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Temple Mysticism: An Introduction

In Margaret BARKER, Matthew Twigg, SPCK, Temple Mysticism on December 24, 2012 at 11:43 pm

TMI

2012.12.19 | Margaret Barker, Temple Mysticism: An Introduction. London: SPCK, 2011. 192 pp. ISBN: 978-0281064830.

Review by Matthew Twigg, University of Oxford.

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Any review of Margaret Barker’s Temple Mysticism needs to take adequate account of its overall position in her wider corpus. Since the late 1980s, Barker has published a series of monographs developing what she calls “temple theology”; that is, the idea that the roots of early Christianity, and indeed the New Testament, are both indebted to and built upon forms of worship and theology stemming from the First Temple cult of Judaism. Temple Mysticism is therefore, only the latest instalment in what Barker treats as a lifelong vocation to establish the First Temple essence of early Christianity.

As in Barker’s other works, temple mysticism (i.e. seeing the Lord in a Temple setting) is presented as a hypothesis, as opposed to an overtly demonstrable brute fact of New Testament theology.

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Angelomorphic Pneumatology: Clement of Alexandria and Other Early Christian Witnesses

In Angelomorphic, Bogdan Gabriel BUCUR, Brill, Clement of Alexandria, Dan Batovici, Early Christianity, Hermas, Patristics, Pneumatology on December 17, 2012 at 8:18 am

Angelomorph

2012.12.18 | Bogdan Gabriel Bucur. Angelomorphic Pneumatology: Clement of Alexandria and Other Early Christian Witnesses. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 95. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2009. xxix + 232 pp. ISBN: 9789004174146.

Reviewed by Dan Batovici, University of St Andrews.

Many thanks to Brill for kindly providing us with a review copy.

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This volume is the revised and amplified version of a PhD thesis written under Alexander Golitzin and defended in 2007 at Marquette University. From the outset, Bucur’s research on angelomorphic pneumatology (“that is, the use of angelic imagery in early Christian discourse about the Holy Spirit”, xxi) is proposed “as a complement to Charles Gieschen’s work on angelomorphic Christology and to John Levinson’s work on the angelic spirit in early Judaism” (xi).  Read the rest of this entry »


Romans (Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament)

In Baker Academic, Frank J. MATERA, NT Theology, Paul, Romans, Samuli Siikavirta on December 13, 2012 at 9:09 am

Romans

2012.12.17 | Frank J. Matera, Romans. Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010. 416 pages. (PB) $29.99. ISBN 9780801031892.

Review by Samuli Siikavirta, University of Cambridge.

Many thanks to Baker Academic for kindly providing us with a review copy.

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Frank J. Matera’s Romans commentary is meant for “students at the master’s level” (4) and, despite fulfilling this purpose well, it gives some food for thought to more advanced scholars alike. The Paideia series as a whole, in which Matera’s commentary stands, is student-friendly in its threefold exegetical subdivisions: “Introductory Issues” for the background, “Tracing the Train of Thought” for a focus on the rhetorical flow of the text and “Theological Issues” for the significance of the text for Pauline and, indeed, Christian theology from Antiquity through key points along the text’s history of interpretation to the present.

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Michael P. Theophilos, “On the Pronunciation and Interpretation of ‘Biblical Greek’: A Re-assessment in Light of the Papyri”

In Cambridge, Early Christianity, Michael P. THEOPHILOS, Oxyrhynchus, Papyrology, Samuli Siikavirta, Scribal habits, SEMINAR REPORTS, Textual Criticism on November 26, 2012 at 10:21 pm

This is a report on a paper presented by Dr. Michael P. Theophilos, Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Australian Catholic University, at the New Testament Senior Seminar, Cambridge, 6 November 2012.

Report by Samuli Siikavirta, University of Cambridge.

The programme of the New Testament Seminar at Cambridge can be found here.

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One might assume that a Greek-speaking academic with the name Theophilos might be biased when it comes to the pronunciation of Koine Greek. Dr Michael P. Theopilos’ case clearly supported by manuscript evidence, however, made many convinced of or at least interested in the advantages of Modern Greek pronunciation over against the traditional Erasmian pronunciation (or, pronunciations) prevalent in Western academia.

Theophilos began with the common misconception that since we have no exact knowledge of how New Testament Greek was pronounced in its day, the default Erasmian pronunciation is our best option. He laid out some of the scholarship on Greek pronunciation, of which there is no lack. Many scholars, however, such as E.P. Petrounias, fail to note the witness offered by Egyptian papyri (‘The Pronunciation of Ancient Greek: Evidence and Hypotheses’, in A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity [ed. A.-F. Christidis; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001], 545-555.). Read the rest of this entry »


The Mysticism of Hebrews

In Apocalyptic, Hebrews, Jody A. BARNARD, Mohr Siebeck, Mysticism, New Testament, Nicholas J. Moore, Paul on November 13, 2012 at 11:44 am

2012.11.16 | Jody A. Barnard, The Mysticism of Hebrews. Exploring the Role of Jewish Apocalyptic Mysticism in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.331. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012. XII + 341 pp. Paperback. ISBN: 9783161518812.

Reviewed by Nicholas J. Moore, Keble College, University of Oxford.

Many thanks to Mohr Siebeck for kindly providing us with a review copy.

