Category Archives: Old Codex Blog Posts

Posts from my old Codex: Biblical Studies Blog

Good First Impressions: Stuttgart Electronic Study Bible

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SESBI just received my copy of the Stuttgart Electronic Study Bible (SESB), and let’s just say that so far I am very impressed.

The SESB is a must-have addition to Logos Bible Software for students and scholars of the Bible. A co-production of the German Bible Society and the Bible Society of the Netherlands, this add-in contains a robust set of texts and advanced tools for working with the Greek, Hebrew, and Latin biblical texts, including the WIVU database for BHS, as well as the critical apparatuses for both BHS and Nestle-Aland 27.

Old Testament scholars should especially take note of this package because of the inclusion of the WIVU database for the Hebrew Bible, developed by the Werkgroep Informatica at the Free University of Amsterdam. This database allows complex searches not only of the morphology of the Hebrew text, but also various syntactical features at the phrase and clause level. Very impressive!

As of the date of this post, Logos Bible Software is currently the exclusive distributor for SESB in North America; readers elsewhere should contact the German Bible Society).

Stay tuned for an in-depth review in my Software for Biblical Studies pages.

Tutoring Services Available!

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I don’t think I’ve seen anyone blog on this little bit of “news” yet, but it appears that Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman has been studying the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.

According to various news reports, the 37-year-old has hired Dr. Robert Cargill of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, to teach her theology and Old Testament.

Just in case any big-name Hollywood stars read this blog, I want to go on record saying that I am available as a tutor! 😉

Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew

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Peter Chataway, on his FilmChat blog, recently announced a special Vancouver viewing of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew, along with a short entitled, Seeking Locations in Palestine for “The Gospel According to St. Matthew.” This short looks quite fascinating. It doesn’t appear that it is available in DVD yet (the 2003 Water Bearer DVD release of The Gospel According to St. Matthew doesn’t include it, nor does the more recent 2004 BCI Eclipse edition).

I recently viewed The Gospel According to St. Matthew again with a friend. I am quite taken by Pasolini’s work — I see why many critics consider it one of the best Jesus films ever made. Pasolini’s stark interpretation of Matthew provides quite the contrast to Hollywood’s grand biblical epics. The bleak landscape of southern Italy and the casting are both brilliant. Most of the extras are Italian peasants and the lead roles are played by non-actors. Pasolini’s Jesus, played by Enrique Irazoqui, challenges our culturally-manufactured, stereotypical blue-eyed blond Jesus.

There are many other things I like about this film. Pasolini’s use of camera angles is captivating. The viewer seems to see Jesus from the perspective of a disciple, always following Jesus or looking at him from a distance (as when Jesus is before the Sanhedrin and Pilate). From what I could observe, Jesus almost never looks directly into the camera. He is always looking slightly off-centre, with one or two notable exceptions. The first such shot (see the picture above) is when Jesus turns and looks straight into the camera and says “if any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 8:24). This is a powerful shot.

Even the way Pasolini presented the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is fascinating. Jesus doesn’t say the sermon in one setting, but gives parts of the sermon in various contexts — the scenes shift between day and night, between inside and outside shots, Jesus with and without a scarf, etc. In my mind (and perhaps only in my mind!) this suggests that Pasolini wanted to present the sermon as more of a compendium of Jesus’ teachings, not a long sermon that took place at one time. And the “blessed are the cheese makers” line is brilliant! Oh, so sorry, that’s Monty Python.

To make a long blog entry short: I highly recommend Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew. And if you live in the Vancouver, B.C., area, make sure to see it on the big screen! (I am quite envious)

The film is available in both DVD (Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com) and VHS format (Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com).

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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Old Testament Commentary Survey Completed!

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My Old Testament Commentary Survey is now complete. I finished the minor prophets section and uploaded it. So now all of the books of the Protestant Old Testament/Hebrew Bible are included.

Updating this resource has given me new appreciation of the sheer number of good commentaries available in the English language. Even with some 435 commentaries listed, my survey is by no means exhaustive. I believe I have all of the critical commentaries published since the 1960s as well as a few older ones. As far as commentaries for pastors and lay people, I have quite a selection (especially of those with an evangelical orientation), though I recognize that there were a number of series that I didn’t cover exhaustively (or in a few cases at all). I still want to expand my evaluations and include the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books, but I think I will take a bit of a break from it!

If you notice any glaring omissions, please let me know!