The Pastoral Epistles with Philemon & Jude – By Risto Saarinen

and Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. Although this book seemsimbalanced as three-quarters of the work is essentially ahistory of scholarship, it offers a very helpful introduction toan aspect of literary analysis that is rarely given the atten-tion that it deserves amidst biblical scholars. While it doesnot succeed in its goal to provide “a comprehensive guide” tobiblical point of view, it succeeds excellently in offering ageneral introduction to the phenomenon, accessible to allaudiences.

Craig Evan AndersonClaremont Graduate University

THE LOST TOMBS OF SAQQARA. By Alain Zivieand Patrick Chapuis. Translated by David Lorton. Tulouse:Cara.cara Edition, 2007. Pp. 151, map, illustration, plates.$29.95.

As the director of the French Archeological Mission ofthe Bubasteion at Saqqara, A. Zivie has been responsible forsome of the most important recent discoveries in the Mem-phite cemeteries, notably the rock-cut tombs of officials ofthe Amarna and post-Amarna period. His excavations helpedto establish the importance of Memphis as a royal center inthe immediate aftermath of Akhenaten’s reign and thecontinuity of traditional Egyptian burial practices after thecountry’s foray into Atenism. Lavishly illustrated with pho-tographs, this newly translated book describes highlights ofthe excavations. While it does not provide scholarly analysisabout the tombs or their significance to the study of Egyptianburial practices, it is worthwhile for the images, which areamong the best published to date.

Denise M. DoxeyMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston

Christian OriginsHOW DID CHRISTIANITY BEGIN? A BELIEVERAND NON-BELIEVER EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE. ByMichael F. Bird and James G. Crossley. Peabody, MA: Hen-drickson, 2008. Pp. 206. $19.95.

This volume aims to provide rival interpretations of thecentral historical claims that arose from early Christianity.One author, Crossley, offers strictly naturalistic explana-tions for the origins of these claims (he relies heavily uponsocial-scientific theory); the other author, Bird, contends thatthe evidence can only be adequately explained using super-natural categories. The book offers few new arguments, butit still manages to succeed splendidly as an introduction tothe central points of recurring debate. The tone is firm, butrespectful. The main issues of contention are clearly pre-sented and the evidence is interpreted competently andfairly. The underlying ideological commitments of eachmode of interpretation are exposed, explained, and evalu-ated. This volume will serve many readers well as a maturesummary of the contemporary debates regarding Christianorigins. Some readers will probably be left with the aching

desire for a third alternative—neither as “evangelical” as Birdnor as humanistic as Crossley. The concluding chapters by S.McKnight and M. Casey move toward that mediating posi-tion, but probably not far enough for many readers. Thisbook will serve as a good introduction to the issues for manycollege and seminary students.

Thomas E. PhillipsPoint Loma Nazarene University

TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION: NEW TESTA-MENT TEXT-CRITICAL AND EXEGETICALSTUDIES. Edited by J. W. Childers and D. C. Parker. Piscat-away, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2006. Pp. xvii + 327. $99.00.

Compiled in honor of C. D. Osburn, Transmission andReception offers a series of scintillating essays from avariety of interrelated fields. Contributors examine the NewTestament (NT) canon, text-critical theory, scribal habits,and the versions of the NT, as well as offering a selection ofbackground studies. The text-critical contributions are par-ticularly noteworthy, featuring studies by premier practitio-ners. Two articles merit special attention. The first is “TheNew Testament in the Second Century: Text, Collections andCanon” by L. W. Hurtado and the second is “The Text of theEpistles Sixty Years After: An Assessment of GüntherZuntz’s Contribution to Text-Critical Methodology andHistory” by M. W. Holmes. Hurtado’s contribution exploresthe textual transmission of the NT writings, the phenom-enon of early collections of writings, and the special statusand usage of certain writings. In particular, Hurtado’sassessment of the significance of the nomina sacra, the earlyChristian preference for the codex, and the repeated liturgi-cal reading of the NT significantly broadens our understand-ing of the development of early Christian culture and liftsour eyes beyond the sole quest for “variants.” Turning ourattention to the recovery of the earliest attainable text,Holmes argues in his piece that Zuntz’s approach to textualcriticism, aptly summarized as recensio, examinatio, andemendatio, offers the theoretical and pragmatic bases for thecurrent practice of “reasoned eclecticism” (the use of exter-nal and internal data in textual decisions). Rather thanbeing a stopgap measure, it is the only way forward—barringthe discovery of the “original”!

Juan Hernández, Jr.Bethel University

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENTMANUSCRIPTS AND THEIR TEXTS. By David C.Parker. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.Pp. xxx + 368. Cloth, $99.00; paper, $34.99.

The author’s declared intention—“to write a book with asoriginal a shape and as fresh a content as possible”—certainly succeeds in both respects. No traditional introduc-tion, this is an unparalleled guide for graduate students andscholars into the discipline as we know it today. Balancingthe manuscript heritage of the past and the digital prospects

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of the future, it combines features of a map (of terrain to betraveled), a catalog (of tools one will need along the way),and an instructional manual (on how to use them effec-tively). Parker insists on studying manuscripts as well as thetexts conveyed by them, and abundantly illustrates the valueof so doing. This volume also stands out for its emphasis onthe role and tasks of an editor of a critical text and the newchallenges of electronic editing. His methodology reflectsthe consensus of the discipline; his history of the text repre-sents a proposal at the discipline’s leading edge; and hisview of the discipline’s goals amounts to a proposal to redi-rect it from its current focus on two goals (establishing theearliest recoverable form of the text and exploring thehistory of the transmission of the text) to a focus on the latteronly (the former being neither appropriate nor possible).Regrettably, the absence of a cumulative bibliography, andespecially of a reliable index (the publisher-produced one isfrequently worthless), is a substantive shortcoming for anintroduction. In all, a distinctive and indispensable contri-bution to the discipline.

Michael W. HolmesBethel University

THE MESSAGE OF ACTS IN CODEX BEZAE: ACOMPARISON WITH THE ALEXANDRIAN TRADI-TION. VOLUME 3: ACTS 13.1-18.23: THE ENDS OFTHE EARTH. FIRST AND SECOND PHASES OF THEMISSION TO THE GENTILES. By Josep Rius-Camps andJenny Read-Heimerdinger. Library of NT Studies (JSNTSupplement Series), 365. New York and London: T & T Clark,2007. Pp. xiv + 401. $156.00.

In this third volume (of a planned four) the authorscontinue their project of comparing the text of Codex Bezae(D/05), “a cohesive and coherent work” in its own right,with the “Alexandrian” version, convinced that Bezae pre-serves a version of Acts that 1) both predates the Alexan-drian text (“a revision” of Bezae, “a sustained and deliberateattempt to modify the message” to make it “more compre-hensible and more acceptable to later generations”) andstands closer to Lucan thought and language; 2) representsa markedly different story of the church’s earliest days (oneprimarily theological rather than historical in focus); and 3)is written from a first-century Jewish perspective with atypically Jewish approach to theological debate. As theyexplicate their metanarrative, the authors offer a host ofdetailed observations and proposed explanations of indi-vidual episodes. Sometimes these apply to both texts (e.g., at14:8, the inability of the man born lame to walk symbolizesthe Lystrans’ “inability . . . to stand upright and walk in aspiritual sense”), and sometimes only to one form (e.g., in15:14, where the Alexandrian text apparently equates“Simeon” with Peter, they suggest the Bezan text has inview not Peter but Simeon II, high priest between 226 and198 BCE). Even if one believes the textual history implied bythis view of Bezae to be extraordinarily improbable, oneneed not accept either their perspective or conclusions to

enjoy, appreciate, and learn from their close reading of twoversions of Acts.


