The EBR is also available online.

Blogger's Choice - Articles recommended by biblioblogger Jim West [...]

As I have done for a number of years, I've randomly selected some of the entries in the latest volume of the Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR) to look over and review. The following are the selections made from volume 23.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have written three entries in this volume, but I chose not to review them.

Innocent Himbaza (Fribourg, Switzerland), Patriarchy I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. In a wildly intelligent and brilliantly executed essay Himbaza leads readers through the Hebrew Bible's vision of patriarchy, concluding, "In the HB/OT, although men seem to have an advantage over women, women are never totally excluded. Thus, if patriarchy is defined as male dominance with a total exclusion of women, then we are obliged to admit that the HB/OT does not reflect such a society. And furthermore, the HB/OT reflects both evolution and diversity, so that it is possible to speak of different levels of patriarchy, depending on the historical context or the field of activity." Both of these statements are illustrated fully. The great benefit of the entry is that it refocuses our attention on the facts and not on the politically motivated rhetoric of the present moment.

Renate Pillinger (Vienna, Austria), Paul and Thecla, Acts of II. Visual Arts. One of the best things about the EBR is that it is not merely an encyclopedia of things frozen in the past. It is a series whose very soul is the demonstration of the living and breathing nature of the biblical texts and related literature and their long afterlife once they've left the page and entered life. Pillinger's entry opens a window on the way the ancient text we call "The Acts of Paul and Thecla" and its contents have been explicated in the visual arts. Pillinger remarks, "At the beginning of the chapter (Acts of Paul 3:3), Paul is described as having a receding hairline. From approximately the mid-4th century CE onward, the entire scope of visual art reflects this description." Art influences our reading of biblical and extra-biblical texts whether we like it or not. One need simply think of Da Vinci's "Last Supper." Historically inaccurate as can be, it still holds sway in the minds of countless Christians as the way the Last Supper took place.

W. Derek Suderman (Waterloo, ON, Canada), Peace, Peacemaking I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Nominal uses of the root s-l-m are first discussed by Suderman and then follows a description of the verbal uses. Summarily put, "Verb forms from the root s-l-m primarily relate to making restitution or payment, paying vow