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Archive for the ‘Bloomsbury’ Category


Luke in His Own Words

In Bloomsbury, Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, Kendall A. Davis, Luke-Acts, Manuscript Studies, Manuscripts, Textual Criticism on October 31, 2022 at 12:00 pm
cover of book

2022.10.08 | Jenny Read-Heimerdinger. Luke in His Own Words: A Study of the Language of Luke-Acts in Greek. LNTS 672. London: T&T Clark, 2022.

Review by Kendall A. Davis, University of Edinburgh.

As anyone who looks at a critical apparatus for the New Testament knows, a significant number of textual variants involve subtle differences like the presence of an article, the order of words, and so on. Many readers will gloss over such variants as being merely “stylistic,” by which they mean to say, “relatively unimportant and meaningless.” Jenny Read-Heimerdinger’s new collection of previous published essays, Luke in His Own Words, challenges this assumption through a thorough analysis of Luke’s Greek as it is preserved in the Alexandrian text (as represented by Codex Sinaiticus [א01] and Codex Vaticanus [B03]) and Codex Bezae (D05). Read-Heimerdinger combines text-criticism, discourse analysis, and New Testament interpretation to argue that many variants between D05 and the Alexandrian text that are often perceived to be merely stylistic are in fact intentional and meaningful. Read-Heimerdinger further argues that the Bezan text of Acts is not necessarily a later expansion of Acts, as frequently assumed, but may preserve a form of Acts that is earlier than the version preserved in the Alexandrian tradition.

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Ezekiel and the World of Deuteronomy

In Bloomsbury, D. Allen Hutchison, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, Jason Gile, T & T Clark on December 1, 2021 at 11:47 pm

2021.12.18 | Jason Gile. Ezekiel and the World of Deuteronomy. LHBOTS 703. London: T&T Clark, 2021. ISBN 9780567694317 (electronic version).

Review by D. Allen Hutchison, Stellenbosch University.

Ezekiel and the World of Deuteronomy by Jason Gile makes the strong case that the book of Deuteronomy was a significant influence on the book of Ezekiel. Gile is Dean of Program Development and Innovation and Affiliate Professor of Old Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. Ezekiel and the World of Deuteronomy is the revision of his 2013 Ph.D. dissertation from Wheaton College Graduate School.

Gile acknowledges on the first page that the Holiness Code of Lev 17-26 is “the chief influence for Ezekiel” (1) but argues that Leviticus is not the only pentateuchal book to substantially influence the prophet and his book. Gile’s thesis is that Deuteronomy influenced Ezekiel “in significant ways” and “in some cases [Ezekiel] alluded to specific texts” from Deuteronomy (2).

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Dating Acts in Its Jewish and Greco-Roman Contexts

In Bloomsbury, Book of Acts, Daniel B. Glover, Dating NT, Karl L. Armstrong, Luke-Acts, Paul on September 17, 2021 at 3:00 pm

2021.9.15 | Karl L. Armstrong. Dating Acts in Its Jewish and Greco-Roman Contexts. LNTS 637. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2021.

Review by Daniel B. Glover, Lee University.

Karl L. Armstrong’s new monograph, Dating Acts in Its Jewish and Greco-Roman Contexts, presents what he calls a new, historiographic approach to identifying the date of Acts. Bucking both current and longstanding trends in Acts scholarship, Armstrong argues for a precise date of 64 CE, a date during the reign of Nero and preceding the death of Paul, the famed fire of Rome, and the Jewish War (66–70 CE). Armstrong is revivifying an older position in Acts scholarship but also leveling new arguments in its favor. What follows is perhaps the strongest, most comprehensive case yet offered for an early date for the Acts, and, for that reason, deserves a detailed, substantive engagement as is offered later in this review.