A POSTCOLONIAL COMMENTARY ON THE NEWTESTAMENT WRITINGS. Edited by Fernando F. Segoviaand R. S. Sugirtharajah. London & New York: T & T Clark,2007. Pp. x + 470. $160.00.

In recent years, postcolonial criticism has made its wayinto biblical studies by means of conference papers, schol-arly articles, book chapters, dissertations, theses, and mono-graphs. This interesting and valuable volume offers the mostcomprehensive postcolonial treatment of the NT writings todate, and it includes many of the leading theorists in thisregard. The volume deals with four main areas of inquiry asthey pertain to the NT writings: 1) the meaning and scope ofpostcolonial criticism, 2) approaches and methods of postco-lonial interpretation, 3) findings of such approaches, and 4)a discussion of “stances,” that is, “the relationship betweencritic and findings.” The strength of the volume is its com-prehensiveness, both in terms of the areas covered and interms of the number of contributors to the volume. Oneweakness, however, is that it relies on a previous volume,Postcolonial Biblical Criticism, for a discussion of “the overallpath of postcolonial criticism, its origins and developments,in biblical studies.” In the introduction, one would havehoped for a summary of “the overall path,” especiallybecause it was published in the same series. It is also ironicand unfortunate that a volume advocating postcolonialhermeneutics costs $160.00. Recommended for studentsand scholars in biblical studies.

Nathan CarlinRice University

ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE NEW TESTAMENT. ByJohn McRay. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.Pp. 439. $39.99.

This is the paperback edition of the original publicationthat appeared in 1991 and does not feature updated contentor illustrations. The author’s stated goal is to provide anaccessible one-volume introduction to the field of archeologyto enable one to better understand and apply biblical teach-ing. The book begins with an introduction to the role andmethod of archeological excavation, exploring the limita-tions and value of archaological data. The remainder of thebook is structured in four parts. Part 1, “The Architecture ofNT Times,” examines the urban layout as well as civic, reli-gious, and domestic structures. Part 2, “The BuildingProgram of Herod the Great,” focuses the discussion onHerodian construction both in and outside of Jerusalem,including the Temple Mount, Herodium, Jericho, Masada,Caesarea Maritima, Samaria, and Hebron. Part 3, “Archaeol-ogy and the Life of Christ,” explores the public ministry ofJesus in Galilee and Judea along with the traditional sitesassociated with the last days of his life in Jerusalem. Finally,


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in part 4, “Archaeology and the Church,” McRay turns ourattention to Eastern and Western Asia Minor, Macedonia,Corinth, and Rome. While this is an informative introduc-tion, this paperback edition would have been far moreappealing to undergraduate students if the illustrations wereupdated and in color.

Matthew R. HaugeClaremont Graduate University

MESSIAH AND EXALTATION: JEWISH MESSIANICAND VISIONARY TRADITIONS AND NEW TESTA-MENT CHRISTOLOGY. By Andrew Chester. Wissen-schaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 202.Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007. Pp. vii + 716. $237.50.

Chester’s Messiah and Exaltation is a hefty resource forexploring messianism within the confines of the HebrewBible, “Jewish” texts and the New Testament (NT). The workitself consists of a series of essays written over the course ofa career, now available in eight fully revised and updatedchapters. Chester’s goal is to explore the significance ofJewish messianic hope, intermediary figures and visionarytraditions of human transformation for NT Christology.Despite the apparent breadth of this 601-page work, Ches-ter’s inattention to the Septuagint’s role in shaping messi-anic expectations renders it an incomplete study at best. Hisreservations over the Septuagint’s use in such a study applya fortiori to the Hebrew text, which is often less messianic!One might also ask about the possible influence of contem-porary Greek beliefs about apotheosis upon Hellenistic Jewsand Christians and thereby upon NT Christology. However,one is hard-pressed to find any reference to Hellenism,Hellenistic Jews, or Greeks for that matter. What results isthe impression that the “unique” nature of NT Christologynecessitates its insulation from Greek culture and ideas—amove reminiscent of Schweitzer, whose insistence upon theabsolute Jewishness of Paul’s mysticism rested on the ques-tionable assumption that Jewish and Greek ideas are sealedoff one from the other.


PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF JESUS: SOCIALSTRUCTURES AND SOCIAL CONFLICTS. By K. C.Hanson and Douglas E. Oakman. 2nd ed. Minneapolis, MN:Fortress Press, 2008. Pp. vii + 231. $30.00.

This is the second edition of the popular introduction tothe use of social-scientific models for understanding firstcentury Palestinian life (for a review of the first edition seeRSR 25:296). The basic structure and contents of the firstedition are retained, including an introduction to the socialsystem of Roman Palestine, kinship, politics and patronage,the political economy, and political religion. However, theformat of this new edition has been reshaped to make it moreaccessible to a broader audience. In addition, they haveadded sidebars, new and revised models, new photos, keyterms, a chapter outline, additional study questions, updated

suggested readings, and updated bibliographies. The mostattractive new feature is the inclusion of periodic responsesto various scholarly criticisms of the first edition. Thisupdated paperback edition is designed for laypersons, stu-dents, and scholars alike; although introductory, even themost seasoned scholar will appreciate their balancedresponse to critics of social-science theory.


ROMAN DOMESTIC ART AND EARLY HOUSECHURCHES. By David L. Balch. Wissenschaftliche Unter-suchungen zum Neuen Testament, 228. Tübingen: MohrSiebeck, 2008. Pp. xxiv + 296. $197.50.

An Introduction and seven essays provide a thoroughcase for how Roman domestic art can illuminate the beliefsand practices of early Jesus believers. Balch examinesvisual representations of Greek, Roman, and Egyptianmyths, stories, and literature and notes how they intersectwith Galatians, Mark, 1 Clement, and Revelation. Of par-ticular import are chapter 1, which cautions against posit-ing too small and private a meeting space for early Jesusbelievers, and chapter 7, which surveys Pompeian tricliniaroom scenes as a way of raising awareness of the types of“discussion starters” surrounding banqueters. The text isamply illustrated with 78 black and white photographs anddrawings. An accompanying CD includes full-color versionsof all the plates in the book, along with another 229 newplates. Each is explained in detail and is cross-referenced tothe text, superbly illustrating Balch’s arguments. Overall,Balch manages to move beyond the glossy coffee tablebooks on Rome, Pompeii, or Herculaneum to apply a fullyinterdisciplinary approach to understanding Roman domes-tic art and the impact it may have had on the developingself-identity of early Jesus-believers. My only complaint isthe lack of a full conclusion to pull together the threads ofthe chapters.

Richard S. AscoughQueen’s University

PASSIONS AND MORAL PROGRESS IN GRECO-ROMAN THOUGHT. Edited by John T. Fitzgerald. Rout-ledge Monographs in Classical Studies. New York:Routledge, 2008. Pp. v + 392. $120.00.

This volume is a product of the Hellenistic Moral Phi-losophy and Early Christianity Section, a program unit of theSociety of Biblical Literature. The primary task of the collec-tion as a whole is to investigate the relationship between thepassions and moral progress. This comprehensive and cross-disciplinary collection of essays is divided into philosophy,literature, and religion, examining Cynic literature, theNeopythagoreans, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Ovid, Paul, andClement of Alexandria. Contributions from Fitzgerald, W. W.Fortenbaugh, D. E. Aune, J. C. Thom, D. Armstrong, E. M.Krentz, R. A. Wright, S. G. Nugent, L. C. A. Alexander, D.Winston, D. C. Aune, T. Engberg-Pedersen, J. Ware, and L. M.


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White represent several fields, including the classics,ancient philosophy and literature, Hellenistic Judaism, andthe New Testament. Advanced graduate students and spe-cialists in these respective fields will find a rich resource fortheir own continued study and reflection on the ancient andmodern problem of the potentially destructive power ofhuman emotion.


