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Archive for the ‘New Testament’ Category


Configuring Communities: The Socio-Political Dimensions of Ancient Epistolography

In Durham, Epistolography, Lutz DOERING, New Testament, SEMINAR REPORTS on June 24, 2011 at 9:42 pm


Durham University

Department of Classics & Ancient History and Department of Theology & Religion

14-16 July 2011

The interdisciplinary conference “Configuring Communities” (Durham University, 14-16 July 2011) will investigate the complex socio-political dimensions of ancient epistolography, i.e. the ways in which the formal aspects of the genre interlock with processes of group formation and identity construction. The “communal” aspects of epistolary communication play themselves out in a variety of ways, e.g. with communities writing to individuals, individuals writing to communities, or communities writing to one another etc. These phenomena give rise to a range of heuristic interests: (1) the identity politics of character-drawing and selfpresentation; (2) corporate authorship and collective addressees; (3) functional equivalences – personal appearance, oral messenger, sending a letter; (4) community and confidentiality; (5) letters as means of communicating with geographically dispersed addressees; and (6) ancient epistolary theory. Read the rest of this entry »


Scribal Habits of Codex Sinaiticus

In Codex Sinaiticus, Dan Batovici, Dirk JONGKIND, Gorgias, New Testament, Scribal habits, Scripture, Septuagint, Textual Criticism on June 2, 2011 at 12:33 pm

2011.06.05 | Dirk Jongkind. Scribal Habits of Codex Sinaiticus. Texts and Studies 5; Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2007. Pp. xvii + 323. ISBN: 9781593334222. Hardback

Reviewed by Dan Batovici, University of St Andrews.

Visit us on facebook too. Many thanks to Gorgias Press for the review copy. A shorter version of this review is now published in Sacra Scripta 9.2 (2011).

This is the published version of Dirk Jongkind’s doctoral dissertation, written under Peter Head at Cambridge and defended in 2005. Read the rest of this entry »


John Moles, “The Lukan Preface”

In Durham, Greek Prologue, John MOLES, Justin A. Mihoc, Luke-Acts, New Testament, SEMINAR REPORTS on May 10, 2011 at 12:27 pm

This is a report on a paper presented by Professor John Moles, Professor of Latin in the School of Historical Studies, Newcastle University, at the New Testament Research Seminar at the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, 9th of May 2011.

The list of forthcoming papers in the NT Research Seminars at Durham University can be found here.

In a very engaging and interesting presentation, Prof Moles assessed the highly problematic and complex preface of Luke’s Gospel and its homologous secondary preface in Acts. The Lukan preface is relevant not only in the attempt to identify the genre of the work, but also to discover the author’s intention and objectives. The Lukan preface shows a unified piece of text, showing unity of theme and treatment at the same time, and it is detached from the diegesis. Read the rest of this entry »


Morna Hooker, ”Paul’s Understanding of Holiness”

In Cambridge, Morna HOOKER, New Testament, Paul, Samuli Siikavirta, SEMINAR REPORTS on February 23, 2011 at 5:43 pm

Report on a senior seminar paper by Morna Hooker, Lady Margaret Professor Emerita, University of Cambridge, 8 Feb 2011.

The list of forthcoming papers in the New Testament Seminars at Cambridge can be found here.

Morna Hooker presented a survey of Paul’s holiness language and theology throughout the Pauline corpus. She expressed at the outset that her reason for giving a seminar paper on this particular topic was the neglect which sanctification/holiness has faced in New Testament scholarship particularly in areas affected by the Protestant overemphasis of justification over against sanctification. What also requires clarification is the confusion of terms in English: holiness terminology in Paul can be rendered in English with such words as holy, saints, holiness, sanctification and consecration. Read the rest of this entry »


Lutz Doering, “Paul and Ancient Jewish Letter Writing”

In DSS, Durham, Justin A. Mihoc, Lutz DOERING, New Testament, Paul, SEMINAR REPORTS on February 12, 2011 at 12:30 pm

This is a report on a paper presented by Dr Lutz Doering, Reader in New Testament and Ancient Judaism in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, at the New Testament Research Seminar at the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, 29th of November 2010.

The list of forthcoming papers in the NT Research Seminars at Durham University can be found here.

Dr Doering presented in this paper some very interesting ideas which are to be included and developed in his forthcoming monograph on Jewish and early Christian letter writing. Whilst trying to define the characteristics of Paul’s epistles, he gradually analysed the stylisation of the author, co-senders and addressees of the letters and their use within early Christian communities and, also, epistolary formulae such as the Proem and the structure of the Prescript. Read the rest of this entry »


The 1st St Andrews Graduate Conference for Biblical and Early Christian Studies: Authoritative Texts and Reception History

In Call for papers, DSS, HB/OT, New Testament, Patristics, Reception history, Septuagint, St Andrews on February 1, 2011 at 1:39 pm

[see the CfP for the 2nd StAnGCBECS (2012) here and the Facebook page of the conference here]

Authoritative Texts and Reception History

Aspects and Approaches

15-16 June 2011

With an emphasis on textual reception history, the first St Andrews Graduate Conference for Biblical and Early Christian Studies is aimed at graduate students and early career scholars. Contributors are welcomed from the following fields of research: Old Testament / Hebrew Bible, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament and Early Christianity.

