Category Archives: Biblical Studies

Tombs as Sacred Space in Second Temple Judaism and the New Testament

07 Friday Feb 2020

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Lightstone book cover

Jack Lightstone has written an interesting chapter on “The Dead and Their Tombs” in his book, The Commerce of the Sacred: Mediation of the Divine Among Jews ni the Greco-Roman World (Columbia University Press 2006). In the chapter he deals with the Hebrew Bible and other Judaic literature of antiquity. What would be very interesting indeed would be if someone would bring Lightstone’s chapter/thesis in conversation with the New Testament, especially with the New Testament’s account of the burial and tomb of Jesus of Nazareth.

“By the end of the Second Commonwealth, then, and possibly several centuries before, the tombs became a gate to heaven, as were the altars of Ancient Israel, rather than a passage to the netherworld.”¹ Lightstone also notes a striking correlation between two of Herod’s magnanimous building projects, namely, the mausoleum in Hebron and the Temple in Jerusalem: “The one is a scaled-down version of the other—with of course one major difference; in place of the Sanctuary, which occupied the center of the Temple compound, one has in Hebron the six raised tombs of the Mausoleum…Here, as at the altar, heaven and earth met.”²

One cannot help but wonder whether the early accounts of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection are drawing on precisely this aspect of the first century Jewish cultural encyclopedia. One wonders, also, what the empty tomb might have to contribute to the conversation?

¹ Lightstone, The Commerce of the Sacred, 50.

² Lightstone, ibid., 51.

Forthcoming Books

02 Saturday Jun 2018

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Biblical Studies

Conformed to the Image of His Son: Reconsidering Paul’s Theology of Glory in Romans (Haley Grandson Jacob, w/ a foreword by NT Wright, IVP Academic)

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New Testament Christological Hymns: Exploring Texts, Contexts, and Significance (Matthew E. Gordley, IVP Academic)

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Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days (Eckhard Schnabel, w/ a foreword by Craig Evans, Eerdmans)

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Second Temple Judaism

T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls (Ed. by George Brooke and Charlotte Hempel, T&T Clark)

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Commentaries

Galatians: A Commentary (Craig S. Keener, Baker Academic)

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The Letter to the Galatians NICNT (David A. deSilva, Eerdmans)

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Textual History of the New Testament

Can We Trust the Gospels? (Peter J. Williams, Crossway)

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An Echo of Ezekiel in the Mouth of Jesus

16 Wednesday May 2018

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Destruction of Jerusalem

Ezekiel 33:21-33 contains a report of the fall of Jerusalem. On the night before the herald arrived with that world-shattering news Ezekiel received a word from the Lord telling of doom that is to come upon the Judeans who remained in the land, the non-deportees (see v. 24 “the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel”). This is to serve as a warning for Ezekiel’s community who delight in listening to Ezekiel but with no true effect upon their hearts (cf. the repeated pronouncement, “they hear your words but do not put them into practice” vv. 31, 32).

This passage has a profound echo in Jesus’ words to his own contemporaries in Matthew 7:26; Luke 6:49: “everyone who hears my words and does not do them”. Jesus’ word brings with it a somber warning for those of his listeners who have ears to hear the echo of Ezekiel. Just as Ezekiel’s warning against hearing-without-acting preceded the terrible announcement concerning the ominous fate of Jerusalem, so Jesus’ foreboding words should be heard as a warning not unlike that of Ezekiel: if the people don’t respond with their whole hearts then Jerusalem will destroyed, again. 

Jesus came back to this motif again in Mark 13 (“not one stone will be left upon another” v. 2), Matthew 24, and also in Luke 19:41-48:

41 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” 

45 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; 46 and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.” 

