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J. Richard Middleton, professor of biblical worldview and exegesis at Northeastern Seminary, is widely published in religious periodicals and journals and is the author of five books. His new book, Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God, is published by Baker Academic (2021). Special areas of interest include Old Testament theology, the doctrine of Creation, Christianity and contemporary culture, and the books of Genesis, Job, the Psalms, and Samuel. Dr. Middleton has been president of the Canadian-American Theological Association (2011–2014) and president of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (2019–2021). He also serves as an adjunct professor of Old Testament at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica.
"It is traditional to think we should praise Abraham for his willingness to sacrifice his son as proof of his love for God. But have we misread the point of the story? Is it possible that a careful reading of Genesis 22 could reveal that God was not pleased with Abraham's silent obedience?"
On Thursday, May 21, I’ll be speaking at a conference called “From Interpretation to Preaching.”
My presentation addresses Matthew’s use of Old Testament quotations/ citations in the infancy narratives (Matthew 1-2). There are four, five, or six ciations, depending how you count them.
In chapter 1 Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 (the Immanuel prophecy), while chapter 2 contains quotes from Micah 5:2 (with an addition from 2 Samuel 5:2), Hosea 11:1, and Jeremiah 31:15 (plus a closing citation of “the prophets,” but there is no agreement what the OT reference is).
