Asbury Journal 73, 2 (2018)

The latest issue of Asbury Journal is now available, containing the below articles, many engaging with Brent A. Strawn’s book, The Old Testament is Dying (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017).

From the Editor

Is the Old Testament Dying? An Academic Discussion

David B. Schreiner

Introduction – On the State of the Old Testament: Essays in Review of Brent Strawn’s The Old Testament is Dying

David B. Schreiner

A Précis of Brent A. Strawn’s The Old Testament in Dying

Kimberly Bracken Long

A Response to Brent A. Strawn

Murray Vasser

A Response to Brent A. Strawn

Clinton J. Moyer

On Maladies Canonical, Christian, and Human: A Response to Brent A. Strawn

Brent A. Strawn

The Old Testament’s Moribund Condition: Still Critical

Brad Haggard

The Strangeness of Culture: A Response to Brent A. Strawn 

David B. Schreiner

On the Moding and Diachrony of the Books of Samuel

The three “lamp” passages in Samuel (1 Sam 3:3; 2 Sam 21:17; 22:29) cooperate to establish an inclusio that serves as the hermeneutical lens for the final form of Samuel. Contrary to Graeme Auld, therefore, 1 and 2 Samuel is not necessarily all about David, but rather it’s about David insofar as he is the chief vehicle through which the narrative communicates a particular ideology. To account for this dynamic, there appears to be at least two phases of development within Samuel’s lamp metaphor, the latter of which imported a more critical posture toward the monarchal institution. Moreover, the latter phase of this metaphor’s development appears to have important implications for Samuel’s literary development away from an ancient apology. Alastair Fowler argues that literary genres change through time, and when this happens ideas encroach upon literary forms and become the driving force of the work’s presentation. Synthesizing this framework with some of the ideas of John Van Seters, this essay proposes that the certain phases of Samuel’s literary development may constitute the moding of a royal apology.

Bill T. Arnold

Divine Revelation in the Pentateuch

Studies of divine revelation in the Old Testament rightly focus on Israel’s encounter with God at Mount Sinai recorded in Exodus 19-24 (and interpreted in Deuteronomy 4). But theologians often neglect the earlier expressions of divine self-disclosure, which hold potential to enrich our understanding of this essential Christian doctrine. This paper investigates the ancestral narratives of Genesis (especially Gen 12:7 and 17:1) and the appearance of Yhwh to Moses at the burning bush (Exod 3-4), in order to gain a more complete perception of divine revelation in the Pentateuch, which then offers contributions to Christian theologizing about the doctrine of revelation generally.

Ban Seok Cho

The Nature of the Church’s Mission in Light of the Biblical Origin of Social Holiness

This paper intends to find missiological implications that the biblical origin of social holiness has for the church’s mission. In order to accomplish this purpose, this paper, first, identifies the biblical origin of social holiness in the Old Testament narrative and its development in the New Testament narrative. Then, the relationship between the image of God in Genesis 1 and the development of social holiness in the biblical narrative will be discussed. Lastly, in light of the biblical origin of social holiness, missiological implications for the church’s mission are suggested. The thesis of this paper is that social holiness – as a biblical concept that is theocentric, relational, and missional in nature – provides a biblical framework for the church to integrate different dimensions of its holistic mission. In conclusion, this paper suggests that the church’s mission, in light of the biblical origin of social holiness, is both social and spiritual, involves the whole life of the church (both being and doing), is shaped by the grace of God, and includes creation care/

Features

From the Archives: Soviet Anti-Religious Propaganda Posters

Book Reviews

The entire issue is available as a pdf here.

The Asbury Journal 72, 2 (2017)

The latest issue of Asbury Journal, containing the below main articles, a set of essays honouring the legacy and teaching of Old Testament scholar John Oswalt.

The entire issue is available as a pdf here.

Bill T. Arnold

A Singular Israel in a Pluralistic World

The question of Israel’s distinctiveness in the ancient Near East was a central concern of the biblical theology movement in the mid-twentieth century. The excessive claims and overstatements of that movement were corrected later in the twentieth century. Most scholars today assume the question is settled in a consensus that Old Testament Israel was not distinctive, and was completely at home in the ancient world in every respect. This paper explores three ways in which ancient Israel was indeed at home in ancient Near Eastern culture, while also suggesting ways in which Israel’s religious convictions led to a genuinely unique profile in the ancient world.

