Jeremy Bell of Teehan+Lax (a design firm in Toronto) got quite a surprise last Tuesday when Toronto Police Emergency Task Force crashed into his office and handcuffed him based on a report that he had a handgun. Turns out that the handgun was a life-like Lego model of a semi-automatic pistol (with a removable clip) made by BrickGun. A ‘neighbor’ saw him assemble the gun in his office, reported it to the police, and the Toronto Police took him quite seriously!

I read the story on The Brothers Brick, where they have a short interview with Jeremy. Jeremy also blogs about the experience. The story pops up at the GlobalToronto and the Torontoist.

Leroy Latta at the Textual Criticism Yahoo! Group recently posted that Sophocles’ Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Period is now available online in PDF form at Anemi, the Digital Library of Modern Greek Studies.

link (67.2 MB download after the jump)

Dean Deppe, professor at Calvin Theological Seminary wrote his PhD dissertation on “The Sayings of Jesus in the Epistle of James”. This dissertation has been cited by scholars as one of the most important works on the Epistle of James’ use of Jesus’ teachings. For instance, Richard Bauckham notes:

Deppe’s very thorough study (unfortunately not easily accessible and so not used by most scholars writing subsequently) probably takes this method of approach to the relationship between James and the Gospels as far as it can be taken (see pg. 117 in “James and Jesus” [pgs. 100-137 in The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission; eds. B. Chilton & J. Neusner; Louisville, KY: W/JKP, 2001]).

Thankfully Dr. Deppe has made an updated version of his dissertation EASILY accessible, as he has given  permission to post it to this site.* This updated version is titled “The Sayings of Jesus in the Paraenesis of James: A PDF Revision of the Doctoral Dissertation, ‘The Sayings of Jesus in the Epistle of James’ by Dean B. Deppe (1990).” Because this is an updated version, the pagination is different from the print version that was printed in Chelsea, Mich. in 1990. I’ve uploaded the file both to this blog and to the Internet Archive.

• The Sayings of Jesus in the Paraenesis of James (download from Old in the New 30MB)
• The Sayings of Jesus in the Paraenesis of James (download from the Internet Archive)

*Actually, he gave me permission to post this long ago, but I forgot to mention it! My apologies for the delay!

I was fortunate enough to ‘win’ a little contest at the Koinonia blog that offered folks a free volume of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament (ZIBBCOT) in return for writing a review. I received vol. 2, covering Joshua (Richard S. Hess), Judges (Daniel I. Block), Ruth (Dale W. Manor), and Samuel (V. Philips Long). For the purposes of this review, I’ll concentrate on Block’s treatment of Judges - particularly the Samson narratives (which happens to be available online at Scribd for the month of November).

In writing this review, I claim no expertise in Judges, or Old Testament backgrounds or ancient Near Eastern culture. I am rather approaching this review as (1.) a librarian at an Evangelical seminary and (2.) an occasional teacher of adult Bible study classes.

As a librarian, I can’t help but notice the quality of printing and book construction. It is unfortunately rare these days to get a book with a sewn binding. Even the super-expensive publishers like Brill and Oxford have resorted to non-sewn (and hence weaker) bindings in many of their books (in an effort to cut production cost?). I must say that this trend is lamentable for libraries, where durability is at a premium. Book costs rise each year, and if other seminaries are in the same boat as GCTS, book acquisitions budgets are either flat or dropping. So, when we spend money on a book, we want it to last on our shelves (but I digress). I do hope that the ZIBBCOT becomes a dog-eared resource that withstands the test of time, and the sewn-binding is a good start. I also hope that Zondervan continues to use this method of binding when it comes to major reference works. Because of their heavy use, and unfortunately non-sewn binding, we’ve had to send other reference works (published in Grand Rapids and Downers Grove) to the bindery after only a few years of normal library use. I doubt that this will be the case for the ZIBBCOT.

Besides potential durability, the book is just downright handsome. I know. I know. Don’t judge a book by its cover. That’s well and fine, but these days a book needs to look good! The book and pages lay flat on the table while you’re reading (I wish all my books did this). The text is printed on high-quality, heavy, glossy paper. There are vibrant illustrations throughout - including full-color maps and images of various artifacts, dig sites, diagrams and charts. The text is clean and readable and the sidebars are consistently formatted. The book does unfortunately lack either a header or footer indicating exactly which biblical text is being treated on each page (this comes in handy when you want to make a quick consultation of the commentary). Still, pericopae and verses are clearly indicated throughout with bold-faced text.

