Dr. Walter's Space

Bibliography on preaching prophetic literature

2010-02-10T10:51:00.003Z

Achtemeier, Elizabeth. The Old Testament and the Proclamation of the Gospel. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1973.

Achtemeier, Elizabeth. “Preaching from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.” In Biblical Preaching, ed. James W. Cox, 119-132. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983.

Achtemeier, Elizabeth. Preaching from the Old Testament. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1989.

Achtemeier, Elizabeth. Preaching from the Minor Prophets. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Achtemeier, Elizabeth. “Preaching the Prophets with Honor.” Leadership 18 (Fall 1997): 57-59.

Ackland, Donald F. “Preaching from Hosea to a Nation in Crisis.” Southwestern Journal of Theology 18:1 (1975): 43-55.

Bright, John. “Haggai Among the Prophets: Reflections on Preaching from the Old Testament.” In Faith to Faith, ed. D. Y. Hadidian. Pittsburgh: Pickwick Press, 1979.

Brueggemann, Walter. The Prophetic Imagination. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978.

Fasol, Al. “Preaching from Malachi.” Southwestern Journal of Theology 30:1 (1987): 32-34.

Gloer, W. Hulitt. “Preaching from Malachi.” Review and Expositor 83:3 (1987): 453-464.

Gowan, Donald E. “Preaching from the Prophets.” In Reclaiming the Old Testament for the Christian Pulpit. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1980.

Greidanus, Sidney. “Preaching Prophetic Literature.” In The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text, 228-262. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans / Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988.

Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. “Preaching and Teaching the Prophets of the Old Testament.” In Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament, 101-119. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004.

Kent, Dan G. “Preaching the Prophets.” In Reclaiming the Prophetic Mantle: Preaching the Old Testament Faithfully, ed. George L. Klein, 93-105. Nashville: Broadman, 1992.

Leggett, Donald A. Loving God and Disturbing Men: Preaching from the Prophets. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990.

Longman, Tremper. “The Form and Message of Nahum: Preaching from a Prophet of Doom. Reformed Theological Journal (November 1985): 13-24.

Rust, Eric C. “Preaching from the Minor Prophets.” In Biblical Preaching, ed. J. Cox, 133-150. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983.

Stanfield, V. L. “Preaching Values in Jeremiah.” Southwestern Journal of Theology 4:1 (1961): 69-80.

Strange, John O. “Preaching from Amos.” Southwestern Journal of Theology 9:1 (1966): 69-79.

Tuck, William P. “Preaching from Jeremiah.” Review and Expositor 78:3 (1981): 381-395.

Ward, James Merrill, James Ward, and Christine Ward. Preaching from the Prophets. Abingdon, 1995.

Yates, Kyle M. Preaching from the Prophets. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1942.

Preaching Prophetic Literature

2010-02-10T10:44:00.002Z

In an editorial comment introducing an article entitled “Preaching the Prophets with Honor,” by Elizabeth Achtemeier we read that, “In many churches, the least-preached part of the Bible is the prophetic literature.”[1] While it is undoubtedly true that some pastors and a few denominations seem to want to preach little else,[2] to many Christians the prophetic books remain a mystery as they are frequently passed over by pastors preparing sermons for their congregations. Why is this? Could it be that we do not preach the prophetic books because we do not understand how to do it? Or is it that we are afraid of entering into issues that have caused endless debates? This lecture is aimed at helping us develop some skills that will enable us to understand and preach prophetic literature.

Preliminary concepts

Before we consider the issue of how to preach prophetic material we need to deal with a couple of preliminary concepts about the nature of the prophetic corpus that will help set our minds straight when we try to preach from that body of literature.

First, the prophets were preachers. This extremely simple concept is often ignored. The fact that they were preachers is actually helpful to our cause, as they set an example about what preaching should look like. And since much of what is written in the prophetic books was originally produced to be preached, it should be readily adaptable to a new context.

Second, the prophets mainly spoke to the people of their own age. While prophets often made predictions about the distant future and about other countries, most of what they had to say was directed at the people of their own time and nation. And even when other nations were mentioned, it was usually to inform Israel or Judah what God was going to do to them. Since the prophets spoke to a particular audience, when we preach upon a prophetic text we need first to interpret the text as it would have been understood by its first readers. Only after we understand the original setting should we try to discern what relevance it has for people today. And unless we have an extremely good reason for doing otherwise — such as may be found in further revelation — we should be sure that the meaning we attach to the text for our contemporary audience should be fairly similar to its meaning for its first readers.

As is often said, the prophetic task had a lot more to do with forthtelling than it did with foretelling. We should therefore be careful that we do not reverse that picture as we deal with these books today. Though they are intimately related, biblical prophecy is not equivalent to eschatology. So, even when the OT prophets spoke of future events, they were usually concerned with events which would take place not long after they were spoken. While some waited a generation or so before they were fulfilled, and others were fulfilled when Jesus first came to the earth, only a very few are left to be fulfilled in our time or in our future. Those who preach the prophets must be sure to use great caution whenever they consider passing on the idea that a particular OT prophecy has been or will be fulfilled before our eyes. In most cases such statements have more to say about the ideas of the preacher than of the God who gave the initial revelation.

Third, much of biblical prophecy is made up of poetry. This appears to be the medium used when the prophets delivered their messages to their listeners. And since we do not usually communicate through poetic language, it is an aspect of prophetic literature which makes it more difficult for us to understand and deal with. While we do not have time to consider all aspects of biblical poetry, we should note that one of its chief characteristics is the use of figures of speech and metaphors. This should caution us against attempting to be overly literal in our interpretation, because if we interpret figurative language too literally we may well end up misunderstanding the text and misapplying it to our modern listeners.[3] “Our problem,” as Dan Kent says, “is that it is not always easy to determine whether a passage is to be understood literally or figuratively.”[4] But whether it is easy to do so or not, it is essential that we try to determine how a difficult passage should be understood. And if we find that a passage is meant to be figurative we should try to understand the point of the figure of speech, and preach it accordingly.

Fourth, the prophets did not speak for themselves — they spoke for the Lord. Hundreds of times the prophets proclaimed “Thus says Yahweh,” or “Thus says the Lord Yahweh.” Their message was his message. And in a very real way, their message was a restatement of what God had earlier proclaimed to Israel through Moses.[5] It should be noted that even though the prophets spoke for the Lord, they spoke his words in their own language and with their own phraseology. At the heart of their message was a demand that the people of God remain faithful to the covenant God made with them.[6] This demand was frequently uttered in moral terms, reminiscent of the blessings and curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. At other times they are stated in matrimonial terms as Israel is portrayed as an unfaithful wife prostituting herself with other gods instead of remaining faithful to the One with whom she had been joined by covenantal agreement. But even though they were repeating old material, the prophets were expounding it in a way that would be relevant to a new audience.

Just like other biblical authors, the training and background of the prophet often shone through their work. God not only chose the message, he also chose the man who would bring that message to his people. The message, however, was evidently more important than the messenger. As Fee and Stuart say, “In the prophetical books … we hear from God via the prophets and very little about the prophets themselves.”[7] This reminds us that we know very little about a number of the prophets except for what they left behind in written form.

Fifth, although the material found in the prophetic books had originally been preached orally, it was not necessarily transcribed verbatim. As a result, what we have now is not simply a collection of sermons. Different prophetic books developed in various ways. It is doubtful that more than a few of them were written in one sitting. Most seem to have been written when the prophetic utterances were transcribed at a later date. Frequently they were rearranged as the prophet (or redactor) saw fit.[8] It may thus require some work on our part to discern how the final material should be interpreted and preached.

As we read the prophetic books we will discover that various types of literature were used by the prophets to proclaim and record the message given to him by God. While poetic proclamations were common, we can also identify portions of sermons, prayers, visions, narrative histories and biographical statements. At times these different materials are arranged chronologically, and at other times topically. Occasionally we are at a loss to determine how the various sections came together. But no matter how they were assembled, the fact that the written form of the prophecy differs from the original oral form, serves as a reminder that our preaching of the recorded message will of necessity be different from the original oracles and from the canonical text. Just as the original message was given to the people of the prophet’s time, our message need to suit the needs of our listeners.

Sixth, much of OT prophecy was conditional. God frequently instructed a prophet to inform Israel or Judah about what would happen if they did not repent and turn to him. If they continued to walk in disobedience they would be judged. If they confessed their sins and returned to God they would be forgiven. God’s pronouncements of judgement upon his people were conditional, depending upon their response.[9] The fact is, God did not desire to punish his people but to encourage them to return to him and live in peace and prosperity. It was only when they refused to follow him that judgement was essential.

The conditional aspect of OT prophecy should influence our preaching of this genre. Any time we proclaim God’s blessings on those who obey his will we need to emphasize that it is only for those who obey him. Those who choose to disobey will, like ancient Israel or the nations of the ANE, receive God’s judgement. Many of our applications should therefore reflect this conditional standpoint and serve as moral exhortations for our listeners to live in obedience to God’s will as found in his word.

Preaching the prophets theologically

Our starting point for preaching the prophets is to gain an understanding of the theological purpose of the books. A sermon based on any prophetic book should be guided by an understanding of the theological themes that motivated a biblical author to write. Thus Kaiser says, “If we are to hear the words of the prophets in a way that is both faithful to their original context and of contemporary usefulness to us, we must first determine the basic theme or purpose of each prophetic book from which we wish to preach.”[10] Once we identify the themes that guided their ministry we can highlight them for our listeners so that they can hear the voice of God speaking through the prophets to their original audiences and to us today.

The prophets revealed their theological position as they accused their people of disobeying the Mosaic law and breaking covenant with Yahweh. As already mentioned, the blessings and curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 are a fundamental concern of prophetic literature. However, the prophets were not fixated on the Pentateuch, but also looked to other theological themes that had developed earlier — such as the Davidic covenant — for their ideas.

Discovering the major theological themes of certain books or sections of books can help us focus on what we should preach from a text found there. Dictionaries and other books on biblical theology may help us discover these themes. Our discovery that the major subject of Isaiah 7-39 is trust should therefore influence sermons preached on this section of the book.[11] Similarly, to realize that Ezekiel is structured around the themes of judgement and restoration and that many of its lesser themes are similarly couched in antithetical statements gives us guidelines for preaching the book today.[12]

When preaching we should emphasize the themes that the authors emphasized and make sure that we do not promote any of our own favourite themes to a level which is higher than the book gives to them. For instance, even though the book of Isaiah deals with a number of missiological themes,[13] taking the gospel to the nations is not part of the context of chapter 6. For this reason we should not use the prophet’s response to God in Isa 6:8, “Here am I! Send me,” as a text for encouraging people to become missionaries. Neither should we preach the chapter as though it was intended to be a pattern for congregational worship. As neither of these themes was central in the author’s mind when he wrote the book, we should be wary of adopting them as the main point of a sermon preached on the passage. Similarly, even though the prophets had many negative things to say against Israel’s worship, we should not conclude that they were against worship or sacrifice per se, but that they were against the kind of empty worship, devoid of heart feeling, being performed by their Israelite kin.

We have already mentioned that the prophets looked to earlier revelation for the themes which they preached. In the same way, their themes influenced the biblical writers who followed them. For this reason if we really want to understand prophetic literature we need to see how the NT authors dealt with their material. Many times we find NT writers saying that an OT prophecy was fulfilled in a particular event or series of events. When this happens our interpretation of the original passage may be affected. As it is known that certain OT texts were partially fulfilled at the time of Christ’s first advent but will not be fully fulfilled until the second advent (e.g., Joel 2:28-32), we also need to ask if the whole prophecy has been fulfilled or only parts of it, and how (or if) the time or nature of the fulfillment affects us.

