Book Review: Lissa Wray Beal, 1 & 2 Kings (Apollos Old Testament Commentary Series).

Lissa M. Wray Beal. 1 & 2 Kings, Apollos Old Testament Commentary Series. Downers Grove, IL.: IVP Academic, ix + 615 pp., HB; $40.50. Link to Intervarsity Press.  The Apollos Old Testament Commentary from IVP Academic is their newest series of commentaries. Edited by David W. Baker and Gordon J. Wenham and authored by Lissa M. Wray …

The Dictionary of the Old Testament Historical Books (IVP)—Book Review

Intervarsity Press’s Dictionary of the Old Testament Historical Books is (as the cover reads) a compendium of contemporary Biblical Scholarship. Edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, this volume contains over 160 articles from a plethora of contributing authors; all of which cover a wide range of topics taken from Joshua, Judges, …

The Decalogue Book Review

Very few people have never heard of the Ten Commandments. How one understands them, rather, is quite diverse. Some may think of the monument removed from Oklahoma City, for others, this may be a memory of the Charlton Heston movie, but to anyone remotely familiar with scripture, the Ten Commandments are the collection of "Thou …

Book Review—Dictionary of Paul and His Letters by InterVarsity Press

Book Review- Dictionary of Paul and His Letters by InterVarsity Press

Residency Log: Entry #2

I am nearing the end of my second month of my residency, and it has been quite the journey! One thing in particular was the recommended reading of Dangerous Calling—a book written by Paul Tripp. If you are familiar with my blog, you know that I write book reviews for Christian publishers in exchange for …

Going Deeper with New Testament Greek: Book Review from B&H Academic

Last fall I took my last NT exegesis course required for my degree. Aside from what I will utilize in my thesis paper, I have finished the Greek language components for any remaining classes at seminary. I still dig into my Greek NT, but since finishing I've haven't been as quick with my translating as …

Romans- Israel, the Gentiles, and God’s Creative Gift—Part IV: Paul & the Gift

The fourth and final part of Barclay’s book consists of a reading of Romans. He establishes the coherence of the letter; too often the letter is dissected as individual lessons which make up a collection (i.e. the righteousness of God in 3:1-26 or the contrast between Adam vs. Christ and what it means for the …

The Christ-Gift in Galatians—Part III: Paul & the Gift

In Part III of Paul & the Gift John Barclay exegetically and theologically analyzes The apostle's letter to the Galatians. Barclay's treatment requires four chapters, weighing it in at just over one hundred pages. In addition to his exegesis, he compares a reading of Paul's letter to that of Luther, Dunn, Martyn, and Kahl by drawing attention to the …

Divine Gift in Second Temple Judaism: Part II—Paul & the Gift

Part II of John Barclay's Paul & the Gift examines “grace” and the various ways it has been presented in Second Temple Judaism. He examines five texts in his analysis—Wisdom of Solomon, the Qumran Hodayot, Philo, Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum and 4 Ezra; arguing that grace has been, as Part I revealed, “perfected” differently during …

The Multiple Meanings of Gift and Grace: Part I—Paul & the Gift

I’m willing to bet if you were to ask a random person how they define grace, their response would include either (a) someone/something possessing elegance, poise, finesse, etc., or (b) the “christianese” understanding of God’s unmerited favor for all through his son, Jesus, and a reference to Ephesians 2:8-10 (let me know if there's a …