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Mark’s critical disputation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees on clean and unclean food (7:1–23) is sparked by the observation that the disciples were eating τοὺς ἄρτους (“the breads”) with unclean hands. Most commentators and translations render this idiomatically as “eating food” (NIV) or even just “eating” (NRSV). This conveys the gist of the … Read more
Francis Schaeffer once remarked, “I think anybody who searches for only one or two people to explain my positions and my attitudes is pursuing a hopeless task.” Schaeffer does not give a comprehensive list of who he is indebted to intellectually. Nevertheless, much has been written concerning who played a significant influence in Schaeffer’s life … Read more
Scholars continue to compare and contrast Paul’s understanding of divine agency with that of other Second Temple Jewish thinkers. In this paper, I aim to contribute to this discussion by focusing on Paul’s treatment of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Specifically, by comparing Paul’s description of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Rom 9:17–18 with … Read more
Contemporary readers often overlook the astonishing expense of clothing in the ancient world. This paper will argue that the value of textiles in the Roman Empire far exceeds the real expenditure of clothing in the 21st century and that a greater knowledge of the staggering expense of textiles in the first century provides readers with … Read more
This paper argues that Ecc 2:24–26 forms the critical turning point from Qohelet’s increasing despair in 1:12–2:23 to a more joyful approach to life that begins to develop in chapter 3. I argue that this function of 2:24–26 has been obscured by English translations and by the apparatus of the BHS and the BHQ in their … Read more
This paper aims to reassess the role that creation and “creation theology” (Schöpfungstheologie) play in the theology and message of Ecclesiastes. Following Zimmerli’s now seminal 1963 article “The Place and Limits of Wisdom,” it is virtually a time-treasured scholarly consensus that the theology of Israel’s ‘Wisdom Literature’ finds its proper place in the OT within … Read more
Thirty years ago, in a WUNT volume I propelled the NT use of secretaries to a more prominent stage. Scholars often noted two points: (a) secretaries were commonly used by ancient writers, and (b) secretaries had enough influence to render typical “style analyses” ineffective for evaluating authorship. While well received, the concept has recently fallen … Read more
In 1629–30 Maximus of Gallipoli sat in a room in the Dutch embassy overlooking the Golden Horn on the Bosporus Strait in Constantinople, today Istanbul. A learned monk ordained as a priest in the Greek Orthodox Church, he labored on the first ever translation of the New Testament into the Greek vernacular. Maximus’s text, published … Read more
This paper will make the case that πνευ̂μα in Jn. 6.63b is best interpreted contextually as the Holy Spirit, and that the statement has special significance in the Gospel’s seven sign structure and Spirit-Christology, such that it is key for how we receive the benefits of Christ’s work—feeding on his body and blood as true … Read more
Seventy percent of people under the age of 35 view YouTube. It is the most successful educational and entertainment platform of all time with over 2.49 billion monthly active users. This is the equivalent to 30% of the earth’s population watching content on YouTube every month. Yet, Christian educators with higher degrees have scarcely a … Read more