Speaking to God in Australia: Donald Robinson and the Writing of An Australia Prayer Book (1978)

This is the main thing I was working on when at Tyndale in January of 2016. It is now published:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-church-history/article/speaking-to-god-in-australia-donald-robinson-and-the-writing-of-an-australian-prayer-book-1978/2EFEC49C2138563C2E211AE171D31E75

I have also been awarded my PhD at Macquarie University in Sydney. It's title:

Reading the New Testament in Australia: An Historical Account of the Origins, Development and Influence of D. W. B. Robinson's Biblical Scholarship

Thank you to everyone at Tyndale for your many kindnesses while I was there. I retain very fond memories of Tyndale House.

Yours,

Rory

--

This is my personal email address. For church related matters I am also available at rory.shiner@providencechurch.org.au 

 

How Your Greek NT Is Changing: A Simple Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM)

This article is meant as a simple explanation to the method now being used to edit the Nestle-Aland and UBS Greek New Testaments. The goal is provide a *simple* introduction for those perplexed by this new computerized tool.

Gurry, Peter J. "How Your Greek NT Is Changing: A Simple Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM)." JETS 59, no. 4 (2016): 675–89.

Available online at https://www.academia.edu/30457517/How_Your_Greek_NT_Is_Changing_A_Simple_Introduction_to_the_Coherence-Based_Genealogical_Method_CBGM_

Psalms, Volume 1: Psalms 1-72 (Baker Academic, 2015)

Sent from my iPhone

Hopeful article...

While at Tyndale this last time (June-July 2015) I finished up an article “Shall I Surely Translate This?: The Hebrew Infinitive Absolute in the Greek Twelve Prophets” that I submitted to JSCS (formerly BIOSCS).  I am still waiting for the feedback.

 

Yours,

Josh harper

Baker Illustrated Biblical Commentary on Ezekiel

Mark F. Rooker, Baker Books, forthcoming.

A Commentary on Ezekiel

Mark F. Rooker. Logos Publications, forthcomiing.

40 Questions on Creation and Evolution

Mark F. Rooker and Kenneth K. Keathley. Kregel, forthcoming 2014.

“Beyond emergence: learning from Dooyeweerdian anthropology ?”

During my latest stay at Tyndale House (April/May 2013), I've been
working on an article for a conference volume:
"Beyond emergence: learning from Dooyeweerdian anthropology ?", in The
Future of Creation Order, vol. 1, ed. Gerrit Glas, Jeroen de Ridder,
Dordtrecht, Springer, 2013, to be published.

Thanks for a productive and pleasant stay.
--
Lydia Jaeger
Directrice des études
Institut Biblique de Nogent
39 Grande rue Ch. de Gaulle
94130 Nogent-sur-Marne
FRANCE
Tél. : 0033-1-45142378
Fax : 0033-1-48737993
http://www.ibnogent.org
http://ljaeger.ibnogent.org

Hosea: A Commentary Based on Hosea in Codex Vaticanus

Hosea: A Commentary Based on Hosea in Codex Vaticanus. 

W. Edward Glenny (Septuagint Commentary Series; Leiden: Brill, 2013).

Rather than studying the LXX of Hosea mainly as a text-critical resource for the Hebrew or as a help for interpreting the Hebrew, this commentary, as part of the Septuagint Commentary Series, primarily examines the Greek text of Hosea as an artifact in its own right to seek to determine how it would have been understood by early Greek readers who were unfamiliar with the Hebrew. This commentary is based on the uncorrected text of Vaticanus, and it contains a copy of that text with notes discussing readings that differ from modern editions of the LXX along with a literal translation of that text. This commentary also has an introduction to the Minor Prophets in the Septuagint. It is relevant for anyone studying the LXX or the book of Hosea. 

A Theological Interpretation of the Birifor Practice of Funerals and Its Implications for the Christian Ministry to the Birifor of Burkina Faso.

Hi Tyndale house,

I got a email telling me I could send the title of what I was working on in Tyndale house, if I wish to publish it.