Although the prophets look back on the theological themes developed earlier in the Bible, they develop those themes for a new generation. At the same time they invent and define other themes which were not important in earlier ages. Thus the prophets give us a deeper understanding of the theme of the messiah than we can get elsewhere. They also develop the theme of the day of Yahweh in a way that was not expected by the Israelites who used the term in an earlier age.

Preaching the Prophets Literarily

Ever since Claus Westermann wrote his book, Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech,[14] scholars have tried to identify different types of oracles pronounced by the prophets in order to see how the speech form affects the meaning of the text. Although there are probably some minor types, it is usually agreed that three general categories of prophetic speech exist — reports, speeches, and prayers. Reports are basically narrative texts which explain something that was happening at the time the prophecy was given. They may include such things as the account of the call of a prophet, some biographic or autobiographic accounts of the activities performed by the prophet during his ministry, or the details of other historical events. Various forms of prayer include praise, intercession, and lament.

The greatest proportion of prophetic material is made up of speeches, the third type of prophetic speech. Most of the speeches can be categorized as either oracles of judgement or oracles of salvation.[15] The first of these is the most common. The oracles of judgement are often given in a form that is sometimes known as a covenant lawsuit. In this type of oracle God acts like both judge and prosecuting attorney, questioning his people about their actions and calling them to account.[16] Do they have a defence for the way they have been acting? If not, and if they do not repent, they can be sure of God’s judgement.

Similar to the oracles of judgement are the woe oracles. This sub-genre of prophetic literature is characterized by a proclamation of woe (or announcement of doom) followed by a description of why woe is to come. It appears that this type of oracle is similar to the form used in many ancient funeral laments. Its purpose was to announce the impending death of the nation of Israel.

By identifying the type of speech used by a prophet we are in a better position to know how to interpret and thus preach an individual text. But as Donald Leggett informs us, identifying the different types of speech used by the prophet can also help us identify the macrostructure of the whole book, thus giving us insight into the overall message and balance of what the prophet has to say.[17] This helps us in several ways. First, it allows us to group different kinds of oracles used by the prophet together by type. One of the benefits of this is that it helps us see the thrust of the ministry of the prophet. By identifying the kind of oracles preached by the prophet we can pinpoint the kind of messages that we should be preaching from the book. For instance, if most of the messages recorded in a particular prophet are oracles of judgement, most of our preaching from that book should similarly proclaim judgements upon people who are living in a way that is contrary to God’s will.

Second, by identifying the types of prophetic speech used by a prophet, we may be able to preach through the book at an accelerated pace. What this means is that if the prophet preaches mainly oracles of judgement and oracles of salvation we may be able to preach just one or a few sermons on passages which follow these forms in order to highlight the ministry of the prophet and teach people about the core of his ministry. One benefit can be seen when we consider that preaching too many oracles of judgement in a row could become very monotonous or possibly drive some of our listeners to despair. Another benefit is that by planning to preach examples of each prophetic genre instead of preaching every passage in a book might make us more willing to attempt some of the longer prophetic books which might take years to get through if we tried to preach through them chapter by chapter, verse by verse.

One final benefit of preaching from a prophetic book following the major genres found in it is that it may allow us to present the content of a prophetic book in one or two quick lessons. Many congregations would receive greater benefit from twelve sermons that introduced the basic teaching of each one of the minor prophets than they would from a detailed twelve week study of Habakkuk or Jonah. This is particularly true of young congregations or congregations that have remained biblically illiterate or where the prophets have been neglected. Preaching an overview of the prophetic books should not be the last word on them, but it could serve as an introduction that is followed up at a later date with more detailed exposition of one or more these books.

Applying the Prophets to Modern Audiences

Application is that part of the exegetical process in which we change from investigating “what the text meant” in its original setting to determining “what it means” for people today. This is a particularly important exercise when we deal with prophetic texts since some of them were written to deal with specific issues during the history of Israel and others were written to speak of things that would happen in either the immediate or distant future. If a text was written to a specific audience in ancient Israel we do not want to interpret it to apply it to our modern age as though it was historically disconnected from ancient Israel. Any application for the church today must be directly related to its original meaning and application. Similarly, if a text was written to talk about the distant future — indeed, our future — we do not want to interpret it as though it was only applicable to people who have been dead for more than 2000 years.

How then should we apply a prophetic text? We begin by acknowledging that what we have learned about applying other biblical texts is equally valid when applied to prophetic literature. Perhaps the greatest help is to see the way in which the prophets used earlier biblical material for their own expositions of what God was doing. They realized that the earlier material they used was applicable for people who lived long after the age in which it was produced. The Mosaic law was not only for the generation who wandered in the wilderness or for the first generation who entered into the promised land. It was applicable throughout the history of Israel. And since the law was not being kept by the people of Israel during the time of the prophets, judgement was pronounced upon them. The same is true for the nations that surrounded Israel. Even though they had not entered into covenant relationship with Yahweh, he still held them accountable for their sins and pronounced judgement upon them. In the same way, when we interpret prophetic texts we may look for and find applications for the church and for the world.

However, we will not find that every prophetic text is equally applicable to our situation. Due to the historical particularity of the prophetic oracles, we cannot simply look for a modern application without taking the original context into account. For instance, not every point of the prophet’s call in Isaiah 6 is applicable to a modern pastor or preacher. Few people who have been called into ministry have received a vision like Isaiah’s. Probably even fewer preachers have been given such a negative assessment about the way their ministry would be accepted (Isa 6:9-13). We should not think that Isaiah’s experience in his call to ministry should be a pattern that should always be followed. Neither should we (on the basis of this passage) tell new ministers that their preaching of God’s word will receive the same kind of response as did Isaiah’s.

The historic specificity of the text is of great importance at this point. Isaiah 6 was written about the call Isaiah of Jerusalem who lived in Judah during the 8th century BC. We must never forget the historic particularity of any text when applying prophetic Scripture. Just because Isaiah tells the people of Jerusalem to resist forming political alliances with certain countries does not mean that our homelands should resist alliances with those countries (e.g., Egypt) or that we should not form any political alliances at all. Neither should we determine during a time of war that we should capitulate to our enemy because Jeremiah told his people to surrender to Babylon if they wanted God to bless them. Some things found in prophetic literature only apply to the original setting. The question is, how can we determine what applies only to the original setting and what we can apply to our situation today?

Elizabeth Achtemeier provides us with three questions that we can ask of the text in order to see how it applies to us. The first is, “If the oracle is promissory, were its words fulfilled, and if so, when and how?”[18] The first thing we need to do is to discern whether the promise was fulfilled in the history of Israel. Many, if not most, prophecies were fulfilled not long after they were made. But many of these had a second fulfilment in and through the ministry of Jesus Christ. When we find out when the prophecy was fulfilled we then have to discover how it relates to the church, particularly as we are the people of Jesus Christ in whom the prophecy was fulfilled.

Achtemeier’s second question is “What does the prophetic oracle reveal to us about the nature and activity of God?”[19] She is rightly convinced that the main point of the prophetic message is not simply to let us know what happened in or to ancient Israel, but to show us the heart of God. She also emphasizes that we as the church should interpret OT prophecy in the light of Jesus Christ and his work. This does not mean that we read Jesus back into the texts, but that we see that they point forward to him, are fulfilled in him, and have their ultimate meaning in him. For this reason the prophets have as much (or more) to say to us than they did to Israel.

The third question is, “How is our situation as the New Israel in Christ analogous to Israel’s situation before God in the prophetic oracle?”[20] It is at the place where our cultural, historical, and religious context parallels Israel’s that the texts will most apply to our situation. As the church, our relationship with God is analogous to Israel’s relationship with God — we both have relationship with and worship the same God, but do we worship him rightly? The place of the church in the history of redemption is analogous to Israel’s place in the history of redemption — as the people of God we share the same history. And the church and Israel as the covenant people of God share many others things in common. From a negative standpoint, many people of our age resemble the people of Isaiah’s age who had an outward form of godliness without the inner reality. Although they may expect that performing certain rituals is enough for God to accept them, the prophets show us that they will be judged for their actions which are done more for themselves than for God.

So the way to apply prophetic messages is to see how the texts work as a paradigm for our situation. We need to find the things in our age that parallel the things that were happening in the world of ancient Israel when the prophets pronounced their oracles. Where there are clear parallels we can make a sound application. Where the parallels are not clear we cannot make a direct application. If a judgement is said to come to people who act in a certain way in ancient Israel and we have people who do the same things, we can be quite sure that, everything else being similar, the same (or similar) kind of a judgement can be levelled against people today. Similarly, where the ministry of a modern pastor parallels the ministry of an ancient prophet or priest we can expect that they will have the same responsibilities and be evaluated in the same way.

[1] Elizabeth Achtemeier, “Preaching the Prophets with Honor,” Leadership 18 (Fall 1997): 57.

[2] Walter Kaiser asserts that “Christians have usually found it easier to read and apply the messages of the prophets than any other section of the Old Testament, with the possible exceptions of the Psalms and the Book of Genesis.” Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 101. He does admit however that not all of what the prophets had to say is easy to understand or preach.

[3] Thus Graeme Goldsworthy says, “One of the most important services the preacher can perform in the preaching of prophetic texts is emphatically to avoid any attempt to predict the exact details of time and events of a future fulfillment.” Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture (Leicester: Inter-Varsity and Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 782.

[4] Dan G. Kent, “Preaching the Prophets,” in Reclaiming the Prophetic Mantle: Preaching the Old Testament Faithfully, ed. George L. Klein (Nashville: Broadman, 1992), 98.

[5] This explains the title of Walter Kaiser’s book about prophecy Back Toward the Future (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989). The prophets looked back to what Moses had written in order to explain to people of his own day what God would do in the future.

[6] Although this is usually stated in terms of the Mosaic covenant, Donald Leggett reminds us that, “To understand the prophets … requires us to understand the law and the covenants, i.e., the Abrahamic, Mosaic and Davidic covenants.” See Leggett, Loving God and Disturbing Men: Preaching from the Prophets (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990), 9.

[7] Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for all its Worth, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), 166.

[8] Some prophetic books were likely compiled by the prophet who gives his name to the book. Others were assembled was the disciple(s) of the prophet who compiled and edited his work for publication.

[9] What was true for Israel was also true for the nations. The book of Jonah bears witness that even though God’s word to Nineveh was that it would be destroyed in forty days due to its wickedness, when the Ninevites believed God, humbled themselves, and called out to God not to let them perish, God relented.

[10] Kaiser, Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament, 102.

[11] See J. N. Oswalt, “Isaiah,” in New Dictionary of Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press and Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 220. Cf. J. N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 55.

[12] I. M. Duguid, “Ezekiel,” in New Dictionary of Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press and Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 229.

[13] See for instance, Isa 2:2-5; 49:1-6; 66:18-21.

[14] Claus Westermann, Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech (Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press and Louisville: Westminster / John Knox, 1991). Originally published as Grundformen prophetischer Rede (Munich: Kaiser, 1960). First English edition, Philadelphia: Westminster, 1967.

[15] Frequently it was the preexilic prophets who pronounced judgments while the postexilic prophets spoke of God’s mercy or salvation.

[16] This type of pronouncement against Israel and Judah would have come as a shock to most of the people. Before the prophet presented God’s verdict against them, they would have thought that God was on their side and that he would only judge the nations that were against them. To be told that God would actually call them to account was almost unbelievable. He was supposed to defend them, how could he attack them?

[17] See Leggett, 72-75.

[18] Achtemeier, “Preaching from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel,” in Biblical Preaching, ed. James W. Cox (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983), 125.

[19] Achtemeier, “Preaching from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel,” 125.

