Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture

Recent debates about the Exodus have centered on the shape of the story. One such debate concerned von Rad's attempt to separate the Exodus from the giving of the Law. Another concerns the use of the Exodus in Liberation Theology. Scholars who take a canonical approach (Childs, Levenson) argue that the "canonical shape" of the story in the final form of the Torah is decisive. Examination of the way the Exodus motif was used within the biblical tradition itself, however, suggests that the "canonical approach" is not the only permissible way to construe the tradition. The reformulation of the traditio-historical approach by such scholars as J. A. Sanders and M. Fishbane does more justice to the way in which the Exodus was understood by later biblical writers, and in much of Jewish and Christian tradition. The Liberation theologians can claim an authentic biblical basis just as well as the "canonical" interpreters, but neither can claim a monopoly on biblical authority.

Is God experienced by people only in the uplifting moments of life, in mysticism and in an ecstasy of prayer, or also in the very depths of human pain? How can the image of God as Father help a generation so conscious of gender? The author of the Fourth Gospel responds to both questions. God is present and revealed in the very crucifixion of Jesus. God is also the loving parent, the Father of the Lord Jesus, and the image has value even for this gender-conscious generation.

Honor and shame constituted pivotal values of ancient Circum-Mediterranean societies, including the biblical communities. After summarizing relevant research on this phenomenon by both anthropologists and exegetes, this study focuses attention on the honor/shame vocabulary of 1 Peter and its broader semantic field. The thesis is advanced that the author of this letter perceived and interpreted this conflict between the Christians of Asia Minor and their detractors as one over honor denied and honor claimed, and in so doing also transposed the issue of honor and shame, grace and disgrace, into a theological key.

This article offers a historical overview of select social-scientific small group research that can be useful for Second Testament scholars. It concludes by extracting categories that might help to formulate a simplified model for thinking about small groups in Greco-Roman antiquity. It then illustrates one part of it: namely, leadership roles in the Matthean Gospel.