History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age Review

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History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age ReviewHelmut Koester's History, Culture and Religion of the Hellenistic Age is Volume One to his Introduction to the New Testament. It is intended to provide an introduction, but the reader will come away with much more than that. This review covers only the first volume.
Koester covers a wide range of topics pertaining to the ancient world including political, religious, intellectual, and technological histories and seems to demonstrate thorough knowledge of each. His intention is to provide a linear transition between Old and New Testaments and place the entire Bible into its proper historical context. Many religious groups including the Maccabees, Pharisees, and Samaritans are placed in perspective to the greater world in which the interacted. The reader will fully understand what the political and intellectual world was like during the time Christianity was being established.
Koester's unique way of identifying chapters and subparts makes for quick and easy internal cross reference, though his alpha-numeric style is similar to a government regulation or corporate standard operating procedure.
Though his knowledge of his subject matter is unquestionable, Koester does demonstrate several weaknesses that readers must accommodate. He has a strong pro-Hellenistic bias, particularly evident in Chapter 3 when he claims Galen's books are "the last truly great medical works from the ancient times" or how the "Roman period and beyond" were a "decline of scholarship and science." Koester's work is occasionally detailed to the point of tediousness. His chapters on the many religious cults and philosophies do not appear to be written for the casual reader. The level of detail demonstrates his knowledge but come across as somewhat confusing. He also dwells exclusively in the world of political and intellectual leaders, the common people are not described in any convincing detail. This is peculiar because the focus of the Bible, particularly the New Testament is upon the ordinary people who often get caught up in the intrigues and realities of the Roman world.
A final weakness is in his presentation style. He provides no notes to any sources throughout the book. He lists bibliographies for each chapter, but does not differentiate between his work and that of others.
Yet this is still a valuable book that can teach much of the world of the New Testament. Christianity and the New Testament did not evolve in a vacuum, and Koester does much to help the reader fully appreciate what the world in which they did emerge in was like.History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age OverviewAmong the striking features that distinguish thiscomprehensive two-volume work, now complete in its second edition,from other books of similar title are its wide historical scope, itstreatment of early Christian literature in the chronological sequence,and the inclusion of over sixty noncanonical Christian documents.Volume 2, after considering problems related to the interpretationof early Christian writings - transmission, canon, text, formcriticism, literary criticism, and narrative and rhetorical criticism- unfolds the story of the early Christian communities and theirliterature from John the Baptist and Jesus to Justin Martyr,Valentinus, and Polycarp. This narrative has been written in areadable, nontechnical style, supplemented by current bibliographiesfor each selection that include listings of the best editions oforiginal texts as well as the most accessible English translations. Anessential work for students, teachers, and clergy, this set will alsoappeal to the educated layperson looking for a scholarly treatment ofthe New Testament and its background in the world of Jewish andGreco-Roman antiquity.

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The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text with Apparatus: Second Edition Review

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The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text with Apparatus: Second Edition ReviewI own the second edition of this book, which is apparently currently out of print. I am hoping that a new edition is the works, and so thought I would give a review. This book is a real boon to New Testament scholarship. It is a revival of scholarly lines of thinking that have lost popularity in the last centuries. Since time immemorial, the method of finding out whether a particular Greek manuscript contained an accurate rendering of the originals written by the apostles and their associates was to compare it against the majority of available Greek manuscripts (called 'witnesses' because they testify to what the original might have been). If you have a manuscript that said that Jesus walked on honey and a thousand others that said that he walked on water, then your manuscript is incorrect. The reason for this thinking is two-fold. First, on a mundane level, good quality manuscripts will tend to be used as sources for others, while bad quality manuscripts tend to get thrown by the wayside. The second, spiritual reasoning, is that God providentially preserves his written Word, so God will protect good manuscripts and cause them to be copied reliably. God will let the bad manuscripts fall into obscurity. So this was the thinking of the midieval and reformation scholars. This thinking also created the famous "Textus Receptus" which was used as a basis for the New Testament of the King James Version.
In the last century, European scholarship began to apply critical thinking to how manuscripts were transmitted and came up with some new ideas. They thought completely from a humanistic standpoint, that is, they didn't consider God's role in preservation of scripture at all. In addition, they gave weight to the idea that errors accumulate over time, and therefore older manuscripts are better than newer ones. That is, If you have a manuscript that says Jesus walked on honey, and a thousand others that say he walked on water, but the one that says he walked on honey is older, then it is probably correct, and the others are based on later manuscripts in to which errors have crept over time.
It just so happens that this is the state of New Testament textual criticism. We have thousands of newer manuscripts that tend to resemble each other and a few really old ones that are a little different, and tend to resemble each other.
The most popular Greek texts used by modern scholars are the Novum Testamentum Graece, which is based on the critical method, and the Textus Receptus, which is based on the majority method. Unfortunately, the Receptus is from the 16th century, and has a number of readings that are not majority readings because the compilers of the text had limited information available to them. So it came to pass that anyone 'scholarly' believed in the critical text, and only bumpkin preachers used the Receptus.
Lately, however, the theories used by the critical scholars have come under some serious fire. The critical text scholars proposed a theory for why all the later manuscripts have been 'corrupted', but this theory has never yielded any evidence that would prove it true. Also, some believe that the particular family of older manuscripts used by these scholars might have come from a heretical sect. Though this theory has also not yielded any evidence proving it true, enough doubt has been cast on the situation to warrant new respect for the majority of later texts. Maybe they really are better. So the book that I am reviewing was created as a modern update of the Textus Receptus based on the cutting edge of manuscript knowledge. It is not a perfect text, but it is a good one. I highly recommend that seminary students and Greek New Testament enthusiasts purchase it in addition to the critical text and the Textus Receptus.The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text with Apparatus: Second Edition Overview
The only complete edition of the Greek New Testament that shows what the majority of Greek manuscripts in existence contain.All students of biblical Greek should use this edition to consider its thoughtful challenge to the eclectic text provided in all other Greek Testaments


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The NKJV Greek-English Interlinear New Testament Review

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The NKJV Greek-English Interlinear New Testament ReviewFor those of us using the NKJV, this is very helpful to have. The quality of the information presented is excellent but I have to say the binding and paper quality are horrible. Nelson should be ashamed of themselves. The binding is of the same poor quality as their concordance. It feels like it's going to fall apart with any serious use. The paper looks to be recycled. It's a shame that Nelson doesn't have the integrity to produce reference materials that reflect the subject they are working with.The NKJV Greek-English Interlinear New Testament Overview
This fascinating study edition lets you get as close to the original Greek of the Bible as possible.The entire text of the New Testament is set alongside the corresponding Greek Majority text, along with two English translations, one word-for-word and one idiomatic.


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Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Review

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Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words ReviewVine's Expository Dictionary gives excellent word pictures and meanings of the original languages found in the Word of God. It is a resource book that every preacher should have for preparing sermons for their local body of believers. Nothing helps make the Scripture come alive for listeners like a clearer understanding of what the writers of the books of the Bible were trying to present through their choice of certain words in the Greek and Hebrew languages. This book opens the door of understanding of the original languages of the Bible.Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words OverviewThe most affordable complete edition of Vine's famous Old and New Testament dictionaries available, this super value edition of a classic study resource helps those with limited or no background in Hebrew or Greek to study the meaning of biblical words in the original languages. A great resource for students, pastors, and anyone who enjoys biblical word studies. Serves as a dictionary, commentary, and concordance.

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