I am often asked how to find OT background information by students taking introductory OT exegesis classes, and as an occasional adult-ed Bible teacher, I like to track down such info as well. As with just about any topic worth researching, there is (and there still remains) no one-stop-shop for such research (nor should there be only one). The ZIBBCOT will, however, certainly become a major destination along the way! I have often pointed students in the direction of the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary (IVPBBCOT), and I’ve used this resource quite a few times to prepare for lessons. The major downside of the IVPBBCOT was its lack of footnotes and/or references to other textual evidence/related research. This was infinitely frustrating… A student would come to me with their appetite whetted, saying something like “The IVPBBCOT points me to Hittite suzerain-vassal treaties as a parallel to such-and-such text, but I can’t find any reference to the particular work it’s talking about.” Boy, is that frustrating! The IVPBBCOT is a helpful resource, but in an effort possibly to conserve space, it lost a great deal of usability. Just enough information is given to provide an appetizer, but then the main meal never comes. (Side note: Some of this lack has been made up with the IVP OT Dictionaries. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible is a new addition to this cadre of Bible encyclopedias and dictionaries. I’ve not yet had a chance to see it, but if Zondervan wants to send one my way to review, I’ll certainly give it a looksee! Hint hint. Wink wink. Nudge nudge.) Anyway, the ZIBBCOT excels here. Most of the particularly interesting points in the commentary have end-notes that point to either clarifications or other resources that shed more light on each issue. References to ANE texts are often quoted generously, and are given in standard reference formats - making it relatively easy for a student (or a reference librarian) to hunt down the appropriate text. It may have been helpful (even if it increased the page count) to provide reference to ANET, COS or other standard collections of ANE parallels to the biblical text. For some, footnotes would be preferable to end-notes, but I suppose that footnotes would clutter the pages already packed with vibrant illustrations.

I don’t think that the ZIBBCOT completely replaces any commentary including the IVPBBCOT. When doing research, both should be consulted in tandem, given that just a spot check reveals that one commentary may give information that the other is lacking. For instance here are the entries for Judges 13:5:

IVP Bible Background Commentary: ritual importance of hair. There is a Phoenician inscription from the ninth century reporting the dedication of shaven hair by an individual in fulfillment of a vow made to the goddess Astarte. It is of importance that in the biblical text there is no discussion of what should be done with the hair that is cut. It is neither dedicated as in the above inscription, nor is it deposited in the temple as in some cultures. The dedicated hair is uncut, not cut. Hair (along with blood) was one of the main representatives in ancient thinking of a person’s life essence. As such it was often an ingredient in sympathetic magic. This is evident, for instance, in the practice of sending along a lock of the presumed prophet’s hair when the prophecies were sent to the king of Mari. The hair would be used in divination to determine whether the prophet’s message would be accepted as valid.

Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: No razor may be used on his head (13:5). Presumably the razor was a sharpened bronze or copper instrument. Egyptians shaved with a stone blade at first, later with a copper blade, and during the Middle Kingdom with a bronze razor. (ZIBBCOT 2.187)

As seen from the two excerpts above, one commentary covers material that the other does not. Note that the ZIBBCOT does not mention much regarding the importance of the hair in ritual observance. Still, for the love of all that is holy, why can’t the IVPBBCOT provide a simple reference to where that Phoenician inscription is found or at least an article that mentions it! If the ZIBBCOT had mentioned it, it would have been given an end-note!

Now while the ZIBBCOT may not replace other commentaries, it excels at what it does, and besides references, gives content that others do not give. For instance, in discussing the infertility of Samson’s parents, the ZIBBCOT helpfully cites (and quotes) passages from ancient Near Eastern literature, including the Ugaritic Legend of Kirta, the Code of Hammurabi, along with Mesopotamian and Hittite magical texts. These texts help demonstrate that “the problem of childlessness and divine involvement in overcoming it plays an important role, not only in biblical narratives but also in extrabiblical texts” (ZIBBCOT 2.186). It then devotes an entire side-bar to “The Importance of a Son,” which briefly speaks of the importance of children in the ANE which includes a lengthy quote from “Dan’el’s plea to the gods in the Ugaritic Epic of Aqhat” that illustrates the importance of an heir (2.188). In this instance, the IVPBBCOT only gives a short paragraph on “barrenness” in its comment on 13:2. In addition to having information that the IVP commentary lacks, the ZIBBCOT provides a supplement to Block’s full commentary on Judges in the New American Commentary series, which lacks mention of the extrabiblical material in its comments on 13:2. (Block wrote both the ZIBBCOT and the NAC commentaries.)

