More Ella pictures. They speak for themselves.

I'd like to see John Hobbins (Ancient Hebrew Poetry), Tyler Williams (Codex), and Chris Heard (Higgaion) blog about what "Selah" means in the Psalms and how it should affect our reading of the Psalms.

But please, nothing over-long or in multiple parts.

Where does this come from? Sometime over the summer I'll be speaking on Psalm 20 at an evening church service, and I'm just curious about how Selah is used there. Sure, I'll read up on it, but I'd be interested to read what these gents might have to say.

Update (2007-06-27): Chris Heard obliges and posts on "Oh! Oh, Selah!". You're awesome, Chris. Thanks. Also note Bob MacDonald in the comments who mentions that selah is sometimes thought to be equivalent to a pause. Bob also points us to his own diagramming of Psalm 20.

Update II (2007-06-27): Though somewhat unrelated, note that Kevin P. Edgecomb (biblicalia) has begun a series to provide 'formal' and 'informal' translations of the Psalms. He's got Psalm 1 & 2 up.

Update III (2007-07-07): John Hobbins obliges as well and posts on "Selah in the Psalms". Thanks, John. Is it just me, or is it refreshing to others when scholars can survey evidence and say, "we really don't know" like John and Chris have. We have clues, certainly (some sort of musical interlude?) but nothing hard-and-fast. And don't worry, John, I'm nowhere near done with the Ella pictures.

Donald Alfred Hagner, The Use of the Old and New Testaments in Clement of Rome. (Series: Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 34). Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1973.

The possible allusions to 1 Timothy in Clement's epistle are numerous. Individually they are not very convincing; taken together, however, they establish a probability that Clement knew and was influenced by 1 Timothy. (Hagner, 232)

This is followed later by:

... A common ethical catechesis may well account for a number of the parallels. However, even when allowance is made for such agreement, it seems improbable that all the allusions are to be explained in this way. Thus on the basis of the evidence cited, our conclusion is that Clement probably knew and made use of 1 Timothy and Titus; for Clement's knowledge of 2 Timothy, however, the evidence is less convincing and justifies not more than a conclusion of possible dependence. (Hagner, 236)

I deal with a limited set of possible allusions to the Pastorals in First Clement over on PastoralEpistles.com; though I should obviously sift through Hagner's work (and Lightfoot, of course, though I'm guessing Hagner has already mined that work) and supplement that list.

Over the past few years, I've been impressed with at least a few titles in Baylor University Press' seasonal catalogues. I've blogged about a number of them:

• Klauck's Ancient Letters and the New Testament
• McKnight's Jesus and His Death
• Longenecker's Rhetoric at the Boundaries
• Carlson's The Gospel Hoax
• Culy's I, II II John: A Handbook on the Greek Text
• Culy and Parsons, Acts: A Handbook on the Greek Text

I visited Baylor University Press' Fall 2007 catalog the other day. I found nothing that I wanted to read. Nothing. I was hoping for at least one more volume in the Handbook on the Greek Text series (where did that thing go?). I've heard rumors of a volumes on James and 1 Peter in various states, but nothing else for awhile.

Oh well. I guess my reading list is too packed anyway. But usually I can count on Baylor for at least one title to grab my attention.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Refrain:
Than to be the king of a vast domain,
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
I’d rather be true to His holy name

(Refrain)

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead

(Refrain)

The best version of the song is that done by Jacob's Trouble on their "... let the truth run wild" album, which you may have to hunt around to find (unless it's been re-released recently).

(hat tip: Jim West)

The critical edition of the Gospel of Judas (amazon.com) has finally been published by National Geographic. Copies can be had at Amazon.com.

Here is the description from Amazon's page (amazon.com):

For the first time in a single volume, discover the complete text of Codex Tchacos—the remarkable ancient papyrus book that contains the Gospel of Judas. Hidden for 1,600 years in an Egyptian cave, only to be found, traded, and all but destroyed before its restoration began in 2001, Codex Tchacos contains four texts that shed important light on the ancient world and the emergence of Christianity.

Featuring beautifully rendered, full-color photographs of the original papyrus pages alongside the Coptic text and its English translation, this critical edition provides everything needed for a full examination of the Codex. The Letter of Peter to Philip provides a mystical, Gnostic picture of Jesus; the text entitled James presents Jesus discussing the meaning of life and death with his brother James; the Gospel of Judas casts a new light on Judas' betrayal; and the previously unknown book of Allogenes, though fragmentary, portrays Jesus as a stranger who brings light to a world of darkness. Ideal for the scholar and layperson alike, these texts are published here by an international team of scholars and supplemented by insightful introductions, indices, and other revealing, explanatory essays.