47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

One curious feature of this passage is the final note that “all the people were spellbound by what they heard” (NRSV). Another translation has “all the people hung on his words” (NIV). This could also be seen as a faint echo of the contemporaries of Ezekiel who was told the following words: “Your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord’. My people come to you, as they usually do, to hear your words, but  they do not put them into practice…to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well” (Eze 33:30-32). In other words, the people were mesmerized by the prophet. This was true of both Ezekiel and Jesus. But the dire predictions concerning the people and the beloved city of Jerusalem was also equally certain for both Ezekiel and Jesus:

Ezekiel 33:33 “When all this comes true—and it certainly will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them”

Matt 24:33-34 “When you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened”

The continuing relevance of Ezekiel’s message for Jesus’ contemporaries lay simply in this: if they did not turn from their zealous festering for violent revolt against Rome and heed his message (in other words, if they didn’t repent from their current aspirations and give allegiance instead to the ευγγελιον of Jesus) then the people of Jesus’ day would experience the same terrible fate as the people of Ezekiel’s day—a fallen city and all the horror that accompany it. 

Repentance: Ethical or Eschatological?

02 Wednesday May 2018

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Mark 1:15 Verse Art

What is the background and meaning of “repentance” as used in the gospel accounts? The word is traditionally understood from within an ethical framework: cease from sinful activities or lifestyles and begin to live morally upright and virtuous lives. But perhaps Jesus’ (and the Baptist’s?) call to “repentance” should be understood primarily from within an eschatological, rather than ethical, framework. The difference is subtle but important. A study of the relevant Old Testament texts is crucial here. And one strand that comes out is the question of the nature of the repentance being a corporate activity versus an individual activity. Thinking of repentance in ethical terms misleadingly implies isolated individual activities. But perhaps repentance is meant to be understood as a corporate activity having quite different implications. In other words, the call to repentance means what it means within the overarching announcement of the return of YHWH and the dawning of the kingdom of God.

One interesting text related to this is Jubilees 1:13-18. The book is dated from about 150 B.C. so it is a fitting text to demonstrate the way some Jews in the Second Temple period thought about repentance. In this passage, the audience of the book of Jubilees lives long after the time of Moses but is being reminded that not only their exile was predicted by the scriptures but also their national repentance, and it will serve an eschatological purpose. Notice how the predicted repentance serves as the catalyst for the end of exile and construction of the new sanctuary/temple (see bold text):

Jubilees 1:13-18 — And I will hide My face from them, and I will deliver them into the hand of the Gentiles for captivity, and for a prey, and for devouring, and I will remove them from the midst of the land, and I will scatter them amongst the Gentiles. And they will forget all My law and all My commandments and all My judgments, and will go astray as to new moons, and sabbaths, and festivals, and jubilees, and ordinances. And after this they will turn to Me from amongst the Gentiles with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength, and I will gather them from amongst all the Gentiles, and they will seek me, so that I shall be found of them, when they seek me with all their heart and with all their soul. And I will disclose to them abounding peace with righteousness … and they shall be for a blessing and not for a curse, and they shall be the head and not the tail. And I will build My sanctuary in their midst, and I will dwell with them, and I will be their God and they shall be My people in truth and righteousness. And I will not forsake them nor fail them; for I am the Lord their God’  — R. H. Charles, ed., Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), 12.

As VanderKam rightly summarizes, “Some future generation, presumably that of the author [of the Book of Jubilees], must receive this message of God’s faithfulness, Israel’s infidelity, and the power of confession, repentance, and obedience to the covenantal stipulations to open a new day in the covenantal relationship between the Lord and his holy people” — James C. VanderKam, “Jubilees, Book of,” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1031.

This is not to suggest that there is no ethical importance to repentance, merely that it is not the theologically load bearing element of the concept. Repentance, as a national and religious phenomenon, was meant to result in so much more than a new generation of morally upright people; national repentance was expected to result in the end of exile, the return of YHWH, and the rebuilding of the temple—in short, repentance was the advance sign of the fulfillment of all the glorious prophetic promises in Israel’s scriptures. Repentance was therefore eschatological.