THE POWER OF SACRIFICE: ROMAN AND CHRIS-TIAN DISCOURSES IN CONFLICT. By George Heyman.Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press,2007. Pp. xxv + 257. $69.65.

Influenced by Foucault, Todorov, Barthes, B. Lincoln,and K. Burke, and drawing effectively on archeological, lit-erary, and artistic data, Heyman argues that the RomanEmpire and early Christianity clashed over what constitutedproper “religion” rather than “belief.” This clash wasbetween competing discourses of power as expressed interms of sacrificial rhetoric and practice, with both sidesdrawing on cultural forms and concepts of sacrifice. Hey-man’s focus, then, is less on the meaning or origins of sac-rifice and more on social and rhetorical functions ofsacrificial language and concepts. Rome used sacrificial dis-course to create and maintain identity and imperial power;the Christians utilized it to construct identity, explain themeaning of their founder’s death, and declare allegianceto God’s kingdom. Ironically, Roman efforts to silence theChristian superstitio by killing its adherents enabled instead,Heyman notes, a strengthening of Christian identity via amore elaborate discourse of sacrifice (xxiv, 159). The firsttwo chapters (a strong section) offer a thick description ofRoman theory and practice, especially as it intersected withveneration of the emperor and the imperial cult. By it Romewas able to maintain a balance of power between bothheaven and earth and Rome and its provinces. Chaptersthree and four investigate sacrifice and martyrdom in earlyChristian writings, and the last chapter offers Heyman’sconclusions. Heyman generally avoids the pitfall of reduc-tionism, and fruitfully proposes alternative ways of under-standing traditional quandaries. In all, a strong, focused andthoughtful study.


THE FIRST CHIRSTIANS IN THE ROMAN WORLD:AUGUSTAN AND NEW TESTAMENT ESSAYS. By E.A. Judge. Edited by James R. Harrison. WissenschaftlicheUntersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 229. Tübingen:Mohr Siebeck, 2008. Pp. xix + 786. $297.50.

This is the second collection of essays by Judge toappear in 2008; part of a trilogy (of sorts) that seeks to makemore accessible the writings of this prolific scholar of Chris-tianity in its Greco-Roman setting. Harrison’s opening essaysurveys influences on Judge’s life and scholarship and

locates the book’s forty-four essays within major trends inClassical and New Testament scholarship, distributedamong four sections: 1) Augustus and His Times, 2) TheRoman Empire and the First Christians, 3) Social Innovationin the Early Churches, and 4) The First Christians and theTransformation of Culture. While all of the essays have beendistributed previously, some have only appeared as popularpresentations or teaching notes. Throughout Judge places aheavy emphasis on literary and epigraphic textual evidence,with less attention to other archeological data. The essaysreflect his role in establishing consensus points such as theeconomic standing of early Christians (chapter 33) as well ashis iconoclastic position on the early “parting of the ways”of Christianity and Judaism (chapter 30), and the non-expulsion of Jews and Jewish Christians from Rome in 49 CE(chapter 31). Any serious research library must own thiscollection of Judge’s essays, although the hefty price tag willkeep it out of the personal libraries of all but the mostserious (or well-off) scholars of Christianity in its ancientsocial context.

Richard S. AscoughQueen’s University

THE REAL MESSIAH: THE THRONE OF ST. MARKAND THE TRUE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY.By Stephan Huller. London: Watkins Publishing, 2009.Pp. xii + 274. £16.99.

One of the art treasures preserved in the Basilica SanMarco in Venice is a miniature alabaster throne decorated onall surfaces with carvings of symbolic import. A Hebrewinscription on the front identifies it as “the seat of Mark andEvangelist of Alexandria.” In this book Huller uses the sym-bolism on the throne to construct a revised history of earlyChristianity. He argues, among other things, that the thronewas made for the enthronement of the nine-year-old MarcusJulius Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II) in Alexandria in 38 CE asthe Jewish and Samaritan Messiah. He had been arrestedwith Jesus in the previous year, and was the “Barabbas”released by Pilate. Jesus had never claimed to be theMessiah, only the Messiah’s forerunner. His sacrificial cru-cifixion allowed little Marcus to claim his messianic throne.In Alexandria, with the help of Philo, Marcus Agrippacreated a new Jewish mystery religion designed to appeal toGentiles. Around the time of the destruction of the TempleMarcus Agrippa wrote the original Gospel of Mark, whichIrenaeus turned into the four canonical gospels in the inter-ests of Roman Christianity, at the behest of the RomanEmperor. The original religion created by Marcus Agrippa inAlexandria was replaced by Roman Christianity by BishopDemetrius, and all traces of the original Alexandrian Chris-tianity were expunged. Marcus Agrippa is not only equatedwith Mark the Evangelist but also Marcion, Marcus the“magus” refuted by Irenaeus, and the Samaritan Marqe. Thethrone symbolism found on the throne is said to haveinspired the throne visions in the Book of Revelation. Inconstructing this history of early Christianity Huller


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impugns the two most important witnesses to first-centuryJudaism, Philo and Josephus, and completely misreadspatristic, rabbinic, and other evidence. Nevertheless, hisbook is interesting, and invites further study of the minia-ture alabaster throne of St. Mark in Venice.

Birger A. PearsonUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

HELLENISTISCHES CHRISTENTUM:SCHRIFTVERSTÄNDNIS—EKKLESIOLOGIE—GESCHICHTE. By Dietrich-Alex Koch. Edited by FriedrichWilhelm Horn. Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, 65.Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008. Pp. 378. €99.00.

This volume collects seventeen of Koch’s articles thatwere published between 1985 and 2006. Three articles arein English and the rest are in German. The articles have notbeen significantly edited or revised. In spite of the diverseand independent origins of the chapters, the book is heldtogether by Koch’s conviction that “[t]he decisive step in thehistory of early Christianity was the crossing of the borderbetween Jews and Non-Jews”. In their own way, each of thesearticles examines Christianity’s crucial turn into the Gentileworld. Taken as a whole, the articles present a pretty coher-ent view of Koch’s work over the last two decades. For thosefamiliar with Koch’s work, it will come as no surprise thatPaul and the “godfearers” of Acts are seen as the key playersin this border crossing between the Jewish and Gentileworlds. In fact, Koch argues that, as a group, the originaltwelve “failed and abandoned” Jesus. Many readers will bedisturbed by a seeming lack of continuity between the his-torical Jesus tradition (as embodied in the teaching of theTwelve) and the church’s subsequent development in Koch’sreconstructions. Nonetheless, these articles offer a conve-nient way to access the major writings of a notable scholar.Recommended for those interested in the history of earliestChristianity.


BEHOLD THE MAN: JESUS AND GRECO-ROMANMASCULINITY. By Colleen M. Conway. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2008. Pp. ix + 254. $65.00.

This exercise in “gender criticism” manages to defyone’s tired expectation that the gospels will be treated asgrist for a theory’s mill. Rather, the lens of gender criticismdoes manage to illuminate the texts by making explicit manypoints we have not exactly failed to notice but have perhapshitherto failed to grasp in their importance. Conway firstestablishes a comprehensive paradigm-portrait of Greco-Roman masculinity (expressed in the ideal of heroes andrulers, even martyrs who die a noble death) and hyper-masculinity (ascetics who sacrifice other manliness-markersin the name of total moral and cerebral self-control). Apply-ing these lenses to the gospels and epistles, it quicklybecomes obvious that early Christianity as there displayedwas neither so quick nor so consistent in transvaluating

“worldly” values as we usually think. A disturbing implica-tion is that Rosemary Radford Ruether was righter than sheknew when she wondered whether a male savior could savewomen. The question is all the more acute if righteous virtueis construed carefully and consistently by the ancients as adistinctly male trait and power. The occasional verdict of“mixed results” only indicates the partial applicability of theparadigm. Despite the finger-wagging political correctnessof occasional references to postcolonial exegesis and anti-imperialism, the book is a solid exercise in straightforwardhistorical and exegetical research. Recommended for spe-cialists and the idle rich who can afford it.

