BiblioBlogs

Welcome to the 206^th Biblical Studies Carnival for April 2023. April is a tough month of academics since students actually expect us to grade papers and turn in grades in a timely fashion (the nerve of some people). To complicate things, I am prepping for a student trip to Israel and Jordan starting next week. But there is always time for some Carnival goodness!

Jim West is hosting the Carnival for May (due June 1). Jim announced that he has been blogging at Zwingli Redivivus for 17 years. That is something like two billion posts for Jim.  Jim is already calling for submissions. Help Jim out and send him links to the best Biblical Studies Blogs you see (or write) in May 2023.

I am always looking for volunteers to host a carnival. If you are a newer blogger, I would love to talk with you about hosting. I would love to have someone host a carnival who is into podcasts, YouTube, and other social media sources for academic Biblical Studies. Contact me at plong42@gmail.com, and we can schedule a month for you to host. And if you are a long-time blogger, please consider hosting again.

Old Testament and Archaeology

Claude Mariottini had several posts on Exodus in April: Introduction to the Book of Exodus,  Exodus: Moses’ Encounter with God, and  Exodus: God’s Revelation To Moses.

David Bar-Cohen, on the Tzaraʿat Purification: A Vestige of Demonic Exorcism (Purification from the skin disease tzaraʿat, Leviticus 13–14). .

Lawrence Schiffman casts doubt on the headline “Proof of Biblical Kings of Israel, Judah Deciphered on Jerusalem Rock Inscriptions.” The subtitle read, “Detailed Inscriptions of Eighth-Century BCE Judean King Hezekiah Discovered in Monumental Archaeological Discovery.” The post is brief, but there is a link to his article in Ami Magazine.

Shawna Dolansky, Birkat Kohanim: The Magic of a Blessing. This fascinating article discusses the priestly benediction (birkat hakohanim) from the liturgy, found in Numbers 6:24-26.

Claude Mariottini, The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife – Ezekiel and the Prophetic Office

John D. Meade, Recovering the Resurrection in Isaiah 53: Textual Criticism and Easter (Test & Canon Institute)

Jim Davilla points out, that it has been a year since the press conference announcing a new curse text from Mount Ebal, but nothing has been published. Jim also comments on Pilates’s ring (that isn’t Pilates’s ring).

New Testament

B. J. Oropeza, Having Been ‘Righteoused’ by Faith: Reading Romans 5 Intertextually.

Bible History Daily posted a great summary of the role of synagogues in Jesus’ ministry.

Marg Mowczko, Jesus Called Her “Woman.” She says, “It sounds abrupt, cold, and disrespectful. From everything we know about Jesus, however, we can assume that he wasn’t being rude, especially as “woman” often occurs in statements where he says wonderful things.

The On Script Podcast has Tom Davis on Pauline Archaeology (mostly Cyprus).

Bryan Windle, Weighing the Evidence: Is the James Ossuary Authentic?  This is at BAR, so good pictures. The timeline is helpful.

Καταπέτασμα, Allegory of the end: Matthew’s crucifixion apocalypse.

Speaking of Matthew, I posted a few times on Matthew: How did Judas Die? – Matthew 27:1-10; How does Judas Fulfill Prophecy? Matthew 27:9-10; Who is Simon of Cyrene? Matthew 27:32; Mocking Jesus on the Cross – Matthew 27:37-44.

Third-Century Syriac Translation of the Gospel of Matthew Found. Here is a link to the NTS article.

Ian Paul asks, “What does ‘doubting’ Thomas teach us from John 20?”  He also has a great post on meeting with Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 (with a video discussion).

Megan Sauter asks, “Who Was Thecla?” at Bible History Daily.

The Hermeneutrix (Heather Anne Thiessen) studies Acts 1:1-11 and then reflects on Acts 1:1-11.

Over at Scribes of the Kingdom, Silvanus to the church of the Thessalonians: Salvaging Paul’s eschatological legacy.

David Turner, The Passion at Colossae (Colossians 2:6-19).

From Brian Small, Madison Pierce and Max Botner discuss Why We Love Hebrews on the podcast, On the Way.

Benjamin Kantor, The Most Objective Textual Critic You’ll Ever Meet.

Theology

Ansley Quiros, Christ or Moloch?: A Reflection on Nonviolence and the Civil Rights Movement

Erica Mongé-Greer at Scholarly Wanderlust, The O’s Have It Part I: God’s Omniscience in the Bible

Peter Goeman (The Bible Sojourner) asks, Did the Holy Spirit Indwell Old Testament Believers?

