This book deals with the place of the source-document Q and its compilers within late Second Temple Judaism, with special attention to Q's relationship to the Herodian Temple. The investigation of this perspective is fraught with problems because the passages that are associated with the Temple in Q do not speak with the same voice, raising the question of how to reconcile the seemingly positive view with the rather more hostile views. Using a comparative approach, Han analyses the essential differences in the two types of positions, and concludes that the negative attitude is original, while the positive position is due to a later redaction that took place after the First Revolt and the destruction of the Temple.

This study focuses upon the language of the Song of Songs in an attempt to see how individual images work together in the constitution of a poetic unity. The perception of certain 'imaginative fields', each of which organizes a range of related imagery, is helpful to an appreciation of the symbolic density which certain images acquire in the course of the Song's movement and to an acknowledgment of their capacity for narrativity.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7-10 God offers you his comfort. He promises you his power and strength. But when hard times hit--illness, death, job loss, relationship troubles--it is often hard to remember, tobelieve that God is with you. Again and again Scripture teaches, "Do not be afraid." In this book of daily Bible studies David Ivaska has gathered God's words of encouragement for you. As you explore God's promises from the Old and New Testaments, you'll be reassured of God's goodness. As you dwell on the truth of God's sovereignty and faithfulness, your hope will be restored. Be Not Afraid includes ten weeks' worth of daily Bible studies, with the seventh study in each week designed either for individual study or for a small group wrap-up session. The six individual studies each week feature introductory material, a Scripture passage (NIV text reprinted alongside for handy reference), 3-5 questions for reflection, and a prayer. Whether you feel anxiety over one great issue or many small ones, this Bible study guide will give you the tools day-by-day to turn over to God all your cares and worries.

This work argues that the author of the Gospel of Matthew structures his work as a Bios or biography of Jesus, so as to encapsulate, in narrative form, the essence of his theological understanding of God's Basileia (sovereign rule), as proclaimed and taught in the teaching and healing mission of Jesus. Evidence for this is found in Matthew's careful use of structural markers to divide his story of Jesus into significant thematic sub-sections in which he uses a series of Basileia logia at incisive points to highlight aspects of Jesus' teaching and healing mission. In this way, Matthew is able to portray Jesus, as God's promised Messiah, who instructs his disciples through discourse and narrative, hence in word and example, in the nature and demands of God's sovereign rule.

By structuring his Gospel as a story, Matthew depicts Jesus giving instructions to his disciples and also instructs the readers of the text. Hence, Matthew's Gospel becomes a manual of instruction on the nature and demands of God's sovereignty. Its purpose is to ensure that not only the members of the Matthean community, but all future disciples of Jesus are competently trained to carry out Jesus' commission: "Go therefore and disciple all the nations ..." (28:19-20). In this way, the goods news of God's saving presence is proclaimed to all the nations until God's eschatological reign is finally established.

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Remarkably enough, there is a scarcity of modern commentaries on the Psalms for the more general reader, though after the Gospels, they are probably the most widely read part of the Bible. Clergy read the Psalms in rotation as part of the daily offices, the Psalms are a regular part of the church's worship, and the "Book of Psalms" is a spiritual classic in its own right. This commentary is addressed to the widest possible readership and is informed by John Eaton's pastoral concerns and his commitment to environmental issues. He examines the authorship of the psalms and their use as poetry and songs, as well as in worship. Eaton provides his own, modern translation of each of the 150 Psalms and provides a commentary highlighting the relevance of the psalms to the modern reader. The inspirational discussion of each psalm ends with a related Christian prayer, either from the tradition or written by Eaton himself.

Waldemar Janzen offers a fresh approach to the canonical structure of Exodus. The liberation from Egypt is a prelude to Israel's unique calling to model before the nations a new life of service under God. Exodus portrays how God, through his servant Moses, wages a dramatic battle with Egypt's mighty ruler for the release of enslaved Israel. Yet as the battle rages, Israel stands apart as a watching noncombatant, wavering between doubt and faith.