[20] Achtemeier, “Preaching from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel,” 126.
Dispensationalists may want to rephrase this question, “How is our situation as the Church analogous to Israel’s situation before God in the prophetic oracle?”, but their use of the concept would be quite similar.

waltmcc.webs.com

2008-11-28T13:41:00.002Z

I have started a web page that will take me away from adding much more to blogger. See my site at http://waltmcc.webs.com . Much of what is found here will be moved over there and a lot of new things have already been placed there including links, lecture notes, articles I have published, and preview chapters of a new book on worship I am writing.

The Missionary Call

2008-10-17T13:23:00.003+01:00

A pdf version of my article, "The Missionary Call: A Biblical and Practical Appraisal," Evangelical Missions Quarterly 43 (April 2007): 210-217, is available at the following URL. http://www.strategicnetwork.org/pdf/kb19990.pdf

Review of Susan J. White, Foundations of Christian Worship. Louisville, Westminster John Knox, 2006.

2008-10-06T11:38:00.002+01:00

In Foundations of Christian Worship Susan White, now Emeritus Professor of Spiritual Resources and Disciplines, Brite Divinity School, has assembled a broad selection of tools to equip students of liturgy, worship leaders, and pastors to think rightly about Christian worship and doing a better job leading it. She begins by identifying four cornerstones of worship: theology, the Bible, church history, and the human sciences (anthropology, sociology, and psychology). All the worship practices and emphases found within various Christian traditions are said to have been built upon these. Having laid the foundations in the first chapter, White erects the building blocks, the essential features, of all forms of Christian worship: prayer, creeds and other affirmations of faith, music, time, ritual, and art and architecture.

The third and fourth chapters examine different ways in which the Christian life is nurtured through specific aspects of worship. As might be expected, the two worship acts recognized by most Protestants as sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are given prominence of place. Christians are also said to receive nurture in several other ways. First, the Lord’s Day service unites believers through a general structure of preparation (gathering the assembly for worship), proclamation (through Scripture reading and sermon), and response (by prayer, singing, etc., and being sent to live out the faith in the world). Second, daily prayer, in spite of variant practices throughout history, has always been recognized as an essential part of the Christian walk. Third, due to the continuing problem of sin in the lives of Christians, penance and reconciliation have always been needed. And finally, ordination acknowledges that certain individuals, particularly deacons, priests, and bishops, have the gifts needed to serve as leaders.

In chapter five, White addresses a number of rites of passage that may call for special services. These include Christian marriage, thanksgiving for the birth or adoption of a child, anointing the sick, and Christian burial. She then, briefly raises the possibility of devising services to mark significant moments in the lives of people going through a divorce, those who desire “gay marriage”, those who are uniting as foster or step families, etc. Chapter six examines “Contemporary Challenges to Christian Worship,” including such issues as how to worship in an ecumenical setting or with believers from other theological traditions, whether or not to worship with people from non-Christian religions, inculturating worship rites so they will be acceptable in various cultures, using language in worship that is neither archaic nor offensive to those present, and the way the contemporary crisis of authority influences worship.

The final chapter challenges readers with twelve case studies of people facing complex life situations that require sensitive pastoral assessment and wise judgment of how these issues can be addressed in the common worship of the church. This chapter is such a gem that it alone makes the book worth its price to students of worship. Designed for group discussion, these case studies would make an excellent team assignment for a class or workshop on worship.

The book is enhanced by a series of four appendices which provide worship leaders with more tools to aid their service preparation — “Guidelines for Theological Analysis of Liturgical Texts”, “Helpsheet for Worship Observation”, “Religious Ritual: A Questionnaire”, “Helpsheet for Worship Planning”. A further glossary of liturgical terms introduces many of the important words used in worship studies. A select bibliography lists some general worship resources along with those that specifically relate to the topics addressed in the book’s various chapters so that students can expand their knowledge of the subject. This is followed by an index of biblical references and a general index that deals with topics and people.

As both the title and contents make clear, the book is designed to be a primer for beginning worship leaders. This aim produces both strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, Foundations is a great place to begin studying worship. It is relatively brief in its coverage of the history and most of the necessary aspects of worship. It is accessible. It provides students with practical scenarios that can help them think about designing and leading worship. It was written for a broadly Christian audience, making it useful for people from most denominations. For these reasons I will recommend the book to my students and add it to my reading list.

Even so, the book reveals a number of weaknesses. The breadth evident in a book of this length necessarily limits its depth. The result is that many readers will find no need to return to it in the future. When tough questions arise, Foundations will remain on the shelf. This is particularly so because the book rarely informs readers whether the worship practices and issues raised — including some very controversial ones — are correct or incorrect, worth following or not, or where one can go to find more information on the subject. The book’s usefulness would have been greatly enhanced if more comments had been made about the relative worth of different forms of worship and more footnotes added to introduce sources that deal with historical and theological issues at a deeper level. This holds for age old issues such as transubstantiation and contemporary issues like worshipping with non-Christians, and inclusive language. (While withholding personal views on inclusive language, White claims not to use pronouns for God in the book [230, n. 6]. She does however refer to the Holy Spirit as “it” and “itself” [172] — pronouns that have been regularly rejected for hiding the personal nature of the Spirit.) Information about divergent practices is interesting, but students need to know whether all worship practices are equally acceptable. If they are, why were some rejected in the past and others now? Can old forms be appropriated again? What grounds can be used to come to such a determination? Does the right approach depend wholly on the denomination’s or the reader’s preferences? Nothing equips the reader to answer these questions.

Some of what has been said above is a result of the book being written for an ecumenical audience. While presenting Christian worship in a way that does not favor one tradition can broaden one’s audience, it can also cause people to lose sight of their own worship tradition. (To facilitate this need I require students to prepare an assignment identifying the distinctive worship characteristics of their own denomination or local congregation.) While there are signs that the future of worship is focusing more and more upon its ancient roots, many from free church and Pentecostal/charismatic backgrounds will find the liturgical approach introduced here to be outside of their present experience.

Limitations aside, Foundations of Christian Worship should find its way into university, seminary, and church libraries. It should also be considered as a text for introductory classes in worship.

The Identity of Theophilus

2008-10-03T20:14:00.008+01:00

I recently encountered a very interesting question about the identity of the Theophilus mentioned in Luke and Acts. The question sprang from the discovery that Josephus mentions a Jewish high priest named Theophilus who served from 37 to 41 AD. Could these two be the same person? Could the high priest Theophilus have been one of the many priests mentioned in Acts 6:7 as being “obedient to the faith”? A proper answer to this question is not straightforward and would take more space that I can give to it here. Even so, it is clear that most Christian discussions of the Theophilus mentioned in Luke and Acts do not equate him with the Jewish high priest. In what follows we will examine some of the arguments about the identity of Luke’s addressee and consider whether he could be the high priest of the same name.

Most discussions of the identity of Theophilus mention a couple of different possibilities. As the term “most excellent” used of Theophilus in Luke 1:3 is elsewhere used for Roman officials (Acts 24:3 of Felix and 26:25 of Festus), it is often concluded that Luke wrote to a Roman governor or to someone else of the equestrian class. The church Father Theophylact believed this and apparently most modern scholars agree. At times certain people have been identified with Theophilus. (1) Theophilus could have been a magistrate from Syrian Antioch who was known to Luke since he was also from there. (2) Theophilus could have been the magistrate who heard Paul's case in Rome (thus Luke-Acts was written to help him prepare for the case). (3) Theophilus could have been a pseudonym for Titus Flavius Clemens, the cousin of the emperor Domitian (who is known to have been sympathetic toward Christianity but may not have wanted his name to be associated with a religion that was at the time considered to be subversive). Without going into detail, we can say that there is no real evidence that leads to these conclusions. And although most scholars today would agree that the term “most excellent” indicates a Roman citizen of an upper class, it is possible that the term could have been used for others. It could probably be argued that a Jewish high priest would qualify for being addressed as “most excellent”.

From the time of the church Fathers (e.g., Origen and Epiphanius) it has been said that since Theophilus means “friend of God” or “lover of God” that the book was written, not to a particular individual, but to anyone who might read the book and apply its message to themselves. This interpretation probably arose, not to deny that the book originally had a single addressee, but to commend its reading to others. However, since the book is addressed to someone with the title “most excellent”, this interpretation is highly unlikely. Most scholars today consider it to be of historical interest only.

The possibility the Luke and Josephus speak of the same Theophilus has received support in the past. The strongest support probably comes from Theodore Hase, who is followed by Michaelis. According to their interpretation, Theophilus was neither a member of the Christian community nor well acquainted with the faith. The book was written to him while Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea as an apology for the Christian faith. If the high priest Theophilus was addressed in Luke-Acts (conservatively dated to ca. 60 AD, otherwise estimated as after 70 AD) he would have had to have been fairly old since he was deposed at least twenty years earlier. Whereas this view is not impossible, major arguments against it point to Luke-Acts being written to a non Jewish audience that was not personally acquainted with the geography of Palestine. Luke has long been considered the “Gospel to the Gentiles”, written by the New Testament author whose Greek style surpassed all his peers. Much of its content is deemed unnecessary if written for a Jewish priest.

The internet reveals a few web sites that attempt to connect the Theophilus of Josephus and Luke. The first one I will point out is http://ltdahn-stluke.blogspot.com/2006/11/identifying-theophilus.html. The arguments given here are far from convincing. Its writer (who I discovered has been influenced by the author of the next site to be considered) begins by admitting that Theophilus was a common name for both Jews and Greeks in the first century. He then concludes that the high priest and Luke’s addressee were the same person. The writer attempts to support his case in a couple of ways. He begins by saying that many of the priests mentioned by Josephus as serving in the first century are mentioned in the Bible. This would be expected, as Josephus and the biblical authors deal with religious personae living in Palestine during the first century AD. Even so, no real evidence is given that leads to the conclusion that a priest on Josephus’ list should be to connected to Luke’s Theophilus merely because they share the same name. There is no more reason to connect them than there is to connect the Matthias (who served as high priest after 65) on the historian’s list to the Matthias mentioned in Acts 1:23-26 as being chosen by lot to be an apostle. Sharing the same name does not make two people one.

This takes us to the second piece of evidence given in the blog. Luke’s Gospel mentions a woman named Joanna and it is known from ossuary evidence that the high priest Theophilus had a granddaughter named Joanna. (Although the blog spells the name Johanna, I am following the spelling used by most modern English versions.) The blog article attempts to show that these were one and the same woman in order to prove that Luke wrote to the high priest. In order to do this the author attempts to use a rhetorical device — chiasm — along with archeological evidence to convince his readers that his view has merit. Nevertheless his evidence falls flat.

According to the article, Luke’s Gospel was written to let the high priest know that the account about Jesus should be accepted. The idea is that by placing Joanna’s name at the middle point of a chiasm in Luke 24:9-11 her importance in the resurrection story is emphasized so that her grandfather would take notice. This attempt to put Joanna at the pivot point of a chiasm fails for a number of reasons. First, the verses do not read like a chiasmus. As this literary device usually appears within sections, one would expect it — if it guided the author’s ordering of his thought at all — to demarcate sections. Why would an author begin a chiastic arrangement with v 9 instead of v 1? Why end it at v 11 instead of v 12? To locate a chiasmus at vv 9-11 comes across as the attempt of someone who desires to prove a point to force the text to read back on itself. The blog writer weakens his conclusion by admitting the widely accepted fact that the pivot point of a chiasm does not necessarily indicate emphasis. Thus, even if a real chiasm were evidenced here, Joanna’s name positioned in its middle would not necessarily mean that the text was emphasizing her presence. It appears that the only reason to claim that Joanna (as opposed to all three women) is to be stressed by the chiasm is that one is looking to identify the original reader as the high priest Theophilus. Without this a priori intention, it would be difficult to reach that conclusion. The relationship between Luke’s Joanna and the high priest needs to be demonstrated by evidence, rather than taken for granted. One might ask if Joanna was indeed so important that a grammatical device was required to highlight her place in the resurrection account, why is she never mentioned again? Even more, one wonders why a man would need a chiastic arrangement in a text to notice his granddaughter’s name there.

