This book presents the development of a theological reading strategy in conversation with contemporary hermeneutical theories. Using that as a model, Gen 1-11 is read as a unified text refracted through the prism of textuality from a canonical approach.

Combining three incredibly importantbooks for the teaching of the Church, The Goldsworthy Trilogy offers acomplete and comprehensive guide tounderstanding the gospel throughoutthe whole of Scripture. Hugely popular, this collection is being released in thisspecial format and will be an essentialguide to be used again and again forthose who seek to understand the Biblein the light of who Jesus is.Straightforward in his approach, Goldsworthy looks at how the Bible canonly be understood through the eyesof the gospel. This being the base ofhis interpretation, he studies the OldTestament and its application for today, Israels wisdom literature and its role inthe Christian life and the purpose andcontemporary relevance of the bookof Revelation. This trilogy follows theBible chronologically to give the readera complete overview of evangelicalbiblical interpretation forming anessential one-stop reference that willlast a lifetime.

William Willimon combines the latest findings in Lukan scholarship with the pastoral, educational, and theological concerns of the local church to provide a new interpretation of Acts. He bases his commentary on the idea that the purpose of Acts was not to make Christianity acceptable to the Roman state but rather to preserve the integrity of the church against the onslaught of classical culture. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

As discussed in The Da Vinci Code... Long buried and suppressed, the Gnostic Gospels contain the secret writings attributed to the followers of Jesus. In 1945 fifty-two papyrus texts, including gospels and other secret documents, were found concealed in an earthenware jar buried in the Egyptian desert. These so-called Gnostic writings were Coptic translations from the original Greek dating from the time of the New Testament. The material they embodied - poems, quasi-philosophical descriptions of the origins of the universe, myths, magic and instructions for mystic practice - were later declared heretical, as they offered a powerful alternative to the Orthodox Christian tradition. In a book that is as exciting as it is scholarly, Elaine Pagels examines these texts and the questions they pose and shows why Gnosticism was eventually stamped out by the increasingly organised and institutionalised Orthodox Church.

This book evaluates the relationship between "Samuel" and "Chronicles" in a single synoptic story: David's transfer of Israel's sacred ark to Jerusalem in "2 Samuel 6" and "1 Chronicles 13, 15-16". Chapter one surveys areas of research related to "Samuel" and "Chronicles". Rezetko summarises research and perspectives on these books and their stories of David's ark transfer. The review highlights competing approaches to "Samuel" which center on either sources or composition and on either a diachronic or synchronic methodology. Chapter two surveys issues related to synchronic and diachronic approaches to "Samuel" and "Chronicles". The writer suggests that the impasse between these competing approaches may be resolved by the textual-exegetical approach, that is, by using text-critical controls on redactional arguments.Finally, it is stated that the principal text-critical aim in this book is the detection of earlier and later forms of biblical texts or stories, or to state it differently, the discovery of earlier and later stages in their editorial histories. Using the aforementioned insights and methodologies, chapters three through six closely examine "2 Samuel 6" and the synoptic portions of "1 Chronicles 13, 15-16". All these interconnected adjustments point to successive editorial interventions over a substantial period of time and their cumulative appearance and objective may be labelled a literary layer. The book concludes with observations regarding the implications of the present investigation for the theories of A G Auld.

This monograph, the first in English on any aspect of Joseph and Aseneth, examines Aseneth's conversion as narrated in this important but neglected apocryphal Jewish romance. An extensive history of research on Joseph and Aseneth and an analysis of key issues such as text, original language, character, provenance, date, and genre, precede and inform the study of conversion. The story of Aseneth's conversion has too often been understood on the basis of premature and superficial comparisons with other paradigms of conversion and initiation in the Hellenistic world. As a corrective, Chesnutt assigns priority to descriptive over comparative analysis. He draws comparisons and contrasts with other models of conversion and initiation only after he has carefully examined Aseneth's conversion in its own right within the literary context of Joseph and Aseneth and the social context which the document itself reflects. The attention not only to conversion but also to much broader social and religious dimensions of Judaism in antiquity makes this book important for specialists in Christian origins, Greco-Roman religions, women's studies, and patristics, as well as the history of Judaism>

A fresh look at the Bible reveals a richness of insight about sex and sexuality

For some people, the Bible s perspectives on sex may seem too one-dimensional or antiquated to apply to modern-day life. Others may hold up the Bible as the ultimate moral guideline when it comes to sex and human sexuality. A close reading of the Bible reveals that while its rules and lessons about sex and sexuality may not be applicable to all people at all times, this sacred scripture does offer surprising insight into our modern sexual lives.

