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Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the Old Testament

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:20:09 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I received my review copy of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament (ZIBBCOT) Volume 5: The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon from Zondervan. On first note, I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with this newly published commentary series on the Old Testament. If you are a reader of this blog and want a solid introductory commentary to the Hebrew scriptures that addresses their cultural and literary context in the broader ancient Near Eastern world, this commentary would make an excellent choice. I have already recommended this book to several of my friends who have expressed interest in gaining an understanding the Hebrew scripture from the perspective of its cultural and literary settings.

Perspective and Methodology of the Series

Like most Zondervan publications, ZIBBCOT has a decidedly evangelical and conservative perspective in its scholarship. Prior to receiving the review copy, I was very interested to see how the commentary series would deal with the cosmologies, theologies, and mythologies of the ancient Near East and their comparative relationship to biblical texts. There was a period of time when Biblical parallels to other ANE texts would have been downplayed by conservative scholars, as many seemed to fear the implications of making too many close comparisons between the inspired text of the Bible and ancient pagan texts. After all, if the Hebrew scriptures talk about mythological creatures as if they are real or borrows hymns to pagan gods, what does that mean in terms of divine inspiration of the canonical texts and their "timeless meaning?"

I must say that in my review of this work, there seems to be no such fear in the approach of the various authors represented in this volume. In the introduction to the series, General Editor, John H. Walton, directly addresses this issue:

For over a century, studies comparing the OT and the ancient Near East have hovered on the fringe of hermeneutics and exegesis. Since these studies were at times exploited by critical scholars for polemical attacks against the biblical text, evangelicals were long inclined to avoid or even vilify them. They viewed the idea that the OT borrowed or adapted ancient Near Eastern ideas or literature as incompatible with Scripture's inspiration. [ix]

He then points out that the reality that the ever increasing knowledge of ancient Near Eastern culture, literature, and history has ultimately resulted in "a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the text." He then adds:

There is, however, nothing inherently damaging to orthodox theology and beliefs about the Bible if its authors were interacting at various levels with the literature current in the culture. All literature is dependent on the culture in which it arises--it must be, if it intends to communicate effectively. Even when a text engages in polemic and correction of culture, it must be aware of and interact with the current thinking and literature. [ix-x]

While Walton seems to too quickly assume that the authors of the biblical texts were either always diametrically opposed to or corrective of the pagan world around them, he is clear that a lack of comparative knowledge of the ancient Near Eastern context also results in a serious lack of knowledge in understanding the Hebrew scriptures:

In terms of this methodology and perspective, the authors do an excellent job in making the lay reader aware of the cultures in which the biblical texts were composed. This task is accomplished within the commentary text, through special side-notes, and impressive visuals. A good example of the discussion of Behemoth, Leviathan, and the chaos of water/sea in the commentary on Job. Rather than explaining away the mythological background of these concepts, Izak Conzelman and the editors give the background and meaning of Lotan, Tannin, Marduk, and other ancient Near Eastern examples of the defeat of the sea and monsters of the deep [see 297-299]:

In the Hebrew Bible the Leviathan is a mythological sea monster defeated by Yahweh . . .

. . . because God is the only one that can control the Leviathan and Behemoth, as argued by Job, they can only be supernatural and should best be understood against the mythological background of the book of Job. The Leviathan embodies the cosmic evil par excellence, and the combination of these two animals is also important. The hippopotamus and the crocodile occur together as forces of chaos in Egyptian mythology, representing the god of confusion, Seth, who is defeated by the god Horus. This may indicate the mythological symbolism behind the texts. [298]

I have seen too many conservative commentators attempt to avoid the mythological background of these texts by simply focusing on Behemoth and Leviathan as literal references to the hippopotamus and crocodile (or elephant). It is refreshing to see that conservative scholarship is now recognizing that an "either/or" approach does not work when placing the biblical texts in their ancient Near Eastern contexts. The mythological, symbolic, and literal cannot be separated in these instances. While this may cause difficulties in our doctrines concerning the Bible, it was not an issue for the authors of the text. I also believe the general student of the Bible needs to be aware of these issues, and this commentary does a good job of introducing them in a "user-friendly" manner.