The second level of support given in the blog is supposed to be grounded upon archeological evidence. The author is correct to state that an ossuary inscription indicates that the high priest Theophilus had a granddaughter named Joanna. Even so, he provides neither archeological nor any other evidence to indicate that there is any relationship between the Theophilus and Joanna mentioned on the ossuary and the ones named by Luke. Nothing in the Gospel indicates that its addressee and the witness to the resurrection were at all related. Like Theophilus, Joanna was a common first century name. Proof must be given that indicates that they are the same.

One more issue with regard to Joanna should be raised. This has to do with the fact that she is referred to twice in the New Testament (Lk 8:1-3 and 24:1-10). That her name is listed along with Mary Magdalene in both passages is strong evidence that both references are to the same woman. In Luke 8 she is listed among the women who supported Jesus and his disciples, and said to be the wife of Cuza, a man who served under Herod Antipas. That these women could support them “out of their own means” (Lk 8:3) indicates that they had personal wealth and standing and therefore would probably not have been very young. The Joanna mentioned in Luke’s Gospel is therefore unlikely to be the high priest Theophilus’ granddaughter for several reasons. First, if Joanna was an independent woman of means while Jesus was alive, it is difficult to think of her as the granddaughter of a high priest who served after Jesus’ resurrection. The time scale does not seem to fit. Luke’s Joanna comes across as too old to be two generations younger than one of Jesus’ contemporaries. Second, it seems highly unlikely that one of Herod’s servants or officials (depending upon whether the Greek term used to describe Cuza should be interpreted as a household steward or as a political officer such as chancellor) would marry the granddaughter of someone who served as high priest during his reign.

A more sophisticated argument supporting a common Theophilus can be found in, Richard H. Anderson, “Theophilus: A Proposal,” Evangelical Quarterly 69 (1997): 195-215. This can also be found online at

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Pantheon/2454/theosub/THEOSUB.htm. Although I have located his blog at http://kratistostheophilos.blogspot.com/, I have not had time to go through it. Without going into detail, let me say that although the scholarship in the EQ article looks better than the previous one (which is based on Anderson’s work), a lot of speculation is still evident with many relationships left unproven. Anderson’s argument that Luke wrote to Theophilus while he was serving as high priest requires Luke’s Gospel to be written before AD 39 (the year Herod Antipas was deposed by the emperor). His view also dates Acts to AD 62, leaving a gap of more than twenty years between the Gospel and its sequel that most scholars would see as impossibly long. Anderson’s proposal is probably most severely hampered because his viewpoint requires that Luke’s Gospel was the first to be written, an idea which few scholars have seen any reason to support.

Speculation. That is an important word when it comes to identifying Luke’s Theophilus. The fact is, unless more early texts are found that make a clearer link between the Theophili of Luke and Josephus we can only speculate on whether they are the same or different. And as a professor once wrote on a paper I turned in to him, “Speculation is worthless!” Although I think he overstated his case to make a point, his point is well worth taking here. It would be interesting to know that Luke and Josephus wrote about the same Theophilus. It would be exciting to learn that the recipient of Luke’s magnum opus was one of the priests mentioned as having believed in Jesus. (Not forgetting that one of the strongest arguments for a unified Theophilus identified him as a nonChristian.) But, as others have tried to argue, it would be interesting to know that Luke’s Theophilus was the magistrate who heard Paul’s case in Rome or a relative of the Roman emperor who was considering becoming a Christian. The problem is that there is simply not enough evidence to support any of the possibilities conclusively. And while one may be left feeling somewhat uncomfortable not knowing for sure which is correct, it is probably better to remain agnostic (using the word in its broad sense) about the issue than choosing one possibility simply because it is personally appealing. Only weak scholarship comes to a conclusion based on a good story. Weaker scholarship determines something to be so simply because it is “the way I want it to be.” The wisest scholar at times is aware that the final answer lies beyond his (or perhaps anyone’s) ability to discover it. At such times the best answer may be, “I really don’t know.”

Could Luke's Theophilus have been a Jewish high priest? Yes, but it is not likely. The conclusion reached by most scholars — that he was a Roman of high position who had been converted by Luke or Paul (or was just about at the point of conversion) — makes a lot more sense in light of the evidence we possess.

2007 — The best and worst of times

2008-01-15T18:05:00.000Z

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

With these words Charles Dickens began his A Tale of Two Cities. As I look back at 2007, this summation of life in late 18th century Paris and London reflects what I have experienced in the early 21st century, in shifting from Singapore to Poulsbo. The year started with grief over Karen’s unexpected death. Whereas this was a “far, far better thing” for her and took her to a “far, far better place” than she had ever been, the pain I experienced was as bitter as our marriage had been sweet. And in the midst of the heartache I had to move house back to the States so that Louise, Deborah and I could be together as a family. Leaving Singapore was not easy, and returning “home” to a place I hadn’t lived for more than twenty years and where I could not imagine finding employment in my field was scary. It required, as I told several people, more faith to return home than it did to go out as a missionary. What would I do? How could I live?

In addition to the lost of Karen, Deborah was hospitalized twice during the year due to her diabetes. Not since she was first diagnosed when she was nine had she been in the hospital. And even though I thought her blood sugar was under control, I was surprised to discover that when I asked about her readings she reported what she thought I wanted to hear so that I wouldn’t get upset and “go ballistic” about high readings. Her desire to preserve me from concern (and herself from my response) proved costly, both financially and with regard to her personal health. We are continually learning that we need a lot of help taking care of her condition. It is and will be an ongoing struggle.

But in spite of the difficulties, it was the best of times. God was working through this time of loss, fear, and uncertainty. I could “count my blessings”, and they were many. A good number of them were taken care of before Karen’s death and have made our lives easier. Let me name them one by one. (1) In mid 2006 Karen and I decided to sell our house in Belfast. The sale went through in October and the money cleared in November, a month before her death. This saved me from the hassle of dragging the house through probate to get it cleared, and provided me with the money needed to buy a new home. (2) In October 2006 we were blessed by a trip back to Taiwan where I spoke at the OMF Field Conference. This trip allowed us to see our dear friends and co-workers from our time there and to say what turned out to be very significant goodbyes. (3) Karen’s death happened in the States where we had family around us for support. As the failure in her circulatory system could have happened anywhere and at any time it was good that it hadn’t happened when we were traveling. (4) I had already arranged with Singapore Bible College to be on sabbatical from January to June 2007. This saved me from having to return to the classroom immediately after Karen’s funeral. It also meant that SBC had already arranged for other lecturers to cover my courses. (5) With the money we had from the sale of our house in Ireland I was able to buy a house in an excellent location and at a reasonable price.

I later discovered that God had given me an opportunity to learn lessons I would not have been able to otherwise. For instance, by suffering grief I learned to share in the grief of others and discovered that people were sharing things with me that they wouldn’t have otherwise. This is not something I would have chosen, but I find that it helps me to be more Christ like. I have learned part of what it means to be a man of sorrow and to weep with those who weep. Similarly, the biblical concept of lament has become so important to me that I want to discover how we can rightly use it in the church today. We were also able to see financial provision. Even though Deborah’s first hospitalization was not covered by our insurance (due to a nine-month pre-existing condition clause), Mary Bridge Hospital absorbed all hospital costs so that we were left with the air ambulance and some other lesser costs. The insurance covered more of the costs during her second visit.

Another blessing has played itself out over many months. Along with the many cards and messages received after Karen’s death came an e-mail from a friend who had lost her husband about four months before Karen died. Claire and Paul had been good friends when we lived in Northern Ireland. At one point they had considered serving with OMF but had not been able. Karen had known the Livingstones from before we were married, and served with Paul on the OMF Irish Council when I was studying for my doctorate. It was at that time that I started to get to know them better and that our families met up on a number of occasions. The initial message from Claire led to regularly communication by e-mail, phone and Skype, as we helped each other through the grieving process. As time went by, our relationship developed from the difficult but essential task of helping a friend face the death of a spouse to the joyful prospect of facing and enjoying life together.

In order to size up the possibilities of a long-term relationship I went to Ireland at the end of November for a week. On Christmas day I flew back with the girls for another week so that they could get to know Claire and her three sons better. Although the kids had played together when small, they had not seen each other in years. During this year end trip I asked Claire to be my wife while watching a waning moon strain to angle its beams through the clouds in order to light the rocks and the breakers rolling into a bay off the Atlantic. Delightfully, Claire said yes. That was the best of times.

Claire and I are now planning to marry when we can work out visa and family obligations. Believing that our two families need to become one, we feel it is essential that we live where we can all be together. It appears that Coleraine, Northern Ireland, where Claire has a good job and owns a good sized house, will be the best place to begin. As mentioned above, finding work near Poulsbo would not be easy for me, and I would probably have had to move anyway. And although we considered returning to Singapore where I could have continued teaching at Singapore Bible College, that move would make it more difficult to build a family since we will soon have three children in various universities. Although I am not sure what I will do in Ireland, I have become aware of several potential jobs in the Coleraine area, and I hope to work on a couple of books that will keep me busy for awhile.

Sometime in the future it is quite possible that we will "return" to Asia or the States. That, however, will probably have to wait another four years or so when all the kids are out of secondary school. In the mean time we would simply like to share our joy with you all as we prepare to give each other our vows to stick together, “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health … as long as we both shall live”. These old words have taken on new meaning, for our experience of life and death has made us more realistic about what marriage holds. Since that which promises “the best of times”, sometimes delivers “the worst of times”, every married couple needs the help of the Lord who instituted this most basic of social institutions. Please pray for us and others you know who are preparing to enter this “honorable estate”, as we try to pray for you.

How to present Proverbs to a skeptical audience

2007-09-21T23:22:00.000+01:00

A student asked the following question. My attempt at an answer follows.

Q: You commented in class that proverbs are not to be viewed as absolute but general principles that would work most or majority of the time. I am think back then, that was the time where belief in god was a given. But in recent times, society has changed (e.g., compared to the 50s/60s in America). Today, messages are promoted in popular culture, media, that greed for gain is considered good (as long as nobody physically got hurt), slick maneuvers around legal loopholes for gain is considered smart, everything “shortcuts” as long as it is not illegal is fair game in the name of competition. To say the wisdom in proverbs will work most of the time, we possibly be faced with a skeptical audience, maybe even Christians, viewed as unconvincing and unrealistic. Is there anything you suggest we can do here to overcome this barrier in our time?

A: When I say that the proverbs in the book of Proverbs (and elsewhere in Scripture) should be viewed as general rather than absolute principles I am attempting to interpret them as they were meant to be interpreted and in a way that makes sense. In a day when people do not believe in God (and I'm not so sure that things were really all that much better in the past, whether in North America or elsewhere), it is difficult to convince them that any part of the Bible is authoritative for their lives. Claiming absolute authority or general reliability makes no difference at that point. For this reason, when dealing with unbelievers I would (in most cases) steer clear of the authority issue. Instead, I would introduce the Proverbs as a collection of wise sayings that Israel discovered were beneficial to people who wanted to know how to live "the good life", that is, the moral life, the life of shalom (although I don't think Israel's sages would that exact phraseology). I would also try to get them to see that even though it is ancient wisdom it still has much to say about life in the world today, much to say that is helpful to us as we consider how to live.

