Reviews of

Archive for the ‘New Testament’ Category


New Testament Language and Exegesis: A Diachronic Approach

In Chrys C. CARAGOUNIS, Emanuel CONTAC, Mohr Siebeck, New Testament, NT Greek on November 19, 2014 at 11:48 am

NTLE

2014.11.19 | Chrys C. Caragounis. New Testament Language and Exegesis: A Diachronic Approach (WUNT I/323). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014. pp. xiii + 409. Cloth. ISBN: 9783161527647

Reviewed by Emanuel Conțac, Theological Pentecostal Institute of Bucharest.

Many thanks to Mohr Siebeck for providing a review copy.

Readers familiar with Chrys Caragounis’ landmark book The Development of Greek and the New Testament will find new and engaging contributions in the latest volume published by the Lund-based NT scholar. Caragounis, arguably the most energetic advocate of diachrony applied to the study of what is conventionally called “NT Greek”, presents new evidence in defense of the basic tenet that the Greek of the NT should not be studied in isolation from the later Greek, because the history of the language is more organic and interconnected than is usually believed.

The book is divided into two large sections, the first of which (“The Scope and Importance of Diachrony”) contains five chapters, tackling various aspects of morphology and syntax. 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 »


A Grand Gathering of Johannine Characters

In Character studes, D. François TOLMIE, Gospel of John, Josaphat Tam, Mohr Siebeck, Narratology, New Testament, Ruben ZIMMERMANN, Steven A. HUNT on March 1, 2014 at 12:23 pm

csfg

2014.3.4 | Steven A. Hunt, D. François Tolmie, and Ruben Zimmermann eds., Character Studies in the Fourth Gospel. WUNT 314. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013. Pp. xvii + 724. ISBN: 9783161527845. 

Review article by Josaphat Tam, University of Edinburgh.

Many thanks to Mohr Siebeck for providing a review copy.

This is a “grand gathering” of Johannine characters (and scholars).  The present work is by far the most complete edited volume on Johannine characters studies.  The aim is clearly stated, “to offer a comprehensive narrative-critical study of nearly every character Jesus… encounters in the narrative world of the Fourth Gospel” (xi).

Roughly seventy characters are included in the present volume.  Almost every character you can think of in John can be found there. Being so exhaustive, there is surprisingly no treatment of “Jesus,” the very key character in John.  Read the rest of this entry »


Contours in the Text

In Bloomsbury, Garrick V. Allen, Hebrew Bible, Jonathan D. H. NORTON, Josephus, Manuscripts, New Testament, Paul, Qumran, Romans, Scribal habits, Scripture, Second Temple, Septuagint, Textual Criticism on December 19, 2013 at 9:01 am

CIT

2013.12.23 | Jonathan D. H. Norton. Contours in the Text: Textual Variation in the Writings of Paul, Josephus and the Yahad. Library of New Testament Studies 430; London: T&T Clark, 2011. xiii + 210 pages (PB). ISBN 9780567521996.

Review by Garrick V. Allen, University of St Andrews.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for providing a review copy.

facebook.com/RBECS.org

In this volume, Norton explores Paul’s reuse and awareness of multiple antecedent scriptural traditions in the textually pluriform environment of first century Palestine. His approach blends text-critical acumen and an awareness of exegetical issues in the contemporary discussion. His study “questions Paul’s awareness and encounter with textual plurality in Jewish scripture” (p. 1). Read the rest of this entry »

,

The Early Text of the New Testament

In Charles E. HILL, Early Christianity, Manuscripts, Michael J. KRUGER, New Testament, Oxford University Press, Papyrology, Peter Malik, Reception history, Textual Criticism, Transmission history on October 10, 2013 at 10:44 am

etnt

2013.10.20 | Charles E. Hill and Michael J. Kruger (eds.). The Early Text of the New Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. xiv + 483 pages (HB) ISBN 9780199566365.

Review by Peter Malik, University of Cambridge.

Many thanks to OUP for providing a review copy.

