RBL Highlights: 2/28/08

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

Cilliers Breytenbach, Johan C. Thom, and Jeremy Punt, eds.
The New Testament Interpreted: Essays in Honour of Bernhard C. Lategan
Reviewed by Douglas Estes

David Buttrick
Speaking Conflict: Stories of a Controversial Jesus
Reviewed by John J. Pilch

J. W. Childers and D. C. Parker, eds.
Transmission and Reception: New Testament Text-Critical and Exegetical Studies
Reviewed by Erroll F. Rhodes

Rachel Hallote
Bible, Map, and Spade: The American Palestine Exploration Society, Frederick Jones Bliss, and the Forgotten Story of Early American Biblical Archaeology
Reviewed by Eric M. Meyers

John R. Hinnells, ed.
A Handbook of Ancient Religions
Reviewed by Martin Ramey

Shane Kirkpatrick
Competing for Honor: A Social-Scientific Reading of Daniel 1-6
Reviewed by John J. Collins

Aquila H. I. Lee
From Messiah to Preexistent Son: Jesus' Self-Consciousness and Early Christian Exegesis of Messianic Psalms
Reviewed by Sam Janse

Yay for Serene Jones!

Congratulations to Prof. Serene Jones, the new president of Union Theological Seminary:

Theologian Serene Jones Leaving Yale Divinity School to Head Union Theological Seminary

Serene Jones, the Titus Street Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School, has accepted an offer to serve as president of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, a school with a long history of ties to YDS and where Reinhold Niebuhr, one of YDS’s most illustrious graduates, once taught.

The appointment was announced Feb. 25 by Union, which said Jones will assume her new position on July 1. Union, which like YDS is ecumenical in orientation, had conducted a six-month search to fill the post being vacated by retiring president Joseph Hough, a 1959 graduate of YDS.

“Serene Jones will be greatly missed at Yale Divinity School and within the broader university community,” said Yale Divinity School Dean Harold Attridge. “She has been a vital member of the YDS faculty since 1991 as a teacher of theology, but her influence has extended far beyond the classroom.

“Serene has been an active participant in day-to-day life on Sterling Divinity Quadrangle, and she has been one of the primary links between YDS and Yale’s professional schools, particularly Law, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences—where she has played significant roles in the Department of Religious Studies, the Department of African American Studies, and the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program”

In making today’s announcement, David Callard, chairman of Union’s Board of Trustees, stated, “Dr. Jones’s exceptional leadership style and distinguished scholarship make her the ideal person to lead this vibrant theological institution, which has been home to notable scholars Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

“With Dr. Jones’s vision and commitment, Union is positioned not only to continue its role as a leading institution of theological education but also to be a strong voice at a time when religion, with all its pluralistic manifestations, has become an increasingly powerful and divisive issue.”

Jones expressed excitement about taking the reins at Union but noted that she is leaving with fond feelings about her time at Yale—which has included not only 17 years as a teacher but the time she spent earning an M.Div. at YDS and a Ph.D. in theology at the Graduate School, and her early childhood years. Jones was born while her father was pursuing his own degree at YDS, and she grew up around the Yale campus as he completed work on his B.D. and, then, his Ph.D.

“I am thrilled to be at the helm of a institution of theological education as esteemed and historic as Union Theological Seminary,” said Jones. “I am very sad to be leaving Yale, however. My time here—now more than half my life—has been filled with countless treasured friendships and an ongoing sense of intellectual companionship that’s been as rich as it has been expansive.

“Yale Divinity School is a magical place for ministerial formation—no other place like it on earth. The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program is a community marked by academic earnestness and lively intellectual commitment. And the project I have participated in at the MacMillan Center—The Women, Religion, and Globalization Project—has been the most exciting collaborative endeavor of my career.

“I feel privileged to have benefited from Yale’s many resources over the years, and I will take a great deal of what I learned at Yale with me. After twenty-six years, Yale has seeped into my bones.”

In an interview published in the winter 2005 issue of Spectrum, Yale Divinity School’s alumni magazine, Jones described her teaching style this way: “What I spend most of my time doing is trying to engage and expand [students’] imaginations and hence their deepest desires. I teach and write to their imaginative universes—to the landscape of images, expectations, and possibilities that form the dramatic mental worlds in which their thoughts unfold.”

Emilie M. Townes, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African-American Religion and Theology at Yale Divinity School and current president of the American Academy of Religion, said, “I do not think it is a wise or faithful thing to stand in the way of a profound call. It is clear that this is what Serene is answering with her decision to accept Union’s presidency.” Townes, who came to YDS from a teaching position at Union, added, “I believe that she will lead Union wisely and with incredible creativity and foresight and not only will Union be blessed by her leadership, but all of theological education.”

And Margaret Farley, a close colleague of Jones and the Gilbert L. Stark Professor Emerita of Christian Ethics, said, "As an outstanding theologian, an interdisciplinary presence at Yale, a colleague, and friend, Serene Jones will be sorely missed at Yale Divinity School. Nonetheless, her talents are multiple and stunning, so I am delighted that she will now have an opportunity to exercise new forms of leadership not only at Union Theological Seminary but within the national and international communities of theological education."

Laura Wexler, professor of American Studies and professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies program, called Jones “an integral and vibrant member” of the program who is “committed to fostering feminist scholarship and activism.” In Jones’s role as acting chair of WGSS, Wexler noted, she has brought “energy, vision and leadership to the program as it seeks a higher profile in the university at large.”

Said Wexler, “Through her work in gender studies she has also forged a significant new alliance between the Yale Divinity School and the main campus as one of three principle investigators (along with Cheryl Doss and myself) of the Women, Religion and Globalization grant newly awarded by the Luce Foundation to the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, the Yale Divinity School and the MacMillan Center. I am proud that WGSS has nurtured, and been nurtured by, this exceptional theologian who is so very, very alive to women’s local and global challenges.”

“Clearly, Serene is one of the outstanding young theologians on the American theological landscape, and Union is fortunate to have her at the helm,” Attridge said. “We wish Serene the very best and look forward to continued interaction with her as she pursues new challenges at one of the nation’s great institutions of theological learning.”

Welcome Back, Jim West!

Although this is a little late (he's already written 22 posts in less than two days!), I feel compelled to add my name to the list of those grateful for Jim West's return to the biblioblogging world, despite his initial qualms about doing so. Before his exhaustive and exceedingly popular blog was senselessly deleted by hackers a few days ago, his words frequently rang out throughout cyberspace, calling us to examine and discuss the latest developments in the world of biblical studies, the latest deplorable depravities committed by deviant clergy, etc. Many people have written that they always considered Jim to be a provocative dialogue partner despite dramatic differences of opinion; I, on the other hand, frequently found myself in agreement with his charming rants, with one significant exception (I happen to like Wikipedia, while he thinks it's an abomination). I look forward to reading Jim's ever-humorous musings over my breakfast once more, and encourage everyone to give his new blog a look.

New from OUP: The Origins of Pilgrimage

This looks interesting... too bad I've got no free time in which to read it. ;-)

Pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Antiquity
Edited by Jas Elsner and Ian Rutherford

This book presents a range of case studies of pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman antiquity, drawing on a wide variety of evidence. It rejects the usual reluctance to accept the category of pilgrimage in pagan polytheism and affirms the significance of sacred mobility not only as an important factor in understanding ancient religion and its topographies but also as vitally ancestral to later Christian practice.

