BEN: I imagine some readers of Chapter 4 are going to wonder why you went straight to the intertestamental stuff on ho diabolos and then backtracked to the OT in the following chapters to deal with the other two supernatural rebellions. I can see the conceptual logic of this, but some may not. And of course some Biblicistic readers will want to know why you even bother with non-Biblical material like that. But of course the answer is clear— it... Read more

BEN: So let’s see if we can sum up some of the basic conclusions of Chapter 2: 1) Ha Satan of Job 1-2 fame is not the chap we later came to call the Devil. He is the prosecuting attorney of the heavenly council, so to speak—the ‘adversary’ as opposed to the advocate in legal terms; 2) the rebel/serpent in the garden of Eden is indeed the one later called Satan, but he is a throne guardian/cherubim, and so rather... Read more

In days of sadness, In days of loss We share our problems, But at what cost? Why then so careless Do we care less, We want our freedom But is it best? We mask our feelings But not our face, We think the unthinkable Will not take place. What fiend beguiles us To selfish ways What anger riles us Are these ‘normal days’? There’s no returning Despite our yearning The forward motion O’er rule emotions With social distance Alone, together... Read more

BEN: Let’s talk a bit about the 3 key OT texts about the Nefarious One, the Great Deceiver— Gen. 3, Isa. 14, Ezek. 28. While I am all for comparing these, I don’t think they should just be mushed together. More to the point, I think that the latter two texts are further developing what is at best implicit in Gen. 3, in various ways. I think the traditions in Gen. 1-11 are in various places quite primitive, and do... Read more

BEN: The image of God concept is a critical one to understanding so many things in the Bible, especially in regard to both the nature and the status of human beings (and angels). While I agree with you that the image concept does convey something about the status of its recipients, I think it also tells us something about their nature. The connection between theology and ethics in the Bible (see my The Indelible Image) is this image concept— ‘be... Read more

BEN: I entirely agree with you that Gen. 1.26 and 3.22 is not about the Trinity but rather about God and his heavenly council. As you say on p. 64. n.14, that God announces to the ‘us’ the project of making humans in his image makes no sense if he is talking to the rest of the Godhead who already knows this, being omniscient. So instead, this is a revelation to the angels or supernatural beings that make up God’s... Read more

BEN: The use of the LXX in the NT is a bit of a mystery to many Christians who study the Bible. They ask questions like if the original Greek and Hebrew is so important for understanding the Bible, why did various NT writers rely on a translation like the LXX? How is that different from us relying on a good English translation? Of course, in the case of some like Paul, it seems clear he knew both the Hebrew... Read more

BEN: I assume you think that the LXX was indeed done by multiple translators with multiple levels of ability. I remember by old colleague Sandy Richter saying that some part of the translation is more like ‘the Message’ more of a paraphrase in some books, and in some cases a more literal rendering. This surely makes it difficult to generalize about the semantics of vocabulary choices for divine beings in the LXX, or do you think the LXX had some... Read more

Michael Thomson, a friend and one of my fine editors over the years, has shared the following memorial to Prof. Packer who just passed away at 93. I will share one story of my own from 1975 or so. I was taking a course on the Holy Spirit taught by Professor Packer. By then everybody was already saying that his Knowing God was a classic, and they were right. Packer was nothing if not punctual, but one day he was... Read more

BEN: If I’m reading Chapter Two right, you are arguing that there are not really vestiges of polytheism or henotheism in the worldview of the ancient Hebrews and their later scribes who assembled the OT, but rather they believe in monotheism, but they acknowledge: 1)other spiritual beings both benevolent and malevolent and so some form of ‘divine plurality’ (p. 41 n.8), and 2) they acknowledge that other peoples they live with or near are polytheists. Right? MICHAEL: I’d say Israelites... Read more