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):
Joanna Töyräänvuori (Helsinki, Finland),
Og (King of Bashan)
I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Töyräänvuori has written on "Og (King of Bashan)" in the Hebrew Bible. Other essays in a larger discussion center on Og in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, literature, and the visual arts. Who knew that such a secondary character could or would generate such interest outside of his original story? And yet he certainly did! The etymology of his name is discussed, his homeland is described, and his appearance in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts is discussed.
Gudrun Holtz (Tübingen, Germany),
Old Age
III. New Testament. Being elderly myself I thought I'd be keen to read the entry on "Old Age" in the New Testament by Holtz. I wasn't wrong. The conclusion made me smile. "The weight of the new in the NT, thereby, explains the relative unimportance it places on old age and the elderly." Age is just a number, in other words, and the New Testament doesn't make much of a big deal about it. That's a relief, isn't it? It's a marvelous article, filled with details from NT texts that the old, and young, will benefit from.
Adele Reinhartz (Ottawa, ON, Canada),
Old Testament
X. Film. The work of Adele Reinhartz needs neither commendation nor recommendation: her oeuvre is well known by every single person who works in the field of biblical studies. Small wonder, then, that her contribution in this volume on the "Old Testament" in Film is superb. She shows quite convincingly that the portrayal of OT figures and events are generally filtered through the lens of Protestantism. "The films imply that Christianity is the true heir of and the primary vehicle for the ideas, such as faith, prayer, and loyalty, that are valorized in these films." And later ". the ultimate message [of these films] is an affirmation of Christian faith." It's a genius analysis throughout the all too brief piece.
John T. P. Lai (Hong Kong, China),
Opera, Chinese
. Knowing nothing about a subject and being able to discover new things is one of the great benefits of EBR. Chinese opera is one of the many things that, prior to reading the present entry, I knew absolutely nothing about. I'm familiar with European Opera. In fact, I'm a huge fan of the genre (with pride of place going to my beloved Mozart). After having read Lai's piece I will now find Chinese opera on YouTube and give it a listen. Lai writes "As a form of musical theater, traditional Chinese opera amalgamates an array of artistic forms, including singing, dance, martial arts, acrobatics, and elaborate make-up and costume, portraying widely-known folk tales, legends, history, and classical novels. Chinese operas began to be involved in biblical reception in the early 20th century. During the early Republican period (1912-49), the Catholic Church in China took advantage of the popular appeal of drama and folk operas to achieve its own religious propagation." I must see it for myself.
Leonard Greenspoon (Omaha, NE, USA),
Orlinsky, Harry Meyer
. Greenspoon's brief biography of Orlinsky hits all the high points and gives readers a good overview of a complex and important scholar's life. Focusing mostly on his work as a translator, Greenspoon also notes "Orlinsky produced several volumes on Bible translation. He also succeeded in authoring books that made specialist scholarship accessible to the general public." Scholars ought to write books for ordinary people. Only when they do, do they make a genuine contribution. It may not be known to many, but Orlinsky was a genuine scholar and not merely an academic.
Dorothea Erbele-Küster (Mainz, Germany),
Pain and Suffering I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Erbele-Küster contributes to readers' comprehension of the topic of suffering and the pain which causes it, but her focus is on the Hebrew Bible's take on the subject. Her stunningly brilliant and profoundly insightful article opens with these simple yet delightful lines: "Pain and suffering are manifestations of the anthropological and social vulnerability of human beings. Illness, loss, death, travail, violence, famine, and other afflictions causing physical and psychological devastation belong to these categories." She is astute in her analysis, and her essay is very much worth reading.
John Anthony Dunne (St. Paul, MN, USA),
Pain and Suffering
III. New Testament. Within a lengthy entry on "Pain and Suffering" we find also an article with a focus centered on the New Testament's treatment of this subject. Dunne begins "Pain and suffering in the NT refer to experiences associated with, or caused by, illness, disability, demonic oppression, anxiety, grief, poverty, conflict, and martyrdom. Lexemes referring to such a broad array include, e.g., p?s??, ??????, ?s???e?a, and respective cognates." In the remainder he provides readers excellent guidance in his overview of the NT's varied approaches to this very human and evergreen topic.
Sophia Nomicos (Münster, Germany),
Paphos
. "The name Paphos (??f??) refers to two sites on the southwestern coast of Cyprus. The inland site, Old Paphos (Palaepaphos, the site of the village of Kouklia), was the old capital of the Cypriote city-kingdom of Paphos. The coastal site, New Paphos, became the principal city of Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus." And then further information is provided for those who are working on a better understanding of a minor site. That's another aspect of EBR that makes it an incredible resource: every detail of the Bible and its reception receives treatment. Information is found in these (so far) 22 volumes found no where else in one other reference work.
