Ridley Hall, Cambridge

Resources: Biblical Studies Bulletin 27

Issue 27: Mar 2003

News Bits

'Ancient' Tablet Found: Proof of Solomon's Temple?

Is it real or is it a fake? On January 13th the news broke of the discovery of a stone tablet detailing plans for the repair of the King Solomon's Temple. If authentic, it would be a significant piece of physical evidence confirming the biblical narrative. Politically, it would also strengthen the case that the first Temple did occupy the traditional site, a claim which Muslim clerics deny. Because of the tablet's political significance, its uncertain origin, and conflicting evidence, the jury is still out.

The Hebrew text of the tablet's fifteen line inscription resembles 2 Kings 12.1-6, 11-17, and refer to King Jehoash. Israel's Geological Institute has been examining the tablet over the past year. Their results favour authenticity and a ninth century BC date. By contrast, several experts in ancient epigraphy think it's a forgery.

According to an unidentified source quoted in a local Jewish daily newspaper, the artifact was discovered in recent years during renovation work by Muslims on the largest mosque on the Temple Mount. It was then eventually sold to a major antiquities collector in Jerusalem, whose lawyer submitted it to experts for authentication. The lawyer has not said where it was discovered. The director of the Muslim trust that administers the Mosque compound on the Temple Mount denies that the tablet was ever found there. See the AP story (www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/13/world/main536330.shtml ) or Herschel Shanks' article in Biblical Archaeology Review (www.bib-arch.org/bswb_BAR/bswbba2902f1.html ) for more.

Unpublished NT Fragments Discovered

Dr Peter Head said he had a surprise in store as we attended a recent exhibition of ancient biblical texts at a Cambridge library, and I didn't know what to expect. When the librarian brought out a number of fragments recently purchased from a book dealer in London, our jaws dropped. There among the scraps of old parchment cut up to provide material to strengthen later bound volumes were fragments of seriously old New Testament texts, including bits of Mark, Luke, John and Romans. Exactly what these bits cover and how old they are remains to be established by Peter (an acknowledged expert in ancient manuscripts), who will publish it all in due course. Watch this space for further details!

Two New Bible Translations

Produced by a group of one hundred conservative evangelical scholars from a range of denominations, the English Standard Version (ESV) takes as its starting point for English the RSV (1971); for the original languages, the latest scholarly texts are used. The translation philosophy is to produce an 'essentially literal' version that seeks word for word correspondence with the underlying Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic text.

The translators' concern for a literal rendering means that this will not feel as gender 'inclusive' as the NRSV; the pronoun 'he' continues to be used where it appears in Greek, as does the translation 'brothers' for adelphoi, although in the latter case, a footnote in each instance indicates that women would have been included. The main impetus for this translation included (a) love for the cadences of the AV, many of which were preserved in the RSV and (b) a desire to revise some disputed translations in the latter. So, for example, we have 'virgin' restored in Is 7.14 and 'propitiation' in Rom 3.25.

In short, this is the revised version of the RSV that conservative evangelicals wished had appeared in the first place, instead of the NRSV. It will appeal to many older readers as a strong alternative to the NKJV, but a generation of readers more concerned with gender inclusion and less attached to the beauty of the AV will probably go for the TNIV instead. For more information, see www.gnpcb.org/home/esv

More successful in the long run, I suspect, will be Today's New International Version, a revision of the NIV (1978), which is the most widely read contemporary translation. A smaller, international team of thirteen translators, including Dick France and Martin Selman from the UK, did the work. The translation philosophy is to provide a middle way between an essentially literal version (eg, the AV, NASB, and ESV) and a dynamic equivalence translation (such as the GNB [TEV], NLT, and CEV). The TNIV seeks both to 'inclusify' the NIV and to correct some of its renderings to speak more clearly to a new generation. Approximately seven percent of the text differs from the original NIV.

