Here is a select list of books for learning about the ancient world of the Bible. Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture by David A. deSilva (InterVersity Press 2000) The World that Shaped the New Testament by Calvin J. Roetzel (Westminster/John Knox Press 2002) Christian
In America we are blessed to have an abundance of biblical resources available to us. Particularly in Philadelphia, we have university libraries, museums, and above all theological libraries belong to local seminaries. It is imperative that we as Bible students not only use the resources
What can we say about Paul's letters? To what should be compare his letters? What is the function of the ancient letter? How did Paul use the conventional letter genre of his day? How did he expand upon it? These are some of the questions
Source: Old Testament Pseudepigrapha edited by R.H. Charles, Editor Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1913 2Baruch 1:1 ‘Hast thou seen all that this people are doing to Me, that the evils which these two tribes which remained have done are greater than (those of) the
1Maccabees 1:1 After Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated King Darius of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded him as king. (He had previously become king of Greece.) 2 He fought many
It's been an interesting morning to say the least. I had a conversation with a KJV-only person during my train ride. It's fascinating to understand why we do what we do and what stories we live by. It's healthy to know what stories you live
Apocalypse is a term that has come to refer to a range of ideas, themes, and literature. It is derived from the Greek word apocalypsis, which means “revelation, disclosure, uncovering.” Apocalypse is the term representing the ancient visionary literature or parts of writings that flourished between
From where do you do theology? What questions about life do you see to answer? What are your most pressing issues? There is no theology apart from context. What is your social and class status? What is your ethnicity? My theology is a theology from the margins.
The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation by: Michael Wise Martin Abegg, Jr. Edward Cook. HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.1QM, 4Q491-496 Col. 1 For the In[structor, the Rule of] the War. The first attack of the Sons of Light shall be undertaken against the forces of the Sons of Darkness,
John uses a convention of images, themes, styles, and literary forms to tell his divine experience. The fundamental challenge is how to explain the numerous parallel passages and repetitions within the book? The source and character of its images and narrative patterns can be understood appropriately