McKnight Turns to the Historical Jesus

Scot McKnight has followed his illuminating series of posts on the "New Perspective on Paul" with an equally illuminating series on Historical Jesus research, which concludes with nine general points for the reader. Mark Goodacre responded to these final points with a number of minor critiques, several of which I would second (e.g., his argument that some scholars are more effective than others in their attempts to objectively and dispassionately produce an historical reconstruction of Jesus). A few additional observations and comments of my own:

McKnight's fourth point is as follows: "I don’t think historical Jesus has any place in theological studies for the Church. To bracket off one’s theological views in order to study the historical Jesus and then to do theological studies on top of that bracketed-off-study-of-Jesus is a vicious circular argument. You won’t find the Church’s Jesus this way because you’ve decided the Church’s Jesus isn’t allowed at the table! Historical Jesus studies is for historians." While his warnings against circular arguments are well taken, it seems to me that our evolving conceptions of who Jesus really was--what he said, did, didn't say, didn't do, etc.--can and should have a profound effect on the church which is supposedly fundamentally based on his life and teachings. The Church's Jesus and the Historical Jesus may not always be one and the same, but they can communicate with one another, and learn from one another.

And his fifth point: "still, nearly every historical Jesus scholar I know--and I know most of them--believes in the portrait of Jesus they construct on the basis of the historical methods. John Dominic Crossan and Marc Borg and Tom Wright and Dick Horsley et al believe, so it seems to me, in the Jesus they have constructed. (We all do this, don’t we?)" Goodacre objects, and again points to Sanders as a pertinent example. The key to this question is one's understanding of the term "believe." If it is to be understood from a religio-spiritual perspective, then I would agree with Goodacre, and add additional examples such as Bart Ehrman (as I don't think an avowed agnostic can "believe" in Jesus in this way!). If it is to be understood from a more empirical perspective, then I would be more inclined to agree with McKnight. It is to be expected that researchers believe in the results they achieve. Thus the research process must be carefully regulated and comprehensively executed, in order to obtain a result worth believing in.

And, finally, his sixth point: "historical Jesus studies have waned significantly in the last ten years. The hey day was the 80s and 90s but the creative work has been done, climaxing perhaps in Tom Wright’s big book, and mostly the conversation has grown stale. What used to attract hundreds to academic sessions now attracts 30 or 40." Goodacre essentially agrees, and adds that "[t]here is so much of it; it is so much in the mainstream that it has become somewhat less exciting. I am tempted to add that I have not seen anything in twenty years that begins to approach Sanders' Jesus and Judaism for stimulation and interest, but then I really would sound like a Johnny-one-note." Here I find myself disagreeing with both of my esteemed colleagues. McKnight suggests that the climax of recent Historical Jesus research is Tom Wright's "big book" (which I assume is Jesus and the Victory of God, released in 1997). However, both McKnight and Goodacre fail to mention John P. Meier's magisterial Marginal Jew series, the most recent of which was released in 2001 (the third volume, with another volume forthcoming). For my money, these are the definitive volumes on the Historical Jesus, and they are every bit as stimulating and interesting as Jesus and Judaism, albeit in a slightly different vein. McKnight mentions the work of Paula Fredericksen and Amy-Jill Levine, but doesn't mention that their work is relatively recent as well (Fredericksen's Jesus of Nazareth: King of the Jews was first published in 1999; Levine's The Misunderstood Jew was first published last year). Last fall I took a seminar course with Adela Collins entitled "The Historical Jesus"; it was one of the largest seminars I've taken at Yale. There's still a great deal of interest in the Historical Jesus, and if some of that interest is outside the academy, so much the better.

Take a look at all these intriguing posts (and Goodacre's responses) and see what you think!

