An examination of the final form of Hosea within the socio-historical context of Persian period Judah, making use of insights from historical-critical and reader-oriented perspectives. The amalgamation of these two seemingly divergent approaches creates a framework within which the setting and interpretive practices of both the modern critic and the ancient reader(s) can be taken seriously. The resulting examination proposes a reading of Hosea shaped, as far as possible, by the reading conventions and socio-religious concerns of Persian period Judahites.>

Love has been described in so many ways, but do we really understand what it means? This 30-day devotional in the Food for the Journey series drills down to what love really is, and how it is ultimately defined in and by God - a God who loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to rescue us from sin and reconcile us to himself. Covering passages from across the Old and New Testaments, in this devotional some of the Keswick Convention's best preachers - including Vaughan Roberts, David Coffey and Rico Tice - mine the riches of the Bible's wisdom on love. In self-contained daily devotions they show us how we rest assured that God's love is everlasting, unconditional and breathtaking in its immensity. In a small, slim paperback format, Love: Food for the Journey is perfect for carrying around with you on the go. Like all the Food for the Journey books, its undated format means you can start and finish at any time of the year, and work through it at your own pace. Uplifting and encouraging, this short devotional invites us to bask in God's love, appreciate afresh its depth and richness, and warm our hearts, equipping and empowering us to love and serve him better.

For some years the view has become established that the Book of the Twelve is a systematically structured literary unity. An exegesis which takes the final canonical text seriously undertakes to understand the structure and theological intention of this unity. The papers collected here attempt to reveal significant structures which overarch the individual components. Particular emphasis is placed on the reconstruction of thematic threads which are created when individual prophets take up topics from their predecessors (e.g. Jehovah's Day, conversion, role of the peoples) and intensify them. The papers were written between 1999 and 2002 under the aegis of the Society of Biblical Literature's Working Group on The Formation of the Book of the Twelve.

Previous attempts to critique the canonical approach of Brevard Childs have remained largely theoretical in nature. One of the weakness of canonical criticism, then, is its failure to have generated new readings of extended biblical passages. Reviewing the hermeneutics and the praxis of Childs's approach, Lyons then turns to the Sodom narrative (Gen 18-19) as a test of a practical exegesis according to Childs' principles, and then to reflect critically upon the reading experience generated. Surprisingly, the canonical reading produced is a wholly new one, centred around the complex, irreducible - even contradictory - request of Abraham for Yahweh to do justice (18:23-25).

This book examines the educated elite in 1 Corinthians through the development, and application, of an ancient education model. The research reads PaulGCOs text within the social world of early Christianity and uses social-scientific criticism in reconstructing a model that is appropriate for first-century Corinth. Pauline scholars have used models to reconstruct elite education but this study highlights their oversight in recognising the relevancy of the Greek Gymnasium for education. Topics are examined in 1 Corinthians to demonstrate where the model advances an understanding of PaulGCOs interaction with the elite Corinthian Christians in the context of community conflict. This study demonstrates the important contribution that this ancient education model makes in interpreting 1 Corinthians in a Graeco-Roman context. This is Volume 271 of JSNTS.

Paul's reading of the Old Testament continues to witness to the significance of reading the Old Testament in a Christian way. This study argues that a theological approach to understanding Paul's appeal to and reading of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, offers important insights into the ways in which Christians should read the Old Testament and a two-testament canon today. By way of example, this study explores the ways in which Isaiah 40-66's canonical form presents the gospel in miniature with its movement from Israel to Servant to servants. It is subsequently argued that Paul follows this literary movement in his own theological reflection in 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:10. Jesus takes on the unique role and identity of the Servant of Isaiah 40-55, and Paul takes on the role of the servants of the Servant in Isaiah 53-66. From this exegetical exploration conclusions are drawn in the final chapter that seek to apply a term from the history of interpretation to Paul's reading, that is, the plain sense of Scripture. What does an appeal to plain sense broker? And does Paul's reading of the Old Testament look anything like a plain sense reading? Gignilliat concludes that Paul is reading the Old Testament in such a way that the literal sense and its figural potential and capacity are not divorced but are actually organically linked in what can be termed a plain sense reading.

