This volume contains papers dealing with the impact of unit delimitation on exegesis. Pargraph markers play an important role in literature, this is illustrated by means of the examples of Mark 12:13-27 and Romans 1:21-25. The setumah after Isaiah 8:16 is significant for understanding the making of the Hebrew Bible. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the text divisions in the Book of Daniel guide the reading of the text. The demarcation of hymns and prayers in the prophets is illustrated by the examples of Hosea 6:1-3 and Isaiah 42:10-12. Unit delimitation is taken up for the theory of an acrostichon in Nahum 1. Also discussed is the delimitation of units in Genesis, Isaiah 56:1-9, and Jeremiah and Habakkuk.

The first volume of the new Pericope series, Delimitation Criticism contains the papers read at a workshop of the Pericope Group during the First Meeting of the European Association for Biblical Studies, held at Utrecht, The Netherlands, 6-9 August 2000. The volume highlights the importance of the long-ignored unit delimitation markers in ancient manuscripts for the interpretation of Scripture. Much of the data presented here has never been published before and opens up fresh vistas for biblical scholarship. The new series Pericope aims at providing Bible translators and exegetes with the raw data concerning unit delimitation in the ancient manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Peshitta and the Vulgate. It will contribute significantly to our understanding of the meaning of Scripture as it was written and understood in Antiquity. Pericope is directed by an international editorial board of distinguished specialists. The series will comprise monographs and collaborative volumes on unit delimitation in Antiquity, primarily in biblical manuscripts and lectionaries, but also in other texts relevant to biblical studies. The series will also incorporate exegetical studies which seek to demonstrate the impact of delimitation criticism on various branches of biblical scholarship. From the Contents M.C.A. Korpel - Introduction to the Series M. van Amerongen - Structuring Division Markers in Haggai R. de Hoop - Lamentations: The Qinah-Metre Questioned K.D. Jenner - The Unit Delimitation in the Syriac Text of Daniel and their Consequences for the Interpretation M.C.A. Korpel - Pericope Division in the Book of Ruth J.C. de Moor - Micah 7:1-13: The Lament of a Disillusioned Prophet J.M. Oesch - Skizze einer synchronen und diachronen Gliederungskritik im Rahmen der alttestamentlichen Textkritik J. Renkema - The Literary Structure of Obadiah P. Sanders - Ancient Colon Delimitations: 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18 E. Tov - The Background of the Sense Divisions in the Biblical Texts

The first volume of the new Pericope series, Delimitation Criticism contains the papers read at a workshop of the Pericope Group during the First Meeting of the European Association for Biblical Studies, held at Utrecht, The Netherlands, 6-9 August 2000. The volume highlights the importance of the long-ignored unit delimitation markers in ancient manuscripts for the interpretation of Scripture. Much of the data presented here has never been published before and opens up fresh vistas for biblical scholarship. The new series Pericope aims at providing Bible translators and exegetes with the raw data concerning unit delimitation in the ancient manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Peshitta and the Vulgate. It will contribute significantly to our understanding of the meaning of Scripture as it was written and understood in Antiquity. Pericope is directed by an international editorial board of distinguished specialists. The series will comprise monographs and collaborative volumes on unit delimitation in Antiquity, primarily in biblical manuscripts and lectionaries, but also in other texts relevant to biblical studies. The series will also incorporate exegetical studies which seek to demonstrate the impact of delimitation criticism on various branches of biblical scholarship. From the Contents M.C.A. Korpel - Introduction to the Series M. van Amerongen - Structuring Division Markers in Haggai R. de Hoop - Lamentations: The Qinah-Metre Questioned K.D. Jenner - The Unit Delimitation in the Syriac Text of Daniel and their Consequences for the Interpretation M.C.A. Korpel - Pericope Division in the Book of Ruth J.C. de Moor - Micah 7:1-13: The Lament of a Disillusioned Prophet J.M. Oesch - Skizze einer synchronen und diachronen Gliederungskritik im Rahmen der alttestamentlichen Textkritik J. Renkema - The Literary Structure of Obadiah P. Sanders - Ancient Colon Delimitations: 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18 E. Tov - The Background of the Sense Divisions in the Biblical Texts

