Below is the best essay to date I've found on this fascinating topic: Lloyd Bailey, "Biblical Math as Heilgeschichte?" in Richard D. Weis and David M. Carr, eds., A Gift of God in Due Season: Essays on Scripture and Community in Honor of James A. Sanders (vol. 225;...
Genesis
Naked Bible 79: Leviticus 17-18
These two chapters launch that portion of Leviticus (17-26) that scholars refer to as the Holiness Code. The Holiness Code is oriented by the idea that the people of Israel bear the responsibility for holiness, a concept expressed in Lev 19:2 (“You shall be holy, for...
Article on the Blaze.com About Supernatural, The Unseen Realm, and Demons Come From
My thanks to Billy Hallowell of The Blaze for taking the time to interview me about the origin of demons. Those who follow this blog will be interested in reading my short essay on that on the Logos Talk blog -- and probably saddened by some of the comments to it. You...
Naked Bible 71: Q&A 7
Our 7th Question and Answer episode! Transcript 71 QA7 Timestamps & Questions Timestamp Question Summary 00:00–02:00 Intro by Trey Stricklin — housekeeping, podcast updates 02:00–06:38 Can you explain more about the “two Yahwehs” idea in light of Deuteronomy...
Naked Bible 70: Q&A 6
Our 6th Question and Answer episode! papers referenced in the show:MAGIC-DPL-ArnoldMagical Papyri-DNTB-Arnold Transcript 70 QA6 Question Timestamps & Topics Timestamp Topic 00:00 Introduction 01:58 Genesis 6: Why would fallen sons of God be punished for having...
Naked Bible 59: Q&A 4
Our 4th Question and Answer episode! paper referenced in the show:Chiel-The-Mysterious-Book-of-Jasher Transcript 59 Q&A4 This Q&A session continues Mike Heiser’s practice of engaging directly with listener-submitted questions, particularly on theological,...
The Ancient Near Eastern Context for Genesis 6:1-4
Hat tip to Terry the Censor for finding the Amar Annus article to which I alluded on the Conspirinormal podcast: Amar Annus, “On the Origin of Watchers: A Comparative Study of the Antediluvian Wisdom in Mesopotamian and Jewish Traditions,” Journal for the Study of the...
Naked Bible 46: Q&A 2
Our second Question and Answer episode! Here are the papers referenced in the show:Why use the Septuagint?ANE Pagan Divination PracticesBelial-Mastema-Satan-Devil-DNTBLordsDayDLNT Transcript 46 Q&A2 Q&A Summary and Timestamps Here are the main listener...
The Divine Council and Early Christian Writers
Readers familiar with me and my work know that I think our theology needs to derive from the text, not tradition. This applies pointedly to the Old Testament -- the three-quarters of our Bible upon which our New Testament theology ought to be erected to have any hope...
Thoughts on ETS / SBL / AAR 2014
Well, I'm finally home from San Diego. Lots I could talk about. This year's meeting was as hectic as always (pretty much 9-9 every day), but was one of the better ones for me in recent memory. First there was the hotel -- not the one for ETS (for those traveling to...
Reviews of Scholarly Books in Biblical Studies, Archaeology, and Theology
I don't recall ever having blogged about the RBL site and blog (Review of Biblical Literature). Both the website and blog provide free access to book reviews on scholarly books for biblical studies, archaeology, and theology. The most recent issue showed up in my...
Genesis 1-2 as Polemic
Cris Putnam, the force behind the Logos Apologia website, has recently blogged about how the creation stories of Genesis 1-2 target ancient Egyptian creation myths. The impetus behind Cris' efforts is a recent book entitled, In the Beginning... We Misunderstood:...
Calculating and Fixing the Date of Easter
I'm once again feeling wearied by all the nonsense (pagan and fundamentalist Christian in equal doses) about how the date of Easter was the result of some sort of deliberate paganizing conspiracy. Personally, I don't like the modern trappings of Easter. A lot of the...
Impressions on the Noah Movie
I went to see Noah last evening. I had briefly blogged about it earlier to draw readers' attention to Brian Mattson's review, which I highly recommend. I'm not going to recycle his observations. I just wanted to share some impressions. This is s a weird movie. Not in...
Aronofsky’s Noah Movie: What It Teaches Us About Christian Ignorance from the Pulpit to the Pew
I'm going to see Noah this week. In preparation, I've been reading reviews. If you do the same what you'll likely find is a mixture of cautious endorsement ("Hey, it's got crappy Bible content, but it starts a spiritual conversation") and condemnation. Most of the...