RBL Highlights: 8/17/07

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

François Bovon
Luke the Theologian: Fifty-Five Years of Research (1950-2005)
Reviewed by Christoph Stenschke

Trevor J. Burke
Adopted into God's Family: Exploring a Pauline Metaphor
Reviewed by Mary L. Coloe

C. D. Elledge
Life after Death in Early Judaism: The Evidence of Josephus
Reviewed by Daniel Maoz

Ehud Netzer
The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder
Reviewed by Peter Richardson

Séamus O'Connell
From Most Ancient Sources: The Nature and Text-Critical Use of the Greek Old Testament Text of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible
Reviewed by Anneli Aejmelaeus

Abraham Wasserstein and David Wasserstein
The Legend of the Septuagint: From Classical Antiquity to Today
Reviewed by John Mason

More NT Titles From Dove

More recent New Testament offerings from Dove Booksellers' Used Book Department:

Aland, Kurt; Barbara Aland
TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
(Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1988)
Condition: VG Dust Jacket Condition: VG Hardcover $16.00
Comments: DJ

Bell, H Idris; T C Skeat
FRAGMENTS OF AN UNKNOWN GOSPEL AND OTHER EARLY CHRISTIAN PAPYRI
(British Museum, 1935)
Condition: GC Hardcover $30.00
Comments: Shelfworn, frayed at head and tail of spine

Bruce, F F
BIBLICAL EXEGESIS IN THE QUMRAN TEXTS
(Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1959)
Condition: VG Hardcover $24.00
Comments: DJ

Charlesworth, James H
JESUS' JEWISHNESS: EXPLORING THE PLACE OF JESUS IN EARLY JUDAISM
(Crossroad Publishing, 1991)
Condition: VG Hardcover $22.00
Comments: DJ

Childs, Brevard S
NEW TESTAMENT AS CANON: AN INTRODUCTION
(Fortress, 1985)
Condition: NF Dust Jacket Condition: VG Hardcover $30.00
Comments: DJ

Davies, W D
JEWISH AND PAULINE STUDIES
(Fortress, 1984)
Condition: VG Hardcover $25.00
Comments: DJ

Farmer, William R
MACCABEES, ZEALOTS AND JOSEPHUS: AN INQUIRY INTO JEWISH NATIONALISM IN THE GRECO-ROMAN PERIOD
(Columbia University Press, 1956)
Condition: VG Hardcover $28.00
Comments: DJ

Farmer, William R
SYNOPTIC PROBLEM: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE PROBLEM OF THE LITERARY RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE
(Macmillan, 1964)
Condition: VG Hardcover $18.00
Comments: Owner stamp on ffep, title page; DJ

Kummel, Werner Georg
NEW TESTAMENT: THE HISTORY OF THE INVESTIGATION OF ITS PROBLEMS
(Abingdon Press, 1972)
Condition: VG Hardcover $30.00
Comments: DJ

Lake, Kirsopp
EARLIER EPISTLES OF ST PAUL: THEIR MOTIVE AND ORIGIN
(Rivingtons, 1911)
Condition: VG Hardcover $30.00

Ludemann, Gerd
HERETICS: THE OTHER SIDE OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY
(Westminster John Knox, 1996)
Condition: VG Hardcover $20.00

Meier, John P
MARGINAL JEW: RETHINKING THE HISTORICAL JESUS, VOLUME 1: THE ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM AND THE PERSON
(Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1991)
Condition: VG Dust Jacket Condition: VG Hardcover $23.00
Comments: DJ

Moore, Stephen D
LITERARY CRITICISM AND THE GOSPELS
(Yale University Press, 1989)
Condition: VG Hardcover $20.00
Comments: DJ

Sanders, E P; Magaret Davies
STUDYING THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
(Trinity Press International, 1989)
Condition: GC Paperback $20.00
Comments: Front cover, text creased at fore edge

Smith, Morton
SECRET GOSPEL: THE DISCOVERY AND INTERPRETATION OF THE SECRET GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK
(Harper & Row, 1973)
Condition: VG Hardcover $20.00
Comments: DJ

Tischendorf, Constantine
NOVUM TESTAMENTUM GRAECE (2 VOLS BOUND TOGETHER, 7TH ED)
(Adolph Winter, 1859)
Condition: GC Hardcover $40.00
Comments: Half-leatherm very worn but intact; faint dampstain to text along front and bottom edges

Weaver, Walter P
HISTORICAL JESUS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: 1900-1950
(Trinity Press International, 1999)
Condition: VG Paperback $19.00

BAR Highlights: 8/16/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Saving History or Criminal Activity?
In September 2005, Israeli professor Hanan Eshel was suspected of trading antiquities and purchasing stolen goods. Although no charges were filed and the matter languished, one lawyer is demanding that the Israel Antiquities Authority be held accountable for cutting the nearly-2,000-year-old scroll that Eshel obtained.

Death on View
Royal graves in Alacahöyük, in the province of Çorum, Turkey, near the Black sea, will be on view for tourists. Replicas of the tombs will offer visitors a chance to see how the royals were buried and what treasures accompanied them.

