Epistles

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:38:00 +0000

Michael Bird highlights the following three recent treatments related to the theology of the Catholic (or General) Epistles (James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude).

Peter H. Davids, “The Catholic Epistles as Canonical Janus: A New Testament glimpse into Old and New Testament Canon Formation,” Bulletin of Biblical Research 19 (2009): 403-16.

David R. Nienhuis, Not by Paul Alone: The Formation of the Catholic Epistles and the Christian Canon (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007).

Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr and Robert W. Wall, eds., Catholic Epistles and Apostolic Tradition (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009).

Campbell on Galatians 1:15-16

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:26:00 +0000

See here for Constantine Campbell's exegesis of Galatians 1:15-16.

Eight Common Errors in Theological Argumentation

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:47:00 +0000

C. Michael Patton has a good list of "Eight Ways to Lose Your Influence in Theology." The The eight points are worth making, list but I would add two observations. First, these eight "ways" relate to argumentation in general, and not just theological argumentation in particular. Second, I am not sure that committing these errors leads to a loss of theological influence. sadly, it seems that many of the better known voices in biblical/theological studies do these types of things rather frequently. In any case, Michael's eight "ways" are as follows.

1. Be Imbalanced
2. Overstate your case
3. Misrepresent your opponents
4. Obscure the options
5. Get defensive
6. Lack of grace
7. Be perpetually non-committal
8. Define yourself by what you are against

To read the entire explanation go here.

Gaffin on Christ in the Old Testament

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Richard Gaffin discusses the hermeneutics of Christ in the Old Testament here.

For All Presenters at ETS/SBL

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Nijay Gupta has some sage advice for presenters at professional conferences such as the Evangelical Theological Society and Society of Biblical Literature. You can read it here.

Visual Tools for Learning Hebrew

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:06:00 +0000

Karyn Traphagen has a nice post of different visual tools for learning Hebrew here.

The Perspicuity of Scripture

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:30:00 +0000

See this article by Michael Jenson on the perspicuity of Scripture.

The Superscriptions to the Psalms

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:32:00 +0000

See Shane Lems discussion of the superscriptions to the Psalms here.

Jesus in Josephus

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:24:00 +0000

See this discussion with Chris Forbes on the Jesus passages in Josephus, including the Testimonium Flavianum.

Josephus and Jesus: a Christian forgery? from CPX on Vimeo.

HT: Michael Halcomb

100+ ways to use social media for learning

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:45:00 +0000

See this post for 100+ ways to use social media for learning.

Psalm 1

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:52:00 +0000

John Hobbins has posted a detailed study of Psalm 1 as a pdf. Check it out here.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:57:00 +0000

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

Jason S. DeRouchie
A Call to Covenant Love: Text Grammar and Literary Structure in Deuteronomy 5-11
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7004 Author(s
Reviewed by Max Rogland

Geert Hallbäck and Annika Hvithamar, eds.
Recent Releases: The Bible in Contemporary Cinema
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6928
Reviewed by Diane Apostolos-Cappadona

Larry R. Helyer
The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John: An Exploration in Biblical Theology
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6909
Reviewed by William Wilson

Richard S. Hess, Gerald A. Klingbeil, and Paul J. Ray Jr., eds.
Critical Issues in Early Israelite History
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6942
Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton
A Survey of the Old Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7091
Reviewed by William Barrick

Øystein Lund
Way Metaphors and Way Topics in Isaiah 40-55
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6915
Reviewed by James M. Kennedy

Jacob Neusner, Bruce D. Chilton, and Baruch A. Levine
Torah Revealed, Torah Fulfilled: Scriptural Laws in Formative Judaism and Earliest Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7035
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn

Neil R. Parker
The Marcan Portrayal of the "Jewish" Unbeliever: A Function of the Marcan References to Jewish Scripture: The Theological Basis of a Literary Construct
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6639
Reviewed by Adam Winn

Daniel Patte, ed.
Global Bible Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6489
Reviewed by Gerrie Snyman

Robert M. Price
Jesus Is Dead
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7049
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Émile Puech, ed.
Qumran Grotte 4.XXVII: Textes Araméens, deuxième partie
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7071
Reviewed by Aaron Rubin

Paul A. Rainbow
The Pith of the Apocalypse: Essential Message and Principles for Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7013
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas

Jacqueline C. R. de Roo
Works of the Law at Qumran and in Paul
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5997
Reviewed by Jörg Frey

Lothar Ruppert
Genesis: Ein kritischer und theologischer Kommentar 4. Teilband: Gen 37,1-50,26
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6706
Reviewed by Mark Elliott

Susannah Ticciati
Job and the Disruption of Identity: Reading Beyond Barth
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5202
Reviewed by Francis Dalrymple-Hamilton

Song of Solomon

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:26:00 +0000

Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, “An Introduction to the Song of Songs,” Review and Expositor 105 (2008): 392

"This greatest of songs has long puzzled both Jewish and Christian interpreters. Until modem times both communities of interpreters understood the Song as a symbolic account of God’s love of Israel or for the Church. However, modern scholarship has made clear that the Song is love poetry pure and simple. As such the poems promote an understanding of sexual love as blessed, holy, a place of divine presence. They provide a basis for a theology in which sexual relationship is whole and redeemed."

Does the Book of Psalms Contain an Argument?

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Although it is commonly known that the Book of Psalms consists of five smaller books or sections (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), there is some debate as to whether the arrangement of the individual psalms convey an argument or not. Julia O'Brien has a nice discussion of this issue here.

Sale on Some Titles from Oxford University Press

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:09:00 +0000

Oxford University Press is having a holiday sale of select titles, 30-65% off. Titles of interest include:

Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition - James K. Hoffmeier for 50% off = $17.50

The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship- Gerry Marsden for 50% off = $10.00

A Guide to Biblical Sites in Turkey and Greece - Clyde E. Fant, Mitchell G. Reddish for 65% off = $10.50

The Apocryphal New Testament - ed. J. K. Elliott for 30% off = $59.50

Paul: His Story - Jerome Murphy-O'Conner for 30% off = $17.49

The Holy Land: Oxford Archaeological Guide - Jerome Murphy-O'Conner for 30% off = $26.50

To see all 31 religion and theology titles at 30% off go here.

To see all 31 religion and theology titles at 50% off go here.

To see all 52 religion and theology titles at 65% off go here.

I am not sure you will need it, but the promo code is 28359

Jervell on Paul According to Paul and Acts

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:49:00 +0000

"The Lukan Paul, the picture of Paul in Acts, is a completion, a filling up of the Pauline one, so that in order to get at the historical Paul, we cannot do without Acts and Luke."

Jacob Jervell, The Unknown Paul: Essays on Luke-Acts and Early Christian History (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1984), 70.

Contemporary Studies in Acts

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Phillips, Thomas E., ed. Contemporary Studies in Acts. Macon, GA: Mercer, 2009

Book Description:

The book of Acts contains the only biblical narrative of the events that occurred in the early church between the early first-century ministry of Jesus and the early to mid-second-century emergence of the Christian apologists. As such, the book of Acts has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. These present groundbreaking essays reveal the best in contemporary thought about this fascinating one-of-a-kind book. The authors in this volume provide us both with snapshots of the most pressing questions in contemporary Acts scholarship and with succinct expressions of the best answers for those questions. This volume is more than a mere restatement of the status quo. Rather it is very much an exploration, but an exploration guided by seasoned Acts scholars. Perhaps most importantly, many of the contributors pay particular attention to the question of the origin and reception of Acts as a pivotal document within early Christian thought. Together they call for a reconsideration of many widely held, but not well-defended truisms in Acts scholarship. These new investigations into Acts originated from the 2006 and 2007 meetings of the SBL section on ACTS. These essays reexamine the origin and reception of Acts as a document within the larger world of early Christianity. The list of contributors includes both well-established and emerging leaders in Acts studies.

The essays include:

Wrestling with and for Paul – Joseph B. Tyson

Acts in the Suburbs of the Apologists – Richard I. Pervo

Irenaeus and the Reception of Acts in the Second Century – Andrew Gregory

The Reception of the Book of Acts in Late Antiquity – Francois Bovon

Acts and the Structure of the Christian Bible – David E. Smith

The Rhetorical Function of Refutation in Acts 6–7 and 10–1 5 – Julien C. H. Smith

Tabernacle and Temple – James N. Rhodes

Paul's Dream at Troas – John B. F. Miller

Embedded Letters and Rhetorical au;xhsij – Justin R. Howell

“Friendly” Pharisees and Social Identity in Acts – Raimo Hakola

The Downfall of Eutychus – Andrew Arterbury

Prophets, Priests, and Godfearing Readers – Thomas E. Phillips

SBL Papers Online

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:12:00 +0000

The Paul and Scripture blog has links to some of this year's SBL papers related to the Pauline Corpus. See it here.

HT: Nijay Gupta

Babylon in the British Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:34:00 +0000

Note: There is some political commentary before you get to the presentation on Babylon itself.

Evangelicals and Reading the Church Fathers

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:24:00 +0000

David Neff has an interesting post of the recent fascination of Evangelicals with reading the Church Fathers.

The Epistle of James?

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:36:00 +0000

"Is the letter of James a letter, and if not, what is the genre of James? The text itself purports to be a letter. In classic form it begins with the sender, then the addressee, followed by the traditional greeting, chairein (greetings). Is that enough to qualify James as a letter? Yes. First, despite the pervasive influence of Paul, there is not a single model in the NT of what a letter looks like. NT letters vary in length, audience, outline, and topics, from the ‘letters’ in Acts to the ‘letter to the Romans.’ To argue that James cannot be a letter because it lacks final greetings is like arguing that Mark is not a gospel because it originally had no resurrection appearance, nor John because it has no birth narrative. Second, to disqualify James as a letter because the majority of its verses are devoted to paranesis (traditional moral instruction) and diatribe (moral exhortation) is to confuse form and content. By this standard one would also disqualify Romans . . . More generally . . . James may be thought of as a homiletical letter intended to be circulated and read aloud (as were all letters) by early Christian communities influenced by the Jerusalem church. Whether one thinks of it as a letter in the form of a sermon or as a sermon in the form of a letter, it was a vehicle for sharing the teaching of James with the extended early Jewish Christian community – the ‘twelve tribes of the Dispersion’ (Gk diaspora).”

William F. Brosend II, James and Jude, New Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 7-8.

Handling Criticism

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:36:00 +0000

We all experience it. Trevin Wax has a good reminder of how to handle criticism in ministry. Read it here.

Jesus' Birth and the Census of Quirinius

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:37:00 +0000

See this article by Jared Compton posted at the Associates for Biblical Research website entitled " Once More: Quirinius's Census."

HT: Stephen Smuts