The Library of New Testament Studies has a new editor!

I decided several months ago that after several years as editor of the Library of New Testament Studies book series, the time had come for me to step down.  I have greatly enjoyed working on the series, and I am proud with what we have achieved over the last few years, with a fantastic editorial board and tireless work from Dominic Mattos at Bloomsbury, and recently with help from Katie Broomfield.

I have been editing the series almost as long as I have had a blog!  When I took over as editor in 2004, I was living in Birmingham, England, and the series was known as the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series ("JSNTSup" or "JSNTS").  It was published by Sheffield Academic Press, and it was of course associated with JSNT.  I was approached by Philip Law and Rebecca Mulhearn, who were working for Continuum Publishers, which had just taken over Sheffield Academic Press, T & T Clark and Trinity Press International, eventually combining Biblical Studies and Theology titles all under the imprint T & T Clark International (later just T & T Clark).

It was always a pleasure to work with Rebecca Mulhearn, and then also with Rebecca Vaughan-Williams and in recent years with Dominic Mattos.  In fact, the scale of the work involved would make it absolutely impossible if it were not for such great publishers.  We changed the series name to the Library of New Testament Studies in about 2005, if memory serves.  This had become a necessity when the journal went to be published by Sage, so severing the link between the journal and the series.  The new name was easy to choose, not least because T & T Clark were already using "Library of Biblical Studies" in advertisements, and it cohered with other series that had come from Sheffield to the T & T Clark stable like the Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament ("LHBOTS") and the Library of Second Temple Studies.

While a great deal of the work is done by exchange of emails, running to thousands over the last decade, one of the most pleasurable aspects of the job are the contacts we have, and board meetings, at SBL Annual Meetings, International Meetings and so on.  I think it's those contacts that I will miss most now that I am stepping down.  I will also miss the intellectual stimulation that comes from discussing so many interesting and diverse projects with prospective authors, and scouting for strong manuscripts for the series.  There is nothing more satisfying than pursuing a project with a new author, and seeing it through from its beginnings in a simple email, a tip or a conference presentation, to its full maturity as a published book.

So this post comes by way of a massive thank you to those I have worked with over the last few years, my wonderful editorial board, all those who have read manuscripts for us, Rebecca, Rebecca, Alinda, Katie and most of all Dominic, who is a true star.

But more importantly, this post is to announce that the new editor is Chris Keith, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity and Director of the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible at St. Mary's University College, Twickenham.  I could not be leaving the job in better hands.  Chris and I have been working together in the last few months during the transitionary period and I know he'll do a fantastic job. I am absolutely delighted that Chris will be at the helm and I want to wish him all the very best, and hope that he enjoys the job as much as I have.

Library of New Testament Studies Latest

Here's the latest from the Library of New Testament Studies. Interested in making a proposal to the series? Please get in touch with me, or see the further information and proposal forms.

Bloomsbury Highlights The Library of New Testament Studies Series

The Library of New Testament Studies explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches.

Attitudes to Gentiles in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity Edited by David C. Sim & James S McClaren Explores the attitudes to Gentiles in ancient Jewish literature and in many of the New Testament texts. More info » The Throne Motif in the Book of Revelation Laszlo Gallusz This volume argues that the throne motif constitutes the major interpretive key to the complex structure and theology of the book of Revelation. More info » The Elijah-Elisha Narrative in the Composition of Luke Edited by John S. Kloppenborg & Joseph Verheyden An examination of the composition of the gospel of Luke with reference to the Elijah-Elisha narrative. More info » The Earliest Christian Meeting Places Almost Exclusively Houses? Edward Adams Adams examines the evidence surrounding house churches in Early Christianity. More info »