This intriguing guide demystifies the Bible, synthesizing basic historical, theological, literary and linguistic ideas about the Bible s texts with our modern attitudes about sex. Thoughtful new translation and provocative commentary bridge the divide between biblical authority and our present-day views on gender roles, marriage, sexual orientation, virginity, lust and sexual pleasure. Drawing from Hebrew and Christian scripture, it examines the ways that the language of religion and the language of sex intersect.

Now you can discover what the Bible says about sex with no previous background in theology or religious history. This SkyLight Illuminations edition offers insightful and engaging commentary that explains the historical context and religious worldviews of those who wrote the Bible as well as the role their perspectives play in current social debates. You will be encouraged to form your own opinion about what the Bible has to say about sex and gain a deeper understanding of your own sexuality.

The Human and the Divine in History investigates the possibility that the author of Daniel knew and drew upon the Histories of Herodotus. Daniel uses and develops Herodotean concepts such as the succession of world empires, dynastic dreams, and the focus on both human and divine cauration in explaining historical events. A comparative reading of these two texts illuminates DanielGCOs theology of history, showing it to be neither as exclusively eschatological nor as sectarian as is often supposed. Rather, it is specifically the end of exileGCounderstood as foreign dominationGCothat Daniel envisions for the entire Jewish people.

The hermeneutics employed in this work is partly referred to as hindsight hermeneutics, and upholds the resonance and dissonance between the Epilogue of the Book of Job and the preceding sections. Within the Theophany-epilogue continuum, rebuke and approval, retribution and its suspension, divine transcendence and accessibility are all held together. The dramatically discordant traditions in the preceding section are not interpreted as competing alternatives but as complementary possibilities for understanding the nature of the divine-human relationship and responding to the threat and reality of chaos and suffering.

The remarkably complex textual traditions of the Acts of the Apostles reflect the theological developments and socio-cultural framework of early Christianity. The present volume contains studies of textual witnesses, textual traditions and translations of the Acts. They do not only focus on the traditions which occur in the manuscripts, or on the theological tendencies of the major ancient versions and their reception in the Early Church, but also consider the relevance of mostly neglected witnesses such as amuletts and tablets, and the relationship between the ancient translators and Jewish exegetical traditions.

Established author provides devotional resources for the forgotten post- Easter season. Short daily readings offer more seasonally-appropriate material for those accustomed to a Lenten practice. American Christians have forgotten the Easter season. We celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus on one day and then return to ordinary time. But Christ appeared over and over again for forty days in resurrected form. We cannot sustain this resurrection season because that kind of sustained joy overwhelms us. This book is designed to help us sustain Easter.

An introduction reviews previous scholarship, and concludes that the cultic aspects of Judges 17-18 have not been examined in any depth. It then goes on to deal with the historical and redactional issues which previous scholars have found interesting. The issues of provenance and dating are then examined with the conclusion that the text was written down in the immediate aftermath of the Assyrian conquest of Dan in an attempt to preserve its sacred traditions. The text therefore reflects the self-understanding of the priests of Dan in the period immediately prior to its fall. The text of Judges 17-18 is then subjected to a rhetorical critical examination, followed by a more traditional form critical study. The next section is a comparison of similar cultic foundation stories from other cultures. Three major chapters examine the three major cultic issues raised by the text itself: images, priests and divination. Each chapter draws on evidence from the Hebrew Bible and its environment in an attempt to clarify the nature of the cult of Dan. Broadly, each chapter concludes that although there were some features peculiar to the cult reflected by Dan, in general, the Danite cult was not greatly different from that of its neighbours. A final chapter deals with what the text says about the tribe of Levi, with the conclusion that according to Judges 17-18, there was once a secular tribe of Levi. The conclusion draws a brief picture of cultic life in Dan in its final years.

The biblical queen Esther is one of Scripture's most fascinating persons, and the drama of the book bearing her name is clearly captured in this superb commentary. Carol Bechtel expertly explores the historical settings, literary structures, and theological themes that emerge in the book of Esther.