After wresting Israel from Pharaoh's enslavement, God fights for the soul of his doubting and resistant people. They ask, "Is the Lord among us or not?" Even after Israel's covenant commitment to be God's "priestly kingdom and holy nation", Israel breaks away again and worships a golden calf, a symbol of what is clear to the senses.

In the end, God's grace wrests Israel away once more, this time from captivity to its own doubts, fears, and self-centeredness. In the last chapters, Exodus portrays a people focused in faith on the imageless presence of God in its midst. Nevertheless, God still wrestles for his people even today.

The book presents essays on themes useful for teaching, preaching, and Bible study; bibliographies; charts; a map; and an index. "Believers church" refers to churches in the Anabaptist heritage of faith. The BCBC series is sponsored by six denominations: Brethren Church, Church of the Brethren, Brethren in Christ Church, General Conference Mennonite Church, Mennonite Brethren Church, and Mennonite Church.

It has long been noted that the "Book of Lamentations" shares, at least in part, a theological outlook with the prophetic literature that the destruction of Jerusalem was the result of Yahweh's decisive action against the sins of the nation. Too often, however, this relationship has simply been presupposed, or assumed to be a relationship of shared perspective. To date, there has been no systematic exploration of how it is that Lamentations accepts and/or modifies the theological outlook of the prophetic literature. In addition, when the theology of the prophets has been discussed in relation to "Lamentations", there has been a tendency to group all the prophetic books together as if they existed as a homogeneous whole, and shared amongst themselves a singular outlook. This tendency to simplify the theological complexity of the prophetic literature coincides with a similar tendency to reduce the theology of "Lamentations" to simple, monotheistic assertions. Drawing on the literary insights of Mikhail Bakhtin, this study explores in detail the nature of the relationship between "Lamentations" and the pre-exilic/exilic prophetic literature. Drawing on the notions of dialogism, polyphony and double-voicing, the study argues that "Lamentations" enters into a dialogic relationship with prophetic literature, a relationship that both affirms and subverts that literature. Central to the acknowledgement of the dialogic interaction between Lamentations and the prophetic literature is the recognition of "Lamentations" as a multivalent, polyphonic text in which unmerged viewpoints exist in a tension-filled relationship.

This is the first volume of the long-awaited translation of one of Augustines classics and a great work in Christian literature. Newly translated by Maria Boulding, O.S.B., whose masterful translation of Augustines Confessions in the same series has been praised as being of a different level of excellence from practically anything else in the market (Bishop Rowan Williams, Monmouth, England). As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. They recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustines personal life, his theological reflections, and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo. This first volume of the Exposition of the Psalms in Sister Maria Boulding's fine translation fills a long existing vacuum among the translated works of Augustine available to contemporary readers. Her clear and attractive translation presents Augustine's expression of his own spirituality, which necessarily entails his most valuable theological insights. The comprehensive and scholarly 51-page introduction by Michael Fiedrowicz offers a key to the Psalms' various depths of meaning and shows how they are a microcosm of Augustinian thought. Mary T. Clark, RSCJ Author of: Augustine in the Outstanding Christian Thinkers Series

The book is, primarily, a linguistic investigation into the possibility that the Johannine farewell discourse is the product of multiple hands. Chapter 1 examines the history of the problem. Chapter 2 contains an examination of the stylistic unity of the farewell discourse and John 14:31-16:33 is examined for specific literary style markers. All the style tests show that the major divisions of the farewell discourse are consistent with the style evident in the rest of the Gospel. Chapter 3 contains an investigation of the structure of the farewell discourse. The text is tested for structural unity, textual prominence, and coherence. The results show that the discourse holds together quite well in structure, peak, and cohesion. Chapter 4, therefore, returns to the issue of the magnus reus (Latin for "the great litigant"). The difficulty presented by 14:31, (ultimately, the major reason for identifying editorial activity) is investigated in terms of the assumptions current among source critics. Upon a closer examination, these assumptions are shown to be unlikely based on the conventions of ancient literature and the literary conventions of participant movement in the rest of the Fourth Gospel. The conclusion reached in this work is that the farewell discourse should be considered a unity. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series, 256.