Though I'm curious about the " ... other revealing, explanatory essays". Hopefully none are written by Bart Ehrman, who has said plenty enough already about the Gospel of Judas.

Update (2007-06-29): I received my copy yesterday. The book looks good. Photos of the entire codex, as well as transcription with English line-by-line translation. French translations appended. Notably, the index looks to be complete! Each tractate indexed with some degree of morphological sorting going on, with English and French translations. All in all, good stuff. Even better: I haven't seen the word "Ehrman" yet in the book!

Stopped for a coffee at Starbucks (grande drip, no cream, no sugar) on the way into the office. On the cup was "The Way I See It #242".

Children are born with such a sense of fairness that they will accept no less than equal treatment for all. I know — I have three. I hope that as they grow, they keep that sense of justice and learn to challenge the old adage "life's not fair." It should be, in so far as we have control of it. — Beth Vanden Hoek, Starbucks ass't mgr, St. Louis, MO

Now, pardon me as a three-week-new father, but children are not "born with such a sense of fairness that they will accept no less than equal treatment for all". Ella (my sweet daughter) has one concern: herself. When she's hungry, she wants to eat, and it doesn't matter if it is two in the afternoon or three in the morning: She cries, wakes up Mom & Dad, and gets fed. She doesn't stop and think it might be more "fair" for her to wait a while for a more convienent time for Mom & Dad to awaken. Same for wet diapers. Or if she just wants to be held.

Apologies to Beth, but children aren't born with an innate sense of fairness and sharing. Kudos to Beth if that's the way her kids have been raised such that they act that way, it reflects well on her. But that is not innate, in-born behavior.

(I'll stop ranting soon, please bear with me)

Have you actually looked at all the junk on an Amazon.com book page recently?

It is seriously crowded with a bunch of junk that means nothing. Taking a book from the top of my wishlist, Bible Manuscripts: 1400 Years of Scribes and Scripture (amazon.com), I see far too much junk on the book's page at Amazon.

There are sections on this page for:

• Better Together: where Amazon tries to sell you a related title too. OK, this is fine (though note, the price is simple addition of both books, it isn't discounted for buying both!)
• Customers who bought this item also bought: OK, I can see this too. Maybe.
• Editorial Reviews: Yep, this is fine.
• Product Details: Yep, this is fine too — though I'd like it further up the page, like right after the price/picture/etc.

Next comes the cruft:

• Help others find this item: What? Why is this here?
• Tag this product: Again ... what the ?!
• Are you the publisher or author? Learn how Amazon can help you make this book an eBook: This is nothing but spam. I wonder how often this actually gets a bite ... and then how often the resultant 'eBook' (blast, I hate that camel-casing stuff!) is actually purchased. I know it isn't worth my while. How many people does this annoy, on every page?!
• Rate this item to improve your recommendations: Maybe I can see this ... but how much sewage does one wade through to get here?
• Customer Discussions: How many books (besides Harry Potter) actually have discussions? Again, this is cruft. I'm buying books, not socializing with nameless, faceless know-it-alls.
• Your Recently Viewed Items: Too far down the page to be worthwhile.
• Look for similar items by category: Helpful ... but it should be much higher up the page.
• Look for similar items by subject: Hmmmmmm ... what, according to Amazon.com, is the difference between a 'category' and a 'subject' ? This is too much stuff.
• After this come a bunch of ads, followed by a feedback link.
• Then, at the bottom of the page ... a Your Recent History page. Didn't they just tell me my Recently Viewed Items a few items ago? So why is this here?
• After that come the Sponsored Links. Wow, glad those are there.

Now I just might be missing it, but I sure would like to customize my Amazon.com viewing experience so that most of that craptastic crud is never seen, and I can just see information about the book I'm interested in purchasing.

Because my sample page is a book yet to be published, it doesn't have the "Inside This Book" block. So check out The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (amazon.com) to see an example. This is where textual ephemera like 'statistically improbable phrases' and 'captialized phrases' along with a concordance and text statistics are given. OK, so this is cool and at least somewhat relevant (it is info about the book I'm browsing) so I can let this one lie.

Also — did anyone else notice the inconsistent headline casing for page section titles? Sometimes they're all-capped ("Your Recently Viewed Items") and sometimes not ("Look for similar items by category"). What's that all about? Is there no house style for these sorts of things?

Ok, rant over. But I would love it if Amazon would trim the cruft off of their book pages.

These pages need some serious pruning.