The SBLHS 2 §8.1.2 recommends the use of all caps without periods in abbreviations of chronological eras (see also CMS §9.35): AD anno Domini (in the year of our Lord) AH anno Hegirae (in the year of [Muhammad’s] Hegira) BC before Christ BCE before the Common Era BP before the present CE Common Era Note … Continue reading Eras and Time Periods
Program Units, Meetings, and Fields of Study
Following the CMS, the SBLHS 2 recommends a down style of capitalization (the use of fewer initial capital letters). Like the CMS, we recognize that there are exceptions. The names of conferences, program units, and organizations, for instance, are typically capitalized (see CMS §8.69): the Enoch Seminar the Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity program unit the … Continue reading Program Units, Meetings, and Fields of Study
Italics or Scare Quotes?
In speech, individuals emphasize phrases and demarcate ironic uses of terms by using vocal inflection. Written texts lack such inflection, and authors must compensate with some form of visual clue. Following the CMS, the SBLHS recommends the following practices (here we use red font to draw attention to particular terms or phrases): 1. When emphasizing … Continue reading Italics or Scare Quotes?
Brown Judaic Studies
Brown Judaic Studies Monograph Series (BJS) is a peer-reviewed monograph series that publishes high-quality, specialized books aimed primarily at a scholarly audience. The first three BJS volumes were published in 1977 by Scholars Press: Tzvee Zahavy’s The Traditions of Eleazar ben Azariah (BJS 2), William Scott Green’s edited Persons and Institutions in Early Rabbinic Judaism … Continue reading Brown Judaic Studies
Abbreviating “Epistle”
The SBLHS 2 recommends that readers use the abbreviation “Ep.” when epistula(e) appears within an abbreviated title (see SBLHS 2 §8.3.14.1). For example: John Chrysostom Ep. carc. Epistula ad episcopos, presbyteros et diaconos in carcere Ep. Cyr. Epistula ad Cyriacum 1 Ep. Innoc. Ad Innocentium papam epistula I 2 Ep. Innoc. Ad Innocentium papam epistula … Continue reading Abbreviating “Epistle”
Dio Cassius
Dio Cassius (a.k.a. Cassius Dio, Dio) was a second-century CE Roman historian. He is best known for his eighty-book Roman History. Because this classic work is Dio Cassius’s sole surviving work, some scholars choose to reference the work by Dio Cassius’s name alone: (Dio Cassius, 1.2) However, to maintain consistency with other ancient references with … Continue reading Dio Cassius
Titles with Question Marks
Titles that end in a question mark require special attention. 1. When a title ends in a question mark, do not add a colon before the subtitle either in a note or in a bibliographical entry (CMS §14.105). 15. Bailey, Randall C., Tat-siong Benny Liew, and Fernando F. Segovia, eds. They Were All Together in … Continue reading Titles with Question Marks
Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran julkaisuja
The Finnish Exegetical Society publishes the series Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran julkaisuja (Eng.: Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society). Following Schwertner (2014), we recommend using the Finnish title for the series and its corresponding abbreviation: SESJ Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran julkaisuja If for some reason the English must be used, the following abbreviation is appropriate: PFES Publications … Continue reading Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran julkaisuja
Hyphenated Compounds in Titles
In a previous post, we discussed which words should be capitalized in bibliographic references. Hyphenated compounds require special attention (see CMS §8.159). The first element of a hyphenated compound is always capitalized. The second and subsequent elements are capitalized if one of the following conditions applies: 1. The first element is an independent word (as … Continue reading Hyphenated Compounds in Titles
Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies
In the late 1990s, Brill’s Nag Hammadi Studies series became the Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies series. Although volumes under the new name continue the numbering sequence of the original series, we recommend that authors use different abbreviations to distinguish the two series: NHS Nag Hammadi Studies NHMS Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies NOTE: NHS … Continue reading Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies
SBL Handbook of Style 