Sound Mapping the New Testament

Margaret E. Lee is retired as assistant professor of humanities at Tulsa Community College. She is the editor of Sound Matters: New Testament Studies in Sound Mapping (2018). Bernard Brandon Scott is the Darbeth Distinguished Professor of New Testament Emeritus at Philips Theological Seminary, Oklahoma. He is a charter member of the Jesus Seminar, and served as chair of the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media Section of the Society of Biblical Literature. Scott is the author of numerous books including Hear Then the Parable (1989).

With precise detail and careful articulation, Lee and Scott indicate how sound - the basis of language - works integrally with language to produce meaning. Their groundbreaking study discloses how sound patterns provide interpretive force that makes meaning memorable. The importance of their insights should not be ignored, as knowledge of the science of sound and language are vital to a well-educated and savvy populace.Nina E. Livesey, University of OklahomaBased on a comprehensive survey of the grammarians and rhetoricians of ancient Greek literary theory, Lee and Scott establish sound as the medium and the colon as the basic form of New Testament literature. The reconception of its compositions as sound constitutes a manifesto for a new paradigm of New Testament scholarship. This new edition integrates current research and provides an authoritative foundation for the future that every second testament scholar will want to own.Tom Boomershine, United Theological SeminaryNoting the burgeoning scholarship on sound analysis as well as the surrounding relevant critical advances, Lee and Scott double down on their compelling argument that historical criticism has been seriously flawed by its inability to detect the full resonance and texture of New Testament texts. Just as the arrival of sound utterly transformed the silent world of film, so Sound Mapping radically deepens the way biblical interpreters detect the texture of the material.Arthur J. Dewey, Xavier UniversityUpdated, expanded, and provided with a superbly informative preface, this second edition effectively reinforces the authors' central concept of sound as a medium of intelligibility. Rather than viewing the New Testament as a bookish environment divided into chapters, verses, and literary units, we are invited to rediscover its breath units, sound patterns, and audible features. Since its inception some thirteen years ago, the book has steadily grown in importance.Werner H. Kelber, Rice University, emeritusWhile retaining the intense focus on the transmitted text that characterises biblical scholarship, the sound mapping approach includes a vast array of methods and topics: from orality and the functions of writing, over the interpretation of ancient literary criticism, to various recent developments in linguistics. This second edition of Lee and Scott's 2009 primer is a welcome reminder of the methodological openness and the great potential of this emerging research tradition.Frank Scheppers, author of The Colon Hypothesis

• Preface to the Second EditionIntroduction: Why Sound? Part 1 A Theory of Sound Analysis Chapter 1 The Technology of Writing in the Greco-Roman World Chapter 2 The Woven Composition Chapter 3 The Grammar of Sound Chapter 4 Repetition: Sound's Structuring DeviceChapter 5 Developing Sound MapsPart 2: Illustrations from the New Testament Chapter 6 Listening to the Centurion: Mark's Crucifixion Chapter 7 Sound and Persuasion: Paul's Letter to Philemon Chapter 8 Hearing is Believing: Resurrection in John 20 Chapter 9 Sound and Narrative: Luke's Nativity Chapter 10 Sound and Structure: The Sermon on the Mount Chapter 11 Manuscript and memory: Q on Anxiety Conclusion: Next StepsIndices