It is often said that when it comes to interpretation, context is king—well, in Zech 6:13 the high priest is prophesied to be king, a prophecy which the post-exilic context renders (to say the least) far-fetched. Interpreters have wrestled with how to understand the implications of Zechariah 6 as a whole, and particularly with v. … Read more
The Bible presents God’s magnificent divine plan, executed by chosen people for a specific purpose. There are illustrations of those from various regions impacting those worldwide throughout the Bible. This paper will examine sub-Saharan people groups in Africa, particularly the Cushites, and their impact on Israelite history, particularly during times of imminent danger of foreign … Read more
Biblical scholars have employed various tools and approaches in seeking to understand the structure of the book of Isaiah (e.g., form criticism, historical criticism, thematic approaches, and biblical-theological approaches). This paper explores the contributions of an alternative approach. It examines the scribal marks and para-textual features of the earliest extant copies of the book of … Read more
The coherence of the Twelve has received far less attention than the unity of the Twelve in the last thirty years of research. Contributions by Kenneth Cuffey, David Morgan, and Daniel Timmer focused primarily on coherence in the Twelve while other works usually only address coherence briefly, if at all. Cuffey provides a beneficial framework … Read more
The relationship and integration of different religious traditions within the Hebrew Bible remains a vexing question. Recent studies in Jeremiah have explored aspects of wisdom and so-called wisdom traditions, such as its structural and rhetorical role binding together chapters 7–10 and its theological connections to creation and the created order more broadly. However, the specific … Read more
This paper will explore the literary effect of the repetition in Daniel 3. The narrator repeats many phrases to an extraordinary degree, such as “the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces” (vss 2, 3, 27) and “the sound of the … Read more
Among messianic interpreters of Daniel 7’s “one like a son of man,” a division exists between those who see a solely victorious Messiah and those who believe the Messiah is there presented as suffering on earth before being enthroned in heaven. This paper proposes that God intended readers of Daniel 7 to interpret the son … Read more
The Oracles Against the Nations (OAN) are unlike other texts in Scripture. Although they are found in every book of the Latter Prophets, these oracles contain qualities that set them apart as a distinct genre even within the prophetic literature. While they are addressed to enemy nations, they use Hebrew poetic devices to proclaim their … Read more
In Isaiah chapters 40-44 the author attacked idolatry and paganism, even going as far as calling it “nothing” (41:29) and satirically mocking those that worship idols (44:9-20). This was used polemically to argue for the superiority and incompatibility of YHWH in comparison to the pagan gods of the nations around Judah, especially the Babylonian deities. … Read more
The book of 4 Ezra, written in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD begins: “In the thirtieth year after the destruction of the city, I was in Babylon.” In this way it identifies its situation with the situation of the book of Jeremiah, which was written in the … Read more