"The Farewell Discourse" (John 13-17) is an unique and climactic portion of "John's Gospel", which serves as a hinge on which the entire Gospel narrative pivots from Jesus' public ministry to his Passion. Shallow readings of this Discourse often pass over or ignore significant aspects of the text, especially the instruction and preparation Jesus was giving, both in words and actions, to make ready his disciples to continue his mission to the world after his departure. Other readings (notably form-critical) see the text as disarranged and therefore not a coherent whole. A thorough analysis employing the elements of Greco-Roman rhetoric has shown that there is a rhetorical dimension to the Discourse which makes sense of the text as a coherent whole. "The Farewell Discourse" was found to follow a rhetorical arrangement which gives a literary explanation to some assumed form-critical problems, such as the ending at 14:31. Not only does this rhetorical structure give appropriate closure and transition with movement from one topic to another, it does so with a chiastic arrangement of the major topics. Jesus is presented by the evangelist, with his words and actions, defining and modeling what his disciples are to be in their own soon-approaching ministry to the community of believers and to the world. He is shown giving persuasive words of comfort, encouragement, instruction, and motivation to his disciples as he prepares them to continue his mission after his departure.

Sicker asserts that the Mosaic canon, the Pentateuch, is first and foremost a library of essentially political teachings and documents, and that the first eleven chapters of the book of "Genesis" set forth in essence a general Mosaic political philosophy. These writings take a unique mythopoeic approach to the construction of a normative political theory intended to undergird the idea of a mutual covenant between God and the people of Israel that is to be realized in history in the creation of the ideal society. It is with the elaboration of the political ideas reflected in these early chapters of "Genesis" that this book is concerned.

For the modern reader, the biblical texts should be understood as postulating some basic ideas of Mosaic moral and political philosophy that, in Sicker's view, continue to be applicable in contemporary times. First, man is endowed with free will, however constrained by circumstances it may be, and with the intellect to govern and direct it in appropriate paths. Accordingly, he is individually responsible for his actions and must be held accountable for them. Second, man has a necessary relation to God whether he wishes it or not. Prudence alone will therefore dictate that compliance with divine precept is in man's best interest. Third, the notion that man can create a moral society without reference to God is a deceptive illusion. Man's ability to rationalize even his most outrageous behavior clearly indicates the need for an unimpeachable source and standard of moral authority. Fourth, until all men accept the preceding principles, the idea of a universal state is both dangerous and counterproductive. In the 20th century, we have witnessed two different attempts to create such a world state, both of which produced totalitarian monstrosities. Fifth, individualism as a social philosophy tends to be destructive of traditional values and must be tempered by the idea of communal responsibility. A survey of particular interest to scholars, researchers, and students interested in Jewish history, political thought, and the Old Testament.

The anthropological approach to the expulsion of the foreign women from the post-exilic community argues that it was the result of a witch-hunt. Its comparative approach notes that the community responded to its weak social boundaries in the same fashion as societies with similar social weaknesses. This book argues that the post-exilic community's decision to expel the foreign women in its midst was the direct result of the community's inability to enforce a common morality among its members. This anthropological approach to the expulsion shows how other societies with weak social moralities tend to react with witch-hunts, and it suggests that the expulsion in Ezra 9-10 was precisely such an activity. It concludes with an examination of the political and economic forces that could have eroded the social morality of the community.

This monograph examines intertextual connections to Ezekiel found in John and in Second Temple literature. Chapter One describes the method used in the monograph, described as comparative intertextuality. Intertextual connections between Ezekiel and later Second Temple works are compared with intertextual connections between Ezekiel and the Gospel of John. Two chapters are devoted to understanding how various works in the Second Temple period make use of Ezekiel. The DSS contain many allusions to a number of Ezekiel's oracles, while other Second Temple works refer to only a few of Ezekiel's oracles, and those only rarely. In each case, Manning examines the evidence for the presence of the allusions, studies the implied interpretational methods, and comments on the function of the allusion in advancing the author's ideas. Two chapters analyze John's allusions to Ezekiel: the good shepherd, the vine, the opened heavens, imagery from the dry bones vision, and water symbolism. The monograph concludes with observations on how John's use of Ezekiel fits within the use of Ezekiel in Second Temple literature.John shares certain tendencies with other literature, such as the combination of allusions from related OT passages, the resumption of allusions later in the same work, and careful attention to the original context of the allusion. John has a few unique tendencies: he alludes to all five of Ezekiel's oracles of hope and primarily uses that imagery to describe the giving of the Holy Spirit and new life through Jesus.