Biblical Studies Bulletins 45 and 46

There are two new Biblical Studies Bulletins online at Ridley Hall, Cambridge:

BSB 45 (September 2007)

BSB 46 (December 2007)

As usual there is lots of material of interest. BSB 45 includes a review of last year's British New Testament Conference, particularly welcome for those of us who can't make it any more.

The Passion Press Pack

The BBC Press Office has today released its press pack for the forthcoming drama The Passion. It features interviews with producer Nigel Stafford-Clark, writer Frank Deasy, director Michael Offer and production designer Simon Elliott, several of the cast and me:

The Passion Press Pack

According to the press pack, the website will launch on Thursday.

Dale Allison at Duke

Duke Divinity School has an annual lecture series on the New Testament in honour of Kenneth W. Clark. This year, the honoured guest is Dale Allison:

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Kenneth W. Clark Lectures
2008

Established in 1984, the Kenneth Willis Clark Lectureship Fund honors the life and work of Reverend Professor Kenneth Willis Clark, a Divinity School faculty member for 36 years. Each year this fund enables the Divinity School to offer a distinguished program with special emphasis on New Testament studies and textual criticism.

The Historical Jesus and the Theological Jesus

Dr. Dale C. Allison Jr., the 2008 Clark lecturer, is professor of New Testament exegesis and early Christianity at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.

February 27-28 , 2008
Duke Divinity School
Schedule

Dr. Allison

Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Lecture: The Historical Jesus and the Theological Jesus
Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

Thursday, Feb. 28 from 12:20 – 1:20 p.m.
Lecture: The Historical Jesus and the Theological Jesus
Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

These are free public lectures.
No pre-registration is necessary.

Biography

Dale C. Allison Jr.’s areas of expertise include Second Temple Judaism. He is also the author of books on early Christian eschatology, the Gospel of Matthew, the so-called
Sayings Source of Q, the historical Jesus, and the Testament of Abraham.

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(By the way, I didn't add that "so-called" in the bibliography!). I am happy to say that we have been able to rearrange my Historical Jesus class on Wednesday, which normally meets a little later, so that we can attend Prof. Allison's first lecture on the Wednesday. Alas, I will miss the second because I will be in London, but this looks like it will be an excellent lecture series and I encourage everyone who can to come along.

Jim West's blog: transmission resumed

Transmission resumed.

Ehrman excerpt in OUP Blog

The OUP blog today has an excerpt from Bart Ehrman's Peter, Paul and Mary Magdalene.

Jim West's blog: transmission cut

There is a great moment in The Truman Show when the transmission of the reality show is cut because they have lost its star, Truman, who has escaped without their realizing it. While the production people are panicking, and a temporary "technical fault" screen is broadcast, the director Christof reassures them that the ratings for the show have never been so high. I was reminded of this scene over the last twenty-four hours as it became clear that Jim West's blog was no more. Never before have so many people written about his blog and rallied in support, offering sympathy for his becoming victim of hackers, and encouraging him to go on. I'd like to add my support too, and encourage him to resume blogging lest the hackers in question feel that they have won. And if the archive has gone, well that's a bummer, but it's not the end of the world. Perhaps I might remind Jim that at the end of his Biblical Theology Blog in January 2006, he himself deleted his entire archive before beginning to blog again under a new name. So how about a new incarnation? I'd encourage Jim just to think of this one as a reboot, a chance for a little reflection and a fresh start. And as for the rest of us: it's a useful reminder to back up our blogs!

Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading. One of these, The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments, was mentioned earlier this week by Mike Bird on Euangelion, and I am tempted to comment on it here (Charlesworth's review, not Bird's), but I'll see if I have a moment. One other note (added Friday, 12.40pm): the review of A Feminist Companion to the New Testament Apocrypha is listed as by "James Elliott" but this should be J. K. Elliott (Keith Elliott).

