Tag: New Acquisitions

Eerdmans Bible Commentaries

Pitts acquires a large collection of biblical commentaries as ebooks

March 18, 2024

7:27 am

Leave a comment on Pitts acquires a large collection of biblical commentaries as ebooks

Acquisitions, Alums, Books, Research

, , ,

Pitts Theology Library has just purchased online access to a collection of dozens of biblical commentaries from Eerdmans. This acquisition brings valuable resources that have long been appreciated in the library’s print collection to an online audience.

The collection includes ebooks curated for New Testament and Old Testament research, which range from standby foundational works to recently-published scholarship in these areas. 

The New Testament collection features the Pillar New Testament Commentary and the Two Horizons New Testament Commentary, while the Old Testament collection includes the International Theological Commentary and Illuminations Commentary series. The New International Commentary, Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, Eerdmans Critical Commentary, and the Two Horizons Commentary contain works on both the New and Old Testaments. 

In addition to providing access for current Emory students, Pitts has also added these resources to Emory’s collection of research databases for alumni, meaning that all Emory alumni can access them as well. Alumni who haven’t used alumni research databases yet should contact the Emory Alumni Association for access. Current Emory students should make sure to join the Alumni Association before graduating for the easiest way to maintain access to these library resources after they graduate.

This new content is located on the Theology and Religion Online (TARO) platform, which is also the home of the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary and Commentaries. Current Emory students, faculty, and staff can access the full TARO collection directly here, or they can search for individual titles in the library catalog. 

When using these resources, don’t be afraid to think beyond exegesis papers! These commentaries include material intended for work in systematic theology, biblical archaeology, and preaching, as well as historical and textual criticism. To help you get the most out of them, our reference librarians are available for individual consultations. Schedule a time to meet with Dee Roberts or Brady Beard for a 30-minute session tailored to your specific research project.

By Caitlin Soma, Acquisitions & Periodicals Coordinator

Pitts adds Nuremberg Chronicle to collection

November 21, 2023

12:30 pm

Leave a comment on Pitts adds Nuremberg Chronicle to collection

Acquisitions, Books, Research

, ,

Map of the world

Pitts Theology Library recently acquired a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493 SCHE B), one of the most famous books produced in the fifteenth century. The Nuremberg Chronicle, or Liber chronicarum, is a history of the world, best known for its abundant illustrations, which include portraits of famous individuals, maps, depictions of biblical or historical events, and cityscapes. Two editions of the Nuremberg Chronicle were printed in 1493 by Anton Koberger (1440-1513). The first was a Latin edition, written by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), printed in June with an estimated print run of 1,400 copies. The second was a translation from the Latin into German by Georg Alt (ca. 1450-1510), Das Buch der Croniken, printed in December, with an estimated print run of 600 copies. Alt slightly shortened Schedel’s text to match the layout of the Latin edition. The new Pitts acquisition is this German edition.

Blind-stamped calf binding

The artwork of the Nuremberg Chronicle sets it apart from other early printed books. The work contains an unprecedented amount of woodcuts, which interact with the text in remarkable ways. The images do more than simply provide a visual companion to the written word; they are as essential as the text itself. Several artists created 645 unique woodcuts, many of which were reused throughout the book. In total, there are over 1,800 woodcut impressions in the work. Because many of the depictions of people or places were not based on historical likenesses, the depictions were often anachronistic. Also, it was common for the same woodcuts to be employed multiple times to represent different people or events. For instance, the same woodcut is used for Enoch and his wife (fol. 10r); Japheth and his wife, Funda (fol. 16r); and Abigail and her husband (fol. 42v). Many of the genealogical woodcuts were designed to be modular so that they could be reused in different ways.

Pitts Theology Library acquires materials like this book to provide resources to researchers and to educate through classroom instruction, exhibitions, and other outlets. This particular work complements the Library’s already robust collection of early printed books and woodcut images.

Pitts plans to include this new acquisition in a Spring 2024 gallery exhibition, where it will be displayed alongside the Latin Nuremberg Chronicle held by Emory’s Rose Library.

