Book Reviews Archives - Page 11 of 12

The Book of Psalms (NICOT), by DeClaissé-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner

April 27, 2015

This new one-volume, multi-author commentary on the psalms focuses on the shape and shaping of the Psalter. Brevard Childs first introduced the concept in his Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture in his chapter on the psalms. His initial exploration was fleshed out in his student Gerald Wilson’s dissertation, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. This “canonical” reading of the Psalter looks for the editorial purpose in the arrangement of the psalms, looking especially at pre-existing collections (e.g., the Psalms of Asaph, Enthronement Psalms, Elohistic Psalter, etc.) as well as editorial indicators (either explicit or implicit). Most in this field agree that the Psalter tells the story of Israel from the reign of David (Books 1-2) to the return from exile (Book 5).

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (2nd ed.), ed. Green, Brown, and Perrin

April 23, 2015

Todd Scacewater

Imagine that you are about to preach on the Sermon on the Mount. You have no interest in form or redaction criticism; you don’t care about Q. But you are also aware of the benefits of studies that compare Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount with Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, and you realize critical literary studies can be helpful for understanding the Sermon as a whole. You have a couple options available: Carson has published a book with a 110-page exposition of the Sermon, but there is little discussion of the critical research; it focuses on expositing the text. On the other hand, there is the ICC commentary by Davies and Allison on Matthew 1-7, which would contain all the critical data you need, but would probably not be much help with expositing the text as a coherent message from Jesus (not to mention its enormous length)….

Bloomsbury Companion to Discourse Analysis, ed. Hyland and Paltridge

April 20, 2015

Todd Scacewater

This collection of essays aims to “provide a way into this complex and wide-ranging field [of analyzing discourse] for beginning researchers in the area of applied linguistics” (15). They hope to provide “teachers, students, and researchers with a way of theorizing and investigating both spoken and written discourse.”

The first part of the book contains essays on various methods of discourse analysis. These methods may be executed on written or oral discourses and may stem from various methodological schools of thought. There are essays on narrative analysis, genre analysis, corpus approaches to discourse analysis, and more that are someone less relevant to biblical studies (although see below for a couple that are quite relevant)….

Reading Koine Greek, by Rodney Decker

March 23, 2015

Todd Scacewater

Rodney Decker has produced a new Koine Greek grammar that focuses on translation from the very beginning and includes extra-biblical Greek to allow exposure to wider forms of Koine. This work is entirely suitable for use in Greek 1 & 2, although the professor may find the following review helpful for determining whether it fits his or her tastes before ordering a review copy….

Galatians and Christian Theology, ed. Elliot, Hafemann, and Wright

March 13, 2015

Warren Campbell

The volume is structured into three parts: justification, the gospel and ethics. Each section includes a number of essays from a wide range of scholars of different disciplines and academic interests. While an extended review of every essay is certainly unnecessary in this forum, a brief….

Review of New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Moisés Silva

March 9, 2015

Todd Scacewater

The New International Dictionary of New Testament and Exegesis (NIDNTTE), ed. Moisés Silva, is a complete reorganization and revision of the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT), ed. Colin Brown. Brown’s edition was itself a translation, revision, and expansion of Theologisches Begriffslexikon zum Neuen Testament, edited by Lothar Coenen et al. This original German edition was produced by more than 70 German academics and pastors. The NIDNTTE therefore touts a respectable pedigree, with both of its predecessors becoming standard reference works for NT scholars….

Trimm’s “YHWH Fights for Them!” (Divine Warrior in Exod)

November 13, 2014

Todd Scacewater

I just finished my review on Charlie Trimm’s published dissertation “YHWH Fights for Them!”: The Divine Warrior in the Exodus Narrative. My dissertation (in progress) involves a good amount of work on the divine warrior and divine builder motif in Ps 68, so I really reaped a lot of benefit from Trimm’s work. In ch. 2 he extracts themes and motifs from the poetic Divine Warrior texts; in ch. 3 he argues that Exod 1-14 contain these themes and motifs;…

Review Published on Calaway’s Sabbath and Sanctuary

November 4, 2014

Todd Scacewater

My review has been published on Jared Calaway’s The Sabbath and the Sanctuary: Access to God in the Letter to the Hebrews and its Priestly Context (WUNT II). For the full text, click here. Calaway’s published dissertation was an interesting read, especially given his exploration of the similarities between Hebrews and Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Such a connection warranted a full study in itself, given the heavenly tabernacle scene in the Qumran document. I was less impressed by his reading of Hebrews,…

Review Published on Ounsworth’s “Joshua Typology in NT”

October 10, 2014

Todd Scacewater

My review of Richard Ounsworth’s published dissertation (WUNT II series) has been published in WTJ 76.1. For the full PDF, click here. I enjoyed reading this work and found it a helpful addition to studies on typology in the NT. Contrary to the implication of its name, the book only treats three sections in Hebrews and looks at the relationship between Joshua and Jesus (whose Greek name is the same). He relates the spatial relationship of entering the land with the relationship…

Review Published on DaSilva’s “The Apocrypha”

October 1, 2014

Todd Scacewater

My review on David DaSilva’s new work, The Apocrypha, has been published in Westminster Theological Journal 76. I’m attaching the PDF here for the full text. This work is part of a new series, Core Biblical Studies, that provides succinct introductions to topics in biblical studies. There is another volume on the Dead Sea Scrolls that looks good as well. With Second Temple Judaism all the rage in biblical studies nowadays, these introductions will surely be helpful for professors introducing their students to…