During the second invasion of Jerusalem(597 B.C.), Nebuchadnezzar deported an even larger group of Judah's upper and middle class citizens to Babylon, and among this group was a young twenty-six year old priest in training named, Ezekiel. This group of Jewish captives was placed in the region of Tel Aviv, along a wide canal that links two branches of the Euphrates known as the Kebar River. There, they were treated more as colonists than slaves and enjoyed many privileges. It was there on the banks of the Kebar River, that, in 593 B.C., a now thirty old Ezekiel received his calling from GOD (Ezekiel 1 & 2). Thirty years old is the minimum age that priests are actually allowed to begin serving in the temple (Numbers 4:1-3). And so, as the LORD would have it, it was from that place, that Ezekiel first served the LORD by delivering his first prophetic message to his fellow captives in Babylon.

In this unique volume, father-and-son team Walter and John Brueggemann take a close look at our fractured American society and suggest ways for improvement. Using six themes identified by some scholars as the moral foundations of societycare, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority, and sanctitythey examine the unsustainable patterns of our contemporary society and reveal how those patterns played out in the ancient world of the Old Testament. Brueggemann and Brueggemann demonstrate how comparing the current state of these moral foundations with what God wanted them to be can help us better respond to the challenges of today. They assert that achieving any significant change will require the work of all of us and will be grounded in a vision of neighborliness. Rebuilding the Foundations will inspire readers to reorient toward a better way of living, both for themselves and for all living things.

God never gives up. When we stray or make a mistake, God continues to pursue us with a relentless love. In Hosea's unfailing love for his wayward wife, he lived out the way God loves his people. His story is a reminder that God will never abandon us. The top-selling LifeBuilder Bible Studies have helped millions of people dig deeper into the Bible, individually and in groups.

In "Walking In the Dark" Daniel Fuller guides us step by step while he examines and expounds the text and the message of the biblical book of Job. As Professor of Hermeneutics at Fuller Seminary, Dr. Fuller wrestled with this text for many years in the context of teaching future pastors and theologians how to understand the original author's intended meaning. Today's serious students of Scripture can now benefit from his work as they engage with his methods and with the meaning he exposes as he unfolds the language and layers of this classic story. "Walking In the Dark" helps readers, appreciate the scope of God's righteousness, realize the complexity of God's providence, and acknowledge the limits of human wisdom. Don't miss this opportunity to shed some light on why God sometimes consigns us to suffer without explanation.

In this engaging book, Graeme Goldsworthy reflects with clarity and practical insight on reading and using the Old Testament. By showing us how Jesus is central to the Old Testament's message, he encourages us to reinstate it as essential and transformative to our lives, churches and mission in today's world. The author asks important questions: Where is Jesus in the whole biblical storyline? How does the kingdom of God relate to him? In what way is he central to the divine revelation? This is a must-read for those who wish to transform their biblical understanding.

Take an in-depth look at over twenty fierce, faithful, and strong women featured in the Old Testament with Preaching the Women of the Old Testament. Inside this unique resource author Lynn Japinga interprets the stories of various biblical women, including Eve, Rebekah, Dinah, Tamar, Miriam, Deborah, Jael, Abigail, Bathsheba, and Vashti. Along with providing an interpretation, Japinga demonstrates how the character's story has been read in Christian tradition and offers sermon ideas that connect contemporary issues to each story. This book is ideal for pastors who want to know more about the many women of the Old Testament and learn how to better incorporate them into their sermons.

A distinctively theological take on the book of Micah Readers of the book of Micah learn a great deal about God: he is a mighty God who controls the nations, yet he is also concerned with everyday matters like equity, poverty, and care for widows and orphans. In presenting this transcendent-yet-immanent God, Micah's message revolves around themes of justice, judgment, and salvation that continue to carry great significance today. In this theological commentary on the book of Micah, Stephen Dempster places the text in conversation with the larger story of Scripture. After discussing questions of structure and authorship in his introduction, Dempster systematically works through the text, drawing links to the broader biblical story throughout. In the second part of his commentary Dempster offers theological discussion that further explicates the most significant themes in Micah and their applicability to today's Christians.

The Book of Job presents the story of the sufferings of a man of God at the hands of the devil. God allowed it! In fact, God put Job forth to the devil as a wonderful servant of God! The Book of Job teaches how God operates in this world. As a servant of God, Job thought he knew God...but not nearly as well as he thought he did. The book contrasts the knowledge of the world, represented in the words of Job's three friends, to Job's confusion concerning the ways of God, to the truth of God explained by the Lord! Hopefully, by studying the details of Job's experiences, each of us will learn to turn our attention and trust to God - without the need to personally endure affliction and suffering like Job!

An introduction to the Old Testament books of Ruth and Esther is followed by a verse-by-verse commentary on the text of these two books.

