Themelios 50, 2 (August 2025)

The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles.

Editorial

J.V. Fesko

On Scholarship, Swords, and Scalpels

Strange Times

Daniel Strange

On (Not) Considering Theological Training

Kevin DeYoung

Does the American Revision of the Westminster Confession Contradict the Original Version on the Doctrine of the Civil Magistrate?

This essay reflects on how Presbyterians changed their views on the civil magistrate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. My contention is that Reformed political thought has not been static, and, in fact, that American Presbyterianism saw itself as correcting elements of the earlier tradition.

Jared Garcia

Was David Overreacting? Analyzing 1 Samuel 25 in Light of the Ancient Hospitality Code

Was Nabal’s refusal to give food for six hundred people such a terrible wrong that David in 1 Samuel 25 would have been justified in seeking vengeance by killing Nabal’s entire household? Did David simply overreact? This paper demonstrates that an acquaintance with the hospitality code of the Ancient Near East aids in the understanding of the events in 1 Samuel 25. First, part 1 analyzes the ancient hospitality code, examining typical scenes of hospitality along with observations from social anthropologists who study Mediterranean culture. Part 2 exhibits how the hospitality code answers the questions raised from the narrative in 1 Samuel 25.

G.K. Beale

Contextualizing the Controversial Instructions in 1 Timothy 2:11–15: A Response to Sandra L. Glahn, Nobody’s Mother

This article critically engages Sandra L. Glahn’s book, Nobody’s Mother, which attempts to offer further evidence from the ancient Greek world that supports the arguments that Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 2:11–15 are temporary restrictions and statements addressed only to a very specific occasion in first-century Ephesus. The author concludes that Glahn does not convincingly prove her argument and that 1 Timothy 2:11–15 still has ongoing validity for understanding the role of women in the church of the present day.

Todd R. Chipman

Fighting to the Finish: Five Roles for Endurance in Revelation

This essay is the second of a two-part analysis of John’s use of the articular substantival participle. John uses this grammatical form in various ways across his diverse literary contributions to the New Testament. One common use portrays roles humans might embrace or reject. In a previous essay, I investigated nine of the nineteen uses of πιστεύω as an articular substantival participle in the Gospel of John. In those places, John collocates this role-portraying grammatical form of πιστεύω with eternal life (3:15, 16, 36; 5:24; 6:35, 40, 47; 11:25, 26). Here, I use five headings to describe John’s use of the articular substantival participle, noting roles humans might embrace or reject in Revelation: [1] The One Who Reads and Hears God’s Word (1:3; 22:17, 18); [2] The One Who Conquers (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 15:2; 21:7); [3] The One Who Is Oriented Toward God or the World (2:7, 11, 17, 2:29; 3:6, 13, 22; 13:18; 17:9; 18:19; 20:6); [4] The One Who Is Slaughtered for The Testimony of Jesus (6:9; 18:24; 20:4); [5] The One Who Thirsts for God (21:6; 22:17). These roles identify the many practical ways that Jesus’s followers demonstrate their allegiance to Jesus, serving as a corrective to fatalism or passivity in the last days.

Kenneth J. Stewart

Hardier than Supposed: The Resurgence of Calvinism Across the 20th Century

The past quarter-century’s upsurge of interest in Calvinism has shown a strong tendency to under-value movements from the first half of the twentieth century. These earlier movements provided resources which in fact undergird what we have witnessed in our own lifetimes. These earlier efforts were international, transatlantic, and trans-denominational. They were not dominated by marginalized groups or isolated individuals on the fringes of Protestantism but included thinkers and writers drawn from both doctrinally comprehensive and self-consciously conservative churches.

