Tag: Book Reviews and Summaries
Review of Biblical Literature Newsletter (February 6, 2015)
The latest reviews from the Review of Biblical Literature include: Daniel I. Block, Beyond the River Chebar: Studies in Kingship and Eschatology in the Book of Ezekiel, reviewed by Sven Petry Reinhard Feldmeier, Power, Service, Humility: A New Testament Ethic, reviewed by David Briones David G. Firth, 1 and 2 Samuel: A Kingdom Comes, reviewed by Ralph Henson…
Was the Teacher of Righteousness Considered to Be a Messiah?
John Collins rightly argues that the possibility of a positive answer to this question depends heavily on what one means by משיח (messiah) (“A Messiah before Jesus?” 15–35). Most notably, messianic language at Qumran refers to the so-called “Davidic” and “priestly” messiahs (1QS 9:11; 4Q161 3:22–29; 4Q174 3:7–13; 4Q252 5:1–7; 4Q266 f2i:11; f10i:12; 4Q285 f7:1–6;…
“How to Write a Lot”
Paul J. Silvia teaches psychology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. InHow to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing, Silvia chiefly pleads with his readers to set aside specific, regular blocks of time for writing and to adhere steadfastly to this schedule (16–17). “The secret,” he says, “is the regularity,…
Book Review: The Office of Assertion
Scott Crider teaches in the English Department at the University of Dallas. His book, The Office of Assertion: An Art of Rhetoric for the Academic Essay (affiliate disclosure), is intended to provide an introduction to “the classical art of rhetoric and composition” (xi). While providing this introduction, Crider specifically seeks to argue that rhetoric is,…
Judaism in Justification and Variegated Nomism
In contrast to Sanders’ emphasis on the essential consistency of Palestinian Judaism’s pattern of religion, the essays in Second Temple Judaism (affiliate disclosure) emphasize the nomistic diversity, or variegation, that ancient Judaism exhibited. Consequently, a concise summary of the whole volume that appreciates the variegated findings of each author would be difficult to produce. Therefore,…
Justification and Variegated Nomism
If first-century Judaism had a different shape than much New Testament scholarship has traditionally assumed, then an understanding of the New Testament’s—and especially Paul’s—negative critique of Judaism, as well as the positive, doctrinal affirmations predicated to some degree upon this traditional view of Judaism, may need to be revised. The direction this revision has taken…