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Scholarship on the Epistle to the Hebrews has tended to divide over the most pertinent background against which to read the letter. On the one hand, scholars such as Spicq, Moffatt, and more recently Kenneth Schenck and Gregory Sterling, have sought to locate Hebrews within a Middle Platonic philosophical framework, with Philo as the most important comparative author. On the other hand, Ronald Williamson, C. K. Barrett, L. D. Hurst and Scott Mackie among others have emphasised the Jewish apocalyptic background of the letter. Read the rest of this entry »


The Text of the Apostolos in Athanasius of Alexandria

In Early Christianity, Gerald J. DONKER, Justin A. Mihoc, New Testament, NT reception history, Patristics, Society of Biblical Literature on November 1, 2012 at 10:22 pm

2012.11.15 | Gerald J. Donker, The Text of the Apostolos in Athanasius of Alexandria. The New Testament in the Greek Fathers 8. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Litertature, 2011. XVIII + 372 pp. Paperback. ISBN: 9781589835504.

Reviewed by Justin A. Mihoc, Durham University, UK.

This review was published by RBL 10/2012 | ©2012 by the Society for Biblical Literature; reposted here by permission.

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The present monograph represents the latest addition to the groundbreaking New Testament in the Greek Fathers series of the Society of Biblical Literature. This long awaited volume, the 8th of the aforementioned series, comes out about three years after the 9th and is developed from the author’s doctoral dissertation defended at Macquarie University (Sydney) in 2009.

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The Resurrection of the Messiah

In Christopher BRYAN, Early Christianity, Frederik S. Mulder, Oxford University Press, Resurrection on September 27, 2012 at 8:10 pm

2012.09.14 | Christopher Bryan, The Resurrection of the Messiah. New York et al.: Oxford University Press, 2011. X + 432 pp. ISBN: 978-0199752096.

Reviewed by Frederik S. Mulder, Radboud University, Nijmegen.

Many thanks to OUP for kindly providing us with a review copy.

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In the years following the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, a group of people who claimed to be his followers, later to be called Christians, established the Christian church. When asked why this happened, they often responded with the claim that Jesus was raised from the dead despite the fact that it initially would have sounded just as surprising and unlikely to Jews and Gentiles alike. These followers of Jesus seem stubbornly to have persisted with their claims, expecting to be taken seriously and even appealing to named eyewitnesses. Read the rest of this entry »

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Early Christian Manuscripts: Examples of Applied Method and Approach

In Amulets, Brill, Dan Batovici, Early Christianity, Egypt, New Testament, Oxyrhynchus, Papyrology, Patristics, Reception history, Scripture, Textual Criticism, Thomas KRAUS, Tobias NICKLAS on June 13, 2012 at 6:12 pm

2012.06.13 | Thomas J. Kraus and Tobias Nicklas, eds. Early Christian Manuscripts: Examples of Applied Method and Approach. Texts and Editions for New Testament Study 5. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2010. xx + 243 pp. ISBN: 9789004182653.

Reviewed by Dan Batovici, University of St Andrews.

Many thanks to Brill for kindly providing us with a review copy.

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This volume is intended as a papyrological follow-up of a previous volume, New Testament Manuscripts: Their Texts and Their World, published in the same series (TENT 2) in 2006. It features nine articles forming nine chapters varying in size between 15 and 45 pages. Read the rest of this entry »

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Pentateuch, Hexateuch, or Enneateuch?: Identifying Literary Works in Genesis through Kings

In Biblical Criticism, Genesis, HB/OT, Hermeneutics, Intertextuality, Kerry Lee, Konrad SCHMID, Pentateuch, Scribal habits, Scripture, Septuagint, Society of Biblical Literature, Thomas B. DOZEMAN, Thomas RÖMER on June 11, 2012 at 5:07 pm

2012.06.12 | Thomas B. Dozeman, Thomas Römer, and Konrad Schmid, eds. Pentateuch, Hexateuch, or Enneateuch?: Identifying Literary Works in Genesis through Kings. Ancient Israel and its Literature 8. Atlanta: SBL, 2011. x + 313 pages. $39.95. ISBN: 9781589835429.

Reviewed by Kerry Lee, University of Edinburgh.

RBECS would like to thank SBL for kindly providing us with a review copy.

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Pentateuch, Hexateuch, or Enneateuch? is a collaboration between the Pentateuch and Deuteronomistic History Sections of SBL Read the rest of this entry »


Peter M. Head, “Onesimus and the Letter of Philemon: New Light on the Role of the Letter Carrier”

In Cambridge, Epistolography, Letter-carriers, New Testament, Oxyrhynchus, Papyrology, Paul, Peter M. HEAD, Peter Malik, SEMINAR REPORTS on May 31, 2012 at 4:15 pm

This is a report on a paper presented by Dr. Peter M. Head, Sir Kirby Laing Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the Faculty of Divinity and Tyndale House, at the New Testament  Seminar, Cambridge, 15 May 2012.

Report by Peter Malik, University of Cambridge. The programme of the New Testament Seminar at Cambridge can be found here.

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The final seminar of this academical year hosted a paper by Dr. Peter M. Head, Sir Kirby Laing Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the Faculty of Divinity and Tyndale House. Besides his 1997 monograph on the Synoptic Problem, Dr. Head is mostly known for his wide array of publications in the field of NT textual criticism, with a special focus on Greek NT manuscripts. Recently, however, he also published on ancient epistolary communication, particularly on named letter-carriers in Oxyrhynchus papyri and in ancient Jewish epistolary material (both can be accessed through Dr. Head’s website here). These are actually precursors of his forthcoming monograph on the role of letter-carriers in the interpretation of Paul’s letters. In this paper, Peter Head focused on the role of Onesimus as the letter-carrier of the letter to Philemon, and potential interpretive outcomes thereby gleaned. Read the rest of this entry »