Exegesis

Four Views on the Apostle Paul

September 5, 2012 by Andy Naselli

Another fascinating volume in the Counterpoints series:

Michael F. Bird, ed. Four Views on the Apostle Paul. Counterpoints. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.

Here’s the lineup: [Read more…] about Four Views on the Apostle Paul

Biblical Hermeneutics: Five Views

September 3, 2012 by Andy Naselli

Another helpful debate-book:

Stanley E. Porter and Beth M. Stovell, eds. Biblical Hermeneutics: Five Views. Spectrum Multiview Books. Downers Grove: IVP, 2012. 224 pp. 20-page sample PDF.

It’s not a typical debate-book format because the five views are not mutually exclusive. They overlap. Thus, Craig Blomberg writes,

As I suspected when I saw the lineup of contributors and viewpoints for this book, I found much more to agree with than to disagree with in these chapters. As I noted in my position essay, I do not wish to argue for a historical-critical/grammatical approach to the exclusion of all other approaches but for the historical-critical/grammatical approach as the necessary foundation for these other approaches. Various comments each of the other four contributions makes suggest that they either agree or should agree with this assertion, if they are consistent with what they have written. I can happily support much of what each additional perspective contributes on top of this foundation, although there are a few places where I must demur. (p. 133) [Read more…] about Biblical Hermeneutics: Five Views

My Two Favorite Commentaries on 2 Peter and Jude

July 30, 2012 by Andy Naselli

I recently worked on a project on 2 Peter and Jude (more on that later), and I read a stack of commentaries from cover to cover (actually, I read a lineup of commentaries in Logos Bible Software from top to bottom). These two served me best:

1. Doug Moo

Douglas J. Moo. 2 Peter, Jude. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996. 316 pp.

Just outstanding. The NIVAC volumes have three categories in each section: original meaning, building contexts, and contemporary significance. Moo’s exegetical work in the first category is judicious as we’d expect, but what pleasantly surprised me is how edifying the other two categories are. The “contemporary significance” categories at the end of each section are so wise. [Read more…] about My Two Favorite Commentaries on 2 Peter and Jude

Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

June 29, 2012 by Andy Naselli

The front matter of Robert H. Gundry’s A Survey of the New Testament (4th ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003) lists Todd Bolen’s Pictorial Library of Bible Lands in his “permissions and credits.”

I looked into it, and I recently obtained a complete set of the newest edition of Todd Bolen’s Pictorial Library of Bible Lands (18 vols.). It released in May 2012, and it’s selling now for $389. [Read more…] about Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

My Favorite Four Bible Atlases

June 27, 2012 by Andy Naselli

I have 17 Bible atlases in my library, and I’ve used several others. I’m very much an amateur at this (I still haven’t visited the Middle East!), but for what it’s worth, these are my favorite four Bible atlases:

Beitzel, Barry J. The New Moody Atlas of the Bible. Chicago: Moody, 2009. See my book note (Themelios 34 [2009]: 367) and a later Themelios review.
Rasmussen, Carl. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010. Themelios review.
Currid, John D., and David P. Barrett. Crossway ESV Bible Atlas. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. This expands on the maps and related notes in the ESV Study Bible.
Brisco, Thomas. Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998. This was my text for an undergraduate course on Bible geography. Good graphics.