see Bible Introductions, New Testament Studies

The Restored New Testament: A New Translation with Commentary, Including the Gnostic Gospels Thomas, Mary, and Judas by Willis Barnstone (WW Norton) From acclaimed scholar Willis Barnstone, The Restored New Testament—newly translated from the Greek and informed by Semitic sources. For the first time since the King James Version in 1611, Willis Barnstone has given us an amazing literary and historical version of the New Testament. Barnstone preserves the original song of the Bible, rendering a large part in poetry and the epic Revelation in incantatory blank verse. This monumental translation is the first to restore the original Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew names (Markos for Mark, Yeshua for Jesus), thereby revealing the Greco-Jewish identity of biblical people and places. Citing historical and biblical scholarship, he changes the sequence of texts and adds three seminal Gnostic gospels. Each book has elegant introductions and is thoroughly annotated. With its superlative writing and lyrical wisdom, The Restored New Testament is a magnicent biblical translation for our age.

This edition is ideal for for readers who are interested in a literary view of the Christian Scripture without the theological editorializing found in denominational versions such as the NIV, the RSB, the ASV, the New KJV, and the Amplified Bible, the newer translations can seem tamed down and less 'Jewish'. I find that the restoration of the Jewish names and geographical locations is salt that transforms this book into a vibrant been there, are there translation.  So this version works for reading but it lacks the depth of discrimination of meaning and nuisance that true scholarly edition might offer to enhance the text and avoid odd anachronisms and other lexical miscues.

The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation by Luke Timothy Johnson, Todd C. Penner (Fortress) is an erudite, scholarly, yet thoroughly "reader friendly" commentary on the New Testament text, in relation to history of the ancient world, Christian beliefs, and a page-by-page analysis of the scripture itself. An accompanying CD-ROM provides ready access to cross-referenced text. Johnson covers the NT extremely well and gives insights into the text and the context that is helpful to students, preachers and teachers. This updated version includes significant current NT scholarship. It is very well written, making the reading enjoyable The Writings of the New Testament is highly recommended as an exhaustive study enhanced with extensive bibliographical annotation and thought-provoking questions.

Experiencing the Word: New Testament read by David Payne (16 Audio CDs) the complete New Testament HCSB (Holman Christian Standard BibleTM) translation, recorded with light musical accompaniment by Michael Stanton (Holman) A good way to "read" while driving.

Major Reference to Q

The Critical Edition of Q: A Synopsis Including the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and Thomas With English, German, and French Translations of Q and Thomas edited by James McConkey Robinson, Paul Hoffmann, and John S. Kloppenborg (Fortress Press) represents an immense labor of scholarly conjecture and source criticism. For anyone who needs to consider the history of gospel texts a close reading of this reference is essential.

The existence of Q (simply defined as the non-Markan material common to Matthew and Luke) as a document in the earliest churches was first hypothesized by C. H. Weisse in 1838. The existence, character, and significance of Q as a document from the earliest churches has further been developed since then by numerous scholars, including the two groundbreaking Fortress Press books by John S. Kloppenborg Verbin: The Formation of Q (1987) and Excavating Q (2000).

Q remains a subject of heated debate. The Q material consists mainly of sayings of Jesus, but begins with some sayings of John the Baptist. For the most part narratives are missing; most conspicuously of all is the Passion Narrative.

The critical text edition will include an introduction; the running text of Q; new translations of Q in English, German, and French; the fully formatted Greek text of Q with parallels in Matthew, Luke, Mark, Gospel of Thomas, and other gospels wherever relevant; a concordance; and a bibliography.

Reflecting the work of more than forty scholars in the International Q Project, this book is a cooperative venture between Fortress Press and Peeters Publishers (Leuven, Belgium). This also is the first volume of Hermeneia Supplements.
James M. Robinson is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Claremont Graduate University and the Director of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity. He is the editor of the Nag Hammadi Library and the author of numerous books.

Paul Hoffmann is Professor of New Testament at the University of Bamberg, Germany, and author of Studien zur Frhgeschichte der Jesus-Bewegung; Das Erbe Jesu und die Macht in der Kirche. Rckbesinnung auf das Neue Testament; and three volumes of a Synoptic Concordance: Synoptic Concordance, Vol.1, Einfhrung, Alpha-Delta; Synoptic Concordance, Vol.2, E-I;  Synoptic Concordance, Vol 3, K-O.

John S. Kloppenborg is Associate Professor of New Testament at the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, Canada. His other works includeThe Formation of Q: Trajectories in Ancient Wisdom Collections; Q Parallels: Synopsis, Critical Notes & Concordance; Q Thomas Reader; and most recently, Excavating Q: The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel a tour de force. In this study Kloppenborg offers a comprehensive introduction to the study of Q, the collection of Jesus' sayings long hypothesized as the source for the canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke. Part I deals with the methods for studying Q, their presuppositions, and a survey of current research. Part II addresses more theological and theoretical issues relevant to the Synoptic Problem, Q as a document, its redaction, and its social setting.

