Josh Philpot

I first met Jim Hamilton three years ago in 2009 in an attempt to convince him to be the preaching pastor at my church, Kenwood Baptist. He was intrigued and agreed to come preach for two Sundays and pray about it. Which text did he preach on as a candidate for pastor? Revelation 9 for the first and Revelation 10 for the second. Although skeptical at first (I say that with a smile), I was blessed afterward.

When we called him as pastor a month later he preached through the entire book of Revelation in a little over a year. The sermons are outstanding and you can find them on Kenwood’s website here. He has preached through four more books since that time (Titus, Ezra, Nehemiah, Mark, and now Jeremiah), but the sermons on Revelation are favorites of mine.

The sermons are now in manuscript form and part of the Preaching the Word commentary series. Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches is Jim’s newest book, and I’m thankful for the copy I have in my hands. Jim sets Revelation in a biblical theological context, combining exegetical precision with pastoral sensitivity. I’m grateful for his efforts in this regard. Jim communicates in a way that sticks, so to speak. I never left the pew on Sunday without having grasped both the meaning of the text in context and the need to “do” and apply. Jim is unique in this way. After all, who else do you know who would preach on the Seven Angels and Seven Plagues (Rev 15) on Christmas!

I want to encourage readers to get a copy of this commentary, and you won’t be disappointed.

I noticed today that Peter Enns has two new books that will be available later this year: a commentary on Ecclesiastes (NHC) and another entitled The Evolution of Adam. He gives a description of each in this post, and both will be intriguing to say the least. I think it interesting that he says the following in his description of the Ecclesiastes commentary:

Those of you who know me well will not be surprised that in the theological section I apply a Christotelic hermeneutic. Also, for the truly geekified among you, I do not see Qohelet’s words as corrected by the epilogue but affirmed as wise–though not the final word. I also see Qohelet as a suffering Christ figure. (Yes, you heard me right.)

Having read Enns’ Exodus commentary in its entirety (in the NIVAC series), I can vouch for Enns’ exegetical skill. That commentary is superb, and so I look forward to good things from this one too. Enns is well-versed in the Wisdom writings and the secondary literature. Interested students should pick up his annotated bibliography, Poetry and Wisdom (Baker), which I found really helpful last year during my independent study on Proverbs with Duane Garrett.

On The Evolution of Adam, Enns says it “applies the approach of Inspiration and Incarnation to a specific and pressing issue: in view of evolution, what does it mean to read the Bible well? So think of EOA as I&I part two.” Having also read I&I (and having significant disagreements), this new work will no doubt receive attention from evangelicals, especially given the events surrounding I&I at Westminster Seminary and the ensuing debate that lead to Enns’ departure.

Eisenbrauns has Biblia Sacra for its deal of the day. It’s half off for those interested!

Biblia Sacra Utriusque Testamenti
Editio Hebraica et Graeca
The Nestle-Aland 27th edition and BHS small edition bound together

Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart, 1994
93 + 810 pages (Greek) + lvii + 1574 pages (Hebrew), Greek and Hebrew
Cloth
ISBN: 9783438052506
List Price: $139.99
Your Price: $70.00
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/BIBLIASAC

I sent four Bibles off to Ace Bookbinding recently to have them repaired and rebound. I got them back in the mail yesterday (what a birthday surprise!) and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Three of these I tend to use regularly: a small ESV, a large-print Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, and the NA²⁷/NET diglot. I also picked up a Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible recently and hope to use it for reading more lengthy passages. The problem is that the cover and binding were fairly poor quality, so I added it into the mix.

My ESV was particularly miserable. I had silver duct tape around the sides to keep the binding together. Now it has a clean calfskin cover.

With Ace Bookbinding, even though you can choose from many colors, they can also match the color of the original, as in my Greek New Testament:

I never did like the title, “A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible,” so I asked them to leave “Reader’s” off the new cover:

This is probably the Bible that gets most wear and tear, so I’m thankful and excited for the new binding. Since it is a bigger Bible (in terms of thickness), Ace provides the option of adding more ribbon dividers, so I now have four ribbons instead of one.

As you can see, the pages are sown instead of glued for each Bible, so I expect them to last a very long time:

Many thanks to Ace Bookbinding for their good work! If you need a Bible or a big book rebound, I encourage you to check them out. I think they did a fantastic job.