ACCS Sale at Eisenbrauns

Throughout this month, Eisenbrauns is offering a 42% discount on no fewer than 20 titles from the noted series Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (published by Intervarsity Press). Eisenbrauns does not permit returns on sale items, but those searching for an inviting gateway into the occasionally daunting but repeatedly refreshing world of patristic exegesis will not be disappointed.

The complete list of available items may be viewed here.

Yay for Chris Beeley!

Last month's Religion Newsletter from Oxford University Press--which remained thoroughly submerged beneath a deluge of post-commencement e-mails until this evening--contained a blurb announcing the publication of a new tome by my former Patristics professor, Chris Beeley. I suppose he was working during that recent year-long sabbatical, after all. ;-) Congratulations are most certainly in order!

Gregory of Nazianzus on the Trinity and the Knowledge of God
Christopher A. Beeley

Christopher Beeley's groundbreaking study—the first comprehensive treatment in modern scholarship—examines Gregory's doctrine of the Trinity within the full range of his theological and practical vision. Long eclipsed in modern scholarship, Gregory Nazianzen is now brought into full view as the major witness to the Trinity among the Greek fathers of the Church.

The concurrent Classics Newsletter included another particularly interesting title:

Animal Sacrifice in Ancient Greek Religion, Judaism, and Christianity, 100 BC to AD 200
Maria-Zoe Petropoulou

This is a study of animal sacrifice within Greek paganism, Judaism, and Christianity during the period of their interaction between about 100 BC and AD 200. After a vivid account of the realities of sacrifice in the Greek East and in the Jerusalem Temple (up to AD 70), Maria-Zoe Petropoulou explores the attitudes of early Christians towards this practice.

New from the SBL: Swanson's New Testament Manuscripts Series

During the spring semester, Prof. Adela Collins mentioned this unique resource during the text-critical portion of her course "History and Methods of New Testament Research," and lamented the fact that a few of the volumes had gone out of print. Consequently I am pleased to see that the Society of Biblical Literature is now distributing the series, and is offering a 40% discount to members through July 15. Those interested readers who are familiar with Greek but have not yet had the opportunity to explore such a valuable set of tools would to well to peruse a volume or two.

SBL Distributes Swanson’s NEW TESTAMENT GREEK MANUSCRIPTS Series
Special One-Month 40% Discount Sale for Scholars and Libraries

The Society of Biblical Literature is pleased to announce that it now distributes the highly acclaimed New Testament Greek Manuscript series authored by Reuben J. Swanson.

Through July 15, 2008, the titles in this series are available to individual scholars and libraries only at a 40% discount. Download the order form here. You can also order online by clicking the book link and using promo code NTGM2008 at the checkout.

Members, please alert your libraries to this sale and its discount pricing.

Compiled and edited by New Testament scholar Reuben J. Swanson, the volumes in the New Testament Greek Manuscripts series present all the known variants in Greek to the texts of various New Testament books in an easy-to-follow, verse-by-verse format. Advanced students of the New Testament, Bible translators, and New Testament textual scholars can see at a glance any variations between the surviving Greek witnesses in any given verse. Each volume also includes a brief introduction to New Testament textual scholarship and helpful appendixes.

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Matthew
070001P. 978-0-86585-051-4; 1995. Paper, $34.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $20.99

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Mark
070002P. 978-0-86585-052-1; 1995. Paper $31.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $19.19

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Luke
070003P. 978-0-86585-053-8; 1995. Paper $43.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $26.39

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: John
070004P. 978-0-86585-054-5; 1995. Paper $33.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $20.39

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Acts
070005P. 978-0-86585-055-2; 1998. Paper $50.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $30.59

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Romans
070006P. 978-0-86585-070-5; 2001. Paper $43.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $26.39

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: 1 Corinthians
070007P. 978-0-86585-072-9; 2003. Paper $49.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $29.99

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: 2 Corinthians
070008P. 978-0-86585-073-6; 2005. Paper $40.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $24.59

