RBL Highlights: 5/17/08

A few highlights from this week's Review of Biblical Literature:

Loveday C. A. Alexander
Acts in Its Ancient Literary Context: A Classicist Looks at the Acts of the Apostles
Reviewed by Chrys C. Caragounis

Markus Bockmuehl and James Carleton Paget, eds.
Redemption and Resistance: The Messianic Hopes of Jews and Christians in Antiquity
Reviewed by Joshua Ezra Burns

Frances Taylor Gench
Encounters with Jesus: Studies in the Gospel of John
Reviewed by John Painter

L. Ann. Jervis
At the Heart of the Gospel: Suffering in the Earliest Christian Message
Reviewed by Thomas W. Gillespie

Robert Kysar
John: The Maverick Gospel
Reviewed by Dirk G. van der Merwe

Terence C. Mournet
Oral Tradition and Literary Dependency: Variability and Stability in the Synoptic Tradition and Q
Reviewed by Robert K. McIver

Geert van Oyen and Tom Shepherd, eds.
The Trial and Death of Jesus: Essays on the Passion Narrative in Mark
Reviewed by Adam D. Winn

RBL Highlights: 5/9/08

A few highlights from this week's Review of Biblical Literature:

Paul N. Anderson
The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus: Modern Foundations Reconsidered
Reviewed by John Painter

Malcolm Choat
Belief and Cult in Fourth-Century Papyri
Reviewed by David Frankfurter

Michael Thomas Davis and Brent A. Strawn, eds.
Qumran Studies: New Approaches, New Questions
Reviewed by Heinz-Josef Fabry

April D. DeConick
The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation: With a Commentary and New English Translation of the Complete Gospel
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek

Mikael C. Parsons
Body and Character in Luke and Acts: The Subversion of Physiognomy in Early Christianity
Reviewed by Pieter J. J. Botha
Reviewed by Patrick E. Spencer

Todd Penner and Caroline Vander Stichele, eds.
Moving beyond New Testament Theology? Essays in Conversation with Heikki Räisänen
Reviewed by Jan van der Watt

Richard L. Rohrbaugh
The New Testament in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Reviewed by Stephan Joubert

C. Kavin Rowe
Early Narrative Christology: The Lord in the Gospel of Luke
Reviewed by Christopher Tuckett

Naomi Seidman
Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation
Reviewed by Cameron Boyd-Taylor

Brad H. Young
Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus
Reviewed by Verlyn D. Verbrugge

New from Fortress: Apostle to the Conquered

A recent announcement from Fortress:



Apostle to the Conquered: Reimagining Paul's Mission






"The Apostle to the nations" in political perspective

Davina C. Lopez here combines attention to Roman visual and literary representations of conquered nations with a gender-critical "re-imagination" of Paul's apostleship. The result is a new and more critical perspective on the systematic violence of the Roman Empire, and a renewed understanding of "Paul's politics of the new creation."

Contents

Introduction: The Problem with "the Nations"

The Fate of the Nations in Roman Imperial Representation
Destiny and the Naturalization of Conquest
Conversion, Call, and Consciousness
The Politics of the New Creation

Conclusion: Dislocating Paul's "Universalism"

Davina C. Lopez is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida and serves on the American Academy of Religion's Board of Directors.

ISBN: 978-0-8006-6281-3

Price: $29.00 / CAN $35.00 / UK ₤16.99

Spec: 6" x 9", hardcover with jacket, 224 pages

Order your copy today!

RBL Highlights: 5/5/08

A few highlights from the most recent editions of the Review of Biblical Literature (I've been slacking off due to finals).

Eldon Jay Epp
Junia: The First Woman Apostle
Reviewed by Nancy Calvert-Koyzis

Alice Hunt
Missing Priests: The Zadokites in Tradition and History
Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Ivan Shing Chung Kwong
The Word Order of the Gospel of Luke: Its Foregrounded Messages
Reviewed by Steven Runge

Philip L. Mayo
"Those Who Call Themselves Jews": The Church and Judaism in the Apocalypse of John
Reviewed by Jack T. Sanders

John Howard Schütz
Paul and the Anatomy of Apostolic Authority
Reviewed by Graydon F. Snyder

Tommy Wasserman
The Epistle of Jude: Its Text and Transmission
Reviewed by Stephen D. Patton

Herbert W. Bateman IV, ed.
Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews
Reviewed by Felix H. Cortez

Joseph A. Fitzmyer
The One Who Is to Come
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Staley

Kathy L. Gaca and L. L. Welborn, eds.
Early Patristic Readings of Romans
Reviewed by David A. Creech

Hillary Rodrigues and Thomas A. Robinson
World Religions: A Guide to the Essentials
Reviewed by Joseph Matos

Valerie M. Warrior
Roman Religion
Reviewed by Edmund P. Cueva

Claus Wilcke
Early Ancient Near Eastern Law: A History of Its Beginnings: The Early Dynastic and Sargonic Periods
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

New from Oxford: Handbook of Biblical Studies

A recent announcement from Oxford. Technically, this isn't a new title, merely a new paperback edition of a previous title. But it's well worth a look!

The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies
Edited by J. W. Rogerson and Judith M. Lieu

Biblical studies is a highly technical and diverse field. The Study of the Bible demands expertise in fields ranging from Archaeology, Egyptology, Assyriology, and Linguistics through textual, historical, and sociological studies to Literary Theory, Feminism, Philosophy, and Theology, to name only some. This authoritative and compelling guide to the discipline is an invaluable reference work for all students and academics who want to explore more fully essential topics in Biblical studies.

