Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The name of Harry Turtledove is well known to readers of fantasy and science fiction. Turtledove is an historian, and most of what he writes is in the "alternative history" genre. A fine collection of short stories, available in paperback, is his Agent of Byzantium . These stories are set…
In answer to a question, the following about the unicorn, a supposed "New Age" symbol: The unicorn, or monoceros (one-horn), was known around the ancient world. Some scholars believe it may have been the one-horned goat that is still bred today. Others think it may have originated in tales of…
3. A Brief Survey of Esther (continued from the previous issue) Haman told the king that "a certain people" were rebellious against him, and that Haman wanted to rid the king of their noxious presence. The king agreed, and the two sat down to a feast. This is the third…
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter. "Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint,"…
2. The Setting of the Book of Esther (continued from previous issue) Astyages E. W. Faulstich presents his arguments in his book History, Harmony, The Exile & Return . 1 To understand it, we have to have some background. The Assyrians ruled the near east. Median king Cyaxeres decided to…
In my commentary on Judges, I demonstrated that Jephthah in his Spirit-led vow intended to offer to Yahweh the first person who greeted him from the doors of his house after the battle. Since it was a custom for the young women to come out dancing to greet the returning…
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There is further evidence concerning the meaning of nomos in Greek culture, coming from Martha Nussbaum’s Fragility of Goodness . In a discussion of Euripides’s Hecuba , Nussbaum points out that Polyxena, Hecuba’s daughter who is offered as a human sacrifice by the Greeks to appease the shade of Achilles,…
Sermon outline for Feb 15: In the Robbers’ Den, Luke 19:1-48 INTRODUCTION After a long journey, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, and we learn that all along his goal has been the temple. He enters the city of the Great King as a king (19:37-38), and begins to drive out the…
The JSOT also includes an article by Daniel Hays arguing that 1 Kings 1-11 portrays Solomon in a very negative light. It is not merely that Solomon falls in 1 Kings 11; there are hints throughout these chapters that Solomon has gone badly wrong. I don’t agree with everything in…
F. Gerald Downing of Manchester has an intriguing paper on “Aesthetic Behavior in the Jewish Scriptures” in the December 2003 issue of the JSOT . Among the points he makes are these: 1) There has been remarkably little attention to Hebrew conceptions of beauty. This is due in part to…
Matt Jackson-McCabe argues in the current issue of JBL that the epistle of James presents a version of Messiahship different from much of the NT. Instead of a Messianic idea centering on the death and resurrection of the Messiah, James describes a “national restoration” in which the 12 tribes (dispersed…
Gary Knoppers argues in a JBL article that, contrary to accepted scholarship, the Chronicler shows the signs of influence of Greek historiography. I find this kind of article tedious and this kind of evidence unconvincing, but along the way Knoppers makes some useful comments about the organization of the Chronicler’s…
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