Mindmasters, Matz, Sandra

The EBR is also available online.

Blogger’s Choice – Articles recommended by biblioblogger Jim West (https://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com):

Matthew Page (Loughborough, United Kingdom), Nehemiah (Book and Person) VIII. Film. Nehemiah receives scant treatment in film. Page remarks "Compared to most major biblical stories, filmmakers have largely overlooked the book of Nehemiah and its hero." Indeed, as he describes things, the only full-length treatment of Nehemiah is a film produced by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The film, titled?Nehemiah: The Joy of Jehovah Is Your Stronghold?(prod. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, was produced only as recently as 2020. These are the sorts of amazing details that come to light in the?EBR. And these details are why?EBR?is such an incredible, and important resource.

Ada Taggar-Cohen (Kyoto, Japan), Neo-Hittites. "As successors to the Hittite Empire that stretched from central Anatolia into north Syria until 1180 BCE, the people who lived after its collapse in the regions of southeastern Anatolia and northern Syria are known as ‘Neo-Hittites.’" Taggar-Cohen then delves into the topics of the history, the cultural evidence, and, this being an?Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, the Neo-Hittites and the Bible. Also included is a very thorough bibliography. This entry is both interesting and well written. A real quality piece of scholarship.

Miryam Brand (Jerusalem, Israel), Nephilim III. Judaism A. Second Temple and Hellenistic Judaism. Brand notes that in texts from the Second Temple period and the Hellenistic era "The Nephilim play a central role in a popular Second Temple era story regarding the origin of evil: the myth of the Watchers." To illustrate the point, she follows her opening declaration with evidence from 1 Enoch, Jubilees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Philo. Very much appreciated is her succinct summary of the tales of the Nephilim: "In the fullest form of this story, angels mated with human women and produced giant children who caused destruction, while the angels themselves caused sin by teaching humans illicit knowledge. When the physical bodies of these giants were destroyed, they became evil spirits that plagued the earth."

Jorg Frey (Zurich, Switzerland), Nicodemus I. New Testament. Nicodemus is only named in the Gospel of John. Who he was seems less important than the portrayals foisted on him by the readers of that Gospel. At least that’s what Frey seems to suggest when he concludes his entry on Nicodemus in the New Testament with the following lines: "For reading the gospel text, the question of the historical reference of the figure remains of secondary importance. Instead, it is the literary ambivalence of the figure that has stimulated readers up to the present to create their own image of Nicodemus." Nicodemus as Rorschach test. That’s the fate of all the characters of the Bible about whom we know so little. What we do know, however, is all described by Frey in his helpful entry.

Adam Lajtar (Warsaw, Poland)?Nubia?II. Christian Textual Traditions. Lajtar’s discussion centers on the Christian Textual Traditions of Nubia. He observes "Christian Nubia had a rich literary culture, testament to which are 4,000 entries in the internet Database of Medieval Nubian Texts (DBMNT)." All manner of texts are included in these materials including, but not limited to liturgical texts, patristic texts, biblical texts, and many others. Adam’s contribution to the EBR makes it extremely clear that Christian traditions outside of Europe and North America have as much, if not more, to teach us than our own Eurocentric inclinations would have us believe.

Julia van Rosmalen (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Oaths and Vows IX. Visual Arts. What does art have to tell us about the reception and comprehension of oaths and vows? In particular, what do the visual arts have to teach us about the reception of these concepts? Rosmalen asserts "When considering oaths and vows in the visual arts within the context of Bible reception, images can be roughly divided in three categories. The first are depictions of oaths that occur within the biblical narrative; the second, of oaths sworn by Christians; and the third, of oaths from non-Christian narratives but depicted by Christian artists for a Christian audience." As one example Julia illustrates with a picture title "Mary nullifies the pact between the clergyman Theophilus and the Devil" (ca. 1120–35). The way art depicts the Bible is truly one of the more fascinating aspects of the reception of the Bible. And this essay is, accordingly, fascinating.