Robert M. PriceJohnnie Colemon Theological Seminary

JESUS AND IDENTITY: RECONSTRUCTINGJUDEAN ETHNICITY IN Q. By Markus Cromhout.Matrix: The Bible in Mediterranean Context. Eugene, OR:Cascade, 2007. Pp. 390. $44.00.

This revised dissertation (under A. van Aarde at theUniversity of Pretoria in 2006) is a mature example of itsgenre. The central thesis of the volume is that the Q commu-nity stood in significant discontinuity with the covenantalmonism of mid-first century “Judeanism” by promoting aneschatology of renewal that both expanded covenantalmonism beyond the borders of Judea and also reinterpretedits demands. Instead of the traditional review of all the rel-evant literature, Cromhout began his work with an exami-nation of two representative scholars: J. P. Meier and J. D.Crossan. His examination illustrates the ambiguity inherentin both scholars’ use of the term “Jew”. Cromhout’s dissatis-faction with this ambiguity prompted him to opt for the useof “Judean”—a term which he carefully defines in sociocul-tural and theological terms developed in dialogue with D.Duling, E. P. Sanders and J. Dunn. After adapting this Judeandescription to fit the “symbolic universe” of Galilee, heapplied it to the two stratums, which he finds in Q. Theargument is clearly conceived, disciplined, and plausible.The bibliography is relatively brief by the standardsexpected from a dissertation (and Cromhout limits himself toEnglish resources). Still, Cromhout’s dialogue partners arewell chosen and his use of those sources is judicious. Thevolume is required reading for researchers in Q, the histori-cal Jesus, ethnicity in the Jesus tradition and the gospels ofMatthew and Luke.


THE PHANTOM MESSIAH: POSTMODERNFANTASY AND THE GOSPEL OF MARK. By GeorgeAichele. New York: T & T Clark, 2006. Pp. iv + 257. $120.00.

“Imagine there’s no heaven canon.” One can by follow-ing Aichele’s fantastic reading of Mark. Part one reviewsfantasy theorists and literature (including Mark 3:19b-25)and depicts fantasy as a deconstruction of literary realism,as a glitch in ideological systems, as textual resistance to


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understanding, and as self-referential fiction. Part two dem-onstrates that Christian mythology/canon enables most tobypass these fantastic elements by reading Mark as abouta secondary (marvelous) reality (cf. Tolkien) or as a textdominated by an uncanny messianic secret (cf. Todorov).Aichele’s Kafkaesque Mark resists such “realistic” readingswith, for example, its self-referential use of “gospel” and theenigma of its Jesus’s identity. The latter is most obvious inthe gap between Mark’s Jesus and the Markan Jesus’sstories about various sons of men (the plural is crucial).Mark’s fantastic Jesus is neither descending god nor secretmessiah, but a phantom messiah (see 6:48-52), and Marknarrates “(around) a silence.” The materiality of the textresists ideological appropriation even as Mark’s abrupt endreminds the reader that this is a story that could not havebeen told. Part three further illustrates postcanonical read-ings of Mark by reading Mark as a precursor of BladeRunner, Lois & Clark, Smallville, and Buffy the VampireSlayer. The book is essential reading both for theorists andfor Markan scholars.

Richard WalshMethodist University

MARK AND METHOD: NEW APPROACHES IN BIB-LICAL STUDIES. Edited by Janice Capel Anderson andStephen D. Moore. 2nd ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2008.Pp. xi + 288. $22.00.

This substantive revision, highly recommended for bothscholars and students, supports the subtitle’s continued useof “new” by updating original bibliographies (on narrative,reader-response, deconstructive, feminist, and social criti-cism), revising the essay on deconstruction, and addingessays on cultural studies and postcolonial criticism. Therevised essay best illustrates the volume’s entirely new tone,as it charts a move in literary and in (some) biblical criticismin the last third of the century from textually oriented analy-ses to political/ethical issues in interpretation. Minor, butsignificant, revisions of some of the original essays cohereby pointing to disjoints between the Markan implied author,narrator, and Jesus, by raising the question of the sociallocation of Mark and its interpreters, and by challenging thepropriety of interpretation’s tendency to “normalize” Mark’snarrative perspective, particularly in light of current ethicalconcerns like anti-Judaism and “kyriarchy” (systems ofdomination). The added essays are helpful introductions totheir “methods,” but they, too, follow the lead of the essay ondeconstruction by deliberately tracing new critical “sensi-bilities,” rather than methods, and by opposing hierarchicalviolence with experiments in non-hierarchical, non-oppositional thinking, particularly by complicating Mark’sreviled elite and esteemed Jesus and by raising concernsabout the continuation of patterns of imperial domination inthe moral superiority implicit in Mark and in its critics.


LUKAS UND MENIPPOS: HOHEIT UND NIED-RIGKEIT IN LK 1,1-2,40 UND IN DER MENIPPEIS-CHEN LITERATUR. By Nils Neumann. NovumTestamentum et Orbis Antiquus, 68. Göttingen: Vandenho-eck & Ruprecht, 2008. Pp. 384. €69.90.

This revised dissertation (defended at Kassel Univer-sity, 2006) examines the frequently investigated depictionsof the rich and poor in Luke’s birth narrative. It has becomecommonplace for interpreters both to note Luke’s reversal offortunes theme (that the poor will be blessed and exalted,while the rich will be cursed and debased) and to find thebackground for this theme in the Persian era Hebrewpsalms. Neumann seeks to overturn this consensus of schol-arship by arguing for an entirely different background forthe reversal theme. Neumann finds the theme’s origins inthe prose and poetry of the Cynic writer, Menippos. Afterdetailed analysis of the parallels between the style, form, andcontent of the Cynic writings and the Lukan birth narrative,Neumann concludes that these Cynic writings provide thebest background against which to read the reversal themesin the first two chapters of Luke. This volume is essentialreading for specialists working either on issues of wealthand poverty in Luke’s Gospel or on Luke’s interaction withthe competing ideologies of the Greco-Roman world, but thecentral thesis is unlikely to overturn the existing consensus.


A POSTCOLONIAL READING OF MARK’S STORYOF JESUS. By Simon Samuel. Library of New TestamentStudies, 340. London: T & T Clark, 2007. Pp. xiii + 191.$156.00.

Through a review of postcolonial theory and its applica-tion to Mark, Simon defines postcolonial as a spatial cat-egory, a place between colonists and colonized, and a criticalstrategy for analyzing the discourses emanating from suchspaces. Simon uses (primarily Bhabha’s) notions (e.g.,mimicry) to challenge monolithic readings, which claim thatMark resists (e.g., Horsley) or is complicit (e.g., Benny Liew)with empire. The existence of both readings suggests morecomplexity. He situates this possibility historically bytracing ambivalence toward Rome and native traditions incontemporary texts like Chariton’s Chaereas and Callirhoeand those of Josephus. Detailed exegesis of Mark 1:1-11reveals the same. The use of � �ρχ shifts imperial powerfrom Rome to Jesus Messiah. The portrait of Jesus as a hybridυ ς�� -human combining royal authority and suffering (allu-sions to the Akedah) adopts and adapts imperial power. Theapplication of midrash to this hybrid individual acts simi-larly vis-à-vis native Jewish traditions. He sketches thedeployment of this hybrid and his creation of a transcultural,servant community through the rest of Mark more cursorily.This (postcolonial) community lies between colonizing Romeand native Jewish traditions. The reading may suit a postco-lonial Eastern Christianity (Simon’s own location and one he


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argues is like that of Mark itself), but it is not clearly aspersuasive in the (colonizing) West.


