The Dead Sea Scrolls: Psalms
by James Duguid | December 29, 2025
In my last post on the Dead Sea Scrolls, I looked at the Genesis scroll that is visiting the District of Columbia, 4QGeng. I set out some basics of text criticism (look back at that post if you need help with some of the details here), and I pointed out that this Genesis scroll is not that interesting in the grand scheme of things – for the eleven verses of Genesis it covers, it doesn’t record any variant readings that significantly change the interpretation.
Psalm 46: The Song Behind the Immanuel Promise
by James Duguid | December 24, 2025
For Advent at Wallace this year we have been preaching through the promises of a coming child from Isaiah 7-11. As we have been working through them, I have noticed several connections back to Psalm 46. This is a song that Isaiah and his contemporaries would have been singing, and it seems to be in the background of a lot of what he has to say. I thought I’d take a moment to explore these connections this Christmas.
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Genesis
by James Duguid | December 11, 2025
The Dead Sea Scrolls have come to visit the District of Columbia for the year. I’ll be arranging some trips to go see them, and putting out some blog posts about the particular scrolls that are coming to visit, and what significance they have for our understanding of the Bible.
Commentary Roundup: Psalm 9:10
by James Duguid | August 21, 2025
I am trying out a new kind of post I am calling "Commentary Roundup," where I do a deep dive through all major critical commentaries through a certain time period on just one focused issue. This post is about Psalm 9:10 (9:9 in English versification), and I checked commentaries back to 1990.
The Westminster Assembly and the Distribution of the Elements
by James Duguid | July 30, 2025
Recently, there was a discussion at the PCA General Assembly about who should distribute the elements at the Lord’s Supper. I argued that distribution belongs to all participants to the Supper, and I argued that point from Luke 22:17 (you can see that argument here). Since the Assembly, I’ve had a chance to spend more time looking into the history of the practice. I was honestly a little surprised at how clear the evidence is that both the Westminster Assembly and the Church of Scotland (who ultimately adopted the Westminster Standards) permitted the distribution of the elements by the whole congregation.