Tag: Writing Style

Authorities for SBL Style: School House Style
We’ve previously started exploring authorities for SBL style by discussing publishers’ house styles. A publisher’s house style might be based on SBLHS, but it might also require several things that differ from the SBLHS and other authorities. It isn’t spelled out in the SBLHS, but there’s another application of this principle if you’re a student…
27 May 2019
Authorities for SBL Style: Publisher House Style
As comprehensive as it is, the SBL Handbook of Style (SBLHS; affiliate disclosure) doesn’t include everything.1 Instead, you’ll often need other sources to determine what SBL style requires. Knowing where and when to refer to these other sources can be tricky. In this series, we dispel this mystery and discuss seven common authorities for SBL…
20 May 2019
Starting sentences with “and” or “but”
The SBLHS blog has a helpful discussion on the use of “and” or “but” at the start of a sentence. And they are permissible. But one should use them sparingly. For the full and very helpful post, please see the SBLHS blog.
23 February 2017
Migne’s “Patrologia Latina”: Mystery solved
There’s some fun to be had in hunting up references to and citing instances where volumes from Migne’s Patrologia latina exist in different versions. The folks at SBL Press have kindly resolved the mystery. Most significantly, SBL Press notes, According to the Patrologia Latina Database … , PL’s printing history can be divided into two…
1 February 2017
Fun with multiple editions of Migne’s Patrologia Latina
There are a pair of references in Cranfield’s (affiliate disclosure) and Moo’s (affiliate disclosure) Romans commentaries to comments by Ambrosiaster about the origin of the Christian community in Rome, and I’ve been curious to give this reference a look. Both authors cite the reference as found in J.-P. Migne’s Patrologia latina, vol. 17, col. 46 (Cranfield,…
26 January 2017
SBLHS student supplement and “ibid.”
According to SBL Handbook of Style, 2nd ed., §§1, 3, 4.3.6, supports the use of “ibid.” From those descriptions, conventions look to be the same as for the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., §14.29. As an easy (and free) reference for students, SBL also provides a Student Supplement to the SBLHS. One of the courses I’ve…
25 January 2017