Exegetically Speaking

Dr. Phillip Marshall is Assistant Professor of Biblical Languages in the School of Christian Thought, Houston Baptist University. He completed his doctoral work in the ancient Greek versions of the Hebrew OT, that is, in Septuagint studies, which helped engender his love for both Greek and Hebrew. In this episode, he joins Dr. David Capes to explore how the knowledge of Hebrew adds texture and poignancy to the reading of Nathan’s words to David about his adultery with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah.

Dr. Karen Jobes is Gerald F. Hawthorne Professor of New Testament Greek and Exegesis, Emerita, at Wheaton College. She has authored many books and articles, including Invitation to the Septuagint and commentaries on Esther, 1 Peter, and 1, 2, 3 John. She served for years on the Committee for Bible Translation (responsible for the NIV translation of the Bible). She talks about her own introduction to Greek and notes passages where our English translations raise ambiguities that are clarified by knowledge of the Greek.

Dr. Madison Pierce is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has written Divine Discourse in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Cambridge University Press, 2020), among other works. She talks about her journey with the biblical languages, and then helps us appreciate the meaning and eloquence of Hebrews’ opening sentence. In particular, she emphasizes the aspect of continuity in God’s speech through the prophets and through the Son.

Dr. Doug Penney, Associate Professor of Classical Languages at Wheaton College, discusses how he encourages students to read outside the canon of Scripture in order to sharpen their translation skills. Often, when students read a New Testament book in Greek, they rely on their memory to produce a translation.  Reading Tobit, a book of the Apocrypha, takes them to a text they do not know.

Dr. Bill Mounce is the the founder and President of BiblicalTraining.org, and the author of a major commentary on Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. In a separate podcast titled “BiblicalTraining.org” we heard more of his life and work. In this episode he joins Dr. Capes to talk about the interpretation, translation, implications, and preaching of Paul’s reference to the “naming of the Name of the Lord” in 2 Tim. 2:19.

Dr. Michael Graves is the Armerding Professor of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College. He has produced several books and articles, including a modern translation of Jerome’s Commentary on Jeremiah (IVP Academic, 2012). He is currently working on his own commentary on the same prophet. In this episode, Dr. Graves discusses the “tin woodman theology” behind a text of Scripture that is on many refrigerators, and rightly so: Jeremiah 29:11. 

Dr. Philip Ryken, president of Wheaton College and Professor of Theology, joins David Capes to discuss both the context and meaning of a popular verse these days, Jeremiah 29:7.  What is the semantic range of the word often translated “welfare” or “peace”?  How could that have meaning for people not living in exile? Or are we?

Dr. Aubrey Buster, Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, contemplates how a translation of an ambiguous word can reflect and/or lead to serious errors of perception, including perceptions of race and social class. A common Hebrew conjunction used in Song of Songs 1:5 could be read as “black but beautiful” or “black and beautiful.” The latter, “and,” is more likely contextually, though it has long been translated as “but.”

Dr. Julie Newberry, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, joins Dr. Capes to consider the ramifications of the kind of “dark joy” found among the Jerusalem leaders who conspired with Judas to betray Jesus (Luke 22:5).  Sometimes, “joy” in Luke is morally ambivalent. 

Dr. Daniel J. Treier is the Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Theology at Wheaton Graduate School, and Ph.D. program director. He has authored numerous books and articles, including the award-winning Introducing Evangelical Theology. He has written a commentary on Proverbs & Ecclesiastes, and is starting another on Philippians. He reflects on the question: Why would a theologian who majors in Christian doctrine value knowledge of Greek? (Spoiler alert: He does very much value and promote this knowledge.)