The Bible and Culture

When we think about the roles of professional scribes, it is important to bear in mind that slaves could be scribes. This is because as the Roman Empire spread, lots of well educated people were conquered and sold into slavery. Thus the the distinction we might make between professional scribes and private copying when it comes to NT manuscripts may well not apply. A person who was of low status such as a slave, in regard to his personal freedom, might at the same time be a person of elite … [Read more...]

According to William Johnson (pp. 87-91), the standard bookroll tended to have 20 sheets, though production of rolls with up to 50-70 sheets are known, but they are surely special orders. If a scribe ran out of space, he would simply glue a new blank roll on to the end of the used up one. This process continued until the copying was complete, and then the excess or blank remnant would simply be cut away. “A reinforced sheet, with fibres at right angles to the roll itself could (but need n … [Read more...]

One of the things that often affects discussions about Biblical manuscripts from antiquity is assumptions about how they were made. For example, you regularly hear NT scholars say things like 'Luke's Gospel contains about the maximum number of Greek characters one could get on a single papyrus roll'. While this may or may not be true, it was always possible to glue on another roll and keep writing. The issue of space only becomes important if: 1) you're dealing with a poor person who can't … [Read more...]

(Dr. Leslie Andrews has just retired as the Provost of Asbury Seminary, and gave this fine address at our winter commencement last month).COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS LIVE A LIFE WORTHY OF GOD! ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DECEMBER 7, 2012 LESLIE A. ANDREWSPresident Tennent and members of the Administration, esteemed and cherished faculty colleagues, faithful staff members, welcome guests, and honored graduates—what a day! Congratulations! Years of study, hard work, much prayer, and g … [Read more...]