Dr. Claude Mariottini – Professor of Old Testament

The preparation of the May 2015 Biblical Studies Carnival was an opportunity to visit the blog site of people who write on biblical issues. As I prepared the selections for the May 2015 Carnival, I visited all the sites listed on the Complete List of Biblioblogs. What I discovered was not very encouraging.

I discovered that many people who write academic blogs have stopped writing or have posted very infrequently to their blogs. I have to confess that I could include myself in this last category of bloggers. Some bloggers who are prolific in posting to their blogs, post items that are only indirectly related to biblical studies. These bloggers may post items of interest to some people, but these posts do not provide an in-depth study of the biblical text.

There are several reasons bibliobloggers have stopped posting or have published only sporadically. One of the main reasons is that many bibliobloggers are professors who are heavily involved in teaching and researching. Academic life places heavy demands on professors. When the workload is heavy, something must go, and that something is blogging.

Another reason is that writing thought-provoking posts requires much reading and the kind of research that is needed to develop and write posts that are informative. That also requires time, the kind of time that academics lack.

All of us who blog and seek to inform and teach through our blogs are grateful to readers who read and react to our posts. Those who subscribe to our blogs encourage us to continue disseminating knowledge and information through our blogs.

The posts listed in the May 2015 Biblical Studies Carnival are a sample of the work of bibliobloggers. Visit their blogs and leave a comment expressing your appreciation for their work.

Now, the May 2015 Biblical Studies Carnival:

OLD TESTAMENT

Peter Enns has a review of Zondervan’s volume of the “Counterpoints” series: “7 problems with a recent evangelical defense of the historicity of Genesis 1-11.” The post is a criticism of James Hoffmeier’s defense of the historicity of Genesis 1-11.

Bob MacDonald has a series of studies on Deuteronomy 28: Deuteronomy 28:46-57, Deuteronomy 28:58-69, and Is concordance useful or necessary?

George Athas asks whether there was a covenant at creation.

Neil Godfrey at Vridar has a series of articles on Moses and the Exodus: Moses as an Egyptian Priest, Moses as founder of an alternative Egyptian religion, and Moses and Exodus according to the Roman historian Tacitus.

Carpe Scriptura is going through the Old Testament, chapter by chapter. Here are the last studies on 2 Kings: 2 Kings 14-15, 2 Kings 16, and 2 Kings 17.

Deane Galbraith at Remnant of Giants discusses Malcolm Gladwell’s TED lecture on David and Goliath.

I have followed my tradition on writing about biblical mothers on Mother’s Day. Here is my study on Bathsheba: A Mother With Determination. I have also written a series of studies on Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew. My latest study was on The Genealogy of Jesus According to His Great-Grandmothers.

NEW TESTAMENT

Wayne Coppins has a post dealing with the different ways that Jens Schröter and Francis Watson deal with the sayings tradition and its development with special reference to the place they assign to the Gospel of Thomas.

Scot McKnight discusses his new book A Fellowship of Differents in which he says that according to Paul, the church was designed by God to be a fellowship of difference. In two posts he speaks about holiness and the four elements of love.

David Fitch has a study on Lazarus and the poor in which he discusses how the church as a community is to practice being with the poor as part of our everyday life.

Biblical Studies Online has two good videos that are worth watching. One is by Daniel Boyarin in which he discusses two Pharisees: Josephus and Paul. The other video is by Amy-Jill Levine in which she delivers a lecture titled “Who Did They Say He Was? Jesus in Text and Context.”

Peter Kirby deals with the authenticity of the reference to John the Baptist in Josephus’ text.

James McGrath asks why the Christian movement relocated to being centered in Jerusalem: From Jesus of Nazareth to Church of Jerusalem.

Marg Mowczko asks whether Ephesians 5:33 deals with fear or respect in Christian marriage.

James D. Tabor writes about the coming Messiah: Waiting for the Messiahs–One, Two, or Three?

Larry Hurtado discusses whether Philippians 2:6-11 and Colossians 1:15-20 are Christ-Hymns.

Isaac W. Oliver asks: Do Christians Have to Keep the Torah? The Cases of Matthew and Luke-Acts.

Andrew Perriman asks why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to preach the kingdom of God to Gentiles and Samaritans.

Kevin Brown at Diglotting deals with Revelation 19:11-21 and Christ as the Eschatological Divine Warrior. Part I, Part II, and Part III.

THEOLOGY

Roger E. Olson asks: Is God Also Our Mother? His answer: God the Mother is the Holy Spirit.

BOOK REVIEW

Phillip J. Long has published three book reviews:

Mark A. Seifrid, The Second Letter to the Corinthians, Oren R. Martin, Bound for the Promised Land, and Gary M. Burge, A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion.

Craig Benno has a review of “The Grand Design – New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life” by Stephen Hawking.

James Bradford Pate reviews Theology as Retrieval: Receiving the Past, Renewing the Church by W. David Buschart and Kent D. Eilers.

FUTURE CARNIVALS

The next two Carnivals will be hosted by:

June 2015 Biblical Studies Carnival (Post date: July 1, 2015)
William A. Ross, williamross27@gmail.com.

July 2015 Biblical Studies Carnival (Post date: August 1, 2015)
Lindsay Kennedy, lindsay@mydigitalseminary.com.

We need volunteers to host the Biblical Studies Carnival for the remainder of 2015 and all of 2016. Producing the Biblical Studies Carnival each month is a service bibliobloggers offer to their readers. I hope you will offer yourself to host the next Biblical Studies Carnival. Contact Phil Long at plong42@gmail.com and let him know that you want to host the Biblical Study Carnival.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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If you are looking for other series of studies on the Old Testament, visit the Archive section and you will find many studies that deal with a variety of topics.