Some other details, here. Information about registration are posted here. You can download the conference poster from here.

We have four invited plenary speakers:

Prof. Kristin De Troyer

Prof. James R. Davila

Prof. N. T. Wright

Dr. Mark W. Elliott

Conference sessions will be chaired by plenary speakers followed by papers grouped by topic.

Papers will be 20 minutes. Deadline to send in your 250-word abstracts is 15 March 2011. Abstracts should be e-mailed to StAnGCBECS [at] gmail.com Read the rest of this entry »


Review Article: F.W. Horn and R. Zimmermann, Jenseits von Indikativ und Imperativ

In Friedrich Wilhelm HORN, Mohr Siebeck, New Testament, NT Ethics, Paul, Ruben ZIMMERMANN, Samuli Siikavirta on January 19, 2011 at 7:28 pm

2011.01.03 | F.W. Horn and R. Zimmermann, eds. Jenseits von Indikativ und Imperativ: Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics, vol. 1, (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 238), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009. ISBN 978-3-16-149997-5. Cloth.

Review article by Samuli Siikavirta, University of Cambridge.

We extend our thanks to Mohr Siebeck for providing us with a review copy.

It is only in the recent years that some scholars have begun to criticise the indicative/imperative division of New Testament ethics that was first presented by P. Wernle in 1897 and popularised by R. Bultmann in his 1924 essay.Truthfully to its name, Jenseits von Indikativ und Imperativ [Beyond the Indicative and Imperative] delves into the recent criticism via 17 articles (two of which are in English) that present ways of going beyond the indicative and imperative. The book is the result of a round-table discussion on the foundations of New Testament ethics that took place in Germany in 2007. Read the rest of this entry »


The Legacy of John: Second Century Reception of the Fourth Gospel

In Brill, Charles E. HILL, Dan Batovici, John, New Testament, NT reception history, Second century, Tuomas RASIMUS on January 17, 2011 at 8:37 am

2011.01.02 | Tuomas Rasimus, ed. The Legacy of John: Second Century Reception of the Fourth Gospel. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 132. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2010. Pp. xi + 406. ISBN: 9789004176331. Hardback

Reviewed by Dan Batovici, University of St Andrews.

The book is a fine collection of twelve essays on several second-century texts and their relation to the Fourth Gospel. The editor mentions in the very dense introduction the need to ‘abandon the old division between “orthodox” and “heterodox” forms of Christianity as misleading and anachronistic.’

It is commendable, indeed, to seek for the early reception of John beyond such a distinction, and this fresh view stands well in a context in which the two most recent major contributions on the early reception of John tend to focus on either the “orthodox” or the “heterodox” reception. Read the rest of this entry »


Markus Vinzent, “The Resurrection of Christ in Second Century, Early Christianity”

In Cambridge, Marcion, Markus VINZENT, New Testament, Nicki Wilkes, Q, Second century, SEMINAR REPORTS on January 2, 2011 at 8:04 am

This is a report on a paper presented by Professor Markus Vinzent, Professor of the History of Theology at King’s College London, at the Patristics Seminar at the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Cambridge, 29th of November 2010.

The programme of the Patristics Seminar in Cambridge will be published here.

Is Marcion ‘Q’ ?

In a recent fascinating and astoundingly controversial patristics seminar held at the University of Cambridge, Professor Markus Vinzent offered a précis of his soon to be published book: Christ’s Resurrection in Early Christianity. The focus of his presentation was the lack of attestation to the resurrection of Christ in early Christian literature between the time of Paul and Marcion. Read the rest of this entry »


James Keith Elliott, “New Testament Textual Criticism: Recent Developments”

In Durham, James Keith ELLIOTT, Justin A. Mihoc, New Testament, SEMINAR REPORTS, Textual Criticism on December 13, 2010 at 11:48 pm

This is a report on a paper presented by Emeritus Professor Keith Elliott, formerly Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism at the University of Leeds, at the New Testament Research Seminar at the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, 6th of December 2010.

The list of forthcoming papers in the NT Research Seminars at Durham University can be found here.

Prof Elliott, one of the greatest authorities in modern textual criticism, conferenced on the new trends and developments in the area of biblical so called ‘lower criticism’ (being the discipline which reads and compares all manuscripts containing the literature written prior to the invention of printing, along with analysing their textual history). He proposed a presentation of the most important editions of Greek New Testaments and discussed the differences between them. Read the rest of this entry »