Rebecca Kamholz (New Haven, CT, USA), Obscenity and Euphemism III. Judaism B. Rabbinic Judaism. Rabbinic Judaism was no stranger to the use of obscenity, according to Kamholz. "Rabbinic treatment of biblical texts which use language or describe imagery that could be considered obscene falls into two broad categories. The first is euphemism, avoidance, or restatement; the second is emphasizing and even increasing the obscenity of the original text." She then provides very intriguing examples of these usages. Of the articles I read, I think I learned the most from this one. I certainly enjoyed it a great deal.

The EBR is also available online.

Blogger’s Choice - Articles recommended by biblioblogger Jim West (https://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)

Johannes Unsok Ro (Tokyo, Japan), Mebunnai
This very brief (one paragraph) entry notes the textual uncertainty of this character and points readers in the direction of a possible solution. The thoroughness of EBR is once again on display as this entry illustrates the fact that no corner of the biblical text is too obscure to be overlooked and ignored.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ebr.mebunnai

Anthony Swindell (Llanidloes, United Kingdom), Mediator V. Literature
One of the more extensive entries is ‘Mediator.’ Written by a range of scholars, and covering many aspects of the word’s usage both in and out of Scripture, one of the more interesting sections is its treatment in literature. Anthony Swindell writes in part, "Angels as mediators receive extensive treatment in literature, particularly after the prominence given to Michael in the Song of Roland (12th cent.). The angel Raphael becomes in literature a sort of living extra-biblical extension of the Book of Tobit in texts extending from works connected with the medieval Guild of St. Raphael to Sally Vickers’ novel, Miss Garnet’s Angel (2000)." The entire entry is very much worth examining.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ebr.mediator

Andre Lemaire (Paris, France), Mediterranean Sea I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Lemaire’s work describes the Mediterranean as it is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Noting first its geographical features, he rightly then observes, "The first chapter of the book of Jonah seems to be characteristic of the general feeling of the ancient Israelites towards the "Great Sea." This is an interesting contribution and it has ample examples from Scripture to illustrate the points Lemaire makes.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ebr.mediterraneansea

Eve-Marie Becker (Aarhus, Denmark), Meek, Meekness II. New Testament
"The Greek term for ‘meek/meekness’ is ????? ???." Becker writes. Following this, she analyzes the term quite thoroughly, astutely observing "In 1 Cor 4:21 and Gal 5:23, Paul defines ??????? in close affinity to ????? and ??????, and thus reveals its meaning in light of the community’s Christ-believing identity." She demonstrates, in sum, that the early Church may have had a vocabulary in common with the wider world, but it also put its own stamp on many words (my words, not hers).
https://doi.org/10.1515/ebr.meekmeekness

Matthieu Richelle (Vaux-sur-Seine, France), Melech
At the conclusion of this brief entry we read "According to Brettler, the name Melech hints at a dynastic hope among descendants of Saul. This hypothesis is related to a (disputed) onomastic analysis according to which the element ‘melech’ in some Hebrew names refers to a human king (e.g., Abimelech would mean ‘My father is king’ not ‘The [divine] Father is king’)." What precedes, though brief, is intriguing.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ebr.melech

Richard R. Viladesau (Seaford, N.Y., USA), Messiah VIII. Visual Arts
Noting "By the time visual art became common in Christianity, the title ‘Messiah’ (Christ) had effectively become part of Jesus’ name, while his function as the promised king of Israel was subsumed into the Johannine notion of the divine Logos made flesh, a universal savior and redeemer. In early Christian art, the symbols of his exalted status were largely taken from the Greco-Roman iconography of the gods and of the emperor: a purple or gold toga and/or claves. He is sometimes enthroned above the cosmos," Viladesau looks deeply into the many ways in which the Messiah has been portrayed in art. A very interesting painting of the figure of the Messiah is found in the entry. Artwork is an important resource included in the Encyclopedia and such resources are immensely helpful for illustrative purposes for students and classes.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ebr.messiah

Mit diesem breitgefacherten Ansatz hat sich die EBR mit der Veroffentlichung der ersten Eintrage 2009 auf neues Terrain begeben. Seitdem veranschaulicht die EBR, dass biblische Texte ihren jeweils eigenen entstehungsgeschichtlichen Hintergrund und Kontext haben.