In this volume selected papers from several Pericope meetings have been combined into a thematic volume, dealing with the method of unit delimitation. A hitherto unnoticed Tibero-Palestinian manuscript from Paris is discussed, as well as the text divisions in the Leviticus and Joshua Codices from the Schoyen collection and a fifth-century lectionary. The volume closes with a proposal for a new polyglot Bible, containing data with regard to unit delimitation from our traditions, Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Latin. The "Pericope" Series aims at making available data on unit delimitation found in biblical and related manuscripts to the scholarly world and provides a platform for evaluating this hitherto largely neglected evidence for the benefit of biblical interpretation.

In this volume selected papers from several Pericope meetings have been combined into a thematic volume, dealing with the method of unit delimitation. A hitherto unnoticed Tibero-Palestinian manuscript from Paris is discussed, as well as the text divisions in the Leviticus and Joshua Codices from the Schoyen collection and a fifth-century lectionary. The volume closes with a proposal for a new polyglot Bible, containing data with regard to unit delimitation from our traditions, Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Latin. The Pericope Series aims at making available data on unit delimitation found in biblical and related manuscripts to the scholarly world and provides a platform for evaluating this hitherto largely neglected evidence for the benefit of biblical interpretation.

In The Present State of Old Testament Studies in the Low Countries fifteen leading scholars from Belgium and the Netherlands give an overview of their work. This collection celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap brings together the results of high quality research on many fields, from computer-assisted analysis to biblical theology, from the archaeology of Palestine to early rabbinic exegesis, from logotechnical analysis to delimitation criticism. It shows that Old Testament research in Belgium and the Netherlands is multifaceted and innovative.

In The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4, Jaap Doedens offers an overview of the history of exegesis of the enigmatic text about the ‘sons of God’, the ‘daughters of men’, and the ‘giants’. First, he analyzes the text of Gen 6:1–4. Subsequently, he tracks the different exegetical proposals from the earliest exegesis until those of modern times. He further provides the reader with an evaluation of the meaning of the expression ‘sons of God’ in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East. In the last chapter, he concentrates on the message and function of Gen 6:1–4. This volume comprehensively gathers ancient and modern exegetical attempts, providing the means for an ongoing dialogue about this essentially complex and elusive passage.

This volume examines and outlines a Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) model of discourse analysis and its relationship to New Testament Greek. The book reflects upon how SFL has grown as a field since it was first introduced to New Testament Greek studies by Stanley E. Porter in the 1980s. Porter and Matthew Brook O'Donnell first introduce basic concepts regarding discourse analysis and the major approaches towards it within New Testament studies. They then provide a detailed exploration of discourse analysis in terms of the textual metafunction, beginning with an introduction to the architecture of language within SFL, before exploring several individual elements within it. By focusing upon these individual components – in particular, theme and information structure, markedness and prominence, and coherence and cohesive harmony – Porter and O'Donnell introduce and exemplify the major resources of the textual metafunction.

Codex Alexandrinus is one of the three earliest surviving entire Greek Bibles and is an important fifth-century witness to the Christian Scriptures, yet no major analysis of the codex has been performed in over a century. In A Study of the Gospels in Codex Alexandrinus W. Andrew Smith delivers a fresh and highly-detailed examination of the codex and its rich variety of features using codicology, palaeography, and statistical analysis. Among the highlights of this study, W. Andrew Smith’s work overturns the view that a single scribe was responsible for copying the canonical books of the New Testament and demonstrates that the orthographic patterns in the Gospels can no longer be used to argue for Egyptian provenance of the codex.

This collection of essays describes the pursuit of biblical scholarship in the twenty-first century and explores the implications of modern and postmodern approaches, collaborative and emancipative models of graduate and undergraduate education, and public and political uses of the Bible. Special attention is given to the role of the Society of Biblical Literature. Essays by nine SBL presidents appear in the collection, which honors SBL Executive Director Emeritus Kent Harold Richards.