Unlike the ESV, the TNIV renders adelphoi as 'brothers and sisters', and more closely resembles the NRSV in this respect. Most of the changes however are not gender-related. They include, for example, 'Messiah' instead of 'Christ' in Matt 16.15; 'Jewish leaders' instead of 'Jews' in John 9.22; 'shortly before dawn' instead of 'during the fourth watch of the night' in Matt 14.25; omitting the vocative 'O' before 'Lord' in passages such as Rev 15.4 . I'm glad to see that 1 Cor 7.1 has been corrected from 'not to marry' to the more accurate 'not to have sexual relations with a woman', and quotation marks have been added to indicate that Paul is citing what the Corinthians have expressed to him.

Where the ESV tends to close down interpretative options, the TNIV tends to leave more interpreting room for the readers. So we have footnotes indicating that 'faith in Christ' could be rendered 'faithfulness of Christ' in Gal 2.16, Rom 3.22, and Phil 3.9, whereas the ESV lacks any hint of an alternate translation in the two latter passages. And at John 20.31 TNIV offers a footnote indicating that 'continue to believe' is an alternate to 'believe', reflecting the textual variant. Overall, TNIV looks to be a real improvement on the ever popular NIV. From what I've seen, I think it will be a bestseller, eventually eclipsing the NRSV as a base for serious study in theological colleges. The OT will not appear until 2005. For more details see www.tniv.info

Books in Brief

D Wenham, Paul and Jesus: The True Story (SPCK, 2002); ISBN 0-281-05480-0. David is already well-known for his larger work which argues that Paul was profoundly influenced by Jesus traditions (Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? [Eerdmans, 1995]; see also his Grove Booklet, Paul and the Historical Jesus [B7]). The True Story popularizes conclusions from the big book while doing something moreit offers an interesting introduction to the apostle's early history by tracking Paul's thought and life as reflected in Gal, 1 & 2 Thess and 1 Cor. David also has an apologetic interest in demonstrating that the evidence from Acts is consistent with what we find in Paul's letters. So he is doing several things at once, and he does it well. Occasionally his confidence takes him a bit further than I think the evidence allows ('What is impressive is how traditions of Jesus seem to be important on just about every topic that Paul discusses in his letters...', p 182), but the signs of a good teacher are evident here.

Bruce W Longenecker, The Lost Letters of Pergamum (Baker Academic, 2003); ISBN 0-8010-2607-5. If you liked Gerd Theissen's Shadow of the Galilean (apart from the weak bit about the resurrection), you should like Longenecker. This book is effectively an imaginative, yet reliable introduction to the culture of early Greco-Roman Christianity conveyed through a series of fictional letters. The letters were largely sent between Luke the evangelist and Antipas, a resident of Pergamum who moves from unbelief to faith in Christ and on to martyrdom. Bruce is a first rate scholar and lecturer at St Andrews, Scotland.

Humour, etc

Over the years I've tried to collect the following 'light bulb' jokes. Apologies for the trip down memory lane, but perhaps you haven't heard some of them! Without malice, and in order to encourage greater understanding and cooperation among the diverse church body...

1. How many charismatics does it take to change a light bulb?

Only one since his/her hands are in the air anyway.

2. How many Calvinists does it take to change a light bulb?

None. God has predestined when the lights will be on or off. Or...

Calvinists do not change light bulbs. They simply read out the instructions and pray the light bulb will be moved to change itself.

3. How many Baptists or Brethren does it take to change a light bulb?

CHANGE???????

4. How many neo-evangelicals does it take to change a light bulb?

No one knows. They can't tell the difference between light and darkness.

5. How many Pentecostals does it take to change a light bulb?

Ten. One to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.

6. How many TV evangelists does it take to change a light bulb?

Only one. But for the message of light to continue, send in your donation today.

7. How many fundamentalists does it take to change a light bulb?

Only one; any more would mean compromise & God's holy standards of light would slip.