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Galatians
070009P. 978-0-86585-069-9; 2000. Paper $20.99 retail.
DISCOUNT PRICE $12.59


Sale ends July 15, 2008.
Order online at www.sbl-site.org using promo code NTGM2008, or contact
Society of Biblical Literature Customer Service
P.O. Box 2243
Williston, VT 05495-2243 USA
Phone: 877-725-3334 (toll-free) or 802-864-6185
Fax: 802-864-7626

RBL Highlights: 7/1/08

And now, additional selections from today's RBL. I'm looking forward to reading a few of these myself throughout the course of the week, and possibly posting a few of my reactions/responses here.

Paul N. Anderson, Felix Just, S.J., and Tom Thatcher, eds.
John, Jesus, and History: Volume 1, Critical Appraisals of Critical Views
Reviewed by Mark A. Matson

David Catchpole
Jesus People: The Historical Jesus and the Beginnings of Community
Reviewed by Paul Foster

John Granger Cook
The Interpretation of the Old Testament in Greco-Roman Paganism
Reviewed by David Lincicum

Hubertus R. Drobner; Siegfried Schatzmann, trans.
The Fathers of the Church: A Comprehensive Introduction
Reviewed by Wilhelm Pratscher

Zev Garber, ed.
Mel Gibson's Passion: The Film, the Controversy, and Its Implications
Reviewed by W. R. Telford

Thomas J. Kraus
Ad fontes: Original Manuscripts and Their Significance for Studying Early Christianity: Selected Essays
Reviewed by Christopher Tuckett

Amy-Jill Levine, ed., with Maria Mayo Robbins
A Feminist Companion to the New Testament Apocrypha
Reviewed by Heike Omerzu

Yuzuru Miura
David in Luke-Acts: His Portrayal in the Light of Early Judaism
Reviewed by Steven Cox

Stephen W. Need
The Gospels Today: Challenging Readings of John, Mark, Luke and Matthew
Reviewed by Peter J. Judge

Birger A. Pearson
Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature
Reviewed by Philip L. Tite

Richard D. Phillips
Hebrews
Reviewed by Knut Backhaus

Brant Pitre
Jesus, the Tribulation, and the End of the Exile: Restoration Eschatology and the Origin of the Atonement
Reviewed by John A. Dennis

Laurence M. Vance
Guide to Prepositions in the Greek New Testament
Reviewed by Paul Elbert

Robby Waddell
The Spirit of the Book of Revelation
Reviewed by Jan A. du Rand

Mark Wilson
Charts on the Book of Revelation: Literary, Historical, and Theological Perspectives
Reviewed by Jan G. van der Watt

Magnus Zetterholm, ed.
The Messiah in Early Judaism and Christianity
Reviewed by James H. Charlesworth

RBL Highlights: 6/6/08-6/24/08

After a brief sabbatical, a handfull of especially interesting selections from the last three editions of the venerable Review of Biblical Literature:

Bradford B. Blaine Jr.
Peter in the Gospel of John: The Making of an Authentic Disciple
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek

Sebastian Brock
The Bible in the Syriac Tradition
Reviewed by H. F. van Rooy

Gregory W. Dawes
Introduction to the Bible
Reviewed by Randall L. McKinion

Jane DeRose Evans
The Coins and the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Economy of Palestine
Reviewed by Mark A. Chancey

Victor Paul Furnish
1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians
Reviewed by Eduard Verhoef

Paul M. Hoskins
Jesus as the Fulfillment of the Temple in the Gospel of John
Reviewed by Mary L. Coloe
Reviewed by Nicholas H. Taylor

Ådna Jostein, ed.
The Formation of the Early Church
Reviewed by Markus Oehler

Bart J. Koet
Dreams and Scripture in Luke-Acts: Collected Essays
Reviewed by David L. Tiede

