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158 Journal of Biblical Literaturehow th e biblical narratives a nd th e inscriptions might fit togeth er chronologically, whileat th e sa me tim e showing how little material from th e two sources actually corre lates. Ofthe eleven events recorded on the chart, there are only two in which th e material in th eBible a nd that of the inscriptions directly relate to each o ther (o ne is th e rather generalcampaigns to Galilee and the oth er the removal of Peqa h, which appears in no extantannal, but only in two summ ary texts). Tadmor's discussion and reconstruction of theAssyrian and J ude an chronologies will add helpful details to th e stu dy of the Fall ofIsrael. Indexes for t he biblical citations and c haracters ar e provided.With its numerous pictures (wall reliefs and their locations, both where excavatedan d of sup pos ed origin), plates (of the insc riptions), tables, indices, and visual aids tounderstand ing th e editing process (including a transparen cy to explain th e origin of theconflated Anna1 111 R 9,3 , in addition to th e fine text a nd com me ntary, this volumeshould provide for the next cen tury of Tiglath-pileser 111 research. The o ne major com -plaint has to d o not with the co ntent bu t with the binde r who has managed to sew intothe book binding both ends of several of the fold-out pages making it difficult properlyto enjoy the tables and illustrations that were mean t to be see n as a whole. This shouldnot reflect on the author, for we truly owe Tadm or our d eepest thanks for this most use-ful reference work.

Lowell K. HandyLoyola University of Chicago, Chicago, I L 6062 6

New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity Vol. 7 A Revieu: of Greek Inscriptionsand Papyri Published in 1982-83 ed. S. R. Llewelyn. Sydney, Australia: The AncientHistory Doc um entary Research Ce ntr e, Macquarie University, 1994. Pp . vi 287.k4A30.00 (paper)/$A45.00(cloth).

As in the earlier volumes of the series, the editor has com bed through previouslypub lished textual editions an d studie s, principally in classical journals, a nd culled severalitems of relevance to the study of the New Testam ent and early Christianity. In m anyrespects, the docum entary evidence simply provides interesting points of depa rture forbrief essays on significant aspects of the socio-historical background of the early Chris-tian m ovem ent (th e series does not provide an exhaustive listing/description of every-thing releva nt). Th e twelve essays of the volume a re organized und er fou r major rubrics.

Part On e, The Conveyance of Letters, deals with various aspects of the ancientequivalents of the postal service: 1 The Official Postal Systems of Antiquity (p p. 1-25)covers governmental modes of correspondence in Persia, Ptolemaic Egypt, and, espe-cially, the Rom an Emp ire; (2 ) The Sending of a Private Letter (p p. 26-47) discusses thedelivery systems (and couriers) for personal correspondence, especially as evidenced inthe papyri; 3 Letters in the Early C h u r c h (p p. 48-57) considers analogous issues forth e early Christian letters , especially Paul's.Part Two, Systems of Transp ort and Roman Administration, goes beyond theconveyance of letters to t he b roader issues involving the m ovem ent of persons through-out the Roman em pire : (4 ) The Provision of Transpo rt for Persons (p p. 58-92) consid-ers the official transport systems of Roman Egypt a nd, in lesser detail, othe r provinces,and includes a discussion of the modes of travel by the earliest Christian missionaries;

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59ook and Critical Editions(5 ) The D evelopm ent of the System of Liturgies (p p. 93-111) deals with the develop-men t of compulsory public service = liturgy) in the Roman em pire and d iscusses thesymbolic use m ade of the Roman systems in the early Christian discussions of serviceto God and the church; (6) The Transport of Grain (p p. 112-29) considers the collec-tion of grain revenues (as taxes), the transportation systems used, and the w orkers soemployed.Part Th re e, Hellenistic and Jewish Law, deals with various legal issues lyingbehind different N T texts: (7 ) Forcible Acquisition and the Meaning of M att. 11.12(p p. 130-62) deals with the use of sanctioned violence to acquire imm ovable property inGreco -Rom an Egypt and classical Athens, as a background to the Q saying about theKingdom of Heav en being acquired by force and being plunder ed by violent per -sons ; (8 ) 'Slaves Obey Your Masters': Th e Legal Liability of Slaves (p p. 163-96) dealswith th e amb iguous legal situation of slaves in the an cient world (P tolem aic and Rom anEgypt, the H ebr ew Bible and Judaism, and th e N T), as objects owned by their m asterson th e on e hand , but as functioning parts of society with certain rights of their own onthe othe r; (9) The Procedure of Execution and the npo opoh f' (pp. 197-232) deals withthe collection of debts in Ptolem aic and Rom an Egypt, as these relate to th e biblical lawsconcern ing loans and cred it, especially as they pertain to the injunction against usuryand the law of the s abbatical year of release, their effects on comm erce, and the d evel-opme nt of the rcpooPoh+ as a way to circumven t the problems.Part Four, New Testam ent and Ot her Studies, includes discussions of sundrysocio-historical matters of interest: (10 ) A Civic Benefactor of the First Centu ry in AsiaMinor (p p. 233-4 1) discusses a long honorary inscription indicative of systems of bene -faction during th e N T period (this brief essay was contributed by R. A. Kearsley);(11) A Fragm ent of the Gospel of John (p p. 2 4 2 4 8 ) discusses the date and prove-nance of PgO, nd, especially, its relevance for the que stion of the p resen ce of Gnosticismin secon d-century Egypt (in relation to Walter B auer's claims in Orthodoxy an d H eresyin Earliest Ch ristianity); and (12) The Development of the Codex (pp . 249-6 2) dis-cusses various hypotheses for the origin of the codex book and its unp recedented popu -larity among the early Christians.Th e volume is fully indexed.

Bart D . EhrmanUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Variant Readings Arranged in Horizontal LinesAgainst Codex Vaticanus. Vol. 1 , Matthew, e d. Reuben J. Swanson. Sheffield, England:Sheffield Academic Press; Pasadena, CA: William Carey International Un iversity Pre ss,1995. Pp . xxii 304 . $119.95.This is a significant publication th at will be of considerable use for everyone inter-ested in the textual tradition of the New T estamen t. Unlike any other apparatu s avail-able , it provides a complete-indeed, exhaustive-account of the texts of approx imatelyforty-five of our most imp ortant Gree k m anuscripts, yet does so in a format that isremarkably easy to use-far easier and clearer than , say, the N estle-Aland Novum Testa-m n tu m Graece.

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