Paul's Financial Policy A Socio-Theological Approach David E. Briones Investigates the reason for Paul's seemingly inconsistent financial policy, insofar as he accepts monetary aid from the Philippians but refuses it from the Corinthians. More info » A Scriptural Theology of Eucharistic Blessings Susan I. Bubbers This study shows the scriptural justification for the expectation that the Eucharist is a place where God will bless believers with freedom and formation. More info » 'God is One' The Function of 'Eis ho Theos' as a Ground for Gentile Inclusion in Paul's Letters Christopher R. Bruno Examines the two key Pauline texts that link the confession of God as one with the inclusion of the Gentiles. More info » Incorporated Servanthood Commitment and Discipleship in the Gospel of Matthew Ben Cooper Cooper argues the Gospel of Matthew was composed in part to evoke a commitment to God through which 'compliant' readers are made disciples of Jesus. More info »

See more in this series »

Bloomsbury Academic & Professional — Awards for Academic Excellence 2013 The Bookseller Academic, Educational & Professional Publisher of the Year Independent Publishers Guild Independent Publisher of the Year and Academic & Professional Publisher of the Year

© Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP No longer want to receive emails from this list? Unsubscribe.

 

Library of New Testament Studies Latest Titles

Library of New Testament Studies latest titles include:

Continuum Highlights New Titles in the Library of New Testament Studies Series

2011 IPG Independent Publisher of the Year and Academic & Professional Publisher of the Year

Contours in the Text: Textual Variation in the Writings of Paul, Josephus and the Yahad Jonathan D. H. Norton Norton-Piliavsky places Paul's work within the context of ancient Jewish literary practice, bridging the gap between textual criticism and social history in contemporary discussions. The author argues that studies of ancient Jewish exegesis draw on two distinct analytical modes: the text-critical and the socio-historical. He then shows that the two are usually joined together in discussions of ancient Jewish literature arguing that as a result of this, commentators often allow the text-critical approach to guide their efforts to understand historical questions. Published: February 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Fourth Gospel in First-Century Media Culture Edited by Anthony Le Donne and Tom Thatcher Werner Kelber's The Oral and the Written Gospel substantially challenged predominant paradigms for understanding early Jesus traditions and the formation of written Gospels. Since that publication, a more precise and complex picture of first-century media culture has emerged. Yet while issues of orality, aurality, performance, and mnemonics are now well voiced in Synoptic Studies, Johannine scholars remain largely unaware of such issues and their implications. The highly respected contributors to this book seek to fill this lacuna by exploring various applications of orality, literacy, memory, and performance theories to the Johannine Literature in hopes of opening new avenues for future discussion. Published: February 2011 | Hardback: £65.00 Abuse, Power and Fearful Obedience: Reconsidering 1 Peter's Commands to Wives Jennifer G. Bird Bird analyzes the construction of wives' subjectivity in 1 Peter, working primarily with that is referred to as the Haustafel (household code) section and engaging feminist critical questions, postcolonial theory, and materialist theory in her analysis. Bird examines the two crucial labels for understanding Petrine Christian identity - 'aliens and refugees' and 'royal priesthood and holy nation' - and finds them to stand in stark contract with the commands and identity given to the wives in the Haustafel section. Similarly, the command to 'honour the Emperor', which immediately precedes the Haustafel, engenders a rich discussion of the text's socio-political implications. Published: July 2011 | Hardback: £65.00 Prayer and Vindication in Luke — Acts: The Theme of Prayer within the Context of the Legitimating and Edifying Objective of the Lukan Narrative Geir O. Holmas Holmas asserts that the distribution of strategically-placed prayer notices and prayers throughout Luke-Acts serves a twofold purpose. First, it is integral to Luke's project of authenticating the Jesus-movement as accredited by Israel's God. Holmas shows that Luke presents a consistent pattern of divine affirmation and redemption attending the tenacious prayers of the faithful ones throughout every major phase of his narrative — in turn demonstrating continuity with the pious Israel of the past. Secondly, most importantly the 'ultimate' purpose of Luke 's emphasis on prayer is didactical. In Luke's gospel Jesus summons his disciples (and implicitly his readers) to confident and persistent prayer before the Eschaton, assuring them of God's readiness to answer their entreaties. