In the Lord I Take Refuge invites readers to experience the Psalms in a new and refreshing way, with devotional content written by Dane Ortlund. This gift edition features an elegant and long-lasting TruTone cover.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer teaches readers how to create change in their lives and truly receive God's blessings. Includes powerful Scriptures covering over 50 topics, such as patience, loneliness, and wisdom.

This valuable resource introduces readers to the Old Testament books of wisdom and poetry--Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs--and helps them better understand each book's overall flow. Estes summarizes some of each book's key issues, offers an exposition of the book that interacts with major commentaries and recent studies, and concludes with an extensive bibliography. Now in paperback.

The first systematic and comprehensive attempt to identify and analyze the role of Isaianic language and imagery in literature, art, and music Using reception history as its basis for study, Isaiah Through the Centuries is an unprecedented exploration of the afterlife of the Book of Isaiah, specifically in art, literature, and music. This is a commentary that guides the reader through the Book of Isaiah, examining the differing interpretations of each phrase or passage from a variety of cultural and religious perspectives, Jewish, Christian and Muslim. Clearly structured and accessible, and richly illustrated, the book functions as a complete and comprehensive educational reference work. Isaiah Through the Centuries encourages readers to learn with an open mind and to understand how different interpretations have helped in the teaching and comprehension of the Bible and Isaiah's place in it. As part of the Wiley-Blackwell Bible Commentaries series, which is primarily concerned with reception history, the book emphasizes that how people interpret the prophet--and how they've been influenced by him--is often just as important as the sacred text's original meaning. Uses reception history to study the renowned prophet Provides a historical context for every use or interpretation discussed Offers essential background information on authors, artists, musicians, etc. in its glossary and biographies Minimizes historical details in order to focus as much as possible on exegetical matters Presents the role of Isaiah and the Bible in the creative arts Will be useful to multiple disciplines including theology and religion, English literature, art history and the history of music, not just Biblical Studies Comprehensive in scope, Isaiah Through the Centuries is a much-needed resource for all those interested in the influence of the Bible on Western culture, and presents unique perspectives for anyone interested in the Bible to discuss and debate for many years to come.

This comprehensive yet user-friendly primer to the Septuagint (LXX) acquaints readers with the Greek versions of the Old Testament. It is accessible to students, assuming no prior knowledge about the Septuagint, yet is also informative for seasoned scholars. The authors, both prominent Septuagint scholars, explore the history of the LXX, the various versions of it available, and its importance for biblical studies. This new edition has been substantially revised, expanded, and updated to reflect major advances in Septuagint studies. Appendixes offer helpful reference