Peter Enns

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United States Contemporary
Name:	Peter Enns
Birth:	January 02, 1961
School/tradition:	Calvinist, Reformed
Main interests:	Old testament, Wisdom literature, Hermeneutics

Peter Eric Enns (b. January 2, 1961) is a Reformed Evangelical and biblical scholar.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Controversy 3 Selected works 3.1 Books 3.2 Articles and essays 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Enns is professor of Old Testament and hermeneutics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He holds a B.A. in behavioral science from Messiah College (1982), an M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary (1989), and an M.A. (1993) and Ph.D. (1994) from Harvard University. Enns is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Institute for Biblical Research, and the Evangelical Theological Society. He is a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Enns's academic interests include Old Testament theology, Biblical Theology, Wisdom Literature (especially Ecclesiastes), the New Testament use of the Old Testament, Second Temple literature, and the general issue of how the historical context of the Bible affects how we understand the nature of Scripture within Reformed and Evangelical commitments.^[1] He has written many articles, essays, dictionary and encyclopedia entries, and book reviews on varied topics surrounding the Old Testament and its interpretation. He has also taught courses at Princeton Theological Seminary, Harvard University, and Biblical Theological Seminary.

[edit] Controversy

Enns's book, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament, has proved controversial. WTS President Peter Lillback expressed that it "has caught the attention of the world so that we have scholars that love this book, and scholars who have criticized it very deeply…. We have students who have read it say it has liberated them. We have other students that say it's crushing their faith and removing them from their hope. We have churches that are considering it, and two Presbyteries have said they will not send students to study under Professor Enns here."^[2]

On March 26, 2008, the board of trustees at Westminster Theological Seminary voted 18–9 to suspend Enns from his position effective May 23, 2008.^[3] Though the faculty voted 12–8 that the work falls within the parameters of the Westminster Confession of Faith,^[3] the chairman of the board said that they felt the book was incompatible with the Confession.^[2] In response to concerns raised following the suspension decision, the board established a hearing committee with representation from board and faculty to insure Professor Enns is accorded due process and to make recommendations by December 2008 concerning his employment.^[4] Several documents have been released by the seminary describing the nature of the debate surrounding Enns's work.^[5]

[edit] Selected works

[edit] Books

• Baker Bible Dictionary (Co-editor with Tremper Longman III and Mark Strauss; Grand Rapids: Baker, forthcoming 2008/9)
• Three Views on the New Testament’s Use of the Old Testament (Co-written with Walter Kaiser and Darrell Bock; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, forthcoming 2008) ISBN 9780310273332
• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, and Writings (Co-editor with Tremper Longman III; Downers Grove, IL: IVP, forthcoming 2008) ISBN 9780830817832
• Ecclesiastes (Two Horizons Commentary Series; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, forthcoming 2008)
• Invitation to Genesis (Disciple Bible Study; Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006) ISBN 9780687494927
• Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005) ISBN 9780801027307
• Exodus (NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000) ISBN 9780340756607
• Exodus Retold: Ancient Exegesis of the Departure from Egypt in Wis 10:15-21 and 19:1-9 (Harvard Semitic Museum Monographs 57; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997) ISBN 9780788504037
• Poetry and Wisdom (IBR Bibliographies. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997) ISBN 9780801021619

[edit] Articles and essays

• "Pseudo-Solomon and His Scripture: Biblical Interpretation in the Wisdom of Solomon," CBIEJ, Ed. M. Henze, Eerdmans, forthcoming, 2008.
• "Preliminary Observations on an Incarnational Model of Scripture: Its Viability and Usefulness," Calvin Theological Journal, forthcoming fall 2007.
• "Exodus, the Problem of Historiography, and Some Theological Reflections," Act 3 Review 15/4 (2007): forthcoming.
• "Response to Professor Greg Beale," Themelios 32/3 (2007): 5-13.
• "Bible in Context: The Continuing Vitality of Reformed Biblical Scholarship," Westminster Theological Journal 68 (2006): 203-18.
• "Response to G. K. Beale’s Review of Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 49/2 (2006): 313-26.
• "Loving Christ While I Cheer for the Yankees," byFaith (January/February 2006): 21-23.
• "Some Thoughts on Theological Exegesis of the Old Testament: Toward a Viable Model of Biblical Coherence and Relevance," Reformation and Revival Journal 14/4 (2005): 81-104.
• "col haaram and the Evaluation of Qohelet’s Wisdom in Qoh 12:13, or The ‘A is so, and What’s More, B’ Theology of Ecclesiastes," The Idea of Biblical Interpretation (James Kugel FS; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2003), 125-37.
• "Apostolic Hermeneutics and an Evangelical Doctrine of Scripture: Moving beyond the Modernist Impasse," Westminster Theological Journal 65 (2003): 263-87.
• "William Henry Green and the Authorship of the Pentateuch: Some Historical Considerations," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 45/3 (September 2002): 385-403.
• "Matthew and Hosea: A Response to John Sailhamer," Westminster Theological Journal 63 (2001): 97-105.
• "Wisdom of Solomon and Biblical Interpretation in the Second Temple Period," The Way of Wisdom (B. K. Waltke Festschrift), eds. J. I. Packer and S. Soderlund, Zondervan, 2000, 212-25.
• "Expansions of Scripture," Justification and Variegated Nomism, ed. D. A. Carson. J. C. B. Mohr/Baker, 2000, 73-98.
• "Yankees and Westminster: Personal Reflections on Tradition," unpublished paper (1998).
• "The ‘Moveable Well’ in 1 Cor 10:4: An Extra-Biblical Tradition in an Apostolic Text." Bulletin for Biblical Research 6 (1996): 23-38.
• "A Retelling of the Song at the Sea in Wis 10,20-21." Biblica 76 (1995): 1-24. Republished in The Function of Scripture in Early Jewish and Christian Tradition, eds. C. A. Evans and J. A. Sanders, 142-65. JSNTSup 154/SSEJC 6. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998.
• "Creation and Re-creation: Psalm 95 and its Interpretation in Hebrews 3:7-4:13," Westminster Theological Journal 55 (1993): 255-80. (Partially republished as “The Interpretation of Psalm 95 in Hebrews 3.1-4.13.” Early Christian Interpretation of the Scriptures of Israel: Investigations and Proposals, eds. C. A. Evans and J. A. Sanders, 352-63. JSNTSup 148/SSEJC 5. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• a time to tear down : A Time to Build Up - Peter Enns' official website
• Peter E. Enns: Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Hermeneutics WTS faculty profile
• Peter Enns: Inspiration and Incarnation, updated listing of links related to the Enns controversy by Brandon Withrow