The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical Books. Ed. Marc Z. Brettler, et al. (Oxford, $45). This study Bible joins a number of others in offering highly competent, but brief comments on the text. Competitors include the HarperCollins Study Bible, The Access Bible (Oxford), the Cambridge Annotated Study Bible, and the soon-to-be-released New Interpreter's Study Bible (Abingdon; whose notes will be the longest of all). This Oxford publication beats its predecessor by a full thirty percent more material. The men and women who wrote the notes come from a broad ecumenical spectrum, including many Jewish scholars. A mini concordance takes up pp 577-640 and there are also fourteen full color maps. Maps and diagrams scattered throughout this Bible add to its usefulness. The translation is the NRSV. All of these study Bibles should be "must buys" for pastors and church libraries. RWK

Invitation to the Septuagint. By Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva (Baker, $29.95). J. and S. write for people who have no previous knowledge of this famous Geek translation of the Old Testament, begun in the third century BCE. The authors report the history of the LXX itself (Old Greek, kaige recension, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion Origen, Lucian and proto-Lucian, etc), and LXX research (with biographies of giants like Tischendorf, Lagarde, Rahlfs, and Thackeray) and descriptions of current projects (lexicography, syntactic research, translation technique). They devote two chapters to two of my passions: textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible and the impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls on LXX research. Space is also given to the importance of the LXX for New Testament studies and what the LXX tells us about developments in Jewish theology and culture; user-friendly charts help beginners use the apparatuses of the Cambridge and Göttingen critical editions. Four appendixes describe major scholarly organizations and research projects, reference works, a glossary of technical terms, and differences in versification between the LXX and English versions. I'll make it required reading. RWK

The Social Visions of the Hebrew Bible. By J. David Pleins (Westminster John Knox, $39.95). P examines the biblical statements about social ethics in the context of Israel's social institutions, the social locations of its main characters, and the struggles for power that are reflected in the biblical texts. Many texts present competing visions centered on questions of land, political leadership, and national survival. Urban and village voices articulate a vision of justice while these values were tempered by the contrary voice of the elite. Social science methods predominate. The author concludes: "Where the social ethics of the Hebrew Bible is concerned, we are called to bring the text's rich insights to bear on our continued efforts to establish a more just society. This is the burden of torah study, bit also its joy." RWK

The Material Culture of the Bible: An Introduction. By Ferdinand E. Deist (Sheffield, $29.95). At the time of his death D. was a professor in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The manuscript was edited by Robert Carroll, who also died before the book was published. D. studied how the cultural factors in ancient Israel, such as language, environment, economics, technology, and social and political conditions helped determine the meaning of specific texts. Carroll invites readers to complete the book's argumentation by writing the final chapter for themselves--an indication of the incomplete character of much of the argument. D. insisted that the cultural assumptions and presuppositions of the biblical writers are essential to understanding the text's meaning. D. believed that even though the present text of the Bible was compiled in the post-exilic period, the authors had access to substantial Judean oral and written sources. The sudden death of author and editor--who held quite divergent positions--is deeply lamented. RWK

The History of the Second Temple Period. By Paoli Sacchi. (Sheffield, $85). This book begins with a substantial preface that updates the issues since the publication of the original in Italian five years previously. The history covered begins with the death of Josiah in 609 BCE and extends to the destruction of the temple in 70 CE. Along the way, P. though quite learned, defends some unusual positions: Deuteronomy is dated to 515, as is Second Isaiah; Sheshbazzar was a vassal king of Judah when Cyrus occupied Babylon; Zerubbabel is the servant in Second Isaiah; the original form of Ezra is that preserved in 1 Esdras. The second half of the book presents themes from "Middle Judaism," defined as the period from 200 BCE to the destruction of the temple, including important discussions of messianism and the afterlife. The translation of the Italian is quite shaky at times and a three line quotation from Spinoza in Latin is not translated at all. There are two many sentences like this one: "The Promise is essentially 'Promise of a Covenant, or of the Covenant' and the Covenant only makes sense in light of a promise guaranteeing in some way that if the clauses are respected the benefits foreseen will be realized."  RWK

Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible. Second Revised Edition. By Emanuel Tov (Fortress, $50). When I reviewed the first edition of this book in the Journal of Religion, I wrote that it would soon be viewed as a classic of biblical studies. T. is editor-in-chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project, which under his leadership has nearly completed the publication of all the scrolls at a very rapid pace. Because of these publications and continuing research T. has changed his mind on a number of issues, including the original shape of the biblical text. While much of the information in this book is quite technical, and it is well-written and accessible to the interested student. Even classics can get better. RWK

Unfolding the Deuteronomistic History: Origins, Upgrades, Present Text. By Antony F. Campbell and Mark A. O'Brien (Fortress, $37). This textbook prints out the complete text of the Deuteronomistic History (Dtr) in varied typefaces that enable the student to follow the eight levels that the authors discover in this great historical work. The hypothesis about the Dtr was proposed by Martin Noth in 1943 and is commonly adopted today, but with serious debate about when (pre-exile or exile) and for what reasons this combination of Deuteronomy-Joshua-Judges-Samuel-Kings was composed. C and O favor both a pre-exilic first edition and several exilic modifications. They also discover a pre Deuteronomistic Prophetic Record extending from Saul to Jehu.  RWK

Israel Constructs its History: Deuteronomistic Historiography in Recent Research. Edited by Albert de Pury, Thomas Römer, and Jean-Daniel Macchi (Sheffield, $95). The center piece of this volume of essays is the long and balanced review (pp. 24-141) by P. and R. of research before and since Martin Noth identified the existence of the Deuteronomistic History in 1943 (Dtr; this work consisted of Deuteronomy and Joshua--Kings). Almost every aspect of Noth's proposal has been challenged (date, unity of the work, original purpose, even the very existence of a Deuteronomistic History). The fourteen papers in this book were delivered and discussed between January and June in 1995 in a doctoral seminar sponsored by the Universities of Fribourg, Neuchatel, Lausanne, and Geneva. One of the big surprises is that Steven L. Mckenzie, previously one of the most prominent advocates of a pre-exilic date for Dtr, reversed himself and dated Dtr to the early exile. RWK

Reconsidering Israel and Judah. Recent Studies on the Deuteronomistic History. Edited by Gary N. Knoppers and J. Gordon McConville (Eisenbrauns, $39.95). The thirty essays in this collection are introduced by K., who has already written a major two- volume work on the subject. The special value of this book is that it presents seminal essays by Martin Noth, Helga Weippert, Hans Walter Wolff, Frank Moore Cross, and Rudolph Smend that have shaped the question for almost everyone else. Ten of the essays were published originally in French, German, Italian, and Spanish, but now appear in English for the first time. The scope of the topics treated and the great range in the opinions of the authors place the reader in the dead center of one of the current, great Old Testament debates. RWK

