Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon

338 Pages·2009·3.34 MB·English

by  Craig A. Evans

STUDIES IN SCRIPTURE IN EARLY JUDAISM AND
CHRISTIANITY
Editedby
Craig A. Evans
Volume 13
Published under
LIBRARY OF SECOND TEMPLE STUDIES
70
formerlytheJournalfortheStudyofthePseudepigraphaSupplementSeries
Editor
Lester L. Grabbe
EditorialBoard
Randall D. Chesnutt, Philip R. Davies,Jan WillemvanHenten, Judith M.Lieu,
StevenMason, James R. Mueller, Loren T.Stuckenbruck, James C.VanderKam
FoundingEditor
James H. Charlesworth
This page intentionally left blank
JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE AS
ARTIFACT AND CANON
EDITED BY
CRAIG A. EVANS AND H. DANIEL ZACHARIAS
Copyright # Craig A. Evans, H. Daniel Zacharias and contributors, 2009
A Continuum imprint
Published by T&T Clark
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
80 Maiden Lane, Ste 704, New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 10: 0-567-58485-2
ISBN 13: 978-0-567-58485-4 (hardback)
Typeset by Data Standards Limited, Frome, Somerset, UK
Printed and bound in the UK by the MPG Books Group
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Abbreviations ix
List of Illustrations xiii
List of Contributors xiv
INTRODUCINGJEWISHANDCHRISTIANSCRIPTUREASARTIFACT
ANDCANON 1
Craig A. Evans and H. Daniel Zacharias
ORACLECOLLECTIONANDCANON: A COMPARISONBETWEENJUDAH
ANDGREECEINPERSIANTIMES 9
Armin Lange
ARTIFACTUALANDHERMENEUTICALUSEOFSCRIPTUREIN
JEWISHTRADITION 48
Marianne Schleicher
EARLYCHRISTIANMANUSCRIPTSASARTIFACTS 66
Larry W. Hurtado
PHYSICAL FEATURESOF EXCERPTEDTORAHTEXTS 82
Stephen Reed
PAPYRUS967ANDTHETEXTOFEZEKIEL:PARABLEPSISORAN
ORIGINALTEXT? 105
John Flanagan
A FRAGMENTARYPSALTERFROMKARANISANDITSCONTEXT 117
Gregg Schwendner
‘HETHATDWELLETHINTHEHELPOFTHEHIGHEST’: SEPTUAGINT
PSALM90ANDTHEICONOGRAPHICPROGRAMONBYZANTINE
ARMBANDS 137
Thomas J. Kraus
vi Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon
PUBLICANDPRIVATE– SECOND-ANDTHIRD-CENTURYGOSPEL
MANUSCRIPTS 148
Scott D. Charlesworth
A JOHANNINEREADINGOFOXYRHYNCHUSPAPYRUS 840 176
Pamela Shellberg
HOWLONGANDOLDISTHECODEXOFWHICHP.OXY. 1353ISA
LEAF? 192
Don Barker
LETTERCARRIERSINTHEANCIENTJEWISHEPISTOLARYMATERIAL 203
Peter M. Head
‘I WASINTENDINGTOVISITYOU,BUT...’
CLAUSESEXPLAININGDELAYEDVISITSANDTHEIRIMPORTANCEIN
PAPYRUSLETTERSANDINPAUL 220
Peter Arzt-Grabner
ADVICETOTHEBRIDE:MORALEXHORTATIONFORYOUNGWIVESIN
TWOANCIENTLETTERCOLLECTIONS 232
Annette Bourland Huizenga
SCRIBALTENDENCIESINTHEAPOCALYPSE: STARTINGTHE
CONVERSATION 248
Juan Herna´ndez Jr.
‘A THOUSANDBOOKSWILLBESAVED’: MANICHAEANWRITINGS
ANDRELIGIOUSPROPAGANDAINTHEROMANEMPIRE 261
Eduard Iricinschi
THEDANISHHYMNBOOK – ARTIFACTANDTEXT 273
Kirsten Nielsen
TOWARDSASOCIOLOGYOFBIBLEPROMISEBOXUSE 280
David J. Chalcraft
THEBIBLEAS ICON: MYTHSOFTHEDIVINE ORIGINSOFSCRIPTURE 298
Dorina Miller Parmenter
APPENDIX 311
INDEX 313
PREFACE
Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon represents the
thirteenth volume to appear in Studies in Scripture in Early Judaism and
Christianity. Two of the previous volumes are monographs, one by
Rebecca Denova on Luke’s use of Scripture (SSEJC, 4; JSNTSup, 141)
and the other by Thomas Hatina on Mark’s use of Scripture (SSEJC, 8;
JSNTSup,232).Theothertenvolumesarecollectionsofstudiesthathave
more or less systematically worked through the Gospels, the letters of
Paul, other Judaeo-Christian bodies of literature from late antiquity, or
haveinvestigatedvariousquestionspertainingtobiblicalunderstandingin
the period under review. Strong volumes have emerged that have been
wellreceivedandreviewedverypositively.Werecordhereourthanksand
appreciation to James Sanders, co-founder of the SSEJC series and co-
editor of several of these volumes. Jim was founder and long-time
president of the Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center in Claremont,
California, and for decades has been a leading voice calling for better
understanding of the development and role of sacred Scripture in
communities of faith.
The present collection of studies focuses on the material aspects of
Jewish and Christian Scripture. The contributors explore aspects of
collection and canon, distinctive characteristics of the manuscripts
themselves, scribal conventions, and interesting, even unusual uses of
authoritative writings that in time became recognized as holy Scripture.
We believe these are important dimensions in the scholarly discussion of
the function of Scripture in early Judaism and Christianity. Our work
reflects the growing awareness in recent years of the importance of the
physical and artistic dimension of the books and collections of authori-
tative literature in the early centuries of Church and Synagogue. The
editors believe this work will advance the discussion in important ways.
As in the previous volumes, the present volume is enriched with
contributionsbyestablishedscholars,aswellascontributionsbyyounger
scholars, whose work is making itself felt in the discipline. The editors
express their deepest thanks to them. The editors also wish to thank
viii Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon
SharonLeightonforherassistanceineditingandformattingseveralofthe
papersandAdamWrightforassistingwiththepreparationoftheindexes.
Craig A. Evans
H. Daniel Zacharias
Acadia Divinity College
ABBREVIATIONS
AAUW American Association of University Women
AB Anchor Bible (Commentary)
Aeg Aegyptus
AHDRC Ancient History Documentary Research Centre
AJP American Journal of Philology
AnBib Analecta biblica
ANET J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts
APF Archiv fu¨r Papyrusforschung
ASP American Studies in Papyrology
ATD Das Alte Testament Deutsch
BA Biblical Archaeologist
BAGD Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. William Gingrich and
Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2nd edn, 1958)
BASP Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists
BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium
BGPA Berichtigungsliste der Griechischen Papyrusurkunden aus
A¨gypten. 11 vols
BGU A¨gyptische Urkunden in den staatlichen Museen zu Berlin:
Griechische Urkunden, vols 1–9 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1895–
1937)
Bib Biblica
BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies (London)
BICS.SP BulletinoftheInstituteofClassicalStudiesoftheUniversity
of London – Supplementary Papers
BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands Library of Manchester
BKAT Biblischer Kommentar: Altes Testament
BL Bibel und Liturgie
BN Biblische Notizen
CAH Cambridge Ancient History
CANE Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (ed. J. Sasson; 4 vols;
New York, 1995)