Jerome H. Neyrey
Give God the Glory: Ancient Prayer and Worship in Cultural Perspective
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Birger A. Pearson
Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature
Reviewed by James F. McGrath

Calvin J. Roetzel
2 Corinthians
Reviewed by Frank J. Matera

Ward Blanton
Displacing Christian Origins: Philosophy, Secularity, and the New Testament
Reviewed by Claire Clivaz

Albert Eichhorn; trans. Jeffrey Cayzer
The Lord's Supper in the New Testament
Reviewed by Sakari Hakkinen

Fredrik Lindgard
Paul's Line of Thought in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10
Reviewed by Thomas Schmeller

Mark Roncace and Patrick Gray, eds.
Teaching the Bible through Popular Culture and the Arts
Reviewed by Leonard Greenspoon

Andrew R. Angel
Chaos and the Son of Man: The Hebrew Chaoskampf Tradition in the Period 515 BCE to 200 CE
Reviewed by Lorenzo DiTommaso

J. Harold Ellens, ed.
The Destructive Power of Religion: Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Reviewed by Jan Willem van Henten

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

Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte, eds.
Gender, Tradition and Romans: Shared Ground, Uncertain Borders
Reviewed by Angela Standhartinger

John Paul Heil
Ephesians: Empowerment to Walk in Love for the Unity of All in Christ
Reviewed by Timothy Gombis

Leo G. Perdue
Wisdom Literature: A Theological History
Reviewed by Bernd U. Schipper

Robert R. Stieglitz
Tel Tanninim: Excavations at Krokodeilon Polis 1996-1999
Reviewed by Jodi Magness

Lieve M. Teugels and Rivka Ulmer, eds.
Midrash and Context: Proceedings of the 2004 and 2005 SBL Consultation on Midrash
Reviewed by Alex P. Jassen

Joseph B. Tyson
Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle
Reviewed by Dieter T. Roth

Weekly Sale at Eisenbrauns

This week (through July 9): selected titles from the series Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, at discounts of 40%-50%. Check them out here.

Eerdmans Sale at Dove

Through July 15, Dove is offering discounts as high as 40% on titles from Eerdmans. Check them out here.

The Latest Issue of BAR: Online, but Unendorsed

Last week I received an e-mail from Biblical Archaeology Review announcing the online release of their July/August issue. I was planning to post the relevant links here... until I noticed that this issue, like so many of its unfortunate predecessors, contains a harangue from Herschel Shanks defending the authenticity of the much-maligned ossuary of James the brother of Jesus. The dreadfully tedious and largely irrelevant debates over this tricky little box, which cannot contribute anything to the historical record beyond simple confirmations of James' life, Jewish heritage, and death, caused me to temporarily abandon this publication in disgust a few years ago. It grieves me to see that Shanks and others are continuing to fan these feebly flickering flames rather than dousing them, and thus I am boldly drawing a cyberline in the cybersand and refraining from posting these latest links. If you feel so inclined, visit the BAR website and take a look at the issue... but do so at your own risk! ;-)

Summer SBL Forum Now Online

This just in:

The Summer 2008 issue of The SBL Forum is now available.

IN THE CLASSROOM
Reading Job from the Margins: Dialogical Exegesis and Theological Education
Robert Williamson Jr.

IN THE PROFESSION
Why I Chose a German Ph.D. Program
Jacob L. Wright

Seven Tips for Getting Your Feet Wet at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting
Shayna Sheinfeld

IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE
An Atheist's Dilemma: Should We Bend the Bible for Justice?
Michelle Krejci

IN POPULAR CULTURE
The Bible-Shaped Mirror: Biblical Women and Contemporary Culture in Recent Film
Donna Bowman


The SBL Forum is the online newsletter of the Society of Biblical Literature. It features essays, interviews, and up-to-date news of general and professional interest to SBL members. Its mission is to provide short, useful articles to inform, educate, and address the professional needs of biblical scholars, as well as those interested in biblical studies.

Leonard Greenspoon, editor
forum@sbl-site.org