258 / Religious Studies Review
extensive critical apparatus, while the French
translation has two sets of notes, brief notes at
the bottom of the page and longer notes (num-
bered consecutively with the brief notes) gath-
ered in “Notes complémentaires.” These notes
are almost a commentary on the text, crammed
with useful information. A Greek Index Nomi-
num, an Index Verborum, an Index of French
proper names, and a list of citations complete
the volume. Everyone working with classical
rhetoric will want this edition at hand, whether
in university or seminary library, or on one’s
own shelves. It is a major editorial achievement
and deserves wide use.
Edgar Krentz
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
THE ENEMIES OF ROME: FROM HAN-
NIBAL TO ATILLA THE HUN. By Philip
Matyszak. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd,
2004. Pp. 296; illustrations. $31.95, ISBN
0-500-25124-X.
Judgments on the Roman Empire generally
invoke Vergil’s famous lines about Rome’s mis-
sion (Aen. 6.851-53), as well as, occasionally,
Rutilius Namatianus’ seemingly anachronistic
claim, in 417 CE, that Rome had made a city
of what was once the world. Yet, as we all
realize, where there is a winner, there will also
be a loser; conquest produces conquered.
Matyszak takes the side of the underdog. He
offers brief sketches of seventeen individuals,
from the third century BCE to the fifth CE. It
is a somewhat amorphous group: representa-
tives of great states, monarchs, tribal chieftains,
a slave, and others, are paraded before the
reader. Spartacus, Orodes II, Decebalus,
Arminius, Zenobia, and Boudicca [sic] appear;
the oddest choice is Josephus, representing
Jewish resistance. Of course we have his writ-
ings, but compared with someone like Bar-
Kokhba, he is quite unimportant. Matyszak
writes with vigor and enthusiasm. His thesis is
summed up at the end of his preface: “Few
withstood conquest, and fewer still died in their
beds. And as each one fell, the civilization of
the Mediterranean became that much poorer.”
There are too many errors, however, to recom-
mend the book wholeheartedly. Caution will be
required in its use. There are misspellings,
wrong dates, odd blunders (as with Vercinge-
torix; his year of birth is given as “around
78 BC,” his childhood is placed “during the
80s BC”), and unexpected omissions. Had the
summa manus been applied, this would have
been a substantially stronger book.
Herbert W. Benario
Emory University
THE LANGUAGE OF IMAGES IN
ROMAN ART. By Tonio Hölscher. Translated
by Anthony Snodgrass and Anne-Marie Künzl-
Snodgrass. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, 2004. Pp. xxxv + 151; plates,
glossary. $28.99, ISBN 0-521-66569-8.
Originally published in 1987 and now avail-
able in an English translation, Hölscher’s book
presents a new theory for the understanding of
Roman art useful for any scholar of antiquity.
More art historian than archaeologist, the Ger-
man author is deeply rooted in the philosophy
of the discipline; threads of Hegel, Wölfflin,
Panofsky, and others permeate the entire text.
Focusing on the commonly neglected issues of
iconography and iconology, and concentrating
on specific works of art, Hölscher develops a
semantic system of viewing Roman art. That is,
he claims that different stylistic forms were
used for different themes and messages. In par-
ticular, Hölscher proposes that Roman art chose
its visual paradigms not predominantly on con-
siderations of style and taste, but rather in terms
of content and subject. In the end, Hölscher is
trying to understand more fully the society and
culture of Rome through the study and analysis
of works of ancient art, for these objects hold
many clues to the nature of life in antiquity.
Overall, Hölscher’s book is easy to read and his
argument is clear. While it is difficult to prove
the validity of the author’s semantic system
(and he even admits as much himself, stating it
is far from set in stone), the book is useful
nonetheless, for making the reader think of
Roman art in a new and different way.
Julia C. Menes
Ohio State University
Christian Origins
THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW. By John
Nolland. New International Greek Testament
Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005. Pp.
xcviii + 1481. $80.00, ISBN 0-8028-2389-0.
Like the other commentaries in the series,
this commentary is enormously learned,
exhaustive in its detailed textual, literary, redac-
tion- and source-critical comments and biblio-
graphical material, and interesting, useful, and
accessible to a wide range of readers. Nolland
pays special attention to Matthew’s “Jewish-
ness,” his use of sources, particularly Mark, Q,
and the HB, and to the literary structure and
narrative techniques (e.g., repetition, framing,
chiasm) Matthew uses to achieve his theologi-
cal goals. A few items of interest: Nolland dates
Matthew before the build up toward the Jewish
war (not post-70, as is more common), which
places Mark and Q even earlier, which in turn
allows him to argue in favor of general histori-
cal reliability. In breaking down Matthew into
sections, Nolland follows the five-part dis-
course/narrative divisions in Matthew, though
often he further subdivides those sections. I feel
that Nolland underemphasizes the extent of
Matthew’s creativity, especially in terms of his
fulfillment formulas and the citation of scrip-
ture. Finally, there is a puzzling use of the
phrase “final solution” that is troubling and
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
distasteful, especially given Matthew’s (27:25)
place in a history of Christian antisemitism.
Zeba A. Crook
Carleton University
MATTHEW 21-28. By Ulrich Luz. Herme-
neia. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress,
2005. Pp. xliv + 680. $90.00, ISBN 0-8006-
3770-4.
This is the final volume in Luz’s commen-
tary on Matthew. The format is the same as the
previous two volumes. For each section of Mat-
thew there is an introduction, Luz’s translation,
comments on the structure of the textual unit, a
history of interpretation, commentary (with
appropriate excurses), and somewhat new sec-
tions on the text’s “meaning for today.” There
are also very helpful cross-references to volume
two (Hermeneia 2001), but the cross-references
to volume one refer to the German edition.
There is a planned revision of the English trans-
lation of volume one (1989) for the Hermeneia
series. Luz’s focus throughout all volumes of
the commentary is on the “history of the way
the text has influenced subsequent generations”
(Wirkungsgeschichte), and for volume three,
Luz comments on many works of art. Since
Matt 21-28 deal with Jesus’ entry into Jerusa-
lem, and his death and resurrection, the trajec-
tory of this volume, is drawn inescapably
toward Matthew’s negative portrayal of the
Jewish leaders. Although Luz finds Matthew’s
portrayal of the Jewish leaders and their follow-
ers troubling, he subsumes this under the usual
view of “sibling rivalry” and the post-70 sepa-
ration of Matthew’s group from other forms of
Judaism. This is a landmark commentary.
Fred W. Burnett
Anderson University
MATTHEW: A SHORTER COMMEN-
TARY BASED ON THE THREE-VOLUME
INTERNATIONAL CRITICAL COM-
MENTARY. By W. D. Davies and Dale C.
Allison. New York: T & T Clark, 2004. Pp. xxix
+ 549. $35.00, ISBN 0-567-08249-0.
As the title indicates, this work is a shorter
version of the three-volume International Crit-
ical Commentary (ICC) that has taken its place
in Matthean scholarship as perhaps the fore-
most historical-critical commentary. The
shorter version is done by Allison, and its target
audience is “readers who find the larger com-
mentary too involved or too difficult.” In that
light, this work, Allison says, “comments not
on the Greek text but on my own English trans-
lation.” There are no major revisions of the
three-volume work, and any subsequent publi-
cations of the shorter version will follow revi-
sions in the three-volume commentary, not vice
versa. Bibliographies in the shorter version
cover basic works only through approximately
2003 but are helpful nonetheless for the novice.
The shorter commentary is an excellent tool for
students, busy pastors and priests, and laypeo-
ple, and it is an excellent entrée into the larger
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
commentary if one wants to pursue a point in
more depth. One wishes for at least a subject
index, but given the reasonable price, this is a
highly recommended book for its intended
audience.
Fred W. Burnett
Anderson University
MATTHEW AND THE DIDACHE: TWO
DOCUMENTS FROM THE SAME
JEWISH-CHRISTIAN MILIEU? Edited by
Huub van de Sandt. Minneapolis, MN.: For-
tress, 2005. Pp. vi + 310. $49.00, ISBN 0-8006-
3722-4.
