Reviews of

Author Archive


The Text of Galatians and Its History

In Galatians, Jordan Almanzar, Mohr Siebeck, Stephen C. Carlson, Textual Criticism on June 14, 2015 at 1:40 pm

carlson

2015.06.14 | Stephen C. Carlson. The Text of Galatians and Its History. WUNT II/385; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015. Pp. xiv + 308. ISBN 978-3-16-153323-5.

Review by Jordan Almanzar, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen.

Many thanks to Mohr Siebeck for providing a review copy.

Carlson’s study represents the first attempt to implement means and methods drawn from computational biology in reconstructing a critical text of the book of Galatians. To that end he collates and analyzes 92 witnesses and writes his own software that is able to analyze and interpret 1624 variation units in Galatians. Furthermore, his software was designed to account for significant levels of contamination in the manuscript tradition—something that has never before been done. But his study is not purely mechanical. Carlson is well aware of Zuntz’s warning about the pitfalls of purely statistical reconstructions of New Testament stemmata. Read the rest of this entry »


Les hymnes de la Résurrection II & III

In Brepols, Hymns, Ionuț Băncilă, Patrologia Orientalis on May 6, 2015 at 12:53 am

hymne

2015.05.11 | Charles Renoux. Les hymnes de la Résurrection II. Hymnographie liturgique géorgienne: texte des manuscrits Sinaï 40, 41 et 34: Introduction, traduction et notes. Patrologia Orientalis 231 (52.1); Turnhout: Brepols, 2010, 308 pp. ISBN 9782503541594.

Charles Renoux. Les hymnes de la Résurrection III. Hymnographie liturgique géorgienne: introduction, traduction et annotation des manuscrits Sinaï 26 et 20, et index analytique des trois volumes. Patrologia Orientalis 232 (52.2); Turnhout: Brepols, 2010, 124 pp.  (= pp. 309-432); ISBN 9782503541600.

Review by Ionuț Băncilă, Berlin.

Many thanks to Brepols Publishing for providing us with the review copies.

These two books are a sequel of a previous volume published by the author with Éditions de Cerf, Paris, in 2000 (references to the three volumes are made by indicating with roman numerals the volume and with arabic the page numbers).[1] Its aim is to offer a French translation of seven old Georgian manuscripts containing the oldest Hymns celebrating weekly the event of Christ s Resurrection. Read the rest of this entry »

,

Jesus is Lord, Caesar is Not: Evaluating Empire in New Testament Studies

In Empire, InterVarsity Press, Joseph B. MODICA, New Testament, Scot McKnight, Steve Walton on February 20, 2015 at 9:32 pm

McKnight

2015.02.05 | Scot McKnight & Joseph B. Modica (eds.). Jesus is Lord, Caesar is Not: Evaluation Empire in New Testament Studies. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013.

Review by Professor Steve Walton, St Mary’s University, Twickenham & Tyndale House, Cambridge.

Many thanks to IVP for providing a review copy.

This is a clear, lucid and accessible collection of essays looking at the New Testament in the light of recent discussions about the presence of criticism (implied or explicit) of the Roman empire by the earliest Christians. The book would be good for undergraduates or seminary/theological college students, and provides a helpful ‘way in’ to the topic, with good summaries of key positions and arguments, as well as thoughtful critiques. The overall perspective is fairly sceptical of an anti-imperial view, especially in a form that implies that critique of the Roman empire is central to the purpose of the NT author(s), and that should lead Christians today to be suspicious of all empires (not least, the implied American imperial rule in today’s world). Read the rest of this entry »

, , ,

New Studies in the Synoptic Problem

In Andrew GREGORY, Dan Batovici, John S. KLOPPENBORG, Joseph VERHEYDEN, New Testament, Paul FOSTER, Peeters, Q, Synoptic Gospels, Synoptic theories on February 16, 2015 at 1:00 pm

61uP73r3-gL

2015.02.04 | P. Foster, A. Gregory, J.S. Kloppenborg, J. Verheyden. New Studies in the Synoptic Problem. Oxford Conference, April 2008. Essays in Honour of Christopher M. Tuckett. BETL 239; Leuven/Paris/Walpole: Peeters, 2011.

Reviewed by Dan Batovici, KU Leuven.

Many thanks to Peeters for providing a review copy.

This volume grew out of the conference organised in April 2008 in Oxford at Lincoln College and, as the title indicates, it is the Festschrift offered to Prof. Christopher Tuckett. It is also meant to commemorate on the centenary of, and bring up to date, the volume Oxford Studies in the Synoptic Problem, edited in 1911 by William Sanday, the then Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford. This book gathers thirty-three commissioned contributions, grouped in five parts of varying size. I have presented elsewhere the twenty two papers offered at the conference in 2008 (here). In the following I shall be presenting the remaining commissioned contributions, largely in the same manner. Read the rest of this entry »


Dilemele Fidelităţii: Condiţionări culturale şi teologice în traducerea Bibliei

In Dan Batovici, Emanuel CONTAC, Logos, New Testament on May 6, 2014 at 11:19 pm

DFEC

2014.5.11 | Emanuel Conţac. Dilemele Fidelităţii: Condiţionări culturale şi teologice în traducerea Bibliei. Cluj: Logos, 2011. 320 pp. ISBN: 9789738461093. Hardcover.

