This commentary focuses on the Book of Judges, a fascinating biblical text; full of rich and colorful stories of which the best known is Samson and Delilah. It treats the text story by story, making it accessible to nonspecialists. Predominant are women's stories, which have both offended and inspired readers for centuries, including the stories of Deborah; Jael, who slew Sisera; and Jephthah's daughter, sacrificed by her father.

The commentary traces the reception of Judges through the ages, not only by scholars and theologians, but also by preachers, teachers, politicians, poets, essayists, and artists. It shows how ideology and the social location of readers have shaped the way the book has been read, disclosing a long history of debate over the roles of women and the use of force, as well as Christian prejudice against Jews and "Orientals." In this way, it offers a window onto the wider use of the Bible in the Western world. More information about the Blackwell Bible Commentaries series is available from the Blackwell website at www.bbibcomm.net

In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus overrides the Old Testament teaching of 'an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth' - the Lex Talionis law - and commands his disciples to turn the other cheek. James Davis asks how Jesus' teaching in this instance relates to the Old Testament talionic commands, how it relates to New Testament era Judaism and what Jesus required from his disciples and the church. Based on the Old Testament texts such as Leviticus 24, Exodus 22 and Deuteronomy 19, a strong case can be made that the Lex Talionis law was understood to have a literal application there are several texts that text of Leviticus 24 provides the strongest case that a literal and judicial application. However, by the second century AD and later, Jewish rabbinic leadership was essentially unified that the OT did not require a literal talion, but that financial penalties could be substituted in court matters. Yet there is evidence from Philo, Rabbi Eliezer and Josephus that in the first century AD the application of literal talion in judicial matters was a major and viable Jewish viewpoint at the time of Jesus. Jesus instruction represents a different perspective from the OT lex talionis texts and also, possibly, from the Judaism of his time. Jesus commands the general principle of not retaliation against the evil person and intended this teaching to be concretely applied, as borne out in his own life. JSNTS

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.

Linville argues that a new approach to the book of Kings is needed because of the failings of the usual historical-critical methods. He adopts a holistic approach which sees the book as a Persian-era text intended to articulate politically and religiously significant symbols within the book's monarchic history. These express the producer's reactions to important issues of Jewish identity in the continuing Diaspora and in Jerusalem. In the story of the schisms and apostacies of Israel's defunct monarchies both the Diaspora and cultural pluralism are legitimized. Rival versions of Israelite heritage are reconciled under an overarching sense of a greater Israelite history and identity.

"Cats help me pray," says Herbert Brokering. This collection of whimsical, insightful psalms, or prayers, is based on Brokering's observations of cats he has known through his life - farm cats, house cats, alley cats. Each psalm expresses an observation about a cat's nature, written in the "voice" of the cat, followed by a prayer in which the human spirit speaks of its cat-like nature to God. Cat Psalms is for those who wish to pray more deeply, with more imagination and understanding, and offers fresh ways to see ourselves and new ways to pray.

This synchronic study of the books of Samuel examines the multifaceted character of David. His is a complex tale, seemingly designed to explore the human dimension of a traditional motif: divine election and rejection. Through speeches and actions, David is revealed as a man who never quite understands his fate. Why has Saul been rejected and why is David not rejected? If Saul sinned, David sinned boldly. The man, David, through poetic soliloquies (2 Sam. 1.19-27; 22.2-51; 23.1b-7), explores this question.>

'Enemies of the Cross' employs classical rhetorical analysis to examine how Paul structures a deliberative argument using his understanding of the 'cross of Christ'. His goals are to guide/advise the Philippian community through internal and external strife (ch. 2), combat his opponents (ch.3), and develop his notion of the eschatological community (3:18-21). Williams proposes that while Paul has a 'theology of the death of Jesus', of which cross terminology is one of several aspects, this terminology is used almost exclusively in polemical/conflictual contexts. Hence Paul appears to be using 'cross of Christ' not so much as a doctrine but rather as a rhetorical tool, in a context of conflict and strife, to support his understanding of eschatology, apostolic service, the nature of Christian existence, and community among the saints.

