Journal: Trinity Journal
Volume: TRINJ 22:2 (Fall 2001)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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TrinJ 22:2 (Fall 01) p. 259

Book Reviews

Craig A. Evans, ed. The Interpretation of Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity: Studies in Language and Tradition. JSPSup 33. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. 488 pp. $85.00.

This volume is the seventh in the series “Studies in Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity,” a series that finds its roots in the Society of Biblical Literature program unit, Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity. The stated attempt of the essays in this volume is to understand the hermeneutical principles behind the various Jewish and Christian authors of the late antiquity. Through such exegetical exercises, these studies aim at providing a lens through which the historical and social world in which the ancient texts belong can be examined.

The volume begins with a brief introduction by Craig A. Evans who highlights the importance of situating early Christian writings within the larger Jewish interpretive traditions. This is then followed by essays that are grouped under three headings. The first section contains studies on Second Temple Jewish exegetical traditions. Stephen B. Chapman examines the use of the phrase “the Law and the Words” in the later OT writings. He concludes that this phrase points to the existence of a “core canon” already in the Persian period and that caution is called for when one speaks of an “open canon” in the late Second Temple period. Staffan Olofsson examines the interpretation of Ps 49:15 in the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint and suggests that the differences between the MT and the LXX can be traced back to difficulties embedded within the Hebrew text. Kenneth R. Atkinson examines the use of Psalm of Solomon 17 in the Qumran Scrolls and concludes that the portrayal of the militant Davidic Messiah in these writings reflects the understanding of the Messiah as a counterpart to the violent Herod the Great. Louis H. Feldman provides a thorough study of Josephus’ paraphrase of the biblical text and shows how the ancient text was used in addressing issues of his own day. Hindy Najman examines how the works of Ezra-Nehemiah appeal to the authority of Moses. He concludes that traditions were ascribed to Moses when the issue of authority is at stake in the post-exilic period. Bruce Fisk examines the rewriting of biblical narrative in Pseudo-Philo and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and shows how the secondary reading of the text affects the subsequent understanding of the source text itself.

The second section focuses on the NT and early Christian writings. John Brown studies the Aramaic nouns behind the sayings of Jesus and highlights the significance of early versions of the Greek Testament in the study of traditions behind the NT text. R...

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