RBL Highlights: 2/21/08

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

David E. Aune, ed.
Rereading Paul Together: Protestant and Catholic Perspectives on Justification
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn
Reviewed by Philip F. Esler

Giorgio Jossa
Jews or Christians? The Followers of Jesus in Search of Their Own Identity
Reviewed by Michael F. Bird

John S. Kloppenborg
The Tenants in the Vineyard: Ideology, Economics, and Agrarian Conflict in Jewish Palestine
Reviewed by Richard L. Rohrbaugh

J. Ed Komoszewski and Robert M. Bowman Jr.
Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ
Reviewed by D. A. Carson

BAR Comes to Cyberspace

This just in:

EXCITING NEWS!
March/April BAR is Free and Open Online!

That's right! The entire March/April edition of BAR is free online. It just got much easier to share your favorite BAR articles with friends. And that's not all. Web exclusive "BAR Extras" will let you dig even deeper into the new issue. After reading BAR's cover story on a scholar's bold identification of a royal seal with the infamous Queen Jezebel, read other related articles on this fascinating woman. View more photos of BAR's intriguing "What Is It?" item. Read more on Emmaus and about the fascinating phenomenon of house shrines, including background information on the mysterious house shrine featured exclusively in the new issue of BAR. We're proud to share this issue (and its extras) with you. Please share it with others!

A Breath of Fresh Air with Bart Ehrman

Bart Ehrman's recent 45-minute appearance on NPR's Fresh Air, which focused upon issues related to his new book God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer, may be heard here.

This Weekend: Religion and Violence

This weekend at the MacMillan Center:

Yale Conference on Religion and Violence, MacMillan Center Auditorium
Saturday, February 16th (8:30 am - 6 pm)
Convened by the MacMillan Center Initiative on Religion, Politics, & Society

The conference on Religion and Violence will take an interdisciplinary approach towards analyzing the relationship between religion and political violence by bringing together historians and social scientists. The fundamental question we hope to begin exploring is if there is something unique or different about religion that leads particular patterns of conflict across time and space.

The day-long event will consist of two panels and a keynote speaker. The first panel, relating to premodern societies, consists of Hugh Kennedy, Professor of Arabic, School of Oriental and African Studies, and Mack Holt, Professor of History, George Mason University. The second panel, relating to the modern period, consists of Paul Brass, Emeritus Professor of Political Science and International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle; Jennifer Todd, Associate Professor of Politics and Director of British and Irish Studies, University College, Dublin; and Malika Zeghal, Associate Professor of the Anthropology and Sociology of Religion, University of Chicago Divinity School. Our keynote speaker will be the distinguished historian Robert I. Moore, Emeritus Professor of History at Newcastle University.

Looking for Something to Do This Summer?

The editors of Biblical Archaeology Review may be able to help...

GREAT SUMMER OPPORTUNITY!
New Dig Site Lets Volunteers "Spend Your Summer in the Past"

A unique new Web site, http://findadig.com, provides visitors with everything they need to know about volunteering at more than two dozen archaeological excavations in the Middle East and Europe. The new Web site has been created by the editors of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR), the most popular magazine in its field.

Findadig.com contains:
* In-depth descriptions of more than 30 sites currently undergoing excavation
* The historical and Biblical significance of each site
* Descriptions of how volunteers will help at the site of their choice
* Profiles of the dig directors
* Essays by winners of scholarships provided by the Biblical Archaeology Society, which enabled them to join a dig this past summer. Application forms for 2008 scholarships are available on the site.

Participating in a dig requires no previous experience; all that is needed is an enthusiasm for the adventure of digging up the past.

Visitors to findadig.com can also order a free e-book, I Volunteered for This?!, an informative, amusing and sometimes touching collection of articles by dig volunteers culled from BAR. Isn't working on a dig site a dirty and sweaty job? It sure is! But people wouldn't trade it for anything. Almost everyone who has been part of an archaeological excavation describes it as the experience of a lifetime.

Visit http://findadig.com to see why.

RBL Highlights: 2/14/08

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

Brian J. Abasciano
Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.1-9: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis
Reviewed by Thomas Gillespie

Luke Timothy Johnson
Hebrews: A Commentary
Reviewed by Wolfgang Kraus

Melody Knowles, Esther Menn, John Pawlikowski, and Timothy Sandoval, eds.
Contesting Texts: Jews and Christians in Conversation about the Bible
Reviewed by Ithamar Gruenwald

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

Edmondo F. Lupieri; Maria Poggi Johnson and Adam Kamesar, trans.
A Commentary on the Apocalypse of John
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas

George W. E. Nickelsburg
Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism and Early Christianity
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Stanley E. Porter, ed.
The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments
Reviewed by Michael F. Bird
Reviewed by James Hamilton Charlesworth

Acts with Abraham Malherbe

Anyone in New Haven over the next few weeks would do well to attend this series. Prof. Malherbe is among the finest living scholars of Pauline studies and Greco-Roman epistolary literature, among other fields. Certainly not your average set of Sunday School lessons!

All are invited to Bible Study at First Baptist Church of New Haven, Sunday mornings from February 3 to March 16, from 9:15-10:15 am. Dr. Abraham Malherbe will lead a study entitled "Windows on the Early Church: A Study in Acts." Dr. Malherbe is the Buckingham Professor Emeritus of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation and former Academic Dean of Yale Divinity School. First Baptist Church is located at 205 Edwards Street, at the corner of Edwards and Livingston Streets. For more information, contact the church office at (203) 562-0069. All are welcome!

RBL Highlights: 2/2/08

More exciting reviews from this week's Review of Biblical Literature:

Douglas A. Campbell
The Quest for Paul's Gospel: A Suggested Strategy
Reviewed by Matt Jackson-McCabe

Gordon D. Fee
Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study
Reviewed by Don Garlington
Reviewed by Matthew Montonini

Anthony Grafton and Megan Williams
Christianity and the Transformation of the Book: Origen, Eusebius, and the Library of Caesarea
Reviewed by Claudio Zamagni

Pieter W. van der Horst
Jews and Christians in Their Graeco-Roman Context: Selected Essays on Early Judaism, Samaritanism, Hellenism, and Christianity
Reviewed by Christoph Stenschke

Jaclyn L. Maxwell
Christianization and Communication in Late Antiquity: John Chrysostom and His Congregation in Antioch
Reviewed by David Brian Warner

Patrick D. Miller
The Way of the Lord: Essays in Old Testament Theology
Reviewed by Walter Brueggemann

Edward L. Greenstein Lectures on Job

Beginning next week:

The Program in Judaic Studies with the Department of Religious Studies,
the Yale Divinity School, and Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale
Presents The 2008 Stanley H. Arffa Visiting Scholar

Edward L. Greenstein
Professor of Bible and Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Distinguished Scholar at
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

A three-part series: "Is God Just, or Just God?---Rethinking Job”
February 7th – 4:00pm – “The Problem of Evil in the Book of Job” (Lecture)
February 13th – 4:00pm – “Job on Trial: Another Look at the Prose Tale” (Seminar)
February 20th – 4:00pm – “Is Everybody at Fault?: Another Look at the Dialogues in Job” (Seminar)

All talks will take place at 4:00pm, Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life
at Yale, 80 Wall Street, New Haven, CT

RBL Highlights: 1/27/08

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

John M. G. Barclay, trans.
Flavius Josephus: Against Apion
Reviewed by René Bloch