Daniel I. Block

A Prophet Like Moses? Who or Why?

This paper examines the Hebrew understanding of Moses’ statement about a “a prophet like me” that YHWH would raise up in Deuteronomy 18:15. Here it is examined within its larger context of verses 9-22, with a comparison of the prophetic role of Moses held up against the role of diviners and fortunetellers in other regional religious traditions. The role of this scripture for a Jewish understanding of future prophets is highlighted as opposed to any messianic interpretation of the text.

Christina Bosserman

Seeing Double: An Iconographic Reading of Genesis 2-3

This paper examines the role of visual literacy in the construction of biblical narrative, by asking how visual images in the ancient Near East might have been understood by biblical writers and how these understandings (or misunderstandings) may have influenced the development of the biblical text. In particular, the issue of visual illiteracy is examined in light of Mesopotamian seals with images similar to the Garden of Eden story found in Genesis 2-3, and how these visual images might have resulted in the confusion of one or two trees in the center of the Garden.

Joseph R. Dongell

Paganism, Wesley, and the Means of Grace

John Wesley, the 18th century English reformer and father of Methodism, can be read with justification as the leader of a Christian renewal movement whose deepest underpinnings lay squarely in the Old Testament. I will identify three primary anchorages, describing the first two briefly before treating the third more extensively. To put it succinctly, I claim that Wesley cast the goal of his vision as the love commanded for God and neighbor in Deut. 6:4-5 and Lev. 19:18, identified the content of that love in terms of the Mosaic Law itself, then urged the attainment of such love through practicing the Means of Grace in a manner congruent with the theology of Malachi 3:6-12.

Nancy Erickson

Isaiah’s Model House

Isaiah’s scrutiny of idol fashioning in 44:6–20 provides a window into his understanding of image making in the ancient Near East. The prophet’s descriptions are a symptom of his shared perception, or the common cognitive environment, of the ancient world in which he lived; this includes information gathered from the discipline of biblical archaeology. Based on the cultic literary context of Isaiah 44, a nuance of the usual meaning of the Hebrew term בית , and the prophet’s larger shared environment attested by the material culture of the ancient Near East, I suggest Isaiah’s use of בית in 44:13b assumes a “model house.”

L. Daniel Hawk

A Prophet Unlike Moses: Balaam as Prophetic Intercessor

The Balaam narrative (Numbers 22:1-24:25) is fraught with textual and theological incongruity. A narrative analysis of the corpus, however, reveals the incongruities as literary devices that render Balaam as a prophetic anti-type in contrast to Moses. While both Balaam and Moses are obedient messengers who speak the words of Yhwh, their ministry as intercessors manifests vastly different understandings of Yhwh. Both figures try to change Yhwh’s mind. Balaam does so through ritual manipulation and with the idea that Yhwh can be induced to curse what Yhwh has blessed. Moses, however, directly appeals to Yhwh for mercy in response to a divine decree of destruction. The prominence and ambiguous rendering of the Balaam narrative therefore reflects its importance in assisting Israel to discern trustworthy versus untrustworthy prophets.

Michael D. Matlock

The Function of Psalmic Prayers in Chronicles: Literary-Rhetorical Method in Conversation With Ritual Theory

The content, location, and integration of each recorded and reported prayer text in the narrative of 1-2 Chronicles largely determines the forceful rhetorical functions of prayer within the narrative contexts and helps to establish early Jewish identity in the Second Temple period. The editors of the book adapt prayers to new settings and distinct needs of the faith community. Through the discourse of psalmic prayer (1 Chr 16:8-36; 16:41; 2 Chr 5:13; 6:40-42; 7:3; 7:6; and 20:21) in relationship to elements of ritual, ideas may become embodied and appropriated by the participants of these prayers.

Brian D. Russell

The Song of the Sea and the Subversion of Canaanite Myth: A Missional Reading

By means of explicit links to the Ugaritic Baal Cycle (CAT 1.1–1.6), the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1b–18) models missional engagement with the late Bronze/early Iron Age cultures in which Israel emerged, and in the process enhances Israel’s presentation of Yhwh as the true King of the cosmos. By subverting the mythic worldview of the Baal Cycle, the Song implants a new view of creation and reality into God’s people while serving as a witness to the nations of a different type of God.

