Tool Talk

Can the importance of context be visualized?

A unique and innovative resource, Visual Charts of the New Testament (SCS Press, 2020) introduces, surveys, and outlines every book of the NT in single-page charts, breaking them into discourse units and smaller sub-sections. 

In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis interviews author Scott Bashoor, faculty associate and instructor at The Master's Seminary and Univers...

The Gospels don't have a 'lower' Christology than Paul, so why has this claim gained ground?

To answer this question, Matthew Barrett considers the nature of Scripture, the definition of biblical theology, and the role of systematics in exegesis.

Barrett has taken on these challenges in Canon, Covenant, and Christology: Rethinking Jesus and the Scriptures of Israel, the latest entry in the excelle...

What does a biblical scholar do? Andreas Köstenberger's answer is simple, but he has applied it in his own career in a variety of ways.

Dr. Köstenberger serves as Research Professor of NT and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Director of the Center for Biblical Studies, Founder of Biblical Foundations, Editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Köstenberger is a prolific...

Christians have one Bible with two testaments, and the New Testament authors frequently refer back to the Old Testament Scriptures. But they don't only point to prophecies that have been fulfilled or directly quote OT passages. In this episode, joined by co-host Taylor DiRoberto, Travis gives an overview of the NT use of the OT and considers some trickier examples.

Going to ETS 2019 in San Diego? Reach out to Travis t...

What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What does philosophy have to do with the New Testament? In Acts 17, Paul answered, "Plenty!" In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Joseph Dodson about two common errors when it comes to studying extrabiblical parallels to Scripture, especially in Greco-Roman philosophy. Dodson (PhD, Aberdeen) is associate professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary and co-editor (with Davi...

How is so-called "devotional" reading of the Bible different from so-called "academic" reading of the Bible? Why must the serious student of Scripture make time for both? How can the methodical and inquisitive reader make Scripture reading a time of worship? In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis asks these questions and more of John Linebarger, a "collector of degrees," bivocational minister, and author...

Matthew’s use of the Old Testament portrays Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament story. But Matthew doesn’t do this with just citations and quotations of specific OT texts. In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Patrick Schreiner (Assistant Professor of NT Language and Literature, Director of the ThM Program, Western Seminary) about Matthew’s narrative allusions and Schreiner’s new book, Matthew, Disciple...

What does the book of Jonah want readers to think and do? Beyond the history and apologetics involved, many readers are unaware of the important literary cues in Jonah. Sam Bierig, Dean of Spurgeon College at Midwestern Seminary, has been studying, writing, and preaching Jonah and wants Christians to hear the cues and see the book as it is. What's more, he wants college students to focus on souls and Scripture as they learn an...

Dispensationalism: It's not just about the end times; it's also about exegesis. As Cory Marsh, Associate Professor of New Testament at the College at Southern California Seminary, points out, it's largely about hermeneutics. In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Cory about the exegetical commitments of dispensational thought. A member of the Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics and a founding member of th...

Throughout Scripture, one author will recall the words or themes of an earlier author, whether through a quotation, allusion, or echo. How do exegetes identify these cases of intertextuality? What is their importance? On this episode of Tool Talk, Travis talks with Brian Koning, an adjunct professor of theology at Grand Canyon University researching Habakkuk’s allusions to Job. Travis and Brian also discuss the role of an adjunct p...

It is more and more feasible for a lifelong missionary to contribute substantially to scholarship. David Clark is one such missionary scholar, leveraging his decades of Bible translation work to provide helpful insights to the fields of biblical studies and corpus linguistics. On this episode, Todd Scacewater (Founder of Exegetical Tools, Co-Founder of Fontes Press) talks about  Clark’s legacy, as seen through his memoirs (includin...

It’s easy to simply refer to varying philosophies of Bible translation as either “formal” or “functional,” but are these valid categories? What are the values and setbacks of these different translations of Scripture? How does contemporary linguistics help us think through this? On this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Todd Scacewater (Exegetical Tools, Fontes Press, Wycliffe Bible Translators) about linguistics and Bible tr...

The advent of English “reader’s Bibles” and audio Bibles is upon us. What should we make of it? With poor statistics on Bible literacy in the West, how can pastors and church members encourage more and better Bible reading in their churches and small groups? On this episode, Travis chats with Glenn Paauw, Senior Director of Content at the Institute for Bible Reading. Much like Exegetical Tools, the Institute for Bible Reading is co...

“I’ve sought to devote my life to being a believing biblical scholar” – Peter J. Williams (PhD, Cambridge University). Dr. Williams leads one of the leading institutions for biblical studies in the world as the Principal of Tyndale House Cambridge, yet he’s recently authored a book for laypeople and pastors, titled “Can We Trust the Gospels?” (Crossway, 2018). As a confessing evangelical, his answer is a firm “yes,” but this hasn’t...

Have you ever stopped to consider whether your lexicon of choice was trustworthy? The erudite exegete might recognize the limitations of lexicons, but what are we supposed to do with them? In his groundbreaking "A History of New Testament Lexicography," John A. L. Lee (Macquarie University) gently but incisively shows the faulty methodology that plagues NT lexicography and proposes a future for NT lexicography in light of...

The Revelation of Jesus to John and… you? If you’ve ever wondered how to read the Revelation, then you should consider who was meant to read it. This conversation with Jason Kees discusses his work identifying the ideal reader of the Apocalypse of John and the merits of a “canonical” approach to biblical interpretation. Dr. Kees (PhD, Biblical Studies) is pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and adjunct professor of biblical stud...

Why should a pastor consider doctoral studies? How in the world can you find the time? Why would a pastor teach seminary and Bible college students? What does an average week look like? Is there such a thing? Whether you’re a pastor considering PhD studies, a seminarian looking to the future, or a curious veteran, this interview with Jason Kees (PhD, Biblical Studies) will be insightful and encouraging. Dr. Kees is Pastor at Pleasa...

Jude famously called his readers to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” But against whom are they to contend? Who are these “ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ”? Herb Bateman, NT scholar and President of the Cyber-Center for Biblical Studies, has a hypothesis: Judean zealots who were recruiting for the Jewish Wars leadin...

How can students of Biblical Hebrew keep what they’ve learned for a lifetime? By getting into the text more quickly and understanding the language more deeply. That’s how the authors of Learning Biblical Hebrew: Reading for Comprehension: An Introductory Grammar (Lexham Press) have been teaching, and it’s working. Karl Kutz and Rebekah Josberger have cultivated a powerful Hebrew program at Multnomah University and Multnomah Biblica...