Unexpected Find at Tiberias
The Israel Antiquities Authority’s excavation at Tiberias has uncovered a mosaic on the floor of a Byzantine church with a surprising inscription that contradicts an earlier theory about Jews and Christians in Tiberias.

Fruit Baskets: Popular Then and Now
A sixth-century B.C.E. floor mosaic showing trees and fruit baskets has been uncovered at Yavneh Yam, an ancient archaeological seaport 15 miles south of Jaffa.

Cursing Like the Ancients
Archaeologists may have found exceptional curse tablets in Lincolnshire, England, dating to a time of political turmoil under the Roman empire.

Tanning in Rome
An ancient tannery has been uncovered in the outskirts of Rome, but it is now threatened by railway construction. The complex, at 3,345 square feet, is the largest discovered in the city.

Car vs. God

I've pulled some tough all-nighters and taken some frustrating classes, but I don't think that I've ever considered this course of action as a possible outlet:

Deputies: Man 'Mad At God' Drives Into Church
St. Augustine Man Accused Of Criminal Mischief

Fortunately, it doesn't appear that anyone was injured.

Key Stendhal Essay Available Online

Mark Goodacre notes that Krister Stendhal's seminal essay "Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West" is now available online via The Paul Page. In many ways, Stendhal's work blazed a trail for Sanders, Dunn, and others who followed. I read this article for the first time last spring as part of Judy Gundry-Volf's class on Paul, and found it to be as good as advertised. Check it out!

UMC Cotillion?

An article posted on the website of the Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church proclaims, "New Tone Set for Conversation, Debate at 2008 Methodist General Conference." In preparation for the upcoming conference (the denomination's chief policy-making body, scheduled to meet in Fort Worth April 23-May 2), a task force has prepared a brief set of rules entitled "Guidelines for Holy Conferencing: What God Expects of Us." I suspect that fears of a devastating schism over homosexuality, magnified by the continuing state of affairs in the Episcopal Church in America and the Anglican Communion, motivated this course of action. So... will it succeed? Only time will tell, but at the moment I have doubts. While it is certainly worthwhile to urge all parties to "listen patiently before formulating responses" and "avoid using inflammatory words, derogatory names, or an excited and angry voice," the biblical text has an uncanny way of igniting people's passions, particularly when they feel that basic theological tenets are at stake. Furthermore, the rules could lead to the conclusion that the maintenance of denominational decorum, however improbable, is more important than action... in any direction. (And for what it's worth, the historical Jesus seems to have been much more interested in action than decorum!) Nevertheless, we can all benefit from timely reminders to "strive to understand the experience out of which others have arrived at their views" and "remember that people are defined, ultimately, by their relationship with God--not by the flaws we discover, or think we discover, in their views and actions."

Love for the Variants

I've just finished reading Eldon Jay Epp's article on textual variants in the most recent edition of the Harvard Theological Review (if you or your supporting institution are subscribers, you may access a full text version of the article here; the abstract is available to everyone). Not surprisingly, I found it to be extremely stimulating (and not just because he taught at Case Western, where my best friend went to school!). Epp concludes with a brief definition of textual criticism which, in my opinion, succinctly captures the new direction in which the discipline is headed:

"New Testament textual criticism, employing aspects of both science and art, studies the transmission of the New Testament text and the manuscripts that facilitate its transmission, with the unitary goal of establishing the earliest attainable text (which serves as a baseline) and, at the same time, of assessing the textual variants that emerge from the baseline text so as to hear the narratives of early Christian thought and life that inhere in the array of meaningful variants."

The body of the article is concerned with the paradigm shift expressed in the above definition: the abandonment of the long-standing search for an "original text" in favor of an "earliest attainable text," and a more detailed exploration of the relationship between individual variants and the communities which produced them. In particular, Epp is determined to avoid the common text-critical pitfall in which one reading is determined to be "original" or "correct" while the others are simply discarded. He even offers a sample of a prototypical, "variant-friendly" critical text:



I must admit that despite my appreciation of the various sigla of the Novum Testamentum Graece--particularly the unobtrusive way in which they offer a vast amount of information to readers without forcing it upon them--I enjoyed the ability to view variants alongside the "baseline" text. Of course, as Epp points out, this is only a brief sample; a full-scale edition is but a pinpoint on the biblical studies horizon. He also notes that even if such an edition were produced, it would be best used in conjunction with existing critical editions, rather than apart from them. Even so... I think I'd buy one. ;-)

