The lectionary reading for the Fourth Sunday before Advent in Year C is the story of Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus in Luke 19.1–10, a story found only in this gospel. Video discussion of the passage can be found here, and is posted at the end. The epistle for this week is the challenging passage of Paul in 2 Thess 1. Video discussion of that passage can be found here, and is also posted at the end. This short narrative account of Jesus meeting Zacchaeus has all the elements that make it a...| Psephizo
In the Fourth Sunday before Advent in Year C, we are starting a short series reading through 2 Thessalonians, and this week’s reading is the whole of Chapter 1. It is a challenging reading, talking of the suffering of the Thessalonians Christians, and their steadfastness as a sign of God’s favour. But it also speaks ... Continue Reading The post Tribulation, endurance, and hope in 2 Thessalonians 1 video discussion first appeared on Psephizo.| Psephizo
The gospel lectionary reading for the so-called Last Sunday after Trinity in Year C is Luke 18.9–14, the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector, and the epistle is 2 Tim 4.6–8 and 16–18. You can see the discussion of the gospel passage here, and of the epistle here, and both are linked below. We ... Continue Reading The post The pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18 first appeared on Psephizo.| Psephizo
The lectionary reading for the so-called last Sunday after Trinity is 2 Tim 4.6–8 and 16–18. As sometimes happens, the lectionary omits important verses which you should read! This passage offers amazing insights into how Paul sees his own death in relation to Jesus’ return, how he locates the particulars of his life within a ... Continue Reading The post Paul sees his death within God’s purposes in 2 Tim 4 video discussion first appeared on Psephizo.| Psephizo
While translating Dibelius’s book on John the Baptist (Die urchristliche Überlieferung von Johannes dem Täufer, 1911), I have been contemplating his discussions concerning methods of literary criticism. In particular, how do we identify bits of tradition from the later narrative framework in which they were placed? The collectors’ additions are often clearly distinguishable from collected … Continue reading "Like Croutons in the Soup? — Wellhausen on the Acts of the Apostles" The po...| Vridar
Such problems are never discussed. It is obvious that the inscription has been accepted in modern Israel as a kind of magna carta for the relations between the modern state and ancient Israel, a holy text, even more holy than the Hebrew Bible and as such beyond discussion – including any discussion about the meaning … Continue reading "The Tel Dan Inscription — (The Sacred “House of David” Inscription — “proof” of the biblical Kingdom of David)" The post The Tel Dan Inscriptio...| Vridar
Lemche . . . accounts for the Grand Canyon yawning between biblical “minimalists” (like himself, Thomas L. Thompson, Jason Van Seters [sic — read “John Van Seters”], and Philip R. Davies) and “maximalists,” the latter being . . . fundamentalist literalists, evangelical scholars who think they are real critics but are actually a kind of … Continue reading "Further Agreement with the Hellenistic Dating of the Hebrew Scriptures"| Vridar
Eleonore Stump is a connoisseur of suffering. To quote Hamlet’s anguished words, she knows the “thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to,” which come in degrees, varieties, and combinations that bring ruin to human lives. Some sufferings arise because the human heart desires goods that are fragile or uncertain. Other sufferings arise because our Read more... The post Suffering Comes in Many Forms. So Does Theodicy. appeared first on Christianity Today.| Christianity Today
The Sunday lectionary gospel reading for Trinity 18 in Year C is the Parable of the Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow from Luke 18.1–8. A surface reading, confirmed by most online comments on it, is that basically we need to be nagging God before he will answer our prayer! But a more careful reading, locating the episode within the context of Luke's wider narrative, points to some important new perspectives. The New Testament epistle is Paul's striking description of Scripture as 'God-b...| Psephizo
Approaching Biblical StudiesA new podcast interview has just been released in the “According to John” podcast. In this interview, John asks questions, which I attempt to answer, conside…| Edith M. Humphrey
The Sunday lectionary reading for Trinity 16 in Year C is Luke 17.5–10, and it offers some serious challenges to our understanding and practice. (The epistle is 2 Tim 1.1–14, a passage full of fascinating ideas and startling metaphors; you can find the video discussion of that passage here, and video discussion of Luke 17| Psephizo
