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Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation
Craig A. Evans
(Hendrickson, 1992)
Craig A. Evans offers students an introduction to the diverse literatures related to the Bible, especially the New Testament. With the rapid growth in the amount of material available and the difficulty in getting reliable, convenient information about it, such a guide has been necessary. Evans, associate professor of biblical studies at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, provides brief introductions to the Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the available Dead Sea Scrolls, versions of the Old Testament (in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and other languages), Philo and Josephus, the Targums, rabbinic literature, the New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, early church fathers, Gnostic writings and other sources (such as Greco-Roman authors and Samaritan writings). Short bibliographies are supplied for each item and a concluding chapter offers examples of New Testament exegesis using some of these extra-biblical materials. A remarkable amount of information is available in one accessible volume, but perhaps Evans has tried to cover too much. The numerous brief entries often sound more definite than the evidence warrants.
The Macmillan Bible Atlas, 3rd Edition
Yohanan Aharoni Michael Avi-Yonah, Anson F. Rainey and Ze ‘ev Safari
(New York: Macmillan, 1993) 215 pp., $35.00
Among the essential tools for Bible study is a good atlas that helps put biblical events into the geographical, political, economic and military context of the ancient near east and the Greco-Roman world. Many are available, but few are as detailed as the one Published 25 years ago by Macmillan. This substantial revision (over half the maps and text have been updated) offers numerous new illustrations that reflect recent scholarly advances in archaeology and political and military history and make them accessible in a very readable format. Extensive charts and indexes complement the chronological format of the book, making it possible to trace the movements of groups and significant individuals throughout the history of ancient Israel, second-Temple Judaism and the early church.
Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation
Craig A. Evans
(Hendrickson, 1992)