Exegetically Speaking

Dr. Ben Witherington III argues passionately against burnishing the nativity stories of Luke and Matthew with unfounded speculation and mistranslations. He gives particular attention to the story of Jesus' birth in Luke 2:7. Prof. Witherington is the Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and is an emeritus professor of New Testament at St. Andrews University, Scotland. He has published widely including commentaries on every book of the New Testament. Two of his books won the Christianity Today annual top biblical studies book award: The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth and The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus. His Biblical Theology; The Convergence of the Canon (Cambridge) won the Prose Prize National Book of the Year award in 2020 for books in religion and philosophy.

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/3uJzV0i

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/3N7ykry

Through a Hebrew word play, the writer of Ecclesiastes highlights the neck and neck race between those who accumulate wealth and those who take it from them. Dr. Phil Ryken, who has been a regular on our podcast, is the President of Wheaton College, 8th in the college's history. Relevant to this conversation, he has published Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes. You can hear many of his talks at Family Life Ministry – Podcast or at Every Last Word.

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Hebrew, Latin: https://bit.ly/3SOu1VG

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/3SOtIKw

In James 5:4, James writes according to the NIV, "The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty." This language echoes Ps. 18:6 (LXX Ps. 17:7) and Isa. 5:9. One verb, borrowed from the Greek version of Ps. 18, is changed from a future to a perfect tense form. There are historic shifts behind that small change. Dr. Grant Flynn is Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His Ph.D. (Wheaton Graduate School) dealt with lament in the Epistle of James.

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/47FGmzt

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/3uoCu7K

Our current context of active wars in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and on the African continent makes it fitting to reflect on the prophet Isaiah's exhortation to live now like people who hope for God's peace to fill the nations. Dr. Andrew Abernethy is Professor of Old Testament and Director of the M.A. in Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton Graduate School. His most recent book is Savoring Scripture: A Six-Step Guide to Studying the Bible.

Biblical Exegesis MA: https://bit.ly/3SwRdHT

Classical Languages (Greek, Hebrew, Latin) BA: https://bit.ly/47290uO

Luke 7 includes a story of a woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and hair. Luke's narration of this includes Jesus' exchange with Simon the Pharisee about what she did, what Simon didn't do, and what God did. How does knowledge of Greek illuminate this passage? Professor Muraoka, who formerly taught at the Universities of Manchester, Melbourne, and Leiden, related his own biography in an earlier episode of Exegetically Speaking. In addition to the publications mentioned in the description of that episode, we note here Modern Hebrew for Biblical Scholars: An Annotated Chrestomathy with an Outline Grammar and a Glossary, (with Paul Joüon) A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, Classical Syriac: A basic grammar with a chrestomathy, (with Bezalel Porten), A Grammar of Egyptian Aramaic, and The Books of Hosea and Micah in Hebrew and Greek (Orbis Biblicus Et Orientalis, 294).

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

Biblical Exegesis MA: https://bit.ly/47sx5uI

Classical Languages (Greek, Hebrew, Latin) BA: https://bit.ly/3szxNHx

A listener to this podcast has asked whether "Adam" in Hosea 6:7 is a name of a place or an allusion to the man of Genesis 1-2. Translations and commentators differ. Dr. Danny Carroll Rodas helps us understand how each view is supported. Prof. Carroll is the Scripture Press Ministries Professor of Biblical Studies and Pedagogy at Wheaton College. Among his many publications are The Lord Roars: Recovering the Prophetic Voice for Today and "Hosea" in Hosea, Amos, Micah (The Expositor's Bible Commentary). He has contributed several episodes to this podcast series.

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

Biblical Exegesis MA: https://bit.ly/3FD62kp

Classical Languages (Greek, Hebrew, Latin) BA: https://bit.ly/45XCsk9

In Luke 23:33, Luke writes that "they" crucified Jesus. Who are "they"? Tracking back through the Greek of Luke's narrative leads us to the Jews, though plainly Jesus was crucified by the Romans on a Roman cross. In light of later church history, this merits reflection. Dr. J. Christopher Edwards is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Francis College (Brooklyn). His publications include: (author) Crucified: The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus and (editor) Early New Testament Apocrypha (9) (Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies).

Learn more about related programs at Wheaton College:

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/3FvylB6

B.A. in Classical Languages: Greek, Hebrew, Latin: https://bit.ly/46Far1X

In this episode, Professor Takamitsu Muraoka, who was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1938, narrates his life’s story with an eye on how the biblical languages came to be of such importance to him. Following his conversion and years of academic preparation, he taught at Manchester University and Melbourne University, before becoming Professor of Hebrew at the Leiden University until his retirement. He founded the Dutch-Japanese-Indonesian Dialogue against the background of the Pacific War and is Representative of The Japanese Language Biblical Church in The Netherlands. In 2017, he was awarded the British Academy’s Burkitt Medal for Hebrew Bible studies, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the study of Hebrew grammar and syntax and the Septuagint. His many publications include A Syntax of Septuagint Greek,  A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint,  A Grammar of Qumran Aramaic,  A Syntax of Qumran Hebrew, and Why Read the Bible in the Original Languages? 

Learn more about related programs at Wheaton:

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/46OMTHR

B.A. in Classical Languages: Greek, Hebrew, Latin: https://bit.ly/3FkLEV4

For Prof. Vincent Bacote, his vocation as a professional theologian led him to value the biblical languages, study them, and make use of that training in his ongoing work with the Scriptures. He recommends the same for younger people entering on the same path. Dr. Vince Bacote is Professor of Theology and Director of Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College. Among his publications are The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life (Ordinary Theology) and Reckoning with Race and Performing the Good News: In Search of a Better Evangelical Theology (Theological Traditions).

While the Gospel of John tells us, the readers, straight up what we’re meant to believe about Jesus, the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) tend to communicate these things indirectly. Dr. Darrell Bock isolates a few good illustrations of this method. Prof. Bock is Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. His manypublications include Luke (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) and Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods. He also hosts the seminary’s Table Podcasts. We have heard from him before in the Exegetically Speaking podcast series.

Learn about related programs at Wheaton:

BA in Classical Languages >

MA in Biblical Exegesis >