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Journal of Biblical Literature

how the biblical narratives and the inscriptions might fit together chronologically, while at the same time showing how little material from the two sources actually correlates. Of the eleven events recorded on the chart, there are only two in which the material in the Bible and that of the inscriptions directly relate to each other (one is the rather general "campaigns to Galilee" and the other the removal of Peqah, which appears in no extant annal, but only in two summary texts). Tadmor's discussion and reconstruction of the Assyrian and Judean chronologies will add helpful details to the study of the Fall of Israel. Indexes for the biblical citations and characters are provided. With its numerous pictures (wall reliefs and their locations, both where excavated and of supposed origin), plates (of the inscriptions), tables, indices, and visual aids to understanding the editing process (including a transparency to explain the origin of the conflated Anna1 111 R 9,3), in addition to the fine text and commentary, this volume should provide for the next century of Tiglath-pileser 111 research. The one major complaint has to do not with the content but with the binder who has managed to sew into the book binding both ends of several of the fold-out pages making it difficult properly to enjoy the tables and illustrations that were meant to be seen as a whole. This should not reflect on the author, for we truly owe Tadmor our deepest thanks for this most useful reference work. Lowell K. Handy Loyola University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60626

New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity. Vol. 7, A Revieu: of Greek Inscriptions and Papyri Published in 1982-83, ed. S. R. Llewelyn. Sydney, Australia: The Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, Macquarie University, 1994. Pp. vi + 287. k4A30.00 (paper)/$A45.00(cloth).

As in the earlier volumes of the series, the editor has combed through previously published textual editions and studies, principally in classical journals, and culled several items of relevance to the study of the New Testament and early Christianity. In many respects, the documentary evidence simply provides interesting points of departure for brief essays on significant aspects of the socio-historical background of the early Christian movement (the series does not provide an exhaustive listing/description of everything relevant). The twelve essays of the volume are organized under four major rubrics. Part One, "The Conveyance of Letters," deals with various aspects of the ancient equivalents of the postal service: (1)"The Official Postal Systems of Antiquity" (pp. 1-25) covers governmental modes of correspondence in Persia, Ptolemaic Egypt, and, especially, the Roman Empire; (2) "The Sending of a Private Letter" (pp. 26-47) discusses the delivery systems (and couriers) for personal correspondence, especially as evidenced in the papyri; (3)"Letters in the Early C h u r c h (pp. 48-57) considers analogous issues for the early Christian letters, especially Paul's. Part Two, "Systems of Transport and Roman Administration," goes beyond the conveyance of letters to the broader issues involving the movement of persons throughout the Roman empire: (4) "The Provision of Transport for Persons" (pp. 58-92) considers the official transport systems of Roman Egypt and, in lesser detail, other provinces, and includes a discussion of the modes of travel by the earliest Christian missionaries;

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(5) "The Development of the System of Liturgies" (pp. 93-111) deals with the development of compulsory public service (= liturgy) in the Roman empire and discusses the symbolic use made of the Roman systems in the early Christian discussions of "service" to God and the church; (6) "The Transport of Grain" (pp. 112-29) considers the collection of grain revenues (as taxes), the transportation systems used, and the workers so employed. Part Three, "Hellenistic and Jewish Law," deals with various legal issues lying behind different NT texts: (7) "Forcible Acquisition and the Meaning of Matt. 11.12" (pp. 130-62) deals with the use of sanctioned violence to acquire immovable property in Greco-Roman Egypt and classical Athens, as a background to the Q saying about the Kingdom of Heaven being "acquired by force" and being plundered by "violent persons"; (8) "'Slaves Obey Your Masters': The Legal Liability of Slaves" (pp. 163-96) deals with the ambiguous legal situation of slaves in the ancient world (Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, and the NT), as objects owned by their masters on the one hand, but as functioning parts of society with certain rights of their own on the other; (9) "The Procedure of Execution and the npoopohf' (pp. 197-232) deals with the collection of debts in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, as these relate to the biblical laws concerning loans and credit, especially as they pertain to the injunction against usury and the law of the sabbatical year of release, their effects on commerce, and the development of the rcpooPoh+ as a way to circumvent the problems. Part Four, "New Testament and Other Studies," includes discussions of sundry socio-historical matters of interest: (10) "A Civic Benefactor of the First Century in Asia Minor" (pp. 233-41) discusses a long honorary inscription indicative of systems of benefaction during the NT period (this brief essay was contributed by R. A. Kearsley); (11) "A Fragment of the Gospel of John" (pp. 24248) discusses the date and provenance of PgO, and, especially, its relevance for the question of the presence of Gnosticism in second-century Egypt (in relation to Walter Bauer's claims in Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity); and (12) "The Development of the Codex" (pp. 249-62) discusses various hypotheses for the origin of the codex book and its unprecedented popularity among the early Christians. The volume is fully indexed. Bart D. Ehrman University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Variant Readings Arranged in Horizontal Lines Against Codex Vaticanus. Vol. 1, Matthew, ed. Reuben J. Swanson. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press; Pasadena, CA: William Carey International University Press, 1995. Pp. xxii + 304. $119.95. This is a significant publication that will be of considerable use for everyone interested in the textual tradition of the New Testament. Unlike any other apparatus available, it provides a complete-indeed, exhaustive-account of the texts of approximately forty-five of our most important Greek manuscripts, yet does so in a format that is remarkably easy to use-far easier and clearer than, say, the Nestle-Aland Novum Testam n t u m Graece.