My review of Der Bibelkanon in der Bibelauslegung: Methodenreflexionen und Beispielexegesen (eds Egbert Ballhorn, Georg Steins) has at last been published on RBL.

To view or download the review, go here.

Tags: Deutsch, Canon

While it is still 2007 I felt I should mention two new collections of essays on canon ("kanon" in the German spelling). I've had the chance to work through them both by now, and have just submitted a review of the larger collection to RBL. Since it has to be approved by the editors first, I expect it will not appear there for a few months yet (but if you're desperate for an English summary, feel free to contact me).

The first to appear, in September, was Bernd Janowski, ed., Kanonhermeneutik: Vom Lesen und Verstehen der christlichen Bibel (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 2007). It contains essays from six contributors.

          

The second to appear, in November, was Egbert Ballhorn and Georg Steins, eds., Der Bibelkanon in der Bibelauslegung: Beispielexegesen und Methodenreflexionen (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2007). It contains 21 essays by 17 scholars. I quoted from this volume here recently, and I will certainly link my review once RBL processes it.

Tags: Deutsch, Canon, Psalms

I am currently reviewing a new collection of essays which puts me in mind of two canon sessions I attended at SBL. As I mentioned before San Diego, that the sessions were separate seemed a recipe for parties of the debate not just talking past one another, but talking to themselves. Unfortunately this seems to have occurred to some extent. In one session S. Chapman argued for a core canon extending to the biblical period. In the other, several panelists upheld a “consensus” moratorium on canon terminology.

But as one editor of the new volume writes (in context, he is addressing four typical strategies for banning talk of canon):

Nach der dritten Strategie ist „Kanon“ ein „anachronistischer“ Begriff, weil er in den biblischen Texten selbst nicht auftauche. Dieses neben den genannten Strategien ebenfalls in mehreren Beiträgen von Hubert Frankemölle ständig wiederholte Argument ist wenig überzeugend, eigentlich sogar unwissenschaftlich, weil es den Status von „Kanon“ als Reflexionsbegriff ignoriert. Mit dem gleichen Argument müsste man den anachronistischen Begriff „Theologie“ mit Bezug auf das Neue Testament streichen; denn weder kommt dieser Terminus im Neuen Testament vor, noch wird er heute in der gleichen Weise gebraucht wie etwa in der profanen oder christlichen Antike. Die auch bei Frankemölle zu Recht weiterhin verwendete gewohnte exegetische Fachterminologie hat ebenfalls keinen Anhalt in den zu untersuchenden Texten; aber das ist auch wissenschaftlich überhaupt kein Problem. Mit der unverzichtbaren Differenzierung von vox und res und der Einsicht in die Wandelbarkeit von Begriffen entspannt sich die Situation und verlieren auch die Vorbehalte gegenüber einer Reihe gängiger exegetischer Begriffe ihren Grund. Im Übrigen ist jede Bibelauslegung notwendigerweise „anachronistisch“, wenn sie relevant sein will.

And a little later Steins suggests:

Unausgesprochen scheint mir den genannten Vorbehalts-Strategien die Sorge zugrunde zu liegen, dass die Exegese sich unter der Hand von einer primär historischen in eine dogmatische Disziplin wandeln könnte, also Weichenstellungen des späten 18. Jahrhunderts revidiert werden könnten. Diese „Weichenstellung“ bedarf jedoch ihrerseits der Kritik, denn sie hat verhindert, im 19. Jahrhundert den Kanon als historisches Phänomen in die Exegese zu integrieren. Der Kanon ist gewissermaßen als Phänomen der Verfremdung der Bibeltexte aus der kritischen Bibelwissenschaft ausgeklammert worden. Dass in der gegenwärtigen Diskussionslage ein anderer Umgang mit dem Kanon in exegetischer Perspektive möglich ist, sehe ich als großen Fortschritt an; die Gefahr des Dogmatismus besteht immer, ist aber kein Argument.