Au?erdem zeigt sie, wie diese Schriften rezipiert und interpretiert wurden und welchen Einfluss sie auf eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher religioser und theologischer Zusammenhange sowie auf Kunst und Kultur ausubten.

Die breite Rezeption und das durchweg positive Echo aus der akademischen Gemeinschaft zeigt, wie die EBR die Erforschung der Bibel und ihrer Rezeption pragt. 2010 wurde EBR mit dem CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title ausgezeichnet, EBR Online erhielt diesen bedeutenden Preis 2020 (CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of 2020).

Weitere Publikationen aus dem Bereich Bibel und Bibelrezeption:

• Handbooks of the Bible and Its Reception (HBR)
• Studies of the Bible and Its Reception (SBR)
• Journal of the Bible and its Reception
• Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
• Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
• Archaeology of the Biblical Worlds

Die ersten zwei EBR-Bande wurden 2009 veroffentlicht. Im Folgenden finden sich einige Rezensionen:

"This is surely a creative and original project that will fill a need in today’s biblical studies, [...] a monumental work which is indeed a treasure trove of information on the Bible and on how it has influenced people over the centuries."
(Stephen Pisano, S.J., Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome)

"[…] the Bible is not just a 6th–5th century BCE or a 1st–2nd century CE document. It is equally an 8th century, 12th century, 16th century, and 20th century CE document. […] With the publication of the Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, it is now possible to respond to the intellectual challenge of that insight. With its unparalleled combination of historical critical and reception historical articles, the EBR reconfigures the very conception of what it means to do biblical studies and invites a veritable paradigm shift in the discipline."
(Dr. Carol A. Newsom, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament, Candler School of Theology, Emory University)

"So what must one know nowadays in order to be a biblical scholar? That’s simple: everything – from the text itself through the Dead Sea Scrolls, Christian Scripture, Origen, Augustine, Rashi, Abarbanel, Calvin, Spinoza, Wellhausen, etc., etc., right up to the contributions of feminist and postcolonial criticism, queer studies, Bible and mass media – whatever happens to be on someone’s scholarly agenda. Of course no one can know all of that stuff. More important than knowing it all, however, is recognizing how essential it all is to what we do. I am grateful to the editors and publisher of EBR for sharing that recognition, devoting 30 volumes to this fabulous repository of knowledge, and putting it at our disposal."
(Alan Cooper, Professor of Bible at Union Theological Seminary and at Jewish Theological Seminary)

"So wachst hier ein Werk heran, das schon jetzt seinesgleichen sucht und das, wenn es so weitergeht, einmal konkurrenzlos sein wird. Dass Verbesserungen auf dem Weg dorthin immer moglich und auch wunschenswert sind, ist jedem mit der Materie Befassten klar. Die Herausgeber und der Verlag konnen auf das bisher Erreichte jedenfalls stolz sein, wahrend die scientific community es ihnen zu danken wei?."
Bernd Janowski in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 4/2014

"Highly recommended!"
D. R. Stewart in: Choice 2/2010

"It is the kind of tool that should be on the shelf of every serious theological library."
Dianne Bergant in: Critical Review 2/2009

"It is hard to imagine how a theological library can afford to be without this resource, even at the cost of giving up another."
James Dunkly in: Theological Librarianship 2/2009

Informationen fur Autor*innen und Herausgeber*innen

EBR-Guidelines fur Autor*innen und Herausgeber*innen befinden sich hier: s. Zusatzmaterial.

Erscheinungsdaten der kommenden Bande

• Vol. 20 Mouse, Mice – Nefesh, Marz 2022
• Vol. 21 Negative Theology – Omniscience*, Oktober 2022
• Vol. 22 Omri* – Pelethites*, Juni 2023

* Angaben stehen noch nicht fest.

Hilfreiche Links

• EBR Editorial Platform (Wir empfehlen, den Browser Chrome zu verwenden.)
• EBR Online Homepage

EBR Sample Pages (PDF)

EBR 17 Sample Pages (ausgewahlte Eintrage aus Bd. 17)

EBR 18 Sample Pages (ausgewahlte Eintrage aus Bd. 18)

Vielen Dank fur Ihren Beitrag zur EBR!

Kontakt

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