The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 8, 1 (2021)

The latest issue of the Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies is now available online, with the below articles and their abstracts (where available). Individual essays are available from here, and the journal is available in its entirety as a pdf here.

David R. Bauer

From the Editors

Suzanne Nicholson

The Two Spotlights of Inductive Bible Study and Narrative Criticism

Narrative criticism and inductive Bible study share many key features, such as intensive investigation of textual details, recognition of the importance of viewing a book as a whole, and specific techniques for analyzing passages. Biblical narratives do not simply describe the events in the lives of Israelite kings, prophets, or Jesus and the early church. Rather, these highly crafted narratives lead the reader to theological conclusions through creative plot structures, characterizations, point of view, and other tools. Theological truth springs from literary art. When IBS intentionally includes narrative criticism as part of its analysis of biblical narrative, a deeper understanding of the text will emerge. This paper will focus on examples from the Gospels and Acts, with a more detailed look at Acts 15.

Wilbert Webster White

The Resurrection Body “According to the Scriptures,” Chapter Four

Wilbert Webster White

The Resurrection Body “According to the Scriptures,” Chapter Five

Dorothy Jean Weaver

On Serving and Sitting: A Curious, Upside-Down Story about Discipleship (Luke 10:38–42)

This sermon presents the biblical text of Luke 10:38–42 and offers a “traditional” interpretation of this text. This “traditional” interpretation hinges (1) on Jesus’ rebuke of Martha (10:41) and (2) on Jesus’ commendation of Mary (10:42). Such an interpretation, however, leaves the almost unavoidable impression that Jesus is ungrateful for Martha’s efforts in doing the “women’s work” and cooking a meal for a large crowd of people. The sermon then deconstructs this “traditional” interpretation as it re-examines the text of Luke 10:38–42, paying special attention to the broader Lukan usage of the key vocabulary here, namely “serve” (diakoneo): 10:40a/b) with regard to Martha and “listen/hear” (akouo: 10:39) with regard to Mary. This reexamination leads to the paired conclusions that (1) Mary the contemplative will be called to active response to her “listening/hearing” (cf. Luke 6:46–49; 8:19–21; 11:27–28), while (2) Martha the activist – whose “service” reflects nothing less than the “service” of Jesus himself (22:25–27; cf. 12:37) – is even now called to “listening/hearing” as the foundation for her life of activism (cf. Luke 10:42).

Southeastern Theological Review 10, 1 (Spring 2019)

The most-recent issue of the Southeastern Theological Review is online, containing the below essays, available as a pdf here.

Benjamin L. Merkle

Introduction 

David G. Firth

Some Reflections on Current Narrative Research on the Book of Samuel

The development of narrative criticism as a discipline within Old Testament studies and study of the books of Samuel are integrally related. This essay examines the significance of Samuel for the ways in which narrative criticism has developed, arguing that it is the narrative poetics of Samuel that have come to be largely definitive for our understanding of the poetics of narrative within the Old Testament. At the same time, the developing understanding of narrative criticism has shaped the ways in which Samuel is interpreted, with narrative criticism becoming a dominant model. This development is explored through major studies of Samuel published as and since this shift took place, showing the fruitfulness of this approach for contemporary study, while also showing that issues left unaddressed in the rise of narrative criticism leave important questions about their interpretation unresolved.

David Seal

Communication in the Lukan Birth Narrative (Luke 2:1–20)

The Gospel of Luke was written in an oral culture and it documents events that transpired in the same first-century Mediterranean world. This is apparent in chapter 2 where there are references to various means of information being transmitted that were typical of an oral society. First, the chapter opens by recounting a decree issued by Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1–3). Second, the declaration by an angel that a Savior has been born (2:11) was also proclaimed to the shepherds by word of mouth. Third, the victory acclamation recited by the divine army (2:13–14) mimics acclamations vocalized by the Roman army. Finally, the narration by the shepherds of their experience visiting the Christ child and of the angel’s message was conveyed to others by word of mouth (2:17–18). This essay will explore each of these modes of communication and discuss their implications for understanding the birth narrative. 

Alexander E. Stewart and Jacob D. Ott

Show Me the Money: Pedagogy, Numismatics, and the New Testament

Roman imperial and provincial coins are important for understanding religion, politics, and culture in the first century. They are also able to make a unique and valuable pedagogical contribution to classroom teaching in both the academy and the church. In an effort to promote this pedagogical use of ancient coins, this article will (1) provide a brief introduction to biblically relevant coins from the Old Testament, intertestamental, and New Testament periods; (2) briefly illustrate the relevance of numismatics for New Testament studies; and (3) provide practical guidance for the acquisition and pedagogical use of ancient coins.

David Moss

Infinitive Tense-Form Choice: Ephesians as a Test Cast

Verbal aspect and its involvement in the Greek verbal system has been intensely debated since Stanley Porter and Buist Fanning published their dissertations after independently researching the role verbal aspect plays in the Greek verbal system. This essay seeks to take the research done in verbal aspect studies over the past three decades and apply it to a particular test case, namely Paul’s use of infinitives in Ephesians. Greek, like most languages, makes distinctions that do not directly translate well into English. Since the Greek infinitive mostly occurs in the Present and Aorist tense-forms, an author has a choice in which to use. However, the choice is not purely subjective but has contextual, lexical, and aspectual influences. This essay explores these influences and shows their exegetical significance in the book of Ephesians.