The present volume is comprised of twenty-two essays (including the extended introduction) written by a wide array of distinguished scholars under editorship of Charles E. Hill and Michael J. Kruger. In the introductory essay entitled “In Search of the Earliest Text of the New Testament”, the editors set out “to provide an inventory and some analysis of the evidence available for understanding the pre-fourth century period of transmission of the NT materials” (p. 2). Read the rest of this entry »


Joshua Typology in the New Testament

In Hebrews, Joshua, Jude, Mohr Siebeck, New Testament, Nicholas J. Moore, Richard OUNSWORTH on October 3, 2013 at 11:40 am

JTNT

2013.09.18 | Richard Ounsworth. Joshua Typology in the New Testament. WUNT II/328. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012. XI + 214 pp. Paperback. ISBN 978 3 16 151932 1.

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

Many thanks to Mohr Siebeck for providing a review copy.

‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ What’s in a name? Well, pace the love-struck Juliet, quite possibly a great deal if your name happens to be identical with that of the Messiah. It is this possibility that Richard Ounsworth seeks to render plausible or even probable with regard to the presence in Hebrews 4.8 of the name Ἰησοῦς. In context this clearly refers to Joshua son of Nun, who brought the Israelites into Canaan but failed to give them (true) rest. Read the rest of this entry »

, ,

Stoicism in Early Christianity

In Baker Academic, Early Christianity, Ismo DUNDERBERG, New Testament, Samuli Siikavirta, Stoicism, Troels ENGBERG-PEDERSEN, Tuomas RASIMUS on August 1, 2013 at 5:01 pm

SEC

2013.08.17 | Tuomas Rasimus, Troels Engberg-Pedersen and Ismo Dunderberg (eds.). Stoicism in Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010. 320 pages. (PB) ISBN 9780801039515.

Review by Samuli Siikavirta, University of Cambridge.

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

Stoicism in Early Christianity is a collection of essays on a variety of topics suggesting that Stoicism rather than Middle Platonism was the predominant philosophical influence on early Christian texts. The emphasis on Stoic influence is seen as a neglected area in New Testament scholarship, which the book wants to change. Nearly half of the book’s thirteen essays are written by Nordic scholars (as one may expect of a book edited by two Finns and a Dane), but other authors range from universities in the USA, the Netherlands, Japan and South Africa. Read the rest of this entry »

,

The Resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel of John

In Craig R. KOESTER, Gospel of John, Josaphat Tam, Mohr Siebeck, New Testament, Reimund BIERINGER, Resurrection on July 19, 2013 at 5:20 pm

RJGJ

2013.07.16 | Craig R. Koester and Reimund Bieringer, eds. The Resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel of John. WUNT 222. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008. Pp. viii + 358. ISBN: 9783161495885.

Review by Josaphat Tam, University of Edinburgh.

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

facebook.com/RBECS.org

This book is a collection of essays on an important topic desperately needed in Johannine studies, even up to now.  Many of the essays are from papers presented in various “Johannine Writings Seminars” of the Society for New Testament Studies (SNTS) over the period 2005—2007.  The thirteen essays cover various aspects of resurrection in the Gospel of John, from the motif itself, the resurrection appearances, to its connection with the cross, the farewell discourse, the Johannine signs, the ascension motif, the concept of remission of sin, and eschatology. Read the rest of this entry »

,

Reading the Epistle to the Hebrews

In Eric F. MASON, Hebrews, Kevin B. McCRUDEN, New Testament, Nicholas J. Moore, Society of Biblical Literature on July 16, 2013 at 11:02 am

REH

2013.07.15 | Eric F. Mason and Kevin B. McCruden, eds. Reading the Epistle to the Hebrews: A Resource for Students. SBL Resources for Biblical Study 66. Atlanta: SBL, 2011. xvi + 354 pp. ISBN: 9781589836082.

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

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

This volume unites 13 chapters from current specialists on the Letter to the Hebrews, or other fields bearing on particular questions in Hebrews, with the intention of making the current state of research and discourse on the letter in scholarly circles accessible for advanced undergraduates (and a wider audience, including ‘any educated reader studying Hebrews for the first time’ [2]). The work therefore avoids jargon, provides glosses for technical terms, transliterates Greek and Hebrew, and keeps footnotes to a minimum.

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 »