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £70.00 Paul as Missionary: Identity, Activity, Theology, and Practice Edited by Trevor J. Burke and Brian S. Rosner Paul as Missionary: Identity, Activity, Theology and Practice takes the view that before anything else Paul must first and foremost be identified as a 'missionary'. Using the entire Pauline corpus the contributors to this volume assess what Paul's correspondence can tell us about how he perceived his role and identity. The work comprises four parts: in section one, Paul's identity as priest, eschatological herald, and missionary-pastor are explored while in part two topics such as the apostle's activity among pagans, his suffering, and Paul 's 'missionary message' to the church at Rome are considered. Section three comprises essays on the Spirit as the governing dynamic, the glory of God as the apostle's missionary goal, and the importance of Paul's Christology in shaping his mission to the Gentiles. Finally, part four addresses Paul's missionary praxis, including his support of his missionary enterprise. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £70.00 The Danielic Eschatological Hour in the Johannine Literature Stefanos Mihalios Stefanos Mihalios examines the uses of the 'hour' in the writings of John and demonstrates the contribution of Danielic eschatology to John's understanding of this concept. Mihalios begins by tracing the notion of an eschatological time in the Old Testament within expressions such as 'in that time ' and 'time of distress,' which also appear in the book of Daniel and relate to the eschatological hour found in Daniel. Mihalios finds that even within the Jewish tradition there exists an anticipation of the fulfillment of the Danielic eschatological time, since the eschatological hour appears in the Jewish literature within contexts that allude to the Danielic end-time events. Mihalios moves on to examines the Johannine eschatological expressions and themes that have their source in Daniel, finding evidence of clear allusions whenever the word 'hour' arises. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £65.00 'Who is this son of man?': The Latest Scholarship on a Puzzling Expression of the Historical Jesus Edited by Larry W. Hurtado and Paul L. Owen This book is the first ever collection of scholarly essays in English devoted specifically to the theme of the expression 'son of man'. It describes the major competing theories which have addressed questions such as: What is the original Aramaic expression which lies behind the Greek phrase, and what was its original connotation? How do the gospel writers use the expression 'son of man'? Is it a Christological title, pregnant with meaning, much like the titles son of God, Christ/Messiah, and son of David? Is it used as a way of designating Jesus as a human being of unique redemptive significance? Or does it rather originate in a nuanced use (obscured in Greek translation) of an Aramaic expression used in place of the first person pronoun, as an indefinite pronoun, or for generic statements about human beings? Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £70.00 Dialogue Not Dogma: Many Voices in the Gospel of Luke Raj Nadella Lukan scholars offer varying responses to the issue of divergent viewpoints in the gospel regarding the identity of Jesus, wealth, women, and the emphasis on doing vis-á-vis hearing. Many forms of criticism attempt to explain or harmonize these apparent contradictions. Conversely, Raj Nadella argues that there is no dominant viewpoint in Luke and that the divergence in viewpoints is a unique literary feature to be celebrated rather than a problem to be solved. Nadella interprets selected Lukan passages in light of Bakhtinian concepts such as dialogism, loophole, and exotopy to show that the disparate perspectives, and interplay between them, display Luke's superior literary skills rather than his inability to produce a coherent work. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.10-18: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis Brian J. Abasciano Abasciano builds upon his previous LNTS volume, Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.1-9, continuing the project begun in that volume and its intertextual methodology. This method incorporates into a thorough traditional exegesis a comprehensive analysis of Paul's use of Scripture against the background of interpretive traditions surrounding the texts alluded to, with great emphasis placed on analyzing the original contexts of Paul's citations and allusions. Such an intertextual exegesis is conducted in Romans 9:10-18 with an awareness of the broader unit of chapters 9-11 especially, and also the epistle as a whole. Conclusions for the meaning of these passages and their theological significance are drawn. Published: April 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Conversion of the Nations in Revelation Allan J. McNicol Allan McNicol examines the longstanding tension between the author of Revelation's description of the destruction of unrepentant nations early in the book in contrast with their final experience of salvation in Rev 21.24-26. McNicol examines how the author of Revelation interprets and re-fashions both scripture and the myths of the age in order to lay out his vision of redemption — leading to his ultimate conclusion that human political power (Rome) will crumble before the influence of the crucified Jesus. Through careful attention to references to the 'pilgrimage to the Gentiles' in prophetic literature, McNicol is able to draw valuable conclusions as to how the core tension examined may be resolved. Published: April 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Back to top