More on the "New Perspective"

Mark Goodacre has helpfully provided a link to Simon Gathercole's recent article on the "New Perspective on Paul," which appeared in the August issue of Christianity Today. I agree with his observation that Gathercole's appended bibliography unfairly neglects the works of E.P. Sanders and James Dunn (particularly Sanders) in favor of those of N.T. Wright. Furthermore, it seems to me that a number of the "Six Tendencies" which Gathercole presents as the New Perspective's shortcomings could be rebutted. But the article is still well worth a read.

The Many Faces of the "New Perspective"

On his blog Jesus Creed, Scot McKnight has composed an excellent series of posts which briefly and accessibly summarize the work of the three most influential pioneers of the "New Perspective on Paul" (E.P. Sanders, James Dunn, and N.T. Wright), and also offer a number of other helpful insights regarding the coherence of the movement, terminology, theology, etc. These were particularly interesting to me, as I spent a good deal of my summer with the various works of these men while preparing and facilitating a four-week study of Paul at my home church in Louisville, Kentucky. Although it's certainly a close call, I would reverse McKnight's rankings of the two most important recent developments in biblical studies (he places historical Jesus studies ahead of the New Perspective, a choice which may be related to the fact that he has written at least one magisterial book on the former subject!). In my mind, the radical reassessment of ancient Judaism which followed in the New Perspective's formidable wake, and the ways in which this reassessment can affect current Jewish-Christian relations, give it a slight edge. Dunn's reading of Paul, in which Judaism is no longer an inherently flawed system of works-righteousness but merely the recipients of a promise which Paul desires to expand, removes much of the traditional boundary between Pauline Christianity and Second Temple Judaism and brings them closer together--a bond which offers their modern descendants a legitimate foundation for dialogue and fellowship. That's pretty exciting to me.

If you have a few minutes, check these posts out!

(NOTE: Just after completing this post, I noticed that McKnight has now added a post which outlines some of the objections to the New Perspective. Keep checking for additional updates!)

BAR Highlights: 8/9/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Massive Hadrian
A larger-than-life-sized statue of the emperor Hadrian has been uncovered at Sagalassos in south-central Turkey. The statue was found in part of a bath complex that was built during the emperor’s reign.

Largest Fortress from Pharaonic Egypt Uncovered
A massive fortress dating to the pharaonic period of ancient Egypt has been uncovered at Tell-Huba near the Suez Canal. Archaeologists found graves of soldiers, horses and remnants of a water-filled moat.

Beyond the Fertile Crescent
Archaeologists are showing that civilization emerged about 5,000 years ago not only along the Euphrates River, but also along an arc from the Russian steppes through Iran and into the Arabian Peninsula.

A Tour of the Jewish Quarter
A news site in Israel describes the sumptuous Herodian remains at the Wohl Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem. Also on the site is a brief video tour of the museum.

Faith and Scholarship...

In a post on his self-titled blog, Dr. Claude Mariottini responds to criticisms of his earlier claim that in terms of biblical hermeneutics, "believers" are inherently superior to "atheists." Mariottini correctly observes that atheism cannot pass the "outsider test": it cannot scientifically prove that God does not exist, anymore than Christianity (or any other religion, for that matter) can scientifically prove otherwise. This fact is recognized by more erudite atheist commentators such as Richard Dawkins, but often overlooked or ignored by others.

However, a number of other points are extremely problematic--at least in my view. First and foremost, how does one define the term "believer"? Are Jews included within this category? Mariottini does not explicitly address this question, as he is principally concerned with the battle between Christianity and atheism. He does state that the distinction between Christian exegetes and their atheist counterparts is that the former "read the Bible from a historical, sociological, linguistic perspective, but also from the perspective of faith and religion." Under those criteria, Jewish scholars would certainly qualify, at least as far as Hebrew Bible studies are concerned. But even if these are included, the fact remains that a number of Jewish scholars have turned their attentions to the world of the New Testament, with fruitful results. Samuel Sandmel and Amy-Jill Levine immediately come to mind. Should their efforts be discarded because, in Mariottini's words, they cannot "say 'Christ lives in me'" or "understand fully what it means to be saved by grace"? Having recently read and enjoyed Levine's The Misunderstood Jew, I would respond in the negative.

