Tag: find

Book Briefs: “Blood and Bone” by Don Hoesel

~ Bob Hayton

Blood and Bone by Don HoeselHidden enclaves, secret societies, and mysterious codes await the reader of this book; as do car chases, gun fights, and the discovery of skulls in dark catacombs. Archeologist and adventurer, Jack Hawthorne can’t seem to shake such dark discoveries as he makes his way around the globe. And in this third and final book detailing his adventures, Hawthorne will finally come to the end of himself and unravel the secrets of an ancient society, thousands of years old and as evil as they come.

Blood and Bone is the third and final book in Don Hoesel’s adventure series following the life of archaeologist and bounty hunter, Jack Hawthorne. In the earlier books, Elisha’s Bones and Serpent of Moses, Hawthorne makes improbable discoveries of biblical relics with miraculous power. Along the way he makes enemies and raises the ire of fellow bounty hunters and government officials the world over.

Hawthorne’s adventures takes him to five continents, and lands him in impossible situations and dire predicaments more times than can be remembered. His weapons are his wide grasp of archaeology and ancient languages, dumb luck and his slowly growing faith in the God of his youth. This tale finds him married to his long-time girlfriend who happens to be a world-class authority on ancient cultures herself. She doesn’t let him venture off alone as together they race to meet the demands of the kidnappers who have stolen their two children.

In this final installment, Hoesel pulls all the stops and delivers a top-notch adventure that gets to the bottom of the secret society Jack has tangled with in the first two books. Along the way, Jack finally discovers the faith that has eluded him, and the adventure series reaches a satisfying finish.

Unlike the second book in the series, this one returns to the high level of artistry Hoesel accomplished in his first title. The books cover fantastic and unbelievable tales, but the stories themselves are well-written, and credible. The characters are intricately developed and suspense and discovery take turns dominating the narrative.

Readers looking for a fast-paced, mystery tale in the vein of Indiana Jones or Paul Maier’s A Skeleton in God’s Closet, will eat up this series from Don Hoesel. This is archaeological fiction at its best. I highly recommend it.

Pick up a copy of this book at any of the following online retailers: Amazon, ChristianBook.com, or direct from Bethany House.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Bethany House Publishers. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.

More Info on the Discovery of the 1st Century MSS Fragment of Mark

~ Bob Hayton

Recently, Dr. Dan Wallace made news about the discovery of what is possibly the earliest NT MSS fragment ever found. I gave details on the find here.

Well, Dr. Wallace was recently interviewed by Hugh Hewitt on his radio show about the discovery and gave additional details. We now know the MSS contains part of one papyrus leaf, written on both sides. From the sound of it, it is most of one leaf so several verses but not much more. It was also found in Egypt — all seven of these MSS finds were found there. Dr. Wallace will also be on of the authors of the book that will publish all seven papyri fragments in early 2013.

Wallace continues to consider this a truly monumental manuscript find, as the following snippet from the full interview makes clear:

HH: Wow. Now in terms of, for the lay audience, Professor Daniel Wallace, the significance of this work when it appears, how would you grade it, with an A being a Dead Sea Scroll sort of significance, and you know, flunking, it just doesn’t matter?

DW: I would grade it at least an A, maybe an A+.

HH: And will the rest of the scholarly world agree with you on that assessment, do you think?

DW: I think that when they understand the ramifications of the entire nature of this manuscript that I’m not at liberty to mention, yes. They’re going to understand. At least those that will accept that date. Since the manuscript doesn’t have a date stamp on it, it says it was done this year, there are always going to be dissenters. But to do the work of paleography takes thousands and thousands of hours of research to do one.

I’m not sure the discovery will prove to be the equal of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but I’m cautiously optimistic that it will prove to be very consequential.

I also got an update from Matthew Hamilton who I quoted in my earlier post on this. From his information and that of Wallace from this interview, the following looks to be the list of the 7 manuscripts. Many of these would be the earliest textual witness we have of that Biblical book, if the dates hold true.

  1. 2nd century homily (sermon) on Hebrews 11
  2. 2nd century frg. with I Corinthians 8-10
  3. 2nd century frg. with Matthew
  4. 2nd century frg. with Romans 9-10
  5. 2nd century frg. from Hebrews, one side contains 9:19-22
  6. 2nd century frg. with Luke
  7. 1st century frg. [part of one leaf] with Mark

For more details read the entire transcript of the Hewitt – Wallace interview, and keep an eye on the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog.