Ben - the Amateur Exegete

The Roundup – 11.16.25 "The main reason so many conservative Christians today so publicly and so belligerently condemn homosexuality and wave their Bible around as their authorization (even as they reject and abandon other elements of the Bible's sexual ethics) is precisely because that condemnation has become a central identity marker. This is particularly true for conservative Christians seeking to structure power, values, and boundaries in favor of their right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation." …

The Roundup – 11.16.25

"The main reason so many conservative Christians today so publicly and so belligerently condemn homosexuality and wave their Bible around as their authorization (even as they reject and abandon other elements of the Bible's sexual ethics) is precisely because that…

Maurice Ryan: The Death of Judas and Matthew’s Theological Agenda Maurice Ryan, "Creating Judas Iscariot: Critical Questions for Presenting the Betrayer of Jesus," Journal of Religious Education 67 no. 3 (October 2019), 31. Matthew’s account of Judas’ actions after handing over Jesus demonstrates an aspect of Matthew’s theological agenda: Judas, the betrayer immediately recognises the innocence of Jesus and the injustice of his deed. A similar theme will play out in Matthew when Pontius Pilate, after interrogating Jesus, likewise can see no fault in Jesus and absolves himself of any responsibility: “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves” (Matthew 27:24).

Maurice Ryan: The Death of Judas and Matthew’s Theological Agenda

Maurice Ryan, "Creating Judas Iscariot: Critical Questions for Presenting the Betrayer of Jesus," Journal of Religious Education 67 no. 3 (October 2019), 31. Matthew’s account of Judas’ actions after handing over Jesus demonstrates…

The Roundup – 11.9.25 "There is no difficulty in principle with including oral tradition in discussions of gospel interrelations, but the use of it as a default position at every step can mask evidence of literary links. The problem with the appeal to oral tradition is not what it affirms but what it denies." - Mark Goodacre, The Fourth Synoptic Gospel: John's Knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke…

The Roundup – 11.9.25

"There is no difficulty in principle with including oral tradition in discussions of gospel interrelations, but the use of it as a default position at every step can mask evidence of literary links. The problem with the appeal to oral tradition is not what it affirms but what…

Bible Study for Amateurs #75 – Elizabeth Shively’s “Purification of the Body and the Reign of God in the Gospel of Mark,” part 9 Hey, everyone! I’m Ben - the Amateur Exegete, and this is episode seventy-five of Bible Study for Amateurs. Today’s episode is, “Elizabeth Shively’s ‘Purification of the Body and the Reign of God in the Gospel of Mark,’ part 9.”1 In her 2020 piece “Purification of the Body and the Reign of God in the Gospel of Mark,”

Bible Study for Amateurs #75 – Elizabeth Shively’s “Purification of the Body and the Reign of God in the Gospel of Mark,” part 9

Hey, everyone! I’m Ben - the Amateur Exegete, and this is episode seventy-five of Bible Study for Amateurs. Today’s episode is, “Elizabeth Shively’s ‘Purification of the…

The Roundup – 11.2.25 "If there is anyone who is sure that he can cope entirely on his own with every eventuality, I might agree that for him knowledge of the past is unnecessary. It would still be a good thing for such a person, but not necessary. But no mortal man is so rash as to make such a claim. Whether he is acting as a private individual or as a public official, even if things are currently going well, no one of any sense takes that as a reliable harbinger of what will happen in the future.

The Roundup – 11.2.25

"If there is anyone who is sure that he can cope entirely on his own with every eventuality, I might agree that for him knowledge of the past is unnecessary. It would still be a good thing for such a person, but not necessary. But no mortal man is so rash as to make such a…

Brandon Grafius: A World Embedded with Terror Brandon R. Grafius, Reading the Bible with Horror, Horror and Scripture (Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2020), 45-46. The book of Job also reveals connections to horror narratives in the vision of the world that it presents. As the book begins, Job's life is calm, predictable, and pleasant; he is fenced in by God's protection. But this world is revealed as incomplete, first through the calamities that puncture Job's hermetically sealed universe, and then in the mind-expanding tour of the cosmos on which YHWH takes Job.