King David. A Biography. By Steven L. McKenzie (Oxford, $25). There is far more information about David than about any other figure in the Old Testament and it can be read from a wide variety of viewpoints, including theological, literary, and historical perspectives. M. chooses the latter option and pushes a "hermeneutic of suspicion" to the nth degree. While there have always been questions about David's complicity in the deaths of people like Abner and Ishbosheth, M. concludes that David would have killed Saul too if the opportunity had presented itself to him (despite 1 Samuel 24 and 26). He also accuses David and Abigail of conspiring to kill Nabal, and he alleges that David was involved in the conspiracy against Amnon. By asking who would benefit by a particular person's death, M. finds the accusing finger often pointing at David. It is easy to share at least some of these suspicions even if there is not enough evidence to take to a jury, but occasionally M. goes too far and even makes a very unfortunate comparison at one point between David and Saddam Hussein! Most of the documents about David in the Bible played a political, even apologetic function in addition to their theological role, and there is little external data that can assist scholars in evaluating David as a historical person. M.'s history of David, therefore, has some justification. The David he presents is surely a sinner in need of forgiveness and hence encouraging to the rest of us. What remains unexplained in his telling is how David later became the ideal for kingship and messiahship. You won't put this book down easily. RWK

A Guide to the Lands of the Bible. By Leslie J. Hoppe (Michael Glazier, $29.95). H. helps the would-be traveler explore Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, and Turkey, providing reliable, clear, and digestable data on archeological and pilgrimage sites, but also information on getting there, eating out, safety, public transportation, taxis, and other down-to-earth necessities. He also provides information on the religions (Jews, Samaritans, Christians, Muslims, and Druze) in Bible lands today and the political tensions that are everywhere. There are brief historical outlines of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey and constant references to the importance of various sites in the Bible's story. Black and white photographs enhance the text; the only major thing lacking is a diagram for the archaeological sites. This well-written volume, broken up into convenient paragraphs and explaining all technical terms, will help you plan your trip or bring to life hours spent with an atlas. If you are lucky enough to be going there, you must take this book with you. RWK

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Edited by John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas (InterVarsity Press, $29.99). In this one volume commentary, the editors provide information on geography, history, language, manners and customs, ancient Near Eastern literature and archaeology, but pay almost no attention to theology, history of composition, and authorship. Thus the editors dodge what might be controversial questions to customers of InterVarsity Press, and the reader is given no idea at all about the authorship or date of any part of Isaiah or Daniel and no clue on the origin of the Pentateuch. Outlines for books are also absent. While there is much useful information contained in the more than 800 pages of this book, the brevity of comments on individual items will often puzzle more than illuminate. Does it really help us understand Gen 6:1-4 to be told that ancient kings could spend the wedding night with any woman who was being given in marriage? On the flood: "The differences [between the Bible and the ancient Near Eastern accounts] exist because each culture is viewing the flood through its own theology and worldview." True enough, but a reader could be helped much more with details. The editors cite the discovery of old documents during temple repair in Egypt and Mesopotamia and admit the book found during the reign of Josiah "at least included Deuteronomy." But far be it from the editors to inform the reader that it is highly likely that Deuteronomy was also composed about the time it was found. At Isa 7:14 we are told that "Babies were sometimes named to reflect on a situation at the time of their birth." So what did Immanuel mean for Isaiah and for Ahaz? RWK

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck (Eerdmans, $45). This is the latest and now the best of the one-volume Bible dictionaries and should be a standard in church libraries (if they can afford the six volume Anchor Bible Dictionary, all the better). The tireless Freedman has used some six hundred experts to write the more than 5,000 entries in the up-to-date reference tool. Charts facilitate quick reference (archeological periods, birds and trees of the Bible, scripts used in the Bible and the ancient versions, weights and measures, etc.). Eerdmans is to be congratulated for holding down the price--a bargain these days for 1425 pages, 134 black and white pictures, and sixteen full color maps. RWK

The Bible is History By Ian Wilson (Regnery Publishing, $29.95). This book contains nearly two hundred illustrations, almost all in full color, and attempts to correlate the Bible with archeological findings. Many of the correlations are highly problematic, including linking the biblical flood to the inundation of the Black Sea in 5600 BCE and placing Abraham's homeland in southeast Turkey, at a site called Urfa. W. dates the Exodus to the reign of Ahmose in the late 16^th century and links both the plagues and the splitting of the Reed Sea to the explosion of a volcano on the Greek island of Thera. Jericho's fall is dated to 1400. Trouble is, the Amarna letters show no evidence for Israelite presence in the early 14^th century--contra W--and the earliest evidence for Israel in Palestine is usually thought to be the Merneptah stele of 1207 BCE. He "explains" the angel of Yahweh's destruction of 185,000 Assyrians by suggesting that the Assyrians drank polluted water from a pool filled by Hezekiah's engineers. Does such speculation save the Bible's historicity? He also gives credence to the witness of those who have supposedly come back from "near-death" experiences (245-246). His fundamentalist agenda is laid bare on pp. 245-247, including the charge that today's trend-setters label the Bible as bunk and are responsible for the decline in church attendance and the replacement of Bible education by ever-more liberal sex education. My, my. RWK

A Dictionary of the English Bible. By Alec Gilmore (Sheffield Academic Press, $19.95). This is a page-turner containing hundreds of tidbits about biblical studies presented in alphabetical order and covering texts, ancient versions, famous manuscripts (Lindisfarne Gospels, Oxyrhynchus Papryi), persons (church fathers and biblical scholars rather than biblical people), places important for the history of the Bible (Alexandria, Nag Hammadi, Rheims) and terminology (lectio brevior, scriptio plene). All modern English versions are described, as well as some Bibles made famous by typographical errors: The Vinegar Bible of 1717 because it referred to the parable of the vinegar (Luke 20) or the Murderers' Bible of 1795, which read "Let the children first be killed" [instead of filled] (Mark 7:27). RWK

Leviticus 17-22. By Jacob Milgrom (Doubleday, $50). This is the second volume in M.'s three volume commentary on Leviticus in the Anchor Bible commentary series. The chapters covered are from the so-called Holiness Code (H) although the book begins with M.'s translation of the whole book, followed by 125 pages of introduction to "H." M. argues that the core precept in chap 19 is not "love your neighbor as yourself," (v 18) but "love the alien as yourself" (v 34)--and love means not only emotion and attitude, but also deeds. M. also argues that H presumes, supplements, and revises P, and that H and therefore P are preexilic, thus challenging a major feature of the Documentary Hypothesis. M. believes that the prohibition of male homosexual activity in chap 18 refers only to males under the control of the paterfamilias. In effect, the law states: "Do not have sex with a male with whose widow sex is forbidden." M. concludes that there is no evidence that the firstborn were sacrificed, nor is there evidence that Israel's God ever demanded or even sanctioned this practice (except in popular belief). No one knows the ancient legal system of Israel better than M. and his erudite, three-volume commentary on Leviticus will be the first port of call for decades to come. RWK