Those quotes come from 115 and 116, respectively, of G. Steins, “Kanon und Anamnese,” in Ballhorn and Steins, eds., Der Bibelkanon in der Bibelauslegung: Beispielexegesen und Methodenreflexionen (Kohlhammer, 2007). I’ll post more on the collection under review in due course.

Tags: Deutsch, Canon

Early tomorrow I depart for home (hooray! it's been too long!), and I'm leaving the blog behind until I get back from SBL. So with an eye to SBL already, I offer a few top picks after a glance through the program guide. It's massive, so I'm sure to have missed something. The first things that stand out to me fall into four groups:

1. Giants of the Recent Past
2. Psalms
3. Theological Exegesis
4. Canon

Giants of the Recent Past

The Brevard Childs session has collected quite a list of participants:

Christopher Seitz, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, Presiding
Gary Anderson, University of Notre Dame, Panelist
Erhard Gerstenberger, Philipps Universität-Marburg, Panelist
Richard Hays, Duke University, Panelist
Alan Cooper, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Panelist
Kavin Rowe, Duke University, Panelist
Mark Elliott, University of St. Andrews-Scotland, Panelist
Ephraim Radner, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, Panelist

That's 11/18/2007, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Room: 30 E - CC.

And a session for James Barr was more recently put together, with the following panelists:

Samuel Balentine, Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Presiding
William Abraham, Southern Methodist University, Panelist
Joseph Blenkinsopp, University of Notre Dame, Panelist
Douglas Knight, Vanderbilt University, Panelist
Archie Lee, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Panelist
Mervyn Richardson, Leiden University-The Netherlands, Panelist

Meets 11/19/2007, 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, Room: Manchester A - GH.

Psalms

In addition to my own session (and see a new translation of Psalm 102 on this site), I noticed two sessions in particular.

S19-83, Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity, in a joint session between Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity and Book of Psalms, meets 11/19/2007, 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, Room: 28 D - CC. The Theme is Psalms in Judaism and Christianity: Studies in the History of Interpretation of the Psalter, and the schedule is:

Esther Menn, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Presiding
Medieval Jewish Psalms Interpretation
Adele Berlin, University of Maryland College Park, Panelist (30 min)
Alan Cooper, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Panelist (30 min)
Moshe Bernstein, Yeshiva University, Respondent (10 min)
Heidelberg Psalms Project
Manfred Oeming, Panelist (20 min)
Andreas Wagner, University of Heidelberg, Panelist (20 min)
Joachim Vette, Panelist (20 min)
Discussion (20 min)

A second joint session of the same groups, S19-126, also on Psalms in Early Judaism and Christianity, meets 11/19/2007, 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM, Room: 23 B - CC. Participants:

Rolf Jacobson, Luther Seminary, Presiding
Scott R. A. Starbuck, Whitworth University
Afterlives of Royal Psalm Lyrics (30 min)
Tze-Ming Quek, University of Cambridge
"I will Give Authority over the Nations": Psalm 2:8-9 in Revelatiom 2:26c-27 (30 min)
Scot Becker, University of Aberdeen
The Magnificat among the Biblical Inset Psalms (30 min)
Aaron Canty, Saint Xavier University
The Nuptial Imagery of Christ and the Church in Augustine's "Enarrationes in Psalmos" (30 min)
Janet A. Timbie, Catholic University of America
Psalm Recitation in the White Monastery (30 min)

Theological Exegesis

In this category session S17-28, Theological Interpretation and the Canon of Scripture, could go into two of my categories. Hopefully the separation from Sanders and McDonald (see below) will not truncate dialog between the groups. This session meets 11/17/2007, 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Room: Manchester F - GH. The agenda is:

Edith Humphrey, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Presiding
Stephen B. Chapman, Duke University
The Canon Debate: What It Is and Why It Matters (20 min)
Thomas Holsinger-Friesen, Spring Arbor University, Respondent (10 min)
Discussion (15 min)
Daniel J. Treier, Wheaton College
A Looser "Canon"?: Relating William Abraham’s Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology to Biblical Interpretation (20 min)
William Abraham, Southern Methodist University, Respondent (10 min)
Discussion (15 min)
Richard Paul Thompson, Northwest Nazarene University
Scripture, Community, and Conversation: Rethinking Theological Interpretation Canonically (20 min)
Jacqueline Lapsley, Princeton Theological Seminary, Respondent (10 min)
Discussion (15 min)

Papers were to be posted at http://fc.asburyseminary.edu/~theological_interpretation/index.html — but I can't get the link to work.

