Much controversy has attended the question of whether the flood of Noah was local or global in extent. This paper suggests three considerations that commend a local flood view. First, the paper surveys forgotten historical testimonies for a local flood from Jewish writers, church fathers, and early modern Christians. Special attention is given to how … Read more
The Hebrew Bible is replete with expressions of human conditions, including the remorseful call for justice by the afflicted. Recent Old Testament scholarship has paid attention to the value of ancient Israel’s lament. Walter Brueggemann observes the “costly loss of lament” in modern Christian life and gives a political rationale for restoring this language in … Read more
What is justice? How does one determine it or recognize it? Is there anything that objectively defines that which so many claim to want? What about society? How does a healthy society function? Are there immutable principles that underlie society and justice? Is anything true always and everywhere? This review of four Old Testament passages … Read more
An enduring biblical-theological question is the posture of the people of God toward governing authorities, especially when these authorities do not recognize God’s reign. The biblical witness attests to many different configurations of such relationships, with attendant challenges and opportunities. This paper explores this question by looking at the experience of the Judahite community, focusing … Read more
Since the publication of the late Michael Heiser’s *The Unseen Realm,* more evangelicals have accepted his ‘Deuteronomy 32 Worldview,’ which argues for a ‘divine council’ of heavenly beings who govern the affairs of various people groups on God’s behalf. Heiser himself was a scholar of semitic languages and the OT, as well as a vocal … Read more
This paper examines some ways the Old Testament narrative accounts of Israel’s monarchy have, and might continue to, contribute to western political theology. Mostly, the narratives of Israel’s great kings have been used as exemplars of what righteous political rule should be like. There are plentiful examples. As we saw recently, English monarchs continue to … Read more
If Esther were an independent book, the reviews would be mixed. Some, due to its “godless” brutality and vengeance, deny its canonicity alongside that of apocryphal works. Others, due to its preservation of Israel under foreign rule, claim it as the undeniable, sovereign “background” working of YHWH on behalf of his people. But what if … Read more
Seraphim are mentioned only once as angelic creatures (Isa. 6), but there are several references to fiery serpentine creatures in the Old Testament and they appear in ANE literature. Satan is identified as a fallen angel and is called a snake, a dragon, and takes the form of (or possesses) a serpent in the garden. … Read more
Hosea’s ministry stretched beyond the time of Jereboam II, yet no other northern kings are mentioned in Hosea’s opening verse. Thus, an opening salvo is launched against the kings of Israel, so ineffective and unfaithful that they do not merit mention. Hosea’s cynical view of the kings is unmistakable, but the treatment is not one-dimensional. … Read more