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES: A New Translation with Introduction and commentary by Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J. ($45.00, hardcover, 824 pages, Anchor Books ISBN: 0385468806)

Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J., one of the world’s foremost New Testament Scholars, follows up on his acclaimed two volume Anchor Bible Commentary on the Gospel According to Luke (volume one, volume two) with a new translation, in-depth analysis, and commentary on the Acts of the Apostles.

For anyone interested in the origins of Christianity, Joseph A. Fitzmyer’s THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES is indispensable. Beginning with the Ascension of Christ into heaven, and ending with Paul proclaiming the kingdom of God from a prison in Rome, this New Testament narrative picks up where the Gospel of Luke left off. The Acts of the Apostles is indeed a journey of nearly epic proportions and one that requires a guide as adept as Fitzmyer.

Since Acts was most likely written by the same person who composed the Gospel of Luke, it is only fitting that the Anchor Bible Commentaries on these New Testament books should be written by the same author. With THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, Fitzmyer gives us the long-awaited companion to his two volume commentary on the Gospel of Luke (volume one, volume two). Like the previous study Fitzmyer’s scholarship is impressive. The careful scrutiny of this document can easily be the foundation of any bible-centered approach to early Christian community, especially in its Pauline variant.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JOSEPH A. FITZMYER, S.J., is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In an illustrious and distinguished career as a preeminent authority on topics ranging from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Aramaic language and various New Testament subjects, he has written numerous books, including the Anchor Bible Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (volume one, volume two). He lives in Washington, D.C.

LITERARY STUDIES IN LUKE-ACTS: Essays in Honor of Joseph B. Tyson edited by Richard P. Thompson and Thomas E. Phillips with a foreword by Victor Paul Furnish ($25.00, papercover, Mercer University Press ISBN: 0865545634)

The variety of approaches to the interpretation of Luke-Acts here alone makes this unique collection of essays a valuable addition to the literature of biblical literary criticism. The essays are under three headings: (1) Luke and Acts within First Century Judaism, the New Testament, and Early Christianity;
(2) Lukan Themes, Characters, and Rhetoric; and
(3) Jews, Judaism, and Anti-Judaism in the Lukan Writings and Scholarship.
Contributors (in the order they appear) are Darrell L. Bock, William R. Farmer, David B. Peabody, Arthur J. Bellinzoni, William 0. Walker, Jr., John T. Townsend, C. Clifton Black, John A. Darr, Charles H. Talbert, Mikeal C. Parsons, Philip L. Shuler, Vernon K. Robbins, David P. Moessner, Susannah Heschel, Robert C. Tannehill, Robert L. Brawley, Jack T. Sanders, Thomas E. Phillips, and Richard P. Thompson. Extensive author and ancient sources indexes significantly enhance the usefulness of this text as both a study guide and reference text. Included is a full bibliography of the writings of honoree Joseph B. Tyson.

Editor Richard P. Thompson is associate professor of Biblical Literature, Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee, Illinois. Editor Thomas E. Phillips is assistant professor, Division of Religion and Philosophy, Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy; Massachusetts. Victor Paul Furnish (foreword) is University Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.

THE JOHANNINE WORLD: Reflections on the Theology of the Fourth Gospel and Contemporary Society by David J. Hawkin ($16.95, paper, 183 pages, notes, bibliography, index, State University of New York Press SUNY, ISBN: 0791430669) HARDCOVER

This book argues that within the pages of the Gospel of St. John, one can discern a twofold purpose: on the one hand to secure acceptance within the Church for a unique and radical theology, and on the other hand offering a sustained and unrelenting critique of all ideology.

THE JOHANNINE WORLD reassesses some of the recent trends in Johannine scholarship. In much of the discussion, the self understanding of the community behind the Gospel has either been simply ignored or inadequately understood. A close examination of the Gospel of John reveals, however, that this community self-consciously defined itself as within the broad stream of the Christian tradition. The theology of the Gospel of John is thus not sectarian. Its unique nature lies rather in the fact that it orchestrates themes and motifs such as ‘truth," "paraclete," and "beloved disciple" to secure acceptance while its sustained theology of revelation offers an unrelenting critique of the ideology of the world. The Gospel thus argues for its own acceptance within the Church hut rejects acceptance of the world.

Further interpretations of the Fourth Gospel will have to take serious consideration of this presentation. Hawkin gives a balanced and original treatment of the orthodoxy/ uniqueness of the gospel. The work is significant in several ways: it addresses some of the central issues of debate in Johannine studies and offers reasoned and balanced interpretations which are new or corrective; Hawkin shows an uncommonly wide familiarity with other fields of study and integrates them with his biblical knowledge.

David J. Hawkin is Head of the Department of Religious Studies at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. His previous books include Gods and Men: A Survey of World Religions, Christ and Modernity: Christian Self Understanding in a Technological Age,(Wilfrid Laurier University Press) and The Word of Science: The Religious and Social Thought of Charles A. Coulson (Trinity Press).

This Christian evangelical guide to Bible verses offers a useful devotional approach to scripture reading. However anyone who has a sophisticated and non-evangelical attitude toward scripture may find this guide perverse. We feel Logos represents the best in serious evangelical scholarship and hypertext resources.

What the Bible Says About...
Starts With (Example: "love" finds Love, Lovefeasts, Lovers.)
Exact (Example: "love" finds Love.)

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