S17-82, on Christ in/and the Old Testament, is notable. It meets 11/17/2007, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Room: Cunningham - GH. The lineup is:

Christopher Seitz, University of St. Andrews-Scotland, Presiding (10 min)
Kathryn Greene-Mccreight, St John's Episcopal Church, Panelist (10 min)
Robert Wall, Seattle Pacific University, Panelist (10 min)
John Goldingay, Fuller Theological Seminary, Panelist (10 min)
Christopher Wright, Langham Partnership International, Panelist (10 min)
Murray Rae, University of Otago, Panelist (10 min)
Discussion (45 min)

S17-130, on Reading the Book of Genesis Theologically as Christian Scripture, meets 11/17/2007, 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM, Room: 28 C - CC. Lineup:

Bill Arnold, Asbury Theological Seminary, Presiding
J. Richard Middleton, Roberts Wesleyan College
The Significance of the Call of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) for a Canonical Reading of Scripture (30 min)
Discussion (15 min)
R. R. Reno, Creighton University
Satan, Temptation, and the Fall (30 min)
Discussion (15 min)
Jeffrey L. Morrow, University of Dayton
Genesis 1-3 in a Liturgical Context: The Role of Liturgy in Christian Theological Interpretation of Scripture (30 min)
Discussion (15 min)

S19-138 is a book review session of Christopher R. Seitz, Prophecy and Hermeneutics: Toward a New Introduction to the Prophets (Baker Academic, 2007), meeting 11/19/2007, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM, Room: Santa Rosa - MM. Reviewers and respondent are:

Gary Anderson, University of Notre Dame, Presiding
Martti Nissinen, University of Helsinki, Panelist
David Petersen, Emory University, Panelist
Marvin Sweeney, Claremont School of Theology, Panelist
Christopher Seitz, University of St. Andrews-Scotland, Respondent

Finally, S20-04, under Christian Theology and the Bible, considers New Proposals in Christian Theology and Bible. It meets 11/20/2007, 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Room: Randle A - GH, and features:

Stephen Fowl, Loyola College in Maryland , Presiding (10 min)
Mark Elliott, University of St. Andrews-Scotland
Theological Insights on and from Leviticus 1-7 (30 min)
Gregory W. Lee, Duke University
Calvin and the New Perspective: Covenant as Ground for a Nuanced View of the Law (30 min)
Break (10 min)
Clayton Libolt, River Terrace Church
A Conversation with Nicholas Wolterstorff's Divine Discourse (30 min)
George C. Heider, Valparaiso University
Atonement and the Gospels (30 min)

I also just noticed an early session, S16-55, The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical and Theological Studies, which meets 11/16/2007, 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM, Room: 28 A - CC. On tap are:

Michael Bird, Highland Theological College
The Faith of Jesus Christ: Problems and Prospects (15 min)
Stanley Porter, McMaster Divinity College
Lexical and Semantic Reflections on Pistis (30 min)
Douglas Campbell, Duke University
The Faithfulness of Jesus Christ in Romans and Galatians (30 min)
Preston Sprinkle, Aberdeen University
Pistis Christou as an Eschatological Event (30 min)
Break (15 min)
Ardel Caneday, Northwestern College, St. Paul
The Faithfulness of Jesus as a Theme of Pauline Theology (30 min)
Francis Watson, University of Aberdeen - Scotland
The Faith of Jesus Christ (30 min)
R. Barry Matlock, University of Sheffield
The Faithfulness of Jesus Christ in Romans and Galatians (30 min)
Mark Elliott, University of St. Andrews-Scotland
The Faith of Jesus Christ in the Church Fathers (30 min)
Benjamin Myers, University of Queensland
The Faithfulness of Christ in the Theology of Karl Barth (30 min)

Canon

The last of these three sessions is the one I'm most looking forward to, though as I say I hope the physical separation from the first session under Theological Exegesis, above, doesn't mean the groups wind up talking to themselves.

