Jesus the Bridegroom Review at First Things

Peter J. Leithart at First Things reviewed my book, Jesus the Bridegroom. Despite being a revised dissertation, he calls it a “fine monograph” despite my “failure to incorporate the temple” into the study. Leithart says “He comes close to recognizing its centrality in several places (when he notices that Isaiah 41 lists the materials for tabernacle construction [86], or when he notes the connection between the “cloud” and the nuptial chamber in Isaiah 4 [122]), but he doesn’t follow through.”  Leithart says that the Temple “is a place of festivity, of marital covenant renewal, of enthronement of the divine Bridegroom in the trysting place in the wilderness.” Perhaps, but I am not sure that language appears in the Hebrew Bible, even if it does in later rabbinic reflections on the Temple. Nevertheless, I appreciate the nudge toward other evidence to support the thesis of the book.

The full title of the book is Jesus the Bridegroom: The Origin of the Eschatological Feast as a Wedding Banquet in the Synoptic Gospels. The book is an edited version of my dissertation. As I was working on my dissertation, people would ask what I was writing on. I usually said “an intertextual study on messianic banquet imagery in the Synoptic Gospels.” After a moment of awkward silence, I clarified: “Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is like a Wedding Banquet – what’s up with that?”

The book is now available through Amazon and the Wipf & Stock website. The book retails for $33, but Amazon and Wipf & Stock have it discounted. The Kindle version is only $9.99 and claims to have real page numbers. I have not seen a Kindle version yet. If you live in the Grand Rapids area, I have a few copies in my office if you want to get one directly from me.  If you do get the book, leave a nice review on Amazon, I would appreciate that.

Obviously I would love for you to buy a copy, but that is not always possible. Here’s how you can help get the word out for me:

• Request that the book be added to your college, university, or seminary library.
• Request to review the book for a Journal such as Review of Biblical Literature, JETS, Themelios, JESOT, etc.
• Request the book be reviewed on a book review site (Englewood Review of Books, Marginalia).
• Leave a review on Amazon.com.

Of course, I would really like to hear feedback from anyone who reads the book – feel free to send me an email to continue the discussion. Thanks!