Just wanted to pass on a couple of items that have been brought to my attention recently.
First, there is this post for those of you who have mobile devices:
25 Incredible iPad Apps Every Theology Student Should Have
Some nice stuff on there, but if you want my advice, you should all have Logos 4 (with the mobile app of course) and a collection that provides you with the reverse interlinear. Yes, I work at Logos, but that means I can tell you with authority that you haven’t seen anything yet, grasshopper.
Second, I came across a nice site that has some good articles on biblical theology topics:
Beginning with Moses
I recommend one in particular that I have had people read dozens of times:
The Divine Warrior: The New Testament Use of an Old Testament Motif
I always direct people who are struggling with the violence of the Old Testament to this — to disabuse them of the notion that the New Testament casts Jesus as Tiny Tim (okay, that reference will date me). The divine warrior motifs and images used of the God of the Old Testament are applied to Jesus in the New Testament. The Bible does not present us with two different portraits. (Aside from this article I’d recommend a serious study of grace in the Old Testament). God defends his people and decides when it’s time to judge evil. So will Jesus.
What a great site! Thanks for that.
Are you still going to be blogging on your views on JEDP, by the way? It got kind of hijacked.
A second vote for thoughts on JEPD. I found my way to this site looking for material on it and got lost in the other wonderful content.
thanks!
Hey Mike, I’ve read much of your online work contra the notion that the Bible shows a gradual development of monotheism, and I really want to study the subject (and the criticisms of the JEPD more). Are there any books you would suggest?
On the former, there’s nothing popular I can recommend. It’s all technical (published dissertations and journal articles). What got me going was reading the normative stuff and then coming across other material that challenged important points of the argument.
If you want to get a feel for the data and the issues (without worrying so much about analysis), Mark’s Smith’s books are readable (Early History of God, Origins of Biblical Monotheism). Smith takes an evolutionary view.
On JEDP, Duane Garrett’s Rethinking Genesis is interesting. The introductory sections of serious commentaries on Genesis are also worthwhile (Hamilton’s first Genesis volume in the NICOT series, e.g.). R. K. Harrison’s huge Old Testament Introduction book also has a lot of material that is critical of the standard view. I just think JEDP is too tidy (or is presented as too tidy) and I find its circular reasoning irritating. I should blog through Friedman’s book.
I live on the Southern Seminary campus and should be able to find any journal articles if there happen to be any particularly sexy ones on the subject you would recommend. Not that you haven’t given me plenty of satisfying titles already.