By a poetic analysis of Isaiah 34-35 as a single poem, the reading explores in depth its imagery, themes and structure. Attention to detail is combined with wide-ranging discussions of reading and interpretation, which revolve around the contrasting, and strangely interrelated, scenes of destruction (nightmare) and restoration (dream) found in the two parts of the poem. The poem emerges as an integral part of Isaiah, which is treated as a single work. The consistency is revealed in parallel terms, images and structure. Implications of the analysis and mode of reading for the whole of Isaiah are commented on throughout.

All too often, missions have been narrowly defined as evangelism or at best, extending to practical, physical social action such as medical mission or education. On the Side of the Angels argues that human rights and justice need to be reclaimed by evangelical Christians and that human rights work should be seen as central to Kingdom mission, not just regarded as a secondary activity and labeled "political. "The book draws on the authors first-hand experiences of places of persecution and oppression, including Burma, East Timor and India, along with their work of advocacy in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, United Nations and other forums. Its chapters include examining the biblical basis for activism, real-life stories of crimes against humanity, religious persecution, torture, discrimination and injustice. Concrete examples of how to do advocacy and inspiring examples of great Christian human rights activists, past and present, will motivate and challenge readers to be advocates of God?'s love and justice.

In a climate of disunity and doctrinal deviation, the apostle John called his first readers to live in the love and truth of God. David Jackman has no doubt that John's letters are a vital, powerful word from the Lord to the church today around the world. So often we take extreme positions, leading to a fragmentation of both churches and individuals. This book will help us to respond afresh to the apostle's call to love one another and live in the light.

This investigation builds upon recent developments in the study of Paul's use of Scripture that center around the concept of ""intertextuality."" Abasciano uses an exegetical method that incorporates into a thorough traditional exegesis a comprehensive analysis of Paul's use of Scripture against the background of interpretive traditions surrounding the texts alluded to, with great emphasis placed on analyzing the original contexts of Paul's citations and allusions. Such an intertextual exegesis is conducted in Romans 9:1-9 with an awareness of the broader unit of chapters 9-11 especially, and also the epistle as a whole. The study finds that many of the themes Paul deals with in Romans 9-11 are also present in ancient Jewish and Christian interpretive traditions surrounding the passages he invokes, and more importantly, that Paul's scriptural quotations and allusions function as pointers to their broad original contexts, from which he developed much of the form, content, and direction of his argument, holding significance for a number of exegetical details as well as broader themes and rhetorical movements. The final chapter seeks to draw conclusions concerning the significance of Paul's use of the Old Testament in Romans 9:1-9 for the exegesis and theology of Romans and for Pauline intertextuality. The identity of the true people of God is central to Romans 9-11 and the epistle. And Paul's use of Scripture is contextual and referential, calling for attention to Pauline intertextuality in standard exegetical procedure. JSNTS 301

John Stott writes, 'During the gestation of this book I seem to have lived inside the second letter of Paul to Timothy. In imagination I have sat down beside Timothy and have tried myself to hear and heed this final charge from the ageing apostle ... 'On each occasion I have been impressed afresh by the timeliness for today of what the apostle writes, especially for young Christian leaders. For our era is one of theological and moral confusion, even of apostasy. And the apostle summons us, as he summoned Timothy, to be strong, brave and steadfast.'

