Just had to post a note to tell you guys the cool stuff that’s been going on…
I’m at ETS/SBL this week…yesterday I got to meet my all time favorite Texual Criticism Scholar. I’ve read a bit of his stuff, and think he is really thinking in the right direction concerning Critical Scholarship of the Greek New Testament Text. He was browsing in the booth next to mine, so I worked up a little nerve and introduced myself to him. He was kind, gracious, and funny. He made me immediately feel comfortable and important, like I was the only person at the conference he wanted to talk to. I’ve been buzzing about it for the last two days, I’m hoping to see him several times throughout the conference…
It’s always nice when your heroes turn out to be worthy of admiration.
Now that’s interesting. I belong to a science fiction reading group that meets once a month. I’ve missed the last two months, and there’s a new guy. After the book discussion was done the conversation drifted to how badly some SF authors abuse language, and it came up that he’s a grad student in Semitic languages (or something like) and will be in San Antonio for the SBL conference.
I was going to tell you “if you see someone named Nate from Madison, WI say ‘hi’” (we discussed Textkit briefly), but I just looked at the program for the conference and it looks huge. The likelihood of seeing anyone in particular you’ve not arranged to meet seems low.
Actually…I haver seen a bunch of people from UW in Madison. My Hebrew prof got his PhD there, and a bunch of students from my school are attending UW now…It’s possible that I know him, or perhaps aquaintences of his…I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
Dr. Maurice Robinson is the guy I met. He is the leading proponent of the Byzantine Text Type…he’s NOT a KJV only guy…but he thinks we’ve overlooked the Byzantine text far too long (since Wescott and Hort came along). I’ve read quite a few of his articles about his theories, and seen him interact with opposing views with precision and competence. He’s a heck of a nice guy from North Carolina.
Today I met Emmanuel Tov, who is THE biggest name in Hebrew Textual Criticism. In the space of less than 3 days I have met 2 of perhaps 5 of the brightest stars of Biblical Textual Criticism. Tov was very pleasant, a very kind man. I also saw Walt Kaiser (big Theology Name), Bernard Taylor (one of the foremost LXX scholars), Dennis Magary (Chair of Semitic Languages at Trinity), and Harold Hoehner (DTS Emeritus). Tommorrow I am hoping to meet Fred Danker of BDAG fame…everybody at my booth already knows him, he’s supposed to be a very nice guy…I might ask for his autograph (seriously) but I’m wondering just how big of a geek that would make me
I’ve browsed Robinson’s work and been super impressed by the approach he’s taken (Not a KJV only). I’d like to read more sometime. Is Dr. Robinson’s Text available in a nice Print Version? Does it come with Accents?
I have an electronic copy which I only use for comparison due to the lack of accents.
I learnt a few things…I learned that there are quite a few people out there who have their PhD’s that are as dumb as a box of rocks…really! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sit in on any sessions…I was chained to a booth selling my wares the whole time. Which reminds me, if any of you would be intrested in some pretty decent bible software at a very reasonable price…let me know, I can hook you up with a killer deal on one of our packages (you can visit our site at http://www.GRAMCORD.org and check it out) PM me if you’re intrested.
I was able to learn that although there are many pompous PhD’s out there…that the really bigtime guys I met were as nice as can be. I learned a little about programming, I learned that I can cause our beta software fits when I run advanced grammatical searches , and I learned that the women in Texas really are as beautiful as I always thought (that’s where my wife is from…so I already had a pretty good idea).
It would be nice if I had come out of the whole experience with groundbreaking views and information that changed how I view languages and theology…but those sort of epiphanies are few and far between.
BTW Geoff, Robinson’s NEW text is coming with accents and caps, it will be avbailable in a print version pretty soon, and he and I talked about integrating it into our new platform (it was soooo cool, I got to talk shop with him!). It should be out pretty soon. He’s not a KJV Only guy (he loathes that view), but there are only about 1800 differences between his text and the TR. I prefer a bit more of an eclectic view than Robinson, but I think the Koine Text Type doesn’t get nearly the recognition it should.
All in all, I had a pretty great time, and I look forward to Philadelphia next year.
