SBL International Paper Proposal Accepted

I was happy to hear yesterday evening that my paper proposal for the Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting in Rome (30 June-4 July) has been accepted. I submitted it to the Paul and Pauline Literature section. Here is my title and abstract:

Does περιβόλαιον mean "testicle" in 1 Corinthians 11.15?

In a recent provocative article ("Paul’s Argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: A Testicle instead of a Head Covering," JBL 123/1 (2004): 75-84), Troy Martin provides a new translation of a famously difficult verse. Arguing that περιβόλαιον in 1 Corinthians 11.15 means "testicle", Paul is saying that a woman's hair is given to her "instead of a testicle". Paul is assuming ancient attitudes to the body, according to which hair is "part of the female genitalia". However, the lexical basis for Martin's case is not strong enough to justify the new translation. Neither of the texts adduced by Martin (Euripides, Herc. fur. 1269 and Achilles Tatius, Leuc. Clit. 1.15.2) is speaking about περιβόλαια as "testicles", thus the interesting contextual material from ancient medical sources are not relevant as background to interpreting Paul. The conventional translations, according to which a woman's hair is given "for a covering" or "instead of a covering", are preferable.

Latest JBL

Details of the latest Journal of Biblical Literature: 


Volume 130, Number 2 / Summer 2011 of Journal of Biblical Literature is now available on the jbl.metapress.com website at http://jbl.metapress.com/content/grg701553h13/.

This issue contains:

       Differentiation in Genesis 1: An Exegetical Creation ex nihilo
       Richard Neville
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/kjp87621043810v4/


       Sexual Desire? Eve, Genesis 3:16, and
       Joel N. Lohr
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/3w58k3x875t013m7/


       The Story of Saul's Election (1 Samuel 9-10) in the Light of Mantic Practice in Ancient Iraq
       Jeffrey L. Cooley
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/j44376jt4646n452/


       The Rab Šāqēh between Rhetoric and Redaction
       Jerome T. Walsh
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/g245042161v56584/


       Did Nehemiah Own Tyrian Goods? Trade between Judea and Phoenicia during the Achaemenid Period
       Benjamin J. Noonan
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/g58lt061j273t442/


       The Dangerous Sisters of Jeremiah and Ezekiel
       Amy Kalmanofsky
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/g5w50641230657m2/


       Suspense, Simultaneity, and Divine Providence in the Book of Tobit
       Ryan S. Schellenberg
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/g55k4137u8101142/


       A Centurion's "Confession": A Performance-Critical Analysis of Mark 15:39
       Kelly R. Iverson
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/g536631072513291/


       Divine Judgment against Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11): A Stock Scene of Perjury and Death
       J. Albert Harrill
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/g4t874k368543715/


       What Do the Gentiles Have to Do with "All Israel"? A Fresh Look at Romans 11:25-27
       Jason A. Staples
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/5pp1264207k24302/


       Does περιβόλαιоν Mean "Testicle" in 1 Corinthians 11:15?
       Mark Goodacre
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/v20r61k53g5u7325/


       Blessing God and Cursing People: James 3:9-10
       Dale C. Allison, Jr.
       URL of article: http://jbl.metapress.com/content/42645kw3652k0605/

Latest NT Pod: 1 Cor. 11.15

I released the latest NT Pod earlier today, NT Pod 4: Does 1 Cor. 11.15 refer to a "testicle"? It is a six minute summary version of my paper from the recent SBL International Meeting in Rome, but packaged for a general audience as is the norm for the NT Pod.

As usual, I am grateful for any feedback. I think the sound quality of this latest podcast is improved. I have invested in a nice new microphone and after some experimentation, it made recording much easier. Also, for those few interested in the technical sides of these things, I have located the problem that has been annoying me for earlier podcasts, a kind of blurring or slight doubling of my speaking voice. This appeared to be happening at the moment when I exported the recording as an MP3. It turned out to be connected to the way that LAME mixed the opening and closing theme with my voice, combining a stereo track and an mono track. By re-working the music into a mono track on Audacity, it synchronizes properly with my voice when I export to MP3 on LAME. You lose the stereo in the opening and closing theme, but I think that's a price worth paying to have the audio overall sounding better. Like all these technical things, recording and editing podcasts is a matter of constant experimentation and, I hope, gradual improvement. In a year's time, I will probably be laughing at these early efforts!

Rome Travel Diary 2

First full day of the SBL International Meeting in Rome today and it was a really early start. We are staying out in the Trastevere district, a couple of miles away from the Pontifical Biblical Institute which is hosting the meeting this year. We have been walking everywhere and have clocked up many miles so far. Normally, it doesn't matter too much, with jeans and t-shirts and plenty of time. This morning at 7.45am in smart clothes, we walked in and sweated much too much in the ridiculously warm and humid early Roman morning. Luckily, I was not on first for the 8.30am session, and I had the chance to cool down a little before it was my turn.

