Judges by Trent Butler is an outstanding addition both to the Word Biblical Commentary series and to scholarly literature on the book of Judges, being both very readable and rigorously scholarly. Butler’s approach is conservative and up-to-date, arguing for an early composition date and treating Judges as a literary unit. The volume contains an extensive and helpful bibliography and appendix of tables. The occasional division of the text into units of three or more chapters makes parts of this volume cumbersome, but Judges remains exceedingly useful and scholarly.
Category Archives: Studying the Bible
Review: The NIV Zondervan Study Bible
Despite some questionable type-setting decisions that limit the usefulness of this Bible for an aging Christian population, the NIV Zondervan Study Bible is one of the best and most comprehensive study Bibles currently on the market. Its focus on biblical theology pays off in a big way. I highly recommend it.
Your Bible Study Tool Belt – Visually!
Here’s a handy-dandy infograph about the basic categories of Bible study reference tools. Also, check out our BSE workshops, especially “Your Bible Study Tool Belt”.
How to Read Proverbs Effectively in English
If you do these things, reading either chapter-by-chapter or verse-by-verse, you will be on your way to a far more effective and enriching reading of the book of Proverbs than, I suspect, most people usually experience.
Focusing on the Problem Spots
Part of teaching the Church to love Bible Study is teaching them how to read the Bible closely. In that spirit, this is something I wrote a few months ago for my church’s blog: As I have been teaching Romans and Galatians on Sunday mornings these last several months, I have also had occasion toContinue reading “Focusing on the Problem Spots”
Genesis 1 as a Theological Litmus Test
The literal interpretation of Genesis 1:1-2:3 runs into serious problems on more than one level, not the least of which is how to understand the “firmament.”
The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament
Originally posted on Biblical and Early Christian Studies:
2014.5.12 | Merrill, Eugene H., Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti. The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011. pp. xviii + 618. ISBN: 978-0-8054-4031-7. Review by Kerry Lee. Many thanks to B&H Academic for providing a review…
Reading Commentaries Resistantly
Commentaries are helpful, but the proper posture towards them, regardless of your knowledge of scholarship in the field, is one of resistance. By asking “How do we know that?”, you are positioning yourself to get the most out of your conversation with the Bible and out of the commentary.
Bite-Sized Exegesis 