RBL Highlights: 4/18/08

And speaking of the RBL, here are some recent highlights:

John Barton
The Nature of Biblical Criticism
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn

Roland Boer
Symposia: Dialogues Concerning the History of Biblical Interpretation
Reviewed by Henning Graf Reventlow

Andrew Chester
Messiah and Exaltation: Jewish Messianic and Visionary Traditions and New Testament Christology
Reviewed by Martin Karrer

Zeba A. Crook
Reconceptualising Conversion: Patronage, Loyalty, and Conversion in the Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean
Reviewed by Dietmar Neufeld

A. Andrew Das
Solving the Romans Debate
Reviewed by Don Garlington

James M. Robinson
Jesus: According to the Earliest Witness
Reviewed by Robert A. Derrenbacker Jr.

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
The Power of the Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire
Reviewed by Warren Carter

Peter Jeffery Responds to Scott Brown

I recently received an e-mail from Peter Jeffery in which he indicated that the Review of Biblical Literature has refused to publish his reply to Scott Brown's extensive review of his recent book The Secret Gospel of Mark Unveiled (which has received high praise from a number of Yale faculty, including Harry Attridge). As a result, his reply may be found here; other related material is available here.

RBL Highlights: 4/10/08

A few highlights from this week's Review of Biblical Literature:

Carol Dempsey
Jeremiah: Preacher of Grace, Poet of Truth
Reviewed by Carolyn J. Sharp

Ronald Herms
An Apocalypse for the Church and for the World: The Narrative Function of Universal Language in the Book of Revelation
Reviewed by David L. Barr

Timothy Paul Jones
Misquoting Truth: A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus
Reviewed by Craig L. Blomberg

Jan Joosten and Peter J. Tomson, eds.
Voces Biblicae: Septuagint Greek and Its Significance for the New Testament
Reviewed by Hans Ausloos

J. A. (Bobby) Loubser
Oral and Manuscript Culture in the Bible: Studies on the Media Texture of the New Testament-Explorative Hermeneutics
Reviewed by Alan Kirk

Nicholas Perrin
Thomas, The Other Gospel
Reviewed by Kenneth D. Litwak

Don Sausa
The Jesus Tomb: Is It Fact or Fiction? Scholars Chime In
Reviewed by Mark R. Fairchild

John L. Thompson
Reading the Bible with the Dead: What You Can Learn from the History of Exegesis That You Can't Learn from Exegesis Alone
Reviewed by John Sandys-Wunsch

D. Francois Tolmie
Persuading the Galatians: A Text-Centred Rhetorical Analysis of a Pauline Letter
Reviewed by Steven A. Hunt

Elaine M. Wainwright
Women Healing/Healing Women: The Genderization of Healing in Early Christianity
Reviewed by John J. Pilch

Even More SBL News

Publications News

New on The SBL Forum:

The April issue focuses on a controversial new German Bible translation: Die Bibel in gerechter Sprache (The Bible in Inclusive Language).

The Spring 2008 Journal of Biblical Literature 127.1 has been posted.

SBL Publications has added new books to the Online Books Program. For the complete list of books available, click here.

Calendar items for April 2008

4/7-4/11
Concept of Exile in Ancient Israel and its Contexts: A Workshop (Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Munich and University of Alberta, Edmonton). To be held at the University of Alberta.
For a full description and program click here.

4/9-4/12
Museums and the Web 2008: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Annual conference exploring the on-line presentation of cultural, scientific and heritage content across institutions and around the world. http://www.archimuse.com/mw2008/

4/13-4/16
The Judeans in the Acheamenid Age: Negotiating Identity in an International Context
International conference to be held at the University of Heidelberg
Click Here for more info.

4/17-4/18
The Sword of Judith: Female Agency and the Aesthetic of Terror; New York Public Library
For a complete description of the conference, see: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/10/prweb559915.htm

4/18
New England Regional Meeting
Andover Newton Theological Seminary, Newton, MA
Click Here for more info.

4/19
A memorial service for Bernhard Word Anderson will be held in the Miller Chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary on April 19, 2008 at 11:00 AM, followed by a reception with music and remembrances in the Gambrell Room of Scheide Hall, next door to the Chapel.

4/28-4/29
Groningen Qumran Institute Symposium 2008
What is the contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls for research into the formation of the canon of the Bible?
This question stands central at an international symposium in honor of Professor Florentino García Martínez.
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
For more info Click Here.

Roman Emperors in the Library

Not that one really needs a reason to visit one of the largest and most beautiful university libraries in the world:

Yale University Library Presents

















James J. O'Donnell
Provost & Professor of Classics, Georgetown University
"Roman Emperors in the Library: Tracking Them to Their Lair"
Thursday, April 3, 4:00 p.m.

Libraries: their riches, how they grow, and how they change. James J. O'Donnell, an historian of the late Roman world, uses his own quest for emperors, barbarians, saints and others to capture the excitement that sizzles through the quietest stacks and the darkest corridors.

James J. O’Donnell has been Provost of Georgetown University since 2002. He is a distinguished scholar and recognized innovator in the application of networked information technology in higher education. In addition to his duties as Provost, O'Donnell is a member of the faculty of Georgetown’s Classics department. He has served as president of the American Philological Association, the primary professional association for classicists in the United States and Canada, and has been elected a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America. He earned his doctorate from Yale in 1975.

Free and open to the public.