The Pauline Epistles section was a lengthy three and a half hours in what appears to be a fairly typical arrangement at this conference, in contrast to the SBL Annual Meeting where two and a half hours is the norm. William Campbell, in one of his famous elegant striped jackets, was chairing the session. Jeffrey Peterson from Austin Graduate School of Theology was first up, talking about Wisdom and the Cross in 1 Cor. 1-4. As it happens, we managed to catch him for a photo earlier this week in front of the Constantine Arch (above). That's me next to him.

I was on second, at 9am, on the topic "Does περιβόλαιον mean “testicle” in 1 Corinthians 11.15?" (Handout (PDF) here). The point of the paper was to investigate an article by Troy Martin in JBL 2004 that made this claim, and to find it wanting. I was pleased with the reception of the paper and several useful comments and questions. For the first time at a conference too, my family were present, and it was nice to have their support, if a little unusual to see them present when I was talking about a rather sensitive topic (I quoted a large section from Martin's intriguing summary of ancient understandings of anatomy and sex).

Third up was Janelle Peters (Emory University) on "Practice Makes Perfect: Corinthian Veils as Stoic Kathekonta". There was a thirty minute break, again as seems to be standard at the SBL International, and the session continued with Soham Al-Suadi (University of Basel), "Kuriakon Deipnon: When Utopia Becomes Real", Marilou S. Ibita (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), "The Story of the Lord's Supper in Corinth: A Narrative-critical Reading of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34" and Kenneth L. Waters (Azusa Pacific University), "No Cursing in the Church: Anathema in the Corinthian Congregation (1 Corinthians 12:3) and the Letters of Paul". All of the speakers read their papers, most sat down. I was not too keen on the idea of sitting down so stood up to address the room, and did my usual thing of presenting rather than reading.

My first impressions of this, my first SBL International Meeting, is that it is a bit like a cross between the SBL Annual Meeting and the British New Testament Conference. Or perhaps the SBL Annual Meeting and one of the SBL Regionals. It has all the marks of the SBL Annual, with formal sessions, presiders, 30 minute papers, the SBL brand, with the same kind of program book, badges and so on. But the scale is very much smaller. In our session, one of the more popular ones, there were 30-45 people across the three and a half hours, where there would have been many more in the Annual Meeting. I noticed far smaller audiences in some of the other sessions as I walked around. The book exhibit is like that of a smaller conference; the major players were there but they were often on one table, with just one rep.

Because of the smaller numbers here, one could go along to the almost adjacent restaurant, Abruzzi's, and easily get a seat; there was no need to walk a long way, even if there was that same experience of spotting people you know coming to the same restaurant, or walking down the road past you and waving.

The Pontifical Biblical Institute itself seems to be an ideal location. It is easy to find, in the centre of Rome, and has (of course) a famous history. Some of the rooms were a little more like classrooms than the conference rooms one is used to at the Annual Meeting. One of the rooms, where the Psalms / Writings group was meeting, was a delightful wooden affair straight out of Indiana Jones. And there is a bar / snack bar open for business throughout, the thirty minute breaks giving everyone long enough to grab a drink and a snack during sessions.

No doubt my impressions will develop over the coming days. So far it has been a positive and enjoyable experience and I would definitely recommend the event to others thinking about coming in the future. On a personal note, the overwhelming feeling at the moment is relief to have my paper done, with time now to enjoy the conference -- and more of Rome -- in a more relaxed frame of mind.

Update (23.39): On Evangelical Textual Criticism, Tommy Wasserman has an excellent and thorough report on his experiences of the conference so far. Thanks too to Sharon Johnson for adding a link to this blog and to Tommy Wasserman's posts on the main SBL Site.

Update (3 July, 00.19): The SBL Site has a nice picture of our session on its main page. You can see me on the far right of the picture.

Handout for SBL International Talk

Greetings from Rome! Travel diary and perhaps some photos to follow.

Here's the handout for my talk tomorrow entitled "Does περιβόλαιον mean “testicle” in 1 Corinthians 11.15?":

Handout (PDF)

JBL 123.1

Thanks to Holger Szesnat and Stephen Carlson for reminding me of this -- the latest issue of JBL is now available to SBL members. You will need to enter your membership number to view it, or wait a few months before it goes free to all:

Journal of Biblical Literature 123.1 (Spring 2004)

The Oxyrhynchus New Testament Papyri: “Not Without Honor Except in Their Hometown”?
ELDON JAY EPP

Pilgrimage Imagery in the Returns in Ezra
MELODY D. KNOWLES

Paul’s Argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13–15: A Testicle Instead of a Head Covering
TROY W. MARTIN

Paul’s Masculinity
JENNIFER LARSON

Boasting of Beatings (2 Corinthians 11:23–25)
JENNIFER A. GLANCY

A Pre-Deuteronomistic Bicolon in 1 Samuel 12:21?
BILL T. ARNOLD

Book Reviews

In particular, Eldon Epp's article, his SBL Atlanta 2003 Presidential Address, is essential reading.