TRANSFIGURED: A DERRIDEAN REREADING OFTHE MARKAN TRANSFIGURATION. By Andrew P.Wilson. Playing the Texts, 13. New York/London: T & TClark, 2007. Pp. xiv + 185.

Most see the Markan transfiguration as an incompleterevelation of the divine glory, completed by the rest of acoherent Mark, and most attempt to avoid Peter’s “error”(9:5). Wilson offers a Derridean Mark that never mentionsthe divine glory (and ends with [the limitless potential of] anempty tomb). This Mark transfigures Jesus’ robes, but failsto include his face, creating absence at the scene’s heart.This Mark undercuts the supernatural with a mundane ref-erence to bleacher, which renders Jesus’ robes a palimpsestwithout clear foundation and a reflective surface for others’faces. This Mark offers a cloud that fails to shine and whichdemands that one listen to a silent Jesus. Instead of avoidingPeter’s “error,” Wilson embraces the disparity betweenPeter’s joy (9:5) and fear (9:6) as suggestive of a mysteriumtremendum. Following Derrida (not Otto), he sees this(sacred) other (of negative theology) in the incommunicablesingularity of one’s own death, the recognition of whichthreatens the self even as it makes the experience of the selfpossible, and in the limits and transfigurations of language(cf. Derrida’s musings on proper names and Blanchot’sreflections on poetry). The work is highly recommended forits close attention to the Markan text, theoretical sophistica-tion, and application of the later Derrida.


CHRIST AND CAESAR: THE GOSPEL AND THEROMAN EMPIRE IN THE WRITINGS OF PAUL ANDLUKE. By Seyoon Kim. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.Pp. 228. $24.00.

Recent scholarly work on early Christian interactionwith the Roman Empire has tended to portray Paul as a critic(sometimes a severe critic) of the empire and its imperialsoteriology and Luke as less critical of the empire. Kim chal-lenges anti-imperial readings of Paul’s letters and reaffirmsthe empire-friendly reading of Luke. According to Kim, bothLuke and Paul promoted a vision of the Kingdom of God thatwas incongruent with Rome’s claims, but neither Luke norPaul invested much energy in pressing the anti-imperialimplications of their respective messages. For Kim, bothLuke and Paul were essentially apocalyptic in their orienta-tion and looked toward the imminent return of Christ as theinstrument of God’s justice on earth; neither called for anysweeping changes in the social structures of this world,including the political structures of the Roman Empire. Infact, Kim’s reading resonates with earlier interpretationswhich saw the empire as a stabling—and largely

positive—force in the world, a force which allowed for theeasy evangelization of the ancient world. This book is aworthy dialogue partner in the ongoing discussion of earlyChristianity’s interaction with Rome.


CONVINCED THAT GOD HAD CALLED US:DREAMS, VISIONS, AND THE PERCEPTION OFGOD’S WILL IN LUKE-ACTS. By John B. F. Miller.Biblical Interpretation Series, 85. Leiden: Brill, 2007.Pp. xii + 282. $177.00.

The result of Miller’s doctoral dissertation written underthe direction of B. Gaventa at Princeton Theological Semi-nary, this book seeks to perform a narrative-critical exami-nation of dream-visions in Luke/Acts, with the focus on “therelationship between dream-visions and the perception ofGod’s will.” Miller first defines the term “dream-vision” anddescribes his narrative-critical methodology, followed by asurvey of dream-visions in the ancient world arguing that inantiquity the ancients did not always consider dreams to befrom the gods. Miller then reviews existing studies of dream-visions in Luke/Acts and follows this survey with his analy-sis of Acts 16:6-10. Here he finds an emphasis on the humanelement of interpretation of this particular dream-vision. Thescope of his analysis then widens, considering first Luke’sGospel, then Acts. Miller argues that in these works, char-acters’ reactions to dream-visions are on a spectrum. On oneend one finds characters who simply accept the vision; onthe other are characters whose interpretation of the dream-vision greatly affects the plot. Miller ultimately concludesthat characters’ interpretations (and misinterpretations) ofdream-visions in Luke/Acts are integral to Luke’s portrayalof humans struggling to understand God’s will. The book willbe welcomed by those scholars doing serious narrative-critical work in Luke/Acts. While the treatment of the topicis comprehensive and rigorous, the conclusions drawn inmany cases are less than compelling.

James McConnellGardner-Webb University

ACTS. By Mikeal C. Parsons. Paideia: Commentaries on theNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008. Pp. xxv + 438.$27.99.

The newly-launched Paideia commentary series ana-lyzes NT writings in light of the cultural repertoire thatinformed their earliest audiences. It aims to teach seminar-ians and other graduate students that familiarity withhistorical data, theological convictions, and literary conven-tions from antiquity illuminates the rhetorical potential ofChristian scripture. The book of Acts is of course wonder-fully suited for the kind of exegetical venture the Paideiaseries promises, and Parsons is one of the scholars bestequipped to lead such an expedition. His commentary’sgreatest strength lies in its close attention to the rhetoricaldynamics operating in the overall narrative logic of Acts, in


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particular narrative episodes, and in characters’ speeches.Parsons clearly identifies and explains specific rhetoricalconventions by offering illustrations from Acts and otherancient literature (especially the rhetorical handbooksknown as the progymnasmata). He demonstrates that thebiblical author was guided by such conventions but hardlybound to them or unwilling to subvert them to make a theo-logical point. Parsons devotes much more energy to rhetori-cal analysis than to theological interpretation, but usuallythe latter helpfully emerges from his careful consideration ofthe former. All commentaries, this one included, have placeswhere they give certain passages and issues disproportion-ately thin treatment. Nevertheless this book’s thoroughgo-ing ability to contextualize Acts makes it belong not only inthe collections of university and seminary libraries butalso in the hands of all who study Acts and its theologicalcontributions.

Matthew L. SkinnerLuther Seminary

THE CONCLUSION OF LUKE-ACTS: THE SIGNIFI-CANCE OF ACTS 28:16-31. By Charles B. Puskas.Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2009. Pp. viii + 197. $21.00.

Over the last quarter century, the final verses of Actshave suffered no lack of attention from scholars interested inthe Lukan writings’ literary and theological significance.Puskas’s study, with its extensive footnotes, shows us theprogress that has been made in this area. The author haspolished his 1980 doctoral dissertation and reasserted itscore argument while citing a wealth of scholarly contribu-tions made during the interim. He contends that Acts28:16-31 provides coherent and meaningful closure to Luke-Acts as a whole and to Luke’s story of Paul in particular. Thatpassage, by means of its resonances with other parts of theLukan narrative, presents Paul “as one like Jesus doing thework of Jesus.” Acts thus legitimates Paul and encourages itsintended audience to perpetuate the mission. Puskas sup-ports this tenable conclusion through thematic and verbalcomparisons across Luke-Acts. Appeals to ancient nonbibli-cal writings or to theories of narrative are essentially absent;he opts instead to make a plausible case for the internalcoherence of Luke-Acts. The book’s interpretive approachremains a product of (and a contribution to) the methodologi-cal environment in which the original dissertation waswritten. While such an approach will not satisfy all the stu-dents and scholars for whom Puskas writes today, it never-theless adequately serves his basic thesis, which remainsclearly delineated and worth remembering.


KEEPING THE CHURCH IN ITS PLACE: THECHURCH AS NARRATIVE CHARACTER IN ACTS.By Richard P. Thompson. New York: T&T Clark, 2006.Pp. x + 294. Cloth, $110.00; paper, $34.95.