I have not finished the Thesis I was working on at Tyndale house, but the above title is my MTh Dissertation which I wish to publish.

Thank you

Dorcas

Preachers, Pastors, and Ambassadors: Puritan Wisdom for Today's Church

Edited By: Lee Gatiss  (London: Latimer Trust, 2011). Available from http://www.latimertrust.org/index.php/publications/books-and-compilations/116-ppa .

Puritan ministers saw themselves as ambassadors for God, called to proclaim his word and shepherd his people. They sought to pastor and lead people through the word clearly preached and the sacraments rightly administered, and by means of
a godly church discipline. In this second compilation of recent St. Antholin lectures (from the years 2001-2010), we see and hear the Puritans in action, and are encouraged to apply their godly wisdom in our own day.

The compilation begins with a brand new introduction by Lee Gatiss (currently working at Tyndale House on 17th century biblical interpretation). In this, he looks at a clever but failed plot by the Puritans to take over the Church of England in the early 17th century.  He also contributed a later chapter on John Owen’s doctrine of infant baptism and infant salvation, called From Life’s First Cry.

Other contributions include:

Peter Adam

Word and Spirit: The Puritan-Quaker Debate
Wallace Benn Usher on Bishops: A Reforming Ecclesiology
Peter Ackroyd Strangers to Correction: Christian Discipline and the English Reformation
David Field "Decalogue Dod" and his Seventeenth Century Bestseller
Chad B Van Dixhoorn A Puritan Theology of Preaching
Peter Adam "To bring men to heaven by preaching": John Donne's Evangelistic Sermons
Tony Baker 1807-2007 John Newton and the Twenty-first Century
Andrew Atherstone Evangelical Mission and Anglican Church Order: Charles Simeon Reconsidered
David Holloway Re-establishing the Christian Faith: and the Public Theology Deficit

The Lessons of History

By: Lee Gatiss  in Churchman 125.3 (2011), pp 263-272.

An extended review of 7 recent books on church history, covering some new surveys of all 2000 years as well as more recent history. The article encourages pastors to teach church history to their congregations using some of these resources, to inspire, warn, and inform them.

The Text of the Pauline Corpus

By Dirk Jongkind, in The Blackwell Companion to Paul, edited by Stephen Westerholm (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 216-31.

The transmission of the text of the Pauline Corpus shows some differences with that of the four gospels and patterns and tendencies learned there are not automatically applicable to the Textual Criticism of Paul's letters. In this essay the main witnesses are introduced arranged by age and some of the key questions for the study of the Greek text of Paul are discussed.

The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus: Luke's Account of God's Unfolding Plan

By: Alan J. Thompson (New Studies in Biblical
Theology 27; ed. D. A. Carson; Nottingham/Downers
Grove: Apollos/InterVarsity Press, 2011).

This book aims to offer a biblical-theological
framework for interpreting the book of Acts so
that Luke's major themes may be identified and
related to the book as a whole. The book
especially highlights Acts as an account of the
'continuing story' of God's saving purposes: Luke
intends his work to be read in the light of Old
Testament promises and the continuing reign of
Christ in the inaugurated kingdom of God. In this
light, Luke's key themes are better understood
and integrated. Chapter topics include: 1. the
kingdom of God; 2. the resurrection and the
arrival of the last days; 3. Israel, the
Gentiles, and God’s promises of restoration; 4.
the gift of the Holy Spirit; 5. the temple system
and its leaders; and 6. the role of the law.
[Available from July in the UK and October in the United States.]

In the preface of the book, Don Carson states
that the strength of Thompson's book is that "it
uncovers the main theological emphases of the
book of Acts on the book's own terms. Moreover,
although this volume focuses on Acts, Dr.
Thompson wisely keeps an eye peeled for
theological connections with Luke's Gospel. This
volume will be a treasure trove for all who seek
to understand Acts better, not least those who
teach and preach the book." (pp. 11-12)

The Puritans as Missionaries

By: Lee Gatiss  (Modern Reformation, March-April 2011), pages 7-9.  