8. How many liberals does it take to change a light Bulb?

At least ten, as they need to hold a debate on whether or not the light bulb exists. Even if they can agree upon the existence of the light bulb they still may not change it to keep from alienating those who might use other forms of light.

9. How many Catholics does it take to change a light bulb?

None. They always use candles.

10. How many campfire worship leaders does it take to change a light bulb?

One. But soon all those around can warm up to its glowing.

11. How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?

Three. Two to mix the martinis and one to call the electrician.

12. How many Methodists does it take to change a light bulb?

Undetermined. Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Church wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring bulb of your choice and a covered dish.

13. How many Unitarians does it take to change a light bulb?

We choose not to make a statement either in favour of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that a light bulb works for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your personal relationship to your light bulb and present it next month at our annual light bulb Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-lived, and tinted; all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

14. How many Mormons does it take to change a light bulb?

Five. One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how.

More are coming in the next issue. If you know any other similar jokes that are printable, please send them on!

Letters to the Editor

Several readers wrote in to point out the wrong web address given in our last issue for 'E-Sword', a fine free Bible software programme. The correct address is www.e-sword.net. Now I know how to get a response from readers...

In response to last issue's Humour, etc. item, Paul Filmer writes from the Vicarage at Bridge in Canterbury:

What would Jesus drive? I should think a [Triumph] Herald, as during advent, when he approaches, the angels sing 'Hark! the herald'.

Paul's clerical emoticon in the signature to his email is worth repeating here: 0 :-) ]]

Andy Flowerday, a Team Vicar and survivor of my classes long ago at St John's College, offers an alternative:

Thanks for Bible Studies Bulletinit's great. My daughter picked up a variant for the WWJD motif: 'When Worried, Just Drink!' Such is the way of the world!

Indeed. Andy's parishioners have been praying especially hard ever since they met him.

David Wilson writes from Prenton:

Just to say thanks for the Grove booklet on the NP [New Perspective]- it does just what it says on the cover!

Thanks, David. I'm still waiting for the reviews...what do the rest of you think?

Computer Corner

• I goofed! In our last issue I gave the wrong web address for E-Sword, an excellent, free programme for Bible Study. The correct address is www.e-sword.net
  Apologies to those to went in hope to the mistaken address, only to be disappointed.
• One result of the E-sword address error is that David Instone Brewer of Tyndale House pointed me to the (different) Sword project at www.crosswire.org/sword/index.jsp, which is also dedicated to making the Bible available for free in several versions across the web.
• David also continues to publish Tyndale Tech Emails, very helpful email updates on available computer resources for the study of the Bible, Church history and other subjects of interest. These are available as a collection at the Tyndale web site (www.Tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Tyndale/TTech.htm), which continues to be improved.
• The Macintosh version of Online Bible has just been updated to version 3.5. A copy can be downloaded from www.macolb.com or www.bythebook.com. The update incorporates a number of enhancements along with new features.
• Vic Perry draws our attention to www.ntrmin.org, a website with searchable Greek texts and other links for Bible study. The website's perspective is quite conservative and Reformed with an anti-Roman Catholic emphasis.
• Those about to purchase a new computer or considering a change might want to have a look at the article, 'Why I abandoned Windows' by Robert Velarde (www.cmug.org/articles/Switcher.html).
• Apple users may benefit from the CMUG (Christian Macintosh Users Group) website, which includes news about a 10% discount on Accordance products.

Grove Biblical Series

This month's booklet is B 27 Blessing: Biblical Meaning and Pastoral Practice by Keith Grüneberg, a helpful exploration of what the Bible means by 'blessing' and how it relates to contemporary practice. Next quarter's booklet is planned to be How to Read the Book of Revelation by Grove Editor Ian Paul.

Individual titles in the Biblical Series are available direct from Grove Books at £2.50 each. Annual subscription (4 books) costs £8.50, a saving of 15%. Call, fax, email sales@grovebooks.co.uk or visit www.grovebooks.co.uk to order.