Lawson G. Stone

“I’m Gonna Make You Famous”: Joshua 6:23-27

“So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.” (Josh 6:27)

The greatest of the Egyptian Pharaohs, Ramses II provides a dramatic foil highlighting the Old Testament presentation of the figure of Joshua, a contemporary of Ramses. The accomplishments of each gave them reason to believe their contributions would be lasting, but ultimately only one changed the world, while the other was largely forgotten except by historians and archaeologists. The fame of Ramses arose from his arrogant exercise of power, while the fame of Joshua was bestowed on him as a faithful successor of Moses in serving Yahweh.

One of the most conspicuous features of the legacy of John N. Oswalt is his biblical preaching. His ability to focus the vital life of the biblical story and juxtapose it with contemporary experience consistently challenges and delights those who hear him. This is a sermon preached at Asbury Theological Seminary October 18, 2016. I wrote this sermon thinking of my professor and mentor, who also introduced me to Shelly’s poem “Ozymandias” which he would recite from memory in class.

David L. Thompson

Yet Another Try on Job 42:6

This paper examines the final statement of Job in response to Yhwh’s speech, which is often translated as “Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” This paper argues that there are problems with the translation, with the Hebrew for “relent” being used, and not the word for “repent.” It also argues from other uses of the expression “dust and ashes” that this may be a phrase used to refer to Job’s humanity. In this sense, Job agrees that he has spoken beyond his competence with Yhwh and relents regarding the weakness of his humanity, which is not a sin, or something for which repentance is necessary.

From the Archives: G. Herbert Livingston and the Archaeology of Ai

Book Reviews

On Those ‘Contentious’ Biblical Texts

I was recently asked for some suggestions of books which address some of the tricky texts and issues in the Bible, at least from a contemporary perspective – especially related to gender and violence, and particularly in the Old Testament. There are plenty of books on individual topics, but I’ve listed below some of the more general ones which mostly try to cover a range of issues.

Joshua Ryan Butler, The Skeletons in God’s Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2014).

Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011).

Brian Cosby, Uncensored: Daring to Embrace the Entire Bible (Colorado Spring: David C. Cook, 2015).

John Dickson, A Doubter’s Guide to the Bible: Inside History’s Bestseller for Believers and Skeptics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015).

Douglas A. Jacoby, Your Bible Questions Answered (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2011).

David T. Lamb, God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist? (Downers Grove: IVP, 2011).

David T. Lamb, Prostitutes and Polygamists: A Look at Love, Old Testament Style (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015).

Jonathan Morrow, Questioning the Bible: 11 Major Challenges to the Bible’s Authority (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2014).

Amy Orr-Ewing, Why Trust the Bible? Answers to 10 Tough Questions (Leicester: IVP, 2005, reissued in a larger format in 2008).

Matthew Richard Schlimm, This Strange and Sacred Scripture: Wrestling with the Old Testament and Its Oddities (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015).

Joseph W. Smith III, Sex and Violence in the Bible: A Survey of Explicit Content in the Holy Book (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2014).

John Alan Turner, Crazy Stories, Sane God: Lessons from the Most Unexpected Places in the Bible (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2014).

Christopher J.H. Wright, The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008).

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 3, 2 (2014)

The latest issue of the Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is freely available online. The main articles (listed below with their abstracts) are available from here, with a pdf of the entire issue available here – but, as always, it’s worth checking out its book reviews as much as anything else.

Martin A. Shields

Was Elihu Right?

The major difficulty facing any suggestion that Elihu provides a possible explanation for Job’s suffering is that nothing he says comes close to describing the events described in the book’s prologue. This paper builds on the suggestion that the account in the prologue is not meant to provide a comprehensive rationale for Job’s continuing suffering, freeing the reader to review Elihu’s contribution in a new light. Furthermore, I argue that Elihu’s contribution presents a non-retributive rationale for Job’s suffering which does not fall under the same condemnation as that of his friends. Ultimately, then, Elihu’s account might be correct. This serves the author’s purpose by allowing an alternative to retributive justice while, by not affirming Elihu’s explanation, ensuring the reader understands that the true cause of Job’s suffering must remain a mystery.

Joshua Joel Spoelstra

Queens, Widows, and Mesdames: The Role of Women in the Elijah-Elisha Narrative

The Elijah-Elisha narrative cycle (1 Kgs 17–2 Kgs 13) features a higher density of women than usual in the Hebrew Bible. What do these women contribute to the narrative unit(s)? Through semiotic analysis, this paper presents a complex of three socio-religious and theological themes: food-famine, life-death, and orthodoxy-idolatry. These semiotics do not come into sharp focus, it is argued, without the analysis of the women of 1 Kgs 17–2 Kgs 13. The semiotic axes of food- famine, life-death, and orthodoxy-idolatry are, further, interwoven into and indicative of the miraculous and prophetic activity of Elijah and Elisha.