After more than a century of debate about the significance of imperial cults for the interpretation of Revelation, this is the first study to examine both the archaeological evidence and the Biblical text in depth. Friesen argues that a detailed analysis of imperial cults as they were practised in the first century CE in the region where John was active allows us to understand John's criticism of his society's dominant values. He demonstrates the importance of imperial cults for society at the time when Revelation was written, and shows the ways in which John refuted imperial cosmology.

Is the author of Ecclesisastes a determinist? Many readers, from the Targumist and Ibn Ezra up to the present day, have thought so. But there has been no systematic investigation of Qoheleth's determinism, its nature and extent, its relationship to free will and its philosophical background. In separate chapters, Rudman discusses key terms and texts that express a deterministic worldview, then explores the sources for Qoheleth's thought. He concludes that the author was a sage writing in the third quarter of the third century BCE, who was profoundly influenced by Stoic ideas.>

Challenging gnositicizing interpretations of the letter, Terry Griffith explores how the polemic against idols was variously used in Jewish and Christian circles to define self-identity and the limits of community. He shows that the rhetoric of 1 John is not polemical, but pastoral, directed at confirming Johannine Christians in their fundamental confession of faith and preventing further defections of Jewish Christians back to Judaism. Griffith argues that the christological focus in 1 John concerns the identification of Jesus as the Messiah, and that the ending of the letter both contributes to the author's overall pastoral strategy and sheds light on the issues of sin and christology that are raised in this letter.>

Jesus is the most influential person of human history. "Jesus never became a political, military or government leader; he never wanted to. He never owned a multinational corporation or acquired any wealth to speak of; he didn't need it. He never wrote a book, never staged a concert tour, never appeared on television and never had a radio talk show--or even his own blog. . . . What's so special about Jesus?" (from the introduction) Most of us know something about Jesus and are intrigued by him. Perhaps as a child we attended Sunday school, or when flipping channels we've heard TV preachers talk about Jesus. We may have even thought, I'd like to find out for myself what Jesus said and did so I can come to my own conclusions about him. But we haven't had the opportunity to take a closer look. The Essential Jesus by Whitney T. Kuniholm will help you discover who Jesus is and why he is so significant--even life-transforming. Through both Old and New Testament readings you will discover why God sent Jesus, what Jesus taught, how he treated people, why he did miracles, the meaning of his death, the significance of his resurrection, what the Bible says about his second coming and much more. Whether alone or in a group setting, you can discover for yourself what makes Jesus so special.

Peter, John and Jude may sound a bit like a teenage boy band, but they were men that God used to rescue the Church in its darkest hour. False teachers on the inside and persecution on the outside threatened to strangle the Christian community at birth. In a world where the Church appears to be in terminal decline, we need their letters to show us how to survive and thrive and advance. God inspired the Bible for a reason. He wants you read it and let it change your life. If you are willing to take this challenge seriously, then you will love Phil Moore's devotional commentaries. Their bite-sized chapters are punchy and relevant, yet crammed with fascinating scholarship. Welcome to a new way of reading the Bible. Welcome to the Straight to the Heart series.

A Bible Commentary on the Book of Hebrews. Sovereign grace emphasis suitable for personal study, devotional, study groups and sermon-help. Don Fortner is an experience Pastor and Teacher whose writings and preached sermons are highly regarded around the world.

Opening with the prophet Elijah's ascent into heaven and closing with the people of Judah's descent to Babylonia, 2 Kings charts the story of the two Israelite kingdoms until their destruction. This commentary unfolds the literary dimensions of 2 Kings, analyzes the strategies through which its words create a world of meaning, and examines the book's tales of prophets, political intrigue, royal apostasy, and religious reform as components of larger patterns.

2 Kings pays attention to the writers' methods of representing human character and of twisting chronological time for literary purposes. It also shows how the contests between kings and prophets are mirrored in the competing structures of regnal synchronization and prophecy-fulfillment. Much more than a common chronicle of royal achievements and disasters, 2 Kings emerges as a powerful history that creates memories and forges identities for its Jewish readers.

"2 Kings" is divided into four parts including Part One The Story of Elisha: 2 Kings 1:1-8:6"; Part Two "Revolutions in Aram, Israel, and Judah: 2 Kings 8:7-13:25"; Part Three "Turmoil and Tragedy for Israel: 2 Kings 14-17"; and Part Four "Renewal and Catastrophe for Judah: 2 Kings 18-25."