Brian J. Abasciano
Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.1-9: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5248
Reviewed by Thomas Gillespie

François Bovon
Luc le théologien
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6379
Reviewed by Claire Clivaz

Luke Timothy Johnson
Hebrews: A Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5445
Reviewed by Wolfgang Kraus

Melody Knowles, Esther Menn, John Pawlikowski, and Timothy Sandoval, eds.
Contesting Texts: Jews and Christians in Conversation about the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5843
Reviewed by Ithamar Gruenwald

Amy-Jill Levine, ed., with Maria Mayo Robbins
A Feminist Companion to the New Testament Apocrypha
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5408
Reviewed by James Elliott

Edmondo F. Lupieri; Maria Poggi Johnson and Adam Kamesar, trans.
A Commentary on the Apocalypse of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5885
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas

George W. E. Nickelsburg
Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism and Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5904
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Stanley E. Porter, ed.
The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5947
Reviewed by Michael F. Bird
Reviewed by James Hamilton Charlesworth

Charlesworth on the Talpiot Tomb Symposium

James Charlesworth has a strongly worded statement on the recent Jerusalem Symposium that focused on the Talpiot Tomb. It's on the latest SBL Forum, which also features a letter from James Tabor on the topic:

Rebutting Sensational Claims Concerning a Symposium in Jerusalem
J. H. Charlesworth

A carefully planned and highly successful symposium in Jerusalem—on Jewish views of the afterlife and burial practices near Jerusalem before the destruction of the area by Roman armies in 70 CE—has been high-jacked by two disturbing and unexpected developments . . .

Declaring Blog-Reading Bankruptcy

I recently caught mention of the idea of declaring email bankruptcy on AKMA's Random Thoughts. The idea comes from Lawrence Lessig, and a little googling shows it to be a popular idea. Many, including AKMA, post links to a blog post on the topic at 43 Folders. I am so extraordinarily behind in my emailing at the moment, that this is something of an attractive thought. But the problem is that by doing so, I would be effectively rejecting many of the most interesting, longer term, less urgent emails, the kind that require slightly longer replies. The tyranny of the urgent is particularly pressing for university lecturers and professors, especially where one has students with deadlines. At Duke, our undergraduates are very bright, highly motivated and most ambitious, but such things just add to their levels of anxiety and stress, and they are emailing me like crazy this week. I naturally prioritise talking to my students, and other things are going by the wayside. I was already rather behind, but this has thrown me way off.

I wouldn't, I couldn't declare email bankruptcy, though. If people have taken the time to email me personally, they deserve a reply. (Well, some don't on account of their rudeness and presumption, but they are in the minority). And I enjoy correspondence. It's just that I now feel like it is all I do in every spare moment. I can't imagine how I ever used to be able to keep up with academic e-lists, much less contribute to them. Others presumably feel the same way since many of the e-lists continue to die their very slow death. But if not email bankruptcy, what about blogging bankruptcy? Being underneath the email mountain prevents me from getting to the Blog Reader, and waiding through the (academic) blogroll when one has been away for days simply prolongs the opportunity to post oneself even longer. So I am declaring blog-reading bankruptcy today, something that is very easy to accomplish; I click on my Blog Reader's header (I use Google Reader), and "Mark all as read", and several thousand blog posts happily vanish, the vast majority of them never to be seen again by me.

There comes a slight feeling of guilt with this declaration, however. Why should I expect anyone to read my posts when I have just sent theirs off into oblivion? Well, if this post is one of those that vanishes from readers while others, like me, are declaring blog-reading bankruptcy, then I am delighted to be sharing the experience with you. And no doubt the best blog posts will still somehow rise to the surface in the coming months as people continue to discuss them and link to them.

So, here's starting fresh and looking forward to a clean blog-roll, and rebooting my blog. Incidentally, I had always assumed that the term "blog-roll" had the same ring to all ears, reminding one of "bog-roll", and so a little disparaging in the association it conjurs up, but it occurred to me while writing this post that "bog-roll" is British slang and that I have not heard anyone use the expression here in the US.

Review of Biblical Literature Latest

Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the New Testament and related headings:

Stanisław Bazyliński
A Guide to Biblical Research: Introductory Notes
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5286
Reviewed by Jeremy Punt

Douglas A. Campbell
The Quest for Paul's Gospel: A Suggested Strategy
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=4794
Reviewed by Matt Jackson-McCabe

Gordon D. Fee
Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5820
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
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5556
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
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6056
Reviewed by Christoph Stenschke

There is a typo on p. 6 of the review of Campbell, "But even if “we” should approach the question of eschatological realities with humility, does that meant that Paul did?"