In the introductions to the texts, authors also do not shrink from discussing historical and/or textual difficulties within the texts. While the authors do typically agree with conservative opinions on debated issues, contrary opinions and conclusions are regularly given voice without an over-biased response. I was impressed that the authors regularly confess that their conclusions are the minority opinion on many of these issues.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Ultimately, I must admit that the aspect of this commentary that continues to draw and impress me is the "Illustrated" part. This commentary is full of quality color photographs and images. These include artwork, archeological remains, texts, inscriptions, etc., of the ancient Near East--not to mention many well done charts, graphs, and artist rendered visuals. These images were gathered from a wide variety of sources, and many of them are actually under the creative commons license, which means they can be reproduced for teaching purposes. They are also often combined with explanatory notes that assist the reader in placing them within the biblical context. This element alone has so impressed me that I'm on the verge of saying this is a "must have" type commentary for the pastor and lay reader who is researching/teaching the biblical texts. I hope I am not wrong in predicting that this will increasingly be an aspect of commentaries in the future. There is simply no comparison with actually seeing images of a cherub or the tree of life as it was depicted in the ancient Near East rather than simply hearing the words or a written description. The only thing I could ask for is that Zondervan makes this work available in a digital format so that we can use all the creative commons images for our own teaching of the material!

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Volume 5 covered in this post was supplied for review by Zondervan.

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I Made The Top 50 Biblioblogs

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:14:10 +0000

I'm not sure what this says about this blog or the state of Biblioblogging...probably nothing either way...but I made the Top 50! I'm number 46 in the ranking of Top 50 Biblioblogs for October 2009.

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Archaeologists Discover Evidence for Hyksos-Babylonian Contact

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:49:30 +0000

For those interested in the history of the Ancient Near East, this is a great find:

Austrian archaeologists have found a Babylonian seal in Egypt that confirms contact between the Babylonians and the Hyksos during the second millennium B.C.

Irene Forstner-Müller, the head of the Austrian Archaeological Institute’s (ÖAI) branch office in Cairo, said today (Thurs) the find had occurred at the site of the ancient town of Avaris near what is today the city of Tell el-Dab’a in the eastern Nile delta.

Read the brief article here.

Claude Mariottini adds a bit of explanation as to the find's importance here.

(HT Jim West)

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Books I'm Reading

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:52:06 +0000

For the fun of it:

Paul the Convert:
The Apostolate and Aposta...
by Mr. Alan F. Segal

The Suffering of God:
An Old Testament Pers...
by Terence E. Frethheim

For my Wisdon Literature class taught by Rick Lowery:

The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral... by Carol A Newsom	Wisdom Literature in Mesopotamia and Israel... by Clifford	The Epic of Gilgamesh
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Son... by Ellen F. Davis	Wisdom Literature by Alastair Hunter	Wisdom Literature: A Theological History by Leo G. Perdue

For my Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr., Class taught by Ray Owens:

A Testament of Hope:
The Essential Writings...
by Martin Luther King

Strength to Love
by Martin Luther, Jr. King

For The Social World of Early Christianity taught by Dennis Smith, for which I am (at least on a very small level) an assistant:

Ancient Rome on
5 Denarii a Day
by Philip Matyszak

Conversion: The Old
and the New in Religion...
by A. D. Nock

In the Beginning Was
the Meal: Social Exper...
by Hal Taussig

For preparation of a college Bible Study of John:

Social Science Commentary
on the Gospel of ...
by Bruce J. Malina

The Gospel According
to John I-XII (Anchor ...
by Raymond E. Brown

John Vol 1: A Commentary
on the Gospel of John,...
by Ernst Haenchen

Reading as a part of the church staff at New Covenant:

The Missional Leader:
Equipping Your Church...
by Alan Roxburgh

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Rethinking Population in the Roman Empire

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:32:39 +0000

(via Jim West)

Researchers are rethinking the 1st century BC population of the Roman Empire.

The first century B.C. was one of the most culturally rich in the history of the Roman Empire - the age of Cicero, Caesar and Virgil. But as much as historians know about the great figures of this period of Ancient Rome, they know very little about some basic facts, such as the population size of the late Roman Empire.

Now, a group of historians has used caches of buried coins to provide an answer to this question.

. . .

The model [developed by University of Connecticut theoretical biologist Peter Turchin and Stanford University ancient historian Walter Scheidel] using the coin distribution and less controversial census data from earlier periods suggests that the population of Rome did in fact decline after 100 B.C., suggesting the census did likely begin to include women and children and that Ancient Rome wasn't substantially larger than historians had thought.

By these estimates the entire population of the Roman Empire - and not just its male population - was somewhere around 4 million to 5 million people by the end of the first century B.C.

This represents a 200% decrease in previous estimates of the empire's population during this period. Read more here.

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Good and Concise Interview with Peter Enns

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:12:06 +0000

Karyn inteviews Peter Enns, author of Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament , using only 5 Questions. You should check it (and Enns' work) out.

