The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship. Overview of Commentary Organization Introduction-covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes: Pericope Bibliography-a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation-the author's own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes-the author's notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting-a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment-verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation-brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography-occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliography contains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

Antonios Finitsis provides a distinctive view social worldview and message of Zechariah. Zechariah 1-6 is unlike most of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. He is pro-establishment and he conveys his message mostly with visions. These observations have led to scholarly disagreements as to how one should understand his role. Antonios Finitsis mediates this disagreement by triangulating the relationship of Zechariah's visionary mode of expression, his message and his function. Zechariah has often been seen as a link between prophecy and apocalypticism. However, Finitsis argues again assuming the presence of this link - warning against the potential for reductionist thinking. Furthermore, Proto-Zechariah's viewpoint is particular to the post-exilic social setting. His visions are influenced by the social circumstances in which they are expressed. Proto-Zechariah refers to the near future using elements from the community's present. Therefore, Finitsis defines the message of Proto-Zechariah one of restoration eschatology, suggesting that the text is addressed to a small province plagued by inner-community conflicts. The text succeeds in alleviating social discord by empowering the people to rebuild their community. This presents a unique and challenging understand of Zechariah's prophetic role. "The Library of Second Temple Studies" is a premier book series that offers cutting-edge work for a readership of scholars, teachers, postgraduate students and advanced undergraduates in the field of Second Temple studies. All the many and diverse aspects of Second Temple study are represented and promoted, including innovative work from historical perspectives, studies using social-scientific and literary theory, and developing theological, cultural and contextual approaches.

Reading Daniel as a Text in Theological Hermeneutics sets out to read the book of Daniel as a narrative textbook in the field of theological hermeneutics. Employing such disciplines as historical criticism, literary criticism, narrative theology, and hermeneutics, this work seeks to maintain an interdisciplinary outlook on the book of Daniel. Two inherently linked perspectives are utilized in this reading of Daniel. First is the perception that the character of Daniel is the paradigm of the good theological hermeneut; theology and hermeneutics are inseparable and converge in the character of Daniel. Readers must recognize in Daniel certain qualities, attitudes, abilities, and convictions well worth emulating. Essentially, readers must aspire to become a Daniel. Second is the standpoint that the book of Daniel on the whole should be read as a hermeneutics textbook. Readers are led through a series of theories and exercises meant to be instilled into their theological, intellectual, and practical lives. Attention to readers is a constant endeavor throughout this thesis. The concern is fundamentally upon contemporary readers and their communities, yet with sensible consideration given to the historical readerly community with which contemporary readers find continuity. Greater concentration is placed on what the book of Daniel means for contemporary readers than on what the book of Daniel meant in its historical setting. In the end, readers are left with difficult challenges, a sobering awareness of the volatility of the business of hermeneutics, and serious implications for readers to implement both theologically and hermeneutically.

In this study, Calum Carmichael offers a new assessment of the Joseph story from the perspective of the biblical laws in Leviticus 1-10. These sacrificial laws, he argues, respond to the many problems in the first Israelite family. Understanding how ancient lawgivers thought about Joseph's and his brothers' troubling behavior leads to a greater appreciation of this complicated tale. The study of the laws in Leviticus 1-10 in relation to the Joseph story provides evidence that all biblical laws, over 400, constitute commentary on issues in the biblical narratives. They do not, as commonly thought, directly reflect the societal concerns in ancient Israelite times. Through close reading and analysis, Carmichael reveals how biblical narrators and lawgivers found distinctive and subtle ways of evaluating a single development in a narrative from multiple perspectives. Thus, the sacrificial laws addressing idolatry, keeping silent about a known offense, confessing wrongdoing, and seeking forgiveness become readily understandable when reviewed as responses to the events in the Joseph story.

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.