Joshua M. Sims

The Church as Sacrament of Salvation in Roman Catholic Theology

This article examines the Roman Catholic doctrine of the church as “sacrament of salvation” first formally introduced in Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium (1964). Starting with the pre-Vatican II exclusivist position, the article traces how this doctrine developed from the Church-Incarnation idea, where the church continues Christ’s incarnational presence. The analysis reveals diverse Catholic interpretations ranging from conservative to inclusivist-universalist approaches. The article concludes with a reformed theological critique challenging three key aspects of the Roman doctrine: its universalist tendencies, its ontological rather than ethical understanding of salvation, and its diminishment of Christ’s ascension. The article advocates instead for a covenantal ecclesiology that maintains clear boundaries and emphasizes Christ’s completed work.

Roland Weisbrot

The Role of the Regula Fidei in the Twenty-First- Century Religious Landscape: How the “Rule of Faith” Can Help Address the Existential Issues of the Postmodern Christian Community

This article offers a historical-systematic analysis of the role of the rule of faith in establishing and maintaining the Christian metanarrative and orthodox scriptural interpretation. It seeks to answer who is truly following the historic Christian faith in the contemporary postmodern milieu. The modern relevance of the rule is established in light of the work of two twentieth-century theologians, Paul M. Blowers and Robert W. Jenson, who respectively posit a narrative and linguistic function for the rule. Therefore, the rule provides insights for contemporary theological questions by supplying a framework of faithful guidelines through which to engage them fruitfully.

Gavin Ortlund

Angelic Fall Theodicy in Dialogue with Tolkien, Augustine, and Aquinas

This article explores the relationship between Tolkien’s angelology, as reflected in his fictional writings, and classical angelology, particularly as represented by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Two aspects of classical angelology are examined: (1) the relation of angels to material creation and (2) the role of stewardship over material creation that God entrusted to angels. Particular attention is given to Augustine’s discussion of whether the angels “inhabit” or merely direct the stars, as well as to Aquinas’s teaching that all corporeal creatures are ruled by angels. It is suggested that classical theological reflection on angels in these areas can resource current articulations of angelic fall theodicy, especially those drawing from Tolkien. Specifically, classical angelology encourages ways of construing the relation of angels and material creation that may blunt the common charge of arbitrariness against the mechanism of angelic fall theodicy.

Anthony V. Costello

Philosophical Foundations of a Transgender Worldview: Nominalism, Utilitarianism, and Pragmatism

Every social and political phenomenon has some prior, underlying philosophical basis. The phenomenon of transgender ideology is no different. To many, transgenderism seemed to explode on the scene, as if from nothing. But transgenderism is not an ideology created ex nihilo. Its radical ideas and aggressive activism are grounded in foundations laid by other philosophical views – three in particular – which have long been taken for granted in western culture. Recently, Christian philosopher Abigail Favale has identified major shifts in the transgender movement and given a biblical answer to transgenderism’s claims. However, the underlying philosophical foundations of transgender ideology persist. Until these are addressed, we will find ourselves confronted by even more radical movements than transgenderism.

Jonathan D. Worthington

Empathy and Its Counterfeits: Navigating The Sin of Empathy and a Way Forward

In our families, churches, or neighborhoods; in political discussions, situations of accused abuse, or racially charged conversations; in polarizing times, compassion must be wed with relational exegesis, the well-established name for which is empathy. Empathy involves three primary components: understand, resonate, self-differentiate. When we dismiss or silo empathy research in favor of a popular but bastardized form of “empathy,” which Joe Rigney has done in his recent book The Sin of Empathy, a hamstringing of pastoral insight runs rampant. Rigney, swallowing a pop-culture definition of “empathy” against good research practices, has provided a counterfeit to empathy that leaves pastoral counsel about practical and cultural issues mostly impotent. This review article provides sound research on empathy, a helpful perspective on research itself, and therefore a responsible way forward in such polarized times.

Book Reviews

Themelios 47, 3 (December 2022)

The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles, three of which are devoted to the work of J.I. Packer.