"Robert L. Cohn is professor of religion and holds the Philip and Muriel Berman Chair in Jewish studies at Lafayette College. Under the auspices of the American Jewish Committee, he lectured on Jewish interpretations of the Bible as the first American Jewish-scholar-in-residence at four Roman Catholic seminaries in Poland.""

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.

"'Isaiah in the New Testament' brings together a set of specially commissioned studies by authors who are experts in the field. After an introductory chapter on the use of Isaiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls and second temple literature, each of the New Testament books that contain quotations from Isaiah are discussed: Matthew, Mark, Q, Luke-Acts, John, Romans & Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Hebrews, 1 Peter, Revelation. The book provides an overview of the status, role and function of Isaiah in the first century. It considers the Greek and Hebrew manuscript traditions and offers insights into the various hermeneutical stances of the New Testament authors and the development of New Testament theology."

"An overwhelming number of us are lonely," writes Marva Dawn. "Sometimes we are lonely for a specific reason: our spouse has recently died or left us; our children have just gone from home or have been tragically killed; we are fighting a particular battle against illness or suffering the ravages of chemotherapy; we are new in the neighborhood; our values are different from those of our work colleagues; it is a Friday night and all our other single friends have dates. Sometimes our loneliness is a general, pervasive alienation: we just don't feel as if we belong in our place of work, in our community, in our family, even in our church." Our struggle with loneliness often results in a lament directed at God. We might say something like "How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" When we cry out words like these, we find ourselves praying the words of the Psalms. In My Soul Waits, Dawn guides us through psalms that reveal the burdens of our souls to God, and in turn reveal God's profound, intimate concern for our pain and a promise to abide with us in it. Readers feeling the sting of loneliness will take great comfort in this very personal book. Those who strive to support the lonely among them will take wise counsel from the Scriptures it expounds. All will encounter a renewed hope in the One who lists our tears only to wipe them all away.

Professor Maurice Gilbert SJ is widely acknowledged as one of the leading authorities on biblical wisdom literature, in particular the Book of Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon, on which he has produced many publications. This Festschrift, the third one in his honor, brings together twenty-four essays written by both established scholars who are friends and colleagues of Professor Gilbert and younger members of the field who wrote their doctoral dissertation under his guidance at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. There he was rector (1978-1984) and full professor until his retirement (1975-2011). The volume is divided into six main sections, focusing respectively on Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, and Psalms. Some essays display rigorous attention to textual and linguistic issues, whereas others deal with more theological questions (fear before God, joy in Qoheleth, arguments for justice in Wisdom of Solomon) or focus on the comparison between two books (for instance, Qoheleth and Sirach, Sirach and Genesis, Sirach and Tobit).

The first translation into English of all the extant Targums, together with introductions and annotations. Each volume examines the place of a particular Targum or group of Targums in Jewish life, liturgy and biblical interpretation. Each Targum is evaluated in the light of Jewish tradition and of modern linguistic and biblical research. The notes point to parallel passages in other Jewish and Christian biblical and liturgical texts. Each translated Targum has its own apparatus indicating the relationship between the English translation and the Aramaic original and every volume has a useful bibliography.

Peng outlines a plausible structure for Romans 12.1 to 15.13. After a brief survey of scholars' opinions about the structure of this passage, three methodologies (structural exegesis, discourse analysis, and rhetorical criticism) are analysed. Having acknowledged that each of these methodologies has its own limitations, an eclectic approach, which is analogous with 'putting together a jigsaw puzzle without the final picture', is suggested. Peng also includes two appendices - the first is an assessment of the historical background of chapter 13.1 to 13.7 in light of the analysis presented; and the second is a short assessment of interpretations of the word 'pistis' in chapter 12.3 and 12.6, in which the rationale behind the interpretation of this term is discussed.

Despite the striking frequency with which the Greek word kyrios, Lord, occurs in Luke's Gospel, this study is the first comprehensive analysis of Luke's use of this word. The analysis follows the use of kyrios in the Gospel from beginning to end in order to trace narratively the complex and deliberate development of Jesus' identity as Lord. Detailed attention to Luke's narrative artistry and his use of Mark demonstrates that Luke has a nuanced and sophisticated christology centered on Jesus' identity as Lord.