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King’s “Great Eighth Century” and Davies’ “Odyssey” Win Fellner Awards for Best BR Articles

Philip J. King’s “The Great Eighth Century,” BR 05:04, has received the Fellner Award for the best BR article of 1989. The award, the third in a continuing series, carries a $500 prize. A second prize of $250 went to W. D. Davies’ “My Odyssey in New Testament Interpretation,” BR 05:03.

The judges were Nahum Sarna, professor emeritus of biblical studies at Brandeis University, and J. Cheryl Exum, associate professor of Old Testament at Boston College. In a joint statement, they said that King’s “substantive, informative and accessible essay brings the eighth century to life with a wealth of archaeological detail. King contributes to an understanding of the biblical literature of the period by exploring a range of topics, including international politics, commercial activity, economic conditions and historical and religious developments in Israel and Judah—especially the appearance of classical prophecy and the spread of literacy.”

Archaeologist and professor of biblical studies at Boston College, King has to his credit a string of presidencies of distinguished scholarly organizations. Most recently the president of the Society of Biblical Literature (1988), King has also presided over the William F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem (1972–1977), the American Schools of Oriental Research (1976–1982) and the Catholic Biblical Association of America (1981). He is a member of several editorial boards including that of BR. Last year he was a Visiting Fellow in the department of archaeology at the University of Cambridge. The most recent of his many books is Amos, Hosea, Micah—An Archaeological Commentary (Westminster, 1988).

Commenting on Davies’ article, the judges said it “contributes to a better understanding of hitherto misunderstood sections of the New Testament by bringing to bear on the subject a considerable knowledge of rabbinic, as well as Christian and Hellenistic, material. His essay illustrates how biblical interpretation is historically and culturally bound and thus reminds us that one must always take seriously into account the contemporary religious, cultural and intellectual milieu of the interpreter.”

Born in Wales, Davies is now professor emeritus at Duke University. The author and editor of numerous books and articles, Davies focuses on the interaction of Judaism and Christianity. He is co-editor with Louis Finkelstein of the Cambridge History of Judaism. His books include Paul and Rabbinic Judaism, The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount and Invitation to the New Testament.

The Leopold and Clara M. Fellner Charitable Foundation, established to perpetuate the family name, donated the funds for the awards. The foundation is administered by trustee Frederick L. Simmons, of the Los Angeles law firm Simmons, Ritchie, Segal and Stark.

Adam’s Apple’s Metamorphosis: From Apple to Lemon to Thyroid Cartilage

When Adam ate the forbidden fruit, traditionally identified as an apple, a piece got caught in his throat and became the “Adam’s apple,” a reminder of his sin that would be passed on to his descendants in perpetuity. So says the popular legend that explains the origin of the anterior extremity of the thyroid cartilage of the larynx, better known as the Adam’s apple, whose special prominence in men may account for its association With Adam instead of with Eve.

But the Adam’s apple was not always a body part, and the first explicit literary appearance of its legend dates back only to 1847. Originally the term referred to an actual kind of apple and was first used in Hakluyt’s Voyages (1599), according to the second edition of The Oxford English Dictionary.

In 1725, however, Bradley’s Family Dictionary defined the Adam’s apple as a fruit similar to a lemon. This fruit was covered with small dents that were said to be the marks of Adam’s teeth. It was not until 1755 that Samuel Johnson, in his famous dictionary, defined the Adam’s apple as a part of a man’s throat. This suggests that the popular legend was already current in Johnson’s day, even though it was not explicitly set down until 1847, in Craig’s Superstitions.

King’s “Great Eighth Century” and Davies’ “Odyssey” Win Fellner Awards for Best BR Articles