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Jesus and Nicodemus, Crijn Hendricksz, 1616–1645. John 1:13 describes a group of individuals “who were not born from blood nor from a fleshly will nor from a husband’s will but from God” (οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς ἀλλʼ ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν). For John, being born “from blood” (ἐξ αἱμάτων), “from a fleshly will” (ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός), and “from a husband’s will” (ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός) would all have been perfectly reasonable ways of describing ordinary, human generation. 1 Yet, the individuals John describes as not having been born in these ways but as having been born “from God” (ἐκ θεοῦ) are still very much human beings ( John 1:9–12). John’s point, then, is not to negate the reality of the ordinary, human, physical generation of the individuals he describes but to negate the significance of this origin for determining the identity of the “children of God” ( John 1:12; τέκνα θεοῦ). ...

Via Michael Bird:

Homer was also called Melesigenes (son of Mele… Charles Jones notes that Homer and the Papyri, first created by Professor Dana Sutton of the University of California, Irvine, is . . . published [online] in a second electronic edition. The new edition consists of a fully searchable relational database of Homeric papyri. ...

It seems like I’ve seen the site before, but Gideon Burton at Brigham Young University has digested a good deal of information about classical and Renaissance rhetoric at Silva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric. The site “is intended to help beginners, as well as experts, make sense of rhetoric, both on the small scale (definitions and examples of specific terms) and on the large scale (the purposes of rhetoric, the patterns into which it has fallen historically as it has been taught and practiced for 2000+ years).” ...

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society The latest issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society arrived in yesterday’s mail and includes the following: Clinton Arnold, “Sceva, Solomon, and Shamanism: The Jewish Roots of the Problem at Colossae” Nicholas Lunn, “Allusions to the Joseph Narrative in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts: Foundations of Biblical Type” Daniel Hays, " ‘Sell Everything You Have and Give to the Poor’: The Old Testament Prophetic Theme of Justice as the Connecting Motif of Luke 18:1–19:10" Paul Tanner, “James’s Quotation of Amos 9 to Settle the Jerusalem Council Debate in Acts 15” Jonathan Lunde and John Dunne, “Paul’s Creative and Contextual Use of Isaiah in Ephesians 5:14” Emmitt Cornelius, “St. Irenaeus and Robert W. Jenson on Jesus in the Trinity” Michael Bräutigam, “Good Will Hunting: Adolf Schlatter on Organic Volitional Sanctification”

There is now an iPad app for introductory and intermediate Greek readers. Its name is Attikos and it includes a selection of familiar texts, including morphological information. The author is Josh Day, himself recently an intermediate Greek student. Link to the app store page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/attikos/id522497233?mt=8 . . . Texts include the Iliad, some Lysias and Plato, and the Antigone. Some texts have been parsed completely; no translations are included, however. ...

The Road to Emmaus appearance, based on Luke 2… In Luke 24:1, αἱ γυναῖκες, αἵτινες ἦσαν συνεληλυθυῖαι ἐκ τῆς Γαλιλαίας αὐτῷ ( Luke 23:55; the women who had come with him from Galilee; cf. Matt 28:1–8; Mark 16:1–8; Luke 8:2–3; 23:49; 24:10; John 20:1–13) go to Jesus’ tomb φέρουσαι ἃ ἡτοίμασαν ἀρώματα ( Luke 24:1; carrying spices that they had prepared). Instead of finding Jesus, however, the women are met with an empty tomb and two shining figures ( Luke 24:2–5a). To these women, the resplendent individuals then address the question τί ζητεῖτε τὸν ζῶντα μετὰ τῶν νεκρῶν; ( Luke 24:5b; Why do you seek the living one among the dead?). ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“200” caption=“Domenico Fetti, “Parable of the Good Samaritan” (c. 1610–1623; photo credit: Wikipedia)”] [/caption] The parable of the Good Samaritan ( Luke 10:30–35) is unique to Luke and contributes to the third Gospel’s general emphasis on socially marginalized characters and groups. 1 Introducing the parable proper is an exchange between Jesus and a νομικός (lawyer), which the lawyer begins by inquiring τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω; ( Luke 10:25b; what shall I do to inherit eternal life?). Both this question and the exchange that follows resemble some later rabbinic texts, not least in the lawyer’s concern to define proper Torah obedience. 2 ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“250” caption=“15th-c. Illumination (Photo credit: Wikipedia)”] [/caption] First Samuel 18:6 describes David’s return after killing Goliath ( 1 Sam 17:41–58). Precisely how this event sits chronologically in relationship to the surrounding narrative is difficult to establish. 1 One good way of reading the narrative, however, involves treating 1 Sam 18:1–5 as an extended parenthesis, which includes some foreshadowing, and understanding 1 Sam 18:6 to be bringing the reader back to the main plot line that had temporarily paused with 1 Sam 17:58. 2 In this context, it begins to be said הכה שׁאול֙ באלפו ודוד ברבבתיו ‎( 1 Sam 18:7; Saul has slain by his thousands and David by his ten thousands; see also 1 Sam 21:11; 29:5). 3 Yet, thus far, David has specifically been reported to have killed only one person (Goliath) and some animals ( 1 Sam 17:34–37)—not רבבת (ten thousands). 4 Rather, the women’s song quantitatively represents the qualitative value of David’s victory over Goliath as it relates to Saul’s previous exploits. 5 On hearing this song, then, Saul becomes enraged and starts looking and acting to do David harm ( 1 Sam 18:8–9). ...