Furthermore, Mariottini's argument that faith provides intrinsic exegetical superiority is largely incompatible with the last century of mainstream biblical scholarship, which has encouraged a more critical, scientific approach. A number of significant developments have occurred as direct results of this shift, including the reevaluation of key texts in light of extrabiblical historical and archaeological findings and the advent of ecumenical research efforts. A return to faith-based scholarship would likely undermine these developments. While Mariottini may believe that atheists are at a disadvantage because "they approach the Bible with false assumptions" such as the belief that there is no God, the actual veracity of those assumptions remains beyond the scope of human epistemology. Neither the atheist nor the believer can produce evidence which irrefutably verifies his or her claims. In their own ways, they are both matters of faith... and members of both camps must recognize and respect this.

Ultimately, it seems that the validity of Mariottini's arguments rests with one's understanding of the relationship between faith and scholarship--specifically, whether the two must go hand in hand. Anyone who feels that the discipline is and should be dedicated to Christian apologetics will likely be attracted to his position. On the other hand, anyone who feels that it is a primarily critical enterprise--capable of being strengthened by faith, but not simply operating on its behalf--will likely dissent. Personally, I believe that it is quite possible to be a person of faith and a critical scholar, and to use the results of the latter to strengthen the former. Also, I feel that it is possible to learn a great deal from critical scholars who represent faith commitments other than my own. Both of these beliefs certainly reflect my experience at Yale. Nevertheless, I realize that others will hold different views. Shall we agree to disagree?

Hidden Images in Da Vinci's Last Supper?

Just when you thought it was safe to put away your copy of The Da Vinci Code:

New "Last Supper" theory crashes Web sites
A new theory that Leonardo's "Last Supper" might hide within it a depiction
of Christ blessing the bread and wine has triggered so much interest that
Web sites connected to the picture have crashed.

BAR Highlights: 8/5/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Ancient Mariners
Researchers on the coast of Cyprus have discovered tools used by seamen as far back as 10,000 years ago.

Getty to Return 40 Objects to Italy
Facing an embargo from Italy, the Getty Museum has agreed to return 40 ancient objects that the nation claims were looted from within its borders. Among the objects is one of the Getty’s best-known holdings, a statue thought to represent the goddess Aphrodite.

Exploring Galilee Hideouts
A doctoral student is investigating caves near the Sea of Galilee that may have served as rebel hideouts in the Great Revolt against Rome (for a photo, click here).

Iraq to Renovate Prophet’s Tomb
The traditional site of the burial place of the Prophet Nahum and the synagogue of which it is a part, located about 25 miles north of Mosul, are slated to be renovated next year. Nahum is recognized as a prophet in the Jewish and Christian traditions and in Sunni and Shiite Islam.

Model Soldiers
Researchers say a virtual model of Qumran, the site near where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, shows that the settlement was originally built for warriors.

Egypt in the News
Several items from the land of the Pharaohs: Excavators have announced the discovery of the largest fort yet found from the pharaonic era and of underwater remains of the city at Alexandria from seven centuries before Alexander the Great established his city. And a British researcher suggests that a wooden toe on a mummy is the world’s oldest prosthetic device.

NT Markdowns From Dove

A few tempting NT markdowns from Dove... and if you order before August 18, every five titles that you order earns a sixth title free!

I feel compelled to add that I'm not receiving any kind of compensation for these plugs... I simply get occasional e-mail newsletters from Dove, and enjoy passing the savings on to you. ;-)
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Ashton, John
THE RELIGION OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
(Yale University Press, 2000)
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List: $34.99
Save: $18.49 (53%)

Attridge, Harold, and Gohei Hata (eds)
EUSEBIUS, CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM
(Wayne State University Prhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifess, 1992)
Our Price: $32.99
List: $59.95
Save: $26.96 (45%)

Beker, J Christiaan
HEIRS OF PAUL: PAUL'S LEGACY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND IN THE CHURCH TODAY
(Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1997)
Our Price: $8.50
List: $15.00
Save: $6.50 (43%)