In January this year I posted a series discussing Nina Livesey’s book, The Letters of Paul in Their Roman Literary Context: Reassessing Apostolic Authorship. Livesey proposes that our canonical letters of Paul were for most part produced in the second century as treatises by the school of Marcion. The Book of Acts that relates the story … Continue reading "The Invention of the Apostle Paul?"| Vridar
An argument has appeared on the earlywritings forum proposing that an early form of the Book of Deuteronomy was produced in the Persian period — more specifically, in Persian period Samaria. It is mid-semester break for me and the scholarship relating to Persian period writings in Yehud and Samaria is still fresh in my mind … Continue reading "An Attempt to Date a pro-Samarian Deuteronomy to the Persian Period"| Vridar
If we did not have the biblical narratives describing returns of Judeans to Judea during the Persian period along with allusions to the rebuilding of a temple in that time, but instead relied solely on archaeological evidence, I suggest we would have no reason to ever propose that the Hebrew Bible witnessed any significant development … Continue reading "Fundamental Problems with the Persian Period Origin of the Hebrew Bible"| Vridar
Following is a recent assigmnment of mine -- a research plan for an essay -- that I think contains some information that will be of interest to some readers. . . . Russell Gmirkin gets a mention, by the way. Rethinking Scribal Culture in Persian Period Yehud: Evidence and the Formation of the Hebre| Vridar
In his detailed two-volume commentary on 1 & 2 Kings, John N. Oswalt highlights the prophetic value of Old Testament narrative. In our interview below, Oswalt discusses the unique contribution these EEC volumes make. John N. Oswalt is visiting distinguished professor of Old Testament at A| Lexham Press
Some years ago, Martin Saunders (of Youthscape) wrote an excellent article highlighting four issues which often prevent evangelicals from understanding what has been happening in the Israel/Gaza conflict—and these problems come up each time the conflict hits the news. It seems particularly pertinent at the moment. First, he comments ‘It’s not as simple as good| Psephizo
Russell Gmirkin did not argue that ALL of the books of the Jewish Bible originated in the Hellenistic era. When I began to post on the earlywritings forum that "Why the Hellenistic era for ALL "Old Testament" books should be taken seriously" I was attempting to set out why it is both possible and pl| Vridar
By the way, I have informed Stephen Goranson that he is welcome to respond here to my resposting of his criticisms of Russell Gmirkin -- despite my earlier prohibition on his posts to this blog. For this series alone I have lifted my relegation of SG's comments to spam. In Part 4 I pointed to discu| Vridar
Since I don't expect to have much time to write new posts again before the end of the year, I will from time to time copy what I once posted on another forum in defence of Russell Gmirkin's thesis dating the Old Testament books to the Hellenistic era. The orthodox view is that biblical books abou| Vridar
By now many of you will have learned of Russell Gmirkin's sudden passing. I am still trying to process the shock. I was privileged to have had frequent communications with him in the past few years and he was on my short list of people I had hoped to meet in person. His website: https://russellgmirk| Vridar
Continued from Review 3 . . . And when it is pointed out that, after all, we are talking about texts written in Koine Greek (and so the language ability is pretty important), and that . . . requires a lot of study, all this if one wishes to make some kind of soundly-based judgement … Continue reading "“Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?"| Vridar
Many readers by now will have heard of a new book, freely available, arguing that the first century Jewish historian Josephus really did write a passage about Jesus. The book has been discussed on public forums, blogs, youtube channels, other websites, etc. If you happen not to have heard about it,| Vridar
How can war stories, farming proverbs, and strange visions draw you closer to Jesus? In Four Mountains: Encountering God in the Bible from Eden to Zion, Michael Niebauer shows how to see the Bible’s big story and meet with God in his word. In our interview below, Niebauer discusses the inspiratio| Lexham Press
In Created for Communion with God: The Promise of Genesis 1 and 2, Harrison Perkins explains that the creation account of Genesis 1–2 is primarily about God and his relationship with human beings. These chapters are God’s word for God’s people, to summon us into communion with him. In our interview below, Perkins discusses how the goal| Lexham Press
You want to study the Bible because you want to know God better. Yet it is not always easy to understand, and it is not always easy to see how some passages connect to others. So you turn to devotional materials. But where do you begin? There is a wide variety of devotionals out there, with some org| Lexham Press
