Exploring the Origins of the Bible (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology)

Author: Craig A. Evans
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1585588148
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
How did the Bible we have come to be? What do biblical scholars mean when they talk about canon, the Septuagint, the Apocrypha, or the Masoretic Text? All this biblical study is interesting, but does it really matter? Leading international scholars explain that it does. This thought-provoking and cutting-edge collection will help you go deeper in your understanding of the biblical writings, how those writings became canonical Scripture, and why canon matters. Beginning with an explanation of the different versions of the Hebrew Bible, scholars in different areas of expertise explore the complexities and issues related to the Old and New Testament canons, why different Jewish and Christian communities have different collections, and the importance of canon to theology.

Canon Revisited

Author: Michael J. Kruger
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433530813
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Book Description
Given the popular-level conversations on phenomena like the Gospel of Thomas and Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus, as well as the current gap in evangelical scholarship on the origins of the New Testament, Michael Kruger’s Canon Revisited meets a significant need for an up-to-date work on canon by addressing recent developments in the field. He presents an academically rigorous yet accessible study of the New Testament canon that looks deeper than the traditional surveys of councils and creeds, mining the text itself for direction in understanding what the original authors and audiences believed the canon to be. Canon Revisited provides an evangelical introduction to the New Testament canon that can be used in seminary and college classrooms, and read by pastors and educated lay leaders alike. In contrast to the prior volumes on canon, this volume distinguishes itself by placing a substantial focus on the theology of canon as the context within which the historical evidence is evaluated and assessed. Rather than simply discussing the history of canon—rehashing the Patristic data yet again—Kruger develops a strong theological framework for affirming and authenticating the canon as authoritative. In effect, this work successfully unites both the theology and the historical development of the canon, ultimately serving as a practical defense for the authority of the New Testament books.

The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church

Author: Roger T. Beckwith
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1606082493
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 545

Book Description
This new study of the Old Testament canon by Roger Beckwith is on a scale to match H. E. Ryle's classic work, which was first published in 1892. But Beckwith has the advantage of writing after the Qumran (and other) discoveries; and he has also made full use of all the available sources, including biblical manuscripts and rabbinical and patristic literature, taking into account the seldom studied Syriac material as well as the Greek and Latin material. The result of many years of study, this book is a major work of scholarship on a subject which has been neglected in recent times. It is both historical and theological, but Beckwith's first consideration has been to make a thorough and unprejudiced historical investigation. One of his most important concerns - and one that is crucial for all students of Judaism, and Christians in particular - is to decide when the limits of the Jewish canon were settled. In the answer to this question lies an important key to the teaching of Jesus and his apostles, and the resultant beliefs of the New Testament church. Furthermore, any answers to questions about the state of the canon in the New Testament period would help to open a way through the present ecumenical (and interfaith) impasse on the subject. With its meticulous research and evenhanded approach, this book is sure to become the starting point for study of the Old Testament canon in the years to come.

The Formation of the Biblical Canon: Volume 2

Author: Lee Martin McDonald
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567668851
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Book Description
Lee Martin McDonald provides a magisterial overview of the development of the biblical canon --- the emergence of the list of individual texts that constitutes the Christian bible. In these two volumes -- in sum more than double the length of his previous works -- McDonald presents his most in-depth overview to date. McDonald shows students and researchers how the list of texts that constitute 'the bible' was once far more fluid than it is today and guides readers through the minefield of different texts, different versions, and the different lists of texts considered 'canonical' that abounded in antiquity. Questions of the origin and transmission of texts are introduced as well as consideration of innovations in the presentation of texts, collections of documents, archaeological finds and Church councils. In the first volume McDonald reexamines issues of canon formation once considered settled, and sets the range of texts that make up the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) in their broader context. Each indidvidual text is discussed, as are the cultural, political and historical situations surrounding them. This second volume considers the New Testament, and the range of so-called 'apocryphal' gospels that were written in early centuries, and used by many Christian groups before the canon was closed. Also included are comprehensive appendices which show various canon lists for both Old and New Testaments and for the bible as a whole.