To the debate about the relationship
between Matthew and Didache (Didache
dependent upon Matthew, or vice versa? Both
dependent on common traditions? Didache
completely independent of Matthew?) may be
added the question posed in the subtitle of this
volume, whose contents include: 1) “Hypothe-
ses on the Development of Judaism and Chris-
tianity in Syria in the Period after 70 C.E.” (B.
ter Haar Romeny); 2) “The Milieu of Matthew,
the Didache, and Ignatius of Antioch: Agree-
ments and Differences” (C. Jefford); 3) “The
History and Social Setting of the Matthean
Community” (W. Weren); 4) “When, Why, and
for Whom Was the Didache Created? Insights
into the Social and Historical Setting of the
Didache Communities” (A. Milavec); 5) “The
Sermon on the Mount and the Two Ways Teach-
ing of the Didache” (K. Syreeni); 6) “The Use
of the Synoptics or Q in Did. 1:3b-2:1” (J.
Kloppenborg); 7) “The Halakhic Evidence of
Didache 8 and Matthew 6 and the Didache
Community’s Relationship to Judaism” (P.
Tomson); 8) “Didache 9-10: A Litmus Test for
the Research on Early Christian Liturgy Eucha-
rist” (G. Rouwhorst); 9) “Les charismatiques
itinérants dans la Didachè et dans l’Évangile de
Matthieu” (A. Tuilier); 10) “Two Windows on
a Developing Jewish-Christian Reproof Prac-
tice: Matt 18:15-17 and Did. 15:3” (H. van de
Sandt); 11) “Eschatology in the Didache and
the Gospel of Matthew” (J. Verheyden); and 12)
“Do the Didache and Matthew Reflect an ‘Irre-
vocable Parting of the Ways’ with Judaism?”
(J. Draper). The essays by Haar Romeny, Jef-
ford, Kloppenborg, and Draper are of particular
note because of their wide interest to all stu-
dents of early Christianity.
Michael W. Holmes
Bethel University
THE LAST WEEK: A DAY-BY-DAY
ACCOUNT OF JESUS’ FINAL WEEK IN
JERUSALEM. By Marcus J. Borg and John
Dominic Crossan. New York: HarperSanFran-
cisco, 2006. Pp. xii + 220. $21.95, ISBN
978-0-06-084539-1.
The Last Week is clearly written and easily
accessible. It offers but three pages of notes and
is not a “scholarly work” even though the schol-
arship is evident in the presentation. Borg and
Crossan present a more popularized application
of a sociopolitical lens to the last week of the
life of Jesus in Mark 11-16. Jesus is presented
as having a political and theological agenda that
is strictly anti-imperial (anti-Roman). This is
the underlying paradigm of the work. The pre-
sentation of Jesus as a political revolutionary
should come as no surprise to those familiar
with Borg and Crossan’s other works (much
less those of R. Horsley, S. G. F. Brandon, J. J.
Tabor, and even G. Stemberger). Borg and
Crossan present a genuine rereading of Holy
Week imbued with often overlooked meanings
and possibilities. The Last Week is significant in
that even if one does not choose to accept the
paradigm completely, one could still gain an
insight into the times and teachings of Jesus.
Charles Ensminger
Niota, TN
FROM Q TO “SECRET” MARK: A COM-
POSITION HISTORY OF THE EARLIEST
NARRATIVE THEOLOGY. By Hugh M.
Humphrey. New York: T & T Clark, 2006.
Pp. v + 170. $29.95. , ISBN 0-567-02512-8.
Humphrey says Mark first compiled Peter’s
preaching of the Q material, expanding it into
a narrative (chapters one to thirteen) portraying
Jesus as the Son of God inspired by Wisdom,
the eschatological Teacher. This he did while
Peter was preaching in Rome. Later he narrated
Peter’s preaching of the cross, creating the Pas-
sion Narrative. It was “Pauline” in its Christol-
ogy of a self-emptying Son of Man/Adam. This
was on the eve of Claudius’s expulsion of Jews
from Rome. Taking both texts to Alexandria,
Mark decided to unite the two texts, seeding
each half with new materials recalling or fore-
shadowing the other, adding the theme of dis-
cipleship in a world not likely to end as soon
as he had first expected. Humphrey takes too
seriously the various patristic notes about
Mark’s authorship (which his theory seeks to
harmonize, making them refer to different Mar-
kan drafts) as well as Suetonius’s equivocal
note on Claudius expelling Jews. An interesting
though not a crucial book, Markan specialists
should be sure to read it.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
LORD OF THE COSMOS: MITHRAS,
PAUL, AND THE GOSPEL OF MARK. By
Michael Patella. New York: T & T Clark, 2006.
Pp. x + 134. $29.95, ISBN 0-567-02532-2.
The title promises much, but the book deliv-
ers nothing. Patella in no way documents his
guess that Paul learned Mithraism in Tarsus and
used its cosmic cross of intersecting ecliptic
planes to communicate his own Gospel. He
contradicts himself as to whether or not Mith-
raism provided participation in the deity; so
Paul either offered a better product with baptis-
mal sharing in Christ or, alternatively, somehow
used the notion of Mithraic salvific participa-
tion to communicate his own Christian version.
Patella uncritically assumes that the Evangelist
Religious Studies Review / 259
Mark was a friend of Paul in Rome, and that
Mark’s Gospel thus embodies Pauline soteriol-
ogy as well as the imagined Mithraic interest.
Mark presents Jesus as, like Mithras, a cosmic
savior battling against evil, but also as the utter
antithesis to the Platonic cosmology (in the
Timaeus) that Patella identifies with Mithraism.
Bartimaeus denotes Christian conversion from
the Platonic worldview. The book is rambling,
repetitive, and mostly irrelevant to the stated
topic, if we can even be sure what that is. Give
this one a miss.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
PREACHING MARK’S UNSETTLING
MESSIAH. Edited by David Fleer and Dave
Bland. St. Louis, MO: Chalice, 2006. Pp. xi +
188. $19.99, ISBN 0-8272-2986-0.
This collection, which grew out of the May
2005 Rochester College Sermon Seminar, will
be helpful to preachers. Part one offers a series
of essays considering the preaching. Mark. F.
Craddock’s essay and sermon, both presented
at the seminar, establish the volume’s agenda of
using Mark’s preaching of his own Gospel as
the model and substance of contemporary
sermons, eschewing the-text-as-pretext-for-
three -points-with-interesting-contemporary-
illustrations method. The approach seeks to
embroil the listeners in the Markan text and to
confront them with Mark’s demand for disci-
pleship. M. Hooker provides exegetical essays
on Mark’s introduction and conclusion, stress-
ing the links of both to the full Gospel. F.
Aquino offers a theological assessment of Mark
as a call to becoming fully human. J. Barton
provides a cultural relevance by imagining a
dialogue between Mark and Gibson’s The Pas-
sion of the Christ. Arguing that only a commu-
nity life of discipleship fully performs Mark
makes R. Ward’s essay on performance criti-
cism a final epitome of the volume’s participa-
tory agenda. Part two includes eleven sermons,
most of which were crafted after the seminar,
on Markan texts. An introduction to each
sermon provides compositional comments,
emphasizing connections with the essays in
part one and providing a model by which others
might use part one of the volume to create their
own sermons.
Richard Walsh
Methodist College
THE EXORCISM STORIES IN LUKE-
ACTS: A SOCIOSTYLISTIC READING.
By Todd Klutz. Society for New Testament
Studies Monograph Series, 129. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xii +
299. $80.00, ISBN 0-521-83804-5.