Editorial

D.A. Carson

One of the Saddest Texts in the OT

Strange Times

Daniel Strange

A Late Review of a Late Sonata in Late Modernity

Etienne Jodar

The Cryptic Saying of Isaiah 28:10, 13 and Paul’s Controversy over Tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:20–25

While the study of the New Testament use of the Old Testament has received much attention in the last decades, this discipline has not generally had much bearing on translation. In this article I use Paul’s use of Isaiah 28:11–12 in 1 Corinthians 14:21 in order to shed light on the cryptic saying of Isaiah 28:10 and 13. Presupposing that Paul draws from the immediate context of Isaiah 28:11–12, I suggest that the rhetorical effect of Paul’s quotation is stronger if Isaiah 28:10 (and 13) is interpreted to represent an incomprehensible sequence of syllables, like a minority of English translations do. Starting in the Old Testament, the most likely meaning of Paul’s quotation in its original context is determined. The focus then turns to 1 Corinthians 14:20–25, as various views are presented and considered successively. The discussion concludes by explaining the rhetorical effect that Paul’s quotation would have made upon the Corinthian believers and why the minority view of Isaiah 28:10 and 13 might be the most likely.

Michael Kuykendall

Numerical Symbolism in the Book of Revelation: A Weakness of Modern Bible Versions

Several modern Bible versions do a disservice to John’s use of numbers in the book of Revelation. This article first offers a short primer on symbolism in Revelation, then overviews the book’s symbolic use of numbers. John utilizes “good” numbers and “bad” numbers to express theological truths. The bulk of the study examines how several modern versions unwittingly thwart John’s theological intentions by masking his numerical symbolism. This is evidenced in two ways – changing (updating) the actual symbolic number when measurements and distances are mentioned; and rendering key terms in Revelation found exactly seven times with different English words, which obscures significant numerical interconnections. The conclusion asserts that future modern versions and revisions of existing translations must treat Revelation differently on this issue.

Nathan Parker

Heaven’s War upon the Earth: How to Turn a Moderate 17th Century Pastor into a Radical

There appears a strong apocalyptical expectation in the writings of the 17th century Puritan pastor John Flavel (1628–1691), but, as this paper will argue, this materialized in his later writings. Most people who thought the end of the world was imminent in the 17th century tended to be within radical groups that were active during the Interregnum. Though the momentum of apocalyptical thought was generally arrested over the next two decades it is notable that by the time of the Glorious Revolution it was incorporated into the preaching of a peaceable and deeply conciliatory pastor. After providing a brief summary of who Flavel was and why he was an important (though heretofore overlooked) figure, this article will shed light on how one moderate Puritan came to embrace ideas with alarmingly radical implications.

Geoff Chang

New Insights into the Formative Influence of Spurgeon’s Early Years

This article draws on lesser-known primary sources to argue for the formative influence of C.H. Spurgeon’s early years on his future ministry. First, it examines John Spurgeon’s time in Raleigh, which explains why Spurgeon spent the first five years of his life with his grandfather, a relationship that shaped his view of ministry and the church. Second, it reflects on the ministry of T.W. Davids, pastor of the Congregational church in Colchester, and his influence on young Spurgeon. Third, it summarizes new insights from Spurgeon’s earliest preaching notebooks.

Kenneth J. Stewart

The Young J. I. Packer as a ‘New Warfield’? A Chapter in the Post-1930 Revival of Reformed Theology

J.I. Packer (1926–2020) first came to the attention of the reading public with a 1953 essay in the second printing of the New Bible Commentary. His essay, ‘Revelation and Inspiration’, replaced Daniel Lamont’s essay on the same subject, in the first printing issued earlier that year. It had been in certain respects unsatisfactory. Packer’s 1953 essay, his controversial 1955 Evangelical Quarterly article on the Keswick movement, and his 1958 book, ‘Fundamentalism’ and the Word of God illustrated his growing affinity with the writings of Princeton theologian, B.B. Warfield (d. 1921). In all this, Packer was a leading voice in the post-WWII reassertion of Reformed theology. But Packer, rather than being the pioneer of this movement, was in fact building on the legacy of others who had pointed in this direction: Douglas Johnson of British Inter-Varsity, Alan Stibbs of Oak Hill College, and T.C. Hammond – formerly of Dublin and from 1936, principal of Moore College, Sydney. This movement, closely associated with Inter-Varsity, was itself part of a larger post-1929 resurgence of orthodox Reformed theology.

