Armenian Illustrations of Pentecost (f.2r, left) and the Transfiguration (f.3v, right) | Four Gospels in Armenian, 1434/35 | No. 2010.108 on display at the Met, New York — Armenian Illustrations of Pentecost (f.2r, left) and the Transfiguration (f.3v, right) | Four Gospels in Armenian, 1434/35 | No. 2010.108 on display at the Met, New York

On AJR

Our SBL Paul and the Law forum concludes with author responses:

David Kaden, "Why 'Law' in Pauline Discourse?"

Kaden: "By stretching the definition of "law," there is no such thing as "law-free." Future Paul and the law scholarship could actually have little to do with Judean nomoi. It could move beyond the letters of Galatians and Romans, and examine legal discourse elsewhere in the Pauline corpus, such as in, say, First Thessalonians - a letter that never talks about the Torah, but which is filled with regulations. Guided by rich resources in the field of legal anthropology, Paul and the law scholars could pursue various possible avenues of research if we have the courage to move beyond the debates of the past and try something really new."

Matthew Thiessen, "Pauline Paleontology"

Thiessen: "I have labored, though, to compare Pauline studies to paleontology because I think it beautifully illustrates the real problems we face in the interpretation of Paul's letters. We simply have very little evidence upon which to base our work. These gaping holes in the Pauline fossil record make it difficult for us to form a consensus with regard to the entire skeleton or structure of Pauline thought: we have Lutheran camps, new perspective camps, radical new perspective camps, apocalyptic camps, and other camps unnamed or uncharted. Such disagreements are long standing and often heated because for many Pauline interpreters we are excavating no mere dinosaur, but, forgive the mixing of metaphors, a sacred cow."

Articles and News

David Carr at Mosaic responds to the characterisation of biblical scholarship as generated from liberal bias.
Stunning lecture from Marina Rustow on recycling and the Cairo Genizah.
Large online list and collection of dictionaries for Ancient Greek.
Why open access to the Library of Congress collections is a big deal - with open-access Thesaurus Linguae Latinae bibliography bonus.
On why precisely St Christopher often appears with the head of a dog.
Launch issue of new journal for the reception of ancient Egypt.
Excerpt from John Penniman's new book, Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity (Yale, 2017).
On Simon of Trent and the grip of rumors at Public Medievalist.
Remarkable digital exploration of and information on medieval Armenian monasteries.

Twitter

Historians are turning toward animals to answer pressing questions about the past & the present, says Vandersommers. https://t.co/DSrqpr0MBk
— AHA (@AHAhistorians) 26 July 2017

THREAD. To understand the #multiculturalism of the #RomanEmpire, distinguish between race, ethnicity, legal status and culture. /1
— Tim Whitmarsh (@Twhittermarsh) 27 July 2017

For invective nature of this account of his death see @emuehlbe's excellent article on the matter in @PastPresentSoc https://t.co/vxAJvXp8Pq https://t.co/XBN2cvoKKg
— Sarah Bond (@SarahEBond) 24 July 2017