This paper argues that Ecc 2:24–26 forms the critical turning point from Qohelet’s increasing despair in 1:12–2:23 to a more joyful approach to life that begins to develop in chapter 3. I argue that this function of 2:24–26 has been obscured by English translations and by the apparatus of the BHS and the BHQ in their … Read more
Original Title: Is It Still a Relevant Topic? Evaluating the Historical Objectivity of Chronicles Based on Kenneth Scott Latourette’s View on History Writing. Is the record of the events in Chronicles reliable? Heavily influenced by historicism, the historicity of Chronicles has been a long-circulated topic among OT scholars. Yet, due to the challenges in arriving … Read more
Scripture contains over thirty references to God as potter and man as clay. These references harken back to the creation account of Genesis 2, in which Yahweh God formed man from the dust (clay) of the ground. The creation account depicts the process God used to manufacture mankind. In this presentation I show how the … Read more
Josiah is the Judean king who sought God faithfully by cleansing the land, repairing some damaged part of the temple, and observing the Passover according to the Law. However, Josiah’s reform appeared to fail with the sudden death of Josiah, which resulted in Judah’s rapid returning to idolatry. In my judgement, however, even though superficially … Read more
The Song of Songs teaches that the covenant of marriage was designed to be both rock solid in terms of commitment and white hot in terms of intimacy, and that this type of marriage can better endure hardship, resist temptation, and promote wholeness (Song 8:6–10). The clarity of the Song’s message is, however, often obscured … Read more
Shem’s genealogy (in Gen. 10:2–30) records that “Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg [פֶלֶג], because in his time the earth was divided [נִפְלְגָ֣ה]; his brother was named Joktan” (10:25; NIV). What this “division” was has generated a few popular views, but none has reached consensus. The major interpretations to date are … Read more
This paper brings the linguistic concept of valence to bear on the long-standing crux of Genesis 1:1. I argue that debates over the verse’s grammar and meaning are largely (if not entirely) traceable to a single fundamental oversight: ראשית, as a part-whole (lexically) relational noun, is a noun having an inherent association with another noun … Read more
This paper aims to construct a “biblical theology” of natural theology through an examination of the book of Job. The methodology employed involves a three-pronged approach. Firstly, contextualizing Job within the overarching redemptive-historical narrative of Scripture is crucial. Secondly, the book’s structure will be dissected, viewing it as crucial for interpreting its message on natural … Read more
The thesis of this paper is that there is an embedded three-phase exodus pattern in the Book of Genesis that prepares the reader to accurately interpret Israel’s exodus from Egypt and the prophet’s expectations for Israel’s second exodus. Interpreters often misunderstand the exodus and its literary development by concluding their analysis of the event at … Read more
Genesis 1 exhibits various examples of linguistic repetition across the first days of creation that imply a compositional purpose. They include similar third person jussive verbal forms, identical verbal clauses and prepositional phrases. The series of closely similar forms repeat up until the middle of the sixth day, whereupon a significant change occurs to all … Read more