Paul R. House

J.I. Packer and the Next Wave of Evangelicalism: Foundations for Renewal

This article surveys the life and ministry of James Innell Packer (1926–2020), evangelical Anglican, theologian, author, Bible translator, and church renewal advocate. It suggests that Packer’s ministry is especially informative because it had roots in pre-war evangelical circles and extended through the growth of the evangelical movement from the 1950s to the 1990s and the movement’s ebbing afterwards. It asserts that Packer’s efforts to aid theological and church restoration provide principles for much-needed biblical renewal in current evangelicalism.

Don J. Payne

The Explicit and Implicit Theological Method of J.I. Packer

J.I. Packer’s theological works have wielded remarkable influence on the landscape of North American evangelicalism. His hallmark theological emphases reflect both explicit methodological commitments and implicit methodological traits. Packer’s theological method is marked by a commitment to the inerrancy and authority of the biblical text, as interpreted within a covenantal, canonical, and Christo-centric framework. His method also reflects assumptions about the nature of divine and human rationality, the capacity of human rationality to access the formal meaning of the text, the nature of meaning in the text, and the role of the Holy Spirit in the hermeneutical process.

John Jefferson Davis

Is the Holy Spirit Really a “Person” – with a Distinct Personality?

The purpose of this article is to help the reader conceptualize and imagine the Holy Spirit as a real person with a distinct and knowable personality – a person of the Trinity more accessible to our faith, reading of Scripture, and worship. Factors in church history tending to marginalize the Holy Spirit in the life of the church are identified. Biblical texts dealing with the names, images, words, and actions of the Holy Spirit are expounded to put the distinct personality of the Holy Spirit into sharper focus.

Trent A. Rogers and John K. Tarwater

A Biblical-Theological Framework for Human Sexuality: Applications to Private Sexuality

What are good sexual acts? It is not that surprising when cultural voices, without reference to God, argue for the inherent goodness of all “unharmful” sexual desires and acts. Regrettably, ethical pragmatism has influenced some Christian sexual ethics, and this influence is particularly evident with the issue of masturbation. What God defines as good sexual acts are those that fulfill his unitive and procreative purposes for sex within marriage. Given God’s unitive and procreative purposes for sex within the context of marriage, we argue that masturbation is a categorically impermissible act because it fulfills neither of these purposes, and we counter Christian arguments for its permissibility. God calls Christians to deal with sexual desires, including good sexual desires, through either marital sexual expression or Spirit-enabled self-control.

Robb Torseth

“The Sanctification of Our Speech”: The Theological Function of Truth and Falsehood in John Webster’s “Sins of Speech”

The contemporary debate concerning truth and falsehood has become distinctly conspicuous in light of recent global events. The increasing great divorce between diverging worldviews has resulted in what Susan Harding has coined the “repugnant cultural other,” where each group has retreated into itself, stigmatized the other, and thus neglects a genuine exchange of words and ideas. Here, the writings of the late John Webster help shed light on foundational conceptions of the purpose, use, and ethics of human language as primarily both theologically-oriented and theologically-originated. This article will consider Webster’s 2015 article “Sins of Speech,” first in relation to his broader thought, and second as it applies to the contemporary problem of speech, public or private, in the information age.

Themelios 43, 2 (August 2018)

The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles.

Editorial

D.A. Carson

When Revival Comes

Strange Times

Daniel Strange

The Rolling Stones Will Stop

Thomas R. Schreiner

Paul and Gender: A Review Article

Cynthia Westfall has written a wide-ranging book on Paul and gender, examining key texts in their literary, cultural, and theological context. Her discussion is fresh and stimulating, and many of her insights are to be warmly welcomed. She recognizes that Paul’s view of gender must be distinguished from common conceptions in the Greco-Roman world. Nevertheless, the perspective advocated as a whole fails to convince, especially in the exegesis of key texts like 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 and 1 Timothy 2:8–15.