Part of its teaching challenges people (including non-Christians) to reconsider what is found in many modern proverbs. Is the "Just Do It!" lifestyle wise, helpful, moral, sustainable? It all depends what the "it" refers to. Is it true that we can anything we want "as long as nobody gets hurt"? What happens when we are constantly "upgrading" the hardware and infrastructure around us but not our own lives? Using the Proverbs to think through issues like these — if we are willing to do so — will give us a totally different outlook on life. It won't tell us what we should do in every instance — so it is not some kind of magic formula, oracle, or fortune — but it does inform us that our actions, relations, thoughts, etc. have consequences and what those consequences are likely to be. It also lets us know that the most important thing is to organize one's life by taking God into account. Real wisdom starts here. In this way I can get to the gospel, albeit in a roundabout way. And when working with non-Christians it is usually best to get to the gospel in such a way. After they agree with you that biblical wisdom literature really makes sense on a number of levels, they may be more able to accept that what it (and the rest of the Bible) says about God also makes sense.

A final note: it is clear that Proverbs has a lot to say about wealth and poverty. Overall it is positive toward wealth as long as it is acquired "wisely". However, it is extremely negative about wealth acquired by thievery or manipulation. If you prepare yourself well, you can remind people about Enron, pyramid schemes and other illegal ways of making money and showing how Proverbs responds to these ways of doing things and what it would suggest instead — good old fashioned hard work.

Hope that this helps.

Are the Psalms only for Israel?

2007-09-21T23:20:00.000+01:00

A student in the class sent me this question in an e-mail message. My answer follows.

Q: Psalms (and the Old Testament) were written to/for the Israelites to teach them. Does it mean it was meant to teach only Israel (the People of God)? If not, what principles does one use to evaluate what is meant for only Israel and what is meant for both Israel and other people? And does the application of these teachings to today to be distinguished between the case of believers and non-believers to parallel that of Israel/other people?

A: Psalms (along with the rest of the OT) was originally written, and perhaps we could say primarily written, for Israel. They were God's chosen people with whom he established his covenant. Christians "inherit" the Psalms (along with the rest of the OT) as members of God's new covenant people. We receive God's revelation to the original chosen people as revelation to us in a real, although secondary, fashion. It is therefore written for us as much as, if not more, than to Israel. We do, however, understand it and interpret it differently than they do. This is because of God's final (i.e., completed) revelation to us through Jesus Christ who fulfilled the OT (including the Psalms) and whose acts are recorded in the NT. Thus the completed canon influences the way we deal with the old covenant revelation.

As far as the application of Psalms is concerned, we should probably say that some things are the same and others are different. In other words, there is both continuity and discontinuity. The Psalms lead us to worship God. This hasn't changed. However, there is discontinuity because of what God did in history through Jesus Christ. This influences the interpretation and application of some psalms (particularly the royal psalms — especially the "messianic" ones) more than others.

Whereas we cannot say that there is no application or relevance to non-believers, we cannot say that it is the same for them as it was for Israel or is for Christians. Since the Psalms were written to aid people in worship, their main use is lost to unbelievers since they, by definition, cannot worship God. They may, however, serve as a stimulus to show unbelievers that they need to get to know the God who is truly worthy of worship as creator and redeemer of his people.

Surely much more could be said, but I will leave the answer as I have simply stated it above.

Facebook

2007-09-21T23:19:00.000+01:00

I have now joined Facebook. A number of book reviews and photos can be found there.

FoundationStone Hebrew Vocabulary Software

2005-08-05T07:50:00.000+01:00

I would like to introduce a free software package for learning Hebrew vocabulary that works quite well. Since it is a JAVA program, it can function on a number of different computer platforms including Windows 95 or later, MAC OS, MAC OSX, Unix, Palm OS, Pocket OS and Playstation.

To find out about the program and download a copy for yourself, please visit FoundationStone.

You will find that the program is already set up to provide a number of different vocabulary lists for learning Hebrew. This includes a file that includes every word occuring ten times or more in the Hebrew Bible. Since I use Gary D. Pratico and Miles V. Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew: Grammar, in my class, I am working on the vocabulary so that it can be read by this program. The file that contains this information will eventually be made available on this blog. Until I can establish the link to do this anyone interested in it will have to contact me personally. After receiving the file, be sure to save the file in the "Additional Wordlists" sub-folder under the folder where the FoundationStone program is located in your computer.

Any feedback or suggestions would be welcome.

Bibliography for Old Testament Ethics

2005-06-13T05:14:00.000+01:00

This is a working bibliography on Old Testament ethics. I would be very happy for anyone to suggest additions or corrections to this list.

Alt, A. "The Origins of Israelite Law." In Essays on Old Testament History and Religion, 79-132. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1966.

Barker, W. S. and W. R. Godfrey, eds. Theonomy: A Reformed Critique. Grand Rapids: Academie, 1990.

Barton, John. "Approaches to Ethics in the Old Testament." In Beginning Old Testament Study, ed. John W. Rogerson, 113-130. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983.

Barton, John. "The Basis of Ethics in the Hebrew Bible." Semeia 66 (1994): 11-22.

Barton, John. Ethics and the Old Testament. London: SCM Press, 1998.

Barton, John. "Ethics in Isaiah of Jerusalem." JTS 32 (1981): 1-18.

Barton, John. "Natural Law and Poetic Justice in the Old Testament." JTS 30 (1979): 1-14.

Barton, John. "Prophecy as Ethical Instruction." In Oracles of God: Perceptions of Ancient Prophecy in Israel after the Exile. New York: Oxford University, 1988.

Barton, John. "Understanding Old Testament Ethics." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 9 (1978): 44-64.

Bellinger, W. H. Jr. "The Old Testament: Sourcebook for Christian Ethics." In Understanding Christian Ethics, ed. William M. Tillman Jr. Nashville: Broadman, 1988.

Birch, Bruce C. Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testament, Ethics, and the Christian Life. Louisville: Westminster / John Knox Press, 1991.

Birch, Bruce C. "Moral Agency, Community and the Character of God in the Hebrew Bible." Semeia 66 (1994): 23-41.

Birch, Bruce C. "Old Testament Narrative and Moral Address." In Canon, Theology and Old Testament Interpretation: Essays in Honour of Brevard S. Childs, ed. Gene M. Tucker, David L. Petersen and Robert R. Wilson, 77-91. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1988.

Boecker, H. J. Law and the Administration of Justice in the Old Testament and Ancient East. London: SPCK, 1980.

Bowman, R. G. "The Complexity of Character and the Ethics of Complexity: The Case of King David." In Character and Scripture, edited by W. P. Brown, 73-97. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

Bruce, W. S. The Ethics of the Old Testament, 2nd ed. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1909.

Bruckner, J. K. "Ethics." In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, 224-240. Downers Grove and Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2003.

Brueggemann, Walter. "The Rhetoric of Hurt and Hope: Ethics Odd and Crucial." Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics 9 (June 1989): 73-92.

Bunting, Harry. "Ethics and the perfect moral law." Tyndale Bulletin 51.2 (2000): 235-260.

Childs, Brevard S. "The Ethics of the Old Testament." In Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments: Theological Reflection on the Christian Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Childs, Brevard S. "The Theological Context of Old Testament Ethics." In Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments: Theological Reflection on the Christian Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Clements, R. E. "Christian Ethics and the Old Testament." The Modern Churchman 26 (1984): 13-26.

Collins, John J. "The zeal of Phinehas: the Bible and the legitimation of violence." Journal of Biblical Literature 122 no 1 (Spring 2003): 3-21.

Colwell, J. E. Living the Christian Story: The Distinctiveness of Christian Ethics. Edinburgh and New York: T. & T. Clark, 2001.

Crenshaw, James L. and John T. Willis, ed. Essays in Old Testament Ethics: J Philip Hyatt, In Memoriam. New York: KTAV, 1974. [Includes Georg Fohrer, "The Righteous Man in Job 31." 1-22; James L. Crenshaw, "The Eternal Gospel (Eccl. 3:11)." 23-55; Herbert G. May, "Aspects of the Imagery of World Dominion and World State in the Old Testament." 57-76; Hans Walter Wolff, "Problems between the Generations in the Old Testament." 77-95; Dennis J. McCarthy, S. J. "The Wrath of Yahweh and the Structural Unity of the Deuteronomistic History." 97-110; Sheldon H. Blank, "The Prophet as Paradigm." 111-130; William F. Stinespring, "A Problem of Theological Ethics in Hosea." 131-144; John T. Willis, "Ethics in a Cultic Setting." 147-163; Brian W. Kovacs, "Is There a Class-Ethic in Proverbs?" 171-189; Lou H. Silberman, "The Human Deed in a Time of Despair: The Ethics of Apocalyptic." 191-202; Walter Harrelson, "The Significance of "Last Words" for Intertestamental Ethics." 203-213; Samuel Sandmel, "Virtue and Reward in Philo." 215-223; Millar Burrows, "Old Testament Ethics and the Ethics of Jesus." 225-243; J. A. Sanders, "The Ethic of Election in Luke's Great Banquet Parable, 245-271]

Davidson, Robert. "Some Aspects of the Old Testament Contribution to the Pattern of Christian Ethics." Scottish Journal of Theology 12 (December 1959): 373-387.

Davies, Eryl W. Prophecy and Ethics. Isaiah and the Ethical Traditions of Israel. JSOTSup 16. Sheffield, 1981.

Davies, Eryl W. "Ethics of the Hebrew Bible: The Problem of Methodology." Semeia 66 (1994): 43-54.

Davies, Philip R. "Ethics and the Old Testament." In The Bible in Ethics: The Second Sheffield Colloquium, ed. John W. Rogerson, Margaret Davies and M. Daniel Carroll R., 164-173. JSOTSup 207. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995.

Day, John N. The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics (Ph. D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 2000.

Day, John N. "The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics." Bibliotheca Sacra 159 (April-June 2002) 166-86.

Delhaye, P. "Le recours à l'Ancien Testament dans l'étude de la théologie morale." ETL 31 (1955): 637-657.

Dempsey, Carol J. Hope Amid the Ruins: The Ethics of Israel's Prophets. St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 2000.

Dempsey, Carol J. "Micah 2-3: Literary Artistry, Ethical Message, and Some Considerations about the Image of Yahweh and Micah." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 85 (1999): 117-128.

Douglas, Mary. Purity and Danger. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966.Duesberg, H. Les valeurs chretiennes de l'Ancien Testament, 1948.

Duff, Archibald. The Theology and Ethics of the Hebrews. New York: Charles Scribner, 1902. xvii + 304 p. [microform].

Du Preez, Ron. The State of Old Testament Ethics: An Annotated Bibliography 1978-1987 (term paper), Andrews University, 1989. [35 pp.]

Dyrness, William. "Ethics." In Themes in Old Testament Theology, 171-188. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977.

Dyrness, William A. "Aesthetics In The Old Testament: Beauty In Context." JETS 28 (December): 421-432.

Eichrodt, Walther. "The Law and the Gospel: The Meaning of the Ten Commandments in Israel and for Us." Interpretation 11 (1957): 23-40.

Eichrodt, Walther. Theology of the Old Testament. vol. 2, London: SCM Press, 1967. Pp 316-379.

Elmslie, W. A. L. "Ethics." In Record and Revelation: Essays on the Old Testament by Members of the Society for Old Testament Study, ed. H. Wheeler Robinson, 275-302. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1938.

Epstein, Louis M. Marriage Laws in the Bible and the Talmud. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1942.

Epsztein, L. Social Justice in the Ancient Near East and the People of the Bible. London: SCM Press, 1986.