The Judean monarch Hezekiah remains one of the most significant figures in biblical studies. For all of his greatness, however, there is little about him that may be stated with certainty. This study provides a detailed reexamination of this enterprising ruler. It commences with data outside the biblical text from Assyrian records and ancient Near Eastern archaeology which may be brought to bear in reconstructing the historical Hezekiah, and subsequently proceeds to augment this picture based on his portrayal in the books of Kings, First Isaiah, and Chronicles. Its focus is on those issues that either remain contentious in biblical scholarship, or else have been resolved into a general consensus that needs to be called into question.

Winner of the 2015 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award Winner of the Frank Moore Cross Award for Best Book in Biblical Studies from ASOR Winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society 2017 Publication Award for Best Book Relating to the Hebrew Bible Eugene Ulrich presents in The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Developmental Composition of the Bible the comprehensive and synthesized picture he has gained as editor of many biblical scrolls. His earlier volume, The Biblical Qumran Scrolls, presented the evidence - the transcriptions and textual variants of all the biblical scrolls - and this volume explores the implications and significance of that evidence. The Bible has not changed, but modern knowledge of it certainly has changed. The ancient Scrolls have opened a window and shed light on a period in the history of the text's formation that had languished in darkness for two thousand years. They offer a parade of surprises that greatly enhance knowledge of how the scriptural texts developed through history.

The Pentateuch (or the Torah) consists of the first five books of the Bible and is a foundational scripture for millions of people, both Jews and Christians. In this book Paula Gooder and Brad Anderson provide a clear and accessible introduction for those beginning Bible study. Key themes such as creation and the flood, exodus and liberation, as well as covenant and law are presented and analyzed. These themes are explored in their ancient context and from the standpoint of contemporary concerns such as liberation theology, gender issues and ecology. For this new edition introductory sections on the five books of the Pentateuch have been expanded and supplemented, while recent developments in the quest for the origins of the Pentateuch have also been updated. A new chapter on academic approaches to the study of the Pentateuch has been added, along with a section on the 'afterlife' of the Pentateuch which focuses on its place in the history of interpretation, as well as in the arts and culture. Reading lists and references have been updated throughout to take account of the most recent scholarship.

This second part of Genesis is the story of God's choosing of the Jews. As you read and study your way through this second part of Genesis, I think you'll be struck, as I was, at what a total mess this chosen family was. And perhaps you'll come to the same conclusion I have: All families are dysfunctional in more ways than we know! Genesis Part 2 is full of hope and a little humor for all of us dysfunctionals.

The Learning Church series offers a range of brief and accessible introductions to the key themes of Christian discipleship and theology. Conversations with the Old Testament introduces major themes and critical issues of the Old Testament in a way which relates them to current experience, context and culture.

Isaiah 40-66, by Marvin A. Sweeney, is the nineteenth published volume in The Forms of the Old Testament Literature (FOTL), a series that provides a form-critical analysis of the books and units in the Hebrew Bible. Building on his earlier FOTL volume, Isaiah 1-39, Sweeney here presents his analysis of Isaiah 40-66 within both the synchronic literary form of Isaiah and the diachronic history of its composition. In keeping with the methodology and goals of the FOTL series, Sweeney's Isaiah 40-66 offers detailed examinations of the formal structure of the chapters covered; the genres that function within these chapters; the literary, historical, and social settings of the text; and the overall interpretation of Isaiah 40-66 and its constituent textual units. Including a glossary of the genres and formulas discussed, this commentary will be a useful resource to anyone wishing to engage more deeply with this central book in the Hebrew Bible.

The Peshitta is the Syriac translation of the Old Testament made on the basis of the Hebrew text during the second century CE. Much like the Greek translations of the Old Testament, this document is an important source for our knowledge of the text of the Old Testament. Its language is also of great interest to linguists. Moreover, as Bible of the Syriac Churches it is used in sermons, commentaries, poetry, prayers, and hymns. Many terms specific to the spirituality of the Syriac Churches have their origins in this ancient and reliable version of the Old Testament. The present edition, published by the Peshitta Institute in Leiden on behalf of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, is the first scholarly one of this text. It presents the evidence of all known ancient manuscripts and gives full introductions to the individual books. This volume contains Canticles or Odes, Prayer of Manasseh, Apocryphal psalms, Psalms of Solomon, Tobit, and I(3) Esdras.

Since the seventies, no study has examined the methodologies of Josephus' rewriting of an entire biblical book as part of his Judean Antiquities. This book attempts to fill this vacuum by exploring Josephus' adaptation of the books of Samuel, penetrating the exegetical strategies he employs to modify the biblical stories for his intended audience. Through meticulous comparison of the biblical narrative and Josephus' Antiquities, broader issues - such as Josephus' attitude towards monarchy and women - gradually come to light, challenging long-held assumptions. This definitive exploration of Josephus' rewriting of Samuel illuminates the encounter between the ancient texts and its relevance to scholarly discourse today.