So when Mark tells the readers of his gospel that “John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:4-5), Mark is tapping into exactly this eschatological matrix of hope. Or, to put it another way, there is a reason that Matthew says “John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 3:1-2). Repentance has eschatological import.

Free Articles From Novum Testamentum

17 Saturday Mar 2018

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Novum Testamentum

The periodical Novum Testamentum, published by Brill, is celebrating its 60th volume this year. As a promotion they are allowing free downloads of selected articles during 2018.

Here are links for a few from the first batch made available (until May 16th):

To receive notice of other free downloads and other news related to Brill Biblical Studies & Early Christianity sign-up for their e-newsletter here.

2018 Gifford Lectures (Part 5)

14 Wednesday Mar 2018

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Here is my favorite quote from the previous lecture (lecture 4):

The gospels do not contain apocalyptic, in the first century sense they are apocalyptic. They are describing how the revelation, the unveiling, the visible coming of God took place; thus as far as the gospel writers were concerned…YHWH had returned to his people

As Wright explains, the theme of the return of YHWH has huge implications for understanding, among other things, Jesus’ well known journey toward Jerusalem beginning in Luke 9:51 and culminating in his death and resurrection. Luke tells the story in such a way to suggest that Jesus’ journey is the “actualization” of YHWH’s return to Jerusalem which was long-foretold by the prophets. This highlights the seriousness of Jesus’ “apocalyptic” rebuke of Jerusalem in ch. 13 and again in ch. 19, “You did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you!”

There is a lot to consider there, but I will leave it as is for now. Below is the video for the next lecture, titled “The Stone the Builders Rejected: Jesus, the Temple and the Kingdom”

As always, here is the link to the University of Aberdeen webpage for the lectures.

2018 Gifford Lectures (Part 4)

12 Monday Mar 2018

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My favorite quote from the previous lecture (lecture 3):

We ought not to speak of God incarnate until we have studied the incarnate God.

This wonderfully succinct quote is an excellent demonstration of the way Wright brings together history and theology in his larger project. It is worth sitting and pondering how the two parts of that statement fit together.

Here is the fourth lecture, “The End of the World? Eschatology and Apocalyptic in Historical Perspective”

As always, check out the blurb over at University of Aberdeen’s web page. All eight lectures are now posted there.

Recent Books on Paul

02 Tuesday Jan 2018

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There is a bundle of new books out recently (or coming out soon) on the apostle Paul, and by some pretty big hitters too.

Paul_Wright

In case anyone was wondering if N.T. Wright had anything else left to say about Paul after he published his magnum opus several years ago (1,500 pages of text!), he does. And this time it is a biography. I am looking forward to reading this one; I already put in a pre-order.

Paul_Fee

Gordon Fee may be getting old but you couldn’t tell from his writing (incidentally, I imagine folks said the same thing about Paul too). At a brief +/-200 pages this book will make a great read for folks who aren’t looking to exhaust the subject. If you have read Fee’s Pauline Christology I suspect there will be some overlap (or condensing?) but with a gifted writer as Fee is, you will never be bored. Buy this book. It may be his last.

Paul_Campbell

Douglas Cambell is another big hitter in Pauline studies, particularly of the ‘apocalyptic Paul’. I am guessing this book is an attempt to aim some of his scholarly thought (e.g., The Deliverance of God) at more popular audience. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Campbell teases out his ideas about how Paul’s thought develops and changes from his conversion to his death.

Paul_Barclay

John Barclay has also recently published a major work on Paul (Paul & The Gift), so why another book? Well, this one is part of the ‘Very Brief Histories’ series, so I imagine its genesis has more to do with the publishers wanting Barclay’s authorship than any new developments in Barclay’s thought on Paul. But, at just over 100 pages it would make a nice winter read with a cup of hot chocolate.

