Ένα άρθρο βιβλικού ενδιαφέροντος στο τρέχον τεύχος του In die Skriflig / An article of biblical interest in the current issue of In die Skriflig

In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi 49:1 (2015)

Bradley M. Trout, "The nature of the law’s fulfilment in Matthew 5:17: An exegetical and theological study"

Δύο άρθρα βιβλικού ενδιαφέροντος στο τρέχον HTS / Two articles of biblical interest in the current issue HTS

Hervomde Theologies Studies 

• Kwanghyun Cho, Ernest van Eck, Cas Wepener, "Paul’s community formation in 1 Thessalonians: The creation of symbolic boundaries"
• Ernest van Eck, "Honour and debt release in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Mt 18:23–33): A social-scientific and realistic reading"

RBL 12.6.2015

George Aichele, The Letters of Jude and Second Peter: Paranoia and the Slaves of Christ
Reviewed by Andrew Mbuvi

Warren Carter, Seven Events That Shaped the New Testament World
Reviewed by Richard Johnson

Bruce Chilton, Visions of the Apocalypse: Receptions of John’s Revelation in Western Imagination
Reviewed by Ian Boxall

Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman, eds., Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writing Related to Scripture
Reviewed by Igal German

Michael Graves, The Inspiration and Interpretation of Scripture: What the Early Church Can Teach Us
Reviewed by Kenneth D. Litwak

A. Kirk Grayson and Jamie Novotny, The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BC), Part 2
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

Lowell K. Handy, Psalm 29 through Time and Tradition
Reviewed by Wojciech Wegrzyniak

Franz D. Hubmann; ed. Werner Urbanz, Prophetie an der Grenze: Studien zum Jeremiabuch und zum Corpus Propheticum
Reviewed by Mark E. Biddle

Michael B. Hundley, Keeping Heaven on Earth: Safeguarding the Divine Presence in the Priestly Tabernacle
Reviewed by Nevada L. DeLapp

Craig S. Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (3:1–14:28)
Reviewed by Joshua L. Mann
Reviewed by Justin A. Mihoc

Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi
Reviewed by Jessica Tinklenberg

Shelly Matthews, The Acts of the Apostles: Taming the Tongues of Fire
Reviewed by Brian LePort

David Miano, Shadow on the Steps: Time Measurement in Ancient Israel
Reviewed by Trent C. Butler

Heinz-Dieter Neef, Die Prüfung Abrahams: Eine exegetisch-theologische Studie zu Gen 22,1–19
Reviewed by Thomas Hieke

C. Marvin Pate, Apostle of the Last Days: The Life, Letters, and Theology of Paul
Reviewed by James Hanson

Daniel Patte, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity
Reviewed by Valeriy Alikin

Daniel Patte and Vasile Mihoc, eds., Greek Patristic and Eastern Orthodox Interpretations of Romans
Reviewed by Michael F. Bird

Abraham Sung-Ho Oh, Oh, That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down! The Eschatological Theology of Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56–66)
Reviewed by Klaus Koenen

Eric D. Reymond, Qumran Hebrew: An Overview of Orthography, Phonology, and Morphology
Reviewed by Emanuel Tov

Brian C. Small, The Characterization of Jesus in the Book of Hebrews
Reviewed by Felix H. Cortez

Joan E. Taylor, ed., The Body in Biblical, Christian and Jewish Texts
Reviewed by Joshua Schwartz

Alexander J. M. Wedderburn, The Death of Jesus: Some Reflections on Jesus-Traditions and Paul
Reviewed by Peter Frick

Στο τρέχον τεύχος του PRSt

Perspectives in Religious Studies 42:1 (2015)

Jin H. Han, "The Role of “an Audience" in Isaac’s Blessing in Genesis 27," 5-10

Isaac’s blessing of Jacob in Gen 27 is narrated as life-changing, and every character in the account recognizes its impact. A close examination, however, reveals that it would fail the felicity test. For example, due to failing eyesight, Isaac could not tell whom he was blessing. Moreover, he was tricked into granting everything to a mistaken recipient. Within the narrative confines, the mise-en-scène that produces a dark comedy features an audience made up of Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau, who relentlessly shore up the event as an irrevocable performative speech act. Battle lines are drawn over the role of the audience.