Stephan Unthank, Promise: God is Slow to Anger

Book Reviews (and Previews)

Peter Lau, The Book of Ruth (NICOT) (Eerdmans 2023). Reviewed by Jim West. Reviewed by Phillip J. Long. Jim West says “The Commentary by Lau is the EXACT opposite of Block’s horror show vomitorium of a book.”

Ian Paul interviewed Gary Burnett, who just published a short study on the writing and theology of Paul under the title Paul Distilled. 

Douglas D. Webster, The Parables: Jesus’s Friendly Subversive Speech (Kregel 2021). Reviewed by Phillip J. Long.

Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, Second Edition (IVP Academic, 2023). Reviewed by Phillip J. Long.

Michael B. Shepherd, A Commentary on Jeremiah (KEL) (Kregel 2023). Reviewed by Phillip J. Long.

Matthew Scarborough, The Proverbs of Solomon in Sahidic Coptic (preview from the author at Consulting Philologist)

David Hendin, Guide to Biblical Coins. 6th edition. New York: American Numismatic Society, 2022 (Review by Michaël Girardin at Bryn Mawr Classical Review)

Brandon Scott calls the Everett Fox Translation “A Better Way to Hear the Hebrew Bible”

Brian Small points out a new book on Theology of the High Priest Jesus Christ: Randy de Jesús Soto. Teología del Pontífice Jesucristo: Análisis retórico y semántico de Hebreos 4,15; 7:26 y 9,14. Estudios de Filología Neotestamentaria 8. Córdoba: Ediciones el Almendro, 2006.

Other News

William Ross, In Memoriam: James K. Aitken (1968-2023).

Peter Gurry remembers Ioannis Karavidopoulos (1937–2023).

Roger Olson, Is America Becoming a Failed State?

Ted Peters at Public Theology, Children, Guns, and Abortion.

Make your travel plans now: Berlin’s Pergamon Museum Closes for Major Renovations, Will Fully Reopen in 14 Years. Or, they could give the contents of the museum back to Turkey.

This is cool: The Oldest Photograph of the Acropolis.

Beth Allison Barr reviews her years blogging at the Anxious Bench and announces she is leaving the site. She has moved to Substack: Marginalia with Beth Allison Barr Reflections on Evangelicalism, Medieval History, and Women’s History.

James Tabor, The Waco Tragedy: Looking Back After Thirty Years.

John the Baptist’s Struffoli Recipe (an April 1 post from James McGrath). Brent Nongbri has a post on Ancient Jewish Fish Sauce.  Looks like the Biblical Studies Pot Luck is almost complete.

James McGrath has written (maybe) a few posts on Chat-GPT.  His observations are valuable, given his interest in classroom technology and science fiction.

The ever-mysterious N. T. Wrong rises from the ashes to host the April 2023 Carnival. Like Laura Palmer, he/she predicted seven years ago he/she would return, although the ABBA-themed carnival was a surprise. [I really do not know if N. T. Wrong is a Dancing Queen or a Fernando, hence the pronouns.] Knowing Me Knowing You, it is possible you will get all the ABBA-themed puns in this post.

This is also the first post on the long-dormant Biblioblog Top 50 site rather than the original N. T. Wrong page. The Top 50 site had its Waterloo more than five years ago and many of us wondered what happened to the site owner. That raises questions that no one is asking nor should those questions be answered. Who knows? Maybe Amazing Lookalike (@mazinglookalike) will return now. But When All is Said and Done, Mamma Mia!, the carnival is fantastic! So take a chance, take a chance on N. T. Wrong, and read his carnival (and click all the links).

The biggest biblio-blogging news this month: PaleoJudaica marked twenty years of blogging on March 24. James Davilla says he has made 21,669 posts over the years. As far as I know, this is the oldest continuous biblical studies blog. Jim West has been around a long time (he live-tweeted the Exodus). Claude Mariottini is an old-time bliblioblogger who is still very active and Mark Goodacre still posts every once in a while. Brian Small still does his Hebrews Highlights every month. Even Reading Acts has been around for nearly 15 years. Bloggers come and go, but Jim Davilla jas posted daily important news and posts of interest for ancient Judaism and the biblical world. If you do not regularly read PaleoJudaica daily you are missing out.

The April carnival will be right here at Reading Acts, then Jim West will host the May carnival. Now is the time to volunteer to host a carnival in 2023. Seriously, don’t make me beg (and I will if that is something you want).