Four New Titles in the Library of the New Testament Studies Series

This post is courtesy of Anna Turton on the T & T Clark Blog, advertising four new volumes in the Library of New Testament Studies series. If you would like to propose a volume for publication in the series, you can find details here.
--

There are a few months ahead of us when we have many good books coming out in the LNTS series.

There are four titles that will be available in March 2011 and one of these is Geir O. Holmås’ volume titled ‘Prayer and Vindication in Luke-Acts. The Theme of Prayer within the Context of the Legitimating and Edifying Objective of the Lukan Narrative.’ This comprehensive study discusses the literary function of prayer in Luke-Acts, employing narrative critical methodology and focuses on the theme’s relation to Luke’s historiographical aims. This study is divided into three parts. In Part I Holmås ‘sets the framework by defining the scope of examination in terms of text selection and by presenting, in a general way, the pragmatic-rhetorical motivations underlying Luke-Acts as an ancient historical work and the implications of this for the interpretation of Lukan prayer’. In Part II he examines the passages featuring prayer in Luke’s gospel, whereas in Part III he investigates the continuation of the prayer theme in Acts.

‘Who is this son of man? The Latest Scholarship on a Puzzling Expression of the Historical Jesus’, edited by Larry W. Hurtado and Paul L. Owen is another title that is coming out in March 2011. This volume is the first ever collection of scholarly essays in English devoted specifically to the theme of the expression ‘son of man’. This lively discussion is taken up by contributors such as Albert L. Lukaszewski, David Shepherd, P.J. Williams, Darrell L. Bock, Benjamin E. Reynolds and Darrell D. Hannah, as well as by both editors.

Stefanos Mihalios examines the links between the Johannine eschatological hour and the eschatological hour in the book of Daniel in his volume titled ‘The Danielic Eschatological Hour in the Johannine Literature.’ Mihalios scrutinizes here the uses of the ‘hour’ in the writings of John and demonstrates the contribution of Danielic eschatology to John’s understanding of this concept. After a thorough examination Mihalios concludes that for the Johannine Jesus use of the term ‘hour’ indicates that the final hour of tribulation and resurrection, as it is depicted in Daniel, has arrived.

There is one more title that will be published in March 2011 – a collection edited by Trevor J. Burke and Brian S. Rosner titled ‘Paul as Missionary. Identity, Activity, Theology, and Practice.’ The main theme of this volume is a view that Paul, first and foremost, must be identified as ‘missionary’, therefore all the essays use the entire Pauline corpus in attempt to discover what Paul’s correspondence can tell us about how Paul himself perceived his role and identity. The list of contributors is very impressive - Seyoon Kim, James W. Thompson, James C. Miller, Richard Gibson, Beverly Roberts Gaventa, J. Daniel Hays, J. Ayodeji Adewuya, Paul W. Barnett, Arland J. Hultgren, Karl O. Sandnes Stanley E. Porter, Roy E. Ciampa, William S. Campbell, James Ware, Steve Walton, Michael Barram and E. Randolph Richards.

I realise my short announcements do not give that much information about these great volumes, but I hope many of you will enjoy reading these books. And I promise to give you another update on LNTS books very soon.

Catto on "Synagogues" in the New Testament Period

Stephen Catto has a new article at Bible and Interpretation on ancient synagogues:

‘Synagogues’ in the New Testament Period

For those who have not seen it, Catto recently published Reconstructing the First-Century Synagogue: A Critical Analysis of Current Research in the Library of New Testament Studies.