Jeannine K. Brown
Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Philip F. Esler and Ronald A. Piper
Lazarus, Mary and Martha: A Social-Scientific and Theological Reading of John
Reviewed by Peter Phillips

Thomas R. Hatina, ed.
Biblical Interpretation in Early Christian Gospels: Vol. 1: The Gospel of Mark
Reviewed by David du Toit

Christine Helmer, ed.
The Multivalence of Biblical Texts and Theological Meanings
Reviewed by Christoph Stenschke

Robert Tannehill
The Shape of Luke's Story: Essays on Luke-Acts
Reviewed by Robert F. O'Toole

Stephen Voorwinde
Jesus' Emotions in the Fourth Gospel: Human or Divine?
Reviewed by William R. G. Loader

RBL Highlights: 1/17/07

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

Young S. Chae
Jesus as the Eschatological Davidic Shepherd: Studies in the Old Testament, Second Temple Judaism, and in the Gospel of Matthew
Reviewed by Daniel M. Gurtner

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.
Interpreting the Historical Books: An Exegetical Handbook
Reviewed by Brian D. Russell

Craig Cooper, ed.
Politics of Orality: (Orality and Literacy in Ancient Greece, Vol. 6)
Reviewed by Jonathan A. Draper

J. Todd Hibbard
Intertextuality in Isaiah 24-27: The Reuse and Evocation of Earlier Texts and Traditions
Reviewed by Jeffery M. Leonard

Steven W. Holloway, ed.
Orientalism, Assyriology and the Bible
Reviewed by Patricia Dutcher-Walls

George H. van Kooten, ed.
The Revelation of the Name YHWH to Moses: Perspectives from Judaism, the Pagan Graeco-Roman World, and Early Christianity
Reviewed by Sabrina Inowlocki

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor
Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives
Reviewed by Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J.

Grant R. Osborne
The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation
Reviewed by Oda Wischmeyer

Megan Hale Williams
The Monk and the Book: Jerome and the Making of Christian Scholarship
Reviewed by Jonathan Yates

BAR Highlights: 1/17/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

In the Land of the Exodus
A magazine article describes Egypt’s tiny Jewish community.

Is It King David’s Palace?
An archaeologist guides a journalist through the Jerusalem site whose excavator has identified it as the Biblical hero’s palace.

HolyPass
A new card makes access to Jerusalem’s ancient sites more affordable and convenient.

Virtual Eternal City
With the help a new million dollar program, visitors to Rome can now explore 4.45 million acres of virtual terrain—complete with city bustle and friendly ancient bystanders—from the comfort of a local museum.

The Old is New
Researchers have published their reports on recent excavations at Ramat Rahel, the site of the only Judean royal palace unearthed to date.

A Step Forward
Iraqi archaeologists delivered 1,000 recently discovered artifacts to the National Museum, which has been closed since 2003, when invading US forces failed to protect the museum from rampant looting.

The Other Half
Finds near glamorous tombs of Pharaohs shed light on the everyday lives of ancient Egyptian laborers, including evidence of a labor strike.

Surprises Afoot
A US airman discovered ancient pottery fragments on the grounds of a military base near Kirkuk, in northern Iraq.

Still Searching for the Original Text

In an intriguing post entitled "The Composition of the Original Text," Dan Wallace addresses "a relatively new movement afoot in text-critical circles... the idea that the wording of the originals (also known as autographs) of the New Testament documents is not only not possible to recover, even the notion of an original is not true to history." He names Bart Ehrman and David Parker as prominent proponents of this theory; I would add Eldon Epp to the list as well, on the basis of his article in last summer's issue of Harvard Theological Review (about which I blogged here). In particular, Wallace critiques Parker's comparison of the New Testament text to the work of Shakespeare or Mozart, each of whom altered his own original creations and therefore made it impossible to speak of an "original." He counters, "In Shakespeare’s and Mozart’s case, the author continued to exercise control over the document. That is not the case with NT books." He adds that all of the New Testament texts were sent elsewhere, thus severing the author's control over them; the early church's interest in the words of the apostles would have led to a desire for accuracy; and that unlike the work of Shakespeare and Mozart, "authority," not "aesthetics," guided the transmission of the New Testament texts.

I am perfectly willing to discard any extended comparison between the New Testament and later artistic works (although I can see how such a comparison might be formed, particularly if earlier theories such as the editing of Acts by Luke were invoked), but a few of Wallace's other observations give me pause. While I certainly do not possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the theories of gospel transmission, I was unaware that the scholarly majority had determined that all of these works, in addition to the epistles, had been immediately dispatched to other locales after their composition. The Gospel of John, in particular, may have been composed and originally used by a single community. Furthermore, under certain conditions texts may be altered in the name of authority as readily as they might be changed for aesthetic purposes. To quote but one example, the infamous "Johannine Comma" (ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὁ Πατήρ, ὁ Λόγος, καὶ τὸ Ἄγιον Πνεῦμα. καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσι. καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ; 1 John 5:7-8) seems to have been added in order to provide additional scriptural authority for the doctrine of the Trinity.

I would also second Epp's recent argument that an obsessive search for an "original" text often causes the critic to discard or ignore variants which have been branded as "spurious" or "unoriginal," despite the fact that their presence in the manuscript tradition indicates that they formed a part of Scripture for at least some early Christian communities (and were therefore "original" in their eyes). Many of these variants, even some which appear on only a few scraps of papyrus or parchment, still have a great deal to teach us about the individuals who copied, transmitted, and worshipped with them. And that means they're important, too.

Musings on Mark: 1/16/08

In what will hopefully become a weekly tradition, here are a few particularly juicy tidbits from Prof. Adela Collins' introductory comments in yesterday's inaugural meeting of Greek Exegesis of Mark:

*One of the most provocative questions concerning Mark is the question of genre. A number of major theories have been advanced: 1) that it belongs to a unique, independent, inherently Christian "gospel" genre, a theory which was particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s; 2) that it should be classified as Greco-Roman "biography" (Gk. βιος), a theory which has been revived in recent years by Charles Talbert and Richard Burridge; 3) that it is an attempt to accurately depict the history of Jesus of Nazareth and his first followers, a theory which was wildly popular in the early modern period but was sharply curtailed by the criticisms of Karl Ludwig Schmidt and William Wrede. In her recently completed commentary, Collins describes Mark as an "eschatological historical monograph," borrowing the term "monograph" from Hans Conzelmann's earlier commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. She applies the adjective "eschatological" in light of its pervasive apocalyptic elements, which are not present in Greco-Roman texts. She does, however, note that Mark possesses some affinities with βιος, particularly its didactic and historical sub-genres.

*Although many scholars have assumed that Mark and the other canonical gospels circulated anonymously until the second century, Collins accepts the arguments of Martin Hengel, who argues that this was not the case. As she notes, if the gospel had remained anonymous until this point, surely the early Christian communities would have selected a more notable figure (e.g., Peter) for pseudonymous attribution. Furthermore, under these conditions one would expect to see a variety of attributions, with some communities assigning the gospel to one major figure, other communities to another; no extant copies of Mark bear the name of another author.

*Two schools of thought have emerged concerning the date of Mark, with Jesus' comment concerning the Temple in Mark 13:2 ("Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down") serving as the key to both. Some have argued that this prediction indicates that the gospel was written after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE; Collins, on the other hand, argues for a date of composition during the Jewish War, possibly during the siege of the Jerusalem, but not after 70.

