R. Alan Culpepper, Matthew: A Commentary

Abstract

contemporary individual, perhaps Rabbi Eleazar of Modein. This edition, however, presents the theory that the name Eleazar represented an idealized priest (the son of Aaron) based on the association with Joshua and the conquest of the land (Josh 14:1). In this interpretation, the Bar Kokhba coins with Eleazar’s name envisioned a hope of repeating Israel’s glorious past by reconquering the land from the Romans (p. 330). Third, more Ptolemaic and Seleucid coin examples have been added along with the new numismatic material on the Kingdom of Adiabene, the Ituraean Kingdom, and the Roman governors of Syria. Fourth, this edition demonstrates better copyediting, allowing for a more readable text by creating succinct sentences, eliminating contractions, and in some sections, rearranging and organizing material into a more logical flow. While positive improvements in this edition are many, a few issues might be considered in additional revisions. Some sections, such as “New Testament Coins” (chap. 12), seem underwhelming. For example, only one page is given to “The Seven Churches of Asia Minor.” As the pages of this journal have noted in the past, Revelation lends itself well to a numismatic interpretation (see David M. May, “Counting Kings [Revelation 17:10]: A Novel Approach from Roman Imperial Coinage,” Rev&Exp 114.2 [2017]: 239–46). While this work will be of great interest and help to those who study biblical coins and are attempting to identify coin types, it can also be very beneficial for biblical scholars, ministers, and interested lay persons. It presents a different and fruitful angle by which to enter the biblical text and the biblical world of the text. Coins were perhaps the most ubiquitous method by which messages were disseminated in the ancient world. The study of the material culture represented by coins provides a more textured, nuanced, and complete sense of the biblical world. An abundance of numismatic information is contained within the Guide to Biblical Coins, and this wealth of knowledge can provide one more tool for a biblical interpreter.