Category Archives: Comps

Crunch Time!

Posted on May 31, 2011 by jamesbradfordpate

I’ll be leaving for New York City today, since I’ll be taking my Hebrew Bible comprehensive examination tomorrow. I’m hoping that my books and notes will fit into my backpack! Yesterday, I took a particular approach to studying: I researched … Continue reading →

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Insomnia, The Christian and the Pharisee

Posted on December 21, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

I’m having a hard time sleeping right now, and I have four hours before I have to get up. Part of the problem is that I’m thinking of some of the errors I made on my comps, and I’m afraid … Continue reading →

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Last Comp

Posted on December 21, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

I took my final comp today. I expected it to be the hardest, but, actually, it wasn’t that bad. The professor could have chosen much harder Greek passages for me to translate on the test, from the large corpus that … Continue reading →

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Which Is Worse?

Posted on December 19, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

I hate the day before a comp. There’s so much anxiety—burn-out mixed with panic attack. Actually taking the comp is not as bad. At that time, I either know the material or I don’t, and I no longer have to … Continue reading →

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Comp Number 2

Posted on December 14, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

I took my second comp today, the one in Hebrew Bible. (That means my school was open on this snowy day.) I’m not sure what to say about it. A lot of what I studied was not on it. There … Continue reading →

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The Day Before…

Posted on December 12, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

I’m studying for my Hebrew Bible comp right now, which I will take tomorrow. I wonder, later on today, if I’ll get the same sort of mixture between burn-out and panic attack that I got last week, while studying for … Continue reading →

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Faith Amidst Insecurity

Posted on December 7, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

One reason religion exists is that there is so much insecurity in the world. A line that I used to hear is that, as long as there will be math tests, then there will be school prayer. In my case, … Continue reading →

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Comp Number 1

Posted on December 7, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

Last night, I was studying for my first comp, the one in rabbinics. I felt as if I was having a panic attack mixed with burn-out! But prayer got me through. I started reading some of the midrashim as if … Continue reading →

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Providence? Self-Esteem?

Posted on December 5, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

1. I’m studying for my rabbinics comp, which I’ll be taking tomorrow, and, lo and behold, James McGrath has a link by Simon Holloway on “The Development of the Halakha.” Coincidence, or divine providence? 2. I’m listening to Joel Osteen … Continue reading →

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Robert Wilson on Scribes and Prophetic Writings

Posted on November 16, 2010 by jamesbradfordpate

I’m reading Randall Heskett and Brian Irwin’s The Bible as a Human Witness to Divine Revelation off-and-on, and I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Wilson’s article in it, “Scribal Culture and the Book of Isaiah.”  It tied together a lot of loose … Continue reading →

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