This monograph, a reworking of Klutz’s
1996 dissertation from the University of Shef-
field, examines the exorcism stories in Luke-
Acts alongside ancient sources on demonology,
treating, in particular, Luke 4:33-37; 8:26-39;
9:37-43a and Acts 16:16-18. Klutz defines
260 / Religious Studies Review
“sociostylistic reading” as an “analysis of lin-
guistic style” that includes “attention not only
to the linguistic structures of the text itself but
also to the various kinds of extratextual forces
that constrained and shaped the text’s produc-
tion in the first place.” Although his work
resembles the form-criticism of the Synoptics,
Klutz is more interested in placing his perico-
pae within the larger discourse of Luke-Acts
than in the original communities that devel-
oped these sources. Klutz enjoys the benefits of
such a wide-ranging methodology (multiple
tools to reveal complex interrelationships and
meanings of a given text) as well as its demer-
its (lack of focus and occasional moments
where more is evoked than what is actually
argued or developed). His work will be of
interest to scholars of Luke-Acts, of possession
and magic in the early Roman world, and of
critical methodology.
Robert Paul Seesengood
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
THE ORIGINAL LANGAUAGE OF THE
LUKAN INFANCY NARRATIVE. By
Chang-Wook Jung. Journal for the Study of the
New Testament, Supplement Series, 267. New
York: T & T Clark, 2004. Pp. xi + 249. $140.00,
ISBN 0-567-08205-9.
Most NT scholarship assume that Luke 1-2
were composed in imitation of Septuagintal
style and were not originally composed in
Hebrew. Jung’s study analyzes the Greek of
Luke’s infancy narrative to settle the question
with linguistics, finding no basis for a Semitic
original. Further, he suggests that Luke 1-2 was
not composed but co-opted by the Evangelist.
Jung’s work is filled with charts, diagrams, and
systematic tables of exegetical options; further,
the book is permeated with cross-references to
LXX and NT Greek, making it often a slow
and laborious reading. Substantial skill with
Hellenistic Greek and more than general
acquaintance with Greek syntax and formalist/
structuralist modes of NT exegesis are
assumed. Further, knowledge of biblical
Hebrew is needed to evaluate Jung’s analysis of
whether biblical quotations in Luke derive from
the Greek or Hebrew text. It is not a good work
for introductory students and is more suited to
advanced scholars.
Robert Paul Seesengood
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
ECHOES OF SCRIPTURE IN LUKE-
ACTS: TELLING THE HISTORY OF
GOD’S PEOPLE INTERTEXTUALLY. By
Kenneth Duncan Litwak. Journal for the Study
of the New Testament, Supplement Series, 282.
New York: T & T Clark, 2005. Pp. x + 233.
$130.00, ISBN 0-567-03025-3.
Litwak’s work explores the influence of the
“OT” on Luke-Acts. The author of Luke-Acts
makes few overt references to Jewish Scripture
(ca. 25), which has led many scholars to con-
clude that Luke-Acts, unlike Matthew, was not
written to a Jewish audience. Litwak argues that
there are pervasive allusions to Jewish sacred
texts in Luke-Acts; these allusions are deliber-
ate intertextual moments and are intended to be
more than stylistic imitation; they are critical
hermeneutical signatures, vital for an accurate
understanding of Luke-Acts. Litwak insists that
Luke-Acts must be read as a complete narra-
tive. He argues that Luke’s overarching theme
is the nature and development of God’s chosen
community and people. “Luke’s” narrative
focuses on the continuity of God’s fellowship.
With such at its center, Luke-Acts argues its
message both overtly (by an explicit statement
and citation) and by analogy (through an allu-
sion to the Jewish Scriptures). Technical in
places, Litwak’s study is appropriate for inter-
mediate students. It will be of most value to
scholars interested in narrative criticism and in
the purpose and genre of Luke-Acts.
Robert Paul Seesengood
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
JESUS AND THE IMPURITY OF SPIRITS
IN THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS. By Clinton
Wahlen. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen
zum Neuen Testament, 2. Reihe 185. Tübingen,
Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2004. Pp. xiv + 280.
$107.50, ISBN 3-16-148387-1.
What do the Synoptic Evangelists mean
when they occasionally call demons “unclean”
or “impure spirits?” The author takes the long
way round to answer this straightforward ques-
tion. After the standard survey of Jewish and
early Christian usage, he approaches Mark,
Matthew, and Luke-Acts from a redaction-
critical point of view, evidencing a sure grasp of
scholarship on each verse and theme he treats.
But Wahlen seems short on answers, in each
case making “unclean spirits” a minor function
of major themes in each writer, and this only
with the aid of overinterpretation. Oddly, at the
start he provides two perfectly good explana-
tions. First, many Jews believed that the
demons were the ghosts of the Nephilim giants,
products of miscegenation between mortals and
angels, hence “impure” like all boundary-
violating creatures in Leviticus. Second, others
considered demons to be ghosts of the dead,
hence unclean just like corpses and cemeteries.
The rest of the book is unnecessary and not
worth the exorbitant price, except for libraries.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
TESTIMONY AND INTERPRETATION:
EARLY CHRISTOLOGY IN ITS JUDEO-
HELLENISTIC MILIEU. STUDIES IN
HONOUR OF PETR POKORNY Y. Edited by
Ji ř í Mrázek and Jan Roskovec. Journal for the
Study of the New Testament Supplement
Series, 272. New York: T & T Clark, 2005.
Pp. ix + 328. $150.00, ISBN 0-567-08298-9.
Pokorny’s interests in early Christianity
were wide ranging, and this collection of essays
aptly reflects that. The first collection of essays
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
deals with Paul—what kind of Jew Paul was
(K. P. Donfried), the controversy at Corinth
(R. Hoppe), Paul’s Christology (L. Tichy; J.
Schröter), the Dionysian background of Ephe-
sians (S. E. Porter), and the earthquake imagery
in Paul’s writings (L. J. Kreitzer). Six essays are
collected under “Jesus in the Synoptic
Traditions” and deal with orality in Mark (M.
Myllykoski), Jesus and Gehenna (D. C. Allison,
Jr.), apotheosis in Luke 24 and Acts 1 (D. Dorm-
eyer), the Christology of Matt 1:8-25 (H. Klein)
and the Sermon on the Mount (W. Schrage), and
strangely, an article on Jesus outside of the Syn-
optics (M. Hengel). Articles on the Fourth Gos-
pel include its Christology (J. Bolyki), the vine
imagery (S. Pisarek), John and the Enoch tradi-
tion (J. H. Charlesworth), Christology and com-
munity in the Farewell Discourse (K. Syreeni),
and, using Heidegger, John’s notion of “truth”
(H. Hübner). “Later Developments” include es-
says on later understandings of the beginnings
of Christology (C. Demke), the seer of Patmos
(J. M. Court), and Christology in the Apostles’
Creed (Z. Sázava) and at Chalcedon (P. Elling-
worth). For research libraries.
Fred W. Burnett
Anderson University
FOUR GOSPELS, ONE JESUS? A SYM-
BOLIC READING. By Richard A. Burridge.
2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005.
Pp. xviii + 198. $16.00, ISBN 0-8028-2980-5.
In this second edition of his well-received
introductory treatise, Burridge wanders about
freely within the brief compass of six chapters,
ruminating on the four portraits of Jesus found
in the canonical Gospels, the nature of a Gos-
pel, and their authors and methods of writing;
in short, on all manners of information likely to
be of value to a beginner in NT studies. There
follow sections on the individual Gospels, each
one bearing a distinctive, traditional imagery
and nomenclature taken from Ezekiel’s four liv-
ing creatures: 1) the roar of the lion (Mark); 2)
the teacher of Israel (Matthew); 3) the bearers
of burdens (Luke); and 4) the high-flying eagle
(John). A concluding chapter asks the question
“four portraits or four Jesuses?” These four por-
traits justify the diverse interpretations of Jesus
that have occurred throughout succeeding
Christian history. In short, Burridge’s Christol-
ogy symbolized by four living creatures makes
an excellent introduction filled with well-
phrased insights. He explains a literary, critical
approach to the Gospels that should remove
much of the perplexed anxiety that may afflict
ill-prepared readers who fear that biblical sci-
ence is inimical to traditional religious values.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
TWO GOSPELS FROM ONE: A COM-
PREHENSIVE TEXT-CRITICAL ANALY-
SIS OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS. By
Matthew C. Williams. Grand Rapids, MI:
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
Kregel, 2006. Pp. 256. $21.99, ISBN 0-8254-
3940-X.