Paul_SusanEastman

Finally (for this list anyway), there is the more narrowly focused book by Susan Eastman of Duke Divinity, Paul and the Person: Reframing Paul’s Anthropology. With a foreword (and endorsement) by John Barclay it promises to be rewarding. Although it will probably be most appealing to academics and scholars, it will also probably be relevant for Christians interested in psychology and counseling (due to the focus on personhood).

 

Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology

08 Sunday May 2016

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Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology

I’ve been reading through The Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology. Unfortunately, on account of the history of Christian doctrine the phrase “sacramental theology” can send shivers down the spine of a protestant evangelical. In light of this book’s actual content a more helpful description would be to call it a “theology of the sacraments”. The book has a truly ecumenical line-up of authors contributing chapters (e.g., Anglican, Presbyterian, Orthodox, Evangelical, Methodist, Mennonite, and, yes, Roman Catholic). This means, inevitably, that sometimes chapters will have divergent views regarding the identity and nature of the sacraments (or ordinances if you prefer that term). However there is much to be gleaned from traditions different from our own. There is a veritable smorgasbord to feast on and it will stimulate and enrich your thinking about the sacraments. The book is organized into sections covering biblical, historical (patristic, medieval, and reformation through today), dogmatic, philosophical and theological categories.

Here is a few sample quotes that I found particularly thought-provoking:

“Strikingly, the fourth gospel omits the words of institution altogether, an omission which has attracted various explanations…perhaps a more promising explanation is that John intended the footwashing of John 13 to be understood as a parabolic reenactment of the Eucharist…On this theory, if the Eucharist commemorates and gives concrete expression to Jesus’s self-giving unto death, the fourth evangelist may well be interpreting sacramental participation as a call to selfless acts of humble service, exemplified iconically in Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet.” (Nicholas Perrin, 54)

“The symbolic action presents divine testimony” (Michael Allen, 288)

“In the eucharistic liturgy, the church journeys to the kingdom that is to come to enjoy the first fruits of the new creation. The church thereby discovers the kingdom is not some other, spiritual world, but this world of eating and drinking transfigured in resurrection life. By its participation in the Eucharist, the church becomes a sign of the coming kingdom, a real-life preview of what the world will be.” (Peter J. Leithart, 640)

I especially enjoyed the following chapters:

1. R.W.L. Moberly, “Sacramentality in the Old Testament”

3. Craig A. Evans and Jeremiah J. Johnston, “Intertestamental Background of the Christian Sacraments”

4. Nicholas Perrin, “Sacraments and Sacramentality in the New Testament”

5. Edith M. Humphrey, “Sacrifice and Sacrament: Sacramental Implications of the Death of Christ”

6. Richard Baukham, “Sacraments and the Gospel of John”

8. Luke Timothy Johnson, “Sacramentality and the Sacraments in Hebrews”

19. Michael Allen, “Sacraments in the Reformed and Anglican Reformation”

39. David Brown, “A Sacramental World: Why it Matters”

41. Peter J. Leithart, “Signs of the Eschatological Ekklesia: The Sacraments, The Church, and Eschatology”

But there were also excellent chapters by Scott Swain, Geoffrey Wainwright, Dennis Olson, David Lincicum, Everett Ferguson, Andrew Louth, George Hunsinger, Peter Galadza, Gordon Lathrop, and Catherine Pickstock.

The following is a list of key resources for a theology of the sacraments:

Bibliography for a Theology of the Sacraments

  • Beasley-Murray, G. R. Baptism in the New Testament. Eerdmans, 1973.
  • Boersma, Hans. Heavenly Participation: The Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry. Eerdmans, 2011.
  • Brown, David. God and Grace of Body: Sacrament in Ordinary. Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Byars, Ronald P. The Sacraments in Biblical Perspective: Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church. Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.
  • Cavanaugh, William T. Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ. Wiley-Blackwell, 1998.
  • Chan, Simon. Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshiping Community. IVP Academic, 2006.
  • Danielou, Jean. Bible and the Liturgy. University of Notre Dame Press, 2002.
  • Davison, Andrew. Why Sacraments? Cascade Books, 2013.
  • Gerrish, B. A. Grace and Gratitude: The Eucharistic Theology of John Calvin. Wipf & Stock Pub, 2002.
  • Schmemann, Alexander. For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy. 2nd Revised & enlarged edition. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1973.
  • ———. The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom. Translated by Paul Kachur. St Vladimirs Seminary Pr, 2003.
  • Thompson, Philip E. Baptist Sacramentalism: Edited by Anthony R. Cross. Wipf & Stock Pub, 2007.
  • Torrance, James B. Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace. IVP Academic, 1997.
  • Wainwright, Geoffrey. Eucharist and Eschatology. Order of Saint Luke Pub, 2002.
  • Wright, N. T. The Meal Jesus Gave Us. Westminster John Knox Press, 2015.
  • Zee, Leonard J. Vander. Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship. IVP Academic, 2004.
  • Zizioulas, John D. The Eucharistic Communion and the World. Edited by Luke Ben Tallon. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2011.

Recent Articles in JSNT

07 Thursday Apr 2016

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jsnt

Journal for the Study of the New Testament has some good articles just out last month. Two in particular are worth mentioning:

What to Expect when you’re Expecting: Maternity, Salvation History, and the “Apocalyptic Paul” by J.P. Davies, JSNT 38:3 (2016) 301-315.

Here is the abstract:

This article argues, on the basis of Jewish and Christian apocalypses, that ‘apocalyptic’ in Paul should not be understood as antithetical to ‘salvation history’. It focuses on one of Paul’s key metaphors, childbirth, which has been identified as an image intrinsically connected to Paul’s apocalyptic eschatology. It will first offer a brief survey of the way the image of childbirth has been deployed in recent ‘apocalyptic’ interpretations of Paul (notably the work of Beverly Gaventa) in support of a ‘punctiliar-invasive’ theology of history over against a ‘linear-progressive’ view. It will then examine some of the evidence from the apocalyptic literature where childbirth is used as an eschatological metaphor, particularly in the book of Revelation. It will argue that an understanding of the logic of this metaphor in Second Temple Jewish and early Christian apocalyptic thought raises questions about the eschatological dichotomy at the heart of the contemporary ‘apocalyptic Paul’ movement.

 

‘Christ-Faith’ as an Eschatological Event (Galatians 3.23-26): A ‘Third View’ on Πιστις Χριστου by Benjamin Schliesser, JSNT 38:3 (2016) 277-300.

Here is the abstract:

The meaning of πιστις Χριστου in Paul (Gal. 2.16, 20; 3.22; Rom. 3.22, 26; Phil. 3.9) continues to be the subject of controversial debate in Pauline scholarship. Should the genitive construction be understood objectively as ‘faith in Christ’ or subjectively as ‘the faith(fulness) of Christ’? The prevalent either/or character of the discussion is increasingly proving to be an impediment to finding a solution to this issue. A minority view, the so-called ‘third view’, seeks to move beyond the subjective-objective dichotomy by accounting for the intrinsic complexity of the Greek genitive and pointing to the event-character of in πιστις Paul. The primary reference text for this ‘third-view’ is Gal. 3. 23–26, which exhibits an altogether remarkable language of faith and envisages πιστις as ‘coming’ (ερχεσθαι) and as ‘being revealed’ (αποκαλυπτεσθαι). This article reviews the exegetical status quaestionis and argues that Paul does not regard πιστις Χριστου as an individual disposition or character (either Christ’s or that of the believer), but rather as an eschatological event. The aim is not to offer a comprehensive analysis of the verses in question, but to advance exegetical and theological support for the ‘third view’ and to point to its considerable explanatory power in our effort for a more nuanced appreciation of Paul’s language of faith.

(click here for JSNT webpage)