Ten years ago, Ronald D. Peters published _The Greek Article_ (Brill, 2014), in which he proposed the novel theory that the Greek article “functions as a reduced form of the relative pronoun” (3) in the Koine period by the time of the NT (69). Daniel B. Wallace wrote a very negative review of this monograph, … Read more
The phrase μολὼν λαβέ (“come and take”) is a classical expression of defiance. This phrase was the response of King Leonidas when King Xerxes demanded that the Spartans surrender their weapons on the eve of the Battle of Thermopylae (440 BC). This example illustrates that a normal way of communicating two distinct imperatival nuances was … Read more
The Book of Revelation presents the eschatological identity and role of the people of God with the two nouns βασιλεία and ἱερεύς. In Rev 1:6, βασιλεία and ἱερεύς are separated by a comma, whereas Rev 5:10 inserts καὶ between the two nouns. Unlike Exod 19:6 (construct state) and 1 Pet 2:9 (adjective) where the word … Read more
New Testament scholars commonly viewed Jesus’s so called “antitheses” (Matt 5:21–48) in the Sermon on the Mount as abrogating the Torah (at least in some respects; e.g., 5:38–39). Therefore, it was often assumed Jesus’ programmatic statement on the Torah and the Prophets (Matt 5:17–20) was strategically placed before the antitheses as a hermeneutical aid to … Read more
Although the Old Testament sacrificial system was rendered obsolete by the New Testament’s call to worship God in spirit and truth, the blood of the sacrificial lamb continues to hold profound significance for believers today. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the lamb of God who took away our sins, and his blood has … Read more
At least since the publication of Jeremias’s discussion of ἅδης and γέεννα (Jeremias, TDNT, Vol. 1), the discussion of these two words has tended to revolve around distinguishing between them at a semantic level. Do they refer to different conceptions of eschatological punishment (Chaim Milikowshi, “Which Gehenna,” NTS 34 [1988]: 238-249)? Do they refer to … Read more
Scholars are divided as to whether James is addressing believers or unbelievers in his mention of the rich in 1:9-11; 2:1-7; and 5:1-6. This paper argues that James is addressing the same group of people in all three passages, namely, the professing false believers within the believing community. The reason why scholars believe that James … Read more
This paper addresses the significant methodological potential for New Testament exegesis by establishing a systematic framework for applying register analysis to New Testament texts. Register analysis examines how language varies according to situational context, providing insights into the functional relationship between linguistic features and their social settings. Unlike approaches focused on dialectal variation (language according … Read more
Mark 9:42-49 contains several difficult statements from Jesus, most of them concerned with his metaphorical references to ‘salt’ and ‘fire.’ He says that “everyone will be salted with fire,” having just said that hell is a place where “the fire is not quenched” (v. 48). But in v. 50, he says that this fire which … Read more
By using discourse analysis from a systemic functional linguistic perspective, I argue that the sonship theme throughout Hebrews shapes how believers, as the “many sons” (2:10), relate to God, Christ, and each other. The analysis demonstrates the discourse pattern of applying sonship terms and concepts to Christ first and later to believers, including the lexemes … Read more