If you have questions about the Biblical Studies Carnival, contact me at plong42@gmail.com. I’ll answer as best I can.

Ben the  Amateur Exegete (@amateurexegete) posted the Biblical Studies Carnival #204 for February 2023. As expected, Ben curated an exceptional carnival with a great collection of links to academic blog posts, podcasts, and videos. I always like Ben’s carnivals since he follows quite a few podcasts I don’t. Head over to The Amateur Exegete, read what Been says, and click on all the links.

In other blogging news, Brian Small did a Hebrews Highlights this month.  Is anyone else doing a micro-carnival like this? There used to be one for Galatians and the Septuagint.

In Reading Acts news, sometime in early February, I passed five million hits. That is pretty dang exciting, although I have been doing this since 2012 so it really adds up. Thanks to everyone who stops by and reads what I have to say, especially those who are not trying to convince me COVID is the mark of the beast or that Fauci is the antichrist, as predicted in 1 Enoch.

Here is what is happening with future carnivals: Now is the time for you to volunteer to host a carnival in 2023! I have no one for March (due April 1), unless I can cajole N. T. Wrong to come out of retirement. But it has been seven long years since N. T. Wrong posted his last carnival….maybe it’s time.

Did Ben mention you in his carnival and you are wondering where all that traffic was coming from? Volunteer to host a carnival and find out.

If you have questions, contact me at plong42@gmail.com and I’ll answer as best I can.

Heather Theissen posted the 203rd Biblical Studies Carnival at Matters of Interpretation. Other than the most terrifying carnival pictures ever, Heather’s carnival is fantastic. In addition to the usual categories, she included “Text Criticism, History of Reception,” “Archeology – Antiquities – History” and “Popular Culture.” If you scroll all the way to the bottom, she explains the carnival pictures as “Busó Festivities at Mohács: masked end-of-winter carnival custom.” Think of it as the Groundhog’s Day in Hungary. Biblical Studies Carnivals are always educational.

Next time someone says academic blogging is dead, point them to Heather’s Biblical Studies Carnival. Make sure you put Heather’s blog on your regular reading list.

In case you missed it, I was interviewed about 1 Enoch on the podcast Talk Junkies. Go watch the interview and then by my book, The Book of 1 Enoch for Beginners. it’s cheap and available on Amazon or wherever books are sold (maybe). Here is a post summarizing the podcast.

Here is what is happening with future carnivals: Ben the  Amateur Exegete (@amateurexegete) hosts in February 2023 (Due March 1). So now is the time for you to volunteer to host a carnival in 2023. If you have questions, contact me at plong42@gmail.com and I’ll answer as best I can. Veterans or rookies, we need people to host. Volunteer early and get your preferred month.

Jim West did The End of the Year Biblioblogger Extravaganza: Collecting the Best Posts of 2022 (AKA carnival #202). Think of this as a “carnival of carnivals.” Jim picks three or four top posts for each month. As most people know, Jim loves end of the year top ten lists. He also includes notices of several scholars who passed away in 2022. Jim linked to Biblical Studies Carnival #57, for November 2010 as “the best carnival ever” (although he did think it was “22 years ago”).   After posting his carnival, Jim spent the rest of the day blasting Zwingli facts out to the Zwingli-ignorant masses in honor of Zwingli’s birthday on January 1.

Here is what is happening with future carnivals? First time host Heather Thiessen will host Carnival #203 for January 2022 (Due February 1) at Matters of Interpretation. Ben the  Amateur Exegete (@amateurexegete) hosts in February 2023 (Due March 1). So now is the time for you to volunteer to host a carnival in 2023. If you have questions, contact me at plong42@gmail.com and I’ll answer as bets I can. Veterans or rookies, we need people to host. Volunteer early and get your preferred month.

What’s happening with Reading Acts? This year is my fourteenth year writing at ReadingActs. The first post was on September 1, 2008, “Why Acts?” Some time in the early spring I will pass five million hits…not bad after averaging 19 a month in my first full year. In 2022, I had just under 900,000 hits, averaging just under 2500 per day. I made 135 posts in 2022, a total of 125.8K words! According to WordPress, 15% of views come on Sunday morning at 11AM, so I know what you are all doing during the sermon.

I plan on returning to Matthew in a week or two in order to finish that series, probably finishing up some time around Easter. I have a plan to do a series of posts on non-canonical Gospels in the early spring (in response to requests from several readers).