Jay Todd

Patriarch and Prophet: Abraham’s Prophetic Characteristics in Genesis

In Gen 20:7, YHWH refers to Abraham as a prophet, thus distinguishing Abraham as the first person explicitly identified as a prophet (נביא) in the Hebrew Bible. Unfortunately, the relevant secondary literature (prophetic introductions, biblical theologies, and theologies of the Pentateuch) has given minimal attention to Abraham’s prophetic role. This article attempts to correct this oversight by examining Abraham’s prophetic characteristics in the Abrahamic narrative (Gen 11:27–25:11). After outlining general prophetic characteristics given in the Pentateuch and the rest of the Hebrew Bible, this article highlights Abraham’s prophetic characteristics in order to demonstrate Abraham’s role as a prophet in the biblical text. The article’s final section compares and contrasts Abraham with two other prophets in the Pentateuch, Balaam and Moses, in order to identify possible implications for the theology of the Pentateuch.

Ron Haydon

The “Seventy Sevens” (Daniel 9:24) in Light of Heptadic Themes in Qumran

Daniel 9:24 is fraught with puzzling language, particularly the meaning of the “seventy sevens.” Rather than add to the relevant commentaries, this paper approaches the phrase in light of the heptadic language we find in select Qumran sources. Jubilees, 1 Enoch, and related scrolls portray these heptadic structures as primarily theological expressions, with chronology either set in the background or absent altogether. I suggest this context casts the seventy sevens in a new light, wherein it serves a mainly theological function instead of a rigid temporal one. Beginning with a brief examination of each major extracanonical source, we will consider two theological implications that come as a result of these texts’ reception of Daniel: first, Daniel’s seventy sevens may need to be considered a theological image; second, the image likely paints a picture of exile and restoration in its fullness, spanning all epochs, not just the Babylonian, Media-Persian, and Seleucid-Hasmonean crises. The conclusion notes how such literary and theological moves may also point to a deliberate shape inherent to Dan 9, one that includes subsequent, interpretive communities, such as Qumran and its sects.

Book Reviews

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 3, 1 (2014)

The latest issue of the Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is freely available online. The main articles (listed below with their abstracts) are available from here, with a pdf of the entire issue available here – but it’s worth checking out for its book reviews as much as anything else.

Nathan Lovell

The Shape of Hope in the Book of Kings: The Resolution of Davidic Blessing and Mosaic Curse

The issue of hope in the book of Kings has long been a focal point of debate. This paper approaches the question from the standpoint of the final form of the book, rather than attempting to discern the voice of the Deuteronomist(s) within the text. I argue that the message of hope is exposed by a central theological tension within the book: that Yahweh has promised both blessing to David and curse for Mosaic breach. I conclude that in the resolution of this tension the book encourages hope in its exilic readership, but precludes a return to the monarchy as it was formerly. Rather, the purpose of Kings as it now stands is to reshape exilic hope towards a different type of kingdom, and to demonstrate to the exiles the new shape that this kingdom will take through the prophetic ministry amongst the powerless to gather a remnant. Messianic and nationalistic hope in Kings is shaped by the exile,  which  represents  a  new  beginning  for  Yahweh’s  people. 

Matthew R. Akers

The Soteriological Development of the “Arm of the LORD” Motif

A quarter of a century ago James Hoffmeier published his groundbreaking Biblica article “The Arm of God Versus the Arm of Pharaoh in the Exodus Narratives.” The same year, Manfred Görg released his study “Der starke Arm Pharaos” in the Festschrift honoring François Daumas. Both men demonstrated that the OT seizes Egyptian victory language and applies it to the God of Israel in order to portray him as the conqueror of Pharaoh. This paper builds upon these important works, arguing that the OT authors, particularly in the prophetical period, employed the theme to express several important theological concepts. The author of this paper explores a number of OT passages that depict the arm of the LORD as the deliverer of post-conquest Israel and the redeemer of the entire world.

