From Garden to Exile: A Thematic and Canonical Analysis of the Old Testament

There is a pattern in the canonical shape of the Old Testament literature, as divided into three sections: Pentateuch; Prophets; Writings. Each section begins with a garden or garden imagery. Each section ends with a state of exile yet hope for restoration. Biblical scholar John Sailhamer calls these ‘compositional seams’ linking and holding together books of the Bible. The arrangement of the books within each division reinforces the story and significance of garden to exile. Hope builds on itself.

The Seven Prophets: A Thematic and Canonical Analysis of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (TBD)

The Twelve Minor Prophets: A Thematic and Canonical Analysis of the Treisar (TBD)

Why Did God Choose a "Chosen People"? Why Not Just Skip Right to Jesus?

These two questions stand behind all of the questions that we might have about God’s relationship with the people of Israel as portrayed by the Old Testament. Why did God apparently favor Abraham and Sarah and their family? Why did God protect them by taking other human life, like in the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Egyptian firstborn, etc.?

The Troubling Acts of God: Noah's Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Egyptian Firstborn, and the Canaanites

When God took human life in these occasions, it was not to supposedly demonstrate "retributive justice," but rather to protect His human partners at the time, until Jesus came among the Israelites.

The Troubling Acts of God: The Destruction of the Canaanites 

Text of a message focusing on how God engaged with the Canaanites throughout the Old and New Testaments. Slides to this presentation are graphics-heavy so have been divided into part 1 and part 2. When God took human life on some of the occasions where Israel and the Canaanites came into conflict, it was not to supposedly demonstrate "retributive justice," but rather to protect His human partners at the time, until Jesus came among the Israelites.

The Troubling Acts of God: Did God or Satan Make David Sin?

An examination of 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21, where we find a curious mention of Satan acting upon King David, which opens us up into a much larger question. The paper compares Tolkien’s view of Melkor vs. R.C. Sproul’s view of Satan. This paper advocates that both Satan and David had free will. It critiques the “divine meticulous sovereignty” view typical of Calvinists.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets. Amazon page, 1962. See pdf book. A great exposition on the prophets and their passion as God’s passion
J.P. Fokkelmann, Narrative Art and Poetry in the Books of Samuel. Amazon page, 1981.

Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative. Amazon page, 1981.

Terence E. Fretheim, The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective. Amazon page, 1984. An excellent study; significant overlap with my paper Suffering and the Sovereignty of God’s Word.

Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry. Amazon page, 1985.

Robert Alter and Frank Kermode, The Literary Guide to the Bible. Amazon page, Sep 1, 1990. See pdf book. Very helpful insights.

John Sailhamer, Introduction to Old Testament Theology: A Canonical Approach. Amazon page, Oct 14, 1999. Links Amos and Obadiah through the topic of the Edomites.

Thomas L. LeClerc, Introduction to the Prophets: Their Stories, Sayings, and Scrolls. Amazon page, 2007, 2017.

Christopher Seitz, Prophecy and Hermeneutics: Towards a New Introduction to the Prophets. Amazon page, Aug 1, 2007.

Christopher Seitz, The Goodly Fellowship of the Prophets: The Achievement of Association in Canon Formation. Amazon page, Oct 1, 2009. Seitz examines how the twelve minor prophets are related, literarily.

Daniel Epp-Tiessen, Micah 3 and Corrupt Leaders: Survival Literature, Trauma, and Hope. Scriptural Works, May 9, 2026. A 65 minute video. “Dr. Dan Epp-Tiessen (Canadian Mennonite University) offers a close reading of Micah 3 as survival literature for communities enduring political collapse, military invasion, and generational trauma. Drawing on his Believer's Church Bible Commentary on Joel, Obadiah, and Micah, Epp-Tiessen situates the prophet within the brutal Assyrian and Babylonian campaigns against Judah, arguing that the prophetic books were intentionally shaped to help traumatized communities name their pain and survive faithfully. The episode unpacks Micah's searing cannibalism metaphor against corrupt rulers—leaders who flay the flesh of their people through land seizure, economic exploitation, and unjust governance—and the prophet's equally sharp critique of the false prophets who provided divine legitimation for the regime. The conversation explores Robert Wilson's distinction between central prophets (on the king's payroll) and peripheral prophets (rooted in marginalized communities), the dynamics of true versus false prophecy, and the remarkable intertextual moment in Jeremiah 26 where Micah 3:12 is quoted to defend Jeremiah from a lynch mob. Epp-Tiessen then traces Micah's rhythm of indictment and hope across the book's three judgment-deliverance cycles, culminating in the swords-into-plowshares vision of Micah 4, the vine-and-fig-tree promise of peasant security, and the gracious, merciful God of Micah 7. The result is a trauma-informed, peace-theology reading that holds together rigorous scholarship and ecclesial relevance—offering pastors, students, and serious readers a framework for hearing Micah's voice in contexts of contemporary injustice, polarization, and the urgent question of faithful leadership today.”