The Religion of Ancient Israel. By Patrick D. Miller (Westminster John Knox, $44.95). M. begins with a description of the God Yahweh against the background and in contrast to other ancient gods (Elijah directly opposed Baal; Hosea shows an effort to appropriate and transform Canaanite language and thought). Next he describes orthodox, heterodox (use of cult objects rejected in orthodoxy, use of unacceptable procedures for discerning the divine will, and veneration of the dead), and syncretistic (elements of the worship of Baal and the Queen of Heaven, child sacrifice, the abuses recounted in Ezekiel 8, the Jewish colony at Elephantine) Yahwism, the cultic life of ancient Israel, and the interaction of family religion and official religion. The two following chapters deal with the character and purpose of the sacrificial system and questions of holiness and purity, topics often neglected in Protestant biblical study. A final chapter looks at leadership: priest, prophet, king, sage-scribe, and those, including women, who actually participated in the cult of Israel. M. focuses on significant dimensions or topics of Israelite religion, but does not offer a history of that religion. In a time of great turmoil and confusion in OT study, M. keeps a sure and reliable hand on the tiller. RWK

The Pentateuch. A Social-Science Commentary. By John Van Seters (Sheffield, $28 paper; $73 cloth). V. S. offers a clear and comprehensive summary of Pentateuchal research, explaining and often challenging the positions of Wellhausen, Von Rad, Noth, and Albright. Next he turns to new currents in this study since about 1975, an enterprise in which he has been a prime player. This is his summing up of a career focused on these questions. He concludes that J offers the most unified narrative strand and that P was composed from the start as a supplementation to and a revision of J. V. S. dates J after Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic history, in the period of the exile between Ezekiel and Second Isaiah; P is post-exilic. He rejects any deuteronomistic redaction of the Tetrateuch. In his view the process of canonization is a much later phenomenon that has nothing to do with the history of the Pentateuch's composition. Only Genesis 14 was added after P, in the Hellenistic period, and has Abraham pay homage to the priest-king of Jerusalem, the prototype of the Hellenistic high priests and the Maccabean kings. While the social setting of P and other tradents is reviewed, labeling this a "social-science" commentary strikes me as a bit of a misnomer. RWK

Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Volume 11. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry (Eerdmans, $50). The eighty-three articles in this volume, all starting with ayin or peh in Hebrew, deal with such topics as "city," "burnt offering," "the Most High," "young woman" [traditionally "virgin"], "idol," "Astarte," "redeem," "concubine," "pray," and "face." Eerdmans needs to be congratulated for the speed and relative inexpensiveness with which they are publishing this series. RWK

1 & 2 Kings. By Walter Brueggemann (Smith & Helwys, $65). Something new under the sun after all? This first volume in a new commentary series (30 volumes are projected) which intends to make serious biblical study accessible and presented in a less intimidating format. Hence there are pictures, maps, drawings, charts, and other sidebars of various types, linked to the main narrative by brown hyperlinks. The multimedia book comes with a CD Rom that has the complete text, with graphics, that is searchable for words or topics that would never show up in an index. This long (645 pages) volume is divided into "Commentary" (exegesis) and "Connections" (hermeneutical applications to contemporary life). B. has been a master in the latter genre and rings expected changes here on the pretensions of royal life. Some comparisons raise an eyebrow--Jehoida with Gerald Ford's pardon of Nixon, the imbalance between the public and private lives of Josiah with Bill Clinton. One winces a bit at the title of the commentary on 1 Kings 11: "When the Chickens Come Home to Roost." Was Adonijah really an advocate of the old covenantal traditions, and were Jachin and Boaz, like the Washington Monument, phallic symbols that bespeak the interface of virility and reliability necessary for the foundation of a great state? The pictures of great paintings are somewhat disappointing because they are too few and only presented in black and white, also on the CD, and to my mind there are too many reprints of second-rate 19^th century woodcuts by Carolsfeld and Dore. B. is clearly following other modern readings of Kings, but the Deuteronomistic History is never expressly called that nor explained at any depth, and one would never know that for most scholars 1 Kings 1-2 is a continuation of the Court History or Succession Narrative. The power of this commentary finally lies in B.'s hermeneutical suggestions; the treatment of the history itself does not delve very deeply. RWK

Isaiah. By Brevard S. Childs (Westminster John Knox, $59.95). Much has been changing in Isaiah studies in the last decades as scholars have detected a redactional unity to the book that, at least in part, transcends the divisions into First, Second, and Third Isaiah. C. builds on this research as he writes a commentary on the whole book of Isaiah. The canonical book, in his judgment, offers a coherent witness to the ways of God with Israel. C. and other scholars are not returning to single authorship in the eighth century, but they note links between chaps 1 and 65-66 and propose that "Second Isaiah" never existed independently and in fact may have been largely responsible for the present structure of chaps 1-39. "Third Isaiah," in turn serves consciously to unite the major themes of both First and Second Isaiah into one literary composition. The final chapters of Isaiah use language from chaps 1-39 to indicate that God's servants will always be under attack from enemies, not, as Paul Hanson proposed, to give voice to specific warring parties in post-exilic Israel. This is a major theological commentary and the capstone of a long scholarly career invested heavily in the Bible's authority for the church today. Readers will profit greatly from the use of this commentary, but let me note also a few problems. Despite its 550 pages, the commentary is far too short (the introduction to Second Isaiah is two and one half pages, there is virtually no textual criticism or defense of the fresh translation, and many details are not explained at all [e.g. the ambiguous significance of Isaiah's son Shearjashub]). Related to this is C.'s way of offering magisterial judgments on the work of others, judgments that need documentation and clarification (e.g. "Zimmerli has often overinterpreted the text and thus miscontrued the relationship" [between Second and Third Isaiah]). Finally, there are sentences that are unclear, in error, or in need of serious editing. RWK

The Tomb of Christ. By Martin Biddle. (Sutton Publishing, $39.95). B. has investigated the long and tortured history of the tomb of Christ, from its first discovery under a Roman temple in the fourth century to its present unstable condition. The edicule over the grave of Christ has been supported by iron girders since 1947 to keep it from collapsing. The author and his wife have painstakingly measured and recorded all features of the present small building located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but they have also ransacked Greek, Latin, and Arabic histories, archaeological evidence, paintings, engravings, and pilgrims' accounts to reconstruct the form and appearance of the tomb over the ages. The volume is lavishly illustrated with pictures, drawings, and scale models. B. concludes that much of the rock-cut chamber found in 325/6 still survives within the edicule and that much remains to be discovered when the tomb is restored. RWK

War in the Holy Land. From Megiddo to the West Bank. By Andrew Duncan and Michel Opatowski (Sutton, $39.95). This book describes battles that took place in Palestine/Israel from the battle of Megiddo in the early 15c BCE to the battles involving the modern state of Israel. Along the way we learn about the Israelite conquest of the land, other biblical and post-biblical wars until the Roman conquest, the coming of Islam, the crusades, and World War I. There are 101 maps which show the routes taken by armies, their position on the battlefield and the like. D. is a former British military officer and O is a graphic designer. The section dealing with the Old Testament proper, including the Maccabean revolt, covers only thirty-two pages (two pages for Jericho and Ai) and shows no awareness of critical historiography. By contrast eighty pages are devoted to the wars of modern Israel. RWK