Luke 11:1–4 recounts Jesus’ teaching his disciples how to pray. The substance of the prayer much resembles the parallel account in Matt 6:9–13. Yet, Luke’s version is considerably shorter than Matthew’s at a couple points. Also, rather than coming in the context of a longer discourse, Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11:2–4 responds to a specific request from one of the disciples that he teach them to pray, just as John had done with his own disciples ( Luke 11:1).((Darrell L. Bock, Jesus according to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006), 141.)) ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“268” caption=“Scenes of the Passion of Christ (Image via Wikipedia)”] [/caption] As יהוה was delivering Israel from Egypt, he commanded his people spread lamb’s blood on their doorposts and lintels ( Exod 12:7). In view of this blood, יהוה passed over his people and judged only the Egyptians’ firstborn and their gods ( Exod 12:12–13), for יהוה had provided that the Israelites should redeem their firstborn with lamb’s blood ( Exod 13:15; cf. Exod 34:18–20). He delivered them mightily, he brought them through the sea, he made a covenant with them, and he settled them in Canaan ( Exod 12:29– Judges 1:26). Nevertheless, even those who entered the land did not fully enter יהוה’s rest ( Heb 4:8–11), and year by year, they offered sacrifices for sins ( Lev 16:1–34; 23:26–32; Num 29:7–11; Heb 9:6–10; 10:1–4). ...

Starting this year, the International Journal of the Platonic Tradition has become fully and openly accessible online (HT: Charles Jones).

Apparently, Michael Kruger, Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, is now blogging at Canon Fodder and tweeting @michaeljkruger (HT: Lane Keister). ...

The Leningrad Codex At the annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting in San Francisco, I and a number of other folks picked up John Schwandt’s audio version of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (4th ed.; affiliate disclosure). ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“125” caption=“Thomas Aquinas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)”] [/caption] Through their pre-publication program, Logos Bible Software is now offering English translations of Thomas Aquinas’s commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Sentences of Peter Lombard. Aquinas’s Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles have been available in English for some time, but once enough pre-publication orders have accumulated, Logos’s texts of these three commentaries will be the first time they have been available in English. ...

Logos Bible Software’s March Madness final between D. A. Carson and N. T. Wright was certainly an ironic pairing, but the results are in, and Wright’s victory leaves users with a 75% discount on select texts, including New Testament and the People of God and Jesus and the Victory of God. A pair of runner-up Carson’s texts are also available at a 60% discount. For more information, please see here. ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“80” caption=“Gerald Bray”] [/caption] Fresh off the presses at Crossway this past month is Gerald Bray’s God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology. According to the publisher, While there is no substitute for personal, faithful, and careful Bible reading and prayer, the Bible’s vast size and diversity can make distilling its truth a daunting task. Thus most Christians benefit from supplemental resources to help learn and apply what Scripture teaches. . . . ...