Review by Dan Batovici, KU Leuven

A fairly recent growing interest in biblical studies pertains to ideology, culture and translation, resulting in a series of studies on various more or less ideological biases in both antique and modern translations of the Bible. This volume offers a study on possible ideological biases in Romanian translations of the New Testament, from the 16th century to 2007. The title may be translated as Dilemmas of Fidelity: Cultural and Theological Conditioning in Bible Translations, and it is a revised version of Contac’s PhD thesis at the University of Bucharest (2010).

The study seeks to identify the reasons for which a translation can depart from the Biblical text (the infidelity suggested in the title) and is meant to provide a better established basis for further NT translations in Romanian; it that sense, it also attempts to propose translation solutions that might be acceptable to the various confessional bodies in Romania. Read the rest of this entry »

,

I papiri letterari Cristiani

In Angelo CASANOVA, Dan Batovici, Early Christianity, Guido BASTIANINI, Instituto Papirologico “G. Vitelli”, Manuscripts, Papyrology on April 12, 2014 at 10:00 am

PLC

2014.4.8 | Guido Bastianini and Angelo Casanova, eds. I papiri letterari Cristiani: atti del Convegno internazionale di studi in memoria di Mario Naldini. Firenze, 10-11 giugno 2010. Studi e Testi di Papirologia N.S. 13. Firenze: Instituto Papirologico “G. Vitelli,” 2011. Pp. vi + 205 + 27 illustrations. ISBN 978-88-87829-45-7. Papeback.

Review by Dan Batovici, KU Leuven.

Many thanks to Instituto Papirologico “Vitelli” for providing a review copy.

Stemming from the 2010 annual colloquium of Instituto Papirologico “Vitelli” held ten years after Mario Naldini’s passing away, this volume is a Gedenkschrift in his memory. The first paper, “Mario Naldini e la Papirologia,” is signed by Carlo Nardi and offers both a laudatio and a presentation of his life and works, especially related to early Christianity and papyrology.

Eleven contributions then follow, signed by R.S. Bagnall, G. Bastianini & G. Cavallo, P. Parsons, J. Chapa, A. Carlini & M. Bandini, E. Ginnarelli, O. Zwierlein, P. Marrassini, J. Gascou, M. Stroppa, D. Minutoli & R. Pintaudi, written in English, Italian, German and French. Read the rest of this entry »

,

Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism

In Christopher B. ANSBERRY, Christopher M. HAYS, Historical Criticism, SPCK, Steve Walton on October 8, 2013 at 5:27 pm

EFCHC

2013.10.19 | Christopher M. Hays & Christopher B. Ansberry (eds.). Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism. London: SPCK, 2013. xiv + 241 pages (PB). ISBN 9780281067329.

Review by Professor Steve Walton, Tyndale House, Cambridge.

Many thanks to SPCK for providing a review copy.

This book stems from recent debate, especially in the USA, about whether and how evangelical Christians may engage with historical-critical study of the Bible. To a British eye, the debate looks a little dated, for such questions have long been considered, and largely resolved, in the UK (one thinks, for example, of the valuable 1977 volume edited by Howard Marshall, New Testament Interpretation). Read the rest of this entry »


BibleWorks 9

In Bible Works, Codex Sinaiticus, Critical Apparatus, Dan Batovici, Linguistics, Manuscripts, New Testament, Scribal habits, Scripture, Textual Criticism on July 13, 2013 at 4:01 pm

BW9

2013.07.14 | BibleWorks 9.

Review by Dan Batovici, University of St Andrews.

Many thanks to BibleWorks for kindly sending us the review package.

BibleWorks is a rather visible product on the market of biblical softwares. The 9th version, reviewed here, offers a number of added elements, both in content and to the interface. With respect to the latter, among other features: a fourth column, a verse tab displaying critical notes or a critical apparatus for the verse under the mouse, a tagging tool for Greek NT morphology; I would also mention the set of transcription tools and search tools, which supports the new text-critical element of this software. With respect to content, BibleWorks 9 offers several additional modern Bible versions, the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine text with morphology, the Loeb Classical Edition versification for Josephus, the Moody Atlas of the Bible, and others.

For the present reviewer, the most important additions are the New Testament critical apparatus produced by the CNTTS (Center for New Testament Textual Studies) and the (first) results of the BibleWorks Manuscript Project; together, they open a whole new venue for the utilisation of this product.

Read the rest of this entry »


Sacred Texts in Their Social-Political Contexts – The 2013 St Andrews Graduate Conference for Biblical and Early Christian Studies

In Candida R. MOSS, Loren STUCKENBRUCK, Matthew NOVENSON, Nathan MACDONALD, St Andrews Graduate Conference for Biblical and Early Christian Studies on February 12, 2013 at 11:19 am

7-11 July 2013

This year’s conference is included within the International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, and will explore the (theo)political visions of authoritative/sacred texts in their historical contexts. It is aimed at graduate students and early career scholars, welcoming contributors from the following fields of research: Old Testament / Hebrew Bible, Pseudepigrapha & Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, and Early Christianity.

We are glad to have with us the following plenary speakers, leading the four sections respectively:

  • Nathan MacDonald (Cambridge)
  • Loren Stuckenbruck (München)
  • Matthew Novenson (Edinburgh)
  • Candida Moss (Notre Dame)

We are welcoming 250-word abstracts via email at db47@st-andrews.ac.uk by the 1st of March. Non-SBL members are welcomed.

Topics will include (but will not be limited to), sacred texts and:

  • Resistance to hegemony/imperial ideology
  • Negotiating power relations
  • The theopolitical imagination
  • The formation of political communities
  • ‘Apocalyptic’ texts and political theology.

Read the rest of this entry »


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.

facebook.com/RBECS.org  

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 »