The Evangelical Textual Criticism blog just posted news of a new book on this well-known and textually controversial passage (the woman taken in adultery): David Alan Black and Jacob Cerone (eds.), The Pericope of the Adulteress in Contemporary Research. The...
Text Criticism & Canon
Were the Gospels Originally Written in Aramaic or Hebrew?
I’m often asked this question, so it was nice to come across this paper by Jan Joosten online. Joosten Aramaic or Hebrew behind_the_Gospels Joosten is an excellent scholar in Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, and Hebrew. This is a worthwhile (and sane) introduction to the...
The Old Testament Canon(s)
John Hobbins has a succinct note on why “To this day, therefore, among Christians an Old Testament canon shared by all does not exist.” His post includes a link to an illustrative PDF on the various Old Testament canons embraced within Christianity...
Currently Running Projects on the Text of the Hebrew Bible
Someone sent me this link a couple days ago. It’s about the Oxford Hebrew Bible project, of which Ron Hendel of UC-Berkeley is the chief editor. The article makes some silly statements that make it sound like this project is going to see things in the biblical...
Progress on the Voynich Manuscript
This new report about a recently *peer-reviewed* article on the Voynich Manuscript isn't paleobabble. It's pretty interesting. Looks like some real progress that could lead to decipherment. Â Image source: Wikipedia Â
New Logos Resource Series for Understanding Biblical Criticism
The Logos Bible Software blog announced a pre-pub today for a four-volume book series (with ample visuals and info-graphics) that I’m excited about. Its aim is to educate (in plain language) non-specialists in the methods of biblical criticism scholars use with...
New Testament Textual Criticism: Search for Manuscripts Goes On
For those interested in NT textual criticism, here’s a nice piece on Dan Wallace and the work of the CSNTM (Center for the Study of NT Manuscripts). Hard to believe Dan is sixty!
Genesis 1:2 and the Verb HAYAH
Here is a [download] link to a short (13:00 or so) video I made searching for the structure of Genesis 1:2 and its verb, hayah (“to be”) The video was prompted by a comment to an earlier post I made about the “gap theory.” That theory of...
What To Me And To You?
While doing some reverse interlinear work a few days ago, I came across Josh 15:18. The verse concerns Caleb’s newly-won bride: 18 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you...
Moses and the Law of Moses in the New Testament
In this final post on the issue of the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, I want to examine a couple items in the New Testament. As noted before , my position is that “law of Moses” is an appropriate designation for the Torah/Pentateuch despite sound...
Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch: Changes in Law in Deuteronomy
In my previous post on JEDP I said this post would be my last on that topic. In the intervening days I told someone in the comments page that I would add a post to the topic – the best example I can think of for changes made in OT law between Exodus and Deuteronomy....
Mosaic Authorship of the Torah: Problems with the Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP), Part 3
I’m thinking this will be my next-to-last post on JEDP. The topic has not generated much discussion, so I’m going to move on. Can’t say I’m surprised. I’m not all that interested in composition of the Pentateuch myself. Toward the end...
Mosaic Authorship of the Torah: Problems with the Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP), Part 2
I am presuming that most of you have given Friedman’s Chapter 2 (from Who Wrote the Bible?)Â a read-through by now. I wanted to post a couple quick thoughts on why his description, though accurately describing the theory, actually makes me suspicious of the...
Mosaic Authorship of the Torah: Problems with the Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP), Part 1
In my last several posts on this topic, I have tried to demonstrate via the data of the text of the Hebrew Bible why it is reasonable to argue (from the text) that Moses did not write all or perhaps even most of the Pentateuch (Torah). I have made it clear, though,...
The Law of Moses: Does It Read Like Moses Wrote It? Part 2
In my last post on the Mosaic authorship issue , my goal was to produce data from the text that explains why the idea that Moses may not have written all or even most of the Pentateuch could be coherent. I haven’t laid out my thoughts on Mosaic authorship yet;...