Fager, Jeffrey A. Land Tenure and the Biblical Jubilee: Uncovering Hebrew Ethics through the Sociology of Knowledge. JSOTSup 155. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Falk, Zeev Wilhelm. Hebrew Law in Biblical Times: An Introduction. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2001.

Falk, Zeev Wilhelm. Religious Law and Ethics: Studies in Biblical and Rabbinical Theonomy. Jerusalem: Mesharim, 1991.

Falk, Zeev Wilhelm. "Law and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible." In Justice and Righteousness, ed. H. G. Reventlow and Y. Hoffmann, 82-90. JSOTSup 137. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.

Feldman, E. Biblical and Post-Biblical Defilement and Mourning: Law as Theology. New York: Ktav, 1977.

Firmage, E. "The Biblical Dietary Laws and the Concept of Holiness." In Studies in the Pentateuch, ed. J. A. Emerton, 177-208. VTSup 41. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1990.

Fischer, James A. "Ethics and wisdom." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 40 (July 1978): 293-310.

Flesseman, Ellen. "Old Testament 'Ethics'." Student World 57 (1964): 218-227.

Fletcher, V. H. "The Shape of Old Testament Ethics." SJT 24 (1971): 47-73.

Fletcher, Verne H. "How Shall We Use the Bible in Christian Ethics?" Near East School of Theology Theological Review 13 (1992): 107-129.

Forster, G. Christian Ethics in the Old Testament. Grove Booklet on Ethics, 35, Grove Books, 1980.

Friedmann, D. To Kill and Take Possession: Law, Morality, and Society in Biblical Stories. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.

Fuller, R. H. "The Decalogue in the New Testament." Interpretation 43 (1989): 243-255.

Gammie, J. G. Holiness in Israel. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989.

Gehman, H. S. "Natural Law and the Old Testament." In Biblical Studies in Memory of H. C. Alleman, ed. J. M. Myers, et al., eds. New York: Augustin, 1960.Gelin, A. Morale et l'Ancient Testament. 1952. 71-92.

Gemser, Berend. "The Object of Moral Judgment in the Old Testament." Homiletica en Biblica 20 (1961): 2-9, 35-39. Reprinted in Adhuc loquitur: Collected Essays by Dr. B. Gemser, A. van Selms, and A. S. van der Woude, eds., 78-95. Pretoria Oriental Series 7. Leiden: Brill, 1968.

Gentry, Kenneth L. God's Law in the Modern World: The Continuing Relevance of Old Testament Law. Phillipsburg: P&R, 1993.

Gnuse, R. "Jubilee Legislation in Leviticus: Israel’s Vision of Social Reform." BTB 15 (1985): 43-48.

Gnuse, R. You Shall Not Steal: Community and Property in the Biblical Tradition. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1985.

Goldberg, Michael L. "The Story of the Moral: gifts or Bribes in Deuteronomy." Interpretation 38 (January 1984): 15-25.

Goldingay, John. Theological Diversity and the Authority of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987. Reprinted in Biblical and Theological Classics Library, Carlisle: Paternoster, 1995.

Goldingay, John. "The Old Testament as a Way of Life." In Approaches to Old Testament Interpretation, 38-65. Leicester: InterVarsity, 1990.

Gowan, D. E. "Wealth and Poverty in the Old Testament: The Case of the Widow, the Orphan and the Sojourner." Interpretation 41 (1987): 341-353.

Green, G. L. "The Use of the Old Testament for Christian Ethics in 1 Peter." Tyndale Bulletin 41 (1990): 276-93.

Green, Ronald M. "Abraham, Isaac, and the Jewish Tradition: An Ethical Reappraisal." Journal of Religious Ethics 10 (Spring 1982): 1-21.

Greene, William Brenton. "The Ethics of the Old Testament." Princeton Theological Review 27 (1929): 153-193, 313-366. Reprinted in Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation, Walter C. Kaiser Jr., ed., 207-235. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972.

Haas, Peter J. "The Quest for Hebrew Bible Ethics: A Jewish Response." Semeia 66 (1994) 151-159.

Hamilton, Jeffries M. Social Justice and Deuteronomy: The Case of Deuteronomy 15. SBLDS 136. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992.

Harrelson, Walter. The Ten Commandments and Human Rights. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980.

Hempel, Johannes. Das Ethos des Alten Testaments. 2nd ed. Beiheifte zur Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 67, Berlin: Verlag Alfred Töpelmann, 1964.

Hempel, Johannes. "Ethics in the Old Testament." In Interpreter's Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, ed. George A. Buttrick, 153-161. Nashville: Abingdon, 1962.

Hettema, Theo L. Reading for Good: Narrative Theology and Ethics in the Joseph Story from the Perspective of Ricoeur's Hermeneutics. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996.

Hodgson, Leonárd. "Ethics in the Old Testament." The Church Quarterly Review 134 (1942): 153-169.

Hofmann, Justin. "Religion, Ethics and Moral Education in Judaism." Religious Education 77 (January - February 1982): 57-68.

Houston, W. Purity and Monotheism: Clean and Unclean Animals in Biblical Law. JSOTSup 140. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Howington, Nolan Patrick. "Toward an ethical understanding of Amos." Review & Expositor 63 (Fall 1966): 405-412.

Hubbard, David Allan. "OT Ethics." In The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Vol. 2, ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 165-169. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Hugenberger, G. Marriage as a Covenant: a Study of Biblical Law and Ethics Governing Marriage Developed from the Perspective of Malachi. VT Sup 52. Leiden: Brill, 1994.

Hughes, H. Maldwyn. The Ethics of Jewish Apocryphal Literature. London: Charles H. Kelly, [1909?]. xii, 340 p. [microform].

Jacob, E. "Les basis théologiques de l'éthique de l'Ancien Testament." Congress Volume: Oxford 1959 (VTSupp 7, 1960), 39-51.

Janzen, Waldemar. Old Testament Ethics: A Paradigmatic Approach. Louisville: Westminster / John Knox Press, 1994.

Jarrel, W. A. Old Testament Ethics Vindicated. Greenville TX: privately published, 1883. v + 275 pages. [microform].

Jensen, P. P. Graded Holiness: A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World. JSOTSup 106. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.

Johnston, L. "Old Testament Morality." CBQ 20 (1958): 19-25.

Johnston, Robert K. "Our Ecological Dilemma." In Studies in Old Testament Theology: Historical and Contemporary Images of God and God's People, ed. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. Robert K. Johnston and Robert P. Meye. Dallas: Word, 1992.

Kaiser, Walter C. "God's Promise Plan and His Gracious Law." JETS 33 (September 1990): 289-302.

Kaiser, Walter C. "New Approaches to Old Testament Ethics." JETS 35 (September 1992): 289-297.

Kaiser, Walter C. Toward Old Testament Ethics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1983.

Kaiser, Walter C. Towards Rediscovering the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

Karlberg, M. W. "Reformation Politics: The Relevance of OT Ethics in Calvinistic Political Theory," JETS 29 (June 1986): 179–191.

Kevan, E. F. Keep His Commandments: The Place of Law in the Christian Life. Tyndale Press, 1964.

Kinlaw, Dennis F. "Old Testament Ethics." In Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. Carl F. H. Henry, 469-472. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973.

Klawans, Jonathan, "The Impurity of Immorality in Ancient Judaism." JJS 48 (1997): 1-16.

Knierim, R. "The Problem of Ancient Israel's Prescriptive Legal Traditions." Semeia 45 (1989): 7-27.

Knight, Douglas A. "Introduction: Ethics, Ancient Israel, and the Hebrew Bible." Semeia 66 (1994): 1-8.

Knight, Douglas A. "Jeremiah and the Dimensions of the Moral Life." In The Divine Helmsman: Studies on God's Control of Human Events, ed. James L. Crenshaw and Samuel Sandmel, 87-103. New York: Ktav, 1980.

Knight, Douglas A. "Moral Values and Literary Traditions: The Case of the Succession Narrative (2 Samuel 9-20; 1 Kings 1-2)." Semeia 34 (1985): 7-23.

Knight, Douglas. "Old Testament Ethics." Christian Century 100 (20 January 1982): 55-59. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1276

Kornfeld, Walter. "Old Testament Ethics." In Sacramentum Mundi, ed. Karl Rahner. New York: Herder and Herder, 1969.

Kurz, William S. "Genesis and Abortion: An Exegetical test of a Biblical Warrant in Ethics." Theological Studies 47 no 4 (December 1986): 668-680.

Lalleman-de Winkel, Hetty. Van Levensbelang: De Relevantie van de Oudtestamentische Ethiek. Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum, 1999.

Lalleman, Hetty. Celebrating the Law? Rethinking Old Testament Ethics. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2004.

Lehmann, Paul. "The Commandments and the Common Life." Interpretation 34 (October 1980): 341–55.

Levinson, Bernhard M. The Hermeneutics of Innovation: The Impact of Centralization upon the Structure, Sequence, and Reformulation of Legal Material in Deuteronomy. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1991.

Mafico, Temba L. J. "Ethics: Old Testament." In ABD Vol. 2, ed. David Noel Freedman, 645-652. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Malchow, Bruce V. Social Justice in the Hebrew Bible. Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1996.

Martens, Elmer H. "The Problem of Old Testament Ethics." Direction 6 (1977): 23-37. http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?239

McConville, J. G. Law and Theology in Deuteronomy. JSOTSup 33. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984.

McKeating, Henry. "Sanctions against Adultery in Ancient Israelite Society, with Some Reflections on Methodology in the Study of Old Testament Ethics." JSOT 11 (1979): 57-72.

McKeating, Henry. "Old Testament Ethics." In The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. James F. Childress and John Macquarrie, eds., 433-437. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986.

Mein, Andrew. Ezekiel and the Ethics of Exile. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Milgrom, Jacob. "The Biblical Diet Laws as an Ethical System." Interpretation 17 (1963): 288-301.

Miller, J. Gary. Now Choose Life: Theology and Ethics in Deuteronomy. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998.

Miller, P. D. Jr. "The Place of the Decalogue in the Old Testament and Its Law." Interpretation 43 (1989): 229-242.

Mills, Mary E. Biblical Morality: Moral Perspectives in Old Testament Narratives.
Aldershot, Hants. and Burlington Vt.: Ashgate, 2001.

Mitchell, Hinckley G. The Ethics of the Old Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1912.

Muilenburg, James. The Way of Israel: Biblical Faith and Ethics. New York: Harper & Brothers; Routledge, 1961. (Republished in 1965. New York: Harper Torchbooks)

Muilenburg, James. "Old Testament Ethics." In A Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. John Macquarrie, 235-237. SCM, 1967.

Neher, André. "Ethics: In the Bible." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 6., 932-943. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1972.

Nielsen, E. The Ten Commandments in New Perspective: A Traditio-historical Approach. SCM, 1968.

Neville, Richard W. "A Reassessment of the Radical Nature of Job's Ethic in Job xxxi 13-15." Vetus Testamentum 53 no 2 (2003): 181-200.

Ollenburger, Ben C. "Response" (to E. Marten's "The Problem of Old Testament Ethics") Direction 6 (1977): 35-37. http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?240

Ollenburger, Ben C. "Seeing the Truth: Proverbial Wisdom and Christian Ethics." Direction 9 (April 1980): 23-31. http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?348

Oosthuizen, Martin J. "The Deuteronomic Code as a Resource for Christian Ethics." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 96 (1996): 44-58.

Oßwald, Eva. "Hiob 31 im Rahmen der alttestamentlichen Ethik." In Theologische Versuche, ed. J. Rogge and S. Schille, Vol. 2: 9-26. Berlin: Evangelische Verlangsanstalt.

Otto, Eckart. "Forschungsgeschichte der Entwürfe einer Ethik im alten Testament." VF (1991): 3-37.