"Missionary" is not the first word that comes to mind when one thinks of the Puritans. Keen disciples, passionate pastors, devotional writers, powerful preachers, precise theologians – yes. Radical revolutionaries and reformers even. But not missionaries. A recent companion to Puritanism has no chapter on their missionary endeavours and does not even have an entry in the index for "evangelism". Yet Lee Gatiss, currently at Tyndale House studying 17th century commentaries on Hebrews, tries to show in this article that all their efforts in theology, ministry, and even politics, were focused on bringing glory to God through the salvation of sinners. He shows how the Puritans sought to reach the lost for Christ in New England, in the dark corners of Old England (and Wales), and in the established churches.

Exploring the New Testament, volume 1: The Gospels and Acts (revised edn)

By: David Wenham & Steve Walton, (2nd edn; London: SPCK/Downers Grove: IVP, 2011).

A revised edition of a well-used NT introduction which enables student to engage with the NT texts for themselves, rather than telling them lots about the NT and failing to get them to read the NT itself. Bibliographies have been updated throughout, and new material introduced to expand in areas where discussion has moved on in the ten years since the first volume, e.g. the Gospels as eyewitness testimony, apocryphal gospels. A new feature 'Thinking about Theology' provides short essays on key theological features of the five NT books studied. Volume 2, by Howard Marshall, Stephen Travis and Ian Paul, covering the Epistles and Revelation, is also published in a revised edition.

Trying Paul or Trying Rome? Judges and Accused in the Roman Trials of Paul in Acts

By: Steve Walton in Luke-Acts and Empire: Essays in Honor of Robert L. Brawley. ed. Rhoads, D., D. Esterline, & J. W. Lee (Princeton Theological Monographs 151; Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2011) 122-41.

An essay engaging with the Roman trials of Jesus (Luke 23) and Paul (Acts 18:12-17; 23-24; 25-26) in order to consider how Luke portrays the Roman empire in these stories. A mixed picture of the empire and its servant emerges, "the empire can act justly to give gospel proclamation the space to spread and flourish, but it can also act unjustly and thus seek to hinder the gospel's outward movement. It is in the midst of this setting that Luke both tells the story of the spread of the Christian testimony and encourages his readers to become part of the story themselves." (141)

Pilgrims, Warriors, and Servants: Puritan Wisdom for Today's Church

Edited by Lee Gatiss (Latimer Trust, 2010)
 
This is a collection of the St. Antholin's Lectures on puritan theology and ministry from 1991-2000, edited and with an introduction by Lee Gatiss, who is currently working at Tyndale House researching a 17th century puritan commentary on Hebrews. The book contains chapters by Jim Packer, Peter Jensen, Peter Adam, Alister McGrath, Bruce Winter and others, covering such interesting topics as evangelical spirituality, the cross in John Owen's pastoral theology, puritan attitudes to combat with Satan, how to reform a church, and various studies of puritans such as Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, and Cambridge's own William Perkins.  The introduction by Lee Gatiss is called "To Satisfy People's Hunger for the Word: St Antholin's as the Prototype Puritan Lectureship" and looks at the puritan love of preaching and why they started "lectureships" in churches.
 

The Sermons of George Whitefield (2 volumes)

Edited by Lee Gatiss (Tentmaker Publications, 2010)
 
Two volumes of sermons from the great evangelical preacher of the eighteenth century Great Awakening, George Whitefield. A brand new, unique, edited and annotated edition - the first such since Whitefield death - giving valuable historical and theological insight into his powerful and passionate preaching which set the world on fire.  Lee Gatiss, currently at Tyndale House doing research into 17th century biblical interpretation, edited the text, wrote an introduction, and has added many notes of historical and theological interest to the text, to make this a readable and informative edition.

The True Profession of the Gospel: Augustus Toplady and Reclaiming our Reformed Foundations

By Lee Gatiss (Latimer Trust, 2010)
 
At every Coronation for over three hundred years, British Monarchs have promised to maintain, "the true profession of the gospel... the Protestant Reformed religion." At a time when many Evangelicals and Anglicans are questioning their theology and re-thinking their identity, it is more important than ever for us to remember this gospel of sovereign grace.
This book shows how God has used the Reformed gospel of "grace alone" to revitalise churches riddled with immorality and flagging in meaning and purpose. With a focus on hymn-writer and theologian Augustus Toplady, it retells the story of Reformation and Revival for a new generation looking to draw strength from its roots.
Tyndalers helped to choose the cover during coffee one day!
 

