Bibliography

The First Edition of the New Testament

by David Trobisch argues that all New Testament Greek manuscripts share a common ancestor which David refers to as "the first edition of the New Testament."

The argument goes that nearly every single Greek manuscript in existence today, whether full or fragmentary, display a common book order. For this to be the case they all must be copied from or modeled on an original or first edition that set the book order.

David does not suggest when the first edition was made, though he argues it was probably earlier than later in the scheme of things since every subsequent copy derives from it. He also does not suggest where it was produced or who published the work or set the book order. He also does not ask whether an earlier Aramaic New Testament might stand behind the Greek. These areas of inquiry are outside the scope of his book.

However, after arguing for a first edition David argues for a return to the book order of that first edition in printed English Bibles. The difference between that book order and the one traditionally used in English Bibles is a shift in the order of the New Testament letters. Paul's writings, instead of coming first, follow James, Peter and John. This makes sense because Paul was an apostle after them.

I read this book and was convinced that the Greek order is superior to the English because as David points out it's more consistent with the actual story of the New Testament.

The long term value for me in reading this book was the simple realization that the Bible has had different book orders and therefore the subject is not off limits. I needed this understanding when I found myself puzzling around in Isaiah. For that I am profoundly grateful.

A Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names

by J.B. Jackson is one of the several Bible Names Dictionaries consulted while translating the book names in the Title Sentences research. Other than a Preface and a short pronunciation guide (one page long) the book just lists out the names of people in the Bible in alphabetic order with a meaning or translation next to their name. A rather small and simple book that can't easily be audited but provides one persons' opinion on the meaning of names.

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

by Roswell D. Hitchcock is similar to the dictionary by J.B. Jackson in that it's a list of names of people from the Bible, sorted alphabetically, with the translation or meaning of their name. It's also hard to audit since it does not provide the original language spelling. It's also the opinion of one person.

What's especially cool about Hithcock's is the fact that it's in the Public Domain. You can easily acquire a digital copy for yourself as a download in pdf, html or text form for use on your own website or project.

Jones Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names

by Alfred Jones is the best Bible Names Dictionary in this short list. Although it's limited to the names of the Old Testament it provides the Hebrew spelling so you can personally audit the work. Each entry also reads more like a normal dictionary definition, typically with a few possible meanings, rather than the simplified (name = meaning) style in Hitchcock and Jackson.

The Mystery of the Menorah ...and the Hebrew Alphabet

by J.R. Church and Gary Stearman are really two books in one. The second half of the book lays out a map between the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and books of the New Testament. The authors then suggest there's a correlation between the meaning of the letters, based on the ancient way of drawing them, and the main themes or content of the books.

The Bible Book Order project also maps the letters to the books, but in a different book order and not so much to correlate meaning between the letters and books as to provide a refactored reading order for the Bible. This book, however, is where we learned of the idea to map the letters to the books.