Robert S. Smith

Songs of the Seer: The Purpose of Revelation’s Hymns

What are the purposes of the songs of the Apocalypse? What effect are they intended to produce? After a brief discussion of the question of sources, the function played by Revelation’s hymns is explored with particular attention being paid to their connection to the cosmic conflict theme, the way they model celebration in the face of tribulation, the comfort they offer believers and the warning they present to unbelievers. The article then turns to some of the key theological emphases the songs – in particular Christological and salvific themes. While Revelation’s hymns are transparently doxological, they are also richly pedagogical and pointedly pastoral. For this reason, they pose a much-needed challenge to many contemporary praise practices.

Jackson Wu

Have Theologians No Sense of Shame? How the Bible Reconciles Objective and Subjective Shame

Everyone agrees shame is a pervasive problem; yet, in book and articles, we find writers often talk past one another. Missionaries and anthropologists speak of “honor-shame” cultures. Psychologists describe shame as an individual, emotional experience. Strangely, theologians typically say little about the topic. Christian scholars tend to treat guilt as “objective” and shame merely a “subjective.” This misunderstanding undermines our ability to develop a practical theology of honor and shame. Therefore, this article demonstrates how the Bible helps us have an integrated understanding of shame in its theological, psychological, and social dimensions.

Michael McClymond

Apocalypse Now: The Neo-Bultmannian Universalism of David Congdon’s The God Who Saves

In The God Who Saves (2016), David Congdon seeks an elusive synthesis of Karl Barth’s dogmatics and Rudolf Bultmann’s hermeneutics: he integrates Bultmann’s insistence on the concrete historicity of individual human experience with Barth’s stress on the universal salvific significance of Christ. Despite his “demetaphysicizing” rejection of a substantive God and a Chalcedonian Christ, Congdon propounds universal salvation based on a universal “cocrucifixion” with Christ that may occur in nonreligious experience (e.g., in viewing artwork, watching a baby’s birth, etc.). His intricate argument shows little theological coherence and a lack of grounding in scriptural exegesis or empirical observation.

James D. Clark

The Kuyperian Impulse of the Benedict Option

Evangelicals have criticized Rod Dreher’s Benedict Option and the idea of strategic withdrawal, with some citing Abraham Kuyper as a model of how Christians should engage the world today. This article argues that the Benedict Option and the Kuyperian tradition harmonize with (rather than contradict) each other in significant ways, including their promotion of cultural engagement in general, their recognition of the need to withdraw from the world in some sense in order to enable the Christian formation that makes robust engagement with the world possible, and their openness to a cultural transformation that is distantly future rather than imminent.

Adriani Milli Rodrigues

The Rule of Faith and Biblical Interpretation in Evangelical Theological Interpretation of Scripture

One of the features of the Theological Interpretation of Scripture movement is the use of the rule of faith in biblical interpretation. However, a comparison of evangelical scholars in this movement shows that there are significant disagreements on the concept of the rule and its hermeneutical role. The present study attempts to clarify these disagreements and briefly analyze them. This article suggests that an engagement with Cullman’s notion of apostolic and post-apostolic traditions and with aspects of Irenaeus’s concept of rule of faith might be helpful for the understanding of the concept and role of the rule of faith.

Book Reviews

Thomas R. Schreiner on Revelation

Today’s ‘Daily Dose of Greek’ links to a generous pdf excerpt from a forthcoming commentary on Revelation by Thomas Schreiner, to be published in volume 12 of the new ESV Expository Commentary. Further information on the volume is available here, and the pdf excerpt is available here.

Vern S. Poythress on the Book of Revelation

Vern S. Poythress has made available a 125-page Study Guide to the Book of Revelation (here as a pdf). After some introductory matter, most of it contains questions on the book divided into 23 sections, which could be helpful for personal or small group Bible study.