Brandon Grafius: A World Embedded with Terror

Brandon R. Grafius, Reading the Bible with Horror, Horror and Scripture (Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2020), 45-46. The book of Job also reveals connections to horror narratives in the vision of the world that it presents. As the book begins,…

The Roundup – 10.26.25 "[D]emographics can be deceptive; they tend to sacrifice gritty human realities in favor of assembled portraits, and when studying past peoples whose lives and habits are dramatically different from our own, minutiae matter." - Joanne B. Freeman, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War (Picador, 2018), 48. I was perusing Novum Testamentum 67 no. 3 and saw a couple of interesting articles that are open access: "

The Roundup – 10.26.25

"[D]emographics can be deceptive; they tend to sacrifice gritty human realities in favor of assembled portraits, and when studying past peoples whose lives and habits are dramatically different from our own, minutiae matter." - Joanne B. Freeman, The Field of Blood: Violence…

James McGrath: Matthew’s Double Donkeys and Jean-Claude Van Damme James F. McGrath, The A to Z of the New Testament: Things Experts Know That Everyone Else Should Too (Eerdmans, 2023), 66-67. Once again we have to ask whether Matthew missed the original context and misunderstood the text, deliberately misrepresented it, or something else. It is hard to be certain, but here it is much harder to find an excuse or explanation for what Matthew did...On the whole, however, we can definitely say that Matthew interpreted the Jewish scriptures in ways that were perfectly acceptable in his time.

James McGrath: Matthew’s Double Donkeys and Jean-Claude Van Damme

James F. McGrath, The A to Z of the New Testament: Things Experts Know That Everyone Else Should Too (Eerdmans, 2023), 66-67. Once again we have to ask whether Matthew missed the original context and misunderstood the text,…

The Roundup – 10.19.25 "When someone cites Strong's Concordance, it's a dead giveaway that they have no training in Greek or Hebrew and don't have the first clue what they're talking about." - Dan McClellan, The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture's Most Controversial Issues (St. Martin's, 2025), 115-116. The full trailer for the upcoming Nicolas Cage movie…

The Roundup – 10.19.25

"When someone cites Strong's Concordance, it's a dead giveaway that they have no training in Greek or Hebrew and don't have the first clue what they're talking about." - Dan McClellan, The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture's Most Controversial…

“Incidents Around the House” by Josh Malerman. Scariest book I’ve ever read, and I say that as a huge fan of horror. Told from child’s perspective. Terrifying.

Esther Hamori: “God’s Most Ancient Foe” Esther J. Hamori, God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible (Broadleaf Books, 2023), 207. God has a tumultuous relationship with the sea monster. In a number of texts they fight to the death (God wins), though s we'll see, that's not all there is to their complicated dynamic. This cosmic showdown of god versus sea monster has roots deep beneath the biblical texts.

Esther Hamori: “God’s Most Ancient Foe”

Esther J. Hamori, God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible (Broadleaf Books, 2023), 207. God has a tumultuous relationship with the sea monster. In a number of texts they fight to the death (God wins),…

The Roundup – 10.12.25 "If we can move aside the veils of later ecclesiastical tradition, if we can see past the images of Paul the ex-Jew and of Paul the anti-Jew, if we can imagine ourselves back into the full-hearted eschatological conviction of this movement's founding generation - which thought that it was history's final generation - it is this other Paul whom we will more clearly see.

The Roundup – 10.12.25

"If we can move aside the veils of later ecclesiastical tradition, if we can see past the images of Paul the ex-Jew and of Paul the anti-Jew, if we can imagine ourselves back into the full-hearted eschatological conviction of this movement's founding generation - which…

Amateur Hour #16 – The Relationship between 2 Peter 3 and Revelation; PLUS Markan Christology

Amateur Hour #16 – The Relationship between 2 Peter 3 and Revelation; PLUS Markan Christology

The Roundup – 10.5.25 "God worked discreetly, and in the ways that pleased Him. It had pleased Him that the Children of Israel should sweat and strain under the Egyptian yolk for generations. It had pleased Him to send Joseph into slavery, his fine coat of many colors ripped rudely from his back. It had pleased Him to allow the visitation of a hundred plagues on hapless Job, and it had pleased Him to allow His only Son to be hung up on a tree with a bad joke written over His head.

The Roundup – 10.5.25

"God worked discreetly, and in the ways that pleased Him. It had pleased Him that the Children of Israel should sweat and strain under the Egyptian yolk for generations. It had pleased Him to send Joseph into slavery, his fine coat of many colors ripped rudely from his back.…

Bible Study for Amateurs #74 – Elizabeth Shively’s “Purification of the Body and the Reign of God in the Gospel of Mark,” part 8 Hey, everyone! I’m Ben - the Amateur Exegete, and this is episode seventy-four of Bible Study for Amateurs. Today’s episode is, “Elizabeth Shively’s ‘Purification of the Body and the Reign of God in the Gospel of Mark,’ part 8.”1 In Mark 1:40-45, Jesus encounters a man with λέπρa (lepra) and, per v. 41, “stretched out his hand and touched him.”