Brown, Michael Joseph
THE LORD'S PRAYER THROUGH NORTH AFRICAN EYES: A WINDOW INTO EARLY CHRISTIANITY
(T & T Clark International, 2004)
Our Price: $15.99
List: $39.95
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Chilton, Bruce, and Craig A Evans (eds)
AUTHENTICATING THE ACTIVITIES OF JESUS
(Brill, 2002)
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Chilton, Bruce, and Craig A Evans (eds)
AUTHENTICATING THE WORDS OF JESUS
(Brill, 2002)
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Cohen, Shaye J D
JOSEPHUS IN GALILEE AND ROME: HIS VITA AND DEVELOPMENT AS A HISTORIAN
(Brill, 2002)
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Davies, W D
CHRISTIAN ENGAGEMENTS WITH JUDAISM
(Trinity Press International, 1999)
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Fitzmyer SJ, Joseph A
TO ADVANCE THE GOSPEL: NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES
(Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1998)
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Freyne, Sean
GALILEE AND GOSPEL
(Brill, 2002)
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Garcia-Martinez, Florentino, and Eibert J C Tigchelaar
DEAD SEA SCROLLS STUDY EDITION, 2 VOLUMES
(Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1999)
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Horsley, Richard A
SOCIOLOGY AND THE JESUS MOVEMENT
(Continuum International Pub Inc, 1994)
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Magness, Jodi
ARCHAEOLOGY OF QUMRAN AND THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
(Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2003)
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Sherwin-White, A N
ROMAN SOCIETY AND ROMAN LAW IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
(Oxford University Press, 2000)
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New: John H. Elliott on 1 Peter

A new publication announcement from Wipf and Stock Publishers:

Conflict, Community, and Honor: 1 Peter in Social-Scientific Perspective
by John H. Elliott

“The book is an excellent introduction to Prof. Elliott’s seminal work in applying social-scientific analysis of this New Testament writing, and will richly reward its careful reader.”
—Paul J. Achtemeier, author of 1 Peter (Hermeneia)

“This... reading reveals the letter in its own context, in such a way that we can appropriate its message and values into our own.”
—Carolyn Osiek, co-author of A Woman’s Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity

“Here, as elsewhere, Elliott expertly joins the findings of social-scientific research with the insights of literary and theological analysis to clarify the ‘good news’ that is proclaimed in this often-overlooked New Testament writing.”
—Victor Paul Furnish, author of The Moral Teaching of Paul

John H. Elliott is Professor of New Testament Emeritus at the University of San Francisco. Among his numerous publications are The Elect and Holy, A Home for the Homeless, What Is Social-Scientific Criticism?, and 1 Peter (Anchor Bible).

Is Bible Software Cheating?

In a post describing a blog dedicated to BibleWorks software, Michael F. Bird declares, "I do not know what biblical scholars did before BibleWorks, I'm not even sure I could use a concordance if I was given one anymore." I don't know Michael personally, so this may be a hyperbolic declaration. Nevertheless, he raises an interesting point regarding the potentially overwhelming seduction of bible software. For the past two years I have been an avid user of Accordance (BibleWorks' counterpart for the Mac), and it has since become one of the secrets of my success in divinity school. I can view a large variety of translations in parallel, search the textual apparatuses of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and Nestle-Aland critical editions, and even jump to relevant entries in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, all with just the click of a mouse. However, there are times when I wonder if my knowledge of Greek and Hebrew would be more thorough if I had invested additional hours memorizing vocabulary and parsing verbs, instead of simply placing the cursor over an unfamiliar word and receiving instant results. It's easy for such a dependable resource to become an equally dependable crutch; some of my professors have even predicted that the increasing use of such software will result in a significant erosion of linguistic aptitude among biblical scholars.

Despite these apparent misgivings, I'm not giving up Accordance (or any other internet resources, for that matter) anytime soon. The electronic format offers too many promising possibilities for the advancement of biblical studies--not only flexibility and ease of use, but also raw power. Complex grammatical searches of ancient texts can be completed in a matter of seconds. As Bird observes, print concordances are now virtually obsolete. But like any innovation, it is best used in moderation, and in conjunction with more traditional methods. My well-worn copies of Seow, Hewett, and Blass-Debrunner-Funk are still sitting on my bookshelf, and they're not going anywhere.

