Eisenbrauns is hiring!

It's official now. This just went out in an e-mail to the BookNews

Marketing Director / Acquisitions Editor

June, 2012

Eisenbrauns is accepting applications for a position that combines marketing and manuscript acquisitions. The Marketing Director role is responsible for promoting all aspects of the Eisenbrauns book publishing and distribution divisions, including electronic, catalog, social media, and convention marketing. The Acquisitions Editor role assists in the evaluation of materials for publication and in setting the direction of our publishing program. These two functions are distinct but are, because of the size of the company, closely related.

James Spinti, our long-time Marketing Director, leaves Eisenbrauns at the end of June in order to live near family in northern Minnesota. Eisenbrauns is therefore looking for a person who can provide some of the services that the current Marketing Director maintains but who also will assist the Publisher in development of the company's Publishing Division, primarily through acquisitions of manuscripts for publication.

The successful applicant will

Need to relocate to Winona Lake/Warsaw, Indiana;
Have a strong background in ancient Near East and/or Hebrew Bible (Ph.D. or near-Ph.D. status preferred);
Enjoy working in a small-company context;
Be a word-smith who enjoys language, editing, and good writing;
Find prior knowledge of modern publication technology (print and electronic) to be very beneficial.

To apply for this position, send your indication of interest and resumé/C.V. to publisher at eisenbrauns.com, with the subject of your e-mail "Application for Position."

You can also find this notice posted on our web site at http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/JOBS target

Book avalanche

Too cool! From the Atlantis e-mail list comes this picture (click through for more)

E-books

Just saw this from Shelf Awareness:

...the Joan Ganz Cooney Center's research on digital reading comprehension and retention in children, which found that "reading comprehension and reader engagement for children between print books and e-books was similar. However, between print books and enhanced e-books, it was a different story.

"While children engaged more actively with enhanced e-books versus print books, their reading comprehension went down. The study found that when enhanced e-books featured interactivity that wasn't directly tied to the narrative or the text, it distracted both the children and parents from the story and thereby affected comprehension and retention."

<idle musing>
Maybe that is the reason repeated surveys of college students say they prefer their textbooks as books—less distractions. I have to admit, when I'm reading an e-book on the computer, I get distracted by the options...
</idle musing>

The purpose of material blessings

“...God enriches people so that they may have the resources to help other people; they are gifted with riches by God so that they ave the means to be generous (2 Cor 9:10). The suggestion is not that people simply give what is spare out of their abundant possessions, for the people singled out for praise are those who gave despite being comparatively poor themselves (2 Cor 8:1-5).New Testament Theology, page ??? (I forgot to type it in...)

<idle musing>
Statistically, (in the U.S.) the poorer people give a higher percentage of their income than the wealthier people. That's a strong indictment against the rampant materialism.

Over the weekend, some dear friends of ours exhibited that generosity. They aren't well off, but God laid on their hearts to give us something for after we move. As I told them, I am humbled and blessed. More later...
</idle musing>

Thought for today

This is what the LORD says:

“Cursed are those who trust in mortals,
who depend on flesh for their strength
and whose hearts turn away from the LORD.

   They will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

   They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
—Jeremiah 17:5-8 TNIV

Efficacious offering

“For Paul the death of Christ by itself would not have had saving efficacy. There had to be the evidence God accepted the death of his Son as an efficacious offering, and the resurrection is understood as the act of acceptance.”—New Testament Theology, page 278

<idle musing>
Definitely. The cross without the resurrection doesn't purchase anything. We are to be a resurrection people—set free from bondage to sin and death. Free to serve in the newness of the Spirit.
</idle musing>

Timeless truth

Speaking about the Corinthian church, Marshall says, “The religion to which Christ was the gateway had opened up as a realm in which the practice of spiritual gifts had become the most prized characteristic, and there was rivalry between people and pride depending on which were regarded as the highest and showiest gifts. Christianity was in danger of becoming a religion of revelation of God's secrets through gifted people. It was thus becoming a religion or spiritual achievement, of pride and human position. “Against all such pretension Paul uses the message of the cross to utter decisive no.”—New Testament Theology, pages 267-268

<idle musing>
Doesn't that sound surprisingly like too much of the church today? Some things never change...
</idle musing>

Genesis and the ANE

"Genesis depicts the first man in royal terms, using the nouns 'image' and 'likeness' (which are found in Mesopotamian royal inscriptions) and the verbs 'rules' and 'subdue.' In Mesopotamian cosmogonies human beings are invariably slaves created to maintain the universe for the gods, who are idle by vocation. When Mesopotamian accounts include a king, he is created separately in order to oversee the human race's service of the gods...Genesis 1 portrays the man (who with the woman stands for the race) as a king, and the human task as far broader than temple maintenance. The God of Genesis does not require human servants in the manner of other gods; the human race consequently has a different relation to work and to the world."—Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible, page 143
 
<idle musing>
Significant difference, isn't it?
</idle musing>

Eisenbrauns has a new mug!

Yep. We just announced it today. Here's the graphic and e-mail:

It happens at every conference...

Someone asks when the new mug will be unveiled. Wait no more! Eisenbrauns is happy to announce the 2012-2013 mug! You can see it this fall at AAR/SBL in Chicago—or, you can be beat the rush by pre-ordering now. Just click on the image; as soon as they arrive, yours will be in the mail. —Enjoy! James

Eisenbrauns 2012 Mug
A Hittite Proverb
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming June 2012.
14 oz. Ceramic. Hittite and English.
Your Price: $7.50

"Some things get lost, but others remain"—It's true of archaeological digs; it's true of empires; it's true of rabbits and double-headed eagles. The new Eisenbrauns mug presents you with a Hittite proverb and the double eagle, symbol of the Hittite empire. If there's a tougher academic ancient Near Eastern mug out there, we will challenge it in a fight to the death.

A bit bigger than the average mug, this sleek, black beauty will intimidate the rest of your drinkware, and take your wine glasses captive as spoils of war.