Otto, Eckart. "Of Aims and Methods in Hebrew Bible Ethics." Semeia 66 (1994): 161-172.

Otto, Eckart. Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments. Theologische Wissenschaft 3, 2. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1994.

Otto, Eckart. "Town and Rural Countryside in Ancient Israelite Law: Reception and Redaction in Cuneiform and Israelite Law." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 57 (March 1993): 3-22.

Oyen, H. van. Die Ethik des alten Testaments. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus Gerd Mohn, 1967.

Parry, Robin. "Greeks Bearing Gifts? Appropriating Nussbaum (Appropriating Aristotle) for a Christian Approach to Old Testament Narrative Ethics." EuroJTh 9 (2000): 61-73.

Parry, Robin. Old Testament Story and Christian Ethic: The Rape of Dinah as a Case Study. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2004.

Phillips, Anthony. Ancient Israel's Criminal Law: A New Approach to the Decalogue. Oxford: Blackwell / New York: Schocken, 1970.

Porteous, N. W. "The Basis of the Ethical Teachings of the Prophets." In Studies in Old Testament Prophecy. Festschrift for T. H. Robinson, ed. H. H. Rowley, 143-156. Edinburgh, 1950.

Porteous, N. W. "The Relevance of the Old Testament as the Rule of Life." In Studia Biblica et Semitica, ed. W. C. van Unnik and A. S. van der Woude, 278-289. Vriezen Festschrift, Veenman, 1966.

Porteous, Norman W. "Ritual and Righteousness: The Relation of Ethics to Religion in the Prophetic Literature." Interpretation (3 October 1949): 400-414.

Porteous. Norman. W. "The Care of the Poor in the Old Testament. In Living the Mystery, 143-155. Oxford: Blackwell, 1967.

Pressler, Carolyn. "The View of Woman Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws." BZAW 216 (1993): 45-62.

Rodd, Cyril S. "Ethics (Old Testament)." In A Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, ed. R. J. Coggins and J. L. Houlden, 208-210. London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990.

Rodd, Cyril S. Glimpses of a Strange Land. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2001.

Rodd, Cyril S. "The Use of the Old Testament in Christian Ethics." In New Occasions Teach New Duties?: Christian Ethics for Today, ed. C. S. Rodd, 5-19. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995.

Rogerson, John W. "The Old Testament and Social and Moral Questions." The Modern Churchman 25 (1982): 28-35.

Rogerson, John W. "Using the Bible in the Debate about Abortion." In Abortion and the Sanctity of Human Life, ed. J. H. Channer. Paternoster, 1985.

Rogerson, John W. ed. Theory and Practice in Old Testament Ethics. JSOT Sup 405. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2004.

Rowley, H. H. "Moses and the Decalogue." Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 34 (1951).

Ryrie, Charles C. "Perspectives on Social Ethics: Part II: OT Perspectives on Social Ethics." Bibliotheca Sacra 134 (1977): 33-44, 114-122.

Schluchter, Wolfgang. "Altisraelitische religiöse Ethik und okzidentaler Rationalismus." In Max Webers Studie über das antike Judentum: Interpretation un Kritik, ed. W. Schlchter, 11-77. Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1981.

Schluter, Michael and Roy Clements. "Jubilee Institutional Norms: A Middle Way between Creation Ethics and Kingdom Ethics as the Basis for Christian Political Action." EQ 62 (January 1990): 37-62.

Schweid, Eliezer. "The Authority Principle in Biblical Morality." Journal of Religious Ethics 8 (Fall 1980): 180-203.

Shepherd, J. J. "Man's Morals and Israel's Religion." Expository Times 92 (1981): 171-174.

Smend, R. "Ethik III. Altes Testament." TRE 10: 423-435.

Smith, J. M. Powis. The Moral Life of the Hebrews. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1923.

Smith, Neil G. "Family ethics in the Wisdom Literature." Interpretation 4 no 4 (October 1950): 453-457.

Smyth, Newman. The Morality of the Old Testament. London and New York: Cassell, 1886. 131 p. [microform].

Sonsino, Rifat. Motive Clauses in Hebrew Law. Chico: Scholars Press, 1980.

Spero, Shubert. Morality, Halakha and the Jewish Tradition. The Library of Jewish Law and Ethics, Vol. 9. New York: Ktav Publishing House, 1983.

Stamm, J. J. and M. E. Andrews. The Ten Commandments in Recent Research. SBT, 2nd ser. 2. London: SCM / Naperville: Allenson, 1967.

Stone, Lawson G. "Ethical and apologetic tendencies in the redaction of the book of Joshua." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 53 (January 1991): 25-35.

Wenham, Gordon J. "The Gap Between Law and Ethics in the Bible." Journal of Jewish Studies 48 (Spring 1997): 17-29.

Wenham, Gordon J. "Grace and Law in the Old Testament." In Law, Morality and the Bible, ed. Bruce Kaye and Gordon Wenham, 3-23. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press / Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978.

Wenham, Gordon J. "Law and the Legal System in the Old Testament." In Law, Morality and the Bible, ed. Bruce Kaye and Gordon Wenham, 24-52. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press / Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978.

Wenham, Gordon J. Story as Torah: Reading the Old Testament Ethically. Old Testament Studies. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000.

Westbrook, Raymond. Studies in Biblical and Cuneiform Law. Paris: Gabalda, 1988.

Willis, John T. "Ethics in a Cultic Setting." In Essays in Old Testament Ethics: J Philip Hyatt, In Memoriam, ed. James L. Crenshaw and John T. Willis, 147-63. New York: KTAV, 1974.

Wilson, Robert R. "Approaches to Old Testament Ethics." In Canon, Theology and Old Testament Interpretation: Essays in Honour of Brevard S. Childs, ed. Gene M. Tucker, David L. Petersen, and Robert R. Wilson, 62-74. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1988.

Wilson, Robert R. "Ethics in Conflict: Sociological Aspects of Ancient Israelite Ethics." In Text and Tradition: The Hebrew Bible and Folklore, ed. Susan Niditch, SBLSS, 193-205. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990.

Wilson, Robert R. "Sources and Methods in the Study of Ancient Israelite Ethics." Semeia 66 (1994): 55-63.

Wittenberg, Gunther H. "The Significance of Land in the Old Testament." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 77 (1991): 58-60.

Wright Christopher J. H. "Biblical Ethics: A Survey of the Last Decade." Themelios 18 (January 1993): 15-19.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament: A Survey of Approaches." Tyndale Bulletin, 43 (1992): 101-120, 203-231.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "Ethical Decisions in the Old Testament." European Journal of Theology 1 (1992): 123-140. Abridged in 1994. "Ethical Responses to God the Creator." Evangelical Review of Theology 18 (July): 214-221. Reprinted in 1995 as "Ethical Decisions in the Old Testament." In Walking in the Ways of the Lord. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "Ethics and the Old Testament." Third Way 1 (1977): 9-11. [Reprinted 1978. What Does the Lord Require: Reflections on the Old Testament Contribution to Christian Ethics. Nottingham: Shaftesbury Project.]

Wright, Christopher J. H. God's People in God's Land. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans / Carlisle: Paternoster, 1990. [reprinted 1997. Carlisle: Paternoster (Biblical and Theological Classics Library).]

Wright, Christopher J. H. Living as the People of God. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press. = An Eye for an Eye: The Place of Old Testament Ethics Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983. [SBC 221.7 WRI]

Wright, Christopher J. H. Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2004.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "The Use of the Bible in Social Ethics." In Walking in the Ways of the Lord: The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament, 13-45. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

Wright, Christopher J. H. Walking in the Ways of the Lord. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

Wright, David F. "The Ethical Use of the Old Testament in Luther and Calvin: A Comparison." Scottish Journal of Theology 36 (1983): 463-485.

Wright, David P. "Unclean and Clean (OT)." Anchor Bible Dictionary VI: 729-741.

Zlotnik, H. Dinah's Daughters: Gender and Judaism from the Hebrew Bible to Late Antiquity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2001.

2005-06-02T03:57:00.000+01:00

Writing an OT Theology Paper

By Walter McConnell

We do not write essays because we know everything about a subject, but because we want to know more. The discipline of writing essays will help us learn more about a subject than we could have otherwise.

Writing a paper on OT theology is in many ways similar to writing any other paper. But since many students find the whole concept of writing an academic paper daunting, it is good to have some guidance that will help us through the whole process. First and foremost, essay writing should not be seen as something to fear, but as part of the learning and stretching process that goes on at SBC. The reason you are required to write essays is so that you will have an opportunity to improve the way you think about a subject and learn how to express your thoughts in words that someone else can read and from which they can benefit.

Do not think that any of your lecturers expect you to be able to write an article so good that it could be printed in a Bible dictionary or published in a theological journal. Some of you may one day get to that level, but you are not expected to be there at this point. Most of you still have a lot to learn about your subject, the discipline of research, and expressing your ideas in written form before you will be able to produce "heavy weight" scholarship. Do not think that we will expect too much of you, but at the same time, do not think that we do not want you to work! All writers know that their craft is made up of a lot of hard work. Like many other things, it is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

It has been said that there were two kind of writers — intelligent ones and stupid ones. The "intelligent authors" are those who write because they know all about their subject. The stupid authors are those who write because they want to know all about their subject but do not yet fully understand it. Even though we may not really like the terminology, most of us fall into this second category. And for this reason, you do not need to know everything before you begin writing. Instead, you should see writing an essay as a way to learn more about your subject.

Selecting a topic

By picking a topic that is of interest to you and that relates to the course you are taking, you will be able to maintain your interest while researching and writing your paper.

The first thing to do when writing an essay is to pick a topic. It is best to chose a topic that you are interested in and want to know more about. Although it is not always possible to find a topic that perfectly suits your interests, you should try to find one that is interesting to you. There is usually a direct correlation between your interest in a subject and the job you will do studying it. However, your subject must also be suitable for the course you are taking. You may be fascinated by patristic arguments about the natures of Jesus Christ or with the practical outworking of spiritual gifts in the local church, but these topics (as important as they are) have very little to do with OT theology. This is why your instructor gives you a number of different potential topics from which to choose.

The syllabus for OT Theology 1 included a number of different topics that would be good to research. These include: the image of God, land, rebellion against God, Yahweh’s presence, Yahweh’s providence, Yahweh and the nations, blessing and cursing, election, Day of Atonement, the tabernacle, the priesthood, sin and sacrifice, worship, and the precedence of the younger son. You may find that one of these topics appeals to you at first sight. You may have other ideas about what you would like to study. Either way, it would be good to get together with your instructor and talk to him about the paper you would like to write. Supposedly he knows a bit more about OT theology than you do, so he would probably be a fairly good reference person. At any rate, he will do his best to help you choose a topic and give you some tips about doing your research and writing your paper. Whether you believe it or not, he is actually here to help you succeed in your studies! If there is anything you do not understand about the process of researching and writing a paper, do not hesitate to ask for an explanation.

Begin researching your topic

Begin your research by getting an overview of your topic in a theological dictionaryand by building an adequate bibliography.

Once you have chosen a topic or been assigned a topic, the next thing to do is to begin building a bibliography and then reading some material that relates to the subject. This may include books or articles suggested by your instructor, and it should include some more that you find by yourself. One of the best places to begin your search is in the library where you will find several different dictionaries of biblical theology as well as other Bible and theological dictionaries. These books offer broad discussions of most major topics. They also contain bibliographic material on some of the other important works that you might want to consult. The library also contains some bibliographies of OT theology that might prove helpful.