Chock-full of pithy sayings, the book of Proverbs presents ancient Israelite advice for leading a flourishing life. What is more, it apparently preserves four divisions of an ancient curriculum for cultivating youthful character, teaching reverence toward God and faithful love of our neighbours. In this comprehensive commentary, Paul Overland examines Proverbs not as a loose collection of isolated sayings, but as an organised whole that forms a series of cohesive poems. Along with a fresh, annotated translation of each saying, he offers detailed commentary on the form and structure of the text, showing the dynamic development of persuasive thinking marshalled by its author. Exploring the practical implications for living wisely today as well offering cogent analysis, this is a Bible commentary on Proverbs that will benefit all preachers and serious students of the Bible. Part of the Apollos Old Testament commentary series, Proverbs follows a clear, helpful structure that provides a thorough exploration of the text - beginning with translation and notes, examining form and structure, offering insightful commentary and ending with a full exposition of the theological message within the framework of biblical theology. It will leave you with a deeper knowledge of the divine and human aspects of Scripture, as well as a broader understanding of its meaning and continued relevance for modern Christians. The Apollos Old Testament Commentaries are ideal bible commentaries for those preaching from the Old Testament and looking to explore its riches in depth within their sermons, and will also help lay people and scholars studying the Bible at a higher level. Clear and discerning, Paul Overland's commentary on Proverbs is a brilliant study that will give you a profound appreciation for both the poetry of these sayings and the lessons that they can still Christians today.

The Bible, Homer, and the Search for Meaning in Ancient Myths explores and compares the most influential sets of divine myths in Western culture: the Homeric pantheon and Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. Heath argues that not only does the God of the Old Testament bear a striking resemblance to the Olympians, but also that the Homeric system rejected by the Judeo-Christian tradition offers a better model for the human condition. The universe depicted by Homer and populated by his gods is one that creates a unique and powerful responsibility - almost directly counter to that evoked by the Bible-for humans to discover ethical norms, accept death as a necessary human limit, develop compassion to mitigate a tragic existence, appreciate frankly both the glory and dangers of sex, and embrace and respond courageously to an indifferent universe that was clearly not designed for human dominion. Heath builds on recent work in biblical and classical studies to examine the contemporary value of mythical deities. Judeo-Christian theologians over the millennia have tried to explain away Yahweh's Olympian nature while dismissing the Homeric deities for the same reason Greek philosophers abandoned them: they don't live up to preconceptions of what a deity should be. In particular, the Homeric gods are disappointingly plural, anthropomorphic, and amoral (at best). But Heath argues that Homer's polytheistic apparatus challenges us to live meaningfully without any help from the divine. In other words, to live well in Homer's tragic world - an insight gleaned by Achilles, the hero of the Iliad - one must live as if there were no gods at all. The Bible, Homer, and the Search for Meaning in Ancient Myths should change the conversation academics in classics, biblical studies, theology and philosophy have - especially between disciplines - about the gods of early Greek epic, while reframing on a more popular level the discussion of the role of ancient myth in shaping a thoughtful life.

The story of Joseph and Aseneth is a fascinating expansion of the narrative in Genesis of Joseph in Egypt, and in particular, of his marriage to the daughter of an Egyptian priest. This study examines the portrayal of Aseneth's transformation in the text, focusing on three perspectives. How did Aseneth's encounter with Joseph and her subsequent transformation affect various aspects of her identity in the narrative? In what ways do the portrayals of Aseneth, her transformation, and her abode relate to select metaphors and other symbolic features depicted in the Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible, and the Pseudepigrapha? And, how do the ritualized components through which Aseneth's transformation occurred function in the narrative, and why are they perceived as effective? In order to shed light on these facets of Joseph and Aseneth, the author draws on the contemporary approaches of intersectionality, conceptual blending, intertextual blending, and the cognitive theory of rituals, using these theoretical frameworks to explore and illuminate the complexity of Aseneth's transformation.

Central to understanding the prophecy and prayer of the Hebrew Bible are the unspoken assumptions that shaped them-their genres. Modern scholars describe these works as "poetry," but there was no corresponding ancient Hebrew term or concept. Scholars also typically assume it began as "oral literature," a concept based more in evolutionist assumptions than evidence. Is biblical poetry a purely modern fiction, or is there a more fundamental reason why its definition escapes us? Beyond Orality: Biblical Poetry on its Own Terms changes the debate by showing how biblical poetry has worked as a mirror, reflecting each era's own self-image of verbal art. Yet Vayntrub also shows that this problem is rooted in a crucial pattern within the Bible itself: the texts we recognize as "poetry" are framed as powerful and ancient verbal performances, dramatic speeches from the past. The Bible's creators presented what we call poetry in terms of their own image of the ancient and the oral, and understanding their native theories of Hebrew verbal art gives us a new basis to rethink our own.