Shades of Opinion within a Generic Calvinism: The Particular Redemption Debate at the Westminster Assembly

By Lee Gatiss.  Reformed Theological Review 69.2 (2010): 101-118.
 
This article looks at the debate about the extent and intent of the atonement during the Westminster Assembly in 1645, where the writers of the Westminster Confession asked whether it was possible to disagree with what is now sometimes called “limited atonement” without being an Arminian, and whether God intended to save some people or just to secure an offer of conditional salvation for all.  It examines the background to the debate in the work of Archbishop James Ussher, the Synod of Dort, and hypothetical universalism or Amyraldianism. Lee Gatiss, currently working at Tyndale on 17th century biblical interpretation, concludes that the debate shows there was a spectrum of Reformed views on the subject within an overall Calvinist umbrella.

A Deceptive Clarity? Particular Redemption in the Westminster Standards

By Lee Gatiss. Reformed Theological Review 69.3 (2010): 180-196.
 
This article looks at the effect of the debate about so-called "limited atonement" at the Westminster Assembly in 1645 on the text of the Westminster Confession and Westminster Catechisms. Drawing on a previous article looking in depth at that debate, it shows that sophisticated hypothetical universalists of a Calvinist variety from the 17th century itself could happily have signed up to the doctrine set forth in the Standards, even though that is not the way the Confession has been read in more modern times. It calls for those who hold to different varieties of Calvinism/ Reformed theology to be more tolerant of diversity within their own ranks, and to recognise this historically within the Reformed constituency and Reformed confessions.

The Unerring Word of God

By Lee Gatiss. The Gospel Magazine, September – October, 2010, pp.152-154.
 
In the context of the current debate over "inerrancy", which is apparently a nineteenth century invention, this article looks at how Evangelicals spoke about this issue in the eighteenth century. It shows how George Whitefield, Augustus Toplady, John Newton and others spoke of the Bible as "God's unerring word". It suggests possible backgrounds for this in a 17th century Psalter and in the Book of Common Prayer and Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. It encourages evangelicals today to again speak and think of the word of God as "unerring".
 

Traditions of the Rabbis in the Era of the New Testament. Feasts and Sabbaths: Passover and Atonement.

By: David Instone-Brewer  (Eerdmans 2011)  

The series collects all the rabbinic texts originating before 70 CE. This volume deals with mainly with Sabbath, Passover, Temple Tax and the Day of Atonement. Each tradition is given in full with a literal translation and discussions about its meaning in the context of Judaism and the dating of its development. More at www.T-R-E-N-T. com

Tight Fists or Open Hands? Wealth and Poverty in Old Testament Law

By David L. Baker (Eerdmans, 2009)

Any Christian response to today's ever-growing problem of poverty around the globe must be firmly rooted in biblical teaching. While books on various aspects of wealth and poverty in the Old and New Testaments have been published, so far there has been no thorough study of Old Testament law on the topic. David Baker argues here that an understanding of that law is not only fundamental for interpreting the entire Old Testament, but it is also assumed by the writers of the New Testament. Tight Fists or Open Hands? fills this gap in Old Testament scholarship and lays a foundation for considering the relevance of these laws to everyday life in the twenty-first century.

The heart of this book is a study of all the biblical laws concerned with wealth and poverty. Baker groups these laws together by topic, considering the similarities and differences between the Decalogue, Book of the Covenant, Holiness Code, and Deuteronomic laws. He then places these in the context of ancient Near Eastern law in order to make clear which attitudes are distinctly biblical and which are held in common with other civilized peoples.

Each section of Tight Fists or Open Hands? includes an extended conclusion that summarizes the main ideas, considers relationships with other biblical texts, and points to the significance of the laws for today's world. Such thorough exegesis and modern application make this book relevant to pastors, scholars, and students in a variety of courses. Buy in UK or US.
 