After you have consulted the dictionaries of biblical theology, you should look at various OT theologies to see if they have anything to say about your topic. You would not want to write about the theme of promise without consulting Walter Kaiser’s Toward an Old Testament Theology, to see what he has to say on the topic. Neither would you want to write something about the covenant apart from some reference to Walter Eichrodt’s Theology of the Old Testament. A quick glance through the table of contents and the index of an OT theology should be enough to indicate whether a particular book will discuss the passage or theme that you wish to study. This will help you limit your study so that you do not have to read the entire book.

Although you may find yourself drawn to the commentaries, you should probably approach them with a bit of a caution. Many commentaries were not written to discuss matters of biblical theology. Writing an OT theology paper is not the same as writing an exegetical paper, as OT theology is only one of the steps of the exegetical process. For the most part you should ignore the other aspects of exegesis unless it is essential for your understanding and explaining of the theological meaning. Your purpose is not to come to grips with the structure of the text or of the meaning of words used in it. Rather, your goal will be to see how a theological theme is developed in the text. A commentary is mainly useful only where and if it discusses the theology of a book or section. As this is not the major purpose of most commentaries, it will prove more useful to consult other reference material first.

One more type of literature which should be mentioned is academic journals. These are the basic means by which scholars present their ideas and findings for the benefit of other scholars. Do not think that they are only written for professional scholars. Although some journal articles are so full of jargon and technical language that they are almost unintelligible, most well-written articles will be almost entirely within the capability of someone studying for a first degree in theology. Journal articles are important as they represent real front line research. You may have to access the ATLA CD-ROM in order to find journal articles on the subject you want to research.

As you begin your research, you should be aware that for any given topic there may be more material than you could read in several years’ work. For a 2500-3000 word essay (or even a Ph.D. Dissertation) you will not want to read every book in the library or every journal article listed on the ATLA CD-ROM. You will, however, want to build a good bibliography to be sure that you properly understand the subject and different views held about it. Even so, you will also need to limit your reading to that which is most closely related to your topic. Again, if you have any problems, do not forget to ask your instructor for help. Whereas he will not want to write the essay for you, he will want to be sure that you know what you need to do in order to succeed.

One more word about your bibliography. Obviously a bigger bibliography looks more impressive. However, when you write your paper, be sure only to include the books or articles that you actually read and used. The point is not to show that you know of the existence of a lot of books and articles, but to show that you have consulted the books listed, and have responded to them thoughtfully as you bring together your information and draw your own conclusions about the topic.

Make notes on your reading

Anytime you take notes on a book or article, be sure to write down the full bibliographic information. If you take down the author’s ideas word for word, be sure to include quotation marks. Always cite your sources properly in your paper.

While you are reading, take notes on what you read. You may want to do this on a sheet of A4 paper, on file cards, or on a computer. As your time is limited, you will want to make sure that your notes will help answer the major questions in your paper. Keep focused on that question the whole time you are reading and taking notes. It will help you in the long run.

Your notes are to help you to remember what you read and where you read it. They should help you organize your thoughts as you compose your paper. Be sure to include bibliographic information with your notes.

Example of note

Canonical approach, support for

"It is a source of frustration common to most readers of commentaries that so much energy is spent on the analysis of the pre-history of a text as to leave little for a treatment of the passage in its final form. The complaint is certainly justified. Ultimately the use of source and form criticism is exegetically deficient if these tools do not illuminate the canonical text."

Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus, OTL (Louisville: Westminster, 1974), 149.

Make an outline

While you are reading about your subject and taking notes on what you are reading you should begin to put together an outline that will help you develop your ideas so that you can answer the question. The purpose of an outline is to help you structure your thoughts. It provides a means of bringing your ideas together. Although you will probably amend your outline as you write, it is still a good idea to write an outline early on so that you know where you will be going and what pieces of information you need at each point so that you can get to your conclusion smoothly.

You will need some kind of method to connect your notes to your outline. Some people use some kind of number or colour system for this. What this means is that all notes that pertain to a particular major point on the outline will be coded with the same number or colour. It is also possible to collect your notes topically as they relate to the different parts of your outline. The reason for doing this is that you can quickly see how much information you have about each part of your paper. This helps you see where you have too much information and where you need some extra study.

Outline for OT Theology Paper
Introduction to Paper
Methodology
Development of theme in the passage
Development of theme in Scripture
Conclusion
Bibliography

Write your essay

Finally, you will want to write your essay. When you begin writing, be sure that you are writing about the topic that you chose or that was assigned to you. I can tell you, your instructor will not be very impressed if you were assigned to write an OT theology paper on the Day of Atonement, and you write on something that your pastor said about the death of Jesus on the cross and how that relates to the book of Hebrews! This is not to say that you should ignore what your pastor or the book of Hebrews has to say. But if you are told to write a paper on OT theology, most of what you say should deal with the way the OT deals with the topic. Where your pastor or someone else may help you better understand the OT, use their ideas (properly footnoted, of course), but make sure that you only use their thoughts to answer the question that is before you.

When writing your paper, keep in mind the total number of words that you need to write. From this you will also need to consider how many words you need in each section of the paper. For a 2500 word paper, you will probably want to use about 500 words to introduce the paper, 1800 words for the main part of the paper, and 200 words for a conclusion. The numbers are for a general guideline. Remember that the body, the main part, of the paper is the most important part. For this reason you should make sure that neither your introduction nor conclusion is too long or you will not have enough space to write the body of your paper.

A paper on OT theology should begin with your goals in writing the paper and your methodology for writing. If you are writing on the theme of worship, you will have to explain what aspect of this theme you are going to handle, as 2500 words is not enough to fully exhaust the subject. Where will the paper go? What is its point? How does it fit into the world of OT theology? This requires that you indicate how your approach compares with other approaches to OT theology. If you do not do this you will be marked down.

The main part of your paper will present your major thoughts on your topic. It should follow the outline you used to organize your thoughts. For this reason it may be divided into several sections, each of which may be given a heading. The notes you took while researching the topic will be of utmost importance at this time. Use them to answer your questions in a relevant way. In other words, if an idea does not help your paper, no matter how good it may be, ignore it. You may want to quote one of the authors you read or to use their ideas in your own words. If you do so, be sure to use a footnote or end note to show that you are doing so. If you do not, you are guilty of plagiarism, an idea that I will mention at the end. You may also use footnotes to explain something that is relevant to the paper, but outside of the main argument. When you interact with the ideas of various scholars, be sure to critique their viewpoints and explain why you agree with them or not. Do not simply quote their views.

One of the main goals in this part of your paper should be to demonstrate where the particular theme being studied is found in the Bible, how it is developed there, and how it relates to the rest of the canon of Scripture. Is the theme introduced in the section of the Bible you are dealing with? Does it build upon something that has been given before? Does it provide a base for what follows? What does it add to our understanding of the Bible? Although you will probably want to say something about the development of the theme in other parts of the Bible, particularly the NT, be sure that your major focus is on the theme in the passage, book or section of the Bible agreed upon with your instructor.

At the end of your paper you will want to write a conclusion. This should be both for summarizing your position and for closing your paper. It should demonstrate that you have accomplished what you said you were going to do in your introduction.

When you are writing, remember that you are writing an essay. This is a particular literary genre that is distinct from a sermon, a letter to a friend, or a list. Do not preach, and do not adopt an overly "chatty" persona in your paper. Be sure that you do not just make a list of ideas. Everything should be organized with a start, a middle and an end. Remember that an essay is a formal literary composition meant to inform and persuade people about some subject. To write a good essay you need to use formal English. You also need to develop and use literary methods of persuasion so that people will want to read what you write and accept what you say.

It is sometimes said that there is no such thing as a good writer — only a good editor. Do not expect that you will "get it right" the first time you write a sentence, paragraph, or paper. Go back over it again and again. If you find English grammar or organizing your thoughts particularly difficult, get someone else to proof read your paper for you. Then, make whatever corrections they suggest in order to improve your work. Try to discover which grammatical and other mistakes you are most likely to make, and work to correct them. Over time your writing will improve and you will have more and more confidence when writing other papers.

Parts of the paper

Title page. Contains the title of the paper, name of author, name of school, name of instructor and/or class, and the date on which you finished or turned in the paper. The title page should not be numbered.

Paper proper. Usually divided into 1) introduction, 2) body, and 3) conclusion. The first page of this section should be numbered "1".

Introduction. The purpose of the introduction is to introduce
what the paper is about. In the introduction you should state the question or
questions you aim to answer, and possibly say how you are going to answer it.

Body. This is the main part of the paper. In this part you should develop
several main points that help you address the problem stated in the introduction.

Conclusion. Here you briefly restate how your argument in the body of the paper helps solve the problem introduced at the beginning. In the conclusion you could also possibly mention some possibilities for further research.

Bibliography. This is a list of books and articles you actually used when writing your paper. See Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), for information on proper style for bibliography entrees. It should be located at the end of the paper on a separate (numbered) page, and titled "BIBLIOGRAPHY".

A few points about style

Since, an essay is a formal literary composition, you should be careful about a number of different technical issues.

Type neatly. All papers should be typed on A4 paper using a 12 point Times New Romans (or equivalent) font. Margins should be set at 2.5 cm or 1 inch. The main text should be double spaced. Block quotations and footnotes (or end notes) can be single spaced. All pages of text should be numbered beginning with the first page of text. The title page should not be numbered, but the bibliography page(s) should be.

Use proper spelling. As Singapore mainly uses British spellings, keep to that standard as much as is possible. If you quote someone who uses non-British spellings, do not "correct" them, but use their spelling. The main thing is to be consistent.

Use proper punctuation.

Do not use contractions. Use "do not", not "don’t", "cannot", not "can’t".

Do not use slang.

Try to avoid repetition.

Do not "pad".

Unless you use quotation marks and footnote the source of a citation, write everything in your own words.

Plagiarism

"You shall not steal." – Ex 20:15

As already mentioned, I need to say a word about plagiarism. Plagiarism is intellectual theft. It is stealing someone’s ideas and saying that they are your own. The way it is usually done in school papers is by taking the ideas someone else had in their book, article, or web site and using it without footnoting where it came from. Simply put, if you quote from someone else’s book or article, put it in quotation marks, and acknowledge in a footnote or end note where it came from. You should also acknowledge the source if one of your major ideas came from somebody else. Now, do not be worried about using other people’s ideas, we all do that, just make sure that you are clear about when the ideas you are writing are not really your own. And be aware, a good reader can tell when your writing style changes abruptly, particularly if English is your second language.

Final word

As I have tried to emphasize in this paper, you are assigned essays to write in order to help you learn. By writing essays you discover what you do not know and develop skills so that you can find information, structure information, and communicate information in a way that demonstrates that you are learning and that you have come to understand your subject better. In the final analysis, the most important thing is not the mark you will receive from doing the paper, but what you learn from it. This learning process does not end once you turn in your paper. After you have turned it in, your instructor will spend a good deal of time reading, evaluating, and commenting on your paper. (Hopefully it will be clear that you spent more time writing the paper than your instructor did marking it!) You should pay close attention to any comments made on your paper. Please do not feel that these comments are there to attack you or belittle you. Rather, they are intended to help you develop your thinking and skills of expression so that you can do a better job in the future. So, read them. Try to understand them. You will learn more if you make the suggested corrections, and that is what the whole process of paper writing is all about. Perhaps, you will even want to rewrite your papers so that you can learn more about the subject.

In conclusion, let me remind you that essay writing is part of the learning and stretching experience that God is bringing into your life at this time. The points I have brought out are intended to make it a little easier, but until you get some practice doing it, many of you will still find it difficult. Do not despair. And do not give up. Remember, God can even use this in order to help you to develop into the person that he wants you to be.

Grading

Methodology: 10%
Contents:
Breadth 30%
Depth 30%
Reading 10%
Creative (critical) Thinking 10%
Grammar, style, and essay structure 10%