Biblical Studies
.oOo.
Canon and Composition: Structural Studies
- David Noel Freedman,
"The Nine Commandments: The Secret Progress of Israel's Sins":
Chapter 39 of Divine Commitment and Human Obligation (William B.
Eerdmans: Grand Rapids and Cambridge, 1997), pp. 457-469.
- K.C. Hanson, “Blood
and Purity in Leviticus and Revelation”, Listening: Journal
of Religion and Culture, 28 (1993), pp. 215-30.
- Duane L. Christensen, “Paul’s
Cloak within the Canonical Process in Early Christianity" (2002).
Argues that the entire New Testatment canon— as a canon— is of
apostolic origin: The traditional translation of the Greek word phailonên
in 2 Tim 4:13 as "cloak" poses problems. The word is translated
as "book-carrier" in the ancient Syriac. "Cloak" comes
from phainole, not the hapax legomenon phailone (though this
later became the word for a vestment). Moreover, the rest of the verse does
mention "books" (biblia) and "parchments" (membranas)—
i.e., not scrolls, but parchment leaves. In fact, T. C. Skeat has argued
that this passage is the earliest known reference to a codex. These items
were retained in a carrier [as even today we speak of a book "jacket"],
which Paul left with Carpus in Troas for safekeeping. This paper reasons
that the passage refers more broadly to canonical activity on the part of
Paul and Luke, and that Mark and others were joining these apostles in Rome
(2 Tim 4:11) in an editorial project that plays a significant role in producing
the Greek New Testament.
- Casper J. Labuschagne, "Did
the writers of the Bible use numbers as a way of structuring their texts?—
A general introduction to logotechnical analysis". Article originally
located at www.bibal.net, a website of which I have been the webmaster.
- Margaret Barker, "Text
and Context", Chapter 12 of The Great High Priest: The Temple
Roots of Christian Liturgy (T&T Clark / Continuum, 2003), pp. 295-215.
The early Church used a somewhat different canon of Scripture in which priestly/temple
themes were more prominent than in the MT. The Jews created the MT by modifying
the earlier text partly in response to the Exile, and later in response
to early Christian polemic. (Paper obtained from the internet, but I have
corrected discrepancies therein against the article as published above.
Students should refer to the published text as more authoritative.)
- Philip R. Davies, "Loose
Canons: Reflections on the Formation of the Hebrew Bible".