S17-25, Rethinking the Concept and Categories of 'Bible' in Antiquity, meets 11/17/2007, 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Room: Salon 5 - MM. Participants:

James E. Bowley, Millsaps College, Presiding
K. L. Noll, Brandon University
Rethinking Literary Function in the Emerging Hebrew Canon (25 min)
Francis Borchardt, University of Helsinki
Concepts of Scripture in 1 Maccabees (25 min)
Ian W. Scott, Tyndale Seminary
Is the Bible always Scripture?: The "Low" View of the Pentateuch in the Letter of Aristeas (25 min)
Sara Parks, McGill University and Aaron Ricker, McGill University
Harry Potter Canon Discourse and the Biblical Canons (25 min)
Robert A. Kraft, University of Pennsylvania
Finding Adequate Terminology for "Pre-canonical" Literatures (25 min)
James E. Bowley, Millsaps College
Terminating Terminology (25 min)

S17-119, Orality, Textuality, and the Formation of the Hebrew Bible, meets 11/17/2007, 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM, Room: Del Mar A - GH, to discuss the theme Rethinking Business as Usual in Light of Orality and Textuality. On tap:

Susan Niditch, Amherst College, Presiding
Joachim Schaper, University of Aberdeen
The Textualisation of Israelite Religion in the Context of the "Orality and Literacy" Debate (30 min)
Frank Polak, Tel Aviv University
The Voiced Text in the Hebrew Bible: From Epic Song to Biblical Narrative and Midrashic Exegesis (30 min)
William M. Schniedewind, University of California-Los Angeles
Rethinking Inner-biblical Exegesis and Biblical Criticism in Light of Orality & Textuality (30 min)
Werner H. Kelber, Rice University
Implications of the Oral-Scribal Approach to Tanach Studies (30 min)
Discussion (30 min)

And finally, S19-16, Function of Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphal Writings in Early Judaism and Early Christianity (through 3rd to 4th centuries CE), meets 11/19/2007, 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Room: Manchester H - GH, on the theme Theoretical Issues. The schedule is:

Lee Martin McDonald, Acadia Divinity College, Presiding
James A. Sanders, Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center
Non-Masoretic Literature in Early Judaism and its Function in the New Testament (20 min)
Craig Evans, Acadia Divinity College, Respondent (5 min)
Discussion (5 min)
James H. Charlesworth, Princeton Theological Seminary
The Book of the People from the People of the Book (20 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Lee Martin McDonald, Acadia Divinity College
What Do We Mean by "Canon"?: A Look at Some Ancient and Modern Questions (20 min)
Loren Johns, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Respondent (5 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Ken M. Penner, Acadia Divinity College
Citation Formulae as Indices to Canonicity in Early Jewish and Early Christian Literature (20 min)
Jonathan Soyars, Princeton Theological Seminary, Respondent (5 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Sarah L. Schwarz, Haverford College
Pseudepigrapha Among the Pagans?: Exploring the Boundaries of Audience (20 min)
Discussion (5 min)

If you're going to be there, look for me and say hello.

Tags: Childs, Psalms, Theological Exegesis, Canon

From what I hear the SBL session in honor of Brevard Childs is coming together well. Thus far Christopher Seitz, Gary Anderson, Richard Hays, Ellen Davis, Ephraim Radner (now here), David Peterson, and Kavin Rowe are involved. Their responses will be 7-10 minutes, from NT, Theology, OT, Reception History, and other angles.