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Avdat National Park Vandalized

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:31:31 +0000

(Ynet via Claude Mariottini )

Raviv Shapira, director of the southern district of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority told Ynet that the sight of the destruction was awful: "We came in the morning and found the place in shambles," described Shapira, "They broke the staircase, destroyed the walls, and painted on them. The worst is that the two most ancient churches in Israel were destroyed, and 13-foot columns were shattered with hammers along with artifacts and the authentic marble alter, which is the most important (artefact) in the city."

More at Ynet

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Earliest Musically Annotated Christian Hymn

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:00:10 +0000

(via Jim Davila via Mark Goodacre via Crystal)

The Oxyrhynchus Hymn (P. Oxy. XV 1786) is the earliest known manuscript of a Christian hymn - dating from the 3rd century AD - to contain both lyrics and musical notation. It is now kept at the Papyrology Rooms of the Sackler Library, Oxford. The text, in Greek, poetically invokes silence so that the Holy Trinity may be praised.

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Scot McKnight Is On To Something

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:39:13 +0000

Scot McKnight thinks that pastors, ministers, and leaders of churches are in need of some changes in in focus. He writes:

Evangelical pastors have flipped in the last generation. 30-40 years ago what most incited excitement was a new book by the arch-pastor and expositor, John Stott, expositing a New Testament book or a J.I. Packer book on theology. Today's evangelicals pastors are enamored with the latest book on leadership, like that morsel of an idea in the book called Tribes, or the latest book on management, or the latest fad in creativity.

. . .

So let me say this: (too many) evangelical leaders have become too enamored with management skills and techniques and have neglected the nitty-gritty of soaking themselves in the great texts of the Old and the New Testament.

He goes on to call for a new type of leadership conference in which participants ". . . [devote themselves to] two days of exposition of key biblical texts on pastoral theology and ministry. And no one can bring up a modern management or leadership expert; and no publisher or book table present can sell anything but commentaries."

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Benny Hinn Banned from UK

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:31:52 +0000

Very interesting. Here's an excerpt from the TimesOnline:

The new rules form part of the biggest overhaul to British immigration in 40 years. A points system was introduced, with one intention of combating extremism and prevent preachers of hate coming in. Tier Five, however, which has caught Benny Hinn, was introduced to stop ministers coming in as visitors and then making a quick buck by speaking at events or 'working' while they are here.

Ministers of all faiths now need a letter of sponsorship if they are to do religious work in Britain, even when, as at Excel, the event is free.

I certainly understand why the UK would want to keep Hinn out, but there is a part of me concerned about what the larger implications and impact of these laws might be. If you're interested in how this might affect everyone, here's a snippet of the Tier System under the new immigration laws :

The five immigration tiers are outlined below. Click each Tier to get more information from workpermit.com:

Tier 1 Visas: For highly skilled migrants, entrepreneurs, investors, and graduate students. This has replaced the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), the Entrepreneur and Investor schemes, and the International Graduates Scheme.

Tier 2 Visas: This is for skilled workers, professional sports people, and clergy members who have a job offer or arrangement with a UK organization that requires their services for an extended period of time. This tier will encompass the current UK Work Permit rules and is expected to go live sometime in the third quarter of 2008.

Tier 3 Visas: This tier is for a limited numbers of lower skilled workers to fill temporary shortages in the labour market. The UK has indefinitely suspended plans to implement this tier.

Tier 4 Visas: International Students.

Tier 5 Visas: For youth mobility and temporary workers, such as those who come under Working Holiday agreements with other countries. It will also cover temporary volunteer workers, sports people taking part in events, and visiting clergy.

Tiers 3 and 5 are temporary migration schemes and if you apply for a visa under one of these tiers, you will not be able to switch to a different tier from within the UK. The UK has also suspended Tier 3 in favour of migrants from the EU; however, this may change depending on labor market demands.

If apply under Tiers 1, 2, or 4, you will be eligible to switch to another tier at any time after you are in the UK if you can meet the requirements of that tier. Tiers 1 and 2 can potentially lead to settlement if permanent residence requirements are met at the time of application.

Here's the summary of Sponsorship:

If you are applying under one of Tiers 2 through 5, you will be required to have sponsorship from a licensed sponsor (an employer, government, or educational institution). The certificate of sponsorship assures the UK that you are able to perform the particular job or course of study, or otherwise fulfills the requirements to enter the UK under the specific tier.

Under Tier 1, you would not require a job offer and thus would not require sponsorship.

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