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Archive for the ‘New Testament’ Category


The Oldest Gospel and the Formation of the Canonical Gospels

In Canon, Jordan Almanzar, Marcion, Matthias Klinghardt, New Testament, Peeters, Synoptic Gospels, Synoptic theories on December 23, 2022 at 12:21 pm

2022.12.13 | Matthias Klinghardt. The Oldest Gospel and the Formation of the Canonical Gospels. Biblical Tools and Studies 41; Leuven: Peeters, 2021.

Review by Jordan Almanzar, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts.

Matthias Klinghardt’s study, The Oldest Gospel and the Formation of the Canonical Gospels, is a two-volume work in which he proposes Marcion’s Evangelion as the key to explaining origins of the canonical Gospels. The work was inspired by a certain disharmony Klinghardt sees in 19th-century scholarship existing between two discourses that largely took place in Germany: 1) the so-called synoptic problem and 2) the relationship of Marcion’s Evangelion to canonical Luke. These discourses developed simultaneously yet independently of one another, and Klinghardt seeks to not only bring them together, but to display the results of doing so.

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Divine Discourse in the Epistle to the Hebrews

In Cambridge University Press, Hebrews, Jonathan Rowlands, Madison N. Pierce, New Testament on February 13, 2022 at 9:48 pm

2022.02.01 | Madison N. Pierce. Divine Discourse in the Epistle to the Hebrews: The Recontextualization of Spoken Quotations of Scripture. Society of New Testament Studies Monograph Series 178; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781108495417.

Review by Jonathan Rowlands, St. Mellitus College.

In this monograph, Pierce argues that “the author of Hebrews uses divine discourse—the speech of God—in Hebrews to develop his characterization of God and by extension his broader argument … [such that] these speeches are crucial to his argumentation.” (2). This argument is made primarily with reference to the author’s use of ‘prosopological exegesis’ of Jewish Scriptures. This technique “interprets texts by assigning ‘faces’ (πρόσωπα), or characters, to ambiguous or unspecified personal (or personified) entities represented in the text in question … for clarity of understanding” (4). Following a discussion about prosopological exegesis in antiquity (6-20) and techniques for identifying its use (20-22), Pierce introduces the particular use of this technique in Hebrews, culminating in an overview of previous treatments of divine speech in Hebrews (28-33).

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An Apostle in Battle

In 2 Corinthians, Christopher de Stigter, Early Christianity, Himmelreise, Lisa M. BOWENS, New Testament, Paul on October 11, 2021 at 4:14 pm

2021.10.16 | Lisa M. Bowens. An Apostle in Battle: Paul and Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 12:1–10. WUNT II 433; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017.

Review by Christopher de Stigter, Durham University.

Lisa Bowens’s published dissertation, An Apostle in Battle, is an ambitious work in conceptual integration. She argues for a mutual dependency of Paul’s cosmology, epistemology, and anthropology in his ascent to the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:1–10 (see especially pp. 46 & 129). It is in Paul’s Himmelsreise, she argues, that we see the Apostle within a greater cosmic battle: the human pursuit of divine knowledge is under threat from satanic attacks. For Bowens, therefore, a unifying center of all three conceptual spheres—cosmology, epistemology, and anthropology—is their bellicose construal. Her reading emphasizes Paul’s pastoral intentions, for his response to this cosmic battle, boasting in weakness, indicates his hopes for the “problems in Corinth” (p. 1). Against the tide of recent scholarship, Bowens convincingly locates a theological and practical significance in Paul’s disclosure of his ascent to the Corinthians even if this reviewer found certain points less persuasive.

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Son, Sacrifice, and Great Shepherd

In David M. Moffitt, Eric F. MASON, Hebrews, Madison N. Pierce, Mohr Siebeck, New Testament on February 5, 2021 at 3:00 pm

2021.2.5 | David M. Moffitt and Eric F. Mason, eds. Son, Sacrifice, and Great Shepherd: Studies on the Epistle to the Hebrews.WUNT II 510. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020. ISBN 978-3-16-159190-7.

Review by Madison N. Pierce, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Reviews of edited collections are often marred by the cliché that “the quality of the essays varies.” This is of course a truism, but usually, it is a subtle way for a reviewer to signal that some essays are rather poor—detracting from an otherwise reasonably good collection. Son, Sacrifice, and Great Shepherd is an excellent collection with only very good and great essays. Moffitt and Mason have assembled an impressive team of contributors—chosen from among presenters at the International Meeting for SBL from 2011–2013—and each has made a useful contribution to the study of Hebrews.

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Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke’s Gospel

In Bloomsbury, Christology, HB/OT, Kai Akagi, Luke-Acts, Metaphor, New Testament, T & T Clark on October 30, 2020 at 6:27 pm

2020.10.19 | Gregory R. Lanier. Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke’s Gospel. LNTS 591. London: T&T Clark, 2018.

Review by Kai Akagi, Japan Bible Seminary.

Gregory R. Lanier’s Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke’s Gospel uses conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) to consider the christological significance of four metaphors in the Gospel of Luke: “horn” in 1:68–69, “dawn” in 1:78–79, “mother bird” in 13:34, and “stone-rock” in 20:17–18. After an opening chapter consisting of a literature review, a description of the topic of this volume, and an explanation of method and research objectives, the subsequent four chapters in turn each consider one of the metaphors. The final chapter summarizes the results and offers a synthesis of their christological significance.

