ETS/SBL Book Round Up

How can you tell if you are at ETS or SBL? To quote NT Wright (who described two professors from oxford): “they are wearing tweed, and you overhear one of them saying ‘ninthly.’” They also pack an extra suitcase with them to lug their books back home. Below are some of the gems that I picked up.

So I'll tip my hand--below is the list of books that I picked up at ETS. I did not bring an extra suitcase.

I first grabbed the 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek text that just came out. There are just a few changes to the text in the General Epistles, and none to the Gospels, Acts, or Paulines. The editors have updated the list of manuscripts that form the basis of the text. They have updated the cross references in the text and have made it a much more reader friendly edition. I'm happy with the purchase. Interestingly enough because of the new edition there was a fire sale on the 27th edition. Crossway had a nice diglot edition with the ESV, but it was a little bulky. There will be a few more editions that come out later in the year or early next year that have various English translations. This will probably cause the biggest stir among first year Greek students who bought a NA-27.

Second, I picked up a slim volume by DA Carson: Jesus The Son of God. Carson discusses the Christological title in about 100 pages. He focuses on the use of the title, particularly John 5 and Hebrews 1. The last chapter focuses the discussion on the use of the title in a Muslim context. DA Carson is a sharp scholar. I'm looking forward to see how he deals with the text. I'm becoming more convinced that good theology has to be both exegetically sound, but also relevant to the society around us. Carson is exegetically sound, and I'm aware of his theological work. I'm not aware of his contextualization of Christianity within a muslim context. I'm interested to see how he lands.

Third, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, looks very interesting. This topic is crucial to those coming into biblical studies. The difficult, however, of removing a blindspot is that you aren't aware of it. As readers, and teachers of the Bible, we have to continue to sensitize ourselves to the cultural norms that we have wholesale adopted that impact how we read the text. Some of the more fruitful discussions about the text have come when my distance from the text has been highlighted and in some degree addressed. The Bible challenges culture, the ancient as well as the modern. To appreciate this critique, you have to appreciate the message of the Bible as well as the culture. The ability to do this will regularly give insight to the Bible.

Fourth, Pennington's Reading the Gospels Wisely, addresses specific Gospel issues. Developing theology from narrative is particularly difficult. There are layers of issues that range from history to literary. How were the Gospels written? Why were they written? What was their purpose? How do we make out their theology since much of the message is implied through description of the stories.

Fifth, G. K. Beale's work, We Become what We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry, looks interesting. Here Beale investigates idolatry throughout the Bible and how it applies to the Christian life. The concept of imitation pervades the Bible. This is particularly illuminating in regards to the New Testament's command for us to conform ourselves to Jesus.

I'm beginning to see more monographs that address particular theological themes that run through the Bible. One series that I'm interested in is the New Studies in Biblical Theology.

Sixth, Kingdom Through Covenant, is a biblical theology that is seeking to engender a discussion within evangelicalism between dispensational and reformed theologians. Understanding the covenantal system in the Old Testament and how it is applied to the New Testament is critical. The discussion over at the Gospel Coalition sparked my interested here. Darrell Bock, Douglas Moo, and Michael Horton each reviewed the book from their various theological spectrum. The authors respond here.

Last, but certainly not least, I picked up the first volume of Craig Keener's commentary on Acts. This heavyweight comes in just over 1,000 pages and covers the first two chapters of the book. The introduction to the book is over 600 pages and the rest is the exposition. Keener is capable with the background material. This should prove itself to be a great resource for the background of the book. The book of Acts is key to understanding how the early church developed from the resurrection on. This is a projected four volume series. Volume two should be out soon.

I almost picked up Eckhard Schnabel's commentary on Acts, but felt that it might be redundant compared to Keener.