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The Book of Kings and Exilic Identity

In 1 & 2 Kings, Ancient Israel, Bloomsbury, D. Allen Hutchison, HB/OT, Hebrew Bible, Nathan Lovell, T & T Clark on May 11, 2021 at 8:13 pm

2021.5.11 | Nathan Lovell. The Book of Kings and Exilic Identity: 1 and 2 Kings as a Work of Political Historiography. LHBOTS 708; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2021. ISBN 9780567695338 (electronic version).

Review by D. Allen Hutchison, Stellenbosch University.

The Book of Kings and Exilic Identity: 1 and 2 Kings as a Work of Political Historiography by Nathan Lovell is a persuasive macro-examination of 1-2 Kings developed through careful attention to the text’s details. Lovell is the Director of Research and a Senior Lecturer of Old Testament and Hebrew at George Whitefield College in Muizenberg, South Africa. The Book of Kings and Exilic Identity is the revision of his 2019 Ph.D. dissertation of the same name from the University of Sydney.

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Mark 13 and the Return of the Shepherd

In Bloomsbury, Gospel of Mark, Intertextuality, Paul Sloan, Samuel Freney, T & T Clark, Zechariah on April 27, 2021 at 3:04 pm
Mark 13 and the Return of the Shepherd

2021.4.10 | Paul Sloan. Mark 13 and the Return of the Shepherd: The Narrative Logic of Zechariah in Mark. Library of New Testament Studies 604. London: T&T Clark, 2019.

Review by Samuel Freney, Bible Society of Australia.

In my experience, the best books—certainly the best technical books—are those that engage you as a reader in a conversation that is richer and deeper than what you may have experienced previously. Paul Sloan’s book is one of these. His central claim is that Mark had the prophet Zechariah front of mind as he composed his Gospel, and that Zech 13–14 especially so imbues Mark’s narrative that it provides an interpretive key for the widely contested Olivet Discourse. Scholars have disagreed for 200 years over why Jesus seemingly answers his disciples’ question about the destruction of the temple with a reference to his second coming (p. 1).

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Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance

In Bloomsbury, Esau McCaulley, Galatians, Messianism, Paul, Trey Moss on January 22, 2021 at 3:00 pm
Sharing in the Son's Inheritance: Davidic Messianism and Paul's Worldwide Interpretation of the Abrahamic Land Promise in Galatians: 608 (The Library of New Testament Studies): Amazon.co.uk: McCaulley, Rev. Dr. Esau: 9780567685926: Books

2021.1.4 | Esau McCaulley. Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance: Davidic Messianism and Paul’s Worldwide Interpretation of the Abrahamic Land Promise in Galatians. LNTS 608. London: T&T Clark, 2019. ISBN 9780567700292. 

Review by Trey Moss, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

 In Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance Esau McCaulley explores the connection between Paul’s messianic theology in the context of Jewish messianism and the Abrahamic land promises in Galatians. While the Abrahamic narrative looms large in Galatians (e.g., Gal 3:6–9, 14–18, 26–29; 4:21, 25–31), Pauline scholarship has often identified the Spirit as a replacement for the land in the argument of Galatians (p. 1, n. 2). Furthermore, according to McCaulley, scholarship on Galatians has not emphasized Davidic messianism in Paul’s theology (pp. 1–2). In contrast, McCaulley argues, “rather than abandoning the Abrahamic land promise, Paul expands it to encompass the whole earth because he believes that Jesus as the seed of Abraham and David (Gal 3:16), is entitled to the peoples and territories of the earth as his inheritance and kingdom (Ps 2:7–8)” (p. 2). By neglecting Paul’s theology of a Davidic Messiah, scholars have missed how Paul connects the land promises to the worldwide kingdom of the Davidic Messiah in Galatians (pp. 5–46). 

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Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke’s Gospel

In Bloomsbury, Christology, HB/OT, Kai Akagi, Luke-Acts, Metaphor, New Testament, T & T Clark on October 30, 2020 at 6:27 pm

2020.10.19 | Gregory R. Lanier. Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke’s Gospel. LNTS 591. London: T&T Clark, 2018.