*The gospel's origin has been traditionally regarded as Rome, and a number of recent studies have also supported this theory, but Collins does not find the arguments convincing. Any major cosmopolitan area, including Jerusalem and Caesarea Maritima, is a possibility.

I hope that I haven't done any injustice to Prof. Collins' fine work through these brief comments. If you want to know more about any of these topics, don't ask me... pick up her commentary! ;-)

Latest Issues of Harvard Theological Review and Novum Testamentum Now Online

Thanks to Michael Pahl for pointing these out. Although full articles are available only to subscribing members and institutions (thank you, Yale University database!), abstracts may be viewed by all.



Harvard Theological Review 101.1 (January 2008)














Novum Testamentum 50.1 (January 2008)

Latest from Tyndale Tech: Unicode

The latest e-mail in David Instone-Brewer's eminently helpful "Tyndale Tech" series concerns Unicode fonts. Although Unicode fonts are quickly becoming the standard in biblical studies, many scholars and students remain largely unaware of what they are, how to find them, and how to use them in their own work. Dr. Instone-Brewer answers these and other questions with a few key links:

Tyndale Unicode Kit
Tyndale Unicode Keyboards

The first of these is Tyndale's easy-to-use installation kit for Greek and Hebrew Unicode fonts and keyboards. Full instructions are provided, although, as Instone-Brewer notes, installation is simple and intuitive. The second is a graphic which allows the user to view the Greek and Hebrew keyboard layouts. You probably won't need to use these for long, but they may be helpful in your first few weeks of typing.

Also included are links to downloadable Unicode Bibles (HB with vowels; LXX with accents; MT/LXX parallel; NT with accents), and the free Diogenes software, which can be used to search databases such as the TLG if you have the disks, or as a stand-alone lexical reference if you do not.

Whether you're a relative newcomer to Unicode (as I am) or a seasoned veteran, all of these are well worth a look.

OUP Sale at Dove

A number of excellent NT titles from Oxford University Press are currently on sale at Dove (through January 17):

Ashton, John
Understanding the Fourth Gospel
(Published 2007)
Hardcover List: $120.00 Dove Price: $95.99 Save $27.01
More Info & Ordering

Curtis, Adrian H W
Oxford Bible Atlas, 4th ed
(Published 2007)
Hardcover List: $35.00 Dove Price: $25.99 Save $9.01
More Info & Ordering

Dunderberg, Ismo
Beloved Disciple in Conflict?: Revisiting the Gospels of John and Thomas
(Published 2006)
Hardcover List: $99.00 Dove Price: $79.20 Save $19.80
More Info & Ordering

Ehrman, Bart D
Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend
(Published 2006)
Hardcover List: $25.00 Dove Price: $19.99 Save $5.01
More Info & Ordering

Ehrman, Bart D
New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 4th ed
(Published 2007)
Paperback List: $57.95 Dove Price: $46.36 Save $11.59
More Info & Ordering

Gregory, Andrew Christopher Tuckett (eds)
New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers, 2 Volume Set
(Published 2006)
Paperback List: $80.00 Dove Price: $63.99 Save $16.01
More Info & Ordering
(Published 2006)
Hardcover List: $199.00 Dove Price: $158.99 Save $40.01
More Info & Ordering

Gregory, Andrew Christopher Tuckett (eds)
New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1: The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
(Published 2006)
Paperback List: $45.00 Dove Price: $35.99 Save $9.01
More Info & Ordering
Hardcover List: $99.00 Dove Price: $79.20 Save $19.80
More Info & Ordering

Gregory, Andrew Christopher Tuckett (eds)
New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers, Volume 2: Trajectories through the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
(Published 2006)
Paperback List: $55.00 Dove Price: $43.99 Save $11.01
More Info & Ordering
Hardcover List: $120.00 Dove Price: $95.99 Save $24.01
More Info & Ordering

Hodge, Caroline Johnson
If Sons, Then Heirs: A Study of Kinship and Ethnicity in the Letters of Paul
(Published 2007)
Hardcover List: $45.00 Dove Price: $35.99 Save $9.01
More Info & Ordering

Hvidt, Niels Christian
Christian Prophecy: The Post-Biblical Tradition
(Published 2007)
Hardcover List: $74.00 Dove Price: $59.20 Save $14.80
More Info & Ordering

Meech, John L
Paul in Israel's Story: Self and Community at the Cross
(Published 2006)
Hardcover List: $55.00 Dove Price: $43.99 Save $11.01
More Info & Ordering

Porter, J R
Jesus Christ: The Jesus of History, the Christ of Faith
(Published 2007)
Paperback List: $21.50 Dove Price: $15.99 Save $5.51
More Info & Ordering

Rogerson, John W Judith M Lieu (eds)
Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies
(Published 2006)
Hardcover List: $199.00 Dove Price: $159.20 Save $39.80
More Info & Ordering

Tuckett, Christopher M (ed)
Gospel of Mary (Oxford Early Christian Gospel Texts)
(Published 2007)
Hardcover List: $120.00 Dove Price: $95.99 Save $24.01
More Info & Ordering

This volume, the first in a major new series which will provide authoritative texts of key non-canonical gospel writings, comprises a critical edition, with full translations, of all the extant manuscripts of the Gospel of Mary. In addition, an extended Introduction discusses the key issues involved in the interpretation of the text, as well as locating it in its proper historical context, while a Commentary explicates points of detail. The gospel has been important in many recent discussions of non-canonical gospels, of early Christian Gnosticism, and of discussions of the figure of Mary Magdalene. The present volume will provide a valuable resource for all future discussions of this important early Christian text.

Pietersma, Albert Benjamin G. Wright (eds)
New English Translation of the Septuagint
(Published 2007)
Hardcover List: $30.00 Dove Price: $23.99 Save $6.01
More Info & Ordering

New Links... Check Them Out!

During the winter break, I encountered several new blogs (well, new to me) which have now been added to the blogroll, and also some excellent online resources which have been added to the "Helpful Links" section. Thanks to Nick Norelli for pointing me in the direction of these fine sites:

Greek New Testament
Online Commentary on the Greek Gospels

I also discovered Peter Coad's truly excellent Greek Bible Study, which allows the reader to view the KJV and NASB versions in parallel alongside both Tischendorf's New Testament and a graduated reader linked to William Mounce's introductory textbook Basics of Biblical Greek. The Greek texts are grammatically tagged; clicking on any word instantly displays its lexical information (as given in Thayer's standard lexicon). There is also a "verse-by-verse translation" feature. Highly recommended to Greek students of all experience and skill levels.

Finally, Prof. William Harmless' Bibliographies for Theology is another exemplary site, with entries arranged under the categories of New Testament, Early Christianity, Medieval Christianity, The Reformation, Spirituality & Mysticism, Sacraments, and Twentieth-Century Theology. Each of these categories is helpfully divided into a number of sub-categories. The perfect gateway to further reading and research, for both students and laypeople. Prof. Harmless' work on the bibliographies of the recently released English translation of Hubertus Drobner's The Fathers of the Church: A Comprehensive Introduction (soon to become the definitive introduction to patristic studies; you heard it here first) is another indication of his skill in this regard.

Enjoy!

Another Semester Begins...

Yale's spring semester begins today. While I'm considering a few other courses, my schedule will most likely consist of the following:

REL 681: Greek Exegesis of the Gospel of Mark (A. Collins)
REL 691: History and Methods of New Testament Study (A. Collins)
REL 854: Theology and Cinema (M. Villano)

Looking forward to another stimulating and enriching semester!

