Sententiae Nil

ESV Study Bible: An oddity in their OT Citations List

Seth Ehorn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:24:39 +0000

I was just checking the ESV Study Bible’s list of Old Testament Passages Cited in the New Testament and I came across something a bit odd. The editors have written that “Passages marked (LXX) denote those where the Greek translation is cited.” When one actually checks the list, only 13 passages have LXX indicated after them. Although not all NT scholars would take a view as bold as Christopher Stanley (who thinks that Paul only knows the Greek Bible), most would posit that the LXX versions exercised a great influence upon the NT authors. This list seems to imply the opposite.

Three Purposes for Writing 2 Corinthians

Seth Ehorn — Mon, 09 May 2011 09:16:40 +0000

2 Cor 2.4 For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

2 Cor 2.9 I wrote for this reason: to test you and to know whether you are obedient in everything.

2 Cor 7.12 So although I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on account of the one who was wronged, but in order that your zeal for us might be made known to you before God.

Crucifixion in Seoul

Seth Ehorn — Wed, 04 May 2011 11:19:10 +0000

The Washington Post reports that a man from South Korea has been discovered after being crucified in a manner representative of the Jesus of the gospels. Reports have not yet given indication as to whether the crucifixion was an act of violence against the man or, in some manner, self-inflicted. In any event, I was particularly intrigued by this line from the news source mentioned above:

Popular representations of the death of Jesus Christ depict him crucified between the crosses of two thieves, wearing a crown of thorns, a white cloth over his loins, with a wound on his side from a Roman soldier’s spear.

What exactly is meant by popular? Why not say ancient sources? Early Christian and Roman sources? Admittedly the latter two are less “popular” in terms of modern readership, but at least these would have made sense.

Earliest Christian Artifacts

Seth Ehorn — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 12:02:38 +0000

Although I’ve read it already, I’m excited to re-read Larry Hurtado’s Earliest Christian Artifacts again along with some fellow students and Hurtado for the next few weeks. I’m sure some interesting things will come up and I’ll offer a report here in the weeks to come.

On the Existence and Contents of Q

Seth Ehorn — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:26:31 +0000

A quote, mostly tongue-in-cheek, from Paul Foster:

“For those of you wise enough to believe in Q…be careful about attributing single tradition readings to the Q source.”

SBL Paper Accepted

Seth Ehorn — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:00:42 +0000

I’m pleased to announce that my paper proposal was accepted to the Greek Bible section at the 2011 annual SBL meeting. Below is the title and abstract.

(Seth M. Ehorn) ’And the Scripture Cannot Be Broken’: Corrections in LXX Manuscripts toward the NT Text

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to explore various instances when the LXX was “corrected” to conform to NT citations, presumably in an act of harmonizing the LXX text to the citation given by the NT text. In addition to cataloging and exploring some of these interesting textual phenomena, this paper will be concerned with the question of coherence, or lack thereof, which such changes introduce in the LXX context(s). Additionally, it will be argued that these kinds of corrections not only give an indication of the access which LXX copyists had to various NT texts, but of an understanding that the texts should agree with each other.

See you in San Francisco.

Wright and Dunn Audio

Seth Ehorn — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:23:24 +0000

The CSCO website now has audio of the papers read by N. T. Wright and J. D. G. Dunn this past January at the University of Edinburgh (New College). They are both interesting and worth taking a listen.

Upcoming Events

Seth Ehorn — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:24:00 +0000

A Day with J.D.G. Dunn and N. T. Wright, on 28th January 2011 in the Martin Hall, New College.

Prof Tom Wright (from St Andrews) will speak on the topic of ‘Israel’s Commission, Abraham’s Reward: Re-reading Romans 2, 3 and 4′ and Prof Jimmy Dunn (formerly of Durham) will speak on ‘Luke’s Jerusalem Perspective’. Both will respond to one another’s papers. The event will begin at 11.15, with a buffet lunch from 12.30-2, and should finish around 3.30-4.

Accordance for iOS!

Seth Ehorn — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 15:30:22 +0000

Accordance officially announced the release of iOS platform. Let the people rejoice.

Resources on Paul and the Letter Form

Seth Ehorn — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:44:26 +0000

Many thanks to a fellow PhD candidate at Edinburgh for giving me a copy of Paul and the Ancient Letter Form (Pauline Studies) (Brill) of which he, along with Stanley Porter, is an editor. Here is a delightful opening line from the contribution from Jeffrey Weima entitled “Sincerely Paul: The Significance of the Pauline Letter Closings”:

The letter closing is the “Rodney Dangerfield” section of Paul’s letters: it doesn’t get any respect.

Brilliant! The article itself is well worth the read as is Weima’s larger monograph Neglected Endings: The Significance of the Pauline Letter Closings.