Exegetically Speaking

Dr. Catherine McDowell is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, having previously taught at Wheaton College. She also serves part-time as a professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Séminaire Théologique Mondelus in Milot, Haiti. With Philip Towner, she authored, The Rewards of Learning Greek and Hebrew: Discovering the Richness of the Bible in Its Original Languages, among other things. How does the knowledge of the Biblical languages contribute to deepened understanding of the Bible, and what are some of its fruits?

Dr. Christian Askeland, Senior Researcher at Museum of the Bible, is interested in the origins and diversity of early Christianity, endeavoring to reconstruct historically the movements from which the relevant texts and manuscripts arose. He has authored John’s Gospel: The Coptic Translations of its Greek Text. Jude 12 poses a series of challenges for the interpreter, including the sorting out of the original wording amidst differing manuscripts (textual criticism).

Dr. John Walton, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton Graduate School, author of many books and articles relating to the background, literature, and theology of the Old Testament, has contributed several episodes to this podcast. His newest book, Wisdom for Faithful Reading: Principles and Practices for Old Testament Interpretation, is scheduled for release in April, 2023. The phrase, “Life After Exegesis,” should be understood as the way life is, or ought to be, different after exegesis than it was before. Exegesis does this by first directing our attention to God: Who he is. Only after that step are we ready to consider what all this means for us, and thus also for me.

Bradley Trout is a Ph.D. student at North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa, and he teaches Greek and Hebrew at George Whitefield College, Cape Town, South Africa. His current research is on the law in Matthew’s gospel within the Greco-Roman milieu. Today’s topic: A key verb in Matt. 11:12 could be taken as passive or middle voice leading to opposing translations, negative and positive. Jesus may be declaring that the kingdom of God is being subjected to violence or that it is forcefully advancing. There are contextual reasons to favor the passive, negative sense.

Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Mukeshimana earned his Ph.D. from Uganda Christian University where he is now Lecturer. His research explored Christ’s mission to the poor in Luke’s Gospel in order to construct a Christian model for poverty alleviation in Rwanda. Today’s topic: The Greek language of 3 John 1 has parallels to the vernacular of Dr. Mukeshimana’s Ugandan students of elementary Greek, paving the way for the original text to speak directly to the Ugandan context.

Dr. Jordan Pickering is a biblical-studies scholar at the University of Cape Town YMCA Christian Study Centre, South Africa, and the author of Turn Neither Right Nor Left: Recentering Evangelicalism and Troubled Waters: A Fresh Look at Baptism and Why We Argue. Today’s topic: How the structure of Genesis 12 illuminates a hidden moment of silence, which in turn speaks to us about the nature of faith and blessing, and God's long-term plan for the nations.

Dr Nathan Lovell is Director of Research at George Whitefield College, Cape Town, South Africa. He has published The Book of Kings and Exilic Identity along with several articles, and is he currently writing commentaries on Kings (Hodder Bible Commentary) and Chronicles (The Bible in God’s world). In a previous episode he joined Dr. Capes to talk about 1 Kings 3. In this new episode he addresses a listener’s question about the creature that tempted Eve in Genesis 3. In that context it is a talking snake. Close attention to the language of later biblical passages sheds light on how it happens that Revelation finally refers to this creature as a dragon, indeed, as Satan.

Dr. Catherine McDowell is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, having previously taught at Wheaton College. She also serves part-time as a professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Séminaire Théologique Mondelus in Milot, Haiti. Among other things, she has authored, The Image of God in the Garden of Eden: The Creation of Humankind in Genesis 2:5-3:24 in Light of the mīs pî, pīt pî, and wpt-r Rituals of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Today’s topic: Though some English translations have failed to convey this, the author of Ruth 3:17 was using word order to emphasize both Boaz’s excessive generosity and God’s care for the poor and marginalized.

Dr. Christian Askeland, Senior Researcher at Museum of the Bible, is interested in the origins and diversity of early Christianity, endeavoring to reconstruct historically the movements from which the relevant texts and manuscripts arose. He has authored John’s Gospel: The Coptic Translations of its Greek Text. When reading scholarship about the NT, one frequently encounters references to the Coptic language and its texts. What is this language? When did it originate? How is it important for studying ancient texts and traditions?

Dr. Randy Hatchett is Professor of Theology and Program Coordinator for Theological Studies and for Christianity at Houston Baptist University. Among other things, he has written Engaging Theology: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Introduction. In this conversation with Dr. Capes he reminds us that at every step the study of biblical languages is crucial for reading the unfolding story of our texts (economy) and the necessary theologizing upon these texts (theology).