Just installed the following Logos Bible Software packages to my home computer:

Sheffield/T&T Clark Bible Guides Collection (44 Vols.). This much sought-after and highly esteemed Bible study guide series is concise, comprehensive, manageable and affordable. The Sheffield/T & T Clark Bible Guides Collection (44 volumes) serves as an invaluable resource for students, preachers and Bible study leaders. Each of these books delivers to the reader a thorough and insightful introduction to a particular book of the Bible or the Apocrypha. All the books in the series were written by leading biblical scholars and the authors have drawn on their scholarly expertise as well as their experience as teachers of university and college students.

Writings from the Ancient World (16 vols.) The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) publishes books intended to convey the finest biblical scholarship to students in college, university, and seminary courses, leaders in church and synagogue settings, and members of the general public interested in biblical study. The SBL offers these 16 volumes of Writings from the Ancient World to provide teachers, literary critics, historians, general readers, and students direct access to key ancient Near Eastern writings that date from the beginning of the Sumerian civilization to the age of Alexander the Great. The volumes typically offer historical and literary background to the writings, the original text and English translation, explanatory or textual notes, and a bibliography. These ancient writings—letters, laws, government documents, poems, prayers and rituals—provide a glimpse into the social, economic and religious context of other civilizations before and during early biblical times.

[crossposted from PastoralEpistles.com]

The good folks at Baker Academic have sent along a hot-off-the-presses copy of First and Second Timothy, Titus (amazon.com), from the newly-commenced commentary series Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. The text of the NAB (New American Bible) is provided in the commentary.

If you're unfamiliar with the series, a video overview is available on the series web site.

There are excerpts from the book on Baker Academic's web site (here, here and here); there is a 16-page discussion guide designed for "Personal Reflection or Small Group Study". This is cool stuff; Baker should be commended for putting together the whole package on the book's web page.

Most of the blurbs in the front matter and back cover are about the series, not the book. Here's the book blurb from BakerAcademic.com:

George Montague offers a Catholic pastoral commentary on the letters to Timothy and Titus in the second volume in the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS). He presents sound exegesis followed by reflection on the pastoral, theological, and practical applications of the text.

Here's the blurb from Amazon.com (amazon.com):

In the second volume of the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS), George Montague offers a Catholic pastoral commentary on the letters to Timothy and Titus, presenting sound exegesis followed by reflection on the pastoral, theological, and practical applications of the text. The CCSS offers readable, informative commentaries from the best of contemporary Catholic scholarship to help readers rediscover the Word of God as a living word in which God himself is present. Each commentary relates Scripture to life, is faithfully Catholic, and is supplemented by features designed to help readers understand the Bible more deeply and use it more effectively in teaching, preaching, evangelization, and other forms of ministry. This series is perfect for professional and lay leaders engaged in parish ministry, lay Catholics interested in serious Bible study, and Catholic students.

Yeah, pretty much the same thing though the Amazon.com blurb works in the series description as well.

Here's the table of contents:

Illustrations
Editor's Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction to the Pastoral Letters

The First Letter to Timothy
Timothy's First Charge (1 Timothy 1)
Liturgy and Conduct (1 Timothy 2)
Qualifications of Ministers (1 Timothy 3)
False Teaching and Advice to Timothy (1 Timothy 4)
Rules for Different Groups (1 Timothy 5)
Final Directives: Slaves, Truth, Riches (1 Timothy 6)

The Second Letter to Timothy
Timothy's Gifts and Paul's Lot (2 Timothy 1)
Counsels to Timothy (2 Timothy 2)
Meeting the Challenges of the Last Days (2 Timothy 3)
Final Charge to Timothy and Paul's Faith amid His Loneliness (2 Timothy 4)

The Letter to Titus
Organizing the Church in Crete (Titus 1)
Virtues for Different States of Life (Titus 2)
How We Should Live—and Why (Titus 3)

Suggested Resources
Glossary
Index of Pastoral Topics
Index of Sidebars
Map

I have not had a chance to read the book yet. I will say it was designed well. And it is one of the few commentaries that I have seen that actually has pictures (black & white photos) of different areas or artifacts relevant to the discussion. That's pretty cool.