E. P. Sanders to give Franke Lecture at Yale

If you are anywhere near Yale, this will be well worth taking the time to get to:

“Law vs. Religion” Topic of Lecture at Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center

New Haven, Conn. — E.P. Sanders, Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion Emeritus at Duke University, will launch the 2008 Franke Lecture series on “Religion and Law in Historical Perspective” with a talk at 5 p.m. on February 6 at the Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium, 53 Wall Street.

Titled “Does Law Debase the Human-Divine Relationship? The Christian Charge Against Judaism,” the talk is free and open to the public . . . .

. . . . The Franke Lectures are made possible by the generosity of Richard and Barbara Franke, and are intended to present important topics in the humanities to a wide and general audience. The 2008 series explores the historical relation between religion and law in Jewish, Christian and contemporary legal thought, and is organized in conjunction with the undergraduate seminar taught by Christine Hayes, professor of Religious Studies in Classical Judaica at Yale.

Where to study Theology in the UK

Jim West links to an interesting article in today's Independent on Theology in the UK. It is aimed at sixth-formers (the British equivalent of junior / senior high) who might be considering where to study Theology and is part of The Independent's Getting Into University Guide:

Theology
Tim Walker

It's a useful piece, but I think it is a bit over-ambitious, attempting to summarizing the top qualities of too many places, and inevitably showing stronger knowledge of some departments than of others. Lancaster and Sheffield are mentioned repeatedly, and rightly so because they are fine insitutions, but others are rather cursorily passed over. It's good to see my former institution, Birmingham, getting a few mentions, but it's perverse not to say anything special about Oxford (or even Cambridge for that matter) other than to list them where they have to.

Update (Saturday 2 February): it seems that this Independent article is seriously oudated, and the new date on the article is misleading. Nathan MacDonals helpfully emails (excerpted):

A close analysis of the article shows it to be a slightly dated composition. The future tense in "Lancaster will also be offering a new BA course for 2004" suggests the article was composed in 2003. The five centres at Sheffield no longer correspond to the centres that are on their website, and the asking grades are also out of date (many, e.g. Durham and Manchester) are now considerably higher. In addition the 'where's best for teaching' that is deemed fascinating by Jim West relies on QAA and TQA data, which could go back up to 6-7 years before the article. Robert Segal has been in Aberdeen (not Lancaster) since 2006, and David Clines is Emeritus, so I hope
no young readers of the Independent expect to receive too much tuition from him.

No doubt it will have some value for those outside the UK. Though they might also want to note that Westcott is no longer at Cambridge and Robertson Smith has been removed from his chair at Aberdeen.

I should have realized. Another clue is that the article sings the praises of Hugh McLeod who moved from the Theology department to the History department while I was still there. All in all, the article is of even more limited usefulness than I'd first realized.

Biblical Studies Carnival XXVI

As several others have already mentioned, Kevin Edgecomb has done an excellent (and very thorough) job on the latest Biblical Studies Carnival over on his Biblicalia blog:

Biblical Studies Carnival XXVI

It includes a strongly-worded round up of links on the Talpiot Tomb Story, which re-emerged this month, and on which I hope to post today.

Divided by a common history

I am gathering together some extra bibliography at the moment to lend a hand to students on my Historical Jesus class, some of whom are writing about particular Historical Jesus scholars, and I read a highly complimentary review of Sanders by Fredriksen, which begins with this quotable passage:

Americans and the British, the old joke goes, are divided by a common language. Jews and Christians —alas, no joke —are divided by a common history. I refer not to the history of contempt, coercion and abuse that has characterized prevailing Christian attitudes toward and treatment of Jews and Judaism from the second century through (at least) the twentieth. That shameful story is well known. I have in mind, rather, the history of late Second Temple Judaism in Roman Judea, and more specifically the history of the mission and message of Jesus of Nazareth. That is the history that continues to divide Christians and Jews. But, no less, it is a history that binds them, because they share it. And when it is better understood, I am convinced, it is a history that can also unite them.