The Bible Project on Luke and Revelation

The latest videos from the excellent Bible Project include an addition to their ‘Animated Series’ on Luke 1-2, and two videos on the book of Revelation in their ‘Read Scripture’ series.

Check out all the videos from here (click on ‘All Videos’ or scroll down the page) or see them all via YouTube here.

Matthew Y. Emerson on the Book of Revelation

Matthew Y. Emerson, Between the Cross and the Throne: The Book of Revelation, Transformative Word Series (Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2016), 88pp., ISBN 978-1-57799-658-3.

I’ve read a number of the books in Lexham’s ‘Transformative Word Series’, and they’re all good and helpful. They’re short and easy to read. They’re not trying to provide a commentary on the book in question so much as to overview it, point out some of the significant issues involved in its interpretation, and offer some reflections on its ongoing implications.

Matthew Emerson does that really well for Revelation, providing a brief outline of the book and its theological centre (in Jesus who has already won the battle on our behalf and is coming again, which means we can stand firm in the midst of persecution and temptation meanwhile), its genre and literary devices, its place as the culmination of the whole drama of redemption, its portrait of God and his people, and God’s enemies and their final defeat.

Those already familiar with literature on Revelation won’t necessarily pick up anything new, but they’ll be helped by seeing how someone else manages to package it so concisely and well. I can imagine church leaders/preachers benefiting from reading it as part of a process of putting together a series of sermons on Revelation, enabling them to get something of the big picture of the book and a handle on some of the issues involved in its interpretation.

Currents in Biblical Research 14, 3 (June 2016)

The latest Currents in Biblical Research recently arrived, with titles and abstracts of the main articles as below.

Russell L. Meek

Twentieth- and Twenty-first-century Readings of Hebel (הֶבֶל) in Ecclesiastes

The meaning of הֶבֶל is a crux interpretum for the book of Ecclesiastes. Notwithstanding some variation, Jerome’s vanitas reading of הֶבֶל in Ecclesiastes dominated scholarship for several centuries. Since the rise of modern biblical scholarship, הֶבֶל as ‘vanity’ has been largely rejected; however, little consensus has been reached regarding the word’s meaning. The result has been a rich history of interpretation as scholars develop various suggestions for how הֶבֶל should be understood in Ecclesiastes. This essay briefly sketches the history of interpretation of הֶבֶל, then surveys proposals for the meaning of הֶבֶל in Ecclesiastes during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Amy Erickson and Andrew R. Davis

Recent Research on the Megilloth (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther)

Until recently, study of the Megilloth as a coherent canonical grouping has been minimal. On the whole, the lateness and fluidity of the collection within the Jewish canon has negated its value for biblical scholars, who have long preferred texts and categories thought to be ‘early’ or ‘original’. The state of the field has begun to shift, however, as scholars are giving more attention to connections between individual books of the Megilloth and the coherence of the collection as a whole. This new interest coincides with the growing recognition among scholars that the later (re)uses of a biblical text are constitutive of its interpretation; thus the lateness of the Megilloth (if the collection really is late) does not preclude interpretation but shapes it. Recent studies in the Megilloth as a coherent collection include canon-historical approaches, which trace the formation of the Megilloth within the Jewish canon; intertextual approaches, which focus on allusions to earlier biblical traditions and on literary connections within the five scrolls; and theological approaches, which adopt a synchronic method that puts the Megilloth in dialogue with contemporary theological discourse.

Garrick V. Allen

Scriptural Allusions in the Book of Revelation and the Contours of Textual Research 1900-2014: Retrospect and Prospects

This article traces the contours of the past century of discourse surrounding the underlying textual form of allusions embedded in the book of Revelation. Special attention is paid to the rapid developments on this issue in the past thirty years, a period in which New Testament scholarship has grappled with the textual complexity of the Hebrew Bible presented by the scrolls from the Judaean Desert. The question of textual form is of foundational importance for analysing the reuse or interpretation of Scripture in the book of Revelation. Despite this reality, it is common to find assumptions or misconceptions in recent studies that obfuscate the textual reality of the Hebrew Bible and its early Greek versions the first century CE. The appraisal of scholarship on this issue allows scholars to better contextualize their own approaches to the text of allusions in the light of previous research. This analysis also highlights the changing methods and approaches by which scholars analyse the text of allusions and suggests some avenues for future research on the allusions embedded in the Apocalypse.