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The New Testament in Comparison

In B. G. White, Bloomsbury, Comparison, Graeco-Roman Backgrounds, John BARCLAY, Joshua W. Jipp, New Testament, Stoicism on July 17, 2020 at 3:00 pm

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2020.07.13 | John M. G. Barclay and B. G. White (editors). The New Testament in Comparison: Validity, Method, and Purpose in Comparing Traditions. Library of New Testament Studies 600. London: T&T Clark, 2020.

Review by Joshua W. Jipp, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. 

The publication of Karl Barth’s Römerbrief in 1919 elicited the statement from a Catholic theologian that the commentary fell like a bomb on the playground of the theologians. Respected New Testament scholars referred to Barth as a gnostic and an enemy of historical critical interpretation (Adolf Jülicher), a Biblicist (Paul Wernle), and as using the commentary as a pretense for theological autobiography (Adolf Schlatter). For reasons that need not concern us here, Barth’s commentary on Romans simultaneously set forth a biting critique of historical criticism, at least insofar as it could penetrate the subject matter of the NT texts, and offered a radically different way of approaching exegesis. As such, Barth’s book appeared as something that was virtually incomprehensible to his fellow colleagues. Read the rest of this entry »


Matthew, Disciple and Scribe

In Baker Academic, Ben Hussung, Biblical Theology, Intertextuality, Matthew, New Testament, Patrick Schreiner on January 30, 2020 at 4:00 pm

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2020.1.3 | Patrick Schreiner. Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019. ISBN: 9780801099489.

Review by Ben Hussung, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Patrick Schreiner serves as Assistant Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Western Seminary, and he has produced several compelling works early in his career. The latest of these is Matthew, Disciple and Scribe, in which he presents a thorough case for Matthew becoming “a teacher in the style of Jesus” (p. 2). More specifically, he argues, “Matthew expounds the wisdom of Jesus by becoming a scribe and teacher to future generations, mediating the instruction of his sage” (p. 2). Schreiner builds his arguments in two parts. In the first, he argues for Matthew’s identity as a scribe, outlining his convictions and methods, and in the second, he details Matthew’s scribal work, exploring Matthew’s presentation of Jesus in relation to David, Moses, Abraham, and Israel. Read the rest of this entry »

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The State of New Testament Studies

In Baker Academic, Nathan Charles Ridlehoover, New Testament, Nijay K. GUPTA, Research Currents, Scot McKnight on January 16, 2020 at 4:00 pm

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2020.01.02 | Scot McKnight and Nijay K. Gupta, eds. The State of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019. ISBN: 9780801098796.

Review by Charles Nathan Ridlehoover, Columbia International Seminary.

The State of New Testament Studies begins with the story of an aspiring academic (Gupta) entering seminary with the goal of learning the “world” of New Testament studies. As many will remember, the one-stop-shop for such an overview was the indispensable The Face of New Testament Studies. The beauty of the story is that the aspiring academic received the The Face of New Testament studies, was gripped by its contents, and now has had the occasion to revamp the original volume with one of the original editors (Scot McKnight). In what follows, Nijay K. Gupta and Scot McKnight explain the new face of NT studies, or in this case, the state of fifteen years of progress (and maybe even a bit of digression) in the field. Read the rest of this entry »

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Toward Decentering the New Testament

In Cascade Books, Jonathan Rowlands, Minoritized Voices, Mitzi J. SMITH, New Testament, Yung Suk KIM on January 2, 2020 at 3:00 pm

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2020.01.01 | Mitzi J. Smith and Yung Suk Kim. Toward Decentering the New Testament: A Reintroduction. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-5326-0465-2.

Review by Jonathan Rowlands, University of Nottingham.

Toward Decentering the New Testament is an introduction to the New Testament authored by Mitzi J. Smith—an African-American woman biblical scholar—and Yung Suk Kim—an Asian-American male biblical scholar. It is the first such introductory text authored by scholars from minoritized communities. Following a foreword by Michael Willett Newheart, the book begins with an introduction from the authors wherein their aims are clearly stated. Most significantly, they express their desire for this textbook to serve as “a step in the direction of creating an introductory text that focuses on an prioritizes diverse and nonwhite readers and contemporary issues that affect real flesh-and-blood minoritized readers and our sisters and brothers as allies” (p. 3). From this arise the two most distinctive aspects of this textbook. Read the rest of this entry »


Simply Come Copying

In Alan Taylor Farnes, Early Christianity, Manuscript Studies, Manuscripts, Matthew Burks, Mohr Siebeck, New Testament, Scribal habits, Textual Criticism on November 13, 2019 at 4:00 pm

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2019.11.15 | Alan Taylor Farnes. Simply Come Copying: Direct Copies as Test Cases in the Quest for Scribal Habits. WUNT II 481. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019. XV + 253 pp. ISBN 978-3-16-156981-4.

Review by Matthew Burks, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Alan Taylor Farnes currently teaches adjunctly at Brigham Young University. He completed his doctoral degree at the University of Birmingham in 2017. Also, Dr. Farnes holds a master’s degree from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. This work is the published form of his dissertation titled “Scribal Habits in Selected New Testament Manuscripts, Including Those with Surviving Exemplars.”

A major method of study in the field of textual criticism is the singular reading method. Read the rest of this entry »