Paula Fredriksen, Review of E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus in Review & Expositor 103/1 (Winter 2006): 234-236 (234).

Simcha Jacobovici Responds to His Critics

Last week I posted here a statement signed by several participants at a recent conference in Jerusalem on the Talpiot Tomb, The Talpiot Tomb Controversy Revisited, a statement that also appeared on our Department of Religion blog here at Duke. Simcha Jacobovici has now issued a statement in which he responds to his critics, posted on the Biblical Archaeology Review website:

Simcha Jacobovici Responds to His Critics

Regular readers here may have noticed that I have refrained from posting on the recent news stories, perhaps surprising in the light of my extensive blogging on the controversy last March and April (gathered under the label Talpiot Tomb). The reason for this is twofold. First, I have little fresh to say about the subject at this point, and I was not present in Jerusalem for the conference, and second, my desk has been overflowing with work over the last couple of weeks and my time has been limited. However, I would like to publish a round-up blog of some of the recent developments in due course, and I would like to revisit some of the questions I raised last March and April.

Oxford Synoptic Conference, April 2008

I have previously posted on the forthcoming Oxford Synoptic Problem conference and I have received this message today from Andrew Gregory:

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Some places are still available at the Oxford Conference on the Synoptic Problem, which will take place at Lincoln College, Oxford, 7-10 April 2008. Since participants are required to pay at the time of booking, anyone who wishes to attend should contact Dr Andrew Gregory (andrew.gregory@theology.ox.ac.uk) before submitting a booking form and payment.

More information about the conference is available here:

Oxford Conference in the Synoptic Problem (MS Word)
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Groningen Qumran Institute Symposium 2008

This is in from Mladen Popović:
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Honoring Professor Florentino García Martínez’s great achievements for the Groningen Qumran Institute and Dead Sea Scrolls studies and initiating a new series of biennial conferences, the Qumran Institute announces

The Authoritativeness of Scriptures in Ancient Judaism:
The Contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature

A Symposium at the Groningen Qumran Institute, 28–29 April 2008
Organization: Mladen Popović (m.popovic@rug.nl)

Program

Monday, 28 April 2008

9.15-9.30 Opening

9.30-10.15 Ed Noort (University of Groningen): The Need of Authority: From Joshua the Successor to the Joshua Apocryphon

10.15-11.00 Julio Trebolle Barrera (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain): Authoritative Scripture as Reflected in the Textual Transmission of the Biblical Books

11.00-11.30 Break

11.30-12.15 Arie van der Kooij (University of Leiden): Authoritative Scriptures and Scribal Culture

12.15-13.00 Émile Puech (École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, Israel): Quelques observations sur le canon des Écrits

13.15-14.15 Lunch

14.30-15.15 George van Kooten (University of Groningen): The Authority of David and Christ’s Davidic Lineage in Paul (Romans 1.3, 4.6, 11.9)

15.15-16.00 Tobias Nicklas (Universität Regensburg, Germany): “The words of the book of this prophecy” (Rev 22.19): Playing with Authority in the Book of Revelation

16.00-16.30 Break

16.30-17.15 Michael Knibb (King’s College, London, UK): “The Mosaic Torah is Conspicuously Absent in the Early Enochic Literature”: Reflections on the Status of 1 Enoch

17.15-18.00 Hindy Najman (University of Toronto, Canada): Exile, Exemplarity and Revelation in 4 Ezra

18.00-19.00 George Brooke (University of Manchester, UK): The Apocalyptic Community and Rewriting Scripture

19.30 Dinner

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

9.15-10.00 Jacques van Ruiten (University of Groningen): Rewritten Bible and the Authoritativeness of Scriptures

10.00-10.45 Emanuel Tov (Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel): From 4QReworked Pentateuch to 4QPentateuch

10.45-11.15 Break

11.15-12.00 Mladen Popović (Qumran Institute, University of Groningen): Ezekiel and Pseudo-Ezekiel in the Dead Sea Scrolls