Silviu Tatu

Making Sense of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20)

Biblical criticism has debated for the last two centuries whether or not to include the Melchizedek episode (Gen 14:18–20) with the other incidents of the story in Gen 14. This article makes the case for the early integration of Melchizedek’s episode in the narrative concerning Abram recovering Lot and his properties and in the Abraham narrative cycle as a whole. In order to achieve that, several general issues had to be addressed: the integrity of the text itself with its syntactic relationships, literary genre and plot. An investigation of some particular issues follows: Melchizedek’s name, title, and actions, as well as assessing how well they fit the patriarchal context and the original plot. Since the debate is complex and multi-layered, various tools were employed: Hebrew grammar and syntax, form criticism, narrative criticism, and History of Religions. We found that, as it stands, Gen 14:18–20 is too well integrated in the story of Abraham and the fabric of its own world to need political agendas motivating its late addition as various source theories claim. 

Andrew C. Witt

David, the ‘Ruler of the Sons of His Covenant’ (מושל בבני  בריתו): The Expansion of Psalm 151 in 11QPsa

Since 1965, there has been great debate concerning the provenance of the Great Psalms Scroll (11QPsa).Building off recent analyses by Strawn and Debel, this article argues that Psalm 151A contains the sectarian phrase “sons of his covenant,” which was added to the psalm as part of its Qumranic revision. This puts into question Flint’s position that the 11QPsa-Psalter tradition had a provenance prior to the establishment of the Qumran community. In its final pages, the article examines some of the implications of its findings, particularly concerning the redactional history of Psalm 151, and how one might interpret Psalm 151A in light of its expansions.

Book Reviews

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 2, 2 (2013)

The latest issue of the Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is freely available online. Although it’s worth checking out for its book reviews as much as anything else, the articles (listed below with their abstracts) are available from here, with a pdf of the entire issue available here.

Daniel J. Estes

Job 28 in its Literary Context

In order to discern the relationship of Job 28 to the book in which it is located in the biblical text, several questions must be answered. What is the theme of Job 28? Who is the likely speaker in this chapter? How does Job 28 function within the flow of the book of Job? Does Job 28 play an integrative role within the book? By a close reading of the text, this paper endeavors to answer these four interpretive questions, and thus draw some conclusions about Job 28 in its literary context.

Sung Jin Park

The Text and Translations of Job: A Comparative Study on 11QtgJob with Other  Versions in Light of Translation Techniques

The present article discusses the text of 11QtgJob from column 34 to 38 with the corresponding verses in other versions (the Masoretic Text, the Targum Job, the Septuagint, and the Peshitta) in light of translation techniques such as addition, semantic change, omission, and transposition. This research demonstrates that omission and transposition are the most salient features of 11QtgJob and of the Peshitta, respectively. 11QtgJob favors a far-looser translation than the Targum Job but is stricter than LXX. Several verses of 11QtgJob are closely connected with the LXX. This, however, does not support that they employed a shared Vorlage. The Septuagint shows the greatest latitude in translation among the versions. The degree of freedom in the translation process can be shown as follows: Targum Job < Peshitta < 11QtgJob < Septuagint. Contrary to the conventional thought, the translator of 11QtgJob within the early Judeo-Christian community tended to deliver freer renderings than Targum Job within the later Jewish rabbinic community.

George Athas

“A Man after God’s Own Heart”: David and the Rhetoric of Election to Kingship

The anticipation of David as a “man after Yahweh’s own heart” in 1 Sam 13:14 is to be understood as a statement about Yahweh’s election of David to kingship, rather than about David’s own moral qualities. Comparison of similar phrases in Akkadian texts shows that the phrase is part of the rhetoric of divine election to kingship. The focus on divine election does not mean David has no positive attributes. On the contrary, he is depicted as a man with clear leadership qualities. The phrase serves the Davidic apologia in distinguishing David from Saul as Yahweh’s personal choice for king.

William R. Osborne

A Biblical Reconstruction of the Prophetess Deborah in Judges 4

By analyzing Judges 4 in its historical and literary setting, this article presents a biblical reconstruction of the prophetic identity and message of the prophetess Deborah. The study concludes that 1) Deborah, as a prophetess, seems to show great similarity to the āpiltum observed in early Mari, 2) Deborah is not portrayed as a primitive necromancer, and 3) in the narrative she opposes Barak’s desire for personal honor and presents Yahweh as Israel’s sole deliverer from oppression.