A Journey into Christian Art. By Helen de Borchgrave (Fortress, $35). B. is a noted international art critic and has included more than 100 superb color reproductions in this book. This tour of museums and churches is chronologically arranged and offers brief biographies or characterizations of artists and short descriptions of famous works, primarily dealing with the life of Jesus. B. laments that contemporary culture threatens to block out the "inner voice" that is alive in this art. RWK

Hammurabi's Laws. Text, Translation and Glossary. By M. E. J. Richardson (Sheffield, $35 paper; $90 cloth). This book presents the transliterated text of the laws of Hammurabi on pages facing an up-to-date translation. All this is followed by a glossary of Akkadian words, a list of proper names and units of measurement, and a list of verbal roots used in this law code. The author suggests that we can use this law code to draw some conclusions about the relationship between faith and works in Mesopotamian society at the beginning of the second millennium BCE. RWK

Seeing Salvation. Images of Christ in Art. By Neil Macgregor with Erika Langmuir (Yale, $35). The authors note that there are no contemporary accounts of Jesus' appearance, but Western art in depicting him has reflected the spiritual world of the artist, the desires of art patrons, or the needs of spectators. Seventy color and eight black and white pictures are balanced with an informative text that offers penetrating commentary on the art works themselves. A recent statue of a bald and beardless Jesus in Trafalgar Square called forth these comments: "You can't have a Christ figure like this. Where is his robe? Where is his beard? Where is his cross?" My only regret is that the "canon" in this collection is primarily limited to European interpretations. Where are the interpretations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America? RWK

Saints & Sinners. Caravaggio & the Baroque Image. Edited by Franco Mormando (University of Chicago, $40). This is a collection of essays offering commentary on an art exhibition on Caravaggio (1571-1610) at the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College. The violence of C.'s paintings reflect at once the Counter Reformation, the 658 public executions during his residence in Rome, and the homicide that prompted his sudden departure from Rome in 1606. His pessimism reached a climax in his self-portrayal as the decapitated Goliath, the year before his death. The victorious David in this picture embodies his alleged former lover. Scholars of our own day contend that C. painted some of the most moving religious pictures in the history of Western art. RWK.

Evocations of Grace. Writings on Ecology, Theology, and Ethics. By Joseph Sittler (Eerdmans, $20). Although he held a prestigious position at the University of Chicago and was highly influential in both Lutheran and ecumenical circles, not least at LSTC, Sittler did not earn a doctorate and published relatively little during his lifetime. Hence these ten essays can help a new generation learn about Sittler's "cosmic christology" and his argument for the vital connection between Christian theology, ethics, and the natural world. Editors Steven Bouma-Prediger and Peter Bakken help us to understand that Sittler's reflections came from the time when Rachel Carson and her kin were only beginning to awaken the world from its ecological slumber. RWK

November, 2000

David, Solomon and Egypt. A Reassessment. By Paul S. Ash. (Sheffield, $46.50). In this Emory dissertation, A. studies the evidence for the relationship between Egypt and Israel during the reigns of David and Solomon. The three parts of the study deal with the relevant inscriptional evidence from Egypt, the archaeological evidence from Palestine, and the biblical record itself. He concludes that relations with Egypt and contacts with Egypt at the time of the United Monarch were quite limited. The campaign of Shoshenq (Shishak) is the only indisputable contact between Egypt and Palestine. The limited archaeological evidence suggests that Egyptian goods entered Palestine via Phoenicia and not directly. A. also casts cold water on the historicity of Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter and his trading with Egypt for horses and chariots, ascribing such accounts to attempts to glorify Solomon's reign. Without Egypt's general absence from Palestine in the tenth century, it is unlikely that the states of Judah and Israel would have been able to come into existence. In an excursus A. argues that the Queen of Sheba came from Arabia rather than Africa. RWK

The Dead Sea Scrolls at Fifty. Edited by Robert A. Kugler and Eileen M. Schuler (SBL, $49.95). This book contains eighteen essays presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in 1997. While for the first forty years after their discovery publication of the scrolls was much too slow, the last decade has seen an avalanche of productivity and the nearly complete publication of all of the scrolls. The eighteen essays assess this progress, noting the impact of the scrolls on the study of the Bible itself and early Judaism, the intellectual history of the publication of scrolls research, and a more focused look at the so-called Damascus Document. Lutheran New Testament scholar George W. E. Nickelsburg, recently retired from the University of Iowa, writes a seminal essay, noting the interplay of data, agendas, and methodology. RWK

Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period. Edited by Jacob Neusner and William Scott Green (Hendrickson, $59.95). The "biblical period" in this volume refers to the time between 450 BCE, when the Pentateuch reached its present form, and 600 CE, when the Babylonian Talmud was completed. It is the time when the books of the Old and New Testaments were canonized, the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, the Mishnah, Tosefta, the Talmuds, and the Midrashim. There are more than 3,300 entries, ranging from Aaron to zuz (ancient penny) by seventy top-notch scholars in bite-sized entries--but 693 pages in all. N. has more than 500 books to his credit!! Nickelsburg (see the previous entry) edited the materials on Jews and Judaism before 70 CE. RWK

An Introduction to the Psalms. By Hermann Gunkel (Mercer University Press, $45). Gunkel, the father of form criticism, published his commentary on Psalms in the Handbuch zum Alten Testament in 1929. But this work, on the genres of the Psalms themselves, was incomplete at his death in March, 1932. Knowing the end was near, Gunkel entrusted this work at Christmas 1931 to his student, Joachim Begrich, who published it in 1933 and whose own brilliant career was cut short by his death on the Italian front in World War II. The translator, James D. Nogalski, notes that despite its shortcomings--influenced by a paradigm of the development of Israelite religion that considered Judaism legalistic and by a propensity to excessive emendation of the text--"this work has no equal. Its comprehensive nature, careful systematic argumentation, and its eye for detail will quickly show why Gunkel remains one of the giants in Old Testament studies." RWK

Zondervan Handbook to the Bible. Edited by Pat and David Alexander and others (Zondervan, $39.99). First published in 1973 by Eerdmans, this handbook has sold over three million copies and has now been revised for the new millennium. Here is the best of evangelical, largely British scholarship--names like Millard, Williamson, Polkinghorne, Witherington, Emmerson, Marshall, Dell, Kitchen, Goldingay, Wangerin appear frequently--lavishly illustrated with hundreds of color photographs, maps, timelines, and graphics of all kinds. Clear outlines of each biblical book; lots of side bars and background information. This is a wonderfully accessible handbook that can be highly recommended for church libraries and lay use. RWK