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

The Gospel of Matthew portrays Jesus as a celibate 'bridegroom', whose presence disrupts traditional understandings of marriage and family and whose role as bridegroom involves not only joy but violence and separation. The bridegroom in John has received recent discussion, in Adeline Fehribach, 's Women in the Life of the Bridegroom: A Feminist Historical-Literary Analysis of the Female Characters in the Fourth Gospel (Liturgical Press, 1998), and in several articles published in A Feminist Companion to John, vol. 2, edited by Amy-Jill Levine (Sheffield Academic Press, 2003). But the bridegroom in Matthew has not received scholarly attention. This study offers an analysis of the bridegroom and wedding imagery in the Gospel of Matthew, specifically in the bridegroom saying (9.15), the two wedding parables (22.1-14, 25.1-13; the latter is unique to Matthew), and Matthew's teachings on marriage, divorce and family formation (e.g., 5.31-32; 19:1ff; 12:46-50). The eunuch saying (19:10-12) is explored in the context of a brideless and celibate bridegroom. Warren Carter's Matthew in the Margins (Orbis, 2000), and Barbara Reid's Violent Endings in Matthew's Parables and an End to Violence CBQ 66 (2004), pp. 237-55. This study builds on such concerns about Matthean violence and applies them specifically to Matthew's portrayal of Jesus as a bridegroom and the implications for marriage, family, gender and sexuality. For example, the slaughter of the innocents is discussed in terms of the bridegroom's association with violence and formation of a fictive family. No other books address the combined issues of Jesus as a bridegroom and attendant violence of that role and how this association affects Matthew's teachings on marriage or divorce, gender and sexuality, and the formation of family

This book provides a look at purity language within the "Epistle of James", arguing against restricting the meaning of purity language to the individual moral sphere.Arguing against restricting the meaning of purity language to the individual moral sphere (as many commentaries do), the central argument of "Purity and Worldview in the Epistle of James" is that purity language both articulates and constructs the worldview in James' epistle. Lockett offers a taxonomy of purity language, applied as a heuristic guide to understand the function of purity and pollution in the epistle. Through this analysis the study concludes that James is not calling for sectarian separation, but rather demonstrates a degree of cultural accommodation while calling forth specific socio-cultural boundaries between the readers and the world.Formerly the "Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement", was a book series that explored the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. "The Early Christianity in Context" series, a part of JSNTS, examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. "European Seminar on Christian Origins" and "Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement" are also part of JSNTS.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZNW) is one of the oldest and most highly regarded international scholarly book series in the field of New Testament studies. Since 1923 it has been a forum for seminal works focusing on Early Christianity and related fields. The series is grounded in a historical-critical approach and also explores new methodological approaches that advance our understanding of the New Testament and its world.

Christ knew we would never be happy without a personal, viable relationship with him and his Father. He knew the only way for us to truly know him would be to learn his story. This is why Jesus' last commission to his disciples was for them to study the Word in order to teach the Word to others.

Through intense study of the New Testament, "The Good News of the Apocalypse" shows you how to have a meaningful and an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Pastor Sedinger offers a complete overview of the books of the New Testament. She breaks down each book through guided readings and gives a thorough explanation of the book's events and message. In addition, Sedinger incorporates other biblical studies in her narrative to provide a well-rounded understanding of the New Testament.

At the heart of this study is the overwhelming importance of accepting Jesus as your personal savior and developing a relationship with him. Knowing about him is not enough to build this relationship. Instead, we must study Scripture and apply it to our lives. "The Good News of the Apocalypse" will help you in this remarkable journey by complementing your Bible reading and giving you a new understanding of the Gospel.

Although the Ten Commandments has been the center of much recent controversy in American politics, scripture contains many laws about which Christians are perplexed. If the Bible contains laws, shouldn't those laws be followed? What does the law that prohibits reaping a harvest to the very edges of your field mean in modern times? Or, what about God's prohibition, in Leviticus, not to round off the hair on your temples or to mar the edges of your beard? The Decalogue and the Holiness Code in Leviticus contain guidelines to ethical behavior that originally helped to shape a covenant community and still have meaning for us today.

In the newest addition to the Conversations with Scripture series, Kevin Wilson offers fresh insights into the meaning of the Law for today. In chapters that explore the Law in Exodus and Leviticus, Wilson examines the historical and cultural contexts of these legal codes. He discusses rituals such as sacrifice and rituals related to purification from defilement. Wilson demonstrates the ways in which the temple priests used many of these laws as their own code of purity and their own method of enforcing purity in the covenant community.

As with other books in the series, Wilson's book features definitions and sidebars in each chapter on particular topics, as well as study questions.