Of Streeter’s five arguments for Marcan pri-
ority, the linguistic argument—that Matthew
and Luke improve Mark’s less-elegant Greek—
has been the most enduring and persuasive. Yet
neo-Griesbachians have highlighted the inher-
ent subjectivity of many of the criteria used to
reach that conclusion. Seeking less-subjective
criteria by which to evaluate the phenomena,
this interesting study (in a manner similar to
that of H. Shinn, Textual Criticism and the Syn-
optic Problem in Historical Jesus Research:
The Search for Valid Criteria) proposes to uti-
lize text-critical criteria—developed to deter-
mine which of several variants is primary and
which is secondary—as a means of determining
whether Mark or Matthew is the primary source
of the other. The study is well conceived, but
falters in execution because of: 1) the inherent
(but in this study largely downplayed) subjec-
tivity of text-critical criteria, and 2) self-
imposed limitations that undercut his method
(e.g., he restricts himself to the selective NA27
apparatus as a source for variants in Mark, and
adopts the NA27 text of Matthew as printed in
the Aland synopsis, ignoring virtually all tex-
tual variations in Matthew). Finally, it is a clas-
sic example of a purely literary approach to the
Synoptic Problem; the author, not unaware of
possible influences of oral tradition, brings it in
only as a possible explanation of evidence (e.g.,
instances where Matthew rather than Mark has
the primary reading) that works against his the-
sis rather than as a serious factor in Gospel
transmission. In short, thought-provoking yet
unpersuasive.
Michael W. Holmes
Bethel University
SERVANT LEADERSHIP: JESUS AND
PAUL. By Efrain Agosto. St. Louis, MO: Chal-
ice Press, 2005. Pp. vii + 248. $23.99,
ISBN 0-827234-63-5.
Agosto provides a thorough exegesis of the
recurrent themes in the leadership displayed by
Jesus and Paul. Using NT sources, the author
identifies five consistent elements in their lead-
ership: 1) free acceptance of sacrifice and the
challenges of leadership; 2) concern with social
justice and marginal members of society; 3) a
willingness to confront elites and domination
systems; 4) inclusive, egalitarian relationship
with followers; and 5) personal humility. The
author argues that these are the hallmarks of a
biblically based “servant leadership” that has
relevance for religious leaders in a post-911
environment. This book’s solid exegesis will
interest biblical scholars interested in leader-
ship and will stimulate reflection and dialogue
among church leaders seeking to understand
and align themselves with NT leadership prin-
ciples. While not a practical book, it would also
be a valuable resource in seminary leadership
programs, providing an insight into how Jesus
and Paul acted in their contexts. Its usefulness
would have been significantly enhanced had the
author included a more rigorous examination of
the extensive literature and research findings
(Christian and otherwise) on the concept of
“Servant Leadership.”
Charles Cotton
Queen’s University, Canada
HEBREWS: CONTEMPORARY METH-
ODS—NEW INSIGHTS. Edited by Gabriella
Gelardini. Biblical Interpretation Series, 75.
Leiden: Brill, 2005. Pp. viii + 304. $129.00,
ISBN 90-04-14490-0.
This volume, comprising selected papers of
the Hebrews Seminar of the SBL International
Meeting from 2001-04, is aptly entitled. Four-
teen of the twenty-four papers presented in
those sessions offer a representative sample of
the excellence of contemporary scholarship on
Hebrews. The essays are arranged in three parts
covering major areas of Hebrews’ research: 1)
Cultic Language, Concepts, and Practice; 2)
Sociology, Ethics, and Rhetoric; and 3) Tex-
tual-Historical, Comparative, and Intertextual
Approaches. This collection of essays is a
“must read” for every serious student of
Hebrews.
Alan C. Mitchell
Georgetown University
PNEUMATOLOGICAL CONCEPTS IN
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS:
AMTSCHARISMA, PROPHET, AND
GUIDE OF THE ESCHATOLOGICAL
EXODUS. By Martin Emmrich. Lanham, MD:
University Press of America, 2003. Pp. xvi +
104. $27.00, ISBN 0-7618-2679-3.
This revised and abbreviated Ph.D. disserta-
tion examines the pneumatology of Hebrews
and concludes that the Spirit plays an integral
role in three areas of the sermon: 1) priesthood,
2) prophecy, and 3) pilgrimage. Drawing on
Jewish pneumatology evident in the Pseude-
pigrapha, Qumran Scrolls, Josephus, Philo, and
Rabbinic Literature, Emmrich finds supports
for the view that the Spirit is linked both to the
priesthood of Christ and to that of the believers.
Citation formulae in Heb 3:7 and 10:15 give the
Spirit a prophetic function in the sermon, and
Heb 9:8 shows that the Spirit plays a revelatory
role as well. Finally, three warnings in Heb
2:1-4, 3:7-11, and 6:4-6 are evidence of a
“retributive pneumatology” designed to keep
the recipients of Hebrews on track toward their
eschatological goal.
Alan C. Mitchell
Georgetown University
POETICS OF THE GNOSTIC UNIVERSE:
NARRATIVE AND COSMOLOGY IN THE
APOCRYPHON OF JOHN. By Zlatko Plete.
Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, 52.
Leiden: Brill, 2006. Pp. x + 329. $129.00, ISBN
90-04-11674-5.
Religious Studies Review / 261
This book is a revised version of the author’s
Yale dissertation, written under the direction of
B. Layton. Plete rejects all attempts at source-
criticism and refers to his work as “an essay in
“Gnostic” poetics,” thus taking what I would
call a “comp-lit” approach to the text. He sees
Plato’s Timaeus as the key to understanding the
“poetics” of the “Gnostic” universe. He divides
the revelation in the Apocryphon according
to the Platonic categories of “Being” (the
unknown God and the spiritual realm) and
“Becoming” (cosmogony, and the process of
salvation). The Savior in the text presents a
Platonist revision of the Gospel of John, using
Plato’s Timaeus and “Moses” (i.e., Genesis) as
the principal sources, with the biblical Wisdom
literature as intermediary. Plete’s close reading
of the Apocryphon is informed by an impres-
sive knowledge of Graeco-Roman philosophy
and literature, as well as Alexandrian Jewish
traditions as reflected particularly in Philo. His
book is an impressive contribution to scholar-
ship on the Apocryphon of John and on Gnos-
ticism in general.
Birger A. Pearson
University of California, Santa Barbara
“DAS VOLLKOMMENE PASCHA”:
GNOSTISCHE BIBELEXEGESE UND
ETHIK. By Emmanouela Grypeou. Orientalia
Biblica et Christiana, 15. Wiesbaden: Otto
Harrassowitz, 2005. Pp. 332. €58.00, ISBN
3-447-05064-0.
In the introduction to this book, a Tübingen
dissertation written under the direction of
S. Gero, the author adopts the definition of
Gnosticism (German Gnosis) put forward by H.
Jonas in his book The Gnostic Religion. The
first part of the book is devoted to a detailed
survey of Gnostic biblical interpretation, first as
depicted in the writings of the Church Fathers
and then as reflected in the primary sources
preserved in Coptic. In the second part, Gry-
peou discusses Gnostic ethics, first as depicted
in the heresiological accounts, and then as
reflected in the Coptic sources. She sees Gnos-
tic ethics as based upon Gnostic “antinomian”
biblical interpretation. Especially interesting is
her treatment of “libertinism,” particularly that
of the Gnostics described by Epiphanius. (The
title of her book, The Perfect Passover, is a
phrase taken from Epiphanius’s discussion of
one of the “libertine” Gnostic rituals, Panarion
26.4.8). She argues, plausibly enough, that the
absence of “libertine” ethics in the Coptic
sources does not mean that the Church Fathers
cannot be trusted in their accounts of that vari-
ety of Gnosticism. It simply reflects the ascetic
orientation of the monastic groups in which the
texts were copied and circulated. She concludes
that Gnosticism first arose among extreme
“allegorists” among Hellenized Jews. Her book
is a solid contribution to scholarship on the
ancient Gnostic religion.