Lexham Press is delighted to announce new volumes in the Spurgeon Commentary series as well as brand-new covers for the entire series. Benefit from the incredible wisdom of Charles Spurgeon, passage by passage. Four volumes in this series were previously published in 2015 and an additional four were released as digital Logos editions. Those digital-only| Lexham Press
In Lost Words and Forgotten Worlds: Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls, Andrew B. Perrin reintroduces readers to the scrolls while correcting common misunderstandings and highlighting overlooked issues. In our interview below, Perrin discusses goal of bringing the highly technical world of the De| Lexham Press
by Ed Goode Applying the imagery in the Song of Solomon to the relationship between God and His church, it tells us that the Lord sees His church being as “beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners” (6:10, ESV). However, we are sometimes tempted to doubt this depiction […]| Helwys Society Forum
James M. Hamilton Jr. and Matthew Damico are the co-authors of Reading the Psalms as Scripture. They guide the reader to delight in the spiritual artistry of the psalms. Psalms is a carefully arranged book saturated in Scripture. The psalmists drew from imagery and themes from earlier Scripture, whi| Lexham Press
The NT epistle for the Second Sunday before Lent is Rev 4, the first half (with Rev 5) of John's vision and audition (seeing and hearing) of worship 'in heaven' as he is 'in the Spirit'. This is a fascinating passage, in part because it is so dense with theological ideas, but also because this| Psephizo
Lexham Press is delighted to introduce an expanded edition of the bestselling title The Unseen Realm by the late Michael S. Heiser, releasing on October 1, 2025 in celebration of the book’s tenth anniversary. This new edition includes additional content from Heiser and features an exceptionally beau| Lexham Press
Previously, I have reflected on why the New Testament appears in the order that is does and how considering different orders can better inform our engagement with Scripture. Of course, talking about the New Testament in this way raises the obvious question, “what about the Old Testament?” This article is an attempt to answer that question by looking at the major orders in which the Old Testament can appear. First, we will consider canonical order: The post The Old Testament in Order appea...| Conciliar Post
It’s been a while since I posted here. I’ve been meaning to revive this site but, as with most things, I just don’t have the time to blog as much as I’d like. However, I’ve recently been asked: “What is the best Bible Commentary Series?” I’ve had to write up answers elsewhere, so I thought […]| The Sacred Page
Previous posts in this series: Jesus Mythicism and Historical Knowledge, Part 1: Historical Facts and Probability Jesus Mythicism and Historical Knowledge, Part 2: Certainty and Uncertainty in History Jesus Mythicism and Historical Knowledge, Part 3: Prediction and History * For| Vridar
These past few weeks I've been trying to untangle my way through the data strands that seem to relate to Christian origins and early development (again) and I find myself coming back to the chimerical figure of Paul (again). When I reach this point, as I have done so many times before, I tend to| Vridar
Paul's letter to the Galatians has "always" been understood to have been as certainly "Pauline" as his letters to the Romans and Corinthians. Other New Testament epistles (e.g. Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy) have fared less well in the authenticity stakes along with reasons explaining why someone other| Vridar
The influential French theologian who was excommunicated by the Pope for his views, Alfred Loisy, concluded that there were two different "Pauls" authoring the main letters attributed to him. The reason Paul's letters are generally considered "hard to understand" is because they intertwine two incom| Vridar
I have copied here a translation from an 1886 publication of ... ... two researchers from different fields of knowledge .... A. Pierson is the theologian ..., whose work has made him known as an astute and fearless critic .... S. A. Naber, on the other hand, is a philologist and thus offers a guara| Vridar
The previous post presented a historical Dutch language criticism of Galatians and here I offer a sceptical analysis from France. I have selected from Henri Turmel's discussion those paragraphs that address Galatians 1-2, -- as per my earlier explanation. In my coming post on J.C. O'Neill's detailed| Vridar
At Cary Christian School, I occasionally try to summarize the findings of New Testament scholars in a way that shows the relevance for studying Biblical Greek. Kenneth Bailey has done groun…| Studium et Liturgica
