Text and Artifact in the Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity: Essays in Honour of Peter Richardson

Preface

PREFACE STEPHEN G. WILSON In itself the presentation of a Festschrift says a great deal about the respect and admiration in which we hold the recipient. Peter is likely, I imagine, to think that we have gone to excess, since he would argue (and has argued) that only the great and the good are deserving ofsuch a signal honour, and in hisusually unassuming way he would not include himself in that category. This book is evidence that we both agree and disagree. Festschriften do indeed appear rather more frequently than isjustified. We emphatically believe, however, that Peter genuinely deserves one. There are, ofcourse, his scholarly and administrative achievements. Fromhis first book, one of the pioneering works on early Christian attitudes toward Judaism, through his work on Paul, to his recent studies on Herod and the architecture of early Judaism and Christianity, he has established himself as a scholar of both originality and depth. His labours as the editor of the series "Studies in Christianity and Judaism/Etudes sur le christianisme et le judaisme" and of several volumes of collected essays, and as Managing Editor of the journal Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, have been unstinting, allowing others to benefit from his sharp editorial eye, strong sense of style and shrewd judgment. In the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies he was the keyfigurein initiating aseries of extraordinarily productive seminars that have lasted now for more than twenty years and have themselves been the source of several published works. While he was an executive member, Secretary and President of the Society, and even now when he isjustone of the regularold guard,wehave benefited from his energy, his fertile imagination and his endless good will.His international work in the Society of BiblicalStudies and the Society for New Testament Studies merelyconfirms the qualities that we in Canada have always known. Then there is the man himself—warm and generous, wise and thoughtful, entirely without pretension. Of course some occasions demand serious conversation and hard work, something that Peter (a closet workaholic) relishes. xii TEXT ANDARTIFACT But never far beneath the surface is the rollicking laughter, the sense of the absurd, the uncanny ability to create an aura of welcome and friendship that so many of us have come to expect and enjoy. "He was not an enthusiastik man" is an epitaph I once saw. It tickled my fancy because it conjured up anything and everything, though nothing very complimentary. Turned around, the sentence could be applied to Peter: "He isan enthusiastik man." It could contain any and every compliment you might think of, and it is meant to. The theme "Text and Artifact" seemed the best way to summarize Peter's career and abiding interests. Contributors were encouraged to give the most generous possible interpretation to "artifact"—as referring to anything outside a primary text that might illuminate it—and we are delighted that so many friends, colleagues and former students were able to contribute. There are several people to whom we owe special thanks and recognition. Sandra Woolfrey, then Director ofWilfrid Laurier University Press, from the start gave strong support and encouragement and facilitated publication by the Press. The Research Office of Wilfrid Laurier University generously provided a book preparation grant and the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion a book publication subsidy.BillKlassensingle­handedly and enthusiastically canvassed for funds to cover production costs, most notably a large and generous initial donation from Edward J. R. Jackman that made the raising of further funds so much the easier. We approached only a small group of family, friends and colleagues to become "partners in publication," in what wehope has been a successful attempt to preserve an element of secrecy. They too were most generous in their gifts. Bill Morrow, Treasurer of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, adeptly managed the finances. Chad Hillier and Tony Chartrand'Burke helped to prepare the indices. Graydon Snyder suggested and provided the illustration on the cover. Jenny Wilson, with her gimlet eye and unerring sense of style, gave the whole manuscript a thorough going­over at the final stage of preparation. To all ofyou, Michel and I are enormously grateful. ...