Category: Biblical Scholars

Book Review: ‘Did the Old Testament Endorse Slavery?’ by Joshua Bowen

Author: Joshua BowenBook: Did the Old Testament Endorse Slavery?Publisher: Digital Hammurabi PressYear: 2020Total Page Count: 243Price: $19.99 (print) I. INTRODUCTION “Slavery in the Bible,” writes biblical scholar Wil Gafney, “represents more than the ubiquity of slavery in the ancient world; it represents the theological bulwark on which the Atlantic slave trade rested.”[1] This fact makes modern Christians uncomfortable. How could the god... Continue Reading →

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The Weekly Roundup – 2.21.20

What did ex-pagans and Jews expect when they became followers of Jesus? This is the question that Alex Finkelson addresses in his recent post "What kind of blessings did the churches inherit from Israel?" As Finkelson discusses, the various promises made to the patriarchs and even to king David are tangible: a literal kingdom in... Continue Reading →

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The Weekly Roundup – 2.14.20

Happy Valentine's Day! To both of my readers, I love you! Over at Is That in the Bible? readers can find a lengthy post on the story of Joseph entitled "From Robes to Riches: The Fairytale of Joseph." In this piece, Paul Davidson discusses issues related to genre, sources, redaction, and more. This is not... Continue Reading →

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The Weekly Roundup – 2.7.20

You didn't want it, ask for it, or need it, but nevertheless the Weekly Roundup has returned! Andre Gagne (PhD, Université catholique de Louvain/Université de Montréal) posted the first in a series on eschatology entitled "Unraveling the 'End Times,'" complete with that charming Canadian accent we've all come to love in our neighbors to the... Continue Reading →

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Michael D. Coogan: Hard Pressed to Identify A Distinct Israel

Michael D. Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, third edition (Oxford University Press, 2014), 228. The cumulative evidence, then, suggests that the Israelite confederation was composed of groups of disparate origin, including Canaanites. What would have motivated such groups to join Israel? One factor could have been the persuasive power... Continue Reading →

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Michael D. Coogan: The Importance of Nonbiblical Evidence

Michael D. Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, third edition (OUP: 2014), 28. Yet despite undeniable chronological and geographical discontinuities, the literary, religious, and institutional traditions of the Levant, including ancient Israel, are best understood as part of a cultural continuum that, allowing for local particularities, was consistent and... Continue Reading →

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