Leviathan and Exegetical Imagination

The Bible is more than simply a theological resource; it can also serve, like J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, as an indispensable introduction to the magical beasts of the biblical world.1 Leviathan, an enormous mythical sea-creature with seven heads, is one of the most significant of these biblical beasts, bearing eschatological…

Read More

Jews, Exile, and the Murashu Archive of Nippur

  In May of 1893, while clearing collapsed debris from a room overlooking the ancient ruins of Nippur, a group of local workmen made a startling discovery. Buried beneath the rubble they found a large number of clay tablets. Their exciting discovery caused a great tumult among the expedition from the University of Pennsylvania.1 Located…

Read More

Response to Rabbi Stuart Dauermann and Dr. Ellen Goldsmith

  I would like to begin by acknowledging Stuart Dauermann and Ellen Goldsmith for their excellent introduction to our discussion on Intimacy and Sexuality.1 They have presented a thoughtful, and at times brilliant, overview of the topic, and have helped me better conceptualize some of my own thinking on some important related issues. I am…

Read More

Border Lines, Daniel Boyarin

Boyarin, Daniel Border Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Chrstianity Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, © 2004. 392 pages.1 Reviewed by Joshua Brumbach Do the terms “Judaism” and “Christianity” represent two distinct religious .entities in late antiquity, and are they the direct result of a very early parting of ways over the issue of an exalted messianic…

Read More

Complexity in Early Jewish Messianism

 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have   been made complete, and he is the head over all rule and authority”  (Col 2: 9-10). “Yeshua said to her, ‘I Am the Resurrection and the Life!  Whoever puts [their] trust in me will live, even if [they]…

Read More

Messianic Jewish Outreach: Reaching Out Or Reaching In?

Messianic Judaism[1] has always been committed to outreach, and it is outreach that is often defined as the primary purpose for the existence of Messianic Jewish congregations and ministries. This heavy emphasis on outreach to fellow Jews, and pooling resources that further this cause, has long been a core value of Jewish believers. Since its…

Read More