Realia Dei: Essays in Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation in Honor of Edward F. Campbell, Jr. at His Retirement.

• Author: Bloch-Smith, Elizabeth
• Position: Review

Realia Dei: Essays in Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation in Honor of Edward F. Campbell, Jr. at His Retirement. Edited by PRESCOTT H. WILLIAMS and THEODORE HIEBERT. Atlanta: SCHOLARS PRESS, 1999. Pp. xii + 270, illustrations. $49.95.

Friends and colleagues presented this volume to Edward "Ted" Campbell in acknowledgement of his manifold contributions to McCormick Theological Seminary during his thirty-nine years on the faculty. Having graduated from the Seminary in 1956, ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacraments of the Presbyterian Church, Campbell went on to earn a doctorate from the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University before returning to the Seminary. Through his Drew-McCormick Expedition-sponsored excavation and publication of biblical Shechem (Tell Balata), tenure at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, and editorship of the Biblical Archaeologist, Campbell advocated and promoted integrated biblical and archaeological research. The diversity of articles in this volume reflects Campbell's historical, literary, and archaeological interests as well as his commitment to theological education.

Most of the articles in this volume are tributes based on biblical texts. Campbell's 1975 Anchor Bible commentary on Ruth inspired M. Mitchell's "Ruth at Antioch: An English Translation of Theodoret's Quaestiones in Ruth, with a Brief Commentary" and K. D. Sakenfeld's cross-cultural analysis "The Story of Ruth: Economic Survival:' comparing the biblical story to the Thai story of Kamla. Campbell's work on Ruth also emboldened G. Landes to propose an early date for Jonah based on linguistic and thematic features in "A Case for the Sixth-Century BCE Dating of the Book of Jonah." R. Boling's "Prodigal Sons on Trial: A Study in the Prophecy of Hosea" is republished posthumously with minor stylistic revisions. R. Brawley posits God's promise to Abraham of blessing for all families on earth as the foundation for Matthean ethics in "Reverberations of Abrahamic Covenant Traditions in the Ethics of Matthew." In "Moses and...