Gold of the Pharaohs. By Hans Wolfgang Müller and Eberhard Thiem (Cornell University Press, $60.00). M., an Egyptologist and art historian, died before this book was completed; T. was the photographer of these dazzling Egyptian treasures. Ancient Egyptian gold mines had shafts up to 330 feet deep and hundreds of feet of corridors and pillared galleries. While only fragments remain of the immense treasures produced by the Pharaohs, each piece of jewelry reflects the extraordinary organizational ability of the Egyptian state. The shining gold sarcophagi were intended to guarantee immortality to the deceased because gold was thought to be of the same material as the eternal sun. Tutankhamun's inner coffin of solid gold weighed two hundred forty pounds--and he was a relatively insignificant man. This lavish book, with its more than four hundred full color pictures, is a vivid introduction to the life and culture of ancient Egypt. RWK

The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Volume 4. By Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner. Revised by Walter Baumgartner, Johann Jakob Stamm and others (Brill, $152). With this volume the Hebrew section of this dictionary is complete. A fifth volume will cover Aramaic and contain various kinds of indexes. This is the third edition of Koehler-Baumgartner, but it many ways it is a whole new dictionary representing the best of late twentieth century scholarship. While current lexicographers give primary attention to the meanings of words in context, Koehler-Baumgartner does not neglect the cognate languages or the history of translation (Septuagint, Vulgate, vocalization of the Hebrew, etc.). My repeated use of this and previous volumes results in the highest praise for the work of M. E. J. Richardson, who translated the four volumes from German to a very readable and accurate English despite his own health problems. Brill also has announced the availability of the dictionary on CD-Rom. It has been almost ninety years since the last revision of the standard Brown, Driver, and Briggs lexicon. While a revision is in the works for BDB, under the direction of faculty from Princeton Theological Seminary, it will be many years until it appears. In the meantime, the English version of Koehler-Baumgartner will be standard for Old Testament scholars and pastors who keep up their Hebrew skills. One winces at the price for the four volume set. RWK

A History of Israel. By John Bright (Westminster John Knox, $34.95). The first edition of this book was published in 1959 and the third in 1981. Bright had retired in 1975 and he died in 1995. The book has sold an astounding 100,000 copies. The text itself is an unchanged printing of the third edition. Bright was an articulate spokesperson for the positions of William Foxwell Albright and his followers, but one of his most impressive achievements was linking the historical periods to the theological message that was being expressed, say, by the Yahwist in the tenth century, the prophets in the eighth to sixth centuries, and the writers during the exile and restoration. This book was indispensable to my own development as an Old Testament historian and theologian. William P. Brown, who teaches at Union Seminary in Virginia, where Bright himself spent his career, writes a twenty-two page introduction where he describes Bright's own person and career and outlines the changes that Bright introduced in the second or third edition. Brown's twenty-one page Appendix assesses the chaotic status of current Old Testament historiography that has overturned or severely questioned many of Bright's central historical points. Even during his lifetime Bright sometimes overstated the degree of the consensus or gave too much privilege to Albright and the reliability of the biblical, historical tradition. Brown documents much of that change, at least until the time of the United Monarchy. Few today would hold to the reconstruction of Bright on the patriarchs and matriarchs, the Exodus, and the period of the judges, and far more sophisticated analyses of what comprised the kingship of David and Solomon have emerged. Readers face an awkward choice between Bright's clear and persuasive synthesis and an appendix that indicates that in major ways the building blocks of that synthesis no longer pertain. My warm welcome to this "old friend" is mixed with the fervent hope that some scholar, even within the rubble of the current state of the field, would write a textbook as well written, as accessible, as persuasive, and, yes, even as passionate for the faith of Israel. RWK

Old Testament Parsing Guide. By Todd S. Beall, William A. Banks, and Colin Smith (Broadman and Holman, $32.99). This well-organized and clearly arranged handbook parses all 75,000 verbs in the Old Testament and suggests an appropriate meaning for the context. It will help many seminarians and pastors maintain their Hebrew skills and use Hebrew in the practice of ministry. Its one-volume size makes it superior to the bulky four volumes of John Joseph Owens' Analytical Key to the Old Testament, published by Baker. Those who work comfortably with computers may prefer electronic concordances like "Bible Works" and the Logos concordance that do the same thing with the wave of the mouse. Since the latter also let the user put the Hebrew text and a variety of English translations on the screen at the same time, they have very many advantages. They also cost almost ten times as much--although much less than one month's car payment. RWK

Dictionary of the Ancient Near East. Edited by Piotr Bienkowski and Alan Millard (University of Pennsylvania Press, $49.95; first published by the British Museum Press). This authoritative and up to date handbook covers a period from the Lower Paleolithic (1.5 million years ago) to 539 BCE, when Babylon fell to Cyrus the Persian, with the primary focus being the 3,000 years preceding the latter date. An appendix lists the kings in the main dynasties of the Near East. A significant number of black and white photographs grace the text. The articles are brief and to the point, and cover archaeological sites, major scholars, deities, countries and peoples, languages, kings, and many topics (death and funerary beliefs, education, family, law, slavery, social class, temples, tools and weapons, and much much more). A gold mine of information for anyone interested in the Bible. RWK

The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Edited by Michael D. Coogan (Oxford University Press, $49.95). In eleven chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue, thirteen well-known scholars trace the history of Syria-Palestine in pre biblical times, the history of Israel from the Exodus to the first revolt, the Jesus movement in the Roman World, and how Jews and Christians fared in the Roman Empire. The authors provide no footnotes, but append select bibliography to each chapter. Many of the contributors are also known for their archaeological expertise. At a time when historical studies of the Old Testament period in particular are somewhat in disarray, it is a real gain for pastors and seminary students to have such firm hands at the helm. There are more than 200 photographs, line drawings and maps and some twenty-five stunning color pictures. Nor is this just "big man" history. There is much about daily life, the roles of women, tensions between town and country, royal and kinship social structures . RWK

Sennacherib's Campaign to Judah. New Studies. By William R. Gallagher (Brill, $90.00). In this revised dissertation submitted to the University of Vienna, G. concludes that both the Assyrian and biblical sources concerning Sennacherib's third campaign in 701 BCE can be used to produce a coherent picture of the war. The first two chapters examine several oracles in Isaiah dealing with Assyria. Chapters 3-9 deal with the inscriptions of Sennacherib and the biblical texts (2 Kgs 18:13-19:37//Isaiah 36-37) that describe the campaign itself. As far as the biblical account is concerned, only two points are judged to be false: the number of Assyrian soldiers slain (185,000) is much too high and calling Taharqa "king of Cush" is an anachronism in 701. Four other points are deemed doubtful: Taharqa's involvement in the conflict; Isaiah predicting the manner of Sennacherib's death; the Assyrians writing a letter with wording similar to the Rabshakeh's second speech; and the deaths of the Assyrian by means which were understood to be divine deliverance. Hezekiah paid tribute to Sennacherib (2 Kgs 18:14), but Sennacherib left Judah without taking Jerusalem. The net result of this meticulous study is that G. restores the credibility of most of the material in Isaiah and Kings dealing with this war and puts to rest once and for all the theory of a second campaign of Sennacherib against Judah that had been championed so eloquently by John Bright in A History of Israel. RWK

