A major contribution:
Free online PDF files for SBL publications

By Knut Holter
School of Mission and Theology, Norway
knut.holter@mhs.no

Published 2008-02-20


The Society of Biblical Literature – which is the oldest and largest international scholarly membership organization in the field of biblical studies, founded in 1880 – now provides free online PDF files for a variety of SBL publications, to scholars and students who would not otherwise have access to this scholarship. Persons who are identified through the SBL technology as being from a country with a GDP per capita substantially lower than the average GDP per capita of the USA and the European Union will be able to see links to the PDF files.

The address of the site is http://www.sbl-site.org/publications/onlinebooks.aspx

The technology seems to be functioning well. I have tried it out successfully from Tanzania, and – as expected – without success from Norway. One can download the entire book in one file, but one can also download parts of the book.

From our perspective of Old Testament studies in Africa, this is a most welcome initiative. It gives African biblical scholars – daily struggling with poor libraries – access to recent literature from the midst of a central scholarly guild. SBL is to be congratulated with an initiative other publishers and scholarly organizations hopefully will follow.

The following publications are currently available:

  • Albertz, Rainer, Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E. Studies in Biblical Literature 3. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
  • Barr, David L., ed., Reading the Book of Revelation: A Resource for Students. Resources for Biblical Study 44. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
  • Cook, Stephen L. and Corrine L. Patton, eds., Ezekiel’s Hierarchical World: Wrestling with a Tiered Reality. Symposium 31. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004.
  • De Troyer, Kristin and Armin Lange, eds., Reading the Present in the Qumran Library: The Perception of the Contemporary by Means of Spiritual Interpretation. Symposium 30. Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
  • Draper, Jonathan A., Orality, Literacy, and Colonialism in Antiquity. Semeia Studies 46. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004.
  • Draper, Jonathan A., ed., Orality and Colonialism in Southern Africa. Semeia Studies 46. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004.
  • Georgi, Dieter, The City in the Valley: Biblical Interpretation and Urban Theology. Studies in Biblical Literature 7. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
  • Horsley, Richard A., ed., Oral Performance, Popular Tradition, and Hidden Transcript in Q. Semeia Studies 60. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006.
  • Jones, F. Stanley, ed., Which Mary?: The Marys of Early Christian Tradition. Symposium 19. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002.
  • Kennedy, George A., Invention and Method: Two Rhetorical Treatises from the Hermogenic Corpus. Writings from the Greco-Roman World 15. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
  • Landes, George M., Building Your Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary: Learning Words by Frequency and Cognate. Resources for Biblical Study 41. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2001.
  • Lindenberger, James M., Ancient Aramaic and Hebrew Letters, Second Edition. Writings from the Ancient World 14. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
  • Moreland, Milton C., Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching. Archaeology and Biblical Studies 8. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
  • Mykytiuk, Lawrence J., Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic. Academia Biblica 12. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004.
  • Nissinen, Martti, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East. Writings from the Ancient World 12. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
  • Reeves, John C., Trajectories in Near Eastern Apocalyptic: A Postrabbinic Jewish Apocalypse Reader. Resources for Biblical Study 45. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
  • Singer, Itamar, Hittite Prayers. Writings from the Ancient World. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2002.
  • Van Voorst, Robert E., Building Your New Testament Greek Vocabulary, Third Edition. Resources for Biblical Study 43. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001.