Tag: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

Loving one’s neighbor in JETS

As I mentioned earlier, the current issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (60.2) contains Henry Kelly’s essay on “Love of Neighbor as Great Commandment in the Time of Jesus: Grasping at Straws in the Hebrew Scriptures” (265–81). According to the abstract,

One’s “neighbor,” generously interpreted to include everyone else in the world, even personal and impersonal enemies, looms large in the NT, especially in the form of the second great commandment, and in various expressions of the Golden Rule. The NT also contains expansive claims that neighbors have a similar importance in the OT. The main basis that commentators cite for these claims is a half-verse in the middle of Leviticus (“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” 19:18b), as fully justifying these claims, supported by other isolated verses, notably, Exod 23:45, on rescuing the ass of one’s enemy. Relying on these verses has the appearance of grasping at straws in order to justify the words of Jesus, but it seems clear that in the time of Jesus they had indeed been searched out and elevated to new significance. John Meier has recently argued that it was Jesus himself who gave the Levitical neighbor his high standing, but because the Gospels present the notion as already known, this article suggests that it had achieved a consensus status by this time.

For JETS subscribers, the essay doesn’t currently seem to appear on the current issue’s webpage, but doubtless that absence will be remedied at some point in the near future.

Loving one’s neighbor in JBL and elsewhere

The most recent issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature carries Matthew Goldstone’s essay “Rebuke, Lending, and Love: An Early Exegetical Tradition on Leviticus 19:17–18” (307–21). According to the abstract,

In this article I posit the presence of an early Jewish exegesis of Lev 19:17–18 preserved in the Tannaitic midrash known as Sifra, which is inverted and amplified in Did. 1:3–5, Q 6:27–35, Luke 6:27–35, and Matt 5:38–44. Identifying shared terminology and a sequence of themes in these passages, I argue that these commonalities testify to the existence of a shared exegetical tradition. By analyzing the later rabbinic material I delineate the contours of this Second Temple period interpretation and augment our understanding of the construction of these early Christian pericopae. In commenting on Lev 19:17, Sifra articulates three permissible modes of rebuke: cursing, hitting, and slapping. In its gloss on the subsequent verse, Sifra exemplifies the biblical injunction against vengeance and bearing a grudge through the case of lending and borrowing from one’s neighbor. The Didache, Matthew, and Luke invert the first interpretation by presenting Jesus as recommending a passive response to being cursed or slapped, and they amplify the second interpretation by commanding one to give and lend freely to all who ask. The similar juxtaposition of these two ideas and the shared terminology between Sifra and these New Testament period texts suggest a common source. By reading these early Christian sources in light of this later rabbinic work I advance our understanding of the formation of these well-known passages and illustrate the advantages of cautiously employing rabbinic material for reading earlier Christian works.

In addition, I hadn’t been aware of it, but Goldstone’s n37 refers to John Piper’s SNTSMS publication of a revised version of his dissertation. This volume was republished by Crossway with an additional preface in 2012. As tends to be the case with a very few exceptions, this latest edition of the volume is available as a free PDF via the DesiringGod website.

The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society‘s current issue has an essay on the command to love one’s neighbor that I haven’t yet read but looks quite interesting too.

Wallace, “Medieval manuscripts”

ETS logoIn its first 2017 issue (currently behind the society membership paywall), the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society has a version of Daniel Wallace’s presidential address from the 2016 annual Evangelical Theological Society meeting: “Medieval Manuscripts and Modern Evangelicals: Lessons from the Past, Guidance for the Future” (5–34). Per the abstract, the essay focuses on

paratextual and codicological material in medieval Greek NT manuscripts … that have been largely neglected by evangelicals. Five such features are touched on in this article: (1) the growing canon consciousness and emergence of the codex and their interrelationship; (2) subscriptions (scribal notes at the end of NT books, often reflecting very early traditions) and colophons (blessing, supplication, or mild complaint by a scribe at the end of his codex); (3) the significant but essentially ignored role of female scribes through the centuries; (4) the part that paratextual features in these MSS played in helping scribes to memorize scripture; and (5) the visual priority given to Scripture over tradition in MSS with commentaries.

The article has a substantial and interesting discussion of each of these points, as well as some helpful additional discussion and bibliography in several of the footnotes.

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 58, no. 1

Journal of the Evangelical Theological SocietyThe Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 58, no. 1 includes:

  • Thomas Schreiner, “Some Reflections on Sola Fidei“
  • Gregory Goswell, “Having the Last Say: The End of the OT”
  • Terrance Wardlaw, “Shaddai, Providence, and the Narrative Structure of Ruth”
  • Brian Tabb, “Salvation, Spreading, and Suffering: God’s Unfolding Plan in Luke-Acts”
  • Ben Witherington III, “‘Almost Thou Persuadest Me . . .’: The Importance of Greco-Roman Rhetoric for the Understanding of the Text and Context of the NT”
  • Russell Moore, “Man, Woman, and the Mystery of Christ: An Evangelical Protestant Perspective”
  • Denny Burk, “Is Homosexual Orientation Sinful?”
  • Ross Blackburn, “Sex and Fullness: A Rejoinder to Dennis Hollinger on Contraception”
  • Glenn Butner Jr., “Eternal Functional Subordination and the Problem of the Divine Will”

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 56, no. 3

The latest issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society includes:

  • Gregory Goswell, “Two Testaments in Parallel: The Influence of the Old Testament on the Structuring of the New Testament Canon”
  • Michael A. Grisanti, “Recent Archaeological Discoveries that Lend Credence to the Historicity of the Scriptures”
  • Vern S. Poythress, “Presuppositions and Harmonization: Luke 23:47 as a Test Case”
  • Martin Pickup, “‘On The Third Day’: The Time Frame of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection”
  • Andrew B. Spurgeon, “1 Timothy 2:13–15: Paul’s Retelling of Genesis 2:4–4:1”
  • Eliezer Gonzalez, “Healing in the Pauline Epistles: Why the Silence?”
  • Stanley E. Porter, “Not Only That (οὐ μόνον), But It Has Been Said Before: A Response to Verlyn Verbrugge, or Why Reading Previous Scholarship Can Avoid Scholarly Misunderstandings”
  • Verlyn D. Verbrugge, “Response to Stanley E. Porter”

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 56, no. 2

The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 56, no. 2 includes the following:

  • Jason DeRouchie, “The Blessing-Commission, the Promised Offspring, and the Toledot Structure of Genesis”
  • Jeffrey Niehaus, “God’s Covenant with Abraham”
  • Douglas Petrovich, “Identifying Nimrod of Genesis 10 with Sargon of Akkad by Exegetical and Archaeological Means”
  • Todd Scacewater, “Galatians 2:11–21 and the Interpretive Context of ‘Works of the Law'”
  • Andrew Wilson, “Apostle Apollos?”
  • Keith Campbell, “The American Evangelical Academy and the World: A Challenge to Practice More Globally”
  • Gerald McDermott, “The Emerging Divide in Evangelical Theology”
  • Daniel Strange, “For Their Rock Is Not as Our Rock: The Gospel as the ‘Subversive Fulfillment’ of the Religious Other”