Birger A. Pearson
University of California, Santa Barbara
262 / Religious Studies Review
THE LOST GOSPEL: THE QUEST FOR
THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS ISCARIOT. By
Herbert Krosney. Washington, DC: National
Geographic Society, 2006. Pp. xxv + 309;
plates. $27.00, ISBN 978-1-4262-0041-0.
THE SECRETS OF JUDAS: THE STORY
OF THE MISUNDERSTOOD DISCIPLE
AND HIS LOST GOSPEL. By James M.
Robinson. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco,
2006. Pp. ix + 192. $19.95, ISBN 978-0-06-
117063-8.
Sometime around 1978, some Fellahin dis-
covered in a tomb at the Jabal Qarara in Middle
Egypt, across the river from the town of Magh-
agha, four manuscripts, two Greek and two
Coptic. One of the Coptic manuscripts, now
known as the Codex Tchacos, contained the
Gospel of Judas. In his book, Krosney, an inves-
tigative journalist specializing in historical
projects, traces the story of the codex: its sale
in 1978 to a Cairo antiquities dealer, H. Asabil,
its theft in a burglary in Hanna’s home in 1980,
its recovery in Switzerland in 1982, its offering
for sale for $3 million to scholars examining it
in Geneva in 1983, its deposit in a New York
bank vault in 1984 after unsuccessful attempts
to sell it, its purchase by F. T. Nussberger in
2000, its failed sale to the dealer B. Ferrini in
the same year, its retrieval and removal to Swit-
zerland in 2001 where work commenced on its
restoration and translation under the auspices
of the Maecenas Foundation in Basel and the
National Geographic Society. During its pere-
grinations and storage in unsuitable environ-
ments, the papyrus manuscript suffered an
enormous damage.
In his book, Robinson treats the Judas of the
NT, “the historical Judas,” “the Gnostic Judas,”
and the story of what happened to the codex
containing the Gospel from the time of the
Geneva meeting in 1983, where Robinson was
represented by S. Emmel, up until the time of
the preservation work being carried out by Cop-
tologist R. Kasser and others. I treat these two
books together for they overlap and provide
strikingly different pictures of the same story.
Thanks to his association with the National
Geographic Society, Krosney was familiar with
the content of the Gospel of Judas and gives a
summary of it in his concluding chapter. No
such advantage was enjoyed by Robinson. Iron-
ically, his book was out of date by the time it
was published, for a tentative translation of the
Gospel of Judas had already appeared by that
time. These two books, taken together, make for
a fascinating reading.
Birger A. Pearson
University of California, Santa Barbara
EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE AND
THOUGHT IN SOCIAL CONTEXT: A
READER. By Mark Harding. London: T & T
Clark, 2003. Pp. xxii + 370. $29.95, ISBN 0-
8264-5604-9.
This book offers in a single collection
sources that are well-known and readily avail-
able in other similar anthologies. It is directed
at the undergraduate student, and would be
quite useful as a supplementary material for
most courses in Christian Origins. Although
Harding is interested in the “cultural environ-
ment” and the “social context,” there is not very
much here that would give students any such
understanding. There are eight sections in this
book: part one offers sources on the rise and
rules of the Persian, Greek, and Roman
empires; part two offers sources on the Jewish
experience of these empires (539 BCE-
135 CE), such as the Maccabean revolt, Herod,
and the various Jewish revolts; part three con-
siders Greco-Roman literature (e.g., History,
Biography, Letters, Poetry), and part four con-
siders Jewish and Christian literature (e.g.,
Apocalypses, Wisdom Literature, Gospels);
part five covers Greco-Roman religion (e.g.,
sacrifice, cult of the dead, Imperial cult, mys-
tery religions), and part six covers Philosophy
(e.g., Epicureanism, Stoicism, Cynic, and other
itinerants); part seven provides sources for the
Greco-Roman society (e.g., Household, Sexu-
ality, Slavery, Economy, Government, and
Sickness and Death); part eight, oddly entitled
“Early Judaism and Christianity,” closes the
book with sources on Sabbath, the Temple, the
various Jewish sects, Qumran, resistance move-
ments, resurrection, and Messianism. With the
exception of a few entries in part seven, which
are excellent, this is a standard collection of
religious, philosophical, and historical primary
sources.
Zeba A. Crook
Carleton University
ANTHROPOLOGY AND BIBLICAL
STUDIES: AVENUES OF APPROACH.
Edited by Louise J. Lawrence and Mario I.
Aguilar. Lieden: Deo Publishing, 2004. Pp.
324. $44.95, ISBN 90-5854-026-X.
The essays are as follows (some titles abbre-
viated): 1) D. Chalcraft, “Nineteenth-Century
Comparative Sociology on Israel”; 2) P. F.
Esler, “The Context Group Project”; 3) D. J.
Clark, “The Influence of Receptor Cultures on
the Translation of the Bible”; 4) N. MacDonald,
“Genesis 23 and the Models of Economic
Exchange”; 5) J. Schaper, “The Oral and the
Written, God as Scribe, and the Book of Deu-
teronomy”; 6) S. L. Sanders, “Parallel Literary
Editions of Joshua and the Israelite Mythologi-
zation of Ritual”; 7) B. Lang, “An Anthropo-
logical Essay on Proverbs 31:10-31”; 8) J. R.
Davila, “Ritual and the Jewish Pseude-
pigrapha”; 9) J. A. Loubser, “Possession and
Sacrifice in the NT and African Traditional
Religion”; 10) K. Wenell, “Reflections on the
Early Jesus Movement and the Huahua Reli-
gion”; 11) T. J. Ling, “Virtuoso Religion and
the Judean Social Order”; 12) D. J. Davies,
“Purity, Spirit and Reciprocity in the Acts of the
Apostles”; 13) A. L. A. Hogeterp, “Anthropol-
ogy and the Community as Temple in Paul’s
Letters”; and 14) M. I. Aguilar, “Changing
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
Models and the Death of Culture.” Unfortu-
nately, this collection of essays is not an
explication of the different ways that
anthropological methods can be used in the
study of the biblical world, as the title suggests.
Moreover, the papers are of an inconsistent
quality: some are interesting and thoughtful
(MacDonald, Davies, Aguilar); some are inter-
esting but threaten to set back social-scientific
criticism twenty years by their questionable use
of cross-cultural parallels (Lang, Wenell, Loub-
ser); some are of a surprisingly low quality
given the qualifications of the editors (Schaper,
Loubser, Ling); and some are simply out of
place in a volume such as this, even if they are
themselves interesting papers (Esler, Clark).
Zeba A. Crook
Carleton University
THE CITY IN THE VALLEY: BIBLICAL
INTERPRETATION AND URBAN THE-
OLOGY. By Dieter Georgi. Studies in Biblical
Literature, 7. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical
Literature, 2005. Pp. xxviii + 370. $34.95,
ISBN 1-58983-099-7.
The late Professor Georgi was a meticulous
NT scholar and historian, and it might come as
a surprise for some to see how deeply he was
interested in applying the NT to urban con-
cerns. He summarizes his interests in “Personal
Reflections on an American Theological Per-
spective,” and, although he does not explicitly
say so, his interest in urban theology seems to
be a natural outgrowth of his interest in the
sociohistorical situation of early Christianity in
urban and Pagan centers. Georgi was convinced
that the challenges and problems faced by early
urban Christians still have a relevance for the
ministry of churches in urban settings today.
Topics are diverse—they range over “divine
men” to the urban meaning of ekklÇsia—but all
of the essays finally drive toward an “urban
theology,” that is, the concrete application of
sociopolitical actions to urban and Christian
living. It is best to read his last two essays first
in order to frame the collection (“En Route to
an Urban Theology: Can Theology Help Us
Understand Urban Society?” and “On Sojourn-
ing”). H. Koester gives helpful and moving per-
sonal reflections in the “Foreword.”