Invitation to the Apocrypha. By Daniel J. Harrington, S. J. (Eerdmans, $16). This well-written handbook reads each work in the Apocrypha through the lens of suffering. This approach not only describes how suffering was understood in Second Temple Judaism, but it also suggests ways in which we can enrich our own understanding and theological interpretation of suffering. For each book he provides basic information (date, authorship), content, significance, and suggestions for further study (bibliography). H. notes that 2 Maccabees has been influential because of 7:28, which has served (perhaps incorrectly) as a proof text for "creation out of nothing." 2 Maccabees 12:38-45 was read at Catholic Masses for the Dead for many centuries because it espoused prayers for the dead. H. writes clearly and calls attention to problematic issues like Judith's gruesome beheading of Holofernes and tossing his head in a food bag, and the subsequent plundering of the Assyrian camp for thirty days. If you have always wanted to "get into the Apocrypha," this is the place to start. RWK

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Revised Edition. Edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst (Eerdmans/Brill $120). This volume discusses all the gods and demons whose names are found in the Bible and the Apocrypha, and assesses the impact of contemporary ancient religions on Israel and the early church. The deities and demons included are sometimes only mentioned in place names in the Bible; other names are of humans who rose to divine or semi-divine status in later tradition: Enoch, Moses, Elijah, Mary, and Jesus. Each article has four sections: the name of the god and its occurrence in various ancient civilizations; the role of the deity in the culture of origin; role and nature of the deity in the Bible; bibliography. This dictionary was first published to wide acclaim in 1995, and this second edition corrects errors and supplements older articles and adds some thirty new entries. More than one hundred scholars contributed the more than four hundred separate entries (ranging from Abaddon [Job 28:22; Rev 28:22] to Zion). RWK

The David Story. A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel. By Robert Alter. (Norton, $30). A. is best known in biblical circles for his The Art of Biblical Narrative and The Art of Biblical Poetry, in which he demonstrated in a compelling way that methods forged by modern literary criticism are supremely productive in reading the final form of the biblical text. This translation employs a "limited degree of archaizing" free of the "overtones of contemporary colloquial usage but with a certain timeless homespun style." In his judgment, "A suitable English version should avoid at all costs the modern abomination of elegant synonymous variation, for the literary prose of the Bible turns everywhere on significant repetition, not variation." His bottom-of-the-page commentary, about equal in length to the translation, explains difficult translations and customs unknown to the average reader, but also throws light on the books from his viewpoint as someone trained in literature and deeply excited by the extraordinary narrative art of the David story. RWK

The Five Books of Moses. A New Translation with Introductions, Commentary, and Notes by Everett Fox and Give Us a King! Samuel, Saul, and David. A New Translation of Samuel I and II with an Introduction and Notes by Everett Fox (Schocken, $25.00 and $26.00 respectively). The purpose of these works is to draw the reader into the world of the Bible through the power of its language--in English dress but with a Hebraic voice. Indebted in many ways to the principles of the German translation of the Old Testament by Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig, F. translates with an ear to the sound and structure of the original and attempts to reflect its repetitions. Here are a couple examples: "The human knew Havva his wife, she became pregnant and bore Kayin. She said: Kaniti/ I-have-gotten a man, as has YHWH!" (Gen 4:1). "See now that I, I am he, there is no god beside me; I myself bring-death, bestow-life, I wound and I myself heal, and there is from my hand no rescuing." (Deut 32:29).

Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Volume X. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck et al. (Eerdmans, $48). Congratulations to Eerdmans for continuing to bring out the volumes in this series in a very timely fashion. The words, from nun to ayin, include such important topics as "vengeance," "kiss," "treasured possession," "Sinai," "scribe," "eunuch," "anger, "assembly," "transgression," and "abandon." RWK

January, 2000

1 and 2 Chronicles. Volume 1: 1 Chronicles 1-2 Chronicles 9: Israel’s Place Among the Nations; Volume 2. 2 Chronicles 10-36: Guilt and Atonement. By William Johnstone (Sheffield Academic Press, $85 for each volume). J.’s division of materials in the two volumes reflects his judgment on the intention of Chronicles. Volume 1 describes Israel’s attempt to realize its place among the nations, and volume 2 describes Israel’s failure to attain that ideal and the hope that lies beyond that failure. Theologically, the Chronicler is still in exile, waiting for the restoration. While the books of Ezra and Nehemiah depict a realized Zionism, the Chronicler contends for an eschatological Zionism. Israel’s destiny is to be vicarious, not in its suffering but in its holiness. By "sacramental theology" J. means that God’s cosmic reign is discharged on earth by his representative agent, the Davidic king, who sits on the Lord’s own throne in Jerusalem. It is not clear to me why this is "sacrmental." He also calls it "pure sacramentalism" when Jahaziel instructs Israel in 2 Chronicles 20 to participate fully in a battle, even though the real fighting is the Lord’s. Life under the Levites, according to J., provides Israel with a realized eschatology under which it can live a life of the practice of holiness now, while awaiting a definite Return in God’s future. I think that the Chronicler is trying to get his readers to support the existing cult in Jerusalem rather than to wait for some eschatological return. I also suspect J.’s frequent resort to the etymology of personal names (Though Abijah does mean the Lord is my father, I doubt this implies his potential for realizing destiny). J.’s interpretation of Jehoshabeath in 2 Chronicles 22 as meaning "the Lord is abundance" suffers from an incorrect identification of the sibillant in the name). He assumes (!) the unity of Chronicles and interprets its function as it now stands in MT. Even more problematic is his decision to study the differences between Samuel-Kings and Chronicles only on the basis of the MT of each. He apparently does not understand the theological and exegetical significance of the Chronicler using an earlier form of Samuel-Kings. If the Chronicler did in fact employ such a text, many characterists ascribed to him, also by J, simply disappear. RWK

The Book of Ezekiel. Chapters 1-24 and The Book of Ezekiel. Chapters 25-48. By Daniel I. Block. (Eerdmans, $48 and $50). These volumes are part of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament. B.’s work is massive (887 pages on the first 24 chapters and 826 for the second 24) and in many respects magisterial, and is driven by a single passion: to make this prophecy understandable and meaningful for contemporary readers. He provides a fresh translation with textual notes, a discussion of the style and structure of each unit, verse-by-verse commentary, and a summary of the permanent theological lessons of the unit (these are Evangelical in orientation and a bit moralistic; he also evades the problem of the brutal treatment of women in chaps 16 and 23). For all the solid exegesis in this commentary, I wish B. had struggled more with some of its theological issues. I find the following quite problematic: "The carnal mind struggles with the justice of God in the face of human tragedy, but the eyes of faith will recognize behind all tragedies the hand of God. When all the evidence is in, his people will recognize that he does not operate arbitrarily or without cause. His actions are always according to the immutable principles of justice and righteousness. Accordingly, if people experience his wrath, it is because the wages of sin is death." Block interprets the canonical shape of the text and rightly reacts against the excessive identification of glosses by a previous generation of scholarship. At times, however, such as in 48:30-35, it might be better to entertain the possibility of a secondary reading that has (helpfully?) shifted the sense of the original Ezekiel. Pastors will appreciate his efforts to appropriate Ezekiel for Christian proclamation. RWK

Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volume 9. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry (Eerdmans, $48). This major reference work for the meaning of Old Testament words is now two thirds complete. The present volume discusses words from ***** (rebel) to ***** (be innocent) and includes articles on such salient words as "justice," "adultery," "prophet," "vow," "repent," "self, life" [traditionally "soul"], and "female." There are surveys of the word’s occurrences in the Bible, but also in other ancient Near Eastern writings. RWK

The Hebrew English Concordance to the Old Testament with the New International Version. Edited by John R. Kohlenberger III and James A. Swanson (Zondervan, $99.99). For this 2192 page book, you pay a penny short of $100 and it’s worth every penny. The first 1720 pages provide Hebrew-English and Aramaic-English concordances. While the Hebrew or Aramaic word is printed at the head of the entry, the verse where each of its occurrences appears is given in the translation of the NIV, with the word itself printed in bold type. Hence one can make original language word studies even if one’s knowledge of Hebrew is elementary. For adverbs, conjunctions, etc., only the verse numbers are given, no translation. An English-Hebrew and Aramaic index allows one to trace the method of the NIV translators. The word "slave" occurs 55 times, but renders 25 different Semitic words. Finally the editors provide concise Hebrew-English (100 pages) and Aramaic-English (10 pages) dictionaries. A splendid tool. RWK

The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew. Volume IV *-*. Edited by David J. A. Clines. (Sheffield Academic Press, $123.50). This dictionary is half done and the 642 pages of this volume, covering only three letters of the Hebrew alphabet, were pulled together in 18 months. The work is scheduled for completion in 2004. Many of the words in this volume (Yahweh [occurs 7,000 times and the entry consumes 29 pages!], Israel, day, know, sit, take) are among the most common in the Hebrew Bible and every occurrence is still treated. For every verb, all its subjects are considered, and for every noun, every verb with which it is used is shown. The authors are sensitive to issues of inclusivity and both male and female prophets are referred to by the word "prophet." "Prophetess" is now considered archaic. As in previous volumes, the authors give principal attention to the contextual meaning and therefore avoid issues like etymology or meaning in cognate languages. RWK

Worship and the Hebrew Bible: Essays in Honour of John T. Willis. Edited by M. Patrick Graham, Rick R. Marrs, and Steven L. McKenzie (Sheffield Academic Press, $85). The fifteen essays in this volume are written for the 65th birthday of John T. Willis, who has contributed articles on Micah, Samuel, and other biblical books, but is primarily known for his translations from Swedish, German, and other languages. The essays explore aspects of worship in Deuteronomy, Judges, Samuel, 2 Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Job, Psalms (4), Isaiah (3), Micah, and the apocrypha. J. J. M. Roberts, for example, takes a shot at modern worship on the basis of Isaiah: "The trend to simplify worship--by removing theological complexity, to make it more popular by emphasizing entertainment at the expense of education and to increase its appeal by stressing only happy thoughts and ignoring the bitter and painful aspects of religious experience--has little in common with the ideal of worship envisioned by Isaiah" (p. 275). Roy F. Melugin argues against the nearly universal attempt to discover the original meaning of Isaiah. Instead, he urges scholars to examine the significance of a text like Isa 9:6-7 (unto us a child is born, a son is given) as presently existing religious communities construe its meaning for shaping their faith and life in their history and social context. In his view, those who shaped the book of Isaiah were concerned with using language performatively, namely, to shape or transform the life of the faith community. RWK

An Index to English Periodical Literature on the Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Volume 7. Compiled and edited by William H. Hupper (Scarecrow Press, $55). The previous six volumes appeared between 1987 and 1994. The 377 pages of this volume list thousands of publications dealing with ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and other parts of the Ancient Near East though the connection with the Old Testament in some cases seems remote and, in any case, is not specifically indicated. This volume is a treasure trove if you’re looking for the latest studies on the Gilgamesh Epic, the Code of Hammurabi, the Merneptah Inscription (containing the oldest reference to Israel outside the Bible), wisdom literature in many different languages, and the like. RWK

A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar. By Christo H. J. van der Merwe, Jackie A Naudé, and Jan H. Kroeze (Sheffield Academic Press, $85 cloth; $29.95 paper). This grammar is intended for translators and exegetes of biblical Hebrew texts who wish to engage critically with existing translations and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. It systematizes linguistic information contained in introductory courses, drawing most of its information from prose texts (In the index there are three pages devoted to passages from the Pentateuch, 2.5 from the Deuteronomistic History, but less than 1 each from the prophets and the writings). Knowledge has been gleaned from older grammars, but an attempt was made to utilize the findings of recent research in Biblical Hebrew. RWK

Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel. By Othmar Keel and Christoph Uehlinger (Fortress, $45). The religion of Israel has been investigated primarily from texts, especially the Hebrew Bible and the texts from Ugarit. K. and U., however, present a magnificient argument in this book that pictures, which can depict several aspects simultaneously, should play a more prominent role in that inquiry. They discuss some 383 pictures, primarily found on amulet seals from Palestine/Israel, that can be dated from MBIIB (the putative time of the patriarchs and matriarchs) to 450 BCE, in the midst of Persian, post-exilic Judah. Since almost all of these pictures are uninscribed (lacking any words), it usually cannot be determined whether they come from Israel itself or from her Canaanite neighbors who lived among them. K. and U. have devoted their careers to studying the 8500 such stamp seals that have been discovered in the last century. They can now detect trends, such as increased or diminished Egyptian influence, the retreat or demotion of pictures of the goddess, and the elimination of images in the late seventh century (the time of the Josianic reform). They dedicate extensive space to the study of the controversial pictures and inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud, concluding that the "Asherah" mentioned in these texts is not the divine consort of Yahweh. One can learn an immense amount about the religion and material culture of Palestine from this volume, which has been ably translated by Thomas H. Trapp. RWK

An Index to English Periodical Literature on the Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Volume VIII. Compiled and Edited by William G. Hupper (Scarecrow, $65). Hupper’s bibliographic labor of love continues with major sections in this volume dealing with Theological Studies pp. 1-349), studies dealing with the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East in Art, Worship and Contemporary Culture (pp. 350-407), and Studies dealing with the Dead Sea Scrolls (pp. 408-483). While the list of periodicals from the last two centuries covers 29 pages, Lutherans will be disappointed that neither Currents nor Word and World were included. RWK