This literary investigation of the portrayal of groups ofChristian believers in Acts avoids the common temptation toforce collective characters (such as “crowds,” “the poor,” orin this case “the church”) into consistent, uniform under-standings of their functions in a given narrative. Guided byhis broad knowledge of literary conventions in Greco-Romanhistoriography, Thompson attends to the particulars inLuke’s varied depictions of Christian communities. After amethodological orientation, he conducts a thorough study ofthose parts of Acts that have groups of believers in view,following the narrative in sequence to take account of char-acterization’s accumulative qualities. He concludes thatLuke’s portraits of Christian groups complement and con-trast each other while leading readers to identify the churchas “the people of God,” established not by familiar Jewishdistinctions but by God’s activity and social cohesion mani-fested in the ministry of the gospel. Thompson grants thatmuch of characterization resides in the eye of the beholder.Some of these beholders, his readers, will desire more evi-dence from other aspects of Acts and the narrative’s outlookon its Jewish milieu to substantiate a few of the book’s stron-gest claims, especially those that stem from passages inwhich a church’s influence, or lack of influence, is notclearly depicted. Acts scholars and their students will nev-ertheless appreciate Thompson’s nuanced analysis andcareful investigation of characterization as a means of theo-logical definition.


WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED: PAUL PARTSCOMPANY WITH HIS JEWISH HERITAGE. By BarryD. Smith. NT Monographs, 17. Sheffield: Sheffield PhoenixPress, 2007. Pp. xiii + 285. $90.00.

Not intended as a new interpretation of Paul, this mono-graph attempts a “restatement of the traditional formulationof Pauline soteriology in light of recent criticism of it.” Sur-veying a range of early Jewish literature, Smith concludesthat Second-Temple soteriology reflects an “uneasy compro-mise” between visions of God as righteous judge and asmerciful. This leads to a “synergistic” soteriology that Paulrejects, replacing it with a unilateral emphasis on God’smercy. This move is required by Paul’s conviction that“perfect obedience,” which is impossible for sinful human-ity, is necessary to escape eschatological wrath. This,however, does not disqualify acts of obedience within thePauline scheme. While rejecting the freedom of the will, Paulanchors “practical righteousness” in the merciful gifting ofthe spirit such that salvation apart from the law and confor-mity to God’s demands are both expressions of divine mercy.This work is carefully argued and Smith demonstrates askillful command of the Second Temple literature. Hisrecourse to traditional terms (e.g., “legalistic,” “synergistic”)may close some ears before his evidence has been consid-ered; but this work is an important contribution to the


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ongoing debate about the contours of Pauline soteriology andits relationship to Paul’s theological heritage.

Jonathan A. LinebaughUniversity of Durham

DIE HIMMLISCHE BÜRGERSCHAFT: UNTERSU-CHUNGEN ZU EINEM URCHRISTLICHEN SPRACH-MOTIV. By Dirk Schinkel. Forschungen zur Religion undLiteratur des Alten und Neuen Testaments, 220. Göttingen:Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2007. Pp. 224. €69.90.

Schinkel’s dissertation (D.-A. Koch, Münster) analyzesthe early Christian linguistic motif of the “heavenly citizen-ship“ in the context of the movements of religious integra-tion and separation in the first and second centuries CE. Inparticular, he considers Phil 3:2-21 and Gal 4:21-5:1. Heargues that this linguistic motif possesses its own theologi-cal value, which can be shown against the background of themetaphor of the “Fremdlingschaft” (foreignship). In Phil3:2-21 Paul categorizes the “heavenly citizenship” as a partof his conception of eschatology, which is characterized byhis christological thoughts. The heavenly politeuma and thepoliteuesthai achios tou euangeliou (1:27) respectively seemto be a suitable construction to express the change of reignobtained by Jesus Christ and the Christians’ orientationtoward him. In Gal 4:21-5:1 Paul is able to illustrate theChristian liberty gained by Christ by an asymmetricalcomparison of the nun and the ano Jerusalem. The motif of“heavenly citizenship” is used to explain the comprehensiveanalysis of the present through the horizontal dimension ofGod’s world. Overall, a thorough investigation that is helpfulfor understanding Pauline theology and therefore interest-ing for scholars, teachers and students, though lacking newexegetical insights.

Thomas WitulskiWestfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster

PISTIS AND THE RIGHTEOUS ONE: A STUDY OFROMANS 1:17 AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OFSCRIPTURE AND SECOND TEMPLE JEWISH LIT-ERATURE. By Desta Heliso. Wissenschaftliche Untersu-chungen zum Neuen Testament II/235. Tübingen: MohrSiebeck, 2007. Pp. xiv + 292. € 59.00.

Heliso analyzes Romans 1:17 in light of relevant textsfrom the Old Testament, the Second Temple period, and theNew Testament with the aim of evaluating present dayanthropological and Christological interpretations of thepassage in view. The importance of this work lies in theuniqueness of its inquiry, being the first extensive studyto evaluate these opposing interpretations in light of bothexternal-contextual and internal-textual evidence. WhileHeliso argues for the Christological reading of Romans 1:17,he does not see this argument as removing the plausibility ofthe more traditional anthropological reading, particularlysince the external evidence for the Christological readingappears weak at times. The author demonstrates expertise incurrent interpretations of Romans 1:17 and interacts ably

with the secondary material without simply rehearsing pre-vious arguments. This volume will be of most use to special-ists in Pauline studies.

Matthew P. O’ReillyAsbury Theological Seminary

PAUL AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION: AN EXEGETI-CAL STUDY OF PAUL’S APOSTOLIC PARADIGM IN1 CORINTHIANS 9. By Robinson Butarbutar. PaternosterBiblical Monographs. Milton Keynes: Paternoster Press,2007. Pp. xviii + 275. $33.99.

Little scholarly attention has been given to conflict reso-lution models used in first-century Mediterranean Christiancommunities. Butarbutar’s monograph bridges this gap inthe literature and provides an erudite foundational work onthis topic by examining Paul’s apostolic paradigm in 1 Corin-thians 9 through a detailed literary and historical exegesis ofthis pericope. This study defines and locates the argumenta-tive rhetoric of Paul in the larger scope of his unified argu-ments in 1 Corinthians 8-10 that sought to mediate culturaldisputes in the Corinthian Christian communities. Butarbu-tar demonstrates that the conflict resolution model identifi-able in this text is further evident in Paul’s rhetoric ofrefusing to accept financial support from his audience. Themonograph concludes by comparing and contrasting thisPauline conflict resolution model with contemporaryapproaches in Christian communities and argues for theserious reconsideration of Paul’s approach to conflict.

Corné J. BekkerRegent University

WISDOM AND SPIRITUAL TRANSCENDENCE ATCORINTH: STUDIES IN FIRST CORINTHIANS. ByRichard A. Horsley. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2008.Pp. xiv + 168. $21.00.

This volume consists of eight brilliant essays written byR. Horsley in the late 1970s on the religious controversiesPaul faced in 1 Corinthians. Seven of the essays were previ-ously published as journal articles and originally appeared asthe following: “Pneumatikos vs. Psychikos” (HTR), “Wisdomof Word and Words of Wisdom in Corinth” (CBQ), “SpiritualMarriage with Sophia” (VC), “Gnosis in Corinth” (NTS), “TheBackground of the Confessional Formula in 1 Kor 8.6” (ZNW),“Consciousness and Freedom among the Corinthians” (CBQ),and “ ‘How Can Some of You Say that There Is No Resurrec-tion of the Dead?’ ” (NovT). Also appearing here is the previ-ously unpublished essay, “Ecstatic Prophecy in Corinth.”While each of these pieces remains important reading for 1Corinthians research because of the parallels they drawbetween Hellenistic Judaism and the Corinthian church, noeffort has been made to update them or their bibliographies,which are by now quite dated—see, for instance, page 65where Horsley remarks that Conzelmann’s is “the most sub-stantive recent commentary on 1 Corinthians.” Nevertheless,while all of these essays can be obtained in most theological


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libraries or online, this collection is worth reading and rec-ommended for anybody interested in Paul’s letter.

