Bible Review

A reference to Numbers 21 and Deuteronomy 1–2, in which Moses conquered the Transjordanian kingdoms of Sihon and Og.

See Bernard F. Batto, “Red Sea or Reed Sea?” BAR 10:04.

The discovery of papyrus copies of the Gospels of Luke and John dating from c. 200 C.E. or a bit earlier that preserve a text very similar to the text of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus demonstrates that these two fourth-century manuscripts in fact preserve a textual tradition that dates back at least to around the time of Irenaeus. These papyri, known as P66 and P75, are both in the Bodmer collection in Geneva.

For an another example of a text critic at work, see Steve Mason, “Where Was Jesus Born? O Little Town of…Nazareth?” BR 1601.

For a summary of the most important New Testament manuscripts, see “Glossary: New Testament Manuscripts—Uncials, Minuscules, Palimpsests and All That Stuff,” BR 06:01.

For more on this character, see Jane Schaberg, “How Mary Magdalene Became a Whore,” BR 08:05.

In the Jewish tradition of counting days, both the beginning and ending day are included in the count. Thus, the resurrection (on Sunday) is said to occur on the third day after the crucifixion (on Friday).

On the stone that sealed Jesus’ tomb, see Amos Kloner, “Did a Rolling Stone Close Jesus’ Tomb?” BAR 25:05.

The chapter divisions in use today were introduced by Stephen Langton (famous for wrestling the Magna Carta from King John) in the early 13th century.