You have a giant in your life. An adversary that's diminishing your ability to live fully in Christ. Whatever it may be-rejection, fear, anger, comfort, or addiction-this giant stands between you and God's promise...and it must fall. Like with David and the Israelites, God has a better plan for you than to stand and be taunted day after day by a 9-foot Goliath. God's plan for you is to live in victory. In this six-session video Bible study (streaming code included), Pastor Louie Giglio reveals a twist in the story of David and Goliath that will help you and your study group see how God works victories in the lives of his people. This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including: The study guide itself-with discussion and reflection questions, activities, video notes, and a leader's guide. An individual access code to stream all six video sessions online (you don't need to buy a DVD!). Each session will equip you with practical, hands-on steps to take after engaging in passages from the Bible and Louie's video talks, which show how living free from our giants means putting our hope in Jesus. When we do, we get to watch Goliath fall. Sessions and video run times: Dead but Still Deadly (22:30) Fear Must Fall (23:00) Rejection Must Fall (20:00) Comfort Must Fall (20:00) Anger Must Fall (22:30) Addiction Must Fall (22:00) Watch on any device! Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2027. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside.

"Babel is everywhere! Migrant readings from Africa, Europe and Asia" sets out to explore the intersection between religion, identity and migration. It does so by telling entangled histories between diaspora/s and homeland and by analysing biblical in-roads to issues and challenges of migration. It also explores hyphenated identities and takes a close look at the role of migrant religion specifically regarding issues of mission, of identity formation and of ecclesial and societal formation. This book challenges static notions of diaspora, stable identities and Western-centred notions of Christianity and offers kaleidoscopic insights from Pentecostal, migrant and intercultural perspectives.

This is a new translation of and commentary on Pico della Mirandola's most famous work, the Oration on the Dignity of Man. It is the first English edition to provide readers with substantial notes on the text, essays that address the work's historical, philosophical and theological context, and a survey of its reception. Often called the 'Manifesto of the Renaissance', this brief but complex text was originally composed in 1486 as the inaugural speech for an assembly of intellectuals, which could have produced one of the most exhaustive metaphysical, theological and psychological debates in history, had Pope Innocent VIII not forbidden it. This edition of the Oration reflects the spirit of the original text in bringing together experts in different fields. Not unlike the debate Pico optimistically anticipated, the resulting work is superior to the sum of its parts.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah have been neglected in Old Testament scholarship, but as Dean Ulrich demonstrates in this valuable study, new in the NSBT series, Ezra-Nehemiah as a literary unit is part of the Christian Bible that tells God's grand story of saving activity. Now and Not Yet explores how the narrative theology of Ezra and Nehemiah shows us how to be a godly participant in God's story, and how the moral imperatives of leadership are bound up in the larger context of God's acts and promises: God's redeemed community that is bigger than any individual person, and at the heart of this is mission - participation in God's purpose for his world. Seeing these books as the record of the beginning of a new work of God among his people after the exile, Ulrich also illuminates how the theology of Ezra and Nehemiah connects to the larger biblical narrative and leads to the first coming of Jesus. Insightful and accessible, Now and Not Yet is a brilliant addition to the New Studies in Biblical Theology series. It is ideal for students, pastors and anyone looking for studies on Ezra and Nehemiah that dig deeply into their theology, particularly in relation to biblical mission. Now and Not Yet will leave you with a greater understanding of Ezra-Nehemiah as a literary unit, and how its theology is still relevant for Christians today - the new work it reveals enables God's people to be restored in their relationship with God, through both hope in God's promises and obedience to his instruction concerned with mission.