Review by Kai Akagi, Japan Bible Seminary.

Gregory R. Lanier’s Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke’s Gospel uses conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) to consider the christological significance of four metaphors in the Gospel of Luke: “horn” in 1:68–69, “dawn” in 1:78–79, “mother bird” in 13:34, and “stone-rock” in 20:17–18. After an opening chapter consisting of a literature review, a description of the topic of this volume, and an explanation of method and research objectives, the subsequent four chapters in turn each consider one of the metaphors. The final chapter summarizes the results and offers a synthesis of their christological significance.

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The Construction of Gender and Identity in Genesis

In Bloomsbury, Gender Studies, Genesis, HB/OT, Hebrew Bible, Karalina Matskevich, Lindsay Fraughton, T & T Clark on August 6, 2020 at 7:09 am

9780567695512

2020.08.14 | Karalina Matskevich. The Construction of Gender and Identity in Genesis: The Subject and the Other. T&T Clark, 2019. ISBN: 9780567695512.

Review by Lindsay Fraughton, University of British Columbia.

From the Documentary Hypothesis to the construction of The Woman’s Bible, scholarly approaches to the Book of Genesis have shifted alongside academic and social movements. Structuralism, fathered in biblical studies by Claude Lévi-Strauss and furthered by scholars like Mieke Bal and Ellen van Wolde, lost traction in the 21st century (Matskevich 2019, 208). However, in her 2019 publication Construction of Gender and Identity in Genesis: The Subject and the Other, Karalina Matskevich revitalises interdisciplinary structuralist approaches to the book of Genesis, setting the groundwork for future studies of the same nature. Read the rest of this entry »

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The New Testament in Comparison

In B. G. White, Bloomsbury, Comparison, Graeco-Roman Backgrounds, John BARCLAY, Joshua W. Jipp, New Testament, Stoicism on July 17, 2020 at 3:00 pm

the-new-testament-in-comparison

2020.07.13 | John M. G. Barclay and B. G. White (editors). The New Testament in Comparison: Validity, Method, and Purpose in Comparing Traditions. Library of New Testament Studies 600. London: T&T Clark, 2020.

Review by Joshua W. Jipp, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. 

The publication of Karl Barth’s Römerbrief in 1919 elicited the statement from a Catholic theologian that the commentary fell like a bomb on the playground of the theologians. Respected New Testament scholars referred to Barth as a gnostic and an enemy of historical critical interpretation (Adolf Jülicher), a Biblicist (Paul Wernle), and as using the commentary as a pretense for theological autobiography (Adolf Schlatter). For reasons that need not concern us here, Barth’s commentary on Romans simultaneously set forth a biting critique of historical criticism, at least insofar as it could penetrate the subject matter of the NT texts, and offered a radically different way of approaching exegesis. As such, Barth’s book appeared as something that was virtually incomprehensible to his fellow colleagues. Read the rest of this entry »


Texts and Artefacts

In Bloomsbury, Dustin Rigsby, Larry HURTADO, Manuscript Studies, Manuscripts, Textual Criticism on June 19, 2020 at 3:00 pm

Hurtado

2020.06.10 | Larry W. Hurtado. Texts and Artefacts: Selected Essays on Textual Criticism and Early Christian Manuscripts. LNTS 584. London: T&T Clark, 2019. XX + 231 pp. ISBN 978-0-567-68882-8.

Review by Dustin Rigsby, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Larry Hurtado was an exceptional biblical scholar and a well-known advocate of studying early Christian manuscripts as artefacts that are relevant for historical studies of early Christianity. In other words, Hurtado believed that the physical features of manuscripts contained often neglected evidence necessary for understanding early Christianity better. This book advances Hurtado’s significant research in this area, consisting particularly of a collection of essays originally published over a period of about twenty years and categorized under two general parts. Read the rest of this entry »