Category: Scripture

The new issue of Bible and Critical Theory not only has a new article I wrote about the Triumphal Entry in Mark’s Gospel, but also a review of my book by Robert Myles! Check them out!

For those interested, an article I co-authored with Fernando Bermejo-Rubio was recently published in Scripta Classica Israelica: Where Were the Romans and What Did They Know? Military and Intelligence Networks as a Probable Factor in Jesus of Nazareth’s Fate. Here is the abstract, for those interested:

In the wake of the Gospels’ accounts, modern scholars do not pay much attention to the role Romans played in Jesus of Nazareth’s arrest, and are prone to give credit to manifestly biased sources. Besides, some misconceptions (e.g. that the military in pre-War Judaea was exclusively confined to its largest cities) prevent them from seriously weighing up the possibility that the role of the Romans in Jesus’ fate was more decisive than usually recognized. In this article, we reconsider a number of issues in order to shed light on this murky topic. First, the nature and functions of the Roman military in Judaea are surveyed (for instance, Palestine before the Jewish War had a robust network of fortlets and fortresses, which Benjamin Isaac has argued largely served to facilitate communication into the hinterlands). Second, we track some traces of anti-Roman resistance in the prefects’ period (6-41 CE), Third, the widely overlooked issue of the intelligence sources available to Roman governors is tackled. Fourth, the extent of the problems of the Passion accounts is seriously taken into account. The insights obtained are then applied to the Gospels’ story, thereby rendering it likely that Pilate had some degree of “intelligence” regarding Jesus and his followers before their encounter in Jerusalem that led to the collective execution at Golgotha.

Finally, that very issue has a nice review of my book by the great scholar Oliver Stoll. For those that care to read it, it can be found here.

I wanted to alert any interested that an article I recently wrote for the magazine Ancient Warfare on Jesus and the Demon Named Legion (Mark 5:1-20) was published.

Others may be interested that my book is now available for pre-order on Rowman and Littlefield’s website.

The Database of Military Inscriptions and Papyri of Early Roman Palestine (DMIPERP) has launched! It’s been a lot of effort and is still a work in progress, so expect regular updates.

Check it out at http://www.ArmyofRomanPalestine.com

Just a quick update. An article I wrote for the Journal of the Jesus Movement in Its Jewish Setting was recently published.  The article concerns Mark’s use of Latinisms and the location of its geographic setting.  JJMJS is an open-access journal, so it can be found online free here: http://www.jjmjs.org/

Loanwords or Code-Switching? Latin Transliteration and the Setting of Mark’s Composition

Abstract

The composition of Mark’s Gospel is variously located in metropolitan Rome, Syria, and Palestine, with nothing close to a consensus emerging. This article takes up one particular line of argumentation for Markan provenance and provides it a clearer methodological and theoretical apparatus, namely the issue of Latin transliteration. Some commentators note that the prevalence of Latin suggests a Roman context, while others contend that Markan vocabulary is consistent with the Roman East. This article examines the distinctive ways in which Latin was transliterated in the aforementioned regions in epigraphs, papyri, and literary texts. Comparative work will indicate that Mark’s use of transliterated Latin verges on incompatible with pre-War Palestine, is quite dissimilar for the city of Rome, but overlaps in significant ways with that of Syria and post-War Palestine. Though this argument is not conclusive about Markan origins in its own right, it may clarify the utility of the argument from Latinisms for future discussions.

This summer has been eventful! Two articles I wrote are now in print:

“The Date of Mark’s Gospel Apart from the Temple and Rumors of War: The Taxation Episode (12:13–17) as Evidence.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 79 (2017): 422–437.

“Capernaum: A ‘Hub’ for the Historical Jesus or the Markan Evangelist?” Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus 15 (2017): 147–165.

Moreover, I have launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund a new website for the study of the military and the New Testament.  Any contributions would be greatly welcome!

Luckily, nearly all the research is completed for this project!  The issue now is funding the launch of a website for this, Database of Military Inscriptions and Papyri of Early Roman Palestine (DMIPERP).  The website will have lots of neat features:

• Searchable collection of all known inscriptions and papyri concerning the military and Palestine 63 BC-132 AD, in their original language and English translation. Each will have a bibliography and a brief commentary on its significance.  There are roughly 300 such texts.
• All inscriptions concerning Christians in the Roman army before Constantine’s reign (306 AD).
• A map and gazetteer of all military sites in early Roman Palestine, noting when they were used.
• Cameo essays by experts on how literary sources (Josephus, rabbinic writings, Philo of Alexandria, Tacitus, Eusebius, etc.) can aid the study of the military in early Roman Palestine.
• Regular updates to include the latest archaeological finds!

Moreover, this will help create materials necessary for my upcoming book, tentatively titled The Roman Army and the New Testament.  This book aims to be both useful for academics and accessible to interested non-specialists – especially ministers, educated laity, and military enthusiasts. The book will cover a range of topics, including the demographics of the military in New Testament times, the role of the military in early Roman Palestine, and discussion of every single instance the military appears in the New Testament.