I too want to say a word in honor of C.K. Barrett, who recently passed away at the age of 94. In seminary, I connected the name C.K. Barrett to his Roman commentary (Black’s), a nice short interpretation and exposition, competent, careful, and sensitive to pastoral issues. I knew that my friend/mentor Ben Witherington studied at Durham with him. When I too was accepted to Durham (almost 20 years after Ben??!), I was excited about being in such an intellectual... Read more

One of the “big name” Biblical-Academic presses is Westminster John Knox – they do some really great stuff! Right now, they are doing a special promotion for “teaching professionals: 60% off and free shipping on orders more than $50. I will tell you, that is not a bad deal at all, rivaling the SBL promotions (perhaps even better?). To get this deal, you must use a special promo code (which I have). If you did not get the email, but... Read more

Many have already heard the sad news of the passing of Eugene Nida, the eminent linguist and Bible translator. I just wish to say that I have appreciated his Greek-English Lexicon of the NT: Based on Semantic Domains (with J.P. Louw). In fact, for my Colossians commentary I am working on, I have set “Louw-Nida” as my default (“go-to”) lexicon for semantic matters, rather than the expected “BDAG.” (I may explain my decision on another occasion.) In any case, I hope... Read more

As I am studying and teaching Joshua and Judges this year (which is a serious, but welcome, challenge for a NT researcher!), I have wondered, time and time again, why the promise and acquisition of land is so important to the Old Testament. What makes Joshua so central to the OT? Why is Deuteronomy so fixated on Israel’s land-grant from Yahweh? There are, no doubt, many answers. Perhaps the most profound one, theologically speaking, has to do with the “incarnation”... Read more

Be on the lookout at SBL for the latest volume in the “Spectrum Multiview” Series from IVP: Justification: Five Views edited by Beilby, Eddy, and Enderlein. What are the “big five”? Traditional Reformed (Michael H0rton) Progressive Reformed (Mike Bird) New Perspective (James Dunn) Theosis/Deification (V-M Karkkainen) Roman Catholic (Gerland O’Collins and Oliver Rafferty) I love these books, produced so well, offering conversational tone (like hearing a lecture) and seeing scholars interact and engage. In the past some of the engagements have... Read more

One can talk about “cheap grace” and “costly grace” in relatively abstract terms and get a sense for what Bonhoeffer is getting at. When one reading his Cost of Discipleship in light of his circumstances (in the 1930’s), though, the matter becomes undoubtedly more “real” and “relevant.” Context matters. I teach New Testament, and I try to help students to get this – whether it is the Gospel of John or Colossians. These writings weren’t written by professional textbook writers for... Read more

When I saw Alan Padgett’s new book advertised, As Christ Submits to the Church: A Biblical Understanding of Leadership and Mutual Submission, I was very intrigued and excited. In the end, as I will try and demonstrate, it was a great idea, but not worked out in the book itself in the best way. I think he is on to something, but I was hoping for a more concentrated, thoroughgoing approach. The book, in the end, seemed more like a series... Read more

Entry 2222: ethelothreskia – “do-it-yourself religion” Read more

The first two times I heard Bruce Longenecker give a paper were when I was studying at Durham, Longenecker was lecturing at St. Andrews, and he was working on this book, Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty, and the Greco-Roman World. One paper he gave I completely did not understand (on reconfiguring poverty scales in the GR world) and the other one I didn’t find convincing at the time (on his interpretation of Gal 2:10). And, yet, I found this book, having... Read more

If Roy Ciampa and Brian Rosner’s new 1 Corinthians commentary (Pillar, Eerdmans, 2010) fell off of my bookshelf and landed on me, I would be in the hospital. It is HUGE (900+ pages). It is not only physically “weighty,” it also has exegetical and theological gravitas. Simply put, it makes a series of important contributions to the study of 1 Corinthians, both at a broad level (big picture thinking on 1 Corinthians) and in a number of smaller exegetical arguments.... Read more