Book Reviews

Centre for Public Christianity (March 2014)

Among the collection of helpful posts from the Centre for Public Christianity this month is a short piece by Mark Stephens on Spike Jonze’s film Her, and a two-part video interview with John Walton, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, on ‘how a contemporary person can approach the Old Testament to understand what it meant to the original readers and what it means for us today’.

Christianity Today on the God of Two Testaments

The July/August 2013 edition of Christianity Today carries several articles related to the issue of ‘Grappling with the God of Two Testaments’. Some of them are available online.

Mark Buchanan, ‘Can We Trust the God of Genocide?’

Yes – if we set our eyes on the Cross of Christ. A pastor’s response.

Phillip Cary, ‘Gentiles in the Hands of a Genocidal God.’

We’re troubled by God’s commands for Israel to wipe out entire peoples. Why we should be encouraged.

Christopher J.H. Wright. ‘Learning to Love Leviticus.’

Even those passages about shellfish, mixed fibers, and animal sacrifice.

Christopher J.H. Wright, ‘Sex in Leviticus.’

It’s part of a much broader teaching in Scripture.

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 2, 1 (2013)

The latest issue of the Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is freely available online. Articles (listed below with their abstracts) are available from here, with a pdf of the entire issue available here.

Bryan Babcock

Sacred Time in West Semitic Festival Calendars and the Dating of Leviticus 23

The Bible records several versions of the Israelite festival calendar, including accounts in Exod 23; 34; Lev 23; Num 28-9; Deut 16; and Ezek 45. The festivals, as depicted in the various texts, have many commonalities; however, there are also differences. Some of the often cited differences in the festival calendar texts include fixed dates versus dates based upon the harvest, the combination of two named rites into a larger ritual complex, the mention of simultaneous rites in different locations of the same text, and some festivals are named in one text and unnamed in others. Scholars have explored these similarities and differences arguing that the various calendars were written by different sources (authors/redactors) at different times in Israelite history. The current project provides a comparative analysis between Lev 23 and the second-millennium Akkadian multi-month festival calendar from Syria (Emar 446). After a review of each text and the contextual material, this study argues that Lev 23 preserves an early second-millennium West Semitic ritual tradition.

Andrew E. Steinmann

Gazelles, Does, and Flames: (De)Limiting Love in Song of Songs

Some of the most commented upon and enigmatic passages in Song of Songs are the adjuration refrains (Song 2:7; 3:5; 8:4) and the comparison of love to a flame (Song 8:6). This paper proposes that these verses serve to delimit and define love in Song of Songs while also limiting the expression of that love. In each context there is a reference to God – often by clever circumlocution (Song 2:7; 3:5) – thereby defining the legitimate expression of love according to divine intent. This use of circumlocution and its omission at Song 8:4 build suspense for the punch line at Song 8:6 which finally reveals the involvement of God in love and its expression between the Shulammite and her beloved.

John G. Ferch

The Story of Torah: The Role of Narrative in Leviticus’s Legal Discourse

For years, source critics have proposed a broad two-part structure for Leviticus, based on two independent sources that are presumed to underlie the book. This approach, coupled with a popular perception of Leviticus as nothing more than a long list of sundry Israelite laws, has caused the book’s narrative unity within the broader story of the Pentateuch to be neglected. By applying narrative criticism to the often-forgotten stories in Leviticus 10 and 24, crucial literary links are revealed which suggest a three-part outline to the book, supporting a united message that presents the giving of the Law as an act of divine grace designed to prepare Yahweh’s people to live in His presence.

Spencer L. Allen

An Examination of Northwest Semitic Divine Names and the Bet-locative

Four separate inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrûd (ca. 800 b.c.) invoke the divine names Yahweh-of-Teman (HI KAjr 14, 19A, and 20) and Yahweh-of-Samaria (HI KAjr 18), which reopened the debate about Deut 6:4’s declaration that “Yahweh is One” and the possibility of distinct, localized Yahwehs in the Israelite pantheon. In the biblical texts, the name Yahweh never appears in a construct chain with a geographic name (e.g., there is no Yahweh-of-Jerusalem), so alternative divine name formulas have been sought as additional evidence for an ancient poly-Yahwism. The most commonly suggested alternative involves a divine name followed by a geographic name in a bet-locative phrase: DN-b-GN. Thus, Yahweh-in-Zion (Ps 99:2) and Yahweh-in-Hebron (2 Sam 15:7) have been proposed as two additional localized Israelite deities. Comparable evidence from Ugaritic, Ammonite, Phoenician, and Punic texts containing the formula DN-b-GN has been offered in the past to support this claim (e.g., Tannit-in-Lebanon, KAI 81:1). This paper examines the relationship between divine names and geographic names as they pertain to potentially localized Yahweh deities and other Northwest Semitic deities. The formula DN-b-GN is carefully examined and rejected as a means of identifying any distinct deity in the various Northwest Semitic pantheons, including those of biblical Israel, for syntactical and other methodological reasons.