Bible Study for Amateurs #74 – Elizabeth Shively’s “Purification of the Body and the Reign of God in the Gospel of Mark,” part 8

Hey, everyone! I’m Ben - the Amateur Exegete, and this is episode seventy-four of Bible Study for Amateurs. Today’s episode is, “Elizabeth Shively’s ‘Purification of the…

Nathanael Vette: Jesus in the “Country of the Gerasenes” Nathanael Vette, "The Son of Man and the Sea: Hydromachy and Conquest in Mark's Sea Voyages," JSNT (2024), 18. By conquering the ‘country of the Gerasenes’, Mark’s Jesus appears to be fulfilling long-held Jewish hopes for the region by reclaiming the land for Israel. But unlike the Manassites and Hasmonaeans, who had failed to purge Gilead of its foreign elements, Jesus makes good on his conquest by cleansing the country of its impurities, thereby liberating its inhabitants – symbolised by the restored demoniac, who unlike the woman from Syrophoenicia (Mk 7.26) is not explicitly marked as a gentile but is presented as a native of the country, perhaps a Gileadite who had been polluted by non-Jewish elements in the region.

Nathanael Vette: Jesus in the “Country of the Gerasenes”

Nathanael Vette, "The Son of Man and the Sea: Hydromachy and Conquest in Mark's Sea Voyages," JSNT (2024), 18. By conquering the ‘country of the Gerasenes’, Mark’s Jesus appears to be fulfilling long-held Jewish hopes for the region by…

‘Four Evangelists and a Heresy Hunter’ by Michael Kok – A Review Michael J. Kok, Four Evangelists and a Heresy Hunter: Investigating the Traditions about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Self-published, 2025. Pp. 111. Paperback. $7.00. ISBN 9798310427082. INTRODUCTION1 Four zones of the world and four winds blowing over them and therefore, reasoned Irenaeus, four Gospels (Haer. 3.11.8.). But which four and why? The traditional authorship of the Gospels, championed by that bishop of Lyon at the end of the second century CE, is the subject of Michael Kok’s latest book…

‘Four Evangelists and a Heresy Hunter’ by Michael Kok – A Review

Michael J. Kok, Four Evangelists and a Heresy Hunter: Investigating the Traditions about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Self-published, 2025. Pp. 111. Paperback. $7.00. ISBN 9798310427082. INTRODUCTION1 Four zones of the world and…

The Roundup – 9.21.25 "While the Gospels richly repay literary analysis, they also richly repay historical analysis. This is because, although they are not history in the modern sense, they are equally not fiction in the modern sense. And it would be a mistake to reduce them without remainder to their authors' theologies, narrative strategies, and compositional aims. For over and above embodying those things, they also preserve memories - even if often fuzzy - of things Jesus said and did." …

The Roundup – 9.21.25

"While the Gospels richly repay literary analysis, they also richly repay historical analysis. This is because, although they are not history in the modern sense, they are equally not fiction in the modern sense. And it would be a mistake to reduce them without remainder to…

Kyle Greenwood and David Schreiner: Israel’s Aramean Heritage Kyle R. Greenwood and David B. Schreiner, Ahab's House of Horrors: A Historiographic Study of the Military Campaigns of the House of Omri (Lexham Press, 2023), 56. It appears then that the Old Testament remembers that their heritage, specifically manifested in the exploits of the patriarchs, showed points of contact with regions that would later produce important Aramean polities. In the words of Younger, the memories of the Pentateuch are best understood as "functional anachronisms" used for practical communication with a "'right' might require many words with no assurance that there would be an intelligible communication." The Pentateuchal writers used a reference that would have likely been familiar to their Iron Age audience.

Kyle Greenwood and David Schreiner: Israel’s Aramean Heritage

Kyle R. Greenwood and David B. Schreiner, Ahab's House of Horrors: A Historiographic Study of the Military Campaigns of the House of Omri (Lexham Press, 2023), 56. It appears then that the Old Testament remembers that their heritage,…

Marc Zvi Brettler: Typologies in the Hebrew Bible Marc Zvi Brettler, "Israel's Scriptures in the Hebrew Bible," in Israel's Scriptures in Early Christian Writings: The Use of the Old Testament in the New, edited by Matthias Henze and David Lincicum (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2023), 74. Typologies in the Hebrew Bible have a variety of functions. Comparing people to Moses, for example, generates meaning: it shows that the later individual has some of Moses's characteristics or partakes in his greatness.

Marc Zvi Brettler: Typologies in the Hebrew Bible

Marc Zvi Brettler, "Israel's Scriptures in the Hebrew Bible," in Israel's Scriptures in Early Christian Writings: The Use of the Old Testament in the New, edited by Matthias Henze and David Lincicum (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2023), 74.…

Eric Eve: “The Gospels Are Not Ragbag Databases of Potential Facts” Eric Eve, Writing the Gospels: Composition and Memory (SPCK, 2016), 150. [T]he problem facing the historical Jesus scholar is not merely one of trying to discern which of the deeds and sayings reported in the Gospels have the best claim to go back to the man Jesus of Nazareth, for what is of more interest is the overall picture that emerges (however important particular salient events may be to forming that picture).