New: Dirt, Greed, & Sex

A recent announcement from Fortress:

Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and Their Implications for Today, Revised Edition

One of the most urgent tasks in contemporary discussions and controversies over sexuality, in churches and in wider society, is to put the biblical resources into their proper social and cultural contexts.

In Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and Their Implications for Today, Revised Edition, L. William Countryman accomplishes this task in an exemplary way, showing how biblical conceptions regarding proper sexual behavior arose from concerns for purity and from cultures in which women and children were often perceived as property. What biblical texts say about sex often arises from concerns about dirt and greed.

This new revised edition of the landmark 1988 text includes updated text and notes throughout, taking advantage of recent studies of sexual ethics and, where appropriate, criticizing them. A new chapter evaluates recent proposals for a normative "ethic of creation," and in a concluding chapter, Countryman offers his own positive statement of a New Testament ethic. The result is an invaluable resource for anyone who seeks to understand what the New Testament says about sex.

Order your copy today!

BAR Highlights: 1/10/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Tunnel Roadblock?
A group in Israel has asked that country’s Attorney General to order a halt in construction of a tunnel from the Western Wall to an ancient synagogue.

A Bang and a Whimper
A tsunami specialist uses a theoretical model and his own observations of the devastating results of the 2004 tsunami to piece together a theory regarding the end of Minoan society, the Bronze Age civilization crucial to the development of Western culture.

Mr. Mummy
A noted Egyptologist undertakes an actual mummification in order to learn about the ancient process and discusses, among other subjects, why it’s difficult to study Alzheimer’s disease in mummies.

Pass the Ketchup
Researchers investigating a cave near Haifa have been learning how its prehistoric inhabitants hunted, slaughtered and prepared animals 200,000 years ago.

Giza in Peril
Contaminated groundwater is rising and threatening the ancient monuments in the Giza plateau.

New: Mark (Hermeneia)

Another recent announcement from Fortress, this time featuring the one and only Prof. Adela Collins. The bookstore received its copies just before the SBL Annual Meeting... magisterial in both size and scope. This will undoubtedly remain the standard commentary on the Gospel of Mark for years to come.

Fortress Press Releases Hermeneia Volume on Mark

"Adela Collins' long-awaited commentary on the Gospel of Mark fulfills and even surpasses the highest expectations. It demonstrates the scholarly expertise and sound critical judgment we have come to expect from this expert on Jewish apocalyptic and Greco-Roman literary culture. This book will now be the definitive resource for historical-critical reading of the Gospel of Mark."
—Karen L. King, Harvard Divinity School

In the newly released Hermeneia Volume Mark: A Commentary, Professor Adela Yarbro Collins brings to bear on the text of the first Gospel the latest historical-critical perspectives, providing a full treatment of such controversial issues as the relationship of canonical Mark to the "Secret Gospel of Mark" and the text of the Gospel, including its longer endings.

She situates the Gospel, with its enigmatic portrait of the misunderstood Messiah, in the context of Jewish and Greco-Roman literature of the first century. Her comments draw on her profound knowledge of apocalyptic literature as well as on the traditions of popular biography in the Greco-Roman world to illuminate the overall literary form of the Gospel.

The commentary also introduces an impressive store of data on the language and style of Mark, illustrated from papyrological and epigraphical sources. Collins is in constructive dialogue with the wide range of scholarship on Mark that has been produced in the twentieth century. Her work will be foundational for Markan scholarship in the first half of the twenty-first century.

Adela Yarbro Collins is Buckingham Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. She has written numerous books on ancient Judaism and Christianity.

Order your copy today!

New: Justin Martyr

A recent announcement from Fortress:

New Volume Reintroduces Justin Martyr

Justin—philosopher and Christian martyr, Samaritan, exegete, apologist, and witness to so many of the intellectual and cultural worlds of the later Roman Empire—surprises every generation of scholars anew with the riches he has to offer them. One of the most gifted leaders in the early church, Justin and his writings are one of our richest sources for understanding the developing beliefs, worship, and public perception of Christians in the second century.

The newly released volume Justin Martyr and His Worlds presents a well-rounded portrait of one of the second-century church's most remarkable figures.

Here are studies of Justin's relationship to Judaism, Hellenism, and the Roman state, to philosophers, emperors, and heretics, and to the scriptures and other writings of second-century Judaism and Christianity. A map and timeline of Justin's world, a list of his writings, and a full-color gallery of images complement the work of many leading scholars.

Contents
Introduction: By Sara Parvis and Paul Foster, Editors

Part One: Justin's Worlds
Justin and Judaism — Judith Lieu, King's College, London
Justin and Gnosticism — Christoph Markschies, Humboldt Universität, Berlin
Justin and the Apologetic Tradition — Sara Parvis, University of Edinburgh

Part Two: Justin's Writings and Thought
Jesus as the Name of God in the "Dialogue with Trypho" — Larry W. Hurtado, University of Edinburgh
The "Apologies": A Textual History — Paul Parvis, University of Edinburgh
A New Text of Justin's "Apologies" — Denis Minns, University of Oxford
Justin's Use of the Old Testament — Oskar Skarsaune, Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo
The Gospel of Peter and the Writings of Justin — Paul Foster, University of Edinburgh
Justin, Suicide and Martyrdom — Graham Stanton, University of Cambridge
Part Three: Reading Justin Today
Justin Scholarship: Trends and Trajectories — Michael Slusser, Duquesne University
Justin and the Postcolonial Tradition — J. Rebecca Lyman, University of California at Berkeley

Editors
Paul Foster is Senior Lecture in New Testament Literature, Language, and Theology, and Sara Parvis is Lecturer in Patristics, at the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity.

Order your copy today!

RBL Highlights: 1/8/07

A few highlights from this week's Review of Literature, including a review of Walter Brueggemann by our own Carolyn Sharp:

Russell C. D. Arnold
The Social Role of Liturgy in the Religion of the Qumran Community
Reviewed by Carol A. Newsom

John Sietze Bergsma
The Jubilee from Leviticus to Qumran: A History of Interpretation
Reviewed by Erhard Gerstenberger

Walter Brueggemann
The Theology of the Book of Jeremiah
Reviewed by Carolyn J. Sharp

Catharine Edwards and Greg Woolf, eds.
Rome the Cosmopolis
Reviewed by Jonathan L. Reed

Ulrich Luz; Helmut Koester, ed.; James Crouch, trans.
Matthew 1-7: A Commentary
Reviewed by David Sim
Reviewed by Charles L. Quarles

Ziadé, Raphaëlle
Les martyrs Maccabées: de l'histoire juive au culte chrétien: Les homélies de Grégoire de Nazianze et de Jean Chrysostome
Reviewed by Jan Willem van Henten

A Semester's Worth of Work Reduced to Two Links... Sigh...

The usual insanity which accompanies the end of any semester, coupled with the preparation of a number of excruciatingly detailed doctoral applications (almost all of which are now complete, thank goodness), has severely curtailed my posting over the past few weeks. However, thanks to the virtually infinite capacity of the internet, I am able to share something other than mere publication announcements and RBL links: my recent term papers for Sibling Rivalries (Prof. Joel Kaminsky) and Exegesis of Hebrews (Prof. Harry Attridge). If any of you are dying to explore the complex historical and hermeneutical relationship between Jesus and his siblings or the contribution of the Arian/Nicene controversy to the canonization of Hebrews, then these are for you!