The Eschatological Anthr pos in Mark’s Gospel

By: Stuart T. Rochester (Kaleidoscope at http://www.dur.ac.uk/kaleidoscope/issues/v3i2/)
 
It explores the theological anthropology of Mark.

'Letter Carriers in the Ancient Jewish Epistolary Material'

By Peter M. Head in Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon (eds. C.A. Evans & H.D. Zacharias; SSEJC 13; LNTS 70; London: T & T Clark / Continuum, 2009), 203-219.

This article discusses letter delivery in letters identifiably Jewish (or reported within Jewish sources) between 200 BC and AD 200 with a view to considering whether (and to what extent) the letter carrier has a role in the communication between sender and receiver. These include manuscript letters (from the Dead Sea area and from the papyri), rabbinic letters, letters in 1 & 2 Maccabees, Josephus and Philo.
Here is the conclusion:
Given the variety of material considered it is important to note that any generalizations will be a little dangerous. It is clear that the letter carriers do sometimes have an important role in the communication process (esp. when named, where it is generally assumed that they will have a larger role). An important place is given to specifically ambassadorial language in connection with the role of envoys/embassies in the delivery of official and royal letters. This can be both real/historical and redactionally introduced (e.g. in Maccabean literature and Josephus). From the notes of the Bar Kokhba revolt through to the royal letters of Jewish kings we do find letter carriers involved in reinforcing and supplementing the message of the written letter and thus facilitating the communication process envisaged by the author and sender of the letter.

Challenging to change: dialogues with a radical baptist theologian: Essays presented to Dr Nigel G. Wright on his sixtieth birthday

Pieter J. Lalleman (editor), (London: Spurgeon�s College, 2009).
 
Fourteen contributions on Baptist identity, ministry, ministerial training and much more, all in response to the writings of Nigel G. Wright.  Target audience ministers and ministerial students in all Free Churches.
 

Critical Companion to the Bible: A Literary Reference

By Pieter J. Lalleman with Martin H. Manser, David Barratt and Julius Steinberg. (New York: Facts on File, 2009).

A 500-page introduction to the Bible in a secular series written by conservative Evangelicals.  Factual information with emphasis on the literary form, aimed at a wide audience.

2 Korintiërs: Profiel van een evangeliedienaar

By Rev. Dr. T.E. van Spanje, (Kok: Kampen, January 2009)
 
This integral commentary on 2 Corinthians is written in Dutch (in the CNT-3 Series) and contains 336 pages. It incorporates the latest relevant results of Pauline studies. Paul's opponents are identified with the Sophists. It appears to be possible to offer a consistent antisophistic reading of 2 Corinthians.

How to add your own publications

We welcome you to add publications of work carried out wholly or partly while at Tyndale House


If you did work on a paper or book or chapter in a multi-author book, this is an appropriate place to draw attention to it.

Please send an email to TyndaleNotices@gmail.com with

==========
EMAIL SUBJECT: Title of your book or paper

EMAIL BODY:
By A. N. Author, (Publisher, Date) OR Journal Title 99 (1999) 20-35

Summary of the paper or book in five sentences or less (the shorter it is, the more likely it will get read).

==================

There will be a delay caused by a human who weeds out anything irrelevant, irreverent, or irritating.

Please bear in mind that although the primary viewers of these notices are friends of Tyndale House, they are nevertheless public.

David IB

"Is God Moral? On the Saul Narratives as Tragedy"

By Peter J. Williams, in R.P. Gordon, ed., The God of Israel: Studies of an Inimitable Deity (CUP, forthcoming).

This examines recent approaches, especially those of Gunn, Humphreys and Exum, claiming that the Saul narratives are tragic. It is found that when the textual clues of the narratives are considered carefully there is significant evidence against a tragic reading. Tragic readings can only be achieved by ignoring significant elements within the narratives.

