Your prayers worked a miracle! The first draft of my thesis was not quite finished. But then a miraculous snow storm closed the Dallas Seminary campus! It may have upset a little thing called the Super Bowl . . . but it gave me extra time to finish. So, thank you!

After handing in my thesis, I had to sit a written PhD qualifying exam. This is a three-hour exam with no books, or Bible, to help. I crammed as much as I could, and received word this week that I passed! This is good news. The final steps are passing an oral exam, and making revisions to the final draft of my thesis.

I wanted you to appreciate how tough the PhD qualifying exam is, but I am legally bound not to release any details about it. However, my kids love Mad Libs. So here are some example questions from the exam (fill in your own content):

• List all the   (adjective)      (noun)    of the Bible in (adjective)   order, along with the   (noun)   they were written, and the  (noun)   they were written to.
• Describe the   (plural noun)   in   (Bible book)   chapters   (number-number)   in  (adjective)   order, with special attention to the events on   (noun)  .

  

Many have asked for details about my thesis on the character of Jael. This month I will explain the Hebrew text in Judges 4 & 5. After intensive study I can definitively say that there are no hidden secrets in the story of Jael. The text in your Bible is exactly how it was originally written. Jael did commit those gruesome actions, and she was called "blessed" for them. My thesis explains this point in a mere 20 pages!  

 

Next month: the options for interpreting this mystery.