Matthias Hopf, "Being in between: Canticles as a “Chimera" between Written and Oral Styles of Speech," 11-27

The Song of Songs seems to stand in between the written and the spoken word. On one hand, we find forms of phrasing that have been identified as features of oral language, such as a large variety in the verbal grammar (especially the tendency to avoid consecutive forms and to use various other verbal forms instead) and diverse peculiar ways of phrasing. On the other hand, the Song can hardly be called colloquial in style, but is quite literate (cf. e.g. its poetic elaborateness and lexical richness). Consequentially, we assume that the authors/composers tried to imitate day-to-day speech in order to create a written text in the guise of spoken language.

Sherri Brown, "What’s in an Ending? John 21 and the Performative Force of an Epilogue," 29-42

This paper explores John 21 as a storyteller performs it as an epilogue. A Gospel telling that has beautifully faded to black is picked up again, and a performance critical approach helps to explain this final chapter’s existence as well as how it was intended to be received by audiences. The relationship engendered by Jesus in John 1-20 leaves its community with two commands: to love and to believe. However completely these truths are revealed, living through them as a community can become problematic when members struggle with whom and what to love and to believe. In John 21, the storyteller actualizes the new covenant commands into their lived experience through the performance of this epilogue composed for them.

Lee A. Johnson, "Performance in Corinth: Envisioning Paul's Successful 'Letter of Tears'," 43-59

Despite the claim by most scholars of ancient epistles that a letter-writer was at a distinct disadvantage by relying upon a written word rather than a personal visit, this essay argues that Paul’s success in Corinth was directly tied to his epistolary relationship with the Corinthians. Employing performance criticism, my work focuses upon the undervalued role of Titus in Paul’s letter campaign in Corinth. I show that Titus was involved at all stages in the letter-writing process-from composition to performance of the letter for the Corinthians-and that his ability to present and defend Paul’s message was instrumental in Paul’s success.

Joanna Dewey, "Performance Criticism in Teaching the Gospel of Mark," 61-72

In this article, I argue for the use of performing in class for students to understand performance criticism and deepen their knowledge of a text. Part I addresses pedagogical hurdles for students to perform and discusses differences between narrative and performance criticism, using Holly Hearon's work. Part II suggests that by recognizing the centrality of performance in the ancient world, we must also recognize the fluidity of texts: they were not fixed as we imagine them to have been, but were continually adapted to different situations and audiences. Part III, the bulk of the article, describes how I use performance in teaching Mark. Finally, Part IV briefly explores multimedia presentations using Richard Swanson's work.

Philip Ruge-Jones, "Taking Luke’s Gospel to Heart: Creating a Community of Mercy and Compassion through Biblical Storytelling," 73-88

The process of internalizing and performing biblical texts is essential in performance criticism. This spiritual discipline provides for the religious and ethical formation of both individuals and communities. This article maps out the struggle to take the Gospel of Luke to heart in a concrete community. It demonstrates how this process shapes the character of those who participate in it and equips them to live out Luke’s vision of compassionate mercy in the world. Through this ongoing engagement, the story becomes an expansive dwelling place that houses stories of faith communities from across the globe and throughout time.

Το τρέχον τεύχος του JBL / The current issue of JBL

Journal of Biblical Literature 134:2 (2015)

• Nissim Amzallag, "Furnace Remelting as the Expression of YHWH' s Holiness: Evidence from the Meaning of qanna’ in the Divine Context," 233-252 (abstract)
• Idan Dershowitz, Navot Akiva, Moshe Koppel and Nachum Dershowitz, "Computerized Source Criticism of Biblical Texts," 253-271 (abstract)
• Avraham Faust, "The Bible, Archaeology, and the Practice of Circumcision in Israelite and Philistine Societies," 273-290 (abstract)
• Elizabeth Bloch-Smith, "A Stratified Account of Jephthah’s Negotiations and Battle: Judges 11:12–33 from an Archaeological Perspective," 291-311 (abstract)
• Craig Evan Anderson, "The Politics of Psalmody: Psalm 60 and the Rise and Fall of Judean Independence," 313-332 (abstract)
• Aren M. Wilson-Wright, "Love Conquers All: Song of Songs 8:6b–7a as a Reflex of the Northwest Semitic Combat Myth," 333-345 (abstract)
• Michael Wade Martin, "The Poetry of the Lord’s Prayer: A Study in Poetic Device," 347-372 (abstract)
• Michal Beth Dinkler, "'The Thoughts of Many Hearts Shall Be Revealed': Listening in on Lukan Interior Monologues," 373-399 (abstract)
• Annette Yoshiko Reed, "The Afterlives of New Testament Apocrypha," 401-425 (abstract)
• M. David Litwa, "'I Will Become Him': Homology and Deification in the Gospel of Thomas," 427-477 (abstract)