Canon Formation

Author: W. Edward Glenny
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567692078
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
Contributors to this volume examine the various collections of canonical sub-units in the canon, considering the state of the question regarding each particular collection. The chapters introduce the issues involved in sub-collections being accepted in the canon, summarize the historical evidence of the acceptance of these collections, and discuss the compositional evidence of “canonical consciousness” in the various collections. The contributors consider paratextual evidence, for example, the arrangement of the books in various manuscripts, the titles of the books, and also include evidence such as the presence of catchwords, framing devices, and themes. The book begins with a consideration of the two overarching collections – the Old and New Testaments. Next, several sub-collections within the Hebrew Bible (OT) are considered, including the Torah, Prophets, the Megilloth, the Twelve (both in their Masoretic Text and Septuagint forms), and the Psalter. In addition, sub-collections in the New Testament include the four-fold Gospel, the Pauline Collection (usually with Hebrews in the early manuscripts), the function of Acts within the New Testament, the Praxapostolos (Acts along with the Catholic Epistles), and the function of Revelation as the end of the canon.

Formation of the Bible: the Story of the Church's Canon

Author: Lee Martin McDonald
Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers
ISBN: 1598568388
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
Well-known for his scholarly works on the formation of the biblical canon, Lee McDonald has written a carefully researched and reasoned explanation on the history of the formation of the Bible expressly for the interested pastor and curious layman. Combining a lifelong commitment to the Scriptures, both as a pastor and as a scholar, McDonald approaches his task with sensitivity to the importance of these sacred texts as well as with the thoughtful practice of a person steeped in the process by which these texts were brought together to form the Bible as the church knows it now. From the collection (and translations) of the Hebrew Scriptures through the collection of the New Testament Scriptures, and finally the process of settling on the final forms for these collections, McDonald leads his reader right up to the present moment.

Homer and the Bible in the Eyes of Ancient Interpreters

Author: Maren Niehoff
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004221344
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 383

Book Description
The present collection of articles brings together scholars from different fields and offers pioneering essays on the Alexandrian scholia, Philo, Platonic thinkers and the rabbis, which cross traditional boundaries and interpret Biblical and Homeric readers in light of each other.

Congress Volume Munich 2013

Author: Christl M. Maier
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004281223
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 477

Book Description
This volume presents the main lectures of the 21st Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (IOSOT) held in Munich, Germany, in August 2013. Seventeen internationally distinguished scholars present their current research on the Hebrew Bible, including the literary history of the Hebrew text, its Greek translation and history of interpretation. Some focus on archeological sources and the reconstruction of ancient Israelite religion while others discuss the formation of the biblical text and its impact for cultural memory. The volume gives readers a representative view of the most recent developments in the study of the Old Testament. Contributors are: Olivier Artus, Ehud Ben Zvi, Beate Ego, Irmtraud Fischer, Christian Frevel, Shimon Gesundheit, Timothy P. Harrison, Louis C. Jonker, James L. Kugel, Christoph Levin, Amihai Mazar, Steven L. McKenzie, Konrad Schmid, Yvonne Sherwood, Zipora Talshir, Akio Tsukimoto, and Jacques Vermeylen.

Studies on Baruch

Author: Sean A. Adams
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110364271
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
There has been widespread neglect by scholars of deuterocanonical books, especially those (e.g., Baruch) that are thought to lack originality. This book seeks to address this lacuna by investigating some of the major interpretive issues in Baruchan scholarship. The volume comprises a collection of essays from an international team of scholars who specialise in Second Temple Judaism and Old Testament pseudepigrapha. Topics covered include: historical issues (the person of Baruch), literary structure, intertextual relationships between Baruch and the OT (Jeremiah, Isaiah), reception history (Christian and Jewish), and modern translation challenges. This is the first volume of essays that exclusively focus on Baruch and one that seeks to provide a foundation for future investigations.

The Making of the New Testament

Author: Arthur G. Patzia
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830827218
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
This revised and expanded edition of The Making of the New Testament is a fascinatingly detailed introduction to the origin, collection, copying and canonizing of the New Testament documents. Here Arthur Patzia explains how biblical scholars have studied the trail of clues and pieced together the story of these books.