Article 1: Two Testaments in Parallel: The Influence of the
Old Testament on the Structure of the New Testament Canon, Gregory Goswell.
This article examines the idea, currently under discussion, that the
organization of the Old Testament canon influenced that of the NT canon. He
discusses both the possible influence of the Septuagint arrangement (similar to
our OT book order) and that of the Hebrew OT (Law-Prophets-Writings). He suggests
that either one may have had influence. He then gives examples of ways that
influence may affect the way we read the NT. It struck me as similar to the
discussions of the organizational principles of the Book of Psalms—a lot of
discussion, but very little significant result.
Article 2: Recent Archaeological Discoveries that Lend
Credence to the Historicity of the Scriptures, Michael Grisanti. Current
debates in Near Eastern archaeology seem to focus on whether the OT is at all a
reliable guide to what really happened, and what archaeology can really tell
us. Grisanti summarizes some key recent findings that lend support to the
truthfulness of the OT’s presentation. It makes a nice addition to Yamauchi’s
classic work, The Stones and the Scriptures.
Article 3: Presuppositions and Harmonization: Luke 23:47 as
a Test Case, Vern Poythress. Poythress does not reach a conclusion regarding Luke
23:47 and its parallels in Matthew and Mark. But he does set out the way our
presuppositions and assumptions will affect the way we harmonize, or whether we
even think it is proper to harmonize. It certainly is an essay that creates an
interest in his book Inerrancy and the Gospels.
Article 4: “On the Third Day”: The Time Frame of Jesus’
Death and Resurrection, Martin Pickup. This is the most helpful thing I have
read on the subject regarding the issue springing from 1 Corinthians 15:4 and
related passages. Pickup argues that the importance of the third day relates to
the contemporary notion that bodily corruption of the dead began on the fourth
day after death (that is, when the results of the corruption began to be
evident). Hence Jesus’ resurrection on the third day is confirmation that he
did not see corruption, and that he was truly raised bodily from the dead. The
non-specialist reader might be surprised by how many NT scholars disavow the
idea of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Highly recommended.
Article 5: 1 Timothy 2:13-15: Paul’s Retelling of Genesis
2:4-4:1, Andrew B. Spurgeon. This article suggests that the reason 1 Tim 2:15
has been such a problem is that interpreters fail to recognize that Paul does
not stop dealing with Adam and Eve at the end of verse 14, but that verse 15
refers to the restoration of the relationship of Adam and Eve and its fulfillment
in the birth of the first child. I’m not convinced, but it is an interesting
argument.
Article 6: Healing in the Pauline Epistles: Why the
Silence?, Eliezer Gonzalez. In NT studies there is a fair amount of debate
about the relationship between Acts and the Pauline epistles, especially with
regard to Paul’s working of miracles. This article explores the issue and
concludes that there is no real issue.
Article 7-8: A short debate between Stanley E. Porter and
Verlyn Verbrugge about the use of the Greek negative construction ou monon
in Romans 5:3 and whether the “we have” in Romans 5:1 ought to be indicative or
subjunctive. For Greek grammar junkies only.
Book Reviews: About 75 pages worth. Apparently no one writes
a bad book these days, because they are all recommended.
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