Traditions of the Rabbis from the Era of the New Testament (TRENT), vol.2 Feasts and Sabbaths: Passover and Atonement

By David Instone -Brewer (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009) (online-version)

This volume covers the first half of Order Moed, including laws of Sabbath, Community Markers, Passover, the Half Shekel tax and the Day of Atonement. These provide many enlightening insights into NT background, including details of the Sabbath disputes of Jesus, the Passover in the Gospels, Jewish tax and payments to the Temple, the theology of Hebrews and first century Jewish soteriology.

"Jewish Associations in Roman Palestine: Evidence from the Mishnah"

By David Instone -Brewer and Philip A. Harland (Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism 5, 2009) (online-version)

Associations were a widespread social structure in the first century Roman world, of individuals who shared a common interest and bonded together by means of communal meals, often in temples which had dining facilities. Judaism used a comparable term (haburah) to describe similar gatherings especially at festival times. The Jewish associations included groups who met in public halls for a festival meal, reclining on triclinia and were waited on by servants. Separate associations met privately, even though they occupied the same public hall as others. Unlike Gentile associations, there is some evidence that Jewish associations rejected the custom of following the meal by a drinking party.

‘Named Letter-Carriers among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri’

By Peter M. Head, JSNT 31.3 (2009), 279-299

Shows that letter-carriers generally supplemented the epistolary communication with additional oral communication. Important for thinking through Paul's letter delivery through authorised and named carriers. First publication of a new research project in this area.

"Scandals from the New Testament"

By David Instone -Brewer (a series of articles in Christianity, 2009)

The morals of a society is marked at the place where they perceive a scandal has occurred. By studying scandals in the NT and the NT world, we get a very clear picture of NT morals.

"Singular Readings in Sinaiticus: The Possible, the Impossible, and the Nature of Copying,".

By Dirk Jongkind, in Textual Variation: Theological and Social Tendencies?: Papers from the Fifth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, Texts and Studies, Third Series, Volume 6, ed. D.C. Parker and H.A.G. Houghton (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008), 35-54.

There is a long-standing tradition in Textual Tradition to explain variant readings by 'what we think the scribe did or thought'. But how realistic are such explanations? This essay argues that any explanation should start with the mechanics of normal copying, and with a proper understanding of what mental processes are involved. A proper model of copying is suggested.

"Balaam-Laban as the key to the Old Testament quotations in Matthew 2"

By David Instone -Brewer in Built upon the Rock: studies in the Gospel of Matthew, ed. Daniel M. Gurtner (Grand Rapids, Mich. ; Cambridge, U.K. : Eerdmans, 2008) 207-227 (online-version)

Matthew chapter 2 appears to pull proof texts out of the Hebrew Scriptures in an almost random way. However, when it is read in the light of the ancient additions to the story of Balaam, the texts form the structure of a sermon based on Balaam's star. Early Jewish sources allude to a story about Balaam who, in the identity of Laban, tried to kill Rachel's children which included a messianic baby. They were protected in Egypt but after the Exodus Balaam attacked again. Matthew's four quotations are each linked to this story, and a first century Jewish reader would have recognised the story behind these links. The underlying message is that Jesus is the Messiah, and that Herod was like Balaam-Laban, the super-enemy of the Jews who tried to destroy the Messiah.

‘The Gospel of Mark in Codex Sinaiticus: Textual and Reception-Historical Considerations’

By Peter M. Head, TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism (SBL on-line journal, October 2008, 38 pages) [online ]

A fascinating exploration of the way in which Mark's Gospel is presented in Codex Sinaiticus.

‘Five New Testament Manuscripts: Recently Discovered Fragments in a Private Collection in Cambridge’

By Peter M. Head, Journal of Theological Studies 59 (2008), 520-545. [on-line: doi: 10.1093/jts/flm177]

The definitive publication of five NT manuscripts identified and studied here at Tyndale House. Includes full discussion, texts and photographs.

‘Scribal Behaviour and Theological Tendencies in Singular Readings in P. Bodmer II (P66) ’

By Peter M. Head, in Textual Variation: Theological and Social Tendencies? The Fifth Birmingham Colloquium on New Testament Textual Criticism (eds H.A.G. Houghton & D.C. Parker; Texts and Studies, Third Series; Gorgias Press, 2008), 55-74.

