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Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Biblical Studies

Exile or Ark?

In the Fall 2007 issue of JBL is an essay “Jonah Read Intertextually” by Hyun Chul Paul Kim of Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio. The first section of the essay points to numerous linguistic and conceptual parallels between Jonah (“Dove”) and the Noah narrative: Destruction of the earth, including…

by James B. JordanApril 10, 2008
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Biblical Studies

How Mark Came to be Written

The phone rang. “Hello, this is John Mark.” “Hi, JM. This is Simon Peter.” “Oh, hello, Mr. Rock,” said Mark. “What can I do for you?” “Well, JM” said Peter, “I’ve been very impressed by your recent essays in the New Jew Review , especially your series on David as…

by James B. JordanMarch 24, 2008
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Biblical Studies

How Matthew Came to be Written

The sun had set and finally the crowds had dispersed. The disciples gathered in the upper room, exhausted but joyful after preaching and teaching in many different languages all day, not to speak of seeing to the baptism of three thousand people. James bar Alphaeus put on a CD of…

by James B. JordanMarch 20, 2008
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Biblical Horizons

Church-Culture | Cause-Effect

There was a time, I think, when Evangelical Christianity in North America tended to be dominated by what might be (pejoratively) called a “retreatist” or even “defeatist” view of society. For various reasons, Christians believed that society was headed downhill and there was nothing the Church could do about it,…

by Mark HorneMarch 14, 2008
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Genesis

Is Genesis 15 an Attack on Forensic Justification?

Hebrews 11 makes it very clear that Abram (later, Abraham) exercised saving faith from the time he left his home to go wonder in Caanan. He was justified at least from the time of the call in Genesis 12.1-3 on. Yet I keep reading people who think that any appeal…

by Mark HorneMarch 6, 2008
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Biblical Horizons

On Renewing Theology

I spent the last few days at A Conversation on Denominational Renewal , which thankfully met in St. Louis. The conference was well attended, about 300 or more people. The audience was mostly PCA ministers and elders, but because it was held in St. Louis there were a good many…

by Jeff MeyersMarch 1, 2008

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Biblical Studies

The Bible in the Ancient East

Jeffrey J. Niehaus’s Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology is a superb introduction to the subject. In a brief 180 pages, he examines the parallels between Israel and the surrounding Gentiles in their conceptions of God and kinship; their notions of covenant, law and conquest; their views on the…

September 30, 2020
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Apostle Paul

Paul as Type

Paul provides a key to understanding his life experience in 1 Timothy 1:16: Though a blasphemer and violent persecutor, he found mercy, so he could be a type ( hypotyposis , which includes the root typos ) for those who believe. Paul’s experience is a type. Of what? In his…

September 29, 2020
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American CultureEducation

A New Economy of Honor?

The University of Maryland reported recently that it’s cutting $292 million from its budget this year. Anyone making over $150,000 will take a pay cut. It’s not an isolated case. In their current form, universities are hugely expensive to run, and many were financially troubled even before the pandemic. This…

September 23, 2020
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Exodus

Priestly Sacrifices

At the beginning, Cain and Abel both brought “tribute offerings” ( minchah ) to the gate of Eden (Genesis 4:3-4). After the flood, Noah offers the first “ascension offering” ( ‘olah ; Genesis 8:20). At Sinai, Israel offers “peace offerings” ( shelem ) for the first time (Exodus 20:24). At…

September 21, 2020
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BaptismExodus

Priesting Aaron and His Sons

Exodus 29 gives instructions about how Aaron and his sons are to be consecrated ( qadash ) in order to “priest” ( kahan ) before Yahweh (29:1). Like the tabernacle and its furnishings, Aaron and his sons will be consecrated. They will become part of the holy house, so they…

September 16, 2020
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Covenant

Covenanted Hope

"Without a concept of the covenant," writes Douglas Knight ( Covenant and Hope , 217-220), "we are left with man baffled by the world and by his neighbor, and unwilling to commit himself to the disciplines by which he could develop relationships with him." Every society requires two intra-human covenants,…

September 14, 2020

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