Tags: Childs, Canon, PhD

Georg Steins is co-hosting two session in Vienna on the closure of the canon, one in the morning and one in the evening of Tuesday, 24 July. I hope to be there. Details and abstracts, from the SBL program book, are as follows:

24-09

EABS: The Closure of the Hebrew Bible Canon: Inside and Outside Perspectives / Der Abschluss de Kanons der Hebräischen Bibel. Innen- und Außensichten Session I

7/24/2007

8:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Room: HS 28 - Hauptgebäude

Georg Steins, Universität Osnabrück, Presiding
Johannes Taschner, Kirchliche Hochschule Bielefeld-Bethel, Presiding

Georg Steins, Universität Osnabrück
Zwei Konzepte - ein Kanon. Zur Gestalt und Gestaltung des TaNaK / Two Concepts – One Canon. Form and Design of the TaNaK (30 min)
Discussion (15 min)

Johannes Taschner, Kirchliche Hochschule Bielefeld-Bethel
Die Reichweite der Kanonformel in Deuteronomium 4,2 / How Far Does the Canonic Formula of Deuteronomy 4:2 Reach? (30 min)
Discussion (15 min)
Break (30 min)

Andreas Ruwe, Universität Greifswald
Zur Entstehung des Pentateuch: Kanonisierung als fortschreitende Konstitutionalisierung / On the Formation of the Pentateuch: Canonization as progressive Constitutionalization (30 min)
Discussion (30 min)

24-35

EABS: The Closure of the Hebrew Bible Canon: Inside and Outside Perspectives / Der Abschluss de Kanons der Hebräischen Bibel. Innen- und Außensichten Session II

7/24/2007

1:30 PM to 4:30 PM

Room: HS 28 - Hauptgebäude

Georg Steins, Universität Osnabrück, Presiding
Johannes Taschner, Kirchliche Hochschule Bielefeld-Bethel, Presiding

Egbert Ballhorn, Universität Osnabrück
Psalm 151: Eine Innensicht Davids - außerhalb des Psalters / Psalm 151: David from Inside, Outside of the Psalter (30 min)

Matthias Millard, Kirchliche Hochschule Bielefeld-Bethel
Der Kanon als ein didaktisches Konzept / The Canon as a Didactic Concept (30 min)

Carola Krieg, Universität Mainz
Der Bibelkanon - Javne - Rabbinsche Stimmen / The Canon of the Bible, Javne, Rabbinical Voices (30 min)



A number of the contributers are involved in the soon-forthcoming Der Bibelkanon in der Bibelauslegung: Beispielexegesen und Methodenreflexionen, edited by Steins and Ballhorn.

From about a year ago I found this list of contributors scheduled for that volume:
Egbert Ballhorn (Hildesheim), Christoph Dohmen (Regensburg), Thomas Hieke (Regensburg), Matthias Millard (Bielefeld-Bethel), Tobias Nicklas (Nijmegen), Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr (Jena), Silvia Pellegrini (Berlin), Klaus Scholtissek (Würzburg), Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger (Passau), Georg Steins (Osnabrück), Johannes Taschner (Bielefeld-Bethel).

Looks like the SBL sessions could be a good preview for the book.

Tags: Deutsch, Canon

The blog's been fairly quiet lately, I know. But that means I've been busy with other things, not excluding research.

I've progressed a little further in my reading of Childs, for one thing. I recently finished his Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (London: SCM Press, 1979), as well as the two journals completely dedicated to reviewing it (one JSOT, the other HBT, both in 1980), and have moved into the mid-1980s.

There's obviously quite a lot to be said about such a mammoth volume, so I won't even try to sum up now. However, there's one great line I want to quote. In response to the accusation that his use of the term "canon" is "imprecise, unanalytical, and encompasses a variety of different phenomena"—an accusation made as early as 1980—Childs gives this reply:

"I feel that the complexity of the process being described within the O.T. has been underestimated, and that one is asking for an algebraic solution to a problem requiring calculus."

Well put!

Now if you're working thorough some of Childs yourself, I should warn you that IOTS may not be as hard as calculus, but it assumes a pretty sizable background knowledge of critical discourse on the OT. OTTCC (Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context, SCM, 1985) might be an easier place to start.