12.00-12.45 Eibert Tigchelaar (Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA): Aramaic Texts from Qumran and the Authoritativeness of Hebrew Scripture

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.15-15.00 Charlotte Hempel (University of Birmingham, UK): Pluralism and Authoritativeness: The Case of the S Tradition

15.00-15.45 John Collins (Yale University, New Haven, USA): Prophecy and the Authority of History in the Pesharim

15.45-16.30 Jan Bremmer (University of Groningen): How Holy are Holy Books? A Comparison of Greece, Rome, Early Judaism and Early Christianity

16.30-17.00 Break

17.00-18.15 Keynote address: Florentino García Martínez (University of Groningen/Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium): Rethinking the Bible: Sixty Years of Dead Sea Scrolls Research and Beyond

18.15 Reception

19.30 Dinner
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BBC Passion Latest

Over on Bible Films, Matt Page is still on top of things when it comes to The Passion, the BBC / HBO co-production to air this coming Easter. As regular readers will know, I have been a consultant on the series. I have watched the whole series in several different edits now and am really delighted with the production. Matt now reports that the Churches Media Council has a dedicated section of its website on the production and that the official première is taking place on the 28th February in London. Wish I could be there.

Update (2 February): I am happy to say that I think I now have everything in place so that I can, after all, be at the première!

Review of Biblical Literature Latest

This is a catch-up Review of Biblical Literature post, incorporating the last two updates, all those under the New Testament and related heading. I am particularly pleased to see strong reviews for a couple of books in the Library of New Testament Studies series:

John M. G. Barclay, trans.
Flavius Josephus: Against Apion
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5844
Reviewed by René Bloch

Jeannine K. Brown
Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5915
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Philip F. Esler and Ronald A. Piper
Lazarus, Mary and Martha: A Social-Scientific and Theological Reading of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5948
Reviewed by Peter Phillips

Thomas R. Hatina, ed.
Biblical Interpretation in Early Christian Gospels: Vol. 1: The Gospel of Mark
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5480
Reviewed by David du Toit

Christine Helmer, ed.
The Multivalence of Biblical Texts and Theological Meanings
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5580
Reviewed by Christoph Stenschke

Dan Jaffé
Le Talmud et les origines juives du christianisme: Jésus, Paul et les judéo-chrétiens dans la littérature talmudique
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6057
Reviewed by Bogdan G. Bucur

Robert Tannehill
The Shape of Luke's Story: Essays on Luke-Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5723
Reviewed by Robert F. O'Toole

Stephen Voorwinde
Jesus' Emotions in the Fourth Gospel: Human or Divine?
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5120
Reviewed by William R. G. Loader

Young S. Chae
Jesus as the Eschatological Davidic Shepherd: Studies in the Old Testament, Second Temple Judaism, and in the Gospel of Matthew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5605
Reviewed by Daniel M. Gurtner

Craig Cooper, ed.
Politics of Orality: (Orality and Literacy in Ancient Greece, Vol. 6)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5821
Reviewed by Jonathan A. Draper

John Paul Heil
Ephesians: Empowerment to Walk in Love for the Unity of All in Christ
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5930
Reviewed by Gosnell L. Yorke

George H. van Kooten, ed.
The Revelation of the Name YHWH to Moses: Perspectives from Judaism, the Pagan Graeco-Roman World, and Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5697
Reviewed by Sabrina Inowlocki

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor
Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5975
Reviewed by Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J.

Grant R. Osborne
The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5731
Reviewed by Oda Wischmeyer

Rosemary Radford Ruether, ed.
Feminist Theologies: Legacy and Prospect
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5858
Reviewed by Mary L. Coloe

Megan Hale Williams
The Monk and the Book: Jerome and the Making of Christian Scholarship
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5676
Reviewed by Jonathan Yates

Alexandrian Personae Conference

Thanks to Ben White for sending this over:

Alexandrian Personae:
Scholarly Culture and Religious Traditions in Ancient Alexandria (1st ct. BCE - 3rd ct. CE)
February 23-24, 2008

The conference is hosted by the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the Department of Theology at the University of Göttingen, and details are at the link above.