R P B S Blog

Reading a webpage concerning a colleague of mine, I also discovered this information about a
Lexikon der Bibelhermeneutik:

The Dictionary of Biblical Hermeneutics brings together concepts relating to the theories, methods and conceptions of Bible interpretations under the central heading of a text-referenced hermeneutics.
The resultant textual hermeneutics of the Bible forms a new paradigm which does not regard the Bible primarily as Gospel or Holy Scripture but views it from a textual and literary studies perspective as a “Supratext”. The dictionary is targeted at scholars in both theology and cultural studies.
The work involves conventional intratheological models of biblical hermeneutics in an innovative dialogue with contemporary models for understanding texts.

Herausgegeben von /Edited by Oda Wischmeyer zusammen mit Emil Angehrn, Eve-Marie Becker, Marco Schöller, Mechthild Habermann, Ulrich H.J. Körtner, James Alfred Loader, Christine Lubkoll, Karla Pollmann, Günter Stemberger, Wolfgang Wischmeyer
2009. Ca./approx. 800 Seiten/pages. Leinen/Cloth.
Subskriptions-Preis gültig bis/Pre-publication price valid until 31.12.2009: Ca. € 168,- [D] / sFr 269,- / *US$ 226.80. Ladenpreis/List price: Ca. € 198,- [D] / sFr 317,- / *US$ 267.30

Over on his blog on Quadrilateral Thoughts, Ken Schenk is providing an extensive review of my book on Philo and 1 Peter; Strangers in the Light. He is dealing with each chapter, and here is the order he uses when discusses its various chapters:
Chapter One,
Chapter Three,
Chapter Five,
Chapter Two,
Chapter Four (still to come).

This is obviously a part of his process of writing a review of my work for an Annual to be published late fall. He has a lot to say of both positive and negative evaluations. Sometimes he calls me Torrey, sometimes Seland; I first though he was calling me Torrey when he agreed with me or said something positive, and Seland when he disagreed, but it looks like this dichotomy breaks down several times….

I am grateful and honored by the time and space he spends on me, and am sorry I am not able to respond this week, as I am going away to our cabin, in order to read some exam papers, and an interesting dissertation I am to evaluate,- and in addition, getting strength to overcome my 60 birthday coming up Friday this week.

I can’t believe the calender. All others getting 60 look much older then me…. (uh?, careful now….).

Have a nice week.

The Institute for Biblical Research has put up on their website a

Prophecy and Apocalyptic: Additional Bibliography

This collection of sources supplements a bibliography published by Baker under the auspices of the Institute for Biblical Research: D. Brent Sandy and Daniel M. O’Hare, Prophecy and Apocalyptic: An Annotated Bibliography (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).

“In the process of compiling sources, hundreds were entered into our data base (many of which were annotated), but in the end they could not be included in the final selection for the printed edition of the bibliography. Hence, those sources are here made available. They are listed chronologically within the same categories as in the printed bibliography. Note that citations generally appear once, though many of them could have been assigned to more than one category. One advantage of this digital version of the bibliography is that you may search for specific words pertinent to your research.”

Georg S. Adamsen has for some time had an extensive bibliography available on the net for the Book of Revelation. Now it appears that he has quite a site up with a blog on the Book of Revelation:

http://www.revelation-resources.com/

Looks like it has been overlooked by me for quite some time……

A broken link to a NT bibliography has been repaired on page two of my Resource Pages.
The correct link is now http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/bibliographies/new_testament.pdf: Vanderbilt Divinity Library Programmatic Bibliography, New Testament. It comprises a total of 42 pages.

The most recent announcement of new book reviews on SBL’s bookreviews.org contains one item directly related to Philo studies:

David T. Runia and Gregory E. Sterling, eds.
The Studia Philonica Annual: Studies in Hellenistic Judaism, Volume XVIII
Reviewed by Archie T. Wright.

Being interested in traditions about Phinehas, zealotry, and these traditions role in relation to Philo’s views on Phinehas, I will need to have a closer look at this article which had escaped my notice untill today:
David A. Bernat,
‘Phinehas’ Intercessory Prayer: A Rabbinic and Targumic Reading of the Baal Peor Narrative.’
Journal of Jewish Studies 58/2 (2007): 263-282.

Abstract:
A number of Rabbinic texts, along with Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, portray Phinehas as interceding with God, through prayer, on Israel’s behalf, in the aftermath of the Baal Peor apostasy, recounted in Numbers 25 and Psalm 106. This tradition constitutes an exegetical innovation, as nowhere in scripture is Phinehas represented in the act of prayer. The Phinehas-prayer nexus is explored, with attention to the creative reading of the verb ללפ ???in Ps. 106:31; the significance of prayer in the Rabbinic and Targumic worldview; and the changing role of the priesthood in a post-Temple environment. The article also considers the implications of intercessory prayer as an aspect of Phinehas’ zealotry.

David Instone-Brewer has gathered a lot of information concerning Bible maps and geography info available on the internet, and posted it on his blog: Tyndale Tech.

Worth visiting is also some similar info located at Biblical Studies and Technological Tools Blog.

Cohen, Naomi,
Philo’s Scriptures: Citations from the Prophets and Writings: Evidence for a Haftarah Cycle in Second Temple Judaism
(Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, 123
Leiden: Brill, 2007), pp. xvii + 278 ,$142.00

Description: It is indeed remarkable that although Philo has quoted extensively from the Pentateuch, his works contain no more than forty-six references to the Prophets and Writings. The author provides a convincing explanation for every one of these citations. It corroborates the thesis that Philo availed himself of lexicographic aids and midrashic material, and further, that even when the language of their composition was Hebrew/Aramaic, that he used them in Greek translation. It identifies a circle engaged in esoteric philosophic allegorization of Scriptures, with which Philo associated, and it finds that the specific quotations from the Prophets point to the existence, already in the 1st century CE, of a traditional Haftarah Cycle. The book fills a long felt lacuna.

Naomi G. Cohen, taught for many years at Tel-Aviv and Haifa Universities, and is presently a Senior Research Fellow at Haifa University. She has published extensively both on Philo and on Jewish Liturgy, including Philo Judaeus: His Universe of Discourse (1995; according to the publisher, this book is now out of print).