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theLAB

The Logos Academic Blog

The Cliffs of דֹּבֵר: Steep Interpretive Differences in the Book of Jonah

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by Philip Morrow

Many of us know Jonah as the story of a rebellious prophet and a repentant people. We know its protagonist is no hero, acting in defiance of God’s will. Looking closer, even the pagan characters appear more devoted to Israel’s God than His own messenger. But each reader of this story will walk away with a different impression of just how stark these contrasts are. There are just enough gaps in the story to make it a dangerous one, as the interpreter is tempted to retell it with commentary on Jonah’s psychology. For many, Jonah seems to rebel in fear (1:3), repent under distress (2:2–9), and eventually relapse into unjust anger (4:1). For others, he is obstinately merciless all the way through (4:2–3) and even the sincerity of his prayer is questionable (2:10).1

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Why Verbal Aspect Improves Preaching, Part 3: Case Study

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By Donald C. McIntyre

See also Part 1 and Part 2.

A Case Study in Matthew 2:1–12

There are forty-seven verbal forms in this pericope; all but 10 verbal forms are perfective aspect. Of those ten forms that are not perfective, one is stative, two are future, and the remaining six are imperfect or present tense. Porters method combines the aspect found in the tense of the verbs with associated elements that are attached to the mood. Applying his theory will begin with the most basic argument of his theory, that imperfective aspect is “defined foreground” information, and then proceed to his views on the perfect tense, where he finds the aspect to be stative, and “well defined foreground information” for discourse purposes. The analysis will end with a discussion of Porter on mood before explaining the future tense, since Porter does not give the future tense an aspect but leaves it as a mood of expectation. It should be noted that since the aorist is “main line” to the discourse, the aorist tense verbs should be seen as the basic plot structure, which is slowed down by the foregrounding devices.

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Why Verbal Aspect Improves Preaching, Part 2: Emphasis

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Image: © Tavis Bohlinger

by Donald C. McIntyre

See also Part 1

Verbal Aspect has the Ability to Show Points of Emphasis and De-emphasis

In Porter’s analysis of Philippian 2:5-11 the two verbal forms which are not in the perfective aspect are the imperative φρονεῖτε, “Have this mind,” and ὑπάρχων, a present participle “to be,” in vv. 5 and 6a. In this case, Paul is issuing a command for the Philippians to imitate the mind of Christ, which is described through the hymn in two parallel structures revolving around secondary clauses (vv. 6 and 9a in S-C-P order) which are supplemented by two secondary embedded clauses (vv. 7a and b, and 9b and 10, S-P order), and a final secondary embedded secondary clause (vv. 8 and 11, C-S order).1

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Why Verbal Aspect Improves Preaching, Part 1: Apprehension

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by Donald C. McIntyre

Verbal Aspect is Critical to an Accurate Apprehension of the Text

Verbal aspect theory arose to prominence in 1989 and 1990 with the simultaneous work of Stanley Porter and Buist Fanning, who both sought to show how linguistics could further effect exegesis of the Greek New Testament (GNT).1 Upon the publication of the dissertations, a debate sprang forth between the two views, with Dr. Fanning’s views being more conservative to previous methods, and Dr. Porter’s being a hard break from previous grammatical theory. Thirty years later, their works are still cited in all relevant works on the subject.

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Demons, DSS, and Jesus: Psalm 91 and the Need for Text Critical Pastors

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by Donald McIntyre

Textual criticism is a hot topic among biblical scholars. The views on the discipline’s profitability span the extremes of being of crucial importance for serious scholarship and the opposing view of being hostile towards the revered doctrines of inerrancy and the sufficiency of Scripture.

Textual criticism of the Old Testament is perhaps a greater challenge than that of the New Testament due to the distance between the manuscripts extant and the proposed dates of authorship. However, this article seeks to show why text criticism is important for biblical scholars and exegetes of all persuasions.

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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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Creating an Appetite for Scripture: Interview with Robert Smith Jr.

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Photo credit: Matt Miller/BP

Robert Smith Jr. on Cultivating Imagery to Satisfy the Narrative Mind

In the twenty–first century world of theological education, preaching can seem an antiquated exercise that no longer speaks well to a culture immersed in social media and increasingly skeptical of the role of religious proclamation in the public square. But what is theological teaching without biblical preaching? Enter Robert Smith Jr., the Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School, who has spent a lifetime preaching so as to teach, and teaching so as to help others preach. Smith spoke recently with Didaktikos editor Douglas Estes about visual teaching and the importance of theological conversation partners.

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Preach the OT with Confidence

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David and Goliath, from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Image Source: Wikipedia.

My greatest privilege as a biblical scholar is being called upon by a local church to come preach a sermon (or a series of them) to fill the pulpit, or as part of my home church’s preaching rota. My greatest frustration is finding the time necessary to adequately prepare those sermons.

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A Bible Scholar’s Guide to Preaching: Theological Resources

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I have already offered thoughts for the preaching scholar concerning first things and meditation, as well as my suggested exegetical resources for preaching (including exegetical commentaries). Here I want to pass on my favorite theological resources to move from biblical text to theology and application.

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A Bible Scholar’s Guide to Preaching: Meditation

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Pastors of different types and in different contexts have varying amounts of time for “sermon prep.” We all know 5 hours is not enough, but most do not have the luxury of 20+ hours.

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