In addition to the commentary itself, John H. Walton’s essay on methodology in the book’s frontmatter is worth reading. It steers the interpreter between the Fundamentalist hazard of ignoring ANE parallels for fear of Scripture reflecting or borrowing from it’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors and the ‘critical’ hazard of embracing ANE parallels as a sure sign of Scripture’s status as a non-original or non-inspired text.

Over all, I heartily recommend the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament. It will serve as a helpful reference resource in libraries, and it will serve as an excellent tool in the hands of a careful pastor or teacher who wants to delve into the ancient Near Eastern culture in which the OT was written.

The folks over at “conservapedia” are engaged in a new “Conservative Bible Project” that goes beyond the TNIV/ESV debate and actually eliminates the various passages of Scripture that can be deemed as “liberal”, while enhancing passages that support “conservative” values.

Is this for real? If it is, then give me donkey ears and paint me blue, because I’m going liberal!

Forget the gender-inclusive wars… They don’t go far enough. Functional/dynamic equivalence be damned! What we need is a non-dumbed down, non-emasculated Bible that utilizes powerful conservative terms and expresses free-market parables!

Here are the ten guidelines for this “translation:”

1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, “gender inclusive” language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity
3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level
4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative as they develop; defective translations use the word “comrade” three times as often as “volunteer”; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as “word”, “peace”, and “miracle”.
5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as “gamble” rather than “cast lots”; using modern political terms, such as “register” rather than “enroll” for the census
6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
8. Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story
9. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
10. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word “Lord” rather than “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” or “Lord God.”

The site even gives examples of possible changes:

First Example - Liberal Falsehood
The earliest, most authentic manuscripts lack this verse set forth at Luke 23:34:

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Is this a liberal corruption of the original? This does not appear in any other Gospel, and the simple fact is that some of the persecutors of Jesus did know what they were doing. This quotation is a favorite of liberals but should not appear in a conservative Bible.

Second Example - Dishonestly Shrewd
At Luke 16:8, the NIV describes an enigmatic parable in which the “master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” But is “shrewdly”, which has connotations of dishonesty, the best term here? Being dishonestly shrewd is not an admirable trait.

The better conservative term, which became available only in 1851, is “resourceful”. The manager was praised for being “resourceful”, which is very different from dishonesty. Yet not even the ESV, which was published in 2001, contains a single use of the term “resourceful” in its entire translation of the Bible.

Third Example - Socialism
Socialistic terminology permeates English translations of the Bible, without justification. This improperly encourages the “social justice” movement among Christians.

For example, the conservative word “volunteer” is mentioned only once in the ESV, yet the socialistic word “comrade” is used three times, “laborer(s)” is used 13 times, “labored” 15 times, and “fellow” (as in “fellow worker”) is used 55 times.

I do hope this is a joke. I can’t wait to see what Mike Aubrey will have to say about this!

HT: CrunchyCon via BoingBoing

I just listed several books on Amazon to sell, most of a theological/biblical studies bend. As of now, they’re all listed at the cheapest price on the site. Authors include Brueggemann, Greenlee, Thiselton, Robert Mounce, Rowland & Tuckett, Burridge, Wells, etc.

jdarlack’s Amazon Store

Christianity Today on Calvin

A friend* recently mentioned that Ben Witherington posted to the Christianity Today Blog about John Calvin as “A Man of the Bible“. In that post Witherington refers to his experience reading Calvin’s Institutes and being particularly impressed by Calvin’s doctrine of the Holy Spirit:

I have fond memories of working carefully through Calvin’s Institutes for the first time, and being especially surprised by and taken with his profound theology of the Holy Spirit. I remember reading in Gordon-Conwell’s newspaper a rather interesting historical curio from a letter of Calvin about how one morning he woke up and found himself speaking in lingua barbaria. The article went on to speculate that Calvin may have spoken in tongues!

Well, given the curiosity of my friend about this quote, and the fact that I’m a librarian at Gordon-Conwell and have access to the institution’s archives, I thought it would be worth tracking down this “historical curio.” Below is the text as I scanned it from The Paper. (Here is an image file of the actual printed article.)

Quent Warford, “Calvin Speaks Unknown Tongue,” The Paper: Student Paper of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary 1.6 (March 24, 1975): 6.