Ένας ακαταλογογράφητος Απόστολος στην Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη Αθηνών / An uncatalogued Apostolos in the National Library of Greece

O Daniel Wallace, ο οποίος, ως γνωστόν, έχει αναλάβει την ψηφιοποίηση των χειρογράφων της Καινής Διαθήκης στην Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη Αθηνών (περίπου 300) . Στο ιστολόγιό του μας πληροφορεί με ανάρτηση για την πορεία του έργου καθώς και για το γεγονός ότι ήδη εντόπισε 10 περίπου χειρόγραφα που δεν έχουν ακόμη καταχωρηθεί στον κατάλογο του Münster. Ειδικότερα, παρουσιάζει τα φύλλα από ακαταλογογράφητο Απόστολο που βρέθηκαν κολλημένα στο εσωτερικό των εξωφύλλων του λεξιονάριου 1813 (NLG 2676). Πρόκειται για απόσπασμα από την Α΄ Ιω και τις Πράξεις. Ο Wallace το χρονολογεί στον 13ο ή 14ο αι. 

Update from Athens: New Apostolos Manuscript

Συνάντηση του Biblicum για τον μήνα Ιούλιο / Biblicum in July

Η έκτη  συνάντηση του Biblicum θα γίνει την  Δευτέρα 15  Ιουνίου 2015, ώρα 19.30 στην αίθουσα συνεδριάσεων

Εισηγητής θα είναι ο αναπλ. καθηγητής Θεολογικής Σχολής ΕΚΠΑ κ. Χρήστος Καρακόλης με το θέμα «Η δικαίωση ως δικανική ορολογία. Χρήση και σημασία της νομικής ορολογίας στην προς Ρωμαίους Επιστολή».

Ένα άρθρο βιβλικού ενδιαφέροντος στο τρέχον τεύχος του Klio / A new article of biblical interest in the current issue of Klio

Klio 96:2 (2014)

Klaus Bringmann, "Zur Kritik historischer Darstellung im Zweiten Makkabäerbuch," 587-606 (abstract)

Το τρέχον τεύχος του RivBib / The current issue of RivBib

Rivista Biblica 62:3 (2014)

• Angelo Passaro, "Papa Francesco riceve l'Associazione Biblica Italiana," 297-301
• John J. Collins, "Apocalypticism and Jewish identity in the Dead Sea Scrolls," 303-322
• André Wénin, "Il matrimonio di Tobia e i patriarchi : intertestualità nel testo breve del libro di Tobia," 323-336
• Stefano Romanello, "Chiavi narrative per l'interpretazione di Ap 17,1-22,5," 337-360
• Lara Guglielmo, "Referenze e referenti di Essaioi ed Essēnoi in Filone alessandrino e Flavio Giuseppe : un'ipotesi di lavoro," 361-376
• Francesco Bianchi, ""Ecco il mio servo comprenderà" : il commento di Nachmanide al quarto canto del Servo, fra polemica e attesa escatologica," 377-394
• Giuseppina Zarbo, ""Chi può narrare le potenti opere del Signore?" (Sal 106,2) ; modelli di intervento di Dio nella storia," 427-432
• Giuseppina Zarbo, "LXIII Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense : the Books of Samuel ; stories, history, reception history," 433-434

Στο τρέχον τεύχος του GRBS / In the current issue of GRBS

Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies 55:2 (2015)

Eleni Pachoumi, "The Religious and Philosophical Assimilations of Helios in the Greek Magical Papyri," 391-413