Previously I had expressed an interest in blogging my way through G. Walter Hansen’s Philippians commentary (Pillar, Eerdmans). However, many of you will know that you can get the feel for the utility, contribution, and niche of a commentary by reading a selective portion. I intend to read the whole thing (as I am currently teaching a grad exegesis course on Philippians), but I don’t think I will have much to say on an extended basis. So, here are some... Read more

From Eerdmans, Thomas Trapp has done the English-speaking world a favor by translating Martin Hengel’s book Der unterschaetzte Petrus: zwei Studien (Mohr Siebeck) with Saint Peter: The Underestimated Apostle. No doubt, this book is timely, as NT scholars are taking more interest in early reception history of the New Testament and therefore there is a re-evaluating of some long-standing viewpoints, such as the supposed antagonism between Paulinism and Peterism. Markus Bockmuehl, I believe, is also working in this area. Anyway,... Read more

When I was in seminary (as if it was all that looooong ago…) we used Gordon Fee’s (now classic?) New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (now in its 3rd edition; WJK). After seminary, I became acquainted with Michael Gorman’s truly excellent Elements of Biblical Exegesis – it covers both OT and NT, has more detailed discussions, contains sample exegesis papers, and an outstanding chapter on theological interpretation of Scripture (worth the price of the book itself!). So,... Read more

I am not sure how old this issue is, but I ran across recently the 4th 2010 issue if Interpretation which follows a common theme on the Gospel of Matthew. Articles including two articles covering Matthew’s Theology (proper, of God), Christology (E. Boring), the Matthean Jesus’ use of Scripture (F. Scott Spencer), and women in Matthew (B. Reid). And there are some interesting long and short book reviews, some on Matthew/Jesus and some on other topics. Read more

I recently gave a lecture on Paul’s ecclesiology in Philippians. One aspect I have focused on is Paul’s use of militarist language, how he engenders a particular esprit de corps among them. One analogy that I used comes from Josephus, where he describes how John of Giscala and Simon Bar Giora had to set aside their rivalry to protect Jerusalem from Titus. So those of different factions cried out one to another, that they acted entirely as in concert with... Read more

Having recently seen my dissertation come to print with Walter de Gruyter, it is a huge relief to have that monkey off my back. While some scholars study one area the rest of their life, I would go bonkers. I am pretty much done with Paul and his cultic metaphors, though it was a good avenue for learning how to do research. So, what’s next? I humbly accepted a gracious offer from Smyth & Helwys to write the Colossians volume... Read more

One of the premier theology/Biblical journals, Journal of Theological Studies, has its second issue of 2010 online now. It includes some very interesting titles (I don’t have access to the electronic version, so I will eventually check out the print version). Here are some highlights “The Defilement of the Hands as a Principle for Determining the Holiness of the Scriptures” (T. Lim) “The Testament of the 12 Patriarchs and the Didascalia Apostolorum: A Common Jewish Christian Milieu?” (Joel Marcus) As... Read more

I have done a lot of lecturing this week, both inside and outside the classroom. It has given me a chance to reflect on what it means to be a teacher, especially of theology and Scriptures. I used to think, as a student, that teachers were paid to come up with new ideas and novel approaches to problems. Sure, they can and sometimes do, in fact, provide these things. However, as an instructor myself, I have come to realize that... Read more

After having it collect some dust on my shelf, I am finally cracking the pages of Walter Hansen’s Pillar commentary on Philippians (Eerdmans). To be frank, I have not found the Pillar series to be especially impressive in the area of creative and “new” ways of reading the text. However, they hardly will ever lead you astray or into speculative indulgences. They are great as “the only commentary on own on ___”. I have yet to see what Hansen contributes... Read more

The “textbook” for our Philippians exegesis class is actually a series of essays and articles that the students will read (alongside Bockmuehl’s excellent and concise commentary) I break the weeks down into passages, and articles deal either with that passage or are connected thematically (if that can be managed) Phil 1:1-11 (1) Peter Oakes, “Jason and Penelope Hear Philippians 1:1-11,” in Understanding, Studying and Reading (1998) (2) J. Hellerman, “Brothers and Friends in Philippi: Family Honor in the Roman World... Read more