Fred W. Burnett
Anderson University
IN THE SHADOW OF THE TEMPLE:
JEWISH INFLUENCES ON EARLY
CHRISTIANITY. By Oskar Skarsaune.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002.
Pp. 455. $34.00, ISBN 0-8308-2670-X.
This work is a comprehensive study of Jew-
ish influences on early Christianity, from the
first century through the pre-Constantinian
period. This book is divided into four sections.
The first chronicles the history of Judaism from
the Hasmonean revolt through the emergence
of the rabbis. Special emphasis is placed on
Jewish ideas and institutions that provide a
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
useful context for Christian origins. Part two
tracks down the origins and development of
Christianity in the first two centuries. Skar-
saune pays careful attention both to larger ves-
tiges of Judaism and the way that Christian
practice and theology was forged in dialogue
and in contrast with contemporaneous Judaism.
The third section adopts a thematic analysis of
the Jewish background for various Christian
concepts and practices. The final section con-
tains an epilogue that addresses the momentous
changes that Christianity underwent in the
fourth century, and the significance of these
developments for Jewish–Christian relations,
both in antiquity and today. This work is
written specifically for a general audience,
although it is equally suited for the advanced
student and scholar. Readers will benefit
greatly from the annotated bibliographies that
accompany each chapter. The one significant
drawback is the lack of a comprehensive sub-
ject index, which would have made the book
more accessible as a reference work.
Alex Jassen
University of Minnesota
GEOGRAPHY IN EARLY JUDAISM AND
CHRISTIANITY: THE BOOK OF JUBI-
LEES. By James M. Scott. Society for New
Testament Studies Monograph Series, 113.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Pp. viii + 337. $65.00, ISBN 0-521-80812-X.
This work focuses on early Jewish and
Christian conceptualizations of the geographi-
cal division of the world and its inhabitants.
This discussion is framed around an analysis of
the second-century BCE Jewish pseudepi-
graphic book of Jubilees and its reception in
early Christian literature. Jubilees 8-9 contains
a systematic rewriting of the Table of Nations
in Gen 10, which represents the biblical model
of world genealogy. In chapter two, Scott
examines how Jubilees 8-9 rewrites its biblical
base and how this process illuminates ancient
Jewish geographical conceptions. The remain-
der of the book contains Scott’s detailed argu-
ments for the pervasiveness of Jubilees 8-9 in
Christian literature, including Luke-Acts,
Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions, Theophilus
of Antioch, Hippolytus of Rome, and medieval
maps of the world. Scott, basing himself on a
close analysis of presumed literary dependence,
argues that the geographic traditions of Jubilees
8-9 directly or indirectly influenced each of
these bodies of literature and ultimately stands
behind each of their geographical aspects.
Scott’s thoroughly researched and carefully
documented study successfully demonstrates
the need to consider the world as the ancients
understood it when we read their writings. In
addition, Scott has provided a fruitful area of
research in the study of the afterlife of Jewish
pseudepigrapha in Christian literature.
Alex Jassen
University of Minnesota
JUDAISM BEFORE JESUS: THE EVENTS
AND IDEAS THAT SHAPED THE NEW
TESTAMENT WORLD. By Anthony J.
Tomasino. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press, 2003. Pp. 345. $24.00, ISBN 0-830-
82730-7.
This work presents a fine addition to the
growing library of surveys of Judaism in the
Second Temple period. It is written specifically
for a Christian audience with no prior knowl-
edge of the subject, who desire to understand
the development of Judaism from the end of the
HB through the first century CE and its impor-
tance for the NT and for early Christianity.
Charts, maps, a glossary, and explanatory text
boxes enhance the accessibility of the book.
Tomasino carefully balances the need to present
a full portrait of Second Temple Judaism and
the desire to identify elements in Second Tem-
ple Judaism that help to frame better the emer-
gence of Christianity. The book opens with a
chapter on the various sources employed to
reconstruct Second Temple Judaism and then
proceeds to examine Judaism in the Persian,
Hellenistic, and Roman periods. Tomasino
places a heavy emphasis on the theological
systems of Judaism and their relationship to the
Persian and Hellenistic contexts in which they
were formed. There is also a significant discus-
sion of the Jewish context for issues pertinent
to the study of the NT and of early Christianity
(i.e., messianism).
Alex Jassen
University of Minnesota
DERRIDA’S BIBLE (READING A PAGE
OF SCRIPTURE WITH A LITTLE HELP
FROM DERRIDA). Edited by Yvonne Sher-
wood. Religion/Culture/Critique Series. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Pp. xv + 323.
Cloth, $79.95, ISBN 1-4039-6628-1; paper,
$26.95, ISBN 1-4039-6663-X.
Eschewing “Derrida” as a trademark and/or
as a license for transgressive play, this impres-
sive collection follows Derrida’s method of
reading texts closely and in unexpected collo-
cations. Specifically, the essayists conjoin small
“pages” of scripture (Gen 22 appears most
often) and some of Derrida’s recent writings
(The Gift of Death appears most often). The
editor, thinking of the firm but tumultuous rela-
tionship between text/tradition and Derrida/
criticism, tentatively posits the collection’s
theme as “faithfulness-rupture.” For those unfa-
miliar with Derrida, it is the critics’ “faithful-
ness” to scripture/text that will surprise. But the
essayists also rupture texts (or their dominant
readings) by pointing to impossibilities (like
the gift) within our thought, the performative
nature of reading and culture, the promissory
nature of justice/messiah, or the deadly effects
of death upon meaning. Their most common
strategy simply tries “to think” together matters
not seemingly easily conjoined but which the
texts under review combine (e.g., genealogy
and virgin birth, memory and forgetting). Sher-
Religious Studies Review / 263
wood’s reflections on the ambiguous waw are
crucial here. Working with the later Derrida,
who in their hands resembles Kierkegaard and/
or Levinas (here Eisenstadt’s essay is crucial),
they all produce engaged readings, and some a
haunting relevance (e.g., Jobling, Heard). The
volume boldly includes two responses by the
almost convinced.
Richard Walsh
Methodist College
CONTAGIOUS HOLINESS: JESUS’
MEALS WITH SINNERS. By Craig L.
Blomberg. New Studies in Biblical Theology,
19. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
2005. Pp. 216. $20.00, ISBN 0-8308-2620-3.
Blomberg’s goal is to refute E. P. Sander’s
thesis that Jesus welcomed sinners without
requiring repentance, and Dennis C. Smith’s
claim that Jesus’ meals must be understood as
Greek-style symposia. Surprisingly, little space
is devoted to Crossan who makes “commensal-
ity” the essence of Jesus’ message and ministry.
Most of the book surveys every conceivable
reference to meals in the OT, Dead Sea Scrolls,
Apocrypha, and Pseudepigrapha. Little proves
relevant to the unsurprising thesis that Jesus
seems not to have superstitiously avoided the
ritually impure. For Gospel materials to qualify
as data for Jesus’ attitudes and practice, they
must go back to the historical Jesus, and so
Blomberg spends the rest of the book in the task
of apologetics. He deems blatant harmonization
as a “critical” axiom and employs it every-
where. He even swallows the camels of the
Cana miracle, the miraculous catch of fish, and
the Emmaus story as sober historical data. The
book is really a mass of apologetics that will
appeal only to inerrantists.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
TEACHING THE BIBLE: PRACTICAL
STRATEGIES FOR CLASSROOM
INSTRUCTION. Edited by Mark Roncace
and Patrick Gray. Resources for Biblical Study,
49. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature,
2005. Pp. xxiii + 440. $39.95, ISBN 1-58983-
171-3.