Patrick Schreiner

Space, Place and Biblical Studies: A Survey of Recent Research in Light of Developing Trends

This article surveys developing research on the nature of space and place. It summarizes the arguments proposed by geographers and philosophers outside biblical studies, and then illustrates how biblical scholars have employed these theories in the study of the biblical text. The review focuses on the theoretical underpinning and then examines a number of scholars who have appropriated what they call ‘critical spatiality’ to historical, sociological, and narratival readings. In short, some now describe space in a tri-part division; the physical world in which people exist, the ideological underpinnings of understanding places, and the lived practices of people within those places that sometimes challenge and sometimes reaffirm the expected uses of such places.

Yael Shemesh

Directions in Jewish Feminist Bible Study

The article highlights various possible directions that Jewish feminist Bible scholarship can take. Even though this field has naturally been influenced by feminist scholarship in general, I believe that it does have a number of unique traits, with regard both to content (such as pointing out the Christian source of certain misogynistic interpretations) and form (commentaries oriented to the weekly Torah portion). The first part of the article deals with these unique features of Jewish feminist Bible scholarship. In the second part I look at four goals shared by feminist Bible scholarship in general and the Jewish subgenre, while focusing on the latter: (1) Emphasizing that the Bible is a patriarchal and androcentric – some would say misogynistic – text; (2) highlighting the voices for equality that can be found in the Bible; (3) focusing on biblical women and recounting her-story rather than the traditional his-tory that has been dominant for generations; (4) discovering the female authors of biblical texts, or at least the women’s voices that emerge from it. In the third section I draw on several Jewish feminist Bible scholars’ treatment of three issues to exemplify how the same underlying data led different readers to different and even contradictory attitudes and assertions about the biblical text. Two of these issues relate to narrative – the characterization of Eve and that of Ruth and Naomi and their relationship. The third issue comes from the legal corpus – the laws of menstrual impurity (Lev. 15.19-24). Here we saw not only the different positions taken by different scholars, but also the change over time in the view of Rachel Adler, which corresponds with the change in her religious perspective and move from one religious denomination to another.

Scripture Bulletin 42, 1 (January 2012)

The January 2012 issue of Scripture Bulletin is available online, with the following articles (summaries are taken from Ian Boxall’s editorial):

Ian Boxall

Editorial

Jennifer Dines

What Are They Saying About the Minor Prophets?

Jennifer Dines considers the Book of the Twelve (often better-known by Augustine’s title of ‘the Minor Prophets’). She offers a fascinating and wide-ranging critical survey of different recent attempts to explain the existence of this collection and how it should be read, both diachronic (with their attempt to reconstruct the stages of its historical development) and synchronic (including canonical readings and reader-response approaches).

Sean Michael Ryan

In Animate Praise: The Heavenly Temple Liturgy of the Apocalypse and The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice

Sean Ryan’s article is an intriguing exploration of continuities between the angelic liturgy as described in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (found at both Qumran and Masada) and the scenes of heavenly worship found in the Apocalypse. For all their differences, Ryan has detected some striking similarities: not least, their shared visualisation of the heavenly realm as the interior of a celestial temple re-imagined as a living, animate structure of praise, and the prominence of the number seven as an organising principle. This suggestive article points the way to further research into the liturgical background and reception of the Book of Revelation.

Matthew van Duyvenbode

Word for the World: Four Characteristics of a Faithful Sharing of the Word

Matthew van Duyvenbode offers further reflections on Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, produced following the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God. Building on his work with Bible Society and his extensive knowledge of projects aimed at bridging the gap between scriptural engagement and contemporary culture, his particular focus is on the final section of the document: ‘the Word for the World’ (Verbum Mundo). He sets out four qualities or ‘hallmarks’ which should characterise a faithful sharing of the word of scripture in a missional context.

