Christian Apocrypha Books to Look for at SBL 2022

October 26, 2022 by Tony

The SBL Annual Meeting presents an ideal opportunity to check out new books on Christian apocrypha. As you make your way through the publishers’ exhibition, keep an eye out for these publications. If there is a book missing in the list, please pass along the details.

Bloomsbury

Robertson, David G. Gnosticism and the History of Religions.

Brepols

McCollum, Joey, and Brent Niedergall. Acts of John.

Brill

Lanzillotta, Lautaro Roig, and Jacques van der Vliet. The Apocalypse of Paul (Visio Pauli) in Sahidic Coptic.

Cambridge

Baker, Robin. Mary Magdalene: A Cultural History.

Dabiri, Ghazzal, and Flavia Ruani. Thecla and Medieval Sainthood: The Acts of Paul and Thecla in Eastern and Western Hagiography.

Norman, Dawn LaValle. Early Christian Women. (Includes discussion of Thecla).

Eerdmans

Burke, Tony, ed. New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Vol. 3. (Page proofs available for preview).

Fortress

Vanden Eykel, Eric. The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate.

Mohr Siebeck

Reed, Annette Yoshiko. Jewish-Christianity and the History of Judaism: Collected Essays.

Oxford

Le Boulluec, Alain. The Notion of Heresy in Greek Literature in the Second and Third Centuries. (French original 1985; newly translated into English).

Litwa, M. David. The Evil Creator. Origins of an Early Christian Idea.

Mendez, Hugo. The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem: Inventing a Patron Martyr.

Peeters

Calzolari, V.M. The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles in Armenian. Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 18.

SBL Press

Lehtipuu, Outi, and Silke Petersen, eds. Ancient Christian Apocrypha. Marginalized …

Christian Apocrypha at SBL 2022

October 23, 2023 by Tony

The 2022 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature runs from November 19 to 22 in Denver, Colorado. The following is a list of all the sessions and individual presentations that focus on Christian Apocrypha.

1. Christian Apocrypha Section Sessions

S20-113 Christian Apocrypha (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Lily Vuong, Central Washington University, Presiding

Thomas J. Kraus, Universität Zürich / Beyond Canon (Regensburg): “‘The Resurrection of the Flesh’ and What the Apocalypse of Paul Has to Say about It.”

Mari Mamyan, Regensburg University: “Shifts in Title: What Does the Evolution of Titles Imply about the Transmission of the Arm Inf Gsp?”

Rikki Wenxin Liu, Yale Divinity School: “The First and the Last: Scholarly and Popular Reception of The Thunder, Perfect Mind.”

Michael T. Zeddies, Chicago, IL: “More Misunderstandings about Mar Saba 65.”

Cristian Cardozo, Universidad Adventista del Plata: “What Is a Name? Author-Function in the 1 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John.”

S20-333 Nag Hammadi and Gnosticism / Christian Apocrypha (4:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
Theme: Coptic Apocryphal Literature in the Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods
This session showcases the ongoing work of the APOCRYPHA research project at the University of Oslo. This is a project that analyzes the production and circulation of apocryphal literature in Egypt throughout the entire period of Coptic literary production.
Janet Spittler, University of Virginia, Presiding

Hugo Lundhaug, Universitetet i Oslo: “Adapting the Storyworld: Coptic Apocrypha as Blueprints and Building-Blocks.”

Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin, Universitetet i Oslo:“‘Eloi Eloi Lema Sabachtani’: Crucifixion Narratives in Coptic …

On Indexing More New Testament Apocrypha vol. 3

October 24, 2022 by Tony

The indices for New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures vol. 3 have just been completed and sent off to the publisher. Indexing a book of this size (650 pages) takes a month of full-time work; so all non-essential activities—research, administrative tasks, sleep—had to be put on hold. But now I can move on, happy that the final step in the publication process is complete. So what is the first thing I do with this newfound freedom? Write a blog post about it.

In part, I just want to take an opportunity to vent a little about the frustrations of indexing, but I think some might wonder how indices are prepared, particularly for a project of this size and scope. Their first question might be why I don’t pay someone else (like a graduate student) to do it. Indexing is definitely the “grunt work” of publishing, an onerous task unworthy of a senior scholar’s time and attention (sarcasm alert!), and a graduate student could certainly use the experience and compensation. But I don’t have graduate students, or money. And I also prefer to do this work myself because of its complications. Indexing gives an author/editor a chance to catch lingering errors before the book goes to press. Despite an already rigorous process of proofreading—by the authors, then me, the publisher’s copyeditor, and the authors and me again—mistakes sneak through, and every one that makes it to the printed page is a dagger to the heart. And with my high blood pressure …