John K. GoodrichDurham University

FIRST AND SECOND TIMOTHY, TITUS. By George T.Montague. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. GrandRapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008. Pp. 269. $17.99.

This is one of the first volumes in a new series that seeks“to serve the ministry of the Word of God in the life andmission of the Church” by connecting exegesis to liturgy,evangelization, catechesis, theology, and communal life.Each pericope (in the NAB translation) is followed by a shortlist of relevant Scripture passages, section references to theCatholic Catechism, and uses in the Roman lectionary. Whilethe author carefully treats the key interpretive questionsraised by the text, the focus of the series is on “the meaningof the text for faith and life.” Montague regards Paul as theauthor of these letters, which are best read in the order 1Timothy—Titus—2 Timothy. In that he favors authenticity andreads the letters as addressing separate pastoral circum-stances, his approach most closely resembles that of C. Spicqand L. T. Johnson. Dozens of “Biblical Background” and“Living Tradition” sidebars present pertinent perspectivesthat are often absent from standard commentaries. Layreaders and those in pastoral ministry alike will find this astimulating resource for studying the Bible.

Patrick GrayRhodes College

THE PASTORAL EPISTLES WITH PHILEMON &JUDE. By Risto Saarinen. Brazos Theological Commentaryon the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2008. Pp. 272.$29.99.

Monographs that cite Melanchthon, Schleiermacher,and Benedict XVI do not ordinarily cite Malherbe, Fitzmyer,or Käsemann, much less Chrysippus, Epimenides, or Ploti-nus. Nor does one find the Pastoral Epistles in the samecommentary with Philemon and Jude (even if the latter tworate less than twenty-five pages combined). But this isneither a standard historical-critical commentary nor anordinary monograph in systematic theology. Saarinen seesthe Pastoral Epistles as late first-century compositions bysomeone seeking to defend Paul’s legacy. Their purpose,perhaps best understood against the background of Hellenis-tic moral philosophy, is to offer “instruction to advancedChristians, as training in leadership.” Unlike some othercommentators, Saarinen does not regard the move toward“early Catholicism” they represent as detracting from theirsignificance. One aim of the series is to provide “experi-ments in postcritical doctrinal interpretation” so that wemight “rehabilitate our exegetical imaginations.” Anyoneinterested in such a project will find this commentary rich inerudition and insight.

Patrick GrayRhodes College

NO LONGER LIVING AS THE GENTILES: DIFFER-ENTIATION AND SHARED ETHICAL VALUES INEPHESIANS 4.17-6.9. By Daniel K. Darko. Library of NTStudies, 375. New York: T & T Clark, 2008. Pp. x + 160.$130.00.

Darko’s monograph seeks to resolve the tensionbetween the rhetoric of differentiation in Ephesians 4:17-5:21, and an interpretation of the household codes in Eph-esians 5:21-6:9 that sees it as having an apologetic function.He maintains that the author of Ephesians uses rhetoric ofdifferentiation in order to promote in-group social identity incontrast to outsiders. Darko suggests that this was not donewith a view toward social withdrawal in light of the realitythat the ethical contents were not counter-cultural. In utiliz-ing literature contemporary to the New Testament (NT),Darko successfully shows that the author used sharedethical values in the Greco-Roman world, spun with a chris-tological twist, in order to promote an ethic that lives up totheir shift in identity. The heavy contrastive language (light/dark, wise/fool, new/old), fictive kinship language, and thehousehold code can all be shown to be promoting differen-tiation without any notions of withdrawal. In light of this,Darko concludes that Ephesians 4:17-6:9 can be viewed asa coherent unit, promoting differentiation while utilizingshared ethical values. Darko’s work can be highly recom-mended to all Ephesians scholars, as well as students of theNT who have an introductory knowledge of Greek.

Justin G. WinzenburgLondon School of Theology

PURITY AND WORLDVIEW IN THE EPISTLE OFJAMES. By Darian R. Lockett. Library of NT Studies, 366.London/New York: T & T Clark, 2008. Pp. viii + 221.$130.00.

According to Lockett, it is erroneous to consider puritylanguage in the Epistle of James as only metaphorical (refer-ring to individual morality) or ritually-oriented, as pastscholarship has tended to do. Rather, the author of theEpistle of James uses purity terminology at decisive points(1:26-27; 3:6, 17; 4:8) for a precise purpose: to inculcateseparation from the world (ho kosmos); not as completedetachment, but as a subtle attitude on particular points,including those involving the relationship between rich andpoor. The readers of the Epistle were warned against thedanger of following the prevailing attitudes of the Greco-Roman culture: currying favor with the rich and shunningthe poor. Abuse of the tongue was seen as a defiling factor inthe Christian community, and the terminology of purityfound its place in avoiding such pollution. For James, God ispure (perfect), and the Christian is called upon to harken tothe call for perfection (purity). Despite verbosity and repeti-tiveness in his attempt to classify the terminology of purity,Lockett makes a convincing case for his thesis. It shouldprofit serious students of James.

Casimir BernasHoly Trinity Abbey


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1 PETER. By David G. Horrell. NT Guides. London/NewYork: T & T Clark. 2008. Pp. ix + 126. $19.95.

Into this slim volume Horrell fits a sizable amount ofinformation about 1 Peter: its genre (a circular diasporaletter similar to others in the Jewish and Christian environ-ments); author and place of origin (both unknown); date(75-90). According to the author of 1 Peter, Christians are tofollow in the footsteps of Christ by patiently enduring suf-fering and persecution. “Polite resistance” to persecution isinculcated for all classes, including slaves and women.Horrell touches upon several thorny issues that occupy themodern Church: early Christian justification for slavery;subjection of women in the fabric of family and society; theplace of Israel in the plan of God after the coming of Christ.All of these are flash points for modern commentators(feminists, advocates of liberation theology, “supersession-ists”) who are led by their individual prejudicial ideologiesto arrive at very different conclusions about the meaningand value of 1 Peter. Horrell rightly insists upon the pro-priety of reading 1 Peter in different contexts—churchlyand academic. All things considered, this is a fine contribu-tion to the series of New Testament Guides. Readers willlearn a great deal about the letter, both from Horrell’sexegesis and interpretation of the text itself as well asfrom the numerous cited contributions of other moderncommentators.


CHRISTOLOGY AND SCRIPTURE: INTERDISCIPLI-NARY PERSPECTIVES. Edited by Andrew T. Lincoln andAngus Paddison. NT Guides. London/New York: T & T Clark,2008. Pp. x + 226. $44.95.

These eleven essays from a 2005 interdisciplinary sym-posium on Christology from the University of Gloucester-shire provide an overview of important points of controversyin NT scholarship. Among them, W. Moberly speaks ofPeter’s confession; M. Ludlow discusses Christological inter-pretation in the patristic era; S. Parvis expounds the contro-versies surrounding the early Arian movement; S. R. Holmeselaborates Christology and hermeneutics; P. T. Nimmoexams Karl Barth’s exposition of the Sermon on the Mount;P. M. Scott comments upon Christ’s cursing of the fig tree.For A. Paddison, John’s Gospel is the chief provocation forJewish-Christian separation and “supersessionism” (a barba-rous neologism); against present-day attempts to muffle thisseparation, Paddison argues that OT texts have always con-tained the possibility of a rupture of the Covenant (thusPsalm 89). A. T. Lincoln opines that the Virgin Birth is not tobe taken literally; modern biology, among other consider-ations, militates against it. Its creedal value can be rescued,however, by considering it as a confession of the completeunity of the human race with Jesus, who is in all things likeus, save sin. In sum, though these thought-provoking essayswill hardly satisfy every reader in all respects, they do

contain insights that can enlighten expert and amateuralike.