Few parts of the Bible have captured the imagination of individuals in the way that the book of Jonah has. James Limburg examines this well-known book, keeping several questions in mind: How did the story originate? What is its place in the Bible? How did the New Testament understand the story? How has the story been understood in Judaism and in Islam? What might it mean for people today? And what does it have to say about God, about the human condition, and even about God and nature? In reviewing the book, Limburg gives special attention to the many contributions of artists, musicians, painters, and sculptors who, he says, may have been the best interpreters of Jonah. He also keeps in mind the literary dimension of the texts and takes great care to follow the divisions of the book as they were defined by Jewish scribal tradition. Limburg begins his commentary with a fresh translation of the biblical book of Jonah and continues with a careful examination of the text, pointing out the significance of this old story for our own time. An extensive appendix provides highlights from the interpretation of Jonah in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The activity of early Christian proclaimers is seen as the backdrop for the Epistle's challenge to its readers to identify with God's order or with the earthly patronage of the rich. The significance of the Epistle of James within early Christianity, when not neglected, has been disputed. In recent years the letter, and its author, have received renewed attention, and this contribution to the revival examines the way in which the author and his addressees are depicted within the social world of emerging Christianity. Edgar finds strong points of contact with the sayings of Jesus and with early Christian itinerant proclaimers, who are often seen as having been active in preserving and transmitting these sayings. The Epistle challenges the shaky commitment of its readers to their new allegiance, and, in the light of the coming of God's eschatological ruoe, employs the model of patronage to lay out the choice between loyalty to God and identification with the earthly value system dominated by the rich.

Subversive Scribes and the Solomonic Narrative considers 1 Kgs 1-11 through the optics of propaganda and subversion with primary attention given to subversive readings of portions of the Solomonic narrative. Seibert explores the social context in which scribal subversion was not only possible but perhaps even necessary and examines texts that covertly undermine the legitimacy or the legacy of Solomon. The book is divided into two parts. In the first, Seibert develops definitions of propaganda and subversion and notes other studies which have understood certain biblical texts to function in these ways. Primary consideration is given to developing a theory of subversive scribal activity in this section of the book. An important distinction is made between "submissive scribes," individuals who wrote what they were told, and "subversive scribes," individuals who did otherwise. Since many scribes were writing for the very people who paid them, those wanting to engage in subversive literary activity had to do so carefully, and to a certain extent covertly, lest they be detected and exposed. Yet their critique could not be so obscure that none could detect it. There needed to be enough clues to allow like-minded scribes to read the text and appreciate the critique, but not so many that opponents could charge such scribes with sedition. In the second part of the book, Seibert applies this theory of scribal subversion to various passages in 1 Kgs 1-11. An extended discussion is given to 1 Kgs 1-2 with the remainder of the Solomonic narrative being treated more episodically. The focus is on passages which look suspiciously like the work of a subversive scribe and/or which have subversive potential. It is argued that scribes could-and sometimes did-intentionally encode a critique of the king/kingship in the text and that one of the most effective ways they accomplished this was by cloaking scribal subversion in the guise of propaganda.

Elaine Jordan has written her first book with personal reflections on a wide variety of biblical and spiritual subjects ranging from the providence of God, to faith, children have free will, situation ethics, management, etc. A delightful group of short essays by a Christian author.

This book maps the relationship between Matthew's Gospel and the Didache. No consensus regarding the nature of this relationship has yet been achieved, neither has serious consideration been given to the possibility that Matthew depended directly on the Didache. If it may be shown that such was the case, then this infamously enigmatic text may finally be used to answer a series of tantalizing questions: what is the pattern of the Synoptic relationships? How did the earliest Jewish Christians incorporate Gentiles? What was the shape of Eucharistic worship in the first century?

John's Gospel has had an incalculable impact on human history. Its pages contain a moral and spiritual potency which, over the centuries, has transformed communities, brought about political change and remade human character on a scale without precedent. The power remains in the Gospel today. At its centre, as at the centre of his exposition, is Jesus Christ in his glory and grace, majesty and tenderness. Bruce Milne believes that we can experience his presence even today, for the Gospel was 'written that ... you may have life in his name'. The Gospel of John is a witness to the King, as much a tract for our times as for John's. Bruce Milne's exposition focuses on the ministry of Jesus before his incarnation, during his life on earth and after his resurrection. The centrepiece of this Gospel is the cross, and its background the solemnity of God's judgment of the world.