Book Reviews

G.K. Beale on Scripture, Inerrancy, and the Book of Revelation

G.K. Beale, ‘Can the Bible Be Completely Inspired by God and Yet Still Contain Errors? A Response to Some Recent “Evangelical” Proposals’, Westminster Theological Journal 73, 1 (2011), 1-22.

Those familiar with G.K. Beale’s earlier work on Scripture will know of his strong insistence (taking all the usual caveats into account) that Scripture is without error.

This article, from the Spring 2011 edition of Westminster Theological Journal sees Beale engaging less in debate with those who disagree (though he does mention Andrew McGowan’s work at the start) and more in first-order work on a particular biblical text, the book of Revelation in this case, in order to support an inerrant position.

In short:

‘My article will attempt to respond from the book of Revelation to views like that of McGowan. I will contend the following: (1) that John is more explicit about the doctrine of inerrancy than many think; (2) that John, in particular, explicitly refers to Christ’s character as “true” and then applies the attribute of “truth” from Christ’s character to the written word of Revelation as being “true.”’ (2)

His argument unfolds as follows:

1. John’s prophetic commission to write is based on the prophetic commission of Ezekiel to write

Here he notes the several links between the commissions of John and Ezekiel (not just the ‘scroll’ passage in Revelation 10:8-11), seeking to show that for both, the ‘commission entails not only seeing visions from God and hearing God’s word but also putting these visions and divine words into written form’ (4).

‘Their message carries with it the power of God’s word because it is God’s word, and it is this that they are commissioned to deliver... The point of repeatedly applying Ezekiel’s commission to that of John’s throughout the Apocalypse is to underscore that he has the same prophetic authority as Ezekiel the prophet’ (6).

2. The significance of Revelation 22:18-19 for the prophetic authority of the written form of Revelation

He looks at Revelation 22:18-19 (the warning not to add or take away from the book) exploring allusions back to several passages in Deuteronomy (4:1-2; 12:32; 29:19-20). In both cases, he avers, the ‘adding and taking away’ refers ‘to false teaching about the inscripturated word and following such deceptive teaching’ (8).

3. John’s prophetic commission to write true words is based on the truthful character of God and Christ from whom the words come

He recognises that this conclusion about ‘John’s flawless message’ rests ‘technically on logical deductions’ flowing out of the biblical data (i.e., in Ezekiel and Deuteronomy being alluded to in the book of Revelation), but he also contends that ‘they are inferences also explicitly and exegetically deduced later in Revelation itself’ (10-11).

In the remainder of the article, then, he seeks to show ‘(1) that John is commanded to “write” down the oral “words” from God and Christ in a “book,” (2) and the written words will be “faithful and true,” (3) because they come from Christ and God, who are “faithful and true.” (4) And because John writes under prophetic inspiration and authority, what he writes unswervingly represents what he has heard God or Christ say’ (11).

He looks particularly at the ‘faithful and true’ references in Revelation 3:14, 21:5 and 22:6, and the ‘true words of God’ reference in Revelation 19:9.

4. Reflection on the significance of the reference to the written words of Revelation being referred to as authoritative

‘Revelation 19:9, 21:6, 22:6, 18-19 all refer to the written words of the book as “true” or “faithful and true” or as inviolable. The fact that not mere concepts but the very written words are to be seen as without mistake is apparent in noticing especially the specific references in 19:9 and 21:9’ (18).

In the Conclusion he draws attention to Psalm 119:137-142 with its references to God’s character as ‘righteous’ and his written Scripture as likewise ‘righteous’, ‘pure’, and ‘true’, arguing that, like other parts of Scripture, John’s inference is that ‘since God’s character is unswervingly true, his written word of Scripture is unswervingly true’ (21).