As I've mentioned before, your comments are welcome... as long as they're glowing. Otherwise, don't bother. ;-)

Sibling Rivalries-Final Paper

Exegesis of Hebrews-Final Paper

RBL Highlights: 1/4/07

A few highlights from the most recent Review of Biblical Literature. Although I usually omit reviews of foreign language publications, I've made an exception this week... Ruben Dupertuis, my friend and former professor, has provided an insightful and enjoyable review (well, as enjoyable as any book review can be) of Santiago Guijarro Oporto's Jesús y sus primeros discípulos. I'm tempted to pick up the book, but I'm not sure if my dreadfully rusty Spanish is up to the challenge!

Joseph Blenkinsopp
Opening the Sealed Book: Interpretations of the Book of Isaiah in Late Antiquity
Reviewed by Riemer Roukema

Greg Carey
Ultimate Things: An Introduction to Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Literature
Reviewed by Lorenzo DiTommaso

A. Andrew Das
Solving the Romans Debate
Reviewed by David J. Downs

Larry W. Hurtado, ed.
The Freer Biblical Manuscripts: Fresh Studies of an American Treasure Trove
Reviewed by Juan Hernández Jr.

Victor Matthews
Manners and Customs in the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to Daily Life in Bible Times
Reviewed by Aaron Koller

Santiago Guijarro Oporto
Jesús y sus primeros discípulos
Reviewed by Ruben Dupertuis

Guy Waters
The End of Deuteronomy in the Epistles of Paul
Reviewed by Kenneth D. Litwak

Karen Strand Winslow
Early Jewish and Christian Memories of Moses' Wives: Exogamist Marriage and Ethnic Identity
Reviewed by Amelia Devin Freedman

New: The Messiah

A not-so-recent announcement from Fortress; this book has been available for a few months. But it's still well worth a look, as it features Yale University's most potent tag team... Profs. John and Adela Collins! Everything you've always wanted to know about early messianism in one handy volume.


Scholars Present Classic Contours of Jewish and Christian Hope
In The Messiah, leading scholars offer succinct and illuminating essays on currents of messianic thought in the formative centuries of Judaism and Christianity, providing precision in thinking about "messianic" images and tradition. Special features designed with the student in mind include a map, a glossary of terms, and a timeline of significant events.

Contents

Introduction Magnus Zetterholm

Part One: Formation
Pre-Christian Jewish Messianism: An Overview
John J. Collins, Yale University
The Messiah as Son of God in the Synoptic Gospels
Professor Adela Yarbro Collins, Yale University
Paul and the Missing Messiah
Magnus Zetterholm, Lund University

Part Two: Development
Elijah and the Messiah as Spokesman of Rabbinic Ideology
Karin Hedner-Zetterholm, Lund University
The Reception of Messianism and the Worship of Christ in the Post-Apostolic Church
Jan-Eric Steppa, Lund University

Magnus Zetterholm is Adjunct Associate Professor in Religious Studies at Linköping University, Sweden.

BAR Highlights: 1/3/08

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Hands Off the Pyramids
Egypt plans to copyright its ancient monuments and artifacts and charge royalties for reproducing them.

Church Restoration
An Iraqi antiquities official is determined to restore a 1,500-year-old church 40 miles southwest of Karbala.

Go West, Young Man
Recent discoveries in the Lybian desert indicate that the area was home to much more ancient Egyptian activity than previously realized.

A Nice Wreck
A well-preserved shipwreck off the Cyprus coast is expected to yield important evidence of trade in the Mediterranean world of the fourth century B.C.

It’s in the Bag
A bag of tools left by a hunter-gatherer in 12,000 B.C. provides a look into life in the Natufian culture of pre-historic Jordan.

Scrolls Go Digital
In a project that could take up to five years, a team at King’s College London will take high-resolution digital photos of the Dead Sea Scrolls and make them available on the internet.

Egyptian Glass
Cardiff University researchers have reconstructed a 14th-century B.C. oven for making glass, showing that glassmaking techniques in ancient Egypt were more advanced than previously recognized.

Hot Items
The recent record-setting sale of an ancient figurine points up the fact that antiquities are considered a strong investment.

Friends, Romans, Londoners
An exhibit features a hoard of late Roman artifacts discovered in the heart of London.

ACLA 2008

A few days ago I received a formal notice that my proposal for the upcoming American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting (April 24-27, Long Beach, CA) has been approved. In case you're interested (and you should be!), here's the abstract:

The Boy Who Lived (and Died, and Rose Again): The Messianic Matrix of Harry Potter

With worldwide sales in excess of 400 million copies, the Harry Potter heptalogy has quickly become one of the most culturally and commercially significant literary series in the history of the printed word. These remarkable triumphs have not come without controversy. Conservative Christians have repeatedly denounced the series’ apparent espousal of witchcraft and the occult—reactions which undoubtedly contributed to its ranking atop the American Library Association’s “Most Challenged Books of the 21st Century.” However, a critically sensitive reading of the complete Harry Potter cycle reveals startling affinities between its cosmology and that of the New Testament, particularly regarding the often-intertwined elements of eschatology and messianism. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes increasingly apparent that both the characters and the world in which they live have entered a tenuous liminal state; Armageddon looms on the horizon. The character of Harry proceeds to emerge as “The Chosen One”—a heroic, salvific figure whose unique nature endows him alone with the ability to successfully resolve this climactic conflict, and thus bring about the transition from a liminal existence to an ideal one. This paper will explore these and other fascinating links between ancient Christian kerygma and modern secular fiction, and also address the significance of their existence in spite of vast chronological, epistemological, and sociocultural gaps.

RBL Highlights: 1/1/08

Better late than never... a few highlights from the most recent Review of Biblical Literature. PS... Happy New Year. ;-)

Paul N. Anderson
The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus: Modern Foundations Reconsidered
Reviewed by Edward W. Klink III

Richard Bauckham
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony
Reviewed by Christopher Tuckett

Philip F. Esler and Ronald A. Piper
Lazarus, Mary and Martha: A Social-Scientific and Theological Reading of John
Reviewed by Jan G. van der Watt

David E. Garland and Diana R. Garland
Flawed Families of the Bible: How God's Grace Works through Imperfect Relationships
Reviewed by Jason B. Hood

David Goodblatt
Elements of Ancient Jewish Nationalism
Reviewed by W. Dennis Tucker Jr.

Stephen M. Hildebrand
The Trinitarian Theology of Basil of Caesarea: A Synthesis of Greek Thought and Biblical Truth
Reviewed by Mark Weedman

Andrew Lincoln
Hebrews: A Guide
Reviewed by Martin Karrer

John L. Meech
Paul in Israel's Story: Self and Community at the Cross
Reviewed by Mark Reasoner

Eileen M. Schuller
The Dead Sea Scrolls: What Have We Learned?
Reviewed by Ian Werrett

BAR Highlights: 12/21/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Herod in Jordan
German excavators have uncovered a monumental building that indicates that King Herod’s control extended further into ancient Jordan than previously known.

A Pea in Tut’s Pod
A pea from the Carnarvon estate in England thought to have come from King Tut’s tomb has been saved from extinction. The fifth Earl of Carnarvon sponsored the expedition that discovered the tomb.

Grappling over Judas
Scholars at a recent meeting argued over the portrayal of the disciple in the Gospel of Judas.

Temple Mount Project to Resume
Israel’s cabinet has instructed the Israel Antiquities Authority to restart work on a new walkway to the Temple Mount. The project had been halted in the wake of violent protests by Muslims who claimed the walkway would damage the Mount.

