Buswell Bulletin: Journal Articles – April 2025
Covenant’s librarians keep an eye on the new journal issues coming into the library and here highlight recent articles and reviews that strike us as interesting and/or important to the scholarly conversation. (Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement.)
Linked items marked “Open Access” are accessible to anyone. Otherwise, a Covenant library account may be required for access. Alumni may access items marked “Alumni Access Available” by visiting the Alumni Portal and selecting the identified resource on the library resources page.
Erbey Galvan Valdez
The Expository Times 134, no. 7 (April 2023): 289–98
Alumni Access Available: SAGE Journals
Abstract:
Acts 13:13 describes one of the most puzzling events of the nascent Christian Church—John Mark’s departure from Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–14:28). Although Luke appears to offer no details on the motive for John Mark’s actions, this study argues that Luke did not remain completely silent on this issue. Through a distinctive literary strategy, Luke depicted John Mark as an evolving character, thus pointing the informed first century Christian reader to the reason for his departure at Perga. To wit, this article proposes that, because John Mark’s departure was driven by theological differences with Paul, based on his view that the Gentiles could not live sanctified lives apart from submission to certain ceremonial Second-Temple idiosyncrasies, Luke contextualized John Mark’s progression towards embracing the Gentile mission by using four variant Markan name-structures as literary emblems of his missiological evolution. In light of Paul’s pro-Gentile mission, affirmed at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), the rift between Paul and his young co-laborer, likely theological in nature, may have manifested itself upon their arrival at Paphos and subsequent voyage to Perga in Pamphylia.
Development of the Spiritual Harm and Abuse Scale
Daniel Koch and Leihua Edstrom
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 61, no. 2 (June 2022): 476–506
Alumni Access Available: Atla Religion Database
Abstract:
Both religiosity and spirituality have been shown to have positive effects on multiple aspects of well-being, mental health, and healing. Religiosity and spirituality are also positive mediating factors in healing from abuse broadly. Religious or spiritual abuse has the capacity for harming one's religiosity and/or spirituality. When abuse occurs in a religious setting, it has the effect of making it less likely that religion and/or spirituality can be used as a coping strategy to heal from that very abuse. Little is known about the underlying factors that constitute the larger concept of spiritual abuse. A total of 66 survey prompts were pulled from the existing quantitative and qualitative literature on spiritual abuse, focusing on both external events and internal states that often result from spiritual abuse. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on survey responses (N = 3222), resulting in six factors: (1) maintaining the system, (2) internal distress, (3) embracing violence, (4) controlling leadership, (5) harmful God-image, and (6) gender discrimination. The resulting 27-item scale, which includes 11 additional “critical items,” can be used in clinical settings to get quick, detailed information about a client's exposure to spiritual abuse and possible resulting consequences.
See also resources posted on author’s website.
Judges 2:11–19: A Palimpsest of Political History
Julian C. Chike
Journal of Biblical Literature 142, no. 4 (December 2023): 567–588
Abstract:
In recent years, biblicists have argued that the “judge of Israel” and the “era of judges” are simply the editorial invention of the Deuteronomist(s). Central to the debate is the place of Judg 2:11–19, the only passage within the book of Judges where the leaders of early Israel are specifically designated with the Hebrew title שפט, conventionally translated “judge.” Since, according to recent scholarship, שפטים never existed in Israel’s premonarchic past, their biblical attestation in Judg 2:11–19 demands an explanation. Over the past several decades, scholars have offered various ideas, none of which has been fully satisfactory. In this article, I challenge prevailing claims about the שפט of premonarchic Israel through a reexamination of the composition history of Judg 2:11–19. I argue that this literary unit underwent two phases of editing—one in Israelite circles, and another in Judahite (Deuteronomistic) circles. Behind these editorial layers of Judg 2:11–19 is what I propose may have been a substratum on which later editors built. Notwithstanding the hypothetical nature of this substratum, I show how it corresponds to certain sociopolitical realities that would have been foreign at later times of writing and how it coheres with recent models of composition history for the book of Judges. Thus, I argue that the שפט of Israel was not the invention of the Deuteronomist(s). Moreover, the findings suggest that Judg 2:11–19 may preserve a genuine memory of שפטים in premonarchic Israel. While recent scholarship has sought to explain cultural phenomena of early Israel (e.g., the שפטים) as the product of later writings, my study invites a discussion of possible links with older cultural settings.
Torches, Not Lamps, in the Wedding Parable of Matthew 25
Michael Preppard
Journal of Biblical Literature 143, no. 4 (2024): 663–679
Abstract:
Nearly all Bibles printed in English describe the women of the parable of the ten bridesmaids as holding “lamps” (Matt 25:1–13, also called the parable of the wise and foolish virgins). The implied referent of this English word is an ancient terra-cotta oil lamp, which is neither the best translation of the underlying Greek word nor an appropriate understanding of wedding traditions in the ancient Mediterranean region. Some other scholarly editions of the parable, especially those in the German language, have translated the Greek word correctly as “torches.” In this article, I make the textual case in English and amplify scholarly findings from art history that lead to a clear conclusion: the objects carried by the women in the wedding parable of Matt 25 are torches, not lamps.
Andrew Walton
Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, published online February 20, 2025
Abstract:
Rebellion is an activity that is inherently ambiguous. This ambiguity is on full display as we compare the divergent ways the biblical authors treat the rebellions of Zedekiah and Hezekiah against their respective overlords. While the biblical authors condemn select rebellions (e.g., the rebellion of Zedekiah against Nebuchadnezzar) they recognize the need to justify some rebellions and are intentional in the way they describe the rebellion along with the related details. The rebellion of Hezekiah against Sennacherib provides one example where various texts are careful to present the related details in a way that will avoid condemning a pious king for rebelling against the imperial power.
Alexander J. Carroll and Joshua Borycz
The Journal of Academic Librarianship 50, no. 4 (July 2024)
Open Access
Abstract:
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) have induced a mixture of excitement and panic among educators. However, there is a lack of consensus over how much experience science and engineering students have with using these tools for research-related tasks. Likewise, it is not yet known how educators and information professionals can leverage these tools to teach students strategies for information retrieval and knowledge synthesis. This study assesses the extent of students' use of AI tools in research-related tasks and if information literacy instruction could impact their perception of these tools. Responses to Likert-scale questions indicate that many students did not have extensive experience using LLMs for research-related purposes prior to the information literacy sessions. However, after participating in a didactic lecture and discussion with an engineering librarian that explored how to use these tools effectively and responsibly, many students reported viewing these tools as potentially useful for future assignments. Student responses to open-response questions suggest that librarian-led information literacy training can assist students in developing more sophisticated understandings of the limitations and use cases for artificial intelligence in inquiry-based coursework.
The authors provide a helpful “framework” for understanding the limitations of large language models, “The 5I’s”: Incomplete, Inconsistent, Incoherent, Illogical, and Indulgent (p.3). However, with those limitations in mind, they have taught students how to use LLMs constructively to take natural language, unstructured research questions and turn them into well-structured, Boolean search strings that can be used in library databases and other search engines (p.4). That technology is being rolled out into the major library database platforms and discovery systems presently and will likely be widely deployed within the year.
Reviews
Review of Exodus in the New Testament, edited by Seth M. Ehorn
Susan Docherty
The Expository Times 134, no. 7 (April 2023): 325
Alumni Access Available: SAGE Journals
Review of Typology: Understanding the Bible’s Promise-Shaped Patterns, by James M. Hamilton, Jr.
Craig A. Evans
The Expository Times 134, no. 7 (April 2023): 327
Alumni Access Available: SAGE Journals