Blogger’s Choice - Articles recommended by biblioblogger Jim West

Jeremy Biles (Chicago, Ill., USA), Material Culture, The Bible and
Biles’ entry is comprised of subsections titled “1. The Bible and the ‘Material Turn’ in Religious Studies,” “2. The ‘New Materialism,’” and “3. The Excessive Nature of the Bible as Material Form.” His aim is not to discuss the archaeological remains that are of importance for the Bible. Rather, he wishes to point out that “Whereas the material conditions surrounding the Bible have been the subject of ample study, less has been written about the materiality of the Bible itself: the Bible qua material object, with its attendant bodily and affective potencies.” This is a fascinating perspective.

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Aren M. Maeir (Ramat Gan, Israel), Mazar, (Maisler) Benjamin
Mazar “… was one of the founding figures of Israeli archaeology and one of the leading figures in 20th-century “biblical archaeology.” That concise sentence introduces a brief overview of the life of one of the most influential Israeli archaeologists of the era. Maeir does a wonderful job, in a limited space, of painting a broad portrait. The helpful bibliography attached to the entry will lead the curious further.

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Stephen Germany (Basel, Switzerland), Melchizedek I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
S. Germany’s article in this longer entry is the initial one: I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; and the rest follows: II. New Testament; III. Judaism; IV. Christianity; V. Literature; VI. Visual Arts; VII. Music. The importance of this biblical character can scarcely be overestimated and all of the contributors do him justice. However, the stage is masterfully set by Germany’s section. He correctly notes “Genesis 14:18-20 seems to have been carefully crafted, with both the subsequent Abra(ha)m narratives and other (late) materials in the Pentateuch in view.” The remainder of his analysis is similarly spot on.

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Alexander van der Haven (Bergen, Norway), Mental Disorder V. Literature
Van der Haven’s contribution shows how writers have integrated ‘mental disorder’ as described by the Bible into their works. “Biblical descriptions and theological concepts of mental disorder – or more comprehensively, madness – have greatly inspired writers of modern literature.” Very interestingly, v.d.H. observes, “Mad behavior accompanying prophetic messages (such as in 1 Sam 10:6) often finds its way into literature in a secularized form to convey social criticism, such as in the work of Charles Dickens.” The article as a whole is very engaging.

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Frauke Uhlenbruch (Redwood City, Calif., USA), Metatron V. Film
Obscure characters like Metatron also make an appearance in EBR, and the fact that he has even appeared on television in the United States is mentioned. “In the US television series Supernatural (creator Eric Kripke, 2005–), Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) appears in several episodes. In Metatron’s first appearance in the series (in the episode ‘The Great Escapist’), he resides in a hotel room filled with books, and collects stories, having retired from any involvement in angelic intervention on earth. He refers to himself as the source of the word and the scribe of God (‘I worked in the secretarial pool before God chose me to take down the word’), reminiscent of bHag 15a.” These are the kinds of details in EBR that are useful to researchers and student of Biblical literature.

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