Jesse Payne

An Uneasy Ecclesiology: Carl F.H. Henry’s Doctrine of the Church 

This article evaluates Carl F.H. Henry’s ecclesiology and argues that he highlighted regenerate church membership and mission while he downplayed the local aspects of the church (such as polity and the ordinances). The accent of Henry’s ecclesiology was always placed over the wide swath of churches in the Reformation tradition, rather than a particular stream located therein. This was due to Henry’s unique historical context and calling. This article both affirms and expands upon Russell Moore’s previous work on the topic. The strengths of Henry’s approach lie in the value of a unified evangelical voice in the face of encroaching secularism. The weaknesses lie in the neglect of denominational riches and the possible minimization of God’s ordained vehicle for Christian discipleship: the local church.

Zachary Breitenbach

An Epistemically-Focused Interpretation of C.S. Lewis’s Moral Argument in Mere Christianity and an Assessment of Its Apologetic Force

C.S. Lewis’s moral argument in Mere Christianity is rightly lauded as an influential contribution to moral apologetics. Yet its structure, which Lewis never formalizes, is often misunderstood. I will first defend an interpretation of Lewis’s argument that views it as centering on moral epistemology. Although moral ontology plays a key role in his argument insofar as it affirms the reality of objective morality and a transcendent communicator of the moral law, many wrongly view it as making the further ontological claim that God must ground objective morality. I emphasize how Lewis’s primary aim is to show that a mind-like Guide is needed for humans to know the moral law. My other key objective is to evaluate the apologetic effectiveness of this understanding of the argument. Although I will show how he could have strengthened his argument—and his conclusion, which stops short of arguing for classical theism—in significant ways, I will contend that Lewis does offer a sound argument that carries much apologetic force.

Book Reviews

Jonathan T. Pennington on Reading the Gospels Wisely

Having done some work myself on the theological significance of gospel narrative, I was very interested to see notice of the forthcoming book by Jonathan T. Pennington, Reading the Gospels Wisely: A Narrative and Theological Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), which I am confident (based on his published research on Matthew) will be excellent.

A friend has drawn my attention to a website containing a video introducing the book along with a summary of the book’s chapters, providing plenty to whet the appetite of those interested in the gospels and the relationship between the gospels and The Gospel.

Robert Alter on Genesis 38

Genesis 38 (describing the Judah-Tamar incident) is set between the story of Joseph being sold as a slave into Egypt (Genesis 37) and the account of Joseph in the house of Potiphar (Genesis 39).

‘Critical’ scholarship has generally seen the chapter as an independent unit, having little connection with the wider Joseph saga. Kinder interpretations say that it builds an element of suspense into the story of Joseph, but it is still taken as something of an aside, perhaps even the result of poor editing.

Robert Alter, however, begins his The Art of Biblical Narrative (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1981) with a delightful treatment of Genesis 38, showing how the final form of the text demonstrates an intricately interconnected literary unity.

Joseph’s brothers dip his cloak into goat’s blood (37:31). They bring it to Jacob, and ask him to recognise it (37:32). As Alter notes, they are careful to let the object itself do the lying for them, and they refer to Joseph as ‘your son’ (4). Jacob, for his part, improvises wonderfully… he recognises it (37:33, same verb as 37:32) and immediately falls for the trick. The remainder of the chapter describes Jacob’s elaborate mourning rituals (37:34-36).

Then in chapter 38, the narrative leaves Joseph behind and moves straight into the story of Tamar and Judah. However, connections are made with the surrounding narrative, with parallels and contrasts.

The story begins in 38:1-11 with Judah parting from his brothers (literally, ‘he went down’) a reference which may connect his separation from the brothers with Joseph’s separation from the brothers (the same root is used of Joseph in 39:1) (6).

The preceding narrative ended with a father mourning the loss of a son; this section begins with a father fathering three sons. The whole process is narrated in a matter-of-fact manner: ‘Judah sees, takes, lies with a woman; and she, responding appropriately, conceives, bears, and… gives the son a name’ (6). Then, in 38:7, without any indication of time-gap, we read of Er’s death. Onan, the second son, ‘makes the mistake of rebelling… against the legal obligations of the system of primogeniture, refusing to act as his dead brother’s proxy by impregnating the widow in his brother’s name, and so he, too, dies’ (6-7). Though we had a lavish description of Jacob’s mourning for Joseph, Judah’s mourning for his sons is passed over in silence.

In 38:11, we move to direct speech, and the narrator also explains Judah’s motive (he’s concerned about his youngest son), but Tamar says nothing.

38:12 begins with a time indicator (‘After a long time…’), which marks the next stage of the narrative in which the tempo of the action slows down (7). Tamar has been without a husband for a long time (in fact, in 38:14, her own perception, according to the narrator, appears to be that she has been neglected). Judah is widowed, and the period of mourning is over (he is ‘consoled’ [38;12] in contrast to Jacob who refuses to be consoled [37:35]).

