Bible Review

See “The Tablets from Ugarit and Their Importance for Biblical Studies,” BAR 09:05, Peter C. Craigie.

Midrash (plural, Midrashim) designates a genre of rabbinic literature that includes homilies as well as commentaries on specific books of the Bible.

Psalms 1–41; II. Psalms 42–72; III. Psalms 73–89; IV. Psalms 90–106; V. Psalms 107–150.

The Mishnah is the body of Jewish oral law, specifically, the collection of oral laws compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince in the second century A.D.

Codex Bezae is a Western text type extant in Old Latin and Old Syriac translations and in quotations from such second- and third-century authors as Marcion, Justin, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Cyprian. Cf. Helmut Koester, Introduction to the New Testament, Volume 2: History and Literature of Early Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982), pp. 17–18, 25–26.

John Dominic Crossan, “From Moses to Jesus: Parallel Themes,” BR 02:02.

Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis, “Different Ways of Looking at the Birth of Jesus,” BR 01:01.

The Hagiographa is the third section of the Hebrew Bible, the so-called Writings.

In Jewish tradition, the second division of the Bible falls into two parts. The Former Prophets includes what modern scholars call the Deuteronomic history; the Latter Prophets refers to the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the 12 minor prophets.

Samuel and Kings (as well as Chronicles) were first divided into two books in the Greek translation of the Bible known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint dates to the third century B.C., and was made in Egypt where it was copied on papyrus scrolls. At that time, papyrus scrolls could not be practically made as long as parchment or leather scrolls that were used in Judea. Hence, in the Septuagint, Samuel and Kings (as well as Chronicles) were each divided into two parts, designated first and second.