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Andy Naselli

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Exegesis

The Best Part about Knowing the Biblical Languages

March 7, 2012 by Andy Naselli

Scott J. Hafemann, “Is it genuinely important to use the biblical languages in preaching, especially since there are many excellent commentaries and pastors will never attain the expertise of scholars?” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 3:2 (1999): 86–89 (formatting added):

One hour with the text is worth ten in secondary literature. . . .

But I have saved the best for last. Knowing the biblical languages enables us to do something very few commentaries ever do: trace the flow of the argument of the text. [Read more…] about The Best Part about Knowing the Biblical Languages

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: Greek, Hebrew, preaching

Don’t Be a Loner

February 29, 2012 by Andy Naselli

Paul writes Timothy in 2 Tim 2:22,

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (NIV)

But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (NET)

Ray Van Neste observes in the ESV Study Bible,

The pursuit of right is not to be done alone but along with other believers. Connection with the community of faith is essential for both progress in sanctification and perseverance in the faith.

Similarly, the NET Bible note observes,

In company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart alludes to the value of the community of believers for the development of Christian virtues.

Related:

  1. Accountability
  2. Pitfalls and Benefits of Small Group Bible Study

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: church, sanctification

A Book-Length Response to Kent Sparks

February 20, 2012 by Andy Naselli

Three years ago this month I blogged about a seminar that the gifted OT department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School gave on this book:

Kenton L. Sparks. God’s Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of Critical Biblical Scholarship. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008.

Kent Sparks himself commented on that blog post 23 times throughout three pages of direct and sometimes intense comments (pages 1 | 2 |3).

I’m grateful that next week a scholarly book-length response comes out:

James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary, eds. Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.

[Read more…] about A Book-Length Response to Kent Sparks

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: history

MacArthur Study Bible in the NIV

February 15, 2012 by Andy Naselli

I have a soft spot for The MacArthur Study Bible because it’s one of the first I read through (after this and then this a few times). I thank God for it—though I frequently wished that it was available in more translations than the NKJV. I was delighted when it expanded to the NASB and then the ESV.

Next year it will also be available in the NIV.

Thomas Nelson and Zondervan announced this yesterday:

For the first time, the world-renowned MacArthur Study Bible will be available in the 2011 updated New International Version (NIV) translation text. The Bible will feature John MacArthur’s original 20,000 study notes; an extensive topical index; and numerous charts, maps, outlines and articles.

Publishers Thomas Nelson Inc. and Zondervan are partnering on the project, with Zondervan licensing the NIV translation to Thomas Nelson, which will publish the Bible. The Bible is scheduled to release in Fall 2013.

“I’m delighted that The MacArthur Study Bible notes will now be easily accessible to NIV readers,” MacArthur says. “My prayer is [Read more…] about MacArthur Study Bible in the NIV

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: Bible translation, John MacArthur

How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens

February 8, 2012 by Andy Naselli

I’ve been dipping in and out of this book for the last few weeks, and I’m impressed:

Michael Williams. How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.

It’s concisely lists four items for each book of the Bible:

  1. “the overarching theme”
  2. “how that theme ultimately finds its focus in Jesus Christ” and “how this focus in Christ is subsequently elaborated upon in the New Testament” (i.e., “The Jesus Lens”)
  3. “what that fulfillment in Christ must necessarily entail for believers” (i.e., “Contemporary Implications”)
  4. “ways to communicate those entailments to others effectively” (i.e., “Hook Questions”). (p. 10)

Williams adds,

Available spring of 2012! The course from which this book arose will be available online to visitors at https://www.calvinseminary.edu/continuingEd/openCourse.php. Enjoy a video presentation of the details of each biblical book with music, images, author narration, and in-depth analysis. (p. 10)

[Read more…] about How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: hermeneutics

The Importance of Extracanonical Jewish Literature for NT Studies

January 25, 2012 by Andy Naselli

Richard Bauckham, The Jewish World around the New Testament  (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), 211:

The NT student and scholar must use the Jewish literature in the first place to understand Judaism. Only someone who understands early Judaism for its own sake will be able to use Jewish texts appropriately and accurately in the interpretation of the NT. The famous warning issued by Samuel Sandmel against ‘parallelomania’ in NT studies has its most general application here. Someone who knows the Jewish literature only in the form of isolated texts selected for the sake of their apparent relationship to NT texts will not understand those texts in their own contexts (literary and otherwise) and so will not know whether they constitute real or only apparent parallels and, even supposing they are real parallels, will not be able to use them properly. A principle which NT students and even NT scholars rarely take to heart is that, for the sake of a balanced view of the relationship of Christianity to early Judaism, it is just as important to study Jewish texts which are least like anything in the NT as it is to study those with which the NT writings have most affinity.

  • This book collects twenty-three of Bauckham’s essays that were published between 1976 and 2008. Sample PDF.
  • It was originally published in 2008 by Mohr Siebeck (WUNT 233).
  • The above quotation comes from “The Relevance of Extracanonical Jewish Texts to New Testament Study,” in Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for Interpretation (ed. by Joel B. Green; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 90–108 (2nd ed.; 2010).

Related:

  1. Six helpful resources that explain the nature and significance of extracanonical Jewish literature
  2. Tom Schreiner warns, “Too often in NT studies alleged background material is used to ‘prove’ various interpretations. Anyone who reads in NT studies knows how speculative such reconstructions can be. In reading such reconstructions I have often wondered why we complain about systematic theologians being speculative!”

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: OT in the NT

Framing Christian Ethics: Doug Moo Reviews John Frame

December 28, 2011 by Andy Naselli

I was present when Doug Moo reviewed this book at ETS in 2009:

John M. Frame. The Doctrine of the Christian Life. A Theology of Lordship. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2008.

You can view the contents of Frame’s book in a 29-page PDF here.

After recently reading Frame’s book, I asked Doug if his review has been published. It hasn’t, and he gave me permission to upload it here:

Douglas J. Moo. Review of John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life. 61st Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. New Orleans, November 2009.

Moo’s conclusion:

The book is an admirable, biblically rich, and very satisfying exploration of the meaning, implications, and practical contemporary outworking of biblical law through the lens of the Decalogue. I learned a lot from it. I was challenged in my own too often superficial level of Christian obedience. And it is an important counterbalance to those who err on the side of turning Christian ethics into a vacuous and undefined call to love one another. But at the end of the day, by not focusing enough attention on the grand New Testament themes of Christ’s lordship, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the transformation of mind and heart in conformity with Christ, the book did not satisfy me as a whole and balanced description of the Christian life.

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: Doug Moo, John Frame, law

A Book with Lots of Endorsements

December 26, 2011 by Andy Naselli

This new book has fourteen pages of endorsements (counting the back cover):

Andreas J. Köstenberger and Richard D. Patterson. Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011. 891 pp.

Fourteen pages of endorsements. You can view thirteen of those pages here in a 77-page sample PDF.

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: hermeneutics

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Exegetical Fallacies, 3rd ed.

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Help! I Want to Be a Manly Man

God's Will and Making Decisions

How to Read a Book: Advice for Christian Readers

Predestination: An Introduction

Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Tracing the Argument of 1 Corinthians: A Phrase Diagram

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Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles: The Kambur Chronicles

The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer

40 Questions about Biblical Theology

1 Corinthians in Romans–Galatians (ESV Expository Commentary)

How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?

Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9–11

That Little Voice in Your Head: Learning about Your Conscience

How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology

No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It's Harmful

Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ

NIV Zondervan Study Bible

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement

From Typology to Doxology: Paul’s Use of Isaiah and Job in Romans 11:34–35

Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism

Let God and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

Introducing the New Testament: A Short Guide to Its History and Message

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