Book Reviews

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1, 1 (2012)

According to its website, the Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is ‘a peer-reviewed journal’ seeking ‘to fill a need in academia by providing a venue for high-level scholarship on the Old Testament from an evangelical standpoint’. It will be published biannually, and will be made freely available online. Articles from the first issue (listed below with their abstracts) are available from here, with a pdf of the entire issue available here.

Michael S. Heiser

Does Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible Demonstrate an Evolution From Polytheism to Monotheism in Israelite Religion?

The title of this essay raises a question that is quite current, though the question it raises might sound strange to evangelicals who specialize in fields other than the ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible. The present currency of the question derives not only from nineteenth century critical scholarship that many evangelicals consider methodologically suspect, but from the text of the Hebrew Bible and archaeological discoveries in ancient Syria and Canaan. The focus of this contribution is on the former. Certain sets of assumptions brought to the biblical text that contribute significantly to manufacturing interpretive problems that allegedly compel the idea that Israelite religious evolved toward monotheism. The first set of assumptions concerns the phenomenon of divine plurality in the Hebrew text; the second involves an argument for divine plurality that is imported into the text. I will address both in order.

Eugene H. Merrill

Deuteronomy and de Wette: A Fresh Look at a Fallacious Premise

The premise to be re-evaluated here is that Deuteronomy, in part or in its entirety, was the product of pious scribes of the Divided Monarchy period, who, recipients of certain oral and perhaps fragmentary written traditions, were intent on delivering Israel from political, social, and religious disintegration. They therefore integrated their sources and composed the book, attributing it to Moses and thus investing it with authority necessary to address in most specific terms the circumstances that threatened the existence of the covenant community.

Joel E. Anderson

A  Narrative  Reading  of  Solomon’s Execution of Joab in 1 Kings 1–2: Letting Story Interpret Story

The morally problematic story in 1 Kings 1–2 of Solomon’s rise to power – particularly his execution of Joab – has troubled scholars for years. Such questionable brutality seems to fly in the face of the commonly held picture of young king Solomon as a wise and godly ruler. This problem reflects not so much a problem with the text or history itself, but rather with our reading and understanding of both Solomon and the text itself. Perhaps the most significant contribution narrative criticism has had on the field of biblical studies is its stress on allowing the story itself to shape our understanding of the people and events in question. The events of 1 Kings 1–2, in actuality, serve both as the conclusion to David’s reign and the introduction to Solomon’s reign. Therefore, given the fact that Solomon’s stated reasons for killing Joab hearken back to earlier episodes concerning Abner and Amasa, the story itself impels us to interpret the circumstances surrounding Joab’s death in the light of those of Abner and Amasa. When we do that, we find numerous literary clues in the text that help shape our understanding of both Solomon’s actions and the state of the kingdom itself.

Todd Scacewater

Divorce and Remarriage in Deuteronomy 24:1-4

Deuteronomy 24:1–4 records the only law in Deuteronomy on remarriage and has generated much discussion on the enigmatic phrase ‘nakedness of a thing’ (24:1) as well as the purpose for the creation of the law. Yet, the long discussion on the purpose for the creation of the law seems to have been misguided. Scholars have confused the rationale behind the law with the purpose for the creation of the law. In seeking the purpose of the law, interpreters have sought the meaning of ‘nakedness of a thing’ and the rationale behind labeling the woman’s actions an ‘abomination’ (24:4). They have ignored the explicitly stated purpose of the law in verse 4. The primary concern of this law on divorce and remarriage is to protect the covenant relationship between Israel and Yahweh, thereby protecting Israel’s position in their inherited land of Canaan. While the rationale behind the law is important for biblical ethics, the purpose for the law contributes to the Deuteronomic theme of blessing and curse as it relates to Israel’s covenantal obedience.