By Brandon Wason, Head of Special Collections

Pitts acquires 1551 Estienne New Testament

November 5, 2023

9:21 pm

Leave a comment on Pitts acquires 1551 Estienne New Testament

Acquisitions, Books, Research

, , , ,

Title page

This past week Pitts added to its rare book collection a very significant New Testament (1551 BIBL B). After many years of searching, Pitts has acquired the 1551 Greek/Latin New Testament published in Geneva by Robert Estienne (1503-1559), who is often referred to by his Latin name Stephanus. This New Testament is the first to include Estienne’s numbering of individual verses, a system he developed on his own and which became the standard versification system still used today. The New Testament text is printed in three columns, with Estienne’s Greek in the center and the Latin Vulgate on one side and Erasmus’ Latin translation on the other.  The verse numbers are placed between the columns of text. Estienne would subsequently print a Latin Vulgate in 1555 (1555 BIBL A) in which the verse numbers were integrated into the text, which is how most subsequent Bibles have printed them. 

Matthew 1

This 1551 New Testament is also one of Estienne’s first publications in Geneva, the city to which he had fled (from Paris) when he came under attack from the theologians at the Sorbonne University in Paris, who were critical of his 1550 edition of the Greek New Testament, his famous “Royal Edition” (1550 BIBL), which was the first New Testament to include a system of text critical notes indicating alternative readings in Greek manuscripts. A later report of this episode, written by Estienne’s son, indicates that he created the verse number system on the move from Paris to Geneva, while “on horseback” (inter equitandum), which has led some to joke that the at-times odd placement of breaks between verses could be the result of his placing his pen in various spots of the text as the horse went up and down along the road!

We encourage you to come see this amazing publication, which is just one of the thousands of historic Bibles held in Pitts’ Special Collections.

By Bo Adams, Director of Pitts Theology Library

New Acquisition: Staffelsteiner’s 1536 Interpretation of the 22nd Psalm

January 24, 2022

9:05 am

Leave a comment on New Acquisition: Staffelsteiner’s 1536 Interpretation of the 22nd Psalm

Acquisitions, Books

, ,

Pitts Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection recently acquired a tract by Paul (or Paulus) Staffelsteiner on the interpretation of Psalm 22 (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Published in Nuremberg in 1536, it is the only printing of this work and is held by only 5 other libraries in North America. Paulus Staffelsteiner (originally Nathan Ahron) was a Jewish convert to Christianity, who wrote several works arguing against what he considered the errors of Judaism. He was later called to teach at the University of Heidelberg, where he held the chair of Hebrew language, first occupied by Johannes Reuchlin. In this tract, for which he provides his own translation of Psalm 22, he rejects the traditional Jewish interpretation of the text, which typically associated it with a royal figure like King David or Queen Esther and argues that it is a messianic Psalm, fulfilled by the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Find this item in the library catalog, and learn more about rare books in Pitts’ collections here!

Faculty Acquisitions for 2020

April 30, 2020

11:12 am

Leave a comment on Faculty Acquisitions for 2020

Acquisitions, Books

, , ,

Pitts Theology Library is celebrating the careers of retiring Candler professors Steve Kraftchick and Karen Scheib with two new rare book acquisitions. For the past several years, Pitts has acquired rare books on the occasion of faculty retirements, books related to the careers and contributions of these incredible scholars. This year, both acquisitions fall within the Pitts incunable collection, a term used to describe books printed in Europe before the year 1501.

To celebrate Steve Kraftchick, Pitts has acquired a 1496 printing of Raymond of Sabunde’s Theologia naturalis, which argues that the God’s revelation is manifest in nature as well as in the Bible.

To celebrate Karen Scheib, Pitts has acquired a 1500 printing of the Stella clericorum, a popular medieval handbook on pastoral care. Learn more about and see images of these important and beautiful works at http://pitts.emory.edu/retirements.

Congratulations, Professors Kraftchick and Scheib!

1496 printing of Raymond of Sabunde’s “Theologia naturalis”
1500 printing of the “Stella clericorum”