This episode discusses why hellfire in the New Testament is associated with “the devil and his angels" (Matt 25:41). Where does that idea come from? There are in fact earlier books that are the basis for this language—inside and outside the Old Testament. Transcript...
Second Temple Judaism
Naked Bible 87: Exorcism of Demons as Part of the Messianic Profile
There is no direct talk in the Old Testament about the messiah, the son of David, would cast out demons. Yet that title (“son of David”) is found only in the synoptic gospels in association with Jesus’ healing and demonic exorcisms. While healing is a clear part of...
The New Testament Writers Had the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in their Heads
I often get the question of whether I think books like 1 Enoch are canonical. I tell people I don't -- and that the question doesn't matter. A book doesn't need to be canonical to be useful, or to inform theological thinking. It's quite evident the NT writers had the...
Naked Bible 61: David Burnett
Interview with David Burnett In this episode Mike interviews his friend and fellow divine council researcher David Burnett. David is a graduate student and teaching pastor in Texas. Mike and David discuss how they met, David’s research, and how he teaches Scripture...
Naked Bible 57: Acts 22
Acts 22 In an earlier episode (#50), we asked whether Paul’s stoning at Lystra in Acts 14 was the backdrop for the heavenly visionary experience he described in 2 Corinthians 12. Did Paul in fact have an NDE? We concluded that the chronology Paul alluded to in 2...
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...
Reza Aslan’s Book About Jesus: More Out-Dated, Long-Refuted Scholarship
New Testament scholar Craig Evans recently wrote this pointed, detailed review of Reza Aslan's book, Zealot. The review spans several pages, so make sure to click through at the bottom of the first page.Evans has a long scholarly publishing resume and is known and...
4 Enoch – An Online Resource, Not a Pseudepigraphical Book
Fans of 1 Enoch will find the Wiki resource 4 Enoch eminently useful. Gabriele Boccaccini, a noted scholar of Second Temple Judaism, has a terrific overview of the history of 1 Enoch research and publication. Underneath that survey readers will find hundreds of links...
Mike’s New Course on the Godhead in the OT Now Available
For those of you familiar with my divine council work, this new Logos Mobile Ed course ("The Jewish Trinity") covers the content related to the Godhead in the Old Testament - the biblical backdrop of Judaism's "Two Powers in Heaven" belief. It's deliberately not as...
Open Access Books on Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism
A couple books by well known Judaic scholar Lawrence Schiffman are now available for open access: download or read online: The Jews in Late Antiquity download or read online: Challenge and Transformation: Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism
High Resolution Images of Dead Sea Scrolls Now Online
Pretty cool. Over 5,000 high resolution images of the scrolls are now available online. This is an awesome site for scrolls research in general, too. Enjoy!
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 021
In the last podcast, I recommended the best books and reference sources for understanding the religion and culture of the ANE for OT study. This episode wraps up my overview of taking the Bible's own context seriously by immersing oneself into the intellectual...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 019: Second Temple Texts in Translation
The series on Bible study continues with the emphasis on interpreting the Bible in its own context. The context we're discussing is the world of the ancient Near East (with respect to the OT) and the Second Temple period with respect to the NT. Interpreting the Bible...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 017: Taking the Bible’s Own Context Seriously
In this second episode of the series on Bible study, I discuss what interpreting the Bible "in context" really means -- taking the Bible's own primitive context seriously. Rather than filter the Bible through creeds dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, or even the...