Hebrew-English TANAKH. Edited by Rabbi David E. Sulomm Stein (Jewish Publication Society, $69.95). The translation of the Old Testament by the Jewish Publication Society (JPS), completed in 1985, shows some of the best philological work on the Hebrew Scriptures and a great reluctance to emend the text. It is still one of the best literal translations even if it was made before attention to inclusive language became popular. While sticking close to the original, the translation reads with elegance and power. Consider Ps 51:3 "Have mercy upon me, O God, as befits Your faithfulness; in keeping with Your abundant compassion, blot out my transgressions." The present edition prints the Hebrew Bible in one column and JPS in another on each page. Tanakh is the standard abbreviation for the three parts of the canon in Jewish tradition--Torah, Neviim (Prophets), and Kethubim (Writings). RWK

Ruth. The Old Testament Library. A Commentary by Kirsten Nielsen (Westminster John Knox, $21.95). This brief and insightful volume (35 pages of introduction and 68 of commentary) focuses on intertextuality, that is, the relationship between Ruth and other biblical texts, especially those that deal with infertility and the triumph over it. "Just as God chose Tamar to be the ancestress of both Boaz and David, so it is God himself who has chosen David’s Moabite ancestress, Ruth, and therefore David himself is chosen." (p. 27). She joins a growing consensus in dating the book to the preexilic period, and not to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. The author was probably part of the royal court. Naomi and Ruth break contemporary norms and are rewarded for doing just that. "Thus God is presented as being on the side of the marginalized, conducting their case even where the law is inadequate and they must resort to trickery to gain justice." (p. 32). RWK

Encountering the Old Testament. A Christian Survey. By Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer (Baker, $49.99). Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this conservative introductory textbook to the Old Testament is the CD-Rom tucked in the back cover, which provides video clips of interviews with the authors, video clips and still photos of biblical lands, maps, interactive review questions, and visual organizers. In general, the layout and graphics are outstanding, but Moses is the "source, originator, and authorizer" of the Pentateuch, one person wrote the whole book of Isaiah, and Daniel was written in the 6th century. I wish we had a critical introductory textbook presented with such pizazz. RWK

Proverbs. The Old Testament Library. A Commentary by Richard J. Clifford (Westminster John Knox, $38). For a long time we have lacked a contemporary, competent, critical, and helpful commentary on Proverbs, but we now need to wait no longer. C. focuses on how the instructions and maxims engaged their audience. "By a typical Proverbs paradox, the common accusation against the book--that it is banal--turned out to be a key to understanding it. If a verse seemed banal, I knew I had not understood it, and so I returned to it." (p. vii). The authors of Proverbs were scribes of the royal court. C. notes three assumptions of ancient authors: Wisdom was practical rather than theoretical knowledge; wisdom belongs to the divine world and is mediated through a series of agents to human beings; heavenly wisdom is mediated through such institutions as the king, scribes and the literature scribes write, and heads of families. "Wisdom invites people into a long-term, marriage-like relationship with her. The relationship is founded on her truthfulness, bounty, and closeness to God." (p. 38). This is hands-down the best commentary on the book of Proverbs. RWK

Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation. Two volumes. Edited by John H. Hayes (Abingdon, $195). Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters. Edited by Donald L. McKim (InterVarsity, $29.99). We so easily forget or underestimate the extent to which we are dependent on interpreters who have gone before us. The Hayes volumes contain three kinds of articles: the history of interpretation of each book of the Bible, the apocrypha, and other ancient non-biblical books (e. g. Enoch); biographies of leading biblical scholars (ancient and modern), including some who are still active and living but born before 1930; essays on methods and movements. It takes 16 pages to list all the contributors. These are volumes suitable for browsing and for learning why we are where we are today in biblical studies. Fifty years from now the list of exegetes would not nearly be so white or so male! Methods discussed include those emphasizing the social location of the interpreter (e.g. Afrocentric Biblical Interpretation, Feminist Interpretation, Gay/Lesbian Interpretation, Mujerista Biblical Interpretation, Post-Colonial Biblical Interpretation, and Womanist Biblical Interpretation). Strangely, inexplicably, there are no entries under "Enlightenment," "Historical Criticism," or "Modernism" (though the sub-disciplines of historical criticism are discussed and there is the obligatory essay on "Post-Modern Biblical Interpretation"). The McKim volume focuses on individuals from six eras: early church; Middle Ages; 16th and 17th centuries; 18th & 19th centuries; Europe in the 20th century; North America in the 20th century (where Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and Phyllis Trible make the honor roll). The articles in the McKim volume tend to be a little longer and the contributors are listed on five pages. Of the 13 North American scholars of the 20th century discussed in McKim, 9 are also discussed in Hayes. In addition to Schüssler Fiorenza and Trible, already mentioned, McKim includes Walter Brueggemann (still very much alive) and George Eldon Ladd (who died in 1982). Both of these volumes would make fine additions to church libraries.

Faith Aloud. By Marcus Paul Bach Felde (Melanesian Institute, Papua New Guinea, n.p.). In this revised doctoral dissertation done at the University of Chicago, F. does "local theology" in Papua New Guinea by analyzing how the Lutheran Church there proclaims its faith in its hymns. The dominant metaphor for salvation in these hymns is God’s "closeness." In the critical part of the book, F. argues that the opposite of good news is not that God is far off, but that God is against us. Hence he urges the Lutheran Church in Papua New Guinea to make more use of the metaphor of divine-human reconciliation in its hymns. RWK

Theological Exegesis. Essays in Honor of Brevard S. Childs. Edited by Christopher Seitz and Kathryn Greene-McCreight (Eerdmans, $38). The nineteen essays in this Festschrift are written to honor the legacy of Childs, who has contributed mightily to Old Testament studies, not only by many philological and historical-critical publications, but also and especially by his proposal for "canonical criticism," that privileges the final form of the text and puts stress on its theological message and authority. Roy A. Harrisville speaks of Childs’ "passionate commitment to the Scriptures as the instrument of encounter with the living God." We are all C’s debtors. RWK

The Emergence of Yehud in the Persian Period. By Charles E. Carter (Sheffield Academic Press, $85). In this revised dissertation written at Duke, C. attempts to establish a more complete understanding of the material culture of the province of Yehud (Judah) in the Persian period (538-332 BCE). Rather than basing himself exclusively or even primarily on the five lists from Ezra and Nehemiah that provide evidence on the geographical extent and population of Judah, C. extrapolates from archaeological evidence at 22 excavated sites and several extensive surface surveys of recent decades. Judah in his telling comprised only some 680 square miles (half the size of Rhode Island), with a total population of somewhere between 13,000 and 20,000 people. Jerusalem never had a population of more than 1500 in this period. A final chapter assesses the social situation of Yehud in the Persian period, its type of governance, and its ability to produce the major parts of the Old Testament commonly dated to this period. His estimates of Yehud’s size and population are based on cutting-edge new methodologies, but it remains to be seen whether he will be able to reverse previous estimates of population that are as much as ten times greater than his. RWK

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