Spartan Myth
A study of a large pit with human remains suggests that the ancient Spartans did not throw deformed babies away.

A Peek Inside
At the behest of the British Museum, a London hospital has performed a CT scan of a mummy inside a linen and plaster coffin.

Vani, Vidi, Vici
“Wine, Worship & Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani,” a just-opened exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC, focuses on the civilization that once flourished in what is now the Republic of Georgia.

A Glimpse Inside the Museum
Officials led a small group of visitors through the Iraq National Museum to highlight restoration efforts and the recovery of looted artifacts.

Sale of Prehistoric Sculpture Smashes Record
The Guennol Lioness, a 5,000-year-old carving barely 3 inches tall and considered by many as one the world’s great works of art, sold for more than $57 million—by far the most ever for a sculpture.

Response on Judas
One of the translators of the Gospel of Judas and an official of the National Geographic Society respond to Prof. April DeConick’s recent criticism of their work.

Ancient Weapons of Mass Destruction
A molecular biologist suggests that rams and donkeys infected with rabbit fever (tularemia) were used as bioweapons in the Anatolian wars 3,300 years ago.

Retrieving a Treasure
Scholars in Israel have called for the return of all fragments of the Aleppo Codex, considered the finest example of the traditional Hebrew text of the Bible. One such fragment, saved from a synagogue in Aleppo, Syria, that had been set on fire by rioters, was recently returned to Israel and scholars think there are more pieces in private hands.

Infant Burial
Archaeologists in Syria have recovered an ancient glass jar containing the ashes of a child. The find was made at Palmyra, home of spectacular Roman-era remains.

The Ark—In Ethiopia?
Smithsonian magazine investigates the claim, popular in some circles, that the Ark of the Covenant is secreted in Africa.

Facts and Anti-Facts
An Israeli scholar writes that the recent granting of tenure to Nadia Abu El-Haj by Barnard College has ramifications well beyond the archaeology of Israel.

Queen’s Palace Found
Archaeologists working just outside Jerusalem’s Old City Walls have uncovered a major structure that they believe was the palace of Queen Helena, who converted to Judaism in the first century.

Several photos of the site and the artifacts found there can be viewed at www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124482.

A short video report appears at the Jerusalem Post.

Yay for Carolyn Sharp!

And congratulations to Prof. Sharp (who, I'm sure, honed her skills while teaching me last fall):

Carolyn Sharp honored with 2007 Fortress Press Teaching Award

In awarding its 2007 Teaching Award to Carolyn Sharp, associate professor of Hebrew Scriptures at Yale Divinity School, the Fortress Press publishing house called Sharp a “faculty leader” and a “superb teacher of teachers” who has “formed the basis of what many of her colleagues now do to inaugurate new teaching assistants into their own work.”

Formal presentation of the award was made during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, held Nov. 17-20 in San Diego.

The Fortress Press citation says, “Carolyn Sharp has been recognized as a faculty leader in guiding reflection about the teaching process; in shaping the classroom experience, through the judicious use of written, visual, and audio materials, as a lively involvement in the ongoing history of scripture interpretation; and in developing course materials that are sensitive to the variety of learning styles among her students.”

Sharp credits initiatives with the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, and from the Episcopal Church's Conant Fund, as being instrumental in shaping her pedagogical approach.

From the Wabash Center she cites three initiatives:

1) The 2002-03 Pre-Tenure Workshop for Theological Faculty
2) A collaborative group grant on multiculturalism and interdisciplinarity in theological education, involving eight schools
3) The 2006-07 "Teaching Biblical Exegesis in Theological Schools" consultation, which involves 12 schools

The Conant Fund supported her development of several pedagogical tools for teaching YDS's big introductory course Old Testament Interpretation.

Fortress Press said, “She has developed study guides that introduce her students in a systematic way to an array of interpretive strategies and techniques. She encourages peer learning by expecting students to engage the class as a whole with their own questions and explorations...

“A superb teacher of teachers, she prepares her teaching assistants, mostly doctoral students in religious studies, for the joys and challenges of seminary teaching. She has prepared for them guides to teaching and to resources available to help them develop their teaching skills. Her work with these teaching assistants has formed the basis of what many of her colleagues now do to inaugurate new teaching assistants into their own work.

“Because she is a passionate teacher, dedicated to innovation in service of her students and of her craft, we are pleased to present this award to Carolyn Sharp.”

Sharp's research explores aspects of the composition, redaction, and rhetoric of Hebrew Scripture texts. In recent articles, she has examined the representation of Hebrew Bible traditions in the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls, urged the creation of a multivocal Old Testament theology shaped by the notion of diaspora identity, and explored the potential of Old Testament hermeneutics to address contemporary ecclesial debates.

Her books include Prophecy and Ideology in Jeremiah (T&T Clark, 2003) and Irony and Meaning in the Hebrew Bible (in press with Indiana University Press).

An Episcopal Church Foundation Fellow, Sharp is active in the Episcopal Church, preaching and leading parish study groups on biblical theology and hermeneutics.

Sharp earned a B.A. in religious studies from Wesleyan University, an M.A.R. from YDS, and a Ph.D. (2000) in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament from Yale.

Fortress Holiday Sale

Some nice titles (e.g., Stegemann and Stegemann's The Jesus Movement) at some nice prices... take a look!

Visit www.augsburgfortress.org to start saving today!

Yay for Margaret Farley!

Congratulations to Prof. Farley. The Grawenmeyer Award is particularly close to my heart, as it's granted by two of my hometown institutions:

Margaret A. Farley, the Gilbert L. Stark Professor Emerita of Christian Ethics at Yale Divinity School, is the recipient of the 2008 Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion for her book Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics (Continuum, 2006). The Grawemeyer Award is among the nation's most prestigious prizes in the field of religion and is awarded jointly by the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville. Read a full press release here.

BAR Highlights: 12/5/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Getting Judas Wrong
April DeConick, a specialist in Gnostic Christianity, writes that the National Geographic Society made important errors in its publication ofThe Gospel of Judas.

Hanukkah Revealed
The story behind the Festival of Lights is much more complex than is usually thought.

Center of Controversy
A Newsweek article profiles the archaeological digs being conducted in Jerusalem—and the debates they spark.

Number Theory
A specialist explains ancient Egyptian methods of counting.

Tourist Damage
The increasing number of visitors to previously secluded areas of Egypt have begun to threaten ancient rock art in the Sahara.

Not So Fast...
An Italian archaeologist has questioned the recent identification of a grotto in Rome as the famed cave where Romulus and Remus were suckled.

