Kyle C Dunham

Psalms studies have undergone significant changes in the past century. From Gunkel’s form criticism to Wilson’s canon criticism, scholars have alternated between focusing on individual psalms and focusing on the whole Psalter as the key to interpretation. A corollary to these changes has emerged in studies of the Psalms theology. This article analyzes how these changes have influenced approaches to the theology of the Psalter since 2000. Seven interpretive methods attending to the Psalter’s theology have blossomed in the twenty-first century: the Psalter as structured theology, central themes, individual psalms and psalm groups, reception history, sacrament/liturgy, single center, and pluralistic theologies. This article assesses these developments, along with a few challenges, and proposes paths for future studies in the theology of the Psalms.

Much debate surrounds the alleged presence of wisdom in the Psalter. Many studies focus on the identity and nature of wisdom psalms. This approach remains controversial in that few interpreters agree on which psalms constitute wisdom psalms. This article argues that a preferable approach concentrates on the function of wisdom persons, terms and themes in shaping the Psalter. Key markers suggest that the final editors of the Psalter intended the book to be read and mastered as a wisdom writing by their placement of wisdom vocabulary, paragons and motifs as mnemonic benchmarks. These features include the governing position of Pss 1-2 as the twin introduction to the Psalter, the distribution of the 'ashre' formula, lexical and thematic ties to Proverbs, the use of the term 'maskil' in connection to David's wisdom, the recurring presence of sages and the wisdom framing of Book V. These factors hint that wisdom carried a decisive, functional influence in shaping the Psalter.

This essay proposes a fresh approach to the sin offering and guilt offering and to their distinction.  First, although organically connected, the sin offering and the guilt offering must be distinguished in occasion and purpose. The sins which gave rise to the respective offerings were fundamentally different, and each offering served to answer the need occasioned by its particular sin. The sin offering rectifies deficiency, moral or ritual, while the guilt offering rectifies stigma. Second, in relation to their function, both the sin offering and guilt offering provided moral/ritual forgiveness and restoration for the offending sinner who presents the sacrifices rather than for the sacred space of the polluted tabernacle/temple. Third, the blood of the sin offering is to be considered ritually defiled because of the offerer’s identification with the animal victim, while the blood of the guilt offering is to be considered ritually consecrated as a compensation offered to God. This understanding helps to comprehend the significance of the manipulation of blood in the respective rites. Lastly, while the sin offering is occasioned by inadvertent sin either corporately or individually, the guilt offering arises from the offender’s trespass upon YHWH’s inherent rights or privileges. This may occur either directly through the misuse of sacred items or derivatively through the violation of another’s property rights, coupled with deception. Such a “breach of trust” or “sacrilege” (מַעַל) (Lev 6:2 [5:21]) undermines the theological significance of the imago dei in one’s neighbor. I will derive implications from this study for understanding the Levitical cult and aspects of the New Testament economy, including Christ’s sacrifice for sin.

In what may be the most highly contested passage of Ecclesiastes, the writer Qohelet 2 has been judged a misogynist 3 who finds women irrational, 4 condemns them indiscriminately as seductresses, 5 and lashes out at them with vitriol. 6 Despite these protestations, the discourse of the passage suggests a different understanding: through intertextual links to the warnings about the strange woman in Proverbs and to Solomon's demise through intermarriage with foreign women in 1 Kings 11, Qohelet advises self-discipline in the efforts to apply wisdom lest the reader fall prey to the allurement of illicit sexual relations-a danger 1 Dr. Dunham is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. 2 Given that the author of Ecclesiastes does not identify himself outside the nom de plume Qohelet (Heb. ‫ק‬ ֹ ‫ה‬ ֶ ‫ל‬ ֶ ‫ת‬), I will use this nomenclature to designate him. For a discussion of the meaning of Qohelet as "assembler" or "convener," an argument for single authorship of Ecclesiastes, and a defense of Solomon as the author, see Robert V.