Designed specifically for instructors who
wish to improve student knowledge, interest,
and excitement in learning about the Bible, this
superior text takes into consideration all ranges
of student knowledge and addresses instruc-
tors’ need to engage individuals from the most
elementary to the highly specialized. Two
hundred seventy-three entries written by
ninety-three professors of widely differing
backgrounds offer readers a diversity of theo-
logical, ideological, methodological, and philo-
sophical perspectives. The book is organized
into three distinct sections: part one, strategies
for introducing the general skills and concepts
in biblical studies; part two, methods for teach-
ing the HB; and part three, methods for teach-
ing the NT. The inclusion of Internet sources
264 / Religious Studies Review
with models for “traditional” classroom activi-
ties provides a comprehensive compendium for
instructors in the university, seminary, or lay
church group. Roncace and Gray succeed in
offering a text that goes beyond pedagogical
theory, having compiled a useful collection of
effective, imaginative, and enjoyable strategies
that represent a dialogue between the wide vari-
ety of critical approaches to studying the Bible.
Aaron Saari
Xavier University
WONDERS NEVER CEASE: THE PUR-
POSE OF NARRATING MIRACLE STO-
RIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND
ITS RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENT. Edited
by Michael Labahn and Bert Jan Lietaert Peer-
bolte. European Studies on Christian Origins,
Library of New Testament Studies, 288. New
York: T & T Clark, 2006. Pp. xviii + 286.
$140.00, ISBN 0-567-08077-3.
This book treats an English-speaking audi-
ence to a collection of papers from the 2002 and
2003 meetings of the Early Christianity Semi-
nar of the European Association for Biblical
Studies. The scholars represent Germany,
Spain, the Netherlands, and Finland. The first
section, treating of the miracle stories of
Jubilees, Apollonius of Tyana, Asclepius, the
Mishna and Tosefta, and the Emperor cult, are
best, demonstrating that one best finds the NT
relevance of adjacent literatures when studying
them for their own sake. The next sections on
the Gospels, Acts, Paul, Revelation, ancient ill-
ness taxonomies, and John 21 are learned but
seem to offer little new to be learned, often
classifying the obvious. An essay on the rela-
tion between the Acts of Andrew and Matthias
and cognate texts will be the highlight for the
elect who study those texts. Libraries ought to
have it.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
THE WORD IN THIS WORLD: ESSAYS
IN NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS AND
THEOLOGY. By Paul W. Meyer. Edited by
John T. Carroll. The New Testament Library.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2004.
Pp. xxx + 338. $39.95, ISBN 0-664-22701-5.
The essays and sermons in this collection
(of which four items appear in print for the first
time) bear an eloquent testimony to the intel-
lectual and pedagogical abilities of their author,
whose character and contributions are sketched
in a warmly personal yet substantive foreword
by J. L. Martyn. Five headings indicate the
scope of topics covered: 1) theological and his-
torical interpretation (covering “The This-
Worldliness of the New Testament,” faith and
history, the messianic self-consciousness of
Jesus, and the role of exegesis in ethical reflec-
tion); 2) Pauline exegesis and theology (touch-
ing on Rom 7, Rom 10:4, “Pauline Theology:
A Proposal for a Pause in Its Pursuit” [with its
famous footnote on pistis Christou], the Holy
Spirit in Paul, and Augustine’s reading of
Romans); 3) his commentary on Romans
(excerpted from the HarperCollins Bible Com-
mentary); 4) Johannine exegesis and theology
(including the presentation of God in the fourth
Gospel, “Seeing, Signs, and Sources in the
Fourth Gospel,” polarity of faith as a Johannine
paradigm, and exegetical notes); and 5) shorter
studies and sermons (four on Matthean texts
and one each on Mark and Luke). In all, a
striking collection, whose remarkable breadth
is not as impressive as the author’s combination
of intellectual erudition and pastoral insight.
Highly recommended, especially for seminary
libraries and students.
Michael W. Holmes
Bethel University
SLAVES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: LIT-
ERARY, SOCIAL, AND MORAL DIMEN-
SIONS. By J. Albert Harrill. Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress Press, 2006. Pp. xiv + 322. $25.00,
ISBN 0-8006-3781-X.
This is a book not so much about slavery in
the ancient world, of which there are many, but
about how slaves function as a literary trope in
the imaginations of Greek, Roman, and Chris-
tian writers. Harrill considers the use of stock
motifs of slavery in Christian writing, such as
the powerlessness of slaves’ bodies (chapter
two), slavery as comedy (chapter three), the
elite slave in households (chapter four), the
slave trader (chapter five), and the faithful slave
and Christian martyrdom (chapter six). The
final chapter also sets this book apart from other
books on slavery and is perhaps the most
important for our own time: it traces the ab/use
of the NT in the American slavery debate (chap-
ter seven). This book promises to make a lasting
contribution not only by extending our under-
standing of slavery in antiquity but in illustrat-
ing the importance of socio-historical context
when using the Bible to support or oppose other
moral issues such as, I can imagine, same-sex
desire and marriage. This current debate, after
all, reflects many of the same hermeneutical
approaches.
Zeba A. Crook
Carleton University
A STUDENT’S GUIDE TO TEXTUAL
CRITICISM OF THE BIBLE: ITS HIS-
TORY, METHODS, AND RESULTS. By
Paul D. Wegner. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-
Varsity Press, 2006. Pp. 334. $17.00, ISBN
0-8308-2731-5.
On the one hand, this volume is brilliant in
terms of concept, organization, and especially
visual appeal: numerous charts, maps, dia-
grams, lists, drawings, and especially pictures
illustrate or explain the subject, providing a rich
feast for the eyes and the mind. On the other
hand, the text accompanying these visual treats
is unreliable—a fatal flaw in a guide aimed at
students. Far too often in this volume, one
encounters mistakes, misattributions, use of
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
out-of-date editions or dated discussions, or
misleading summaries. An example: the sec-
tional bibliographies list the first edition of
Tov’s Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible
(except p. 142, a reference to the second edi-
tion, but with the first edition’s date) while the
notes reference the second edition (except
p. 125, which cites a “3rd” edition), and the text
itself sometimes draws upon the content of one,
and sometimes the other. At other places, views
attributed to scholars stand in substantial ten-
sion (if not in direct contradiction) with the
views they actually hold. The rich visual ele-
ments of this volume make it attractive to teach-
ers and students alike; it is deeply to be
regretted that the unreliability of its content
makes its intended use extremely problematic.
Michael W. Holmes
Bethel University
STUDIEN ZUR BIBLISCHEN GRUNDLE-
GUNG DES CHRISTLICH-JÜDISCHEN
VERHÄLTNISSES. By Peter Fiedler. Stut-
tgarter Biblische Aufsatzbände, NT 35. Stut-
tgart, Germany: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2005.
Pp. x + 291. €49.40, ISBN 3-460-06351-3.
In this collection of mostly previously pub-
lished essays, Fiedler’s main concern is to show
the constant reorientation that Judaism and
Christianity had to make toward each other
in developing their own self-identities. Self-
identities were developed, defended, and
maintained often in polemical contexts over
foundational concepts such as Torah (and sin),
the relationship of both Jesus and the Church
to the concept of Israel, the significance of the
death of Jesus and of the Temple, the relation
of Jesus to God, the meaning of and participa-
tion in the Eucharist, and the relationship of
Christianity to developing rabbinical tradition
and Christianity’s presentation of the Pharisees.
Fiedler studies these concepts in key passages
primarily from Matthew (2:20; 12:18-21),
including Matthew’s presentation of the Phari-
sees and Paul (Rom 9-11). Fiedler’s overall
theological point is that what is “uniquely”
Christian can only be recovered when polemi-
cal passages in the NT against Jews are properly
understood and when adjustments are made for
the history of their negative impact. This rele-
gates any NT polemic against Judaism to the
rhetorical husk that needs to be removed in
order to see the core of Christianity. This is a
weak (but commonly held) theoretical point in
what are otherwise excellent exegetical essays.
Fred W. Burnett
Anderson University
JESUS, JUDAISM, & CHRISTIAN ANTI-
JUDAISM: READING THE NEW TESTA-
MENT AFTER THE HOLOCAUST. Edited
by Paula Fredriksen and Adele Reinhartz.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox
Press, 2002. Pp. xi + 129. $19.95, ISBN 0-664-
22328-1.