TRANSITUS MARIAE: BEITRÄGE ZUR KOPTIS-CHEN ÜBERLIEFERUNG MIT EINER EDITION VONP. VINDOB. K 7589, CAMBRIDGE ADD 1876 8 UNDPARIS BN COPTE 12917FF. 28 UND 29. By HansFörster. Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller, NF 14:Neutestamentliche Apokryphen II. Berlin, New York: Walterde Gruyter, 2006. Pp. vii + 277. $104.00.

In chapter 1 Förster provides transcriptions and trans-lations of, and commentary on, three fragmentary accountsof the death of the Virgin Mary. The Vienna and Cambridgefragments each consists of a single ninth-century parchmentleaf, and the Paris fragment two ninth-century parchmentleaves. In chapter 2 he has a lengthy discussion of the Tran-situs Mariae literature featuring accounts of the death ofMary and her bodily assumption into heaven. The first suchaccounts date from the early fifth century. The third chapterfocuses on the Vienna fragment, a unique account of thedeath of Mary that is completely unattested in the extantliterature. The beginning of that fragment reads, “The virginbore Emmanuel, the living God.” She is presented as joiningthe twelve apostles in their preaching mission. When sherealizes at age 60 that she is about to die, she and theapostles go to Jerusalem. The text breaks off with an appear-ance of Christ, who encourages her not to fear death. Försterargues that the Greek original of this fragment was producedin Upper Egypt in the second half of the second century.Such an early dating is based on the text’s Christology, a“primitive modalism,” and its presentation of Mary in anapostolic preaching role, otherwise completely unattested inliterature about her. This book will be of interest to patristicsscholars and students of Coptic literature.


NAG HAMMADI BIBLIOGRAPHY 1995-2006. ByDavid M. Scholer. Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies,65. Leiden: Brill, 2009. Pp. xvii + 256. N.p.

This is the third and last volume by Scholer containingbibliographical entries on Gnosticism, other Gnostic texts(non-Nag Hammadi), Gnostic schools and leaders, the NTand Gnosticism, and the Nag Hammadi Library. The entriesin this volume begin with number 8518 and conclude with11579. In his introduction Scholer says that the coverage for2000-2006 is not complete, owing to his “difficult andcontinuing journey with cancer.” Unfortunately, he diedlast year. Scholer began his work on the Nag Hammadi andGnosticism bibliography in 1967, and the first volume waspublished as volume 1 of the new series, “Nag HammadiStudies” (Nag Hammadi Bibliography 1948-1969, Leiden:Brill, 1971). The entries in that volume went from 1 to 2423.All of us working in the study of ancient Gnosticism owe a


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debt of gratitude to Scholer for producing such a valuabletool for research. One can only hope that someone else willpick up where he left off.


GNOSTICA, JUDAICA, CATHOLICA: COLLECTEDESSAYS OF GILLES QUISPEL. Edited by Johannes vanOort. Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, 55. Leiden:Brill, 2008. Pp. xxv + 869. N.p.

Quispel (1916-2006) was one of the most creative andprolific scholars in the study of ancient Christianity andGnosticism of the past century. This book contains 49 of hisessays, 47 of them previously published from 1948 to 2005,many of them with additional notes meant to bring them upto date. Part I, Gnostica, contains 24 chapters devoted toGnosticism, the Gospel of Thomas (which Quispel consid-ered an “encratite” rather than a “Gnostic” gospel), andTatian’s Diatessaron. Quispel was one of the first scholars touse the Nag Hammadi writings to show that Gnosticismoriginated in pre-Christian Judaism. He was also one of thefirst to show that the Gospel of Thomas contains earlysayings of Jesus that are independent of the SynopticGospels. Part II, Judaica, has 11 chapters, the most impor-tant of which is “African Christianity before Minucius Felixand Tertullian” (chapter 25). There is also a new publicationon “The Muslim Jesus” (chapter 35). Part III, Catholica, has14 chapters, six of them English translations of articlespublished in Dutch. There is a short epilogue: “Gnosis andthe future of Christian Religion” (chapter 50). He saw as theonly hope for the Christian religion a type of RomanCatholicism that integrates Gnosis and personal religiousexperience.


History of ChristianityA PATRISTIC GREEK READER. By Rodney A. Whitacre.Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2007. Pp. v + 279.$29.95.

Rodney A. Whitacre’s A Patristic Greek Reader is a won-derful resource for students wishing to move beyond firstyear NT Greek and gain experience with early patristic writ-ings. Whitacre offers selections from fifteen different texts,each of which contains a brief introduction placing the workin context. Students will encounter new vocabulary, navi-gate through unfamiliar (and at times difficult) syntacticalterrain, as well as discover how broad the semantic range ofonce-familiar NT terms can be. Whitacre’s grammaticalnotes are particularly valuable: words are parsed and trans-lated, the nuances of verbal aspect are explained and parti-ciples are occasionally classified. Whitacre’s cross-referencing system is also helpful, including grammars (e.g.,Smyth, Wallace), translations (e.g., Ehrman, Holmes), and

lexicons (e.g., BDAG, LSI). Whitacre also identifies each pas-sage’s level of difficulty (e.g., easy, intermediate, upperintermediate, and advanced), as well as provides Englishtranslations of all the patristic texts used in an appendix.Perhaps the volume’s only shortcoming is a byproduct of itsmany strengths, namely, that little is left for students to dothemselves. I bypassed this shortcoming by requiring mystudents to diagram every passage under consideration, aswell as explain their syntactical decisions. No amount of“helps” will do that for you!


IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH: A MARTYR BISHOP ANDTHE ORIGIN OF EPISCOPACY. By Allen Brent. Londonand New York: Continuum/T & T Clark, 2007. Pp. xii + 180.Cloth, $132.00; paper, $44.95.

This is an outstanding study of Ignatius of Antioch, hislife and times, some key theological contributions, and thehistorical and literary debates surrounding his letters. Theauthor of several technical studies and monographs, Brenthere writes for a more general (but not “popular”) audience.Drawing heavily and fruitfully on extensive epigraphicresources that have became available during the last century(and convincingly dismantling various recent proposals thatthe Ignatian letters are late second-century forgeries), Brentsituates Ignatius squarely in the middle of the society andculture of Hellenistic city-states in Asia Minor during theearly part of the second century—in particular, the rhetoric ofthe Second Sophistic. This is the backdrop against whichboth Ignatius’s distinctive views of church order (intended tobring resolution to the ecclesiastical strains and stressesevident in the Gospel of Matthew and the Didache) and hisunderstanding of martyrdom ought to be understood.Viewing the Eucharist as a mystery play, Ignatius envi-sioned the ecclesia as a mystery cult both partaking of unionwith the divine and promoting concord (homonoia) betweenand within congregations—a cooption of an aspect of paganculture, Brent argues, that Ignatius’s contemporaries neitherfully understood nor agreed with. Written with clarity andlogic, this volume offers an excellent introduction to Ignatiusand his world.


THE “BELLY-MYTHER” OF ENDOR: INTERPRETA-TIONS OF 1 KINGDOMS 28 IN THE EARLYCHURCH. By Rowan A. Greer and Margaret M. Mitchell.Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007. Pp. vii +189. $155.00.

Made possible by the recent works of P. and M. Nautin,S. Manlio and J. H. Declerck, Greer and Mitchell’s The Belly-Myther of Endor offers a significant contribution to ourunderstanding of the early Christian exegesis of 1 Kgs 28(=1 Sam 28). The book’s title derives from a “hyper-literal”


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