I couldn't contain myself, however, and peeked to see how 1Ti 1.20 is handled. You know:

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,  19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,  20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1Ti 1.18-20, ESV)

I've never checked an explicitly Catholic commentary on this verse and wanted to see how the verse was related to excommunication. Well, it is directly and equivalently related: "These two Paul handed over to Satan, a technical term for excommunication." (Montague 47, emphasis his). That doesn't surprise me, and it doesn't seem altogether wrong to me either. These guys were given the right boot of fellowship. It's just that 'protestant' commentaries rarely ever cross the line and call it excommunication. The goal isn't separation, the eventual goal is reconciliation, as Montague aptly concludes.

I'm looking forward to giving this one the once-over. Thanks, Baker Academic!

I don't know what it says about me, but I have found a typo in my printed copy of BDF. (It is also in my electronic copy.) Not that I don't doubt there are typos; I just never figured I'd find a typo—in a Greek grammar of all places.

Of course it is in the section of BDF that deals with αλλα. Where else would I find such a thing?

So get out your pencils and get ready to scribble in your own copy (I can't be the only one who does this—correct typos/known errors in printed copies—can I?)

The section in question is §448.4 (p. 233). If you use BDF, you know there is a larger-print section and a smaller-print section for most areas; this is in the smaller-print §448.4.

(4) A simpler form is found in Jn 7:49; 1Co 10:20. In multiple questions (with the answer in each case given or suppressed) Mk 11:8f. = Lk 7:24ff.

The typo is Mk 11:8f; it should be Mt 11:8f. Mt 11.8 has Lk 7.24 as parallel; Mk 11.8 is completely unrelated.

This all goes to show that one must always check all references carefully, particularly if you're doing work for a conference paper, journal or dictionary article, dissertation, or monograph of some sort.

Note: The reference index in BDF (p. 303) is actually correct here, it has Mt 11:8f. pointing to §448.4; there is no reference index entry for Mk 11:8f.

Further note: What is going on with αλλα in Mt 11.7-9 is really cool!

Even further note: Know of other such corrections for BDF? Use the comments to let me know.

There I was, Reading Hermas Mandate 11.xii (that's Hermas 43.12 for those kiddies out there using the 'new' chapter/verse citation system), minding my own business, when I saw it: πολυλαλος.

(12) πρῶτον μὲν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὁ δοκῶν πνεῦμα ἔχειν ὑψοῖ ἑαυτὸν καὶ θέλει πρωτοκαθεδρίαν ἔχειν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἰταμός ἐστι καὶ ἀναιδὴς καὶ πολύλαλος καὶ ἐν τρυφαῖς πολλαῖς ἀναστρεφόμενος καὶ ἐν ἑτέραις πολλαῖς ἀπάταις, καὶ μισθοὺς λαμβάνων τῆς προφητείας αὐτοῦ· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ λάβῃ, οὐ προφητεύει. δύναται οὖν πνεῦμα θεῖον μισθοὺς λαμβάνειν καὶ προφητεύειν; οὐκ ἐνδέχεται τοῦτο ποιεῖν θεοῦ προφήτην, ἀλλὰ τῶν τοιούτων προφητῶν ἐπίγειόν ἐστι τὸ πνεῦμα.
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (406). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

(12) In the first place, that man who thinks he has a spirit exalts himself and wants to have a seat of honor, and immediately is arrogant and shameless and talkative and well acquainted with many luxuries and with many other pleasures, and receive money for his prophesying, and if he does not receive money, he does not prophesy. Now, can a divine spirit receive money and still prophesy? It is impossible for a prophet of God to do this, but the spirit of such prophets who do so is earthly.
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (407). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

Here's BDAG:

πολύλαλος, ον (Cleobulus [VI b.c.] in Stob. III p. 112, 3 H.; Ael. Dion. κ, 8; Vi. Aesopi G 26 P.; schol. on Soph., Ant. 324 p. 234 Papag.; Plotinus 6, 2, 21; Job 11:2 Sym.) engaged in much purposeless talk, talkative, garrulous w. ἀναιδής Hm 11:12. VandeSande Bakhuyzen suspects that πολύλαλοι was once read Js 3:1 for πολλοὶ διδάσκαλοι (B-D-F §115, 1).—DELG s.v. λαλέω. (BDAG 847)

Heck, maybe we should be ΠΟΛΥΛΑΛΟΙ instead of bibliobloggers, bibiliabloggers, or biblicabloggers.

