Who is in control? The sustained threat from rogue states, international terrorism, religious extremists, and moral confusion arising from liberal views of all kinds begs the question: what is happening to our world? Is no-one in control? This is a deep vulnerability that many people express. And not simply in global events. Our own personal world often seems out of control as we reel from suffering, family tragedies and unanswered prayers. The prophet Habakkuk knew that God was in control but, like us, his personal experience seemed to contradict this and he wrestled with the tension. This book is a dialogue between the prophet and God. Habakkuk confronts God with his confusion and, in doing so, he expresses the voice of the godly in Judah and he speaks for us. We join in the journey from 'why?' to worship.

This book examines many of the laws in the Torah governing sexual relations and the often implicit motivations underlying them. It also considers texts beyond the laws in which legal traditions and ideas concerning sexual behavior intersect and provide insight into ancient Israel's social norms. The book includes extended treatments on the nature and function of marriage and divorce in ancient Israel, the variation in sexual rules due to status and gender, the prohibition on male-with-male sex, and the different types of sexualities that may have existed in ancient Israel. The essays draw on a variety of methodologies and approaches, including narrative criticism, philological analysis, literary theory, feminist and gender theory, anthropological models, and comparative analysis. They cover content ranging from the narratives in Genesis, to the laws of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, to later re-interpretations of pentateuchal laws in Jeremiah and texts from the Second Temple period. Overall, the book presents a combination of theoretical discussion and close textual analysis to shed new light on the connections between law and sexuality within the Torah and beyond.

In A Reader of Ancient Near Eastern Texts: Sources for the Study of the Old Testament, leading biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan presents a collection of texts that introduce students to the larger world surrounding the Old Testament. Dating from the third millennium BCE to the turn of the era, the readings have been carefully selected from the most accurate sources and arranged by genre and place of origin. They provide historical correlations to people and events mentioned in the Bible; parallels to biblical genres, motifs, institutions, and concepts; and windows into the lives of ordinary people. The texts are enhanced by chapter and reading introductions, extensive biblical references, and illustrations.
Package this anthology with Michael D. Coogan's The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, Second Edition (OUP, 2010) or A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context, Second Edition (OUP, 2011) for use in your course and save your students 20%. Please contact your Oxford University Press Sales Representative at 800.280.0280 for details.