RBL Highlights: 12/3/07

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

ORALITY AND BIBLICAL STUDIES: A REVIEW ESSAY
Werner H. Kelber
- William A. Graham, Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion
- David M. Carr, Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature
- Susan Niditch, Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature
- Martin S. Jaffee, Torah in the Mouth: Writing and Oral Tradition in Palestinian Judaism, 200 BCE-400 CE
- Erhardt Güttgemanns, Offene Fragen zur Formgeschichte des Evangeliums: Eine methodologische Skizze der Grundlagenproblematik der Form- und Redaktionsgeschichte, translated by William G. Doty as Candid Questions Concerning Gospel Form Criticism: A Methodological Sketch of the Fundamental Problematics of Form and Redaction Criticism
- Richard A. Horsley, with Jonathan A. Draper, Whoever Hears You Hears Me: Prophets, Performance, and Tradition in Q
- D. C. Parker, The Living Text of the Gospels

Andrew D. Clarke
Secular and Christian Leadership in Corinth: A Socio-Historical and Exegetical Study of 1 Corinthians 1-6
Reviewed by Barbette Stanley Spaeth

Miriam Pucci Ben Zeev
Diaspora Judaism in Turmoil, 116/117 CE: Ancient Sources and Modern Insights
Reviewed by Joshua Schwartz

Shmuel Safrai, Zeev Safrai, Joshua Schwartz, and Peter J. Tomson, eds.
The Literature of the Sages: Second Part: Midrash and Targum, Liturgy, Poetry, Mysticism, Contracts, Inscriptions, Ancient Science and the Languages of Rabbinic Literature
Reviewed by Jan-Wim Wesselius

Robert C. Tannehill
The Shape of the Gospel: New Testament Essays
Reviewed by Derek S. Dodson

Laurence M. Vance
Greek Verbs in the New Testament and Their Principal Parts
Reviewed by Jutta Henner

Chris VanLandingham
Judgment and Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul
Reviewed by D. A. Carson

New: From Jesus to the Gospels

A recent announcement from Fortress:


Helmut Koester Reveals Traditions Behind the Gospels

In From Jesus to the Gospels: Interpreting the New Testament in Its Context Helmut Koester, one of today's foremost New Testament scholars, offers a lifetime's insights into the message of the historical Jesus and the practices and trajectories that shaped the Jesus tradition.

Koester's vast knowledge of the ancient world and the literature of the early Christian movements informs these historically and theologically astute essays.

Topics include the early "Q" community, extracanonical sayings of Jesus, early liturgical practices, the theologies of the canonical Gospels, and impulses toward Gnosticism and beyond.

Helmut Koester is John H. Morison Research Professor of Divinity and Winn Research Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Chair of the New Testament Board of the Hermeneia commentary series.

Order your copy today!

BAR Highlights: 11/30/07

More recent archaeological news from Biblical Archaeology Review:

Nehemiah’s Wall Found?
Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar has announced that she has identified parts of the wall said to have been built by Nehemiah and the returnees from the Babylonian Exile.

Cause of the Flood?
An environmental archaeologist suggests that a comet striking the earth caused the great flood preserved in the tales of many cultures.

Inscribed Sarcophagus
German excavators in Egypt have uncovered a Pharaoh’s sarcophagus covered with hieroglyphic writing.

Digging Armageddon
A profile of the dig, and the diggers, at Megiddo. The dig’s Web site now features streaming video; visit http://megiddo.tau.ac.il/.

Lupercal Found?
Excavators in Rome have discovered a cave decorated with well-preserved colored mosaics and seashells that may be the cave revered as the place where Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, were suckled by a she-wolf.

Synagogue Mosaic Floor Found in Galilee
The synagogue dates to the Roman and Byzantine periods and the mosaic includes a depiction of a workman with a woodworking tool.

Totally Tut
The Times of London, to mark the opening of the Tut exhibit in England, has published a special section all about the Boy King.

Island Inscription
An inscribed piece of coral reef, discovered on an island in the Persian Gulf, has added five new words to the Old Persian lexicon.

Eisenbrauns Commentary Sale

The title says it all. Check these out:

"Exodus 19-40: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary"
by William H. Propp
Anchor Bible - AB
Random House, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0385246935
List Price: $49.95 Your Price: $29.97

"1 Chronicles 1-9: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary"
by Gary N. Knoppers
Anchor Bible - AB
Doubleday, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0385469284
List Price: $49.95 Your Price: $29.97

"An Introduction to the Gospel of John"
by Raymond E. Brown
Edited by Francis J. Maloney
Anchor Bible Reference Library - ABRL
Doubleday, 2003. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0385507224
List Price: $30.00 Your Price: $18.00

"Philippians and Philemon"
by Bonnie B. Thurston and Ryan Judith
Sacra Pagina - SP
Liturgical Press, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0814658202
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $26.61

"Pastoral Epistles: First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus"
by Benjamin Fiore
Sacra Pagina - SP
Liturgical Press, 2007. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9780814658147
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $26.61

"Hebrews"
by Alan C. Mitchell
Sacra Pagina - SP
Liturgical Press, 2007. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9780814658154
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $26.61

"The New Interpreter's Bible Index"
New Interpreter's Bible - NIB
Abingdon, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0687039169
List Price: $40.00 Your Price: $24.00

"1 and 2 Kings"
by Peter J. Leithart
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible - BTCB
Brazos Press, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1587431254
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $15.00

"Matthew"
by Stanley Hauerwas
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible - BTCB
Brazos Press, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1587430959
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $15.00

"Psalms: Volume 2: Psalms 42-89"
by John Goldingay
Edited by Tremper Longman III
Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms
Baker Academic, 2007. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9780801027048
List Price: $44.99 Your Price: $26.99

To go directly to the weekly sale, click on this link:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~~~NEWSLIST

New: Titles from Wipf & Stock/Cascade

A recent announcement from Wipf & Stock/Cascade:

New Releases from Cascade Books

Receive a limited-time 40% discount on or request review or exam copies of these new releases, which made their debut at the recent AAR/SBL conference in San Diego.

Jesus and the Miracle Tradition
Paul J. Achtemeier
ISBN 13: 978-1-59752-364-6 / 274 pp. / $30.00 / paper

Exodus: Let My People Go
Daniel Berrigan
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-105-1 / 182 pp. / $20.00 / paper

Risking Proclamation, Respecting Difference: Christian Faith, Imperialistic Discourse, and Abraham
Chris Boesel
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-523-3 / 306 pp. / $33.00 / paper

Divine Revelation and Human Practice: Responsive and Imaginative Participation
Tony Clark
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-516-5 / 244 pp. / $27.00 / paper

The Life of a Galilean Shaman: Jesus of Nazareth in Anthropological-Historical Perspective
MATRIX: The Bible in Mediterranean Context
Pieter F. Craffert
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-085-6 / 470 pp. / $52.00 / paper

Barrenness and Blessing: Abraham, Sarah, and the Journey of Faith
Hemchand Gossai
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-292-8 / 136 pp. / $17.00 / paper

Wisdom and Spiritual Transcendence at Corinth: Studies in First Corinthians
Richard Horsley
ISBN 13: 978-1-59752-844-3 / 182 pp. / $21.00 / paper

Theology and Culture: A Guide to the Discussion
Cascade Companions
D. Stephen Long
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-052-8 / 124 pp. / $17.00/ paper

Awakening Youth Discipleship: Christian Resistance in a Consumer Culture
Brian J. Mahan, Michael Warren, and David F. White
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-136-5 / 138 pp. / $17.00 / paper

Jesus and the Peasants
MATRIX: The Bible in Mediterranean Context
Douglas E. Oakman
ISBN 13: 978-1-59752-275-5 / 348 pp. / $38.00 / paper

Language, Hermeneutic, and History: Theology after Barth and Bultmann
James M. Robinson
ISBN 13: 978-1-59752-881-8 / 260 pp. / $29.00 / paper

God Gardened East: A Gardener’s Meditation on the Dynamics of Genesis
Louis A. Ruprecht, Jr.
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-434-2 / 184 pp. / $21.00 / paper

Green Witness: Ecology, Ethics, and the Kingdom of God
Laura Ruth Yordy
ISBN 13: 978-1-55635-335-2 / 190 pp. / $22.00 / paper

Request review or exam copies here