Of course, the following entry in BDAG might actually be be better name for a blog: πολυλογια

πολυλογία, ας, ἡ (X., Cyr. 1, 4, 3; Pla., Leg. 1, 641e; Plut., Mor. 6c; 519c; Vett. Val. 108, 8; 23; Herm. Wr. 14, 5; Sextus 155; Pr 10:19) speech of tedious length, much speaking, wordiness, long-windedness ἐν τῇ π. αὐτῶν with their many words Mt 6:7; Lk 11:2 D (Ael. Aristid. 45, 8 K.=8 p. 85 D.: θεοὺς ἄνευ μέτρων προσαγορεύοντες οὐκ αἰσχυνόμεθα=we are not ashamed of addressing gods without mantras/incantations).—DELG s.v. λέγω B. M-M. TW. (BDAG 847)

If I ever decide to change from the very boring "ricoblog" title (sorta invested in it now, I guess) then I'd seriously consider one of these.

Yay, someone else has actually blogged about the Shepherd of Hermas!

Check out Peter Head's notes on available MSS of the Shepherd. Worth repeating is his closing remark:

In terms of manuscript attestation and patristic appreciation the evidence looks better than large parts of the New Testament.

Voces Biblicae: Septuagint Greek and its Significance for the New Testament (amazon.com) by J. Joosten and P.J. Tomson (Editors)

Here's the description:

During the Renaissance period, when the Greek texts of the Bible became accessible again to Western scholars, a large number of words were identified that seemed to be attested only in the Septuagint and New Testament: the famous voces biblicae, "biblical words". They were held by some to reflect a special kind of Jewish Greek, or perhaps even a peculiar Greek idiom created by the Holy Spirit in order to express the unspeakable mysteries of God's grace. Today, scholars usually prefer more down-to-earth explanations. Moreover, the list of voces biblicae has been much shortened because many words that were initially found only in the Bible later turned up in the papyri. Nevertheless, the "biblical words" continue to fascinate. The present volume contains seven essays illuminating different aspects of the vocabulary of the Greek Bible.

There I was, working through Kirsopp Lake's Greek and translation of the Shepherd of Hermas, and I came across Mandates V.ii.4:

4 ἡ δὲ ὀξυχολία
   πρῶτον μὲν μωρά ἐστιν,
   ἐλαφρά τε καὶ ἄφρων.
   εἶτα ἐκ τῆς ἀφροσύνης γίνεται πικρία,
      ἐκ δὲ τῆς πικρίας θυμός,
      ἐκ δὲ τοῦ θυμοῦ ὀργή,
      ἐκ δὲ τῆς ὀργῆς μῆνις·
   εἶτα ἡ μῆνις αὕτη·
      ἐκ τοσούτων κακῶν συνισταμένη·
         γίνεται ἁμαρτία μεγάλη καὶ ἀνίατος.
     (Hermas 34.4 || Mandates V.ii.4, Lake's Greek)

4 But ill temper
   is first foolish,
   frivolous, and silly;
   then from silliness comes bitterness,
      from bitterness wrath,
      from wrath rage,
       and from rage fury;
   then fury,
      being compounded of such great evils,
         becomes great and inexpiable sin.
      (Hermas 34.4 || Mandates V.ii.4, Lake's English)

Upon seeing ἀνίατος translated as "inexpiable", I thought to myself, "now that's a word to remember." The Greek word is from ἰάομαι (alpha privative) and glossed generally as "incurable" in BDAG; BDAG offers a specific translation of this passage as "unforgivable". I don't like "unforgivable" here because the author of Hermas uses terms like forgiveness a whole lot. If he specifically meant "unforgivable", then he had an ample lexicon to produce that. But he didn't. He wrote ἀνίατος.

I like Lake's take on it. Holmes translates the same as BDAG's gloss, "incurable", and that matches up with LSJ. But I still like "inexpiable". To think about something as "unable to be expiated" brings the seriousness of it into play, much more so than works like "unforgivable" (which is accurate of the result). A translation like "incurable" makes it sound like more of a malady. I think "inexpiable" threads the needle between those two, and is simply a cool word to boot.

Score one for Kirsopp Lake. FWIW, I generally find Holmes' translation better and more readable, but Lake has enough gems that it is well worth considering. And in most books, Lake tends to be less idiomatic and more "literal" (whatever that means), so it is easier to use as a check when working through the Greek.