John F. Hobbins

Critical Biblical Theology in a New Key A Review Article

Der Gott der Lebendigen/God of the Living, co-authored by Hermann Spieckermann and Reinhard Feldmeier, succeeds in its attempt to demonstrate the value of writing a theology in which God’s attributes as described in biblical literature are the point of departure. The volume pays attention to commonalities and differences across the components of the canon. The authors conclude that the New Testament does not correct or relativize the witness to God of the Old Testament but ‘thickens’ and particularizes it. The God who constantly gives life anew in the OT finds a congenial interpretation in the word and deed and cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The review essay nonetheless points out that this biblical theology fails to come to grips with biblical descriptions of God’s interaction with other beings of immense power, and fails to present a systematic exposition of the remedies God pursues to put an end to spirals of human violence. Three topics are singled out for extended discussion: vicarious suffering, forensic justification, and atonement. The shortcomings of the English edition of Der Gott der Lebendigen are judged significant enough to warrant a reissue in a corrected and more user-friendly version.

Book Reviews

Centre for Public Christianity Update (November 2011)

The latest email newsletter from the Centre for Public Christianity contains links to several video interviews, including one with Craig Keener on the gospels as ancient biographies and what that means for how we should read them, and a further installment of an interview with Iain Provan discussing the reliability, relevance and the violence of the Old Testament as well as the way that the Bible has shaped western culture.

Ryan O’Dowd on the Old Testament for Public Life

In Cardus, Ryan O’Dowd kicks off a promised series on ‘how and why we should read the Old Testament for public life today’. In ‘What is Old and What is New’, he looks at some uses and abuses of the Old Testament.

Here’s how he concludes:

‘The Bible, as Karl Barth rightly said, is not simply a book, but a living way to encounter God in Christ. And a text that puts us in the presence of the Creator and Redeemer of our world can only promise to provide fresh and relevant wisdom for our lives here.

‘Indeed, if the telos of Scripture is the triune God in Christ, then we should feed upon every part of it, as often as we can, with eyes and ears open to discover more of God, of his world, and of ourselves.’

Jewish Bible Quarterly 39:3 (2011)

According to its website, the Jewish Bible Quarterly ‘provides timely, authoritative studies on biblical themes’, and ‘as the only Jewish-sponsored English-language journal devoted exclusively to the Bible, it is an essential source of information for anyone working in Bible studies’.

I’ve certainly found quite a lot of useful material it it over the years: the articles are relatively short, they almost always offer close readings of (from my Christian perspective) ‘Old Testament’ texts, and sometimes provide insights I might not get from elsewhere.

Below is the content for the July-September 2011 issue, all available online here:

Akiva Wolff

A Closer Examination of Deuteronomy 20:19-20

Shimon Bakon

True and False Prophets

David S. Farkas

In Search of the Biblical Hannurabi

Shubert Spero

Ten Generations from Adam to Noah Versus Ten Generations from Noah to Abraham

Zvi Ron

The ‘Wise Courtier’ in Rabbinic Literature

Raymond Apple

The Two Wise Women of Proverbs Chapter 31

Moshe Reiss

Adam: Created in the Image and Likeness of God

Justin Heard

Did the Earth Rebel Against God on the Third Day of Creation?

Hayyim Angel

Cut the Baby in Half: Understanding Solomon’s Divinely-Inspired Wisdom

Michael Alan Stein

The Religion of the Israelites in Egypt

Book Review

Letters to the Editor

Chris Sinkinson on Is God a Monster?

Chris Sinkinson, ‘Unapologetic Christianity: Is God a Monster?’ (2011).

Chris Sinkinson has a brief but helpful piece here, first published in the June 2011 of Evangelicals Now.

He’s thinking about some of the ‘difficult’ issues raised about polygamy, genocide, slavery, etc., in our reading of some Old Testament texts, and outlines four points to take note of:

1. Creation ideal – that we live in the ‘middle’ of the story, where the disruption of sin has brought evil and suffering.

2. Ancient Near Eastern context – God’s revelation of himself within a specific historical context with all its particular cultural practices.

3. Biblical honesty – with Scripture being honest about human failings, and with narratives being descriptive not necessarily prescriptive.

4. Bible’s sweep – the importance of looking at ‘difficult’ Old Testament passages in the light of Scripture as a whole.

He briefly applies some of these points to holy war in the book of Joshua, but doesn’t pull back from saying that such judgments on nations may offer a glimpse of future judgment by a holy God.