The projected thirty-volume Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR) is intended to serve as a comprehensive guide to the current state of knowledge on the background, origins, and development of the canonical texts of the Bible as they were accepted in Judaism and Christianity. Unprecedented in breadth and scope, this encyclopedia also documents the history of the Bible's interpretation and reception across the centuries, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in literature, visual art, music, film, and dance, as well as in Islam and other religious traditions and new religious movements.
The EBR is also available online.
Blogger's Choice - Articles recommended by biblioblogger Jim West (https: //zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com):
As I have done for a number of years, I've randomly selected some of the entries in the latest volume of the Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR) to look over and review. The following are the selections made from volume 23.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have written three entries in this volume, but I chose not to review them.
Innocent Himbaza (Fribourg, Switzerland), Patriarchy I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. In a wildly intelligent and brilliantly executed essay Himbaza leads readers through the Hebrew Bible's vision of patriarchy, concluding, "In the HB/OT, although men seem to have an advantage over women, women are never totally excluded. Thus, if patriarchy is defined as male dominance with a total exclusion of women, then we are obliged to admit that the HB/OT does not reflect such a society. And furthermore, the HB/OT reflects both evolution and diversity, so that it is possible to speak of different levels of patriarchy, depending on the historical context or the field of activity." Both of these statements are illustrated fully. The great benefit of the entry is that it refocuses our attention on the facts and not on the politically motivated rhetoric of the present moment.
Renate Pillinger (Vienna, Austria), Paul and Thecla, Acts of II. Visual Arts. One of the best things about the EBR is that it is not merely an encyclopedia of things frozen in the past. It is a series whose very soul is the demonstration of the living and breathing nature of the biblical texts and related literature and their long afterlife once they've left the page and entered life. Pillinger's entry opens a window on the way the ancient text we call "The Acts of Paul and Thecla" and its contents have been explicated in the visual arts. Pillinger remarks, "At the beginning of the chapter (Acts of Paul 3:3), Paul is described as having a receding hairline. From approximately the mid-4th century CE onward, the entire scope of visual art reflects this description." Art influences our reading of biblical and extra-biblical texts whether we like it or not. One need simply think of Da Vinci's "Last Supper." Historically inaccurate as can be, it still holds sway in the minds of countless Christians as the way the Last Supper took place.
W. Derek Suderman (Waterloo, ON, Canada), Peace, Peacemaking I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Nominal uses of the root s-l-m are first discussed by Suderman and then follows a description of the verbal uses. Summarily put, "Verb forms from the root s-l-m primarily relate to making restitution or payment, paying vows, enacting reward or punishment for actions, including association to divine judgment, and ceasing hostility between groups." Naturally not all instances are examined, but there is enough information given to readers to provide them with a very good idea of how the verbal and nominal forms are used throughout the Old Testament.
David M. Young (Wrexham, United Kingdom), Peake, Arthur Samuel. "We stand on the shoulders of giants" is a well-used term among scholars and that term certainly applies to Arthur Samuel Peake. He was one of the most influential Methodist scholars of his era, producing numerous volumes of widespread significance. "Arthur Samuel Peake was a leading influence for liberal theology in Primitive Methodism." Further, in small part, "He wrote extensively on the nature of scripture. He taught that it was not necessary to argue for the truth of all the opinions in the Epistles, that Daniel is history masquerading as prediction, that much in Genesis is of mythical origin, that Jonah's mission was purely imaginative, that the Pastoral Epistles were probably not forgeries, that part of Revelation was 'not from a Christian writer at all' ... and that each individual may decide concerning the virgin birth." A remarkable man of remarkable genius and one of the more interesting of the essays I selected for this series of reviews.
Siobhán Dowling Long (Cork, Ireland), Penitential Psalms III. Music. The Psalms are one of the richest reserves for both Jews and Christians in terms of the expression of spirituality. Believers have reached back to the Psalms over the ages countless times, for encouragement, assistance, and song and prayer. Long's wonderful contribution focuses on how some of the penitential psalms have been used or received in music. She points out that "While settings of individual penitential psalms are numerous, their setting as a group first occurred during the Renaissance, most notably by Franco-Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594), whose Psalter Davidis poenitentiales was composed in the late 1550s." But she doesn't stop there. She notes the fertile use of these psalms up to our own day, noting that they have inspired modern psalmitization: "A more recent composition, Alfred Schnittke's Twelve Penitentia
