Why would the apostle Paul omit a word from an Old Testament text in a quotation? In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul quotes from the triple refrain from Isaiah 2:10, 19, and 21, but his quote does not match the extant text of Isaiah. Paul omits the word “fear” (MT: פַּחַד; LXX: φόβος). Scholars have offered … Read more
This paper examines how the so-called formula quotations in the first section of Matthew’s Gospel (Matt 1:1–4:16) work together to portray Jesus as ‘fulfilling’ (πληρόω) key Old Testament (OT) themes. While scholarship often treats each of Matthew’s formula quotations in isolation, this paper argues that in 1:1–4:16 they function collectively to connect Jesus with Israel, … Read more
This paper will explore the citation of Psalm 118:25–26 in the Johannine entrance narrative (John 12:12–15). This is an especially significant passage, because of the ten explicit Psalms quotations in the Fourth Gospel, only four are paralleled in the Synoptics, and this is the only one quoted verbatim in all of them. Psalm 118 is … Read more
Do biblical texts carry a fuller meaning than that which was originally intended by their human authors? Most scholars who affirm the divine authorship of Scripture say yes. But what this fuller sense entails is a matter of intense debate and confusion. In this paper I will evaluate two recent evangelical proposals that seek to … Read more
Paul’s interpreters are perpetually wrestling with whether the future judgment portrayed in Romans 2 is a part of Paul’s gospel of grace through faith, or a foil for it. Versions of each interpretation abound. Those who argue persuasively for a real judgment “according to works” of both believers and unbelievers must reason from elsewhere in … Read more
THESIS: The Pentateuch frequently recalls Genesis 3:16–19 to highlight ironic redemptive reversals. ABSTRACT: Scholars commonly view Genesis 3:16–19 as describing where certain world problems derived, thus minimizing the passage’s role to etiology. This paper, however, suggests that 3:16–19 plays a more strategic role within the final form of the Pentateuch. Other studies have illuminated the … Read more
This paper explores an intertextual echo in the Day of Atonement ceremonies that has largely gone unnoticed in scholarship. After purifying the sanctuary with the blood of sacrifice, Aaron presents a live goat and confesses over it “all the iniquities [‘awon] of the people of Israel and all their transgressions [pesha‘]—all their sins [chatta’t]” (Lev … Read more
An important component of advances in recent scholarship on the use of the OT in the NT has been the increased attention given to the presence of extensive inner-biblical interpretation and intertextuality within the OT itself. As a result, many have recognized the substantial overlap between the kinds of interpretive strategies utilized in the OT … Read more
In “The Psalmist as Historiographer” (T&T Clark, 2018), Jeffrey Leonard concludes his essay on Psalm 78 by claiming that numerous other psalms which allude to earlier Scripture are in need of ongoing research. One of the Psalms that fits Leonard’s call is Psalm 135, particularly with respect to exodus allusions within the Psalm. Psalm 135 … Read more
James 4:12 states that “there is one lawgiver and judge” (εἷς ἐστιν ὁ νομοθέτης καὶ κριτής). Most of the secondary literature observes that the use of εἷς is likely an allusion to the Shema (Deut 6:4; cf. Jas 2:19). The “one lawgiver and judge” of James 4:12 is therefore widely considered to refer to the … Read more