Modern linguistics is a relative newcomer in the scientific world, and text-linguistics, or discourse analysis, is one of its youngest disciplines. This fact has inclined many toward scepticism of its value for the Hebraist, yet much benefit is thereby overlooked. In this work, the author examines recent contributions to Hebrew text-linguistics by Niccacci, Andersen, Eskhult, Khan, and Longacre, evaluating them against a twofold standard of theoretical and methodological integrity, and clarity of communication. An extensive introduction to one particularly promising model of text analysis (from Longacre's tagmemic school) is given, and a step-by-step methodology is presented. Analyses according to this model and methodology are given of seven extended text samples, each building on the findings of the previous analyses: Judg. 2; Lev. 14.1-32; Lev. 6.1-7.37; parallel instructions and historical reports about the building of the Tabernacle, from Exodus 25-40; Judg. 10.6-12.7; and the book of Ruth in its entirety. Considerable attention is given to the question of text-linguistics and reported speech.

This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary History. Through detailed analysis of the text, Gnuse contends that there are numerous examples of clear influence from late classical and Hellenistic literature. Deconstructing the biblical and Greek works in parallel, he argues that there are too many similarities in basic theme, meaning, and detail, for them to be accounted for by coincidence or shared ancient tropes. Using this evidence, he suggests that although much of the text may originate from the Persian period, large parts of its final form likely date from the Hellenistic era. With the help of an original introduction and final chapter, Gnuse pulls his essays together into a coherent collection for the first time. The resultant volume offers a valuable resource for anyone working on the dating of the Hebrew Bible, as well as those working on Hellenism in the ancient Levant more broadly.

The father-daughter dyad features in the Hebrew Bible in all of narratives, laws, myths and metaphors. In previous explorations of this relationship, the tendency has been to focus on discrete stories - notable among them, Judges 11 (the story of Jephthah's human sacrifice of his daughter) and Genesis 19 (the dark tale of Lot's daughters' seduction of their father). By taking the full spectrum into account, however, the daughter emerges prominently as (not only) expendable and exploitable (as an emphasis on daughter sacrifice or incest has suggested) but as cherished and protected by her father. Depictions of daughters are multifarious and there is a balance of very positive and very negative images. While not uncritical of earlier feminist investigations, this book makes a contribution to feminist biblical criticism and utilizes methods drawn from the social sciences and psychoanalysis. Alongside careful textual analysis, Johanna Stiebert offers a critical evaluation of the heuristic usefulness of the ethnographic honour-shame model, of parallels with Roman family studies, and of the application and meaning of 'patriarchy'. Following semantic analysis of the primary Hebrew terms for 'father' ( ) and 'daughter' ( ), as well as careful examination of inter-family dynamics and the daughter's role vis-a-vis the son's, alongside thorough investigation of both Judges 11 and Genesis 19, and also of the metaphor of God-the-father of daughters Eve, Wisdom and Zion, Stiebert provides the fullest exploration of daughters in the Hebrew Bible to date.

The book of Isaiah is a composite work whose formation took place over a long period of time, incorporating the work of many different hands rather than the work of a single author. A crucial stage in this process came with the Jewish return from Babylonian exile, and the subsequent efforts at restoration. In this new context, how were the older Isaianic oracles to be seen? What did they say? Isaiah After Exile examines this question in depth from the point of view of the book's formation. Jacob Stromberg illuminates the textual hermeneutics embedded in the post-exilic shape of Isaiah, contributing to our understanding of the dynamics of scriptural formation in this influential period of Jewish history. The author of Third Isaiah is shown to have edited the book in line with his reading of it to project the old word into the new post-exilic situation.
Stromberg unfolds this argument in three parts. The first defines Third Isaiah's final form, finding the work of its author especially in its 'frame' (56.1-8; 65-66). The second part analyzes this 'frame' for references to earlier Isaianic oracles, uncovering allusions to older material from throughout the book. A portrait emerges of the author of Third Isaiah as a reader of the book, providing an important key to unlock the door on his work as a redactor - the premise being that his hermeneutics as a reader would inevitably reflect his hermeneutics as a redactor. Working in the light of this portrait, the third part examines the author of Third Isaiah as a redactor of the book, uncovering several examples throughout Isaiah where probability seems to favor this hand at work.

