[ Note : In the last post I presumed this post would be about the New Testament; I’m putting that off just a bit. For the first two posts on this topic, see here and here .] In my last post concerning the authorship of the Pentateuch, I listed two observations...
Text Criticism & Canon
The Law of Moses: A Brief Survey of the Scriptural Use of the Phrase
In the wake of my earlier post on the Law of Moses , where Milgrom’s essay puts forth the issue of disagreements within the contents of the Torah and introduces the idea of later appliaction or adaptation of the Torah, I thought it would be good to survey where...
The Law of Moses – Whatever That Means
Our first topic of the year is one that I have been asked about, directly or obliquely, a number of times in comments and correspondence: Did Moses write every word (or most of) the Pentateuch (Torah) or are the critics correct that the Pentateuch is essentially a...
How Do Scholars Know the Occasion and Audience of a Gospel?
I recently came across this short but interesting piece by NT scholar Ben Witherington entitled, “ Latinisms, Western Diction, and the Provenance of Mark’s Gospel .” Despite the jargon-loaded title, certainly not designed to attract any lay...
Bart Ehrman vs. the Son of God in Mark 1:1 – A Response
I’ve posted on Bart Ehrman and his work several times before on this blog (e.g., here and here ). My contention with Bart is that he’s a fundamentalist — someone who is unwilling to process an issue in any other way than the black-and-white,...
"Scriptures" and "Canon"
That’s the title of a short piece by Larry Hurtado on his blog today. It’s certainly worth a read to catch his distinction.
Another Bart-Sequitur
Well, Bart Ehrman is at it again. Not content with his all-or-nothing illogic concerning the transmission of the text (and so the concepts) of the New Testament, professor Ehrman is once again coming to a Barnes and Noble near you (and maybe a Fantasy Channel …...
More on the Reliability of the New Testament
Transcripts and papers from the debate between Dan Wallace and Bart Ehrman, and other papers associated with the conference that featured that debate, are now available .
On the Presumed Corruption of the Greek New Testament
Many of you know that Bart Ehrman has made something of a small fortune on arguing that early scribes “corrupted” the transmission of the Greek New Testament by making “orthodox corrections” [read: changes that reflected orthodox predilections...
The (Bart) Ehrman Project
I heard today about a new website just starting up that seeks to address the various claims of New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman. I’ve blogged about Bart Ehrman before, so in case you don’t know who he is, go here (you’ll have to scroll down and...
Amos 9 and Acts 15
This case is a fascinating one, as I am sure you all know now. Opinion on the questions I posted varied in the comments: 1. What would you assume the “booth” or “tabernacle” of David is, referred to in v. 11? * some saw a structure here;...
Paul and Jesus: Their Use of the Old Testament
I will return to Amos 9 in the next post, but I came across these two articles on the web recently and wanted to make them part of the discussion / your consideration. One is on Paul’s use of the OT (it draws on the next article) and the other is on how Jesus...
The OT Cited in the NT: A First Look at Amos 9:11-12
Amos 9:11-12 will be our next passage. I am only giving you the reference here because I want you to read it and answer in your own mind the following questions after you do so. As an Israelite contemporary to the time of Amos, when you read Amos 9:11-12 … 1....
My Take on Matthew’s Use of Hosea 11:1
In addition to the good thoughts in the comments on the previous post, I thought I should chime in here. In a nutshell, I think we need to consider Matthew’s real world setting. Matthew’s gospel was written decades after Jesus’ death and...
The OT Used in the NT: Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15
On to another famous passage for how the NT writers use the OT. Matthew 2:13-15 (key verse: v. 15) reads: 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and...