Jeremy Thompson

Category: Books

  • Does the Bible Justify Violence? – Review

    This morning I finished reading John Collins’ Does the Bible Justify Violence? It is a very short monograph that (obviously) seeks to answer the question contained in the title. Pros of Does the Bible Justify Violence? First off, I think this little book has some important points to make, though I am sure they are…

  • Niditch – Ban as Sacrifice versus the Ban as God's Justice

    It is not easy for humans to kill others.  To participate in mass killing in war is destructive of individual psyches and of the larger community’s mental health.  The ban in either trajectory is a means of making killing in war acceptable.  How does the ban as sacrifice and the ban as God’s justice differ…

  • Joseph Kelly Reviews Mark Smith's the Priestly Vision of Genesis 1

    I recently posted about Mark Smith’s book Memoirs of God, and in the relation to that post, Jim West recommended that I read Smith’s newest offering The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1.  I have not had time to tackle that text yet, but Joseph Kelly gives a fairly thorough review of it HERE.  Check it…

  • Psalms by Westermann (A Review)

    I have always enjoyed reading Westermann for some reason or another.  I just finished reading Westermann’s book entitled Psalms for the second time with the first time being a very long time ago back when I was in seminary. And, I would have to say that I would heartily recommend the book.  It is a…

  • Excellent Introduction to the History of Israel for the Lay Person

    I started reading Mark S. Smith’s Memoirs of God this past week. Smith states in the introduction to the book that his audience is those outside of “fellow scholars” and “graduate students,” i.e. “the general public.”  For the whole of the book, I’m not so sure he hits that target. I work with a more…

  • 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…

  • Collins on Systematizing the Material in the Pentateuch

    Have been re-reading through John Collins’ Introduction to the Hebrew Bible off and on lately.  Here is a passage I read last night I thought worthy of citation: The Biblical text that resulted from this process (the final editing together of diverse material) is not a consistent systematic treatise.  Rather, it is a collection of…

  • World English Bible – Free PDF

    Thanks to “Qohelet,” one of my commenters for letting me know about this link.  I would mention that his blog is well-worth checking out if you get a chance.  This is a link to a free PDF Bible the World English Bible version.  This could be very helpful as this is the same  as the…

  • Douglas Stuart's Exodus Commentary Introduction Free

    Douglas Stuart’s commentary on Exodus is available in limited preview format from Google Books.  You are able to read the entire introduction to the commentary HERE.  This is Douglas Stuart of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth fame.  He is a prolific author on the Old Testament who is evangelical in his…

  • Read Janzen's Commentary Introduction to Exodus Free

    HERE is a link to Janzen’s commentary on Exodus at Google Books.  There is a limited preview and the entire introduction is available.