This comparative study traces Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural interpretation from antiquity to modernity, with special emphasis on the pivotal medieval period. It focuses on three areas: responses in the different faith traditions to tensions created by the need to transplant scriptures into new cultural and linguistic contexts; changing conceptions of the literal sense and its importance vis-a-vis non-literal senses, such as the figurative, spiritual, and midrashic; and ways in which classical rhetoric and poetics informed - or were resisted in - interpretation. Concentrating on points of intersection, the authors bring to light previously hidden aspects of methods and approaches in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This volume opens new avenues for interdisciplinary analysis and will benefit scholars and students of biblical studies, religious studies, medieval studies, Islamic studies, Jewish studies, comparative religions, and theory of interpretation.

This book focuses on the expressions used to describe Job's body in pain and on the reactions of his friends to explore the moral and social world reflected in the language and the values that their speeches betray. A key contribution of this monograph is to highlight how the perspective of illness as retribution is powerfully refuted in Job's speeches and, in particular, to show how this is achieved through comedy. Comedy in Job is a powerful weapon used to expose and ridicule the idea of retribution. Rejecting the approach of retrospective diagnosis, this monograph carefully analyses the expression of pain in Job focusing specifically on somatic language used in the deity attack metaphors, in the deity surveillance metaphors and in the language connected to the body and social status. These metaphors are analysed in a comparative way using research from medical anthropology and sociology which focuses on illness narratives and expressions of pain. Job's Body and the Dramatised Comedy of Moralising will be of interest to anyone working on the Book of Job, as well as those with an interest in suffering and pain in the Hebrew Bible more broadly.

Does Job convincingly argue against a fixed system of just retribution by proclaiming the prosperity of the wicked-an assertion that distinctly runs contrary to traditional biblical and ancient Near Eastern wisdom? This study addresses this question, giving careful consideration to the rhetoric, imagery, and literary devices used to treat the issue of the fate of the wicked in Job's first two rounds of dialogue, where the topic is predominantly disputed. The analysis will glean from related biblical and non-biblical texts in order to expose how Job deals with this fascinating subject and reveal the grandeur of the composition.

This volume is part of the Changing Perspectives sub-series, which is constituted by anthologies of articles by world-renowned biblical scholars and historians that have made an impact on the field and changed its course during the last decades. This volume offers a collection of seminal essays by Keith Whitelam on the early history of ancient Palestine and the origins and emergence of Israel. Collected together in one volume for the first time, and featuring one unpublished article, this volume will be of interest to biblical and ancient Near Eastern scholars interested in the politics of historical representation but also on critical ways of constructing the history of ancient Palestine.

In this volume, Brian Charles DiPalma examines masculinities in the court tales of Daniel as a test case for issues facing the burgeoning area of gender studies in the Hebrew Bible. In doing so, it both analyses how the court tales of Daniel portray the characters in terms of configurations of masculinity in their socio-historical context, and also seeks to advance gender studies in the Hebrew Bible on theoretical, methodological, and political grounds. Masculinities in the Court Tales of Daniel is therefore of interest not only to scholars working on Daniel, but also biblical scholars studying gender in the Hebrew Bible more broadly, including those engaged in feminist criticism, queer criticism, and studies of masculinity, as well as anyone studying gender within an ancient Near Eastern context.

The two creation stories in Genesis 1-3 have been subject of intense study since the beginning of critical research on the Pentateuch in the eighteenth century. Even today, they continue to vex the biblical commentators. This work attempts to study one of these creation stories, namely the Eden Story narrated in Gen 2:4-3:24. This story graphically describes the first couple's installation in the Garden of Eden and their expulsion from it. These two themes have prompted some scholars to consider this story as a summary of Israel's history until the tragedy of exile and a prologue to the literary composition commonly called Enneateuch (Genesis - 2 Kings). Such a hypothesis is based on the premise that both Eden story and Israel's history have the same end: expulsion. The reason for such an end in both is disobedience. The study takes up this hypothesis and examines its viability. Furthermore, this work attempts to bring out the biblical message of this story. Gen 2-3 is an expression of Israel's faith resulting from its history with Yahweh and from its encounter with the surrounding cultures, and it intends to articulate a religious and anthropological identity for Israel.