Library of New Testament Studies Web page updated and moved

I have updated and moved the Library of New Testament Studies web page. It is now found at:

Library of New Testament Studies

Comments on the Library of New Testament Studies

Nijay K. Gupta has recently successfuly completely a PhD thesis at the University of Durham and has been reflecting on the possibilities for going from PhD thesis to monograh, also in Choosing a monograph series to publish with. Nijay asked me a few questions about the Library of New Testament series and you can read it here: Interview with Mark Goodacre on Publishing with LNTS.

Pricing of Continuum books UK vs US

Jim West comments on the high price of books in the Library of New Testament Studies series, with Michael Pahl's Discerning the "Word of the Lord" @ $120 in the USA.  My role as series editor does not stretch to budgetary matters, but I have to agree that this does seem very expensive, and there is an anomaly in that the US price is substantially more than the UK price, £60, which is about $91 at the current exchange rate.  So it would of course be cheaper to buy it from the UK, even with the extra postage and packing.  Of course it is expensive to produce academic books with a limited print run, but I will talk to the people at Continuum about the current pricing policy to see if there are ways that we can help individual scholars to bear the cost, rather as -- in days of old -- there were special reductions for individual scholars who wished to buy volumes in the series.

Michael Pahl, Discerning the "Word of the Lord"

I was delighted to receive in the post a copy of Michael Pahl, Discerning the "Word of the Lord": "The Word of the Lord" in 1 Thessalonians 4:15. Michael was a PhD student at the University of Birmingham, and I was privileged to be his supervisor (later also with David Parker, when I left Birmingham for Duke). I thought his PhD an excellent piece of work, and it is a great thrill now to see a revised version in print. Many bloggers will also know Michael from his Stuff of Earth, which is currently on hiatus but we hope will return one day. Here are the full details of the new book:

Discerning the "Word of the Lord"
"The Word of the Lord" in 1 Thessalonians 4:15
Michael W. Pahl

Pub Date: 07 Jul 2009
ISBN: 0567455653
ISBN13: 9780567455659
hardcover
224 Pages
$120.00

Series: The Library of New Testament Studies

Subject Biblical Studies, New Testament and 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Imprint T & T Clark International

Synopsis

Investigates the well-known exegetical problem of identifying the referent of the phrase “Word of the Lord” in 1 Thessalonians 4:15.

Description

In 1 Thessalonians 4:15, the Apostle Paul appeals to a “word of the Lord” to provide authority for his eschatological encouragement. This appeal has left a perplexing problem related to the nature and function of the specific authority to which the phrase refers. Two theories have predominated in the history of interpretation: either 1) it refers to a directly received prophetic revelation, whether to Paul or to another Christian prophet; or 2) it refers to a teaching of Jesus received as tradition, whether preserved in the Gospel tradition or otherwise unknown. This book investigates this problem from three angles: epistemological analysis, examining Paul’s authorities for his knowledge, particularly in his eschatology; linguistic analysis, including both grammatical and lexical study of the phrase; and contextual analysis, setting the statement within its historical and literary contexts. These approaches converge to suggest a fresh solution to the problem: while Paul does appear to employ traditional Christian eschatological teaching in his response to the Thessalonian crisis (4:16-17a), the phrase ἐν λόγῳ κυρίου does not refer to this tradition, but rather refers to the proclaimed gospel message about Jesus centred on his death and resurrection which forms the theological foundation of Paul’s response (cf. 4:14).

Michael W. Pahl took his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Birmingham, U.K., and has taught New Testament studies in Canada and the U.K.

LNTS volumes on Google Books

I noticed this morning that Google Book Search (formerly Google Books and before that Google Print) has added lots of Library of New Testament Studies (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series) volumes. This is the series I have been editing for the last four years, which is published by T and T Clark, and which has a legacy going back to the late 1980s when it was established by Sheffield Academic Press. Although, as usual, the amount one can read is limited, it's very useful to have these volumes available for searching. In fact, I was pleased to be able to search my own first book on there this morning. I should add that it is not easy to search for the series en masse because Google Book Search will simply pull out bibliographical references to the series if one tries to search for it, but searching on an individual book title basis seems to work well.