Then Tamar begins her plan (38:13-23). Until this point, she has been passive in the plot; now she moves into rapid and purposeful action. In 38:14, a series of verbs describes her as taking off, covering, wrapping herself, sitting down at a strategic place, and in 38:19, another set of verbs show her resuming her former role and attire (8).

Judah falls for it. As Alter notes, ‘his sexual appetite will not tolerate postponement though he has been content to let Tamar languish as a childless widow indefinitely’ (8). 38:16-18 give us the only extended dialogue in the chapter, and it’s rather brisk and business-like. She takes a pledge of Judah’s credit cards (according to Alter, his seal and cord and staff are a kind of legal surrogate) (9). 38:18 concludes quickly with three verbs – he gave, he lay, she conceived. Tamar has become the channel of the seed of Judah.

When Judah sends the kid by his friend Hirah, of course, there is no prostitute to be seen, nor has there been one in that area (38:20-23)…

38:24 then brings us towards the climax of the story. The words are strong and brutal, but in 38:25-26 she reveals all. In these verses, we have the re-occurrence of the verbs ‘to recognise’. Again, it is used here at the climax of this episode as a formula of recognition. (Alter [10] points out that the same verb will be used in the dénouement of the Joseph story, with Joseph recognising his brothers in Egypt, and them not recognising him.)

‘This precise recurrence of the verb in identical forms at the ends of Genesis 37 and 38 respectively is manifestly the result not of some automatic mechanism of interpolating traditional materials but of careful splicing of sources by a brilliant literary artist. The first use of the formula was for an act of deception; the second use is for an act of unmasking. Judah with Tamar after Judah and his brothers is an exemplary narrative instance of the deceiver deceived… He is taken in by a piece of attire, as his father was’ (10).

Judah is taken in by his pledge for a kid, just as Jacob was taken in by the garment which had been dipped in the blood of a goat. Alter points out that the Midrash on Genesis noted this more than 1,500 years ago:

‘The Holy One Praised be He said to Judah, “You deceived your father with a kid. By your life, Tamar will deceive you with a kid”… The Holy One Praised be He said to Judah, “You said to your father, haker-na. By your life, Tamar will say to you, haker-na”’ (Bereshit Rabba 84:11-12, cited in Alter, 11).

The chapter then concludes with the birth of twin boys. As in other places in the Book of Genesis, the one who is about to be born first suddenly takes second place (38:27-30).

But there is more…

‘When we return from Judah to the Joseph story (Genesis 39), we move in pointed contrast from a tale of exposure through sexual incontinence to a tale of seeming defeat and ultimate triumph through sexual continence – Joseph and Potiphar’s wife’ (10).

Genesis 39 is framed by references to Joseph and the Lord being with him and bringing him success in two different situations (39:1-6, 21-23). In between, we have the story of Potiphar’s wife and her attempted seduction of Joseph (39:7-20). 39:7 gives us the first dialogue in this episode. There are no preliminaries, no explanations – just a direct sexual proposition. It seemed as if these were the only words she ever spoke to Joseph (39:10), until one day she grabs him (39:12). In contrast to her few words, Joseph’s refusal is an outpouring of language (39:8-9) (108-109). The key word ‘all’ is used by Joseph and is found in the frames at the beginning and end of the chapter, as is the word ‘house’ which appears five times in the frame verses, and is used twice by Joseph here (109).

Joseph eventually flees and leaves his robe in her hand (39:12). 39:13 virtually repeats 39:12, and serves to emphasise the robe in her hand. Again, we should note that Joseph is ‘linked with the misleading evidence of a garment, as he was when his brothers brought the blood-soaked tunic to his father’ (110).

She lies, of course, and now she too shows she can say a lot when it is necessary to do so (39:14-18); and, of course, Potiphar responds by throwing Joseph into prison (39:19-20). Then we conclude with the final three verses of the chapter which close the story balancing the verses at the opening of the story.

Overall, then, there are parallels between chapter 37 and chapter 38. Mourning features in both chapters, as does shepherding and sheep. At the climax of each narrative is a symbolic action (37:31-36; 38:25-26) – the Hebrew is identical in all cases (‘do you recognise this?’) – and also the act of recognising. But there are also parallels between Genesis 38 and 39, with both chapters involving chastity and unchastity, and punishment (or not) for sexual offenses.

Set within the larger narrative framework of Genesis, the saving of lives is important, so that the promised seed of Abraham can continue through the generations. Genesis 38 is thus not at all out of place in the larger narrative framework. The seed of the chosen people of God continues even though Judah doesn’t really want it to. Even Joseph’s being sold down to Egypt and prison incident works towards this end (cf. 45:3-8; 50:15-20). God provides for Jacob’s sons and keeps them alive, so that his promise of blessing to Abraham, recapitulating his original blessing to all humankind, may be fulfilled.

And then, within the ongoing story line of the Bible, Tamar’s son is Perez, from whom comes Jesse, from whom comes David… from whom comes the Christ. Thus, not only is Genesis 38 an integral part of the book of Genesis, it’s an integral part of Scripture as a whole.