This is important. P66 is a careless Christian scribe. If Christian scribes were involved in 'orthodox corruption' of the text of the NT on a significant scale we might expect this to appear in the singular readings of such a careless Christian scribe. But they do not. There is no evidence for particular theological tendencies in the singular readings of P66. Spells the beginning of the end for Bart Ehrman.

‘P. Bodmer II (P66): Three Fragments Identified : A Correction’

By Peter M. Head with D.M. Wheeler & W. Willker, Novum Testamentum 50/1 (2008), 78-80.

This paper offers an important correction to an earlier paper. Not for general viewing.

"Rabbinic Reflections on Living Sacrifices at Romans 12:1"

By David Instone -Brewer (Jerusalem Perspective, 2008) (online)

Rabbinic traditions speak about Temple offerings which were kept alive and pastured till they were blemished. They could not be slaughtered for a variety of technical reasons, but while they lived, their profits (from wool or milk) went to the Temple, so long as they remained pure. This is the likely background to the 'Living Sacrifices' who are told to remain spotless.

"Links with Tabernacles and Hanukkah in the Gospel Accounts of Palm Sunday"

By David Instone -Brewer (Jerusalem Perspective, 2008) (online)

Waving palm branches and crying Hosanna were associated with the festivals of Tabernacles and Hanukkah, both of which celebrated a ruler riding in to free Jerusalem. When these familiar chants occurred before Passover at Jesus' entrance, the officials were understandably worried.

Scribal Habits in Codex Sinaiticus,.

By Dirk Jongkind, Texts and Studies, Third Series, Volume 5 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2007).

The result of Jongkind's doctoral work, covering a variety of scribal phenomena found in the oldest complete Greek New Testament in existence (it also includes a large part of the Greek Old Testament). Particular attention is given to noticeable differences between the two scribes who worked on the New Testament text, but also issues such as the use of nomina sacra and the Eusebian canon system are covered.

"P115 and the Number of the Beast"

By Peter J. Williams, Tyndale Bulletin 58 (2007) 151-153.

In Revelation 13:18 the occurrence of the number 616 in P115 has been taken as offering support to the view that the number refers to Nero. Here, an alternative or perhaps additional explanation of the number 616 is given by the suggestion that this number visually mimics designations of Jesus.

"The Gospel of Judas and the Qarara Codices"

By Peter M. Head, Tyndale Bulletin 58.1 (2007) 1-23. [ online]

Note the sub-title: Some Preliminary Observations. An important early effort to examine the manuscript and contents of this important new fine. Described by April De Conick as "one of the best pieces I have read so far on the Gospel of Judas."

"Jesus` Sabbath Dispute with Pharisees in a Cornfield"

By David Instone -Brewer, (Jerusalem Perspective, 2007) (online)

Why did Jesus quote the story of David eating the Bread of the Presence to show that disciples could eat plucked wheat on a Sabbath? Eating a handful of corn was allowed on a Sabbath, and what concerned the Pharisees was eating the one part in a hundred which was the priest's tithe within the handful of corn. So Jesus pointed out that David also ate food intended only for priests.

"What God has Joined"

By David Instone -Brewer, Christianity Today (Oct. 2007) 26-29. (online-version)

This summary of Divorce and Remarriage in the Church caused a terrible controversy because it implied one could divorce for minor emotional neglect. John Piper blogged to say that this was a misunderstanding, but somehow this just fueled the fire.

(Time magazine interview): "An Evangelical Rethink on Divorce?"

By David Instone -Brewer by David Van Biema, Time (Nov. 5th 2007). (online-version)

A British academic does not often get embroiled in USA political debates about Democratic Presidential candidates, until most of them are divorcees. Time magazine was interested to find out the Biblical basis to the new Evangelical thinking on divorce. When Time magazine phoned, I was unavailable because it was tea time at Tyndale House, so they had to call back later. One has to get priorities right!