Eric Eve: “The Gospels Are Not Ragbag Databases of Potential Facts”

Eric Eve, Writing the Gospels: Composition and Memory (SPCK, 2016), 150. [T]he problem facing the historical Jesus scholar is not merely one of trying to discern which of the deeds and sayings reported in the Gospels have the best…

The Roundup – 9.7.25 "[A]rchaeological evidence cannot ever prove an account true; it can only correlate with an account. Even when it correlates, it may be possible to create multiple historical scenarios to account for correlations, so that the biblical account is just one potential scenario. However, positive archaeological evidence that does not correlate with a biblical account is much more damaging. This is the principle of falsification rather than verification, because two contradictory statements cannot both be true at the same time." …

The Roundup – 9.7.25

"[A]rchaeological evidence cannot ever prove an account true; it can only correlate with an account. Even when it correlates, it may be possible to create multiple historical scenarios to account for correlations, so that the biblical account is just one potential scenario.…

Esther Hamori: God’s “Secret Service” Esther J. Hamori, God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible (Broadleaf Books, 2023), 65-66. Divine guardians are effective because they represent a real threat. Sometimes this means they must serve as soldiers for their divine commander, like the hybrid monsters of Tiamat's army. As guardians of the gateways, the cherubim prevented the havoc created by unsanctioned contact between realms as long as they could.

Esther Hamori: God’s “Secret Service”

Esther J. Hamori, God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible (Broadleaf Books, 2023), 65-66. Divine guardians are effective because they represent a real threat. Sometimes this means they must serve as…

A (cheeky) guest post over at my website, by @lexlata.bsky.social.

Irrefutable Scientific Evidences for the Historicity of the Epic of Gilgamesh (Guest Post by Lex Lata, Parody Apologist) Irrefutable Scientific Evidences for the Historicity of the Epic of GilgameshGuest post by Lex Lata, Parody Apologist Modern atheists contend that the Epic of Gilgamesh is mythological poetry—simply a legendary tale about the adventures of a fictional superhero in the days of yore. But as we shall see, the modern sciences of archaeology, biology, and geology confirm the historicity of the…

Irrefutable Scientific Evidences for the Historicity of the Epic of Gilgamesh (Guest Post by Lex Lata, Parody Apologist)

Irrefutable Scientific Evidences for the Historicity of the Epic of GilgameshGuest post by Lex Lata, Parody Apologist Modern atheists contend that the Epic of Gilgamesh is…

Tony Keddie: The “Glaring Problem with Second-Amendment Exegesis” Tony Keddie, "Second-Amendment Exegesis of Luke 22:35-53: How Conservative Evangelical Bible Scholars Protect Christian Gun Culture," in Misusing Scripture: What Are Evangelicals Doing with the Bible? edited by Mark Elliot, Kenneth Atkinson, and Robert Rezetko (Routledge, 2023), 267-268: From a critical historiographical perspective, there is one glaring problem with Second-Amendment exegesis: The Bible was written ages before the Second Amendment. As we’ve seen, conservative evangelical interpretations of the Second Amendment already fail to account adequately for understandings of self-defense at the time the Constitution was written, overlooking less canonical sources from that time and privileging the propertied white man as the default position of interpretation (i.e., who an “individual” is).

Tony Keddie: The “Glaring Problem with Second-Amendment Exegesis”

Tony Keddie, "Second-Amendment Exegesis of Luke 22:35-53: How Conservative Evangelical Bible Scholars Protect Christian Gun Culture," in Misusing Scripture: What Are Evangelicals Doing with the Bible? edited by Mark Elliot, Kenneth…

Guess what came in today! @drkippd.bsky.social's latest!

The Roundup – 8.24.25 "As an arbiter of moral values and guide to right behavior, the Bible had no cultural rival in mid-nineteenth century America.... Biblical literalism authorized and sanctified racial prejudices and the social order built upon them." - Richard Carwardine, Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln's Union (Alfred A. Knopf, 2025), 223. What is the "Great Omission"? Mark Goodacre explains. (Yes, I've been featuring Goodacre a lot lately.

The Roundup – 8.24.25

"As an arbiter of moral values and guide to right behavior, the Bible had no cultural rival in mid-nineteenth century America.... Biblical literalism authorized and sanctified racial prejudices and the social order built upon them." - Richard Carwardine, Righteous Strife: How…

Putting this in my Roundup!