Bible Studies: Contributions chiefly from Papyri and Inscriptions to the History of the Language, Literature, and Religion of Hellenistic Judaism and Primitive Christianity

by Adolf Deissmann

These seminal essays investigate material from papyri and inscriptions in order to gain insight regarding the language and literature of Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity. Included in the essays is Deissmann's famous distinction between letters and epistles. Additionally, the collection includes his attack on the notion that biblical Greek was a sacred language. Deissmann shows, convincingly, that biblical Greek is vernacular Greek.

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Frederick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting source book for the change in attitude toward the Bible that emanated from Germany, discounting the inspiration of the Bible by God, and reducing it to a confused collection of writings by men without divine influence or importance. The exaltation of the mythological Septuagint is most definitely pronounced in this chronicle of the descent into heresy and unbelief by the schools of German Higher Criticism through the fundamentalist "scholarship" of today.