Although the calling of Simon Peter appears in all three synoptic Gospels ( Matt 4:18–20; Mark 1:16–18; Luke 5:1–11; cf. John 1:35–51; 21:1–11), Luke’s narrative develops the pericope in much greater detail than Matthew’s or Mark’s. Luke 5:3 indicates that Jesus did some teaching from Simon’s boat. After concluding, Jesus instructs Simon to take the boat into the λίμνη (lake), and set out the nets for a catch ( Luke 5:4). Although incredulous, Simon acquiesces ( Luke 5:5–6a, 8–10a).((Jon L. Berquist, “Luke 5:1–11,” Int 58, no. 1 (2004): 62; Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 232.)) Then, to his surprise, not only do they catch fish, but their catch is of such quantity that it nearly nearly tears the nets and sinks both their boat and another called to help ( Luke 5:6b–7). Observing this situation, Simon προσέπεσεν τοῖς γόνασιν Ἰησοῦ λέγων· ἔξελθε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι ἀνὴρ ἁμαρτωλός εἰμι, κύριε. θάμβος γὰρ περιέσχεν αὐτὸν καὶ πάντας τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἄγρᾳ τῶν ἰχθύων ὧν συνέλαβον ( Luke 5:8–9; fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.” For, astonishment at the catch of fish that they had enclosed had come upon him and all those who were with him).((Or, if Ἰησοῦ is a dative, προσέπεσεν τοῖς γόνασιν Ἰησοῦ may be “he fell on [his own] knees before Jesus” (I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke [New International Greek Testament Commentary; Exeter: Paternoster, 1995], 204).)) ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“125” caption=“Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)”] [/caption] Fifteen print volumes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s works are now available as a single set via Logos Bible Software’s pre-publication program. According to the product page: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the most influential Christian martyrs in history, bequeathed to humanity a legacy of theological creativity and spirituality that continues to inspire people from a variety of backgrounds. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (15 vols.) offers a fresh, critical translation of Bonhoeffer’s writings, with extensive introductions, annotations, and interpretation. ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“150” caption=“Rahab Helping the Two Israelite Spies (Image via Wikipedia)”] [/caption] After assuming leadership over Israel ( Josh 1:10–18), Joshua commissions two men to survey Jericho and the surrounding area ( Josh 2:1a). Rather tersely, then, the menוילכו ויבאו בית־אשׁה זונה ושׁמה רחב וישׁכבו־שׁמה ( Josh 2:1b; went and entered the house of a prostitute, whose name was Rahab, and they lodged there). For onlookers, such an action might not have been unusual in itself, 1 but by some means or other, the king became aware of these Israelite’s intent to survey Jericho ahead of some forthcoming military action ( Josh 2:3). ...

I hadn’t noticed it until now, but Logos Bible Software has a very nicely developed YouTube Channel with a number of helpful videos both about individual resources that they offer and about using the Logos 4 engine (HT: Josh Burdick). ...

This summer: The Oxford Graduate School Society of Scholars is calling for papers related to the following theme: The Three Cultures: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and the Humanities in the 21st Century, based on the book of the same title by Jerome Kagan. Papers should specifically relate the role of religion and theology to the scope of the Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities. For more information and to propose a paper, please see here. ...

In Rom 7:1–6, Paul appears to draw on Num 5:11–31 as a metaphorical way of characterizing the Christian community’s history. 1 While her husband lives, the wife’s involvement with another man would make her liable to the charge of adultery from her current husband. From this charge, the wife would also become liable to the ritual of Num 5:11–31, and the serious consequences that it would entail if she had indeed committed adultery ( Num 5:21–22, 24, 27–28).2 ...

Thanks to wonderful readers and the excellent folks at the Westminster Bookstore, the following have arrived at the door recently: David Aune, Apocalypticism, Prophecy, and Magic in Early Christianity Greg Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity Harvie Conn, ed., Inerrancy and Hermeneutic Gordon Fee, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God Gordon Fee, Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-theological Study Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics Anthony Thiselton, The Hermeneutics of Doctrine Kevin Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-linguistic Approach to Christian Theology

Mark 12:28–30 reports Jesus’ citation of Deut 6:4–5 as Torah’s preeminent commandment and of Lev 19:18 as the commandment of next greatest standing (cf. Matt 22:34–40; Luke 10:25–28). Jesus’ expansion of Deuteronomy’s בכל־מאדך ( Deut 6:5; ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου; with all your might) into ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου ( Mark 12:30; with all your mind and with all your strength) 1 is in step with Deuteronomy’s original formulation (cf. Mark 12:33a) but perhaps stresses still further יהוה’s comprehensive claim on the affections of the command’s addressees. 2 Not surprisingly, these commands’ importance also provides further, mutually-reinforcing suggestions about readings of Israel’s scriptures, including ones that privilege the love of יהוה and even of one’s potentially disagreeable neighbor over any burnt offering or sacrifice ( Mark 12:32–34). 3 ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“284” caption=“von Carolsfeld, Woodcut for “Bibel der Bildern” (Image via Wikipedia)”] [/caption] The story of Jesus’ raising Jairus’s daughter appears in all three synoptics ( Matt 9:18–19, 23–26; Mark 5:21–24, 35–43; Luke 8:41–42, 49–56), but only Mark and Luke report a closing admonition about the event’s further dissemination ( Mark 5:43; Luke 8:56). In Luke 8:56, Jesus instruction focuses on the fact that the witnesses, perhaps especially the parents, should not themselves engage in describing what happened. By contrast, in Mark 5:43, Jesus warns those around him ἵνα μηδεὶς γνοῖ τοῦτο (so that no one would know this*). ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“150” caption=“Image via CrunchBase”] [/caption] After yesterday’s post about a couple important updates to Zotero’s SBL style support, John Harris suggested that some kind of Zotero tutorial or “how to” post might be useful. Since this information might be beneficial to others also, the Learning Commons has a pretty good YouTube playlist (48:57) assembled, which should provide some good introductory material about Zotero. ...