Forasmuch as there has been much inquiry concerning the discovery at the Episcopal Divinity School, I feel obligated to shed what light that I can on the matter. After, all, molehills do have a way of being made into mountains, given enough discussion.

Quite frankly, I personally find any notion preposterous, to the effect that Calvin experienced glossolalia. Therefore, the only logical thing to do is to take the advice of my dear Church History professor, and go to the primary source.

The volume which allegedly contains the account of Calvin’s ecstatic utterances is in the library at the Episcopal Divinity School. It is his biography by his friend and confidant, Theodore Beza, entitled De Vitam Iohannes Cauvin. It is contained in

The Vault, the Rare Book Room at E.D.S. Entering The Vault involves a great deal of red tape, and the invocation of the higher powers of the B.T.I. Prof. Hiles’ dining-hall pass also came in handy.

De Vitam Ihohannes Cauvin was published posthumously by Beza. All it

contains concerning glossolalia is a small entry, confided to Beza by Calvin, shortly before the latter’s death. On several oc­casions, Calvin, in his devotions, found himself uttering a lingua non nota et cognota mini. That is, the language was not known or understood by him.

Himself a skilled linguist, Calvin set about to discover the orthography of the utterance. Unable to trace it, he confided to Beza that although the language was Hebraic in character, he yet feared that he had spoken a lingua barbarorum. That is, he feared having spoken in an accursed tongue, such as what was spoken by the Canaanites.

The matter was only a minor one to Beza, who allots it only a few sentences in De Vitam Iohannes Cauvin. Calvin’s concern was only a matter of linguistics. Therefore, there is not enough primary source material to build a case one way or the other.

My roommate, Ken Macari, was most helpful to me in interpreting this passage from Beza, since Latin is more native to him than to me. Yet I must say, however, that I found Calvin’s Latin to be very smooth, elegant, and Vergilian.

So, that’s it. A colleague of mine (who happened to be teaching Hebrew at the seminary at the time of publication) does not remember this article, and he wonders if it was a prank in the first place. I’ve searched Beza’s and Calvin’s works on the Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts, but found nothing. If anyone knows anything about this work by Beza, please comment about it. I’m not sure if I’m motivated enough to try to get into “the Vault” myself.

*This friend is a student at GCTS and an employee at the Lego Store in the Burlington Mall. As George on Seinfeld would say “Worlds are colliding!”

Roger Pearse at the Thoughts on Antiquity blog has posted about an ongoing project to catalog and translate all references to speaking in tongues in the church fathers, undertaken by Charles Sullivan, a “patristic enthusiast.”   Dr. Sullivan then plans on publishing A History of the Gift of Tongues as a work reflecting the results of his 20 years of labor! I am sure that this work will be a welcome resource among Pentecostal scholars (and those interested in such phenomenon in the early church).

I’ve recently made scans of R. R. Ottley’s Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint (Codex Alexandrinus), volumes 1 and 2 (Cambridge University Press, 1904-1906).

This is a handy little work that contains valuable textual notes on the Greek text of Isaiah (in vol. 2). The first volume contains an English translation of Isaiah, according to Alexandrinus, presented in parallel with a translation of the Hebrew text (this is how it had to be done before BibleWorks). The PDF consists of images scanned at a fairly high resolution. The English text has been OCR’ed and bookmarked, so the English commentary is searchable.  It’s a pretty big file (54MB). This book is old, and it is fairly difficult to obtain, but it’s proved valuable to me in the past.

The file is available for download here: http://www.archive.org/details/IsaiahAccordingToTheSeptuagint

Feel free to upload it to your own sites or blogs and pass it along.

It’s in Public Domain, and I’d love to see the scans put to good use!

Nijay Gupta points out that Sean McDonough (professor of NT at Gordon-Conwell) will soon be publishing a new book on “Christ as Agent of Creation in the New Testament.”

Here is a blurb from the description (which Nijay provides in full):

This book examines the New Testament teaching that Christ was the one through whom God made the world. While scholars usually interpret this doctrine as arising from the equation of Jesus and the Wisdom of God, Sean McDonough argues that it had its roots in the church’s memories of Jesus’ miracles. These memories, coupled with the experience of spiritual renewal in the early church, established Jesus as the definitive agent of God’s new creation in the New Testament writings and the teachings of the Early Church.

I am very much looking forward to seeing this book in production! I spent a few years helping Dr. McDonough with bibliographic research on the topic. I’ve taken several classes with him, and he was one of my MA thesis supervisors.