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theLAB

The Logos Academic Blog

The Asia Bible Commentary: Interview with The Editors

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“Every theology is contextual.” So opens the preface in each volume of the Asia Bible Commentary. The commentary series stands on the premise that our “understanding of the Bible is influenced by our historical and social locations.” The momentous task undertaken by the Asia Bible Commentary (ABC) is to give voice to Asian evangelical scholars in whose homelands Christianity is spreading like untempered fire but sound exegesis of the biblical text historically is lacking, where the prosperity gospel and native religion threaten pure doctrine. The ABC bolsters the preaching of the Word in a global context.

I put a number of questions to Rico Villanueva (former General Editor) and Andrew Spurgeon (current General Editor) in a brief interview recounted below. We at Logos are very excited to have a number of volumes in the ABC series now available for your digital library. Stay tuned for more interviews with the authors and editors of Langham Publishing in the coming weeks.

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Finding Paul’s Biography in Josephus: Interview with Felix Asiedu

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The following is an extended interview with Felix Asiedu regarding his new book, Paul and His Letters: Thinking with Josephus (Lexington Books/Fortress Press Academic). The book can be purchased here.

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The Word’s Role in Creation in John 1:3

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Confusion at family devotions

Not long ago, a friend of mine was reading the Bible with his family. His kids had picked out some new Bibles – New Living Translations – so he brought home another copy he had at the office so they could all be on the same page. He started reading from John 1, but he didn’t get far before red flags began to fly. In verse 3 he read, “He [the Word] created everything there is.” Wait a minute, he thought. That goes against what I believe about creation and the distinctive roles of the members of the Trinity! The confusion only grew as his kids chimed in, “Daddy, that’s not what mine says!” (Their NLT said, “God created all things through him.”) My friend decided to check his Greek New Testament, and discovered that the word θεὸς did not even occur in this verse. What was going on here? Why were these two NLT versions so different from one another and from the other English versions he knew? And most importantly, do these differences reflect arbitrary translation choices, or are they theologically significant?

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Hearing the Scripture Reader’s Voice: Biblical Performance Criticism in the Classroom

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Biblical performance criticism is a methodology based on the assumption that much of the literature collected in the Bible represents oral performances that were at one time either told from memory or presented as prepared readings before audiences.1 The performance critic studies the biblical writings as oral performances with the aim to uncover certain conventions of orally performed texts—features often neglected when employing other biblical critical methodologies.

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Sown Natural, Raised Spiritual: The (Nevertheless) Physical Resurrection Body

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Many readers of 1 Corinthians 15:44 have puzzled over the language with which Paul contrasts the Christian’s body as it presently exists, on the one hand, and as it will exist after being resurrected, on the other hand. In the preceding verses, Paul says the former is “perishable,” exhibits “dishonor,” and suffers from “weakness,” but the latter will be “imperishable,” display “glory,” and enjoy “power” (vv. 42–43). So far, so good. Paul goes on, however, to confuse readers for generations to come, calling the Christian’s present body “natural,” and her future resurrection body “spiritual.”

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Questioning the Translation “At the Name of Jesus” in Philippians 2:10

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Image: © Tavis Bohlinger

For those of us involved in translation work, it is not uncommon for the text to surprise us as we wrestle with its meaning. At times, careful study shows us where familiar translations have led us astray. We find ourselves caught off guard, yet marveling at the truth of what the text is really saying. 

This is exactly what happened to me as I worked to produce my own translation of Philippians 2.

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Did We Get the Temptation of Jesus Wrong? Part I

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Christ in the Wilderness, Ivan Kramskoy (1837-1887)

In this article, I argue that we have been too apt to accept ancient and popular interpretations of Jesus’ wilderness testing in Matthew 4:1-11. Three issues warrant a fresh interpretation: the translation of πειρασθῆναι, our understanding of Satan’s role in the narrative, and the relationship between the two “sons” of God, Jesus and Adam.

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20% off the Word Biblical Themes Collection

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One of the most useful commentaries for my research during the long and strenuous days of writing up a PhD was Jimmy Dunn’s 2-volume commentary on Romans. There is such a depth of insight and intensity of focus in the Word series that each page encourages working harder to grasp every nuance of the text as it presents itself in Scripture.

I’ve used Word Commentaries in other contexts as well, including preaching. But there is another excellent resource from Word that you should consider investing in: the 15-volume Word Biblical Themes Collection.

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Understanding Greek Verbs

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Part 4 of the series Observations from a Linguistic Spectator: An Annual Report. For part 1, see here. For part 2, see here. For part 3, see here.

Introduction

In the last post, we’ve considered some basics of grammatical aspect and the lexical actional potential of verbs. This part of the series continues this exploration. In particular, we will look at some other dynamics that occur when these two factors interact. Again, I would recommend to you reading Thomson’s essay for a fuller account. We will also address some practical issues that arise when it comes to dealing with aspect and Aktionsart in our daily exegetical work. Note that the categories that were introduced in part 3 of this series will be presupposed here. So if you are new to this subject, I would strongly encourage you to read that post first.

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The Covid Vaccine has 666 Written All Over It…and Why that Doesn’t Matter According to Revelation

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by Matthew L. Halsted, PhD

In an article published last week on theLAB, COVID-19 and The Mark of the Beast, I claimed that the mark of the beast (666) is most likely not a physical or visible mark (Rev. 13:16). The biggest objection I received from readers had to do with this very point: how could the mark be non-physical and invisible if having the mark was what allowed people to “buy or sell” things (Rev. 13:17)? Wouldn’t the mark need to be visible in order to do that? Furthermore, isn’t there enough evidence that the vaccine is the “number” of the beast, including a bill currently before the House of Representatives (6666) and the very letters “C-O-R-O-N-A” themselves?1 These are good questions, and I think a response would be helpful. But first, we need to start from square one and do some background work.

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