But I wouldn't want to turn you away from IOTS either. He adumbrates a remarkable reconstrual of the results of critical research, one that is still only seldom appreciated. And in view of the full scope of his career, the degree to which he achieves his goal (stated clearly in the first pages of the 1980 HBT response to reviewers) of doing enough footwork to earn the right to do full-on biblical theology, both OT and NT, is simply astounding. He's established himself as a giant who can only be compared with the likes of a Gunkel or a von Rad.

And if you've read past all that, I'll announce now that an introduction has been made on my behalf and I'll be traveling to Cambridge to interview the octogenarian in the first week of April. I'm jittery with excitement, and maybe too much coffee.

Tags: Childs, Canon, PhD

I was digging around for full bibliographic information and found what I needed in a footnote on this page, an article by Scott Swanson asking why evangelicals are still asking if they should reproduce the exegesis of the NT. This has been an important question for Chris Seitz, and I'm somewhat familiar with the issues because of the Scripture and Theology seminar he facilitates here at St Andrews.

Swanson has read fairly widely on the question (hence I found the bib. data I needed). I'm not surprised to find R B Hays' Echos of Scripture coming into the discussion, especially given Swanson's conclusion. I must say I'm disappointed that Childs has not been considered, however. I'll try to explain why he should have been.

Swanson's view comes through clearly towards the end of the essay.

Many who would admit that we can reproduce the NT writers' exegesis of the OT, nevertheless hesitate to recommend that we do so, fearing past abuses. But why must we fear that this is warrant to find anything anywhere in Scripture? What it is warrant to do is to find Christ in the OT exactly as the NT does (emphasis added). We have clear guidelines and safeguards …

Insofar as my own PhD research is aimed at a positive reappraisal of typological exegesis, this line of argument catches my attention. If I'm honest, I might have tried to argue something similar about a year ago. My view after spending time with Childs, however, is that figural reading today cannot mean simply repristinating the NT's exegetical method.

For one thing, what of the inner hermeneutic of the OT? Michael Fishbane's important Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel (OUP, 1985) comes to mind. If the assumption is that if the Bible exegetes a certain way, we can too, why should we only tune in to the way the NT exegetes scripture? This is either a form of Marcionism, or an over-simple view of the complexity of the OT material. Inner-biblical exegesis is a highly complex phenomenon. Adopting it again today would require something a good deal more complex than what Swanson suggests. He concludes:

Why then do evangelicals continue to produce so many excellent textbooks and studies on hermeneutics, with yet hardly a word on how students should learn biblical interpretation from the practice of the apostles? Why do we still often speak of the NT "use" of the OT? Those NT writers do not see themselves as only "using" or "applying" or "appropriating" the separate meaning of the OT for their new circumstances. They proclaimed what it meant (emphasis added). That meaning was what the Lord himself had explained to them (Luke 24:27) and opened their minds to understand (v. 45) concerning himself. It was the meaning which was in all the Scriptures (v. 27), and which must find its fulfillment in him (v. 44). Dare we say that we have not been foolish and slow of heart to believe it?

The Emmaus Road text is certainly relevant and important, but it seems to me that the view that scripture has just one meaning, and that it's meaning is plain, fails to do justice to what Luke 24 suggests about the relationship of OT and NT scripture for Christians today. (Is the tone of these concluding paragraphs, after so many careful footnotes, what makes the position rhetorically evangelical in the end??)

I guess I have two points. One, as I've tried to state, if you want inner-biblical exegesis, it's more complex to get up and running than this. Two, and this is what I've learned from Childs, and also Seitz, if inner-biblical exegesis is to be somehow normative or binding on us, how is extracting it from NT or OT or both different from creating a new canon within the canon? This time it's not God's saving acts in history, but God's hermeneutics in history. The remarkable thing here is that more people than Swanson move in this direction. Cf. the more prominent NT scholars Francis Watson and Richard Hays.

And with that contentious suggestion, I'll stop my oversized response to Swanson. It's ten years late, I know, but the issue remains quite current.

Tags: Canon, Figura