In this supplement we discuss those features that Luke shares with typical Hellenistic histories. We then discuss dissonant features that may support an alternative genre classification.
Scholars determine the characteristics of Hellenistic history from both the historical works themselves …
None of us have met Jesus personally; we did not spend time with him in Galilee. We are among those for whom he prayed just before his crucifixion, when he said, “I pray not for these only, but for them …
(Published by the Authors, A & I McHaffie, Edinburgh, EH5 1AH, ISBN 978-0-9546681-9-8, 364 pages.)
Sister Averil and Brother Ian McHaffie’s work ‘All One in Christ Jesus’[1] challenges the historical role of sisters in the Christadelphian community.
‘Minimalism’ is the view that archaeology provides little or no support for the Biblical history.[1] The best known adherents are OT scholars Philip Davies, Lester Grabbe, Niels Lemche, Thomas Thompson, and Keith Whitelam. However, Israel Finkelstein and Neil …
Last time we had a first look at intertextuality in Revelation by considering the use of Daniel 2 at the beginning of the book. Building on the lesson of Daniel 2, Paul says “that the God of our Lord Jesus …
In previous instalments we saw that the Arians could trace their Christology through a long tradition held by prominent church elders in good standing. But appeals to the past were becoming difficult to justify as innovation gathered apace. Some …
There used to be a TV quiz programme in the UK called “Catchphrase”; it required contestants to look at cartoon pictures representing well-known catchphrases and proverbs and guess them from the picture. The cartoons were sometimes animated; so, for example, …
This psalm-song’s title tells us that it speaks of a glorious thing, of the dedication of the house of the Lord, of the dedication of the place where the incomparable God who cannot be contained by the heaven of …
The genealogy in Matthew chapter 1 contains many unusual features. It is considered by some to be inaccurate, with some names “missing” but as was noted in a previous study, it will not do to simply harmonise away any …
Despite prolific Temple imagery/liturgy occurring in the Apocalypse the impact has been marginal on interpretive approaches and the topos is barely noted in commentaries. Recently this neglect has been addressed by studies from R. A. Brigg, A. & A. …
The purpose of this article is to answer the question: who or what is the holy Spirit mentioned in Isaiah 63? The proposals that can be found in the commentaries are as follows: the psyche of the Deity; the …
Having established in the first installment of this two-part article that the canonical status of Daniel pre-dates the traditional higher critical date (c. 165 BC), the question that we now have is what length of time we should allocate …
Analytical exegetical writing that leads to exposition has declined in the last twenty-five years in the community, both in terms of quality and quantity. There was also greater critical engagement with scholarship in previous generations. Instead, there has been a …
Duck-rabbit pictures are illustrations that look like a duck and/or a rabbit. A person can be seeing the picture as a duck and nothing else and then, all of a sudden, s/he sees it as a rabbit, especially when prompted …
I opened the introduction of my commentary with a question – why is it necessary to have yet another commentary on Daniel? Surely the subject has received sufficient treatment by various commentators both Christadelphian and otherwise? Unfortunately this is not …
Who is Immanuel? It is not sufficient to interpret the Immanuel prophecy as messianic; it is clearly that, but it also has contemporary application. Does it refer to Hezekiah? H. A. Whittaker says in his commentary on Isaiah that …
Born in Libya around AD 250, Arius had studied at the feet of Lucian, presbyter of Antioch, who was later martyred for his faith. Lucian himself had studied under Paul of Samosata at one time, but had not embraced his …
Determining the meaning of the expression that forms the sub-title for this exposition has far reaching consequences not just for Psalm 72 but also for the second book of psalms. Yet this expression, quoted from Psalm 72:20, is taken …
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty (El Shadday), but by My name Lord (Yahweh) I was not known (yd’) to them” Exod 6:3 (NKJV)
Some of the weight of the documentary hypothesis has …
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers () of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Eph 6:12
Ephesians 6 presents many …
In the first article we examined the critical interpretation of the Seventy Week prophecy, which attempts to interpret the prophecy in the light of the Maccabean revolt with particular emphasis on the figure of Onias III. We saw that …
We read in Ephesians:
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. …
Theology was traditionally called the “Queen of the Sciences”. It is arguably the most challenging of the degree disciplines in a university. The argument is that it is a broad subject with many disparate skills and knowledge-bases (unlike other degrees). …
I think it would be fair to say that many Christadelphians, probably the majority, are sceptical and wary of academic study, particularly within the field of Biblical Studies. It has been my own experience, and the experience of other young …
The Society of Old Testament Studies (SOTS) met in Collingwood College, Durham University from Jan 4th to Jan 6th; about a hundred and fifty persons listened to lectures and presentations on various topics. SOTS is the premier Old Testament society …
The scholarly consensus is that the third campaign of Sennacherib’s reign (in Phoenicia, Philistia and Judah) happened in 701 and that he left after a successful campaign towards the end of the year. What is the evidence and does …
The deliverance of Jerusalem from the hand of Assyria and the recovery of Hezekiah coincided with the feast of Passover. This possibility is not considered in scholarly circles because it is regarded as too specific. E. T. Mullen describes …
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Pet 1:21 (KJV)
Some time ago an email correspondent wrote to me, …
During the years AD 318 and 319, a Libyan presbyter was found to profess a controversial definition of the pre-existent Christ and his relation to God the Father. His name was Arius, a priest whose theological formation had been …
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to …