Category Archives: Reviews & Notices

“Magisterial,” “Authoritative,” “Weighty,” “Awesome” …

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The title of this blog entry reflects some adjectives describing the first volume of Hossfeld and Zenger’s Hermeneia commentary on the book of Psalms. I realize that I have already flogged this volume (see “Noteworthy Commentary on the Psalms Published“), but I just received my review copy and I am very impressed! This volume has set a new standard for critical, historical, and theological commentaries on the Psalms. It includes bibliography, a fresh translation, detailed textual notes, interaction with past scholarly interpretation, verse-by-verse exposition, as well as a section called “Context, Reception, and Significance.” This last section deals with the relationship of the individual psalm to its place in the Psalter, as well as discussions of the reception of the psalm in the LXX, Targum, and New Testament. Very Impressive! You will want to move aside Dahood, Craigie/Allen/Tate, Kraus and put this volume front and centre!

Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Erich Zenger. Psalms 2.
Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Fortress, 2005.
Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

And, no, I’m not getting any kick-back from the authors or the publisher! It’s just that good! (Although if you buy it from Amazon from my site, I will get a percentage that will go towards the cost of maintaining this site!)

Hebrew Bible Related Reviews from RBL

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There are a number of good books relating to Hebrew Bible reviewed in this week’s Review of Biblical Literature. Johnston’s Useless Beauty is a great example of reading contemporary movies alongside a biblical book so as to encourage theological reflection. I am also interested in a couple of the books reviewed as potential textbooks. I have a course on Religions of the ancient Near East under development and Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide may fit the bill. Similarly, for a potential senior course on biblical criticisms, Moyise’s Introduction to Biblical Studies looks pretty good.

Here are the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible reviews as well as a couple more:

  • Joshua A. Berman, Narrative Analogy in the Hebrew Bible: Battle Stories and Their Equivalent Non-battle Narratives. Reviewed by Robin Gallaher Branch
  • Robert K. Johnston, Useless Beauty: Ecclesiastes through the Lens of Contemporary Film. Reviewed by David Shepherd
  • Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, ed., Eve’s Children: The Biblical Stories Retold and Interpreted in Jewish and Christian Traditions. Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
  • John Rogerson, Genesis 1-11. Reviewed by David Petersen
  • John Rogerson, Theory and Practice in Old Testament Ethics. Reviewed by Stephen Reed
  • André Wénin, Joseph ou l’invention de la fraternité: (Genese 37-50). Reviewed by Walter Vogels
  • Steve Moyise, Introduction to Biblical Studies. Reviewed by Kate Donahoe
  • John F. O’Grady, Men in the Bible: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Reviewed by Philip Davies
  • Sarah Iles Johnston, ed., Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Reviewed by Bill Arnold
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Septuagint, Psalms, and Proverbs in the Latest RBL

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Jim West over at Biblical Thelogy blog has noted some Hebrew Bible reviews in the latest Review of Biblical Literature. I wanted to highlight a few others, including a very favourable review of my former professor’s commentary on Proverbs (Waltke), a Psalms-related review, as well as a Septuagint-related review:

Jacobson, Rolf A.
‘Many Are Saying’: The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=4506
Reviewed by J. Dwayne Howell

Waltke, Bruce K.
The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=4539
Reviewed by Eric Ortlund

Loader, William
The Septuagint, Sexuality, and the New Testament: Case Studies on the Impact of the LXX in Philo and the New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=4359
Reviewed by Robert Hiebert

Latest Bulletin of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies

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The latest edition of the Bulletin of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (Volume 37, 2004) arrived in the mail today. Anyone interested in lexicography will be interested in the three articles in this volume that originated from the Biblical Lexicography Section at the SBL Annual Meeting in Atlanta (2003).

Here is the table of contents:

  • Robert A. Kraft, “Reassessing the Impact of Barthélemy’s Devanciers, Forty Years Later,” 1-28.
  • R. Timothy McLay, “The Relationship between the Greek Translations of Daniel 1-3,” 29-53.
  • Cameron Boyd-Taylor, “Lexicography and Interlanguage – Gaining our Bearings,” 55-72.
  • Robert J. V. Hiebert, “Lexicography and the Translation of a Translation: The NETS Version and the Septuagint of Genesis,” 73-86.
  • John W. Olley, “Divine Name and Paragraphing in Ezekiel: Highlighting Divine Speech in an Expanding Tradition,” 87-105.
  • Siegfried Kreuzer, “Lexicography and Translation: Experiences, Examples, and Expectations in the Context of the Septuaginta-Deutsch Project,” 107-117.

RBL Latest: Introduction to the Prophets

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The latest Review of Biblical Literature came this morning. I was initially excited to see Hutton’s Fortress Introduction to the Prophets listed, as I have never found a satisfactory textbook for my undergraduate Prophets course. But, alas, after reading the reviews by Camp and Polanski, it doesn’t look like this book will do the trick either. I can’t believe that an introduction to the prophets (especially as part of a major publisher’s new series) would ever be published that doesn’t even talk about Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel, among others! (OK, Daniel I could understand if they were either omitting it because it is not among the prophets in the Hebrew Bible or if they considered it more of a midrash)

I also don’t understand why such a book would be published that doesn’t include notes. I personally don’t think that books should ever be published without at least having endnotes. Especially for a book that may be adopted as a textbook. We try to teach our students about proper documentation and citing your sources, etc., but then are expected to use a textbook that doesn’t? I would think that for a potential textbook you should include footnotes/endnotes if even only to guide the student to further discussions.

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