In this study, Irene Backus examines the fate of the Apocalypse at the hands of early Protestants in three centres of the Reformation: Geneva, Zurich, and Wittenberg. To do so, Backus systematically investigates sources and methods on the most important reformed and Lutheran commentaries of the Apocalypse from 1528-1584.

The Pelagian controversy - whether man is saved through predestination or by his own free will - has proved one of the most enduring and fiercely contended issues of the Christian church, and has secured Pelagius a lasting place within its history. Few of Pelagius' writings, however, have been preserved, and until recently none was available in English translation. This volume presents Pelagius' commentary on Paul's Letter to the Romans for the first time in English. The commentary, one of thirteen on the Pauline Epistles, dates from the time when Pelagius was active in Rome, before he became embroiled in controversy. But already there are adumbrations of the later debate and signs of different currents of thought in Italy and beyond. In his introduction Theodore de Bruyn discusses the context in which Pelagius wrote the commentary and the issues which shaped his interpretation of Romans. He also takes up questions about the edition of the commentary. The translation is annotated with references to Pelagius' contemporaries. A new recension of Pelagius' text of Romans is presented in an appendix.

Essays by the veteran archaeologist Magen Broshi covering various aspects of both the material and spiritual life of ancient Palestine in the biblical and post-biblical periods. This volume of essays by Magen Broshi, formerly Curator of the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem and a veteran archaeologist, covers various aspects of both the material and spiritual life of ancient Palestine in the biblical and post-biblical period. Among the topics addressed in this entertaining and illuminating book are wine and food consumption, studies of population, the ancient city of Jerusalem, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the use and abuse of archaeology in historical and biblical research. This volume is designed for scholars and for any non-specialists with a keen interest in ancient life in the Holy Land.

’n Reenboog deur my trane is ’n bron van ryke troos en bemoediging vir enigeen wat treur oor die verlies van ’n geliefde en wat genesing soek vir hulle verskeurde harte. Dit bied 31 dagstukkies, gebede en inspirerende aanhalings wat God se vertroosting in onstuimige tyde met die leser deel, asook ’n lys van beloftes uit die Bybel vir spesifieke behoeftes in tye van nood.

For over one hundred years International Critical Commentaries have had a special place among works on the Bible. They bring together all the relevant aids to exegesis - linguistic, textual, archaeological, historical, literary, and theological - to help the reader understand the meaning of the books of the Old and New Testaments. The new commentaries continue this tradition. All new evidence now available is incorporated and new methods of study are applied. The authors are of the highest international standing. No attempt has been made to secure a uniform theological or critical approach to the biblical text: contributors have been invited for their scholarly distinction, not for their adherence to any one school of thought. >

Christian Book Award Finalist But God speaks through wombs, birthing prophetic utterances. . . . Enough of this unbelieving religion that masquerades as faith. Divine favor is placed on what we have disgraced. In God Speaks Through Wombs, Drew Jackson explores the first eight chapters of Luke's Gospel in a new poetic register. These are declarative poems, faithfully proclaiming the gospel story in all its liberative power. Here the gospel is the "fresh words / that speak of / things impossible." From the Magnificat ("That girl can sing! . . . She has a voice / That can shatter shackles") to the baptism of Christ ("I stepped in / Committing insurrection"), this collection helps us hear the hum of deliverance-against all hope-that's been in the gospel all along.

This book makes a major contribution to the ongoing debate about which of the Synoptic gospels was written first. Dr. Head has evolved a new approach to the problem, using the christological criterion in order to produce more objective results. He compares the consensus view--that Mark's gospel was the first to be written--with the view that Mark used, conflated and abbreviated Matthew and Luke (a view that is undergoing a contemporary revival). The author confirms the hypothesis of Markan priority, but argues that Matthew was a developer rather than a corrector of Mark.

The divine promises to Abraham have long been recognized as a key to the book of Genesis as a whole. But their variety, often noted, also raises literary and theological problems. Why do they differ each time, and how are they related to each other and to the story of Abraham? Williamson focuses on the promises in Genesis 15 and 17, and concludes that they are concerned with two distinct but related issues. Genesis 15 guarantees God's promise to make Abraham into a great nation, while Genesis 17 focuses chiefly on God's promise to mediate blessing (through Abraham) to the nations. The two chapters are connected, however, by the theme of an individual, royal descendant who will come from the nation (Israel) and mediate blessing to all the nations of the earth.

Lectio divina is a practice of Scripture reading that treats the Bible not only as a text to be examined, but also as the living Word of God spoken anew to us. Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate. Experienced Bible teacher Jan Johnson presents forty Scripture meditations organised topically, giving us the tools we need to practice Lectio Divina on our own. Each meditation can be used both individually and in group settings, and includes: An introduction to the meditation encouraging a time of quiet preparatory exercise; the complete passage from Scripture with explanations, context, and background to the text, help to enter and absorb the text; space to contemplate the passage, respond to God in prayer and rest in his presence; and an exercise to implement the ideas of the passage in our daily lives. Meeting God in Scripture moves us beyond merely understanding what the text meant in its original context to a direct spiritual encounter with Christ.

