Book Reviews
In-depth reviews of biblical and theological literature to help you choose your next read.
Review: 1, 2 & 3 John by Constantine Campbell (Story of God)
As the latest entries for the Story of God series, the 1, 2 & John volumes face an ironic problem. Constantine Campbell recognizes that the Johannines “seem more detached from the biblical narrative ...
Read ReviewReview: 1, 2, & 3 John by Karen Jobes (ZECNT)
Karen Jobes, having written on the General Epistles already, is a fine choice for this commentary on the Johannine Epistles. Two distinctives set her 1, 2, & 3 John commentary apart from others. Firs...
Read ReviewReview: A Jew to the Jews by David Rudolph
Just how Jewish was Paul after his conversion? Didn’t he renounce his heritage? Didn’t he say that we are under grace, not the Law? To many, Paul effectively rejected his Jewishness and became a circu...
Read ReviewReview: Calling on the Name of the Lord by Gary Millar
Prayer. For many Christians, the word evokes feelings of guilt. Who is content with their prayer life? It can be easy to blame our modern age. Or our busy lives. But I think our lack of prayer is ofte...
Read ReviewReview: Covenant Relationships and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter by Adam Hensley
In the past few decades Psalms scholarship has begun to consider the Psalter as an intentionally arranged collection even with a overarching message or structure. Doing so has highlighted that the Dav...
Read ReviewReview: From Jesus to the Church by Craig Evans
If we were to travel back in time to the first century, would we recognize “Christianity?” How much of our imagination of the early church is inspired by our modern Western culture, whether it be our ...
Read ReviewReview: Illustrated Ruth, Esther, Jonah in Hebrew by Timothy C. McNinch
ֿOnce upon a time, each of us learned to read, and for virtually everyone picture books held pride of place. I have fond memories reading and re-reading (and re-reading) the incredible Asterix and Tin...
Read ReviewReview: An Intertextual Commentary to the Psalter: Juxtaposition and Allusion in Book I by David Emanuel
David Emanuel’s An Intertextual Commentary to the Psalter: Juxtaposition and Allusion in Book I is a reliable and thorough guide to instances of interconnectedness (juxtaposition) and reuse of scriptu...
Read ReviewReview: Jewish Messiahs in a Christian Empire
It’s tempting to begin this review by repeating my introduction to David Mitchell’s Messiah Ben Joseph review. The details of Middle Ages Jewish messianic hope are surprising and fascinating. One part...
Read ReviewReview: Labor of God by Thomas Andrew Bennett
“Christians have become utterly inured to the cross” (p1). With this opening volley, Thomas Andrew Bennett in Labor of God provocatively challenges the church to revisit its thinking and speaking of t...
Read ReviewReview: Letters from the Pillar Apostles by Darian Lockett
The general, or Catholic, letters of James, Peter, John and Jude are the “final frontier” of NT studies (xiii). If it’s true that these letters are neglected individually individually, they are even m...
Read ReviewReview of Martin Luther and the Rule of Faith: Reading God's Word for God's People (New Explorations in Theology)
How do we understand God’s word? Luther was no stranger to conflict. He found himself at odds with the Roman Church and other reformers. How did he navigate this struggle? Luther said “here I stand...
Read ReviewReview: Messiah ben Joseph by David C. Mitchell
[Messiah ben Joseph]Read carefully, for not all is as it seems. A son of Joseph will be the Messiah. He will begin by gathering a following in Galilee before journeying to Jerusalem, where he will be ...
Read ReviewReview of Micah (Two Horizons) by Stephen Dempster
I must admit I’ve delayed writing this review. It’s not that I didn’t like Stephen Dempster’s Micah commentary; in fact, it was the opposite. I liked it so much that I was intimidated to review it (ev...
Read ReviewReview of New Testament Christological Hymns by Matthew Gordley
There’s a trend in the evangelical church today of reclaiming that which is old. Hymns and liturgy have been making a comeback. In terms of the church’s worship, what could be more ancient than reclai...
Read ReviewReview: Paul: The Pagans' Apostle by Paula Frederiksen
This review first appeared in Kesher Journal, with small modifications. Paul persists as a polarizing and puzzling figure within and without the church and academy. Judging by the book of Acts, this w...
Read ReviewReview: Preaching in the New Testament by Jonathan Griffiths
Is preaching simply an invention of the Reformation? Is the preacher a quirk of Protestantism, with no counterpart in the early church? The appropriately titled Preaching in the New Testament by Jonat...
Read ReviewReview: Reading Philippians After Supersessionism by Christopher Zoccali
Upon turning to Christ, Paul considered his past in Judaism and any other legalistic systems of salvation as “crap” (Phil 3:8). At least, that’s how we have heard this passage taught. But did Paul thi...
Read ReviewReview: Reading Romans After Supersessionism by Brian Tucker
The New Testament After Supersessionism series continues with its third volume, Reading Romans After Supersessionism by Brian J. Tucker. Tucker has written on 1 Corinthians, social identity, and diver...
Read ReviewReview: Reversing Hermon by Michael Heiser
Though 1 Enoch is not in either Jewish or Christian canons, its ideas were highly influential in the first century. In fact, in Reversing Hermon, Michael Heiser argues that many of the details in the ...
Read ReviewReview of Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament edited by Brian J. Tabb and Andrew M. King
For Paul, Christ died and rose “in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3–4). Peter said that the prophets spoke of the “suffering of Christ and the subsequent glories” (1 Pe 1:10–12). Jesus hi...
Read ReviewReview: The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch by Kevin Chen
Did Moses really write about Jesus (John 5:46)? While few evangelicals want to disagree with Jesus, our interpretation of the Torah often betrays us. Some see no Messiah in the Torah—or even in th...
Read ReviewReview: Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Matthew Bates
[Update: 14/03/18. After some reflection and a conversation with the author, I softened my critique a little to reflect my current perspective.] Western Christians exist in a sub-culture of “prepackag...
Read ReviewReview: The So-Called Jew in Paul’s Letter to the Romans
I recall my shock when a veteran teacher told me that Romans 2 was possibly the most difficult chapter in the letter for him to interpret. Upon my own study, I soon understood: though Paul’s rhetoric ...
Read ReviewReview: Text and Canon edited by Robert Cole and Paul Kissling
John Sailhamer did not produce many books, but I’m gradually recognizing the impact that he has made. I’m regularly bumping up against ideas and emphases that were entrenched in his vocabulary; ideas ...
Read ReviewThoughts on Logos 8
I’m currently in one of the busiest seasons of my life, but I wanted to take some time to highlight the newly released Logos 8 before it isn’t so “newly released!” ## [] ## Initial Thoughts The fir...
Read ReviewAn Update on My Review of Salvation by Allegiance Alone
Regular readers may remember my review of Matthew Bates’ Salvation by Allegiance Alone. After a conversation with the author and some reflection, I realized that some factors in my life affected my re...
Read ReviewReview: Vindicating the Vixens edited by Sandra Glahn
It’s sadly all too common to see the women of the Bible given a bad rap in sermons and popular Christian books. Often, the women of Jesus’ genealogy are portrayed as “bad girls” who are included as ex...
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