The World of the New Testament

BakerAcademic is announcing that their textbook The World of the New Testament. Cultural, Social and Historical Contexts. Edited by Joel B. Green and Lee Martin McDonald (BakerAcademic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2013), is being re-published these days in paperback format.

This is good news, and that for at least two reasons: First, it means that the book has been selling well even as a hardback issue; Second, now it will be possible to buy the volume in an even handier format, hopefully also to a cheaper price.

And third- if I may- as the author of the chapter on Philo, I am glad that now even more readers might get a taste of Philo of Alexandria and his relevance for an informed study of the New Testament writings!

For more info about the volume, click here.

New Greek New Testament?

Tyndale House, Cambridge, is announcing that “We are approaching the end of nearly a decade’s work producing a new edition of the Greek New Testament as the entire finished text has been submitted this month to the publishers, Crossway. This work has been headed up by Dr Dirk Jongkind, Senior Research Fellow in New Testament, who has recently become our Academic Vice Principal. Involving about 30 researchers in different ways, this edition is seeking to present the most accurate ever printing of the New Testament scriptures based on a careful study of scribal habit.”

More info is to be found over at a blog post written by Dirk Jongkind, where he reveals that “What we did was to settle on the text as prepared by Samuel Prideaux Tregelles as our point of departure.” For more info, see HERE.

New Book: Hebrews and the Temple

A new book – published by Brill – also includes some discussion of material from Philo:

Philip Church,
Hebrews and the Temple.
Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and in Hebrews.
Novum Testamentum, Supplements 171. Leiden, Brill, March, 2017. €156,00/$180.00. ISBN-10: 9004339507.

The Publisher presents it thus:

In Hebrews and the Temple Philip Church argues that the silence of Hebrews concerning the temple does not mean that the author is not interested in the temple. He writes to encourage his readers to abandon their preoccupation with it and to follow Jesus to their eschatological goal. Following extensive discussions of attitudes to the temple in the literature of Second Temple Judaism, Church turns to Hebrews and argues that the temple is presented there as a symbolic foreshadowing of the eschatological dwelling of God with his people. Now that the eschatological moment has arrived with the exaltation of Christ to the right hand of God, preoccupation with the temple and its rituals must cease.

I have, alas, not been able to see the book yet, but as I have to be better informed about the recent discussion concerning Philo’s possible relationship to Hebrews (or, rather; vice versa!), I think this has to be added to my list!
From Google Books, I gather that it deals with Philo on pp. 64-71 under the heading: ‘Temple Affirmed: Temple Symbolism in Texts reflecting a Positive Attitude to the Temple.’
It seems to be a large book: 614 pages?

Bulletin of Biblical Research 1991-2011.

I do think the journal Bulletin for Biblical Research, issued by Instirute for Biblical Research, is containing many interesting studies.
Hence I think it is very profitable to scholars that the issues of the years 1991-2011 are available for free on the net.

Those interested can search these volumes here.

Bible Odyssey

The Bible Odyssey is getting better and better as it is being ‘constantly updated’ with new articles and new info.

The site, driven by the Society of Biblical Literature and other partners, has an impressive Editorial Board, and the texts are written by an equally impressive list of Contributors. 

While not everyone will agree with everything that is stated on the pages, the site is a very useful one for everyone who wants to be informed and updated about a lot of issues related to the reading AND study of the Bible and its world.

I searched the site for Philo of Alexandria, and regrettably, there is not yet a specific article on this personality. He is, however, dealt with in some other articles that hardly could evade the mentioning of the life and works of Philo.

See, e.g., Philo, Clement and Origen; Alexandria, Alexandria and Allegory.