In this concise study, John Perry enables the reader to see that the Transfiguration story does not recount an actual event, but was created to teach an important "symbolic" lesson abou thte Risen Jesus. To that end, he explains: (1) the conflict within the early church that called the story into being; (2) the nature ofmidrash and the role that it played in the formation of the story. Perry then considers why Mark, the writer of the first Gospel, decided to modify the Transfiguration story known to him and use it in his Gospel. Finally, answers are provided for 12 questiosn frequently prompted by contemporary readings of this story. These answers shed considerable light on the way the early church went about the task of preserving and interpreting the sacred history of Jesus.

This is the first English translation of the Venerable Bede's commentary on the book of Genesis. Dealing as it does with the biblical account of the creation of the world and of mankind, and of mankind's fall from grace and exile into the life of time, On Genesis offers essential insights into Bede's fundamental assumptions as a theologian, historian, and scientific cosmologist. Bede's role in laying the foundations of the modern world cannot be overemphasised. From his quantitative approach to questions of science to his introduction of the Anno Domini system of dating and his text-critical methods of biblical analysis, he anticipated and influenced modern ways of thinking. Bede regarded the opening chapters of Genesis as the foundation narrative of the world. From it Bede derived the theoretical basis for his scientific treatises and his notion of the English as a chosen people of God, which informs the Ecclesiastical History. This translation and introduction attempts to make Bede's commentary accessible to anyone with an interest in his work.

The narrative of Holy Week is powerful and painful, and because we know how the story ends it's easy to gloss over the difficult details, and stay in the comfort zone of our understanding. Stephen Cottrell brings home, vividly and poignantly, the physical reality of the passion story. This is a book to stimulate thought, provoke discussion and create space for contemplation. 'In order to understand the cross you need to stand under it . . . with the imagination as well as the mind . . . This book aims to help in that process . . . But however you use it - on your own or with others - I hope you will receive some small appreciation of just how much the cross weighs, and maybe even pick it up yourself.' From the Introduction

Intended to appeal to both Christians and Jews,A Rabbi Looks at Jesus' Parables is an introduction to the teachings of Jesus, and compares the similarities and differences in Jesus' thinking to other Jewish sources from first-century Palestine. Each chapter uncovers hidden messages within each of Jesus' parables, and discusses each parable within its first-century religious and historical context. The book attempts to build bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews by exploring the notion that we share a common history.

A thirty day devotional look at 'David's diary' with thought provoking points, prayers and questions to help explore this much-loved story in a new way. How do you suppose David felt being plucked from the obscurity of caring for sheep to becoming the King of Israel ? Emily Owen explores these questions through David's 'diary', sharing in his trials, his victories, his challenges, fears and joys. Each reading begins with a diary extract from David's life, which is then beautifully unpacked with a meditation to encourage the reader to reflect on how that applies today. Each meditation is encouraging yet challenging, uplifting and helpful for personal growth. A wonderful book to help readers look again at familiar Bible stories with a fresh perspective.

For God alone my soul in silence waits.... In these reflections on Psalm 62 Margaret Guenther provides the foundation for a time of reflection and retreat without ever leaving home. The book s first chapter introduces us to ways of making a retreat wherever we are, at a place apart or in the midst of our daily lives. Guenther then offers eight meditations on Psalm 62, with its themes of waiting on God s presence with patience, trust, and expectation. She explores the images the psalm evokes of longing, silence, waiting, safety, enemies, and God as a rock and refuge. As in all her books, Guenther finds new ways to explore these ancient themes with the wit and practicality of an accomplished storyteller. These eight meditations can be read consecutively over the course of a single day or weekend, or spaced over time with periods of reflection in between. Each meditation ends with ideas for further prayer and pondering. My Soul in Silence Waits is one of our series of Cowley Cloister Books: smaller format, gift edition books designed for meditative and devotional reading.

Alan Dershowitz is one of America's most famous litigation experts. In the Genesis of Justice he examines the Genesis narratives to bring to the reader an insight into the creation of the ten commandments and much of what is now law.

In the second book of Samuel, the prophet Nathan tells King David that God will give to him and his descendants a great and everlasting kingdom. In this study William Schniedewind looks at how this dynastic Promise has been understood and transmitted from the time of its first appearance at the inception of the Hebrew monarchy until the dawn of Christianity. He shows in detail how, over the centuries, the Promise grew in importance and prestige.