Volume 32 Number 4 / October 2006
In this short collection, five prominent NT
scholars dedicate essays to Krister Stendahl: 1)
P. Fredriksen, “The Birth of Christianity and
the Origins of Christian Anti-Judaism”; 2) E. P.
Sanders, “Jesus, Ancient Judaism, and Modern
Christianity: The Quest Continues”; 3) J. G.
Gager, “Paul, the Apostle of Judaism”; 4) A.
Levine, “Matthew, Mark, and Luke: Good
News or Bad?”; and 5) A. Reinhartz, “The Gos-
pel of John: How the ‘Jews’ Became Part of the
Plot.” Each essay introduces the nonacademic
reader to the issue of Christian anti-Judaism in
the main areas of earliest Christianity. The
overall goal of this collection is to illustrate that
earliest Christianity (particularly Jesus and
Paul) did not operate outside of or in opposition
to Judaism. Rather, Christian anti-Judaism was
imported into Christianity later and for the pur-
poses of identity and boundary formation (a
process that begins, however, within a couple
of generations of Jesus). The brevity, scope, and
accessibility of this book make it valuable in
undergraduate classrooms and interfaith groups
discussing Christianity’s role in the rise of
modern anti-Semitism.
Zeba A. Crook
Carleton University
THE HISTORICAL JESUS IN RECENT
RESEARCH. Edited by James D. G. Dunn and
Scot McKnight. Sources for Biblical and
Theological Study, 10. Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 2005. Pp. xvi + 618. $44.60,
ISBN 1-57506-100-7.
It is by now a truism that one’s picture of
the “historical Jesus” is very likely to be a self-
portrait. The same seems to be true of one’s
image of the shape and history of the scholarly
quest for the historical Jesus. And thus, this
massive collection of essays and excerpts
reflect the “maximal conservatism” we have
come to expect from Dunn. The pieces by
scholars not generally deemed conservative
nonetheless make a case for a conservative
reading of this or that element of the Gospels.
Reading the contents of the book, seminarians
would never guess that there has been a con-
stant and growing stream of radical Jesus schol-
arship. The Jesus Seminar appears here several
times as a foil for a “sound” conservatism. The
result is a syllabus of sectarian exegesis, ame-
nable to the almost denominational perspective
of conservative evangelicals who engage in
apologetics when they believe themselves to be
doing critical scholarship. But the essays are
none of them without value, and any theologi-
cal library should buy it.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
JESUS IN CONTEXT: BACKGROUND
READINGS FOR GOSPEL STUDY. Edited
by Darrell L. Bock and Gregory J. Herrick.
Grand Rapids, MN: Baker Academic, 2005.
Pp. 286. $22.99, ISBN 0-8010-2719-5.
Though this collection of passages illumi-
nating the Gospels is designed as a companion
to Bock’s Jesus According to Scripture, it is
easily usable on its own. Rather than an anthol-
ogy of relevant, complete texts, Bock and
Herrick synchronize important excerpts with
successive Gospel passages in the order one
finds them, so it is easy to look up the relevant
texts at the appropriate point. Material comes
from the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead
Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, and Rabbinical
writings. The omission of Hellenistic Pagan
sources reflects the apologetical stance of the
editors and intended readers, but one cannot
include everything, and the editors kindly direct
one to Boring, Berger, and Colpe’s Hellenistic
Commentary on the New Testament for the rest.
There is no student of the Gospels who will not
find this collection most helpful. Individuals
and libraries alike should invest in a copy.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
THE JESUS DYNASTY: THE HIDDEN
HISTORY OF JESUS, HIS ROYAL FAM-
ILY, AND THE BIRTH OF CHRISTIAN-
ITY. By James D. Tabor. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2006. Pp. x + 363. $27.00, ISBN 978-
0-7432-8723-4.
Tabor is basically rehashing the venerable
theory of A. Harnack and E. Stauffer (never
mentioned in this book) that Jesus was a mes-
sianic king, and that in his absence, James, then
Simeon his brother, took over as “caliphs” in
his place. There is nothing new here. The book
is but a pale ghost of Eisenman’s magisterial
James the Brother of Jesus. It is dedicated to
A. Schweitzer, which is no accident, since it
basically recapitulates his theory that Jesus
expected that he would usher in the apocalypse
by his ministry of healing, preaching, and exor-
cism, but that John the Baptist’s shocking death
made him reconsider, making him realize for
the first time that he might have to die too. To
this, add H. J. Schonfield’s The Passover Plot,
which Tabor’s book greatly resembles in its
imaginative mind reading of Jesus and how he
might have-cum-must have applied various
scriptural prophecies to himself, then endeav-
ored to fulfill them.
Robert M. Price
Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary
THE BIRTHING OF THE NEW TESTA-
MENT: THE INTERTEXTUAL DEVEL-
OPMENT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
WRITINGS. By Thomas L. Brodie. New
Testament Monographs, 1. Sheffield, UK:
Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2004. Pp. vii + 653.
$49.50, ISBN 1-905048-03-3.
Brodie’s weighty tome connects much of his
previous work on the intertextuality and the
literary development of the Gospels. Specifi-
cally, he argues that Proto-Luke reflects a
dependence upon the Septuagint (especially the
Elijah-Elisha narrative) as well as 1 Cor and
logia from Matt 5 and 11. Moreover, he main-
tains that this text becomes the core of the Gos-
Religious Studies Review / 265
pel tradition that the Evangelists creatively
engaged. The argument proceeds in four parts:
1) an introduction to ancient writing practices;
2) an articulation of the thesis; 3) a detailed
examination of the relationship between Proto-
Luke and the Septuagint; and 4) eight appendi-
ces on Proto-Luke and NT intertextuality. In the
process, Brodie dismisses the nebulous cate-
gory “oral tradition” in favor of literary depen-
dence, and his Proto-Luke hypothesis renders
Q unnecessary. These are bold strokes, and
although Brodie perceives the wide-ranging
implications that his proposal would have for
early Christian history and theology, he restricts
himself to a narrow problem. Indeed, despite its
title, the book focuses primarily on the Gospels,
and its Proto-Luke thesis accounts for just one
thread in the formation of the Gospel tapestries.
Nevertheless, calling attention to the intertex-
tual connections within the Gospels represents
an innovative direction in NT studies and merits
further examination. It is perhaps unavoidable,
however, that the volume’s highly technical
argumentation will restrict readership to spe-
cialists and advanced graduate students.
David M. Reis
University of Oregon
History of
Christianity (Early)
THE NEW WESTMINSTER DICTIO-
NARY OF CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY.
Edited by Philip Sheldrake. Louisville,
KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.
Pp. xx + 680. $49.95, ISBN 0-664-23003-2.
A helpful reference work replacing its 1983
predecessor edited by G. S. Wakefield. More
than an updating, it is in several ways a com-
pletely new book, produced largely by Euro-
pean and North American scholars under the
editorship of Sheldrake at the University of
Durham. Preceding the alphabetically arranged
list of topics, which has been expanded by over
200 new entries, there are extended essays on
foundational issues such as the definition,
types, and methods of Christian spirituality,
contemporary spirituality, and mysticism and
on issues of recent concern, e.g., the relation-
ship between spirituality and psychotherapy,
culture, science, and the dialogue of religions.
Useful bibliographies are appended to each
essay and entry. While the focus of the Dictio-
nary is Christian spirituality, it forsakes exclu-
sivity for a welcome ecumenicity reflecting the
pluralistic and global character of Christianity.
There are entries on Catholic, Lutheran, Cal-
vinist, Anglican, Methodist, and Baptist
spiritualities; on Augustinian, Benedictine,
Carmelite, Franciscan, Dominican, and Jesuit
spiritualities; and on Christian spirituality in
relation to Hindu, Buddhist, Zen, Jewish, and
Islamic spiritualities. Also worthy of note, the