Varsy Arsy???

Amazon recommended me a commentary on 2 Corinthians entitled “Varsy Arsy”!!  I suppose it comes from the US, where that title wouldn’t sound so rude – but what on earth is it supposed to mean??

Tight Fists n’ Testimony

Today I received a couple of new books, which look quite interesting:

Tight Fists or Open Hands? opens with the words, “The magnitude of the problem of wealth and poverty at the beginning of the third millennium can hardly be overstated”.  David L. Baker surveys Ancient Near Eastern Laws in general, before considering the themes of “property and land”, “marginal people” and “justice and generosity” in the Old Testament laws.  He draws some theological and ethical implications at the end of the book.

Martin Hengel, who, incidentally, used to admirably begin his academic day at ELEVEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING, said of Bauckham’s The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple, “These studies will give us quite new stimuli for our understanding of the Gospel of John, for Bauckardo Bauckham illuminates neglected historical and theological features of this unique text.  The author demonstrates that in our exegesis of John, philological accuracy, profound historical knowledge, and genuine theological understanding must work together to gain new insights”.

Looks like some interesting reading’s afoot

Poser

Today I’m getting photos taken for the back cover of  my book.  I’m supposed to provide a photo of head & shoulders in “a professional setting”.  I guess that means “in front of books”.  I think I’ll take a couple in front of books and a couple in an outdoor setting – in front of the lake – and I’ll let the publisher choose.  But I’m toying with the idea of having a silly book carefully positioned in amongst the serious ones about archaeology/theology/greek/corinthians… any suggestions?  Has Weird Al Yankovich authored a book???

The dotted line

Today I received a contract for publishing a book on 1 Corinthians… woohoo!

New book on Paul by Thiselton

Anthony Thiselton has a new popular-level introduction to Paul that will be coming out soon:

I haven’t read it, but I hear that the publisher (SPCK) is thrilled about the content.  It has come together quite quickly – Thiselton’s other new book (Intro to Hermeneutics) spent about a year at the publishers, whereas this one was ready in a couple of months.  So anyway, if this topic interests you, it might be worth checking out.

Help Needed: Backgrounds to 1 Corinthians

I’m currently working on a resource which brings together a whole heap of significant backgrounds to 1 Corinthians, including:

• Old Testament citations/allusion (including probable sources of citation – eg Septuagint)
• Photos of Corinth (eg. temples, marketplace, etc)
• Photos of artefacts (eg. examples of curse tablets, writing materials, coins, etc)
• New translations of parallel/related/interesting material from Greco-Roman writers prior to and contemporary to Paul
• New translations of parallel/related/interesting material from Jewish writers prior to Paul

I’m setting all of these useful backgrounds alongside the translated text of 1 Corinthians, at appropriate places.  I’m currently in discussion with a publisher about it, but nothing’s definite yet.  The point of it all is to be a sort of “background source materials” commentary on the letter – including my own annotations and explanations of the relevance of the various materials.  I’m not seeking to claim that Paul is consciously drawing on all these backgrounds – I’m simply trying to illuminate the world in which 1 Corinthians came to be.

So I suppose I’m asking for help in a couple of ways:

1. What do you think would make this sort of resource most helpful/usable/worthwhile?
2. Are you aware of any helpful backgrounds to 1 Corinthans that I might not have thought of, such as particular illuminating parallels in Jewish or Greco-Roman literature?

A New Festschrift in the making

Well, having conferred with the man himself today, I’m pleased to report that (with help!) I’m working towards putting together a festschrift in honour of Professor Anthony Thiselton, on the topic of Paul and Hermeneutics.  One problem with festschrifts is that they are often of very mixed quality, only loosely adhering to a common theme.  I’m hoping we’ll make this volume a top quality, genuinely important contribution to the topic.  I think that would itself be an honour to Thiselton, whose contribution to the area has been so important.

Help needed: Who would you want to read on Paul & Hermeneutics?

If there were a new book on the topic of Paul and Hermeneutics, with various contributors, what scholars would you value contributions from?  This is just hypothetical at this stage – but I’d be very interested to hear any thoughts that people have.

New Book on Hermeneutics by Anthony Thiselton

I am back from holidays in the Lake District of England, during which time I visited the Roman sites at Housesteads and Vindolanda – I may post some pics soon… good stuff!  Anyway, while I’ve been away I’ve been doing some proof-reading for a new textbook on hermeneutics by Anthony Thiselton, due to be published by Eerdmans.  It’s good stuff, and I recommend it to anyone teaching a biblical hermeneutics course.  Thiselton practises his theory of hermeneutics in the way he presents his material, inviting readers into the “hermeneutical circle” by whetting their tastebuds with a “premilinary understanding” of the most important theorists and practitioners of biblical hermeneutics – introducing us to their historical situations as well as their main works, before offering assessments.  If you do end up getting the book though, please don’t find any typographical errors on pages 166-265!!!

Top 5 books

Finally, after a long wait since the last time I got tagged with a meme, I have been tagged by Tonya with the “top 5 books that have influenced the way you read the Bible” meme…  Now that’s a good meme – here are my thoughts:

1. I suppose I have to say Anthony Thiselton’s commentary on the Greek text of 1 Corinthians as first place, given that since then I’ve read a heck of a lot more 1 Corinthians than anything else
2. In next place is not really one book, but a massive group of writings: The apocrypha/pseudepigrapha/early Jewish writings such as Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Jubilees, Pseudo-Phocylides, Sibylline Oracles, Philo, Josephus, etc etc: These writings have profoundly influenced the way I read the New Testament, as I attempt to be sensitive to some of its settings/influences/backgrounds.  If you are looking for a good introduction to this literature, I recommend the big book by George W.E. Nickelsburg
3. The Resurrection of the Dead, by Karl Barth.  If you’re interested in 1 Corinthians, this is a must-read, even though it will annoy you at points.
4. I still have two to go?  Sheesh… ummm… oh well one popular-level book that has made my think a little more carefully about the letters of the NT is the book about Paul and First-Century Letter Writing by E. Randolph Richards (and a couple of other related titles by other authors).  Worth a read, I reckon.
5. Liddell & Scott – mind you I’m never sure of the number of d’s and l’s and t’s in that name – but I love it – it’s soooo impressive when you slam it down on a desk – that sucker’s gotta weigh a good couple of kilos.  Oh and it’s incredibly helpful too!

I shall have to withdraw from tagging others with this meme, as I’m about to go away for a week of family holidays, so I shan’t be around for a bit…  Hadrian’s Wall, here I come!!