In the past half-century few detailed studies of Sheol have appeared. Among these, most have concluded that ancient Israel perceived all the dead as descending to Sheol, a miry communal tomb where the shades languish in darkness and weakness. In contrast, several biblical passages appear to hold hope for deliverance of the godly. I argue that the depiction of Sheol in Psalms 16, 49, and 73 supports this distinction between the destinies of the righteous and the wicked. Here the righteous are delivered from Sheol and ascend to God for beatific afterlife with continued fellowship and joy. The ungodly by implication descend to Sheol to await future judgment. These texts provide a foundation in the Old Testament for discerning distinct destinies in the afterlife. HE VIEW THAT CONSCIOUS LIFE CONTINUED AFTER DEATH was pervasive not only in ancient Israel but throughout the ancient Near East, where questions pertained only to the conditions of the afterlife and how one might achieve optimal conditions. 1 In spite of the many references to the afterlife, however, de

Qohelet’s critique of royal leadership in Ecclesiastes 5,7-8 (8-9) constitutes one of the book’s most difficult texts. Recent scholarship has moved toward understanding both verses as a criticism of corrupt government, in that the king is complicit in the graft because he too profits from exploiting the land and its farmers. Such a reading comports with the nearly uniform approach to Ecclesiastes in recent scholarship whereby Qohelet is understood as espousing an explicitly negative view of political leadership. In this essay I argue for a fresh understanding of the verses, based on discourse analysis, that favors an older, principally Continental view. In this proposed reading v. 8 offsets v. 7, with the king viewed positively as a mitigation to rampant political corruption when he is committed to order, stability, and productivity. Rather than serving as another pronouncement of Qohelet’s negative view of leadership, Ecclesiastes 5,7-8 affirms the proper use of royal power when the king exercises his office legitimately.

First proposed by Douglas Moo and developed more recently by G K Beale, the so-called “assimilated use” of earlier texts suggests that occasionally NT authors cite or allude to texts from the Old Testament simply because the writers are so steeped in these texts that they form the intellectual framework by which the biblical authors think and write. This understanding sits uncomfortably with conventional approaches to intertextuality, which seeks to establish more rigorous criteria for how subsequent writers advance the arguments, add to the meaning, or signal the consummation of earlier texts. This approach also challenges aspects of Christotelic interpretation, which seeks to relate biblical texts through a redemptive lens to Christ by privileging the hermeneutical priority of the NT to expand the intention of the OT. This essay incorporates insights from corpus linguistics, with its emphasis on formulaic language, and from the subsidiary field of lexical priming, to build on the conclusions of Moo and Beale. I designate this approach “canonical-linguistic priming” and argue that it provides a useful way to approach some difficult texts in the interpretation of the NT by evaluating them in the light of rhetorical convention. Several examples from Matthew are analyzed under this rubric to account for ways in which the NT writer repurposes earlier texts which are formulized for rhetorical purposes.

The time poem in Eccl 3.1–8 reflects a marked structure and progression of themes. These connections suggest that the initial lines of vv. 2, 5, and 8 open their respective stanzas by focusing on a similar theme: war and peace. This thread clarifies the meaning of Qohelet’s enigmatic throwing and gathering stones, activities for which no fewer than nine interpretations have been suggested. While interpreters have favored a reference to sexual intercourse, this view is unlikely. I contend that a preferable solution modifies an earlier interpretation relating the throwing and gathering stones to acts of wartime and peacetime. The throwing away of stones relates to the demobilisation of the military, while the gathering of stones relates to the mobilisation for war (1 Sam 17.40; 2 Chron 26.14–15). This interpretation offers a more consistent approach to the themes of war and peace developed in the poem’s stanzas.

Intertextual links between Deuteronomy and Ecclesiastes have begun only recently to garner interest as a possible literary source for Qohelet. In examining these proposed links, Deuteronomy proves, in fact, to be the sole literary precursor from which Qo-helet draws by all three rhetorical modes: citation, allusion, and echo. In addition, Deuteronomy and Ecclesiastes share several important discourse concepts, including eating as the joyful re-sponse to God’s provision, remembrance as an antidote against spiritual apostasy, and divine kingship as the source for wisdom. These cumulative links form a chain of evidence suggesting that Deuteronomy’s positive message of enjoying the blessings of life as grateful and obedient recipients of divine grace is perhaps more influential upon Qohelet than realized. The literary connec-tions suggest furthermore that Qohelet should be read in a more positive light than interpreters have been accustomed to do.

