Hengel on the Old Testament Canon

Michael Bird quotes a significant statement from renowned scholar Martin Hengel on the closed versus open nature of the Old Testament canon based upon its relation to its usage (along with other, non-canonical literature) by NT authors. Read the quote and Bird's reflections here.

Patronage

Erlend MacGillivray's article is a trenchant criticism of the over-application of the Roman patronage system to the broader Greco-Roman world and, indeed, to the New Testament. Read it here.

Ancient Wall Discovered in Jerusalem

A large, ancient wall has been uncovered in Jerusalem. Check out the story here.

About the wall: it's said to be 3,700 years old, and stood "8 meters (26 feet) high."

"To build straight walls up 8 meters ... I don't know how to do it today without mechanical equipment," said the excavation's director, Ronny Reich. "I don't think that any engineer today without electrical power [could] do it."

Amazing.