First Glance

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Is Bible scholarship relevant to today’s world? Emphatically yes, says James D. Tabor in “Apocalypse at Waco.” Tabor, who advised the FBI during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, argues that the deaths of David Koresh and his followers could have been averted if the FBI had understood the Book of Revelation. Using their biblical expertise, Tabor and a colleague apparently convinced Koresh to alter his interpretation of Revelation and to agree to surrender after writing a commentary on the Seven Seals. Shortly after the deal was made, however, the final raid took place.

Tabor, associate professor in the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, specializes in Christian origins and Second Temple Judaism. His main scholarly interests in the past few years have been the newly released Dead Sea Scrolls and the apocalyptic movement during Second Temple times. He and Arthur J. Droge recently published A Noble Death (Harper Collins, 1992), a study of suicide and martyrdom during the Second Temple period.

“Q” may seem more appropriate for a spy novel, alongside James Bond’s “M,” but in reality it stands for quelle, German for “source.” Nevertheless, the search for Q—a missing source for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke—has some of the mystery of a good suspense story, especially since the suspect is still missing. Years of investigation, however, have given scholars a good idea of what Q probably contained. In “Q—The Lost Gospel,” Stephen J. Patterson traces the history of Q scholarship, culminating with Burton Mack’s recent book on the subject.

A contributing editor to BR, Patterson is assistant professor of New Testament at Eden Theological Seminary, where he serves as editor of The Eden Journal. He is the author of The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus (Polebridge Press, 1993), co-author of A Q—Thomas Reader (Polebridge, 1990) and editor of The Gospel of Thomas: Red Letter Edition (Polebridge, forthcoming).

The story of the offering of Isaac has played a major role in Jewish and Christian art and writings since ancient times. But each tradition has understood and used the story differently and for varying purposes. Jews and Christians even have their own terms to describe the near-sacrifice. In “The Binding or Sacrifice of Isaac—How Jews and Christians See Differently,” Robin Jensen explores the meaning that Jews and Christians find in Abraham’s obedience to God.

Jensen is assistant professor of church history at Andover Newton Theological School, in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Her “What Are Pagan River Gods Doing in Scenes of Jesus’ Baptism?” appeared in BR 09:01.

Genesis 22 states that “God tested Abraham” by instructing him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. Most who read the story understand Abraham to have been a man of great faith for his willingness to fulfill God’s every demand. But a closer reading reveals something else: that Abraham deliberately took his time in carrying out God’s order. Lippman Bodoff, in “God Tests Abraham—Abraham Tests God,” suggests that both players in this great drama wanted to see how far the other would go.

Bodoff is associate editor of Judaism, a journal of Jewish life and thought. After retiring from a 30-year career as assistant general counsel at AT&T, he pursued four years of graduate work in Jewish studies.

Although Christian and Jewish artists and writers have traditionally taken divergent approaches to the story of the offering of Isaac, some have tried to reconcile the two traditions. In her discussion of the Marc Chagall painting on this issue’s cover (see the sidebar to “God Tests Abraham—Abraham Tests God,”), Ziva Amishai-Maisels, the Alice and Edward G. Winant Professor of Art History at Hebrew University, shows how the artist brought the two traditions together on one canvas.

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A Note on Style

B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era), used by some of our authors and often used in scholarly literature, are the alternative designations corresponding to B.C. and A.D.

Is Bible scholarship relevant to today’s world? Emphatically yes, says James D. Tabor in “Apocalypse at Waco.” Tabor, who advised the FBI during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, argues that the deaths of David Koresh and his followers could have been averted if the FBI had understood the Book of Revelation. Using their biblical expertise, Tabor and a colleague apparently convinced Koresh to alter his interpretation of Revelation and to agree to surrender after writing a commentary on the Seven Seals. Shortly after the deal was made, however, the final raid took place. Tabor, […]