Proverbs has languished from neglect in biblical scholarship as an allegedly deficient fund for theological formulation. Recent studies have plied to fill this lacuna by focusing on the book’s literary structure as the key to its theological contribution. While some skepticism concerning its purposeful arrangement remains, several studies have adduced evidence from the final form of Proverbs to suggest it served in ancient Israel as an educational curriculum aimed at moving the implied reader from simple ethical decisions to complex social applications. This article argues that this reading strategy finds support in the preamble, which outlines a training regimen designed to advance the inexperienced youth toward the virtues of righteousness, justice, and integrity for the goal of exercising socio-political leadership. The literary structure of Proverbs discloses the collocation of key terms from the preamble that the final author/editor has embedded as mnemonic signposts in the opening and closing seams of its seven wisdom collections. A structural-canonical reading highlights this intentional and dynamic movement: by progressing through the seven courses of leadership, the callow initiate matures and matriculates to navigate the intricate demands and dangers of societal leadership in the royal court.

This paper explores the concept of YHWH War in the Old Testament by silhouetting it against the ANE practice of herem. The paper suggests that YHWH war was unique to the theocracy of ancient Israel and concerned primarily its possession and purification of the divinely-promised land. The themes of land conquest, purity, and re-population were integral to YHWH war and made aspects of its application in the Old Testament both unique and conventional.

Traditional dispensationalism typically has lacked consensus not only in its view of the
nature of the kingdom of God but also in its attempt to correlate satisfactorily NT teaching on the kingdom of God with that of Christ’s present hegemony over the church. This shortcoming has provided an occasion within dispensationalism for recent developments such as progressive dispensationalism to flourish. The purpose of this thesis was to forge the gap between the weakness of traditional dispensationalism in failing to develop a comprehensive doctrine of the kingdom of God and the weakness of progressive dispensationalism in merging unwarrantably
the discrete biblical kingdom programs.

The first stage of the study surveyed the historical contours of the kingdom debate within dispensationalism to identify the manner in which inchoate or inconsistent views on the kingdom provided a venue for progressive dispensationalism to coalesce. Next, the concept of inaugurated eschatology was introduced and developed in order to draw upon its helpful perspectives for comprehending the kingdom of God concept in the NT. After this, analysis turned to detailed exegesis of kingdom passages within the synoptic gospels, with primary emphasis falling upon the Gospel of Matthew. Significant attention was given to the mystery parables of Matthew 13 and their bearing on a present form of the kingdom of God. Other Matthean passages were brought to bear in order to refine an understanding of the present-future nature of the kingdom of God. Following this, focus was placed on the Pauline corpus and the book of Hebrews to ascertain further NT teaching on the nature of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God in these writings was considered under the twin rubrics of Christological exaltation language, which included a survey of the use of Psalm 110:1 in these epistles, and of explicit kingdom language, which examined passages in which the kingdom of God appears overtly present in some fashion. Special attention was given to Hebrews’ development of the sacral kingship of Christ, drawing from its extensive Melchizedekian typology.

It was concluded that the NT develops the kingdom of God as a two-stage eschatological kingdom program. The first stage of this kingdom program encompasses roughly the present church age and is identified specifically in Matthew and in Paul’s epistles as the kingdom of the Son. The current stage entails Christ’s Melchizedekian sacral kingship, although this kingship subsumes additionally the angelic sphere and the cosmos itself. The reign originates from the right hand of the Father and shares in the Father’s sovereignty. The second stage of this eschatological kingdom program encompasses the terrestrial millennial kingdom. This reign
entails the dominion of Christ from the Davidic throne on earth for 1,000 years, as a fulfillment of OT promises to the nation of Israel and consummation of the Davidic covenant. Given the suggested schema for understanding the kingdom of God, it was concluded that progressive dispensationalism has erred in attributing current Davidic kingship to the exalted Christ. The current kingship of Christ consists instead of Melchizedekian kingship, in which Christ reigns over the church and the cosmos as a royal priest.