Numbers 5:11-31 provides a detailed account of a test for a woman suspected of adultery, even in the absence of evidence. The text outlines a process where the husband, feeling a spirit of jealousy, is instructed by God through Moses to bring his wife to the priest to determine her guilt or innocence. The priest … Read more
In the recent monograph, Diachronic Diversity in Classical Biblical Hebrew (2024), Aaron Hornkohl proposes that the linguistic profile of the Torah, compared to that of the Prophets and the Writings, requires a modification to the bipolar periodization of Classical Biblical Hebrew (CBH) vs. Late Biblical Hebrew (LBH), widely accepted by Hebraists within biblical studies. Maintaining … Read more
Studies of diachronic linguistic change within biblical Hebrew have entered evangelical discussions of the Old Testament’s inspiration, composition, and transmission. Some have levied helpful critiques against the previously assumed dating paradigms in critical scholarship, while others have given some doctrinal accounting of the phenomena of literary updating, which should presuppose linguistic updating. Nevertheless, at large, … Read more
The Book of Job contains a remarkable array of lists that parallel both the lexical lists and thematic lists of knowledge employed in Mesopotamian and Syro-Levantine scribal training. Both the lists in Job and ancient Near Eastern scribal lists encompass animals, constellations, minerals, tools/weapons, and natural phenomena. In the ancient Near East, lists were more … Read more
The influence of Egyptian literature on Ecclesiastes is broadly acknowledged in biblical scholarship (see W.H.U. Anderson 2014; etc.), as is the influence of Egyptian wisdom on Hebrew wisdom, generally (see P. Humbert 1929; N. Shupak 1983; etc.). Beyond the presence of shared motifs and comparable advice found in both corpora, there are particular passages that … Read more
While arguments against annihilationism have primarily drawn from Scripture, New Testament backgrounds also provide evidence for the doctrine of eternal conscious torment. The Isaiah Targum in Targum Jonathan frequently references Gehenna, and Jesus appears to draw on its interpretation of Isaiah 66:24 in his teaching on Gehenna in Mark 9:47-48. If Jesus was indeed referencing … Read more
Asylum has gained significant attention in recent biblical law studies, particularly regarding its relevance to the ongoing migrant crisis. However, interpretations of the biblical practice of asylum vary, particularly regarding the origin of the cities of refuge in Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19. Three main perspectives can be identified. Some scholars argue that the cities … Read more
For many readers, the military exemptions of Deuteronomy 20:5–7 are somewhat puzzling. What army on the cusp of battle would willingly allow a portion of its fighting force to return home for the seemingly mundane reasons mentioned in 20:5–7? For many, this has led to the suspicion that there must be more to these exemptions … Read more
This paper explores the comparative material on gender identity, sexuality, and cultic prostitution within the context of ancient Mesopotamian and North-West Semitic cultures, focusing on the Inanna/Ishtar cult and Canaanite practices. The analysis delves into the enduring nature of the Ishtar cult across millennia and its syncretism with other cultures, particularly during the Greco-Roman period. … Read more
The paper is a topical comparative study of the grace formula (Exod 34:6–7) in its ancient Near Eastern context using the Shockey method. After an overview of the creed’s central importance in the Hebrew Bible, the study focuses on three aspects of the grace formula in its ANE context. First, the “gracious and merciful God” … Read more