This study centers on the question: how do particular readers read a biblical passage? What factors govern each reading? DeLapp here attempts to set up a test case for observing how both socio-historical and textual factors play a part in how a person reads a biblical text. Using a reception-historical methodology, he surveys five Reformed authors and their readings of the David and Saul story (primarily 1 Sam 24 and 26). From this survey two interrelated phenomena emerge. First, all the authors find in David an ideal model for civic praxis-a "Davidic social imaginary" (Charles Taylor). Second, despite this primary agreement, the authors display two different reading trajectories when discussing David's relationship with Saul. Some read the story as showing a persecuted exile, who refuses to offer active resistance against a tyrannical monarch. Others read the story as exemplifying active defensive resistance against a tyrant. To account for this convergence and divergence in the readings, DeLapp argues for a two-fold conclusion. The authors are influenced both by their socio-historical contexts and by the shape of the biblical text itself. Given a Deuteronomic frame conducive to the social imaginary, the paradigmatic narratives of 1 Sam 24 and 26 offer a narrative gap never resolved. The story never makes explicit to the reader what David is doing in the wilderness in relation to King Saul. As a result, the authors fill in the "gap" in ways that accord with their own socio-historical experiences.

In foregrounding the themes of witnessing, 'seeing and hearing', and recognition, Luke urges readers to reflect on their own hearing (= reading) of his story, to become certain kinds of readers and to read in particular ways. So the need for a reader-oriented methodology in interpreting Luke-Acts is evident. But what is the best theory to deploy? Charting a path through the thickets of modern literary theory, Darr develops a new reader-oriented model, insisting that the original 'extratext' (the repertoire of literary and social conventions) of Luke-Acts-and not simply the text itself-should be taken into account in any critical evaluation of how this story works. To demonstrate this new hermeneutical model, Darr undertakes an extensive study of Lukan characterization, and especially his portrayal of Herod the Tetrarch.

The Bible was at the center of Jonathan Edwards' intellectual and ministerial life. As an eighteenth century theologian-pastor, the Scriptures were the focus of his work and the perspective through which he viewed his world. Edwards had a particular interest in the interpretation of the Apocalypse, devoting a notebook to the collection of observations and thoughts from his reading and reflection. This book examines Edwards' interpretation of Revelation 4-8 as seen in his working notebooks and theological treatises and sermons and then compares his views with some of his major contemporary biblical interpreters. Edwards employs a typological hermeneutical method, arguing that typology is the language God uses to communicate and this language can be learned both from explicit typology in Scripture as well as from the biblical author's implicit use of types. In the application of this typological hermeneutics, Edwards not only interprets all of Scripture Christologically, but also views the natural world and secular history as types of Christ.

How could the Apostle Paul maintain in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth that all their ancestors were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea / exodus event (10:2), and how could he tolerate some of them having themselves baptized again on behalf of the dead (15:29)? Answers to these puzzling questions can be found in early Jewish sources now located both in Greek and Hebrew, all here translated.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The idea of The Rapture",the return of Christ to rescue and deliver Christians off the earth,is an extremely popular interpretation of the Bible's Book of Revelation and a jumping-off point for the best-selling Left Behind" series of books. This interpretation, based on a psychology of fear and destruction, guides the daily acts of thousands if not millions of people worldwide. In The Rapture Exposed , Barbara Rossing argues that this script for the world's future is nothing more than a disingenuous distortion of the Bible. The truth, Rossing argues, is that Revelation offers a vision of God's healing love for the world. The Rapture Exposed reclaims Christianity from fundamentalists' destructive reading of the biblical story and back into God's beloved community.

After publishing a number of books in the history, literature, social thought, history of religion, and theology of formative Judaism, in the first six centuries C.E., Neusner explains the principal stages in the unfolding of his oeuvre. He introduces the documentary reading of the canonical components, one by one. He proceeds to the description, analysis, and interpretation of religious systems that comprise Rabbinic Judaism. He then sets forth the documentary history of the formation of Rabbinic Judaism in antiquity, its transformation from a philosophical to a religious system for Israel's social order. From that diachronic perspective turns to the generative logic that transcends the diachronic narrative and imposes synchrony upon the whole. That marks a shift to a synchronic perspective, now spelling out the theological outcome of the entire venture: how the whole holds together in a coherent and logical way.

Phillips undertakes a sequential reading of the Prologue of John's Gospel. By using the reading strategies of Iser, Emmott, and Eco, the book establishes a reading strategy termed sequential disclosure, which is then applied to the text. In order to arrive at the reading, preliminary chapters focus both on historical interpretation of the Prologue in terms of reader response and on the role of the author, the use of persuasion and the development of irony. Special focus is given to the role of the dramatic prologue, as well as the interaction between rhetoric, irony and community. As such, the book discusses the role of the reading process in developing a specific community language. The book focuses on the didactic role of the Prologue in teaching readers this language and so including them into the Johannine community. The reading of the Prologue highlights the key aspects of the reading process: ambiguity and disambiguation; resemanticization; antilanguage; community development and intertextuality. A sequential reading of the Prologue highlights the didactic and evangelistic role of this text. JSNTS 294