RBL Highlights: 7/30/07

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

Octavian D. Baban
On the Road Encounters in Luke-Acts: Hellenistic Mimesis and Luke's Theology of the Way
Reviewed by Thomas L. Brodie

Stephen Barton, ed.
The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels
Reviewed by Paul Foster

Thomas L. Brodie, Dennis MacDonald, and Stanley E. Porter, eds.
The Intertextuality of the Epistles: Explorations of Theory and Practice
Reviewed by Korinna Zamfir

Trevor J. Burke and J. Keith Elliott, eds.
Paul and the Corinthians: Studies on a Community in Conflict. Essays in Honour of Margaret Thrall
Reviewed by Joubert Stephan

James L. Kugel, ed.
Prayers That Cite Scripture
Reviewed by Marvin A. Sweeney

Mikeal Parsons
Luke: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist
Reviewed by Robert C. Tannehill

Mikael Sjöberg
Wrestling with Textual Violence: The Jephthah Narrative in Antiquity and Modernity
Reviewed by Rüdiger Bartelmus

BAR Highlights: 7/28/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Coins from Cyprus Barred
The U.S. government, hoping to stem the trade in illicit antiquities, has imposed restrictions that will keep coins from Cyprus out of this country unless the Cypriot government gives its authorization for their importation.

New Temple Mount Bridge Approved
Authorities in Jerusalem have given the go-ahead for a rebuilt bridge to the Temple Mount, one that is smaller than a previously proposed bridge, which was criticized by archaeologists and also sparked violent protests by Muslims.

Genesis Text Unveiled
Professor James Charlesworth has acquired an ancient manuscript with verses from the Book of Genesis and has also bought 30 new Dead Sea Scrolls. Charlesworth will be a lecturer at the BAS seminar in Atlanta; for details, click here.

Rome in 3-D
Tour ancient Rome circa 320 A.D. through a full-size, three-dimensional model created by Bernard Frischer, head of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia.

Bathing Never Goes Out of Style
Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved, two-story bath complex in Rome. The complex, which extends over five acres, is thought to have belonged to the wealthy Roman Quintus Servilius Pudens, one of the Emperor Hadrian’s friends.

Translation Issues and the UBS Rating System

In her recent discussion of the translation issues surrounding 1 Cor. 14:30-40, Suzanne McCarthy briefly refers to the rating system employed by the editors of the United Bible Societies (UBS) Greek New Testament to indicate the probability of various readings. According to Bruce Metzger's A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (p. 14*), the general outline of the system is as follows:

A: the reading chosen by the editors is "certain"
B: the reading chosen by the editors is "almost certain"
C: the editors "had difficulty in deciding which variant to place in the text"
D: the editors "had great difficulty in arriving at a decision" (relatively rare; e.g., Matt. 23:26, John 10:29)

In the case of 1 Cor. 14:30, the placement of vv. 34-35 was assigned a "B" rating; a few uncial codices (D, F, and G) and a handful of Latin witnesses place them after v. 40. McCarthy notes that while this rating leaves some room for doubt, the transposition of vv. 34-35 is rarely footnoted in English Bibles. While I haven't done any substantial research on this particular point, it served to remind me of a larger problem: the seeming arbitrariness of the rating system. Rom. 5:1 is an even more glaring example. Here is the complete verse, as found in the UBS/Nestle-Aland text:

Δικαιωθέντες οὖν ἐκ πίστεως εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

In the NRSV, the verse is rendered, "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"; many other major English translations adopt similar formulations. However, the original hands of the earliest and best manuscript witnesses (א, A, B, C, D, etc.), along with some patristic witnesses (particularly the recorded teachings of the early heretic Marcion of Sinope, which date to the mid-second century), replace ἔχομεν ("we have") with εχωμεν ("let us have"). In summarizing the UBS editors' preference for the former, Metzger notes that in antiquity the two terms were phonetically identical, and suggests that the the early occurrences of εχωμεν may have been the result of a simple scribal misunderstanding. The decision was assigned an "A" rating.

Whether one concurs with the editors' conclusions or not, it seems misleading to state that a particular reading is "certain" if it is not found in the most important and most frequently cited manuscripts. Some Yale professors encourage their students to simply ignore the rating system, but such blissfully intentional ignorance isn't always an option. The revised edition of the Guidelines for Interconfessional Cooperation in Translating the Bible, a document produced by the Vatican in 1987, states that translators should follow the UBS text in the case of an "A" or "B" rating. If entire denominations are placing their trust in this system, then it seems reasonable to request that it be based upon consistent, clearly defined principles, and that it reflect the formidable difficulties which hinder the reconstruction of the "original" New Testament text.