I have been asked in a comment on the previous post to list the textbooks for the courses this semester.
1. Research Procedures
Required texts:
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. 7th ed. Revised by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, and the University of Chicago Press editorial staff. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Alexander, Patrick H., et al., eds. The SBL Handbook of Style for Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999.
Suggested texts:
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 2nd ed. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Mauch, James E., and Jack W. Birch. Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: A Hand-book for Students and Faculty. 4th ed. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1998.
Strunk, William, Jr. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. With Revisions, an Introduction, and a Chapter on Writing by E. B. White. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.
2. New Testament Backgrounds
The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3d ed. Edited and translated by Michael W. Holmes. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.
Boccaccini, Gabriele. The Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, from Ezekiel to Daniel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
Bock, Darrell L. The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth behind Alternate Christianities. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006.
Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. 2 vols. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1983-85.
Elliott, J. K., ed. The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Evans, Craig A., and Stanley E. Porter, eds. Dictionary of New Testament Background. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
Evans, Craig A. Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2005.
GarcÃa MartÃnez, Florentino, ed. The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Texts in English. 2d ed. Translated by Wilfred G. E. Watson. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996.
The Gnostic Scriptures. A New Translation with Annotations and Introductions. Translated and edited by Bentley Layton. Anchor Bible Reference Library, ed. David Noel Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1995.
Harding, Mark, ed. Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context. London: T & T Clark, 2003.
Instone-Brewer, David. Traditions of The Rabbis from the Era of the New Testament: Prayer and Agriculture (TRENT). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004.
Jefford, Clayton J. Reading the Apostolic Father: An Introduction. Peabody, MA Hendrickson, 1996.
Josephus. Complete Works of Josephus. Translated by William Whiston. Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo; Philadelphia: Porter and Coates, 1867. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.
Klauck, Hans-Josef. The Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide to Graeco-Roman Religions. London: T & T Clark, 2000.
Levine , Amy-Jill, Dale C. Allison Jr., and John Dominic Crossan, eds. The Historical Jesus in Context. Princeton Readings in Religions, ed. Donald S. Lopez Jr. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.
Malherbe, Abraham J. Moral Exhortation: A Greco-Roman Sourcebook. Library of Early Christianity, ed. Wayne A. Meeks, vol. 4. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.
McLay, R. Timothy. The Use of the Septuagint in New Testament Research. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003.
Meyer, Marvin W., ed. The Ancient Mysteries: A Source Book. Sacred Texts of the Mystery Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean World. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987. Reprint, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
Rudolph, Kurt. Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism. London: T & T Clark, 1998.
The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.
The New Testament Background: Writings from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire that Illumine Christian Origins. Revised ed. Edited by C. K. Barrett. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1989.
Philo. The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged. New updated ed. Translated by C. D. Yonge. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.
Strack, Hermann L., and Gunter Stemberger. Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash. 2d ed. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1996.
These are all required (to purchase). There are others that are suggested, and others that are required for reading.
3. Greco-Roman Backgrounds
Hans-Josef Klauck, The Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide to Greco-Roman Religions. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003).
John McRay. Archaeology and the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991).
Others are suggested.
Thanks, Todd. This is great. Appreciate the bibliography.
This is a healthy list. I have a random question: have you done much work with Job, particularly the text critical issues? I’m in a class right now and the multiplicity of texts and the disparate histories of interpretation are staggering!
Stratkey – I haven’t done anything with Job (and hoping it stays that way :-)).
Bummer. I was hoping you might have a suggestion for a good commentary….I’m writing my final paper on Job 42:7, the part where God tells Job his friends were wrong and Job was right. I’m looking at the reception history of that text, as well as doing an exegesis of it, and then hazarding a constructive suggestion about what this verse suggests for the “theology” of Job as a whole. It should be a barn-burner.
I use commentary review books such as that by Longman. Some of these have been used to create the website rankings at http://www.bestcommentaries.com/ You might find that useful.