Jeremy Thompson

Category: Biblical Studies

  • The Superscription of Psalm 34

    Abimelech in Psalm 34? There is an interesting anomaly in verse 1 of Psalm 34.  It reads: Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who forced him to depart. The problem is that in the episode where David feigns madness the king is actually Achish (see 1 Samuel 21), not Abimelech.  So, how has…

  • A Heaping up of Individual Requests

    … asking for something, occurs only peripherally in the Psalms, if at all.  Almost always petitions of the Psalms are concerned with deliverance from acute trouble.  We never meet what is so common and entirely natural in our modern prayers: a heaping up of individual requests. Claus Westermann, Psalms (Chapter 1, “The Community Psalm of…

  • God is Neither a Rescue Machine …

    God is neither a rescue machine nor a supernatural force. God is a person, and one can ask him for help only when that personhood is taken seriously. Claus Westermann on the Community Psalm of Lament, Psalms (Chapter 1, “The Community Psalm of Lament”) Related – Check out some of my other Psalms posts from…

  • Isaiah 41 – An Interesting Translation Issue

    I was reading the lectionary passage this morning from Isaiah 41 and came across an interesting translation issue in verse 14.  The issue revolves around the translation of the word mªtey (sorry couldn’t find a superscript “e” in my special characters). So, I checked out the text in parallel versions. Isaiah 41.14 in Parallel Versions…

  • Psalm 98 and Assonance

    I glanced at the lectionary readings earlier in the day, but spent a little more time with them tonight, especially the response, which was Psalm 98.  I wanted to point out one feature of verse 1 in particular that struck me, and this is one of the types of things I think we miss in…

  • BibleWorks 8 Overall Evaluation

    I have recent versions of both BibleWorks 8 and Logos on my laptop as well as an older version of Accordance.  Of these three programs, my two favorites are BibleWorks 8 and Accordance, though I cannot speak to soundly on Accordance for reasons I’ll make clear below.  I realize that a significant amount of this…

  • Brueggemann on Metanarrative

    This will be the last installment of me posting excerpts from An Unsettling God: The Heart of the Hebrew Bible.  Overall it was a good read (as well as a quick one), though I enjoyed the first part of the book more than the latter.  I think his analysis of YHWH as a partner in…

  • Brueggemann Quote on the Wisdom Traditions

    I am still reading through Brueggeman’s An Unsettling God: The Heart of the Hebrew Bible.  I will probably finish tomorrow, but I’ve been posting some quotes from the book I have thought noteworthy along the way (see HERE and HERE).  I may post a more substantial review if I have the time (doubtful with thesis…

  • Free Course on the New Testament

    I’m way behind on getting this one out there but here is a link to a free New Testament course from Yale University.  Saw it on the Biblical Studies Carnival for this month.  Now, you can study both the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the New Testament through Yale University, though no credit of course.  You…

  • Brueggemann on the Canonizing Process

    Have continued reading Brueggeman’s An Unsettling God: The Heart of the Hebrew Bible this afternoon.  Since I didn’t get a great deal of Brueggemann in seminary I didn’t realize how quotable he is.  Some of this may be old hat to some of my readers, but I liked this little gem from chapter 2 (sorry,…