 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com A careful study of ancient Jewish views on blasphemy and exaltation that illuminates the charge against Jesus in Mark’s gospel. Average Customer Rating: 
Unpacking All the Definitions of Blasphemy, I
| Customer Rating: | Popular opinion is that one blasphemes by either claiming to be Almighty God (John 10:33) or speaking against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:41).
Bock's scholarly work unpacks ALL the reasons the Jewish literature reveal as definitions of the capital offense of blasphemy. He makes clear that to limit Jesus' claims as being one or both of the above is uninformed thinking. To claim to be the Christ/the Messiah was sufficient for being put to death, whether there was a connection with a claim to be God Almighty or not. Interestingly, however, the Jewish leaders were somewhat selective in which of those who claimed to be Messiah they would seek to put to death. Jesus wasn't apparently into taking out the Romans, so strike him out as a legitimate claimant to the position.
That he may have claimed to be "a god" as opposed to the Almighty God is quite permissible in the Greek at John 10:33. Bock's book will show why the desire to stone Jesus, although a lethal position to take, entailed a blasphemy of a sort not usually expected. One could be guilty of blasphemy, Bock reveals, for claiming close ASSOCIATION with not only God but with patriarchs like Abraham especially (Consider how that bears on Jesus' comment at John 8:58, "Before Abraham was born I am he" (i.e. the Messiah).
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Warning: this book is not for the faint of heart and one who wants to skim the contents over tea and crumpets. A knowledge of Greek and Hebrew will greatly enhance ones appreciation of this book. At the very least, have at your side a good formal equivalence translation (NASB, RSV, ESV, NET Bible) and a Strong's concordance.
Danny Dixon
DannyDixon@4OneGod.net |
Great Scholarship - AND Evangelical!
| Customer Rating: | | As I prepare to write an academic paper on Matthew 24:30 and Jesus' claim to be the "Son of Man" coming on the clouds with power and great glory, I find no other resource as helpful as Darrell Bock's "Blasphemy & Exaltation." The scholarship is impeccable. His evaluation of critical scholarship is incisive and largely critical, yet he does not try to "beat something with nothing." He offers his own evaluations of the evidence in compelling ways. His compiling of Jewish views on Blasphemy makes for a tremendous resource for any student of the New Testament to make sense of Jesus' claims. Do you want to know what Jesus actually claimed at his trial? Do you want to know what was so offensive to the ears of Jewish leaders so as to merit capital punishment? Read this book. One caveat: if you are not used to reading works of scholarship on the New Testament (i.e. you are a layperson), this work can get very technical. You need to be aware of the tools of NT criticism (form, source, redaction, literary, etc.)in order to understand Bock's interaction with them. In other words, this book is not for everybody. It's not a "popular" treatment. But, if you want a workout, go for it! I am very grateful to Dr. Bock for this resource. |
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