Thought for today

This is what the LORD says:

“Cursed are those who trust in mortals,
who depend on flesh for their strength
and whose hearts turn away from the LORD.

   They will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

   They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
—Jeremiah 17:5-8 TNIV

Efficacious offering

“For Paul the death of Christ by itself would not have had saving efficacy. There had to be the evidence God accepted the death of his Son as an efficacious offering, and the resurrection is understood as the act of acceptance.”—New Testament Theology, page 278

<idle musing>
Definitely. The cross without the resurrection doesn't purchase anything. We are to be a resurrection people—set free from bondage to sin and death. Free to serve in the newness of the Spirit.
</idle musing>

Timeless truth

Speaking about the Corinthian church, Marshall says, “The religion to which Christ was the gateway had opened up as a realm in which the practice of spiritual gifts had become the most prized characteristic, and there was rivalry between people and pride depending on which were regarded as the highest and showiest gifts. Christianity was in danger of becoming a religion of revelation of God's secrets through gifted people. It was thus becoming a religion or spiritual achievement, of pride and human position. “Against all such pretension Paul uses the message of the cross to utter decisive no.”—New Testament Theology, pages 267-268

<idle musing>
Doesn't that sound surprisingly like too much of the church today? Some things never change...
</idle musing>

Genesis and the ANE

"Genesis depicts the first man in royal terms, using the nouns 'image' and 'likeness' (which are found in Mesopotamian royal inscriptions) and the verbs 'rules' and 'subdue.' In Mesopotamian cosmogonies human beings are invariably slaves created to maintain the universe for the gods, who are idle by vocation. When Mesopotamian accounts include a king, he is created separately in order to oversee the human race's service of the gods...Genesis 1 portrays the man (who with the woman stands for the race) as a king, and the human task as far broader than temple maintenance. The God of Genesis does not require human servants in the manner of other gods; the human race consequently has a different relation to work and to the world."—Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible, page 143
 
<idle musing>
Significant difference, isn't it?
</idle musing>

Eisenbrauns has a new mug!

Yep. We just announced it today. Here's the graphic and e-mail:

It happens at every conference...

Someone asks when the new mug will be unveiled. Wait no more! Eisenbrauns is happy to announce the 2012-2013 mug! You can see it this fall at AAR/SBL in Chicago—or, you can be beat the rush by pre-ordering now. Just click on the image; as soon as they arrive, yours will be in the mail. —Enjoy! James

Eisenbrauns 2012 Mug
A Hittite Proverb
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming June 2012.
14 oz. Ceramic. Hittite and English.
Your Price: $7.50

"Some things get lost, but others remain"—It's true of archaeological digs; it's true of empires; it's true of rabbits and double-headed eagles. The new Eisenbrauns mug presents you with a Hittite proverb and the double eagle, symbol of the Hittite empire. If there's a tougher academic ancient Near Eastern mug out there, we will challenge it in a fight to the death.

A bit bigger than the average mug, this sleek, black beauty will intimidate the rest of your drinkware, and take your wine glasses captive as spoils of war.

Ouch!

This just arrived today:

Think it's sellable? You should see the CD-ROM in the back; it definitely will have a hard time spinning!

Sugar, it does a body in

I'm a bit slow when it comes to popular stuff, so I only discovered this You Tube video (from two years ago) last week. Very interesting.

But, equally interesting—and in digestible lengths!—is the new series that the U of CA-SF is putting out. So far there are 5 of them, 8-12 minutes each. They are releasing one each week for a total of nine. The first one is here with links to the other four.

Watch them and change your diet!

New books from Eisenbrauns

Eisenbrauns just published 4 new books. For your enjoyment, the details are here:

Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant
EIS - Eisenbrauns
by Rainer Albertz and Rudiger Schmitt
Eisenbrauns, 2012
xxii + 696 pages, English
Cloth, 7 x 10 inches
ISBN: 9781575062327
List Price: $79.50
Your Price: $71.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/ALBFAMILY

The Phoenician Diaspora
Epigraphic and Historical Studies
EIS - Eisenbrauns
by Philip C. Schmitz
Eisenbrauns, 2012
xii + 146 pages,
Cloth, 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781575062266
List Price: $39.50
Your Price: $35.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/SCHPHOENI

The Rhetoric of Remembrance
An Investigation of the "Fathers" in Deuteronomy
Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures 8
by Jerry Hwang
Eisenbrauns, 2012
xiv + 290 pages, English
Cloth, 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781575062389
List Price: $39.50
Your Price: $35.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/HWARHETOR

Studies in the Text of the Old Testament
An Introduction to the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project
English translation of the introductions to volumes 1, 2, and 3 of Critique Textuelle de l'Ancien Testament
Textual Criticism and the Translator - TCT 3
by Dominique Barthelemy
Eisenbrauns, 2012
xxxii + 688 pages, English
Cloth, 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781575062358
Your Price: $79.50
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/BARSTUDIE

The future is uncertain, but known

“The importance of prophecy must not be underestimated. For the early Christians the course of the struggle between God and his adversaries is mapped out, but not yet fully revealed, and it is against this background that they live their Christian lives.”—New Testament Theology, page 247

<idle musing>
We see "dimly, as in a mirror" what the future holds—but we know the author, so it doesn't matter!
</idle musing>