This month, a couple significant updates have come through the pipe for Zotero’s SBL style. First, footnoted citations containing parentheses will, if placed within parentheses themselves in the citation editor, now automatically change the inner parentheses to square brackets in compliance with the SBL handbook’s deference to Chicago Manual of Style (e.g., 15th ed., §6.102) on this point. Second, the style now more accurately handles citations of titled sections within works. ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“225” caption=“Image via Wikipedia”] [/caption] In Num 12:1, Miriam and Aaron confront Moses because of his marriage to a Cushite woman, and in so doing, they attempt to claim equal prophetic status with Moses ( Num 12:2a). Apparently, on this occasion, Moses’ meekness constrains him from responding ( Num 12:3; cf. Rom 12:19; 1 Clem. 17 [ANF 9:234]; Socrates, Hist. eccl., 7.42 [NPNF2 2:176]), but יהוה hears the conversation and summons all three siblings to the tent of meeting ( Num 12:2b, 4). יהוה then summons Aaron and Miriam for a special rebuke ( Num 12:5): however high may be their claim to apparently equal prophetic status with Moses, Moses own status still surpasses that of prophet ( Num 12:6–9). The status that Aaron and Miriam claim for themselves gets them only so far—only to dreams and visions ( Num 12:6). By contrast, Moses is not limited to dreams and visions, but פה אל־פה אדבר־בו ומראה ולא בחידת ותמנת יהוה יביט ( Num 12:8a; with him, I [יהוה] speak mouth to mouth, plainly, and not in riddles, and he looks upon the form of יהוה). More than a prophet, Moses is a faithful servant in all יהוה’s house ( Num 12:7; Heb 3:5). ...

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“193” caption=“Simon von Cyrene (Bamberger Kreuzweg; Image via Wikipedia)”] [/caption] Mark 15:21 describes Simon of Cyrene as having been “pressed into service” (ἀγγαρεύουσιν . . . Σίμωνα Κυρηναῖον) to carry Jesus’ cross, and Matt 27:32 uses the same language (ἄνθρωπον Κυρηναῖον ὀνόματι Σίμωνα . . . ἠγγάρευσαν). Only Matthew’s narrative, however, has Jesus previously instructing his disciples, saying, ὅστις σε ἀγγαρεύσει μίλιον ἕν, ὕπαγε μετʼ αὐτοῦ δύο ( Matt 5:41; whoever will press you into service for one mile, go with him for two; cf. Bruce, “Synoptic Gospels,” 328; Gundry, Matthew, 94; Keener, Matthew, 199). Matthew does not identify how far Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus’ cross, but the accompanying soldiers at least press him into service not to carry his own cross, as would have been anticipated, but someone else’s ( Matt 27:27–32; France, Matthew, 221–22, 1064–65; cf. Keener, Matthew, 199–200; Lightfoot, Commentary, 2:132–33; Schürer, Jewish People, 2.2.231). At this juncture, Jesus’ own disciples are not to be “found,” and in their stead is only one Cyrenean who appears only here in the synoptic tradition ( Matt 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). Although certainly not explicitly included among the audience for Jesus’ earlier instruction in Matt 5:41, Simon here serves, where others fail to do so, as a model of the kind of discipleship that Jesus has described. In this way, Simon has a share in Jesus’ cross, albeit still only to a limited extent (Allison, “Anticipating the Passion,” CBQ 56.4 [1994]: 704–5; cf. Luke 9:23; 14:27; 23:26; Rom 6:5; Phil 3:8–11; Augustine, Cons., 3.37 [NPNF1 6:196]; Origen, Comm. Matt., 12.24 [ANF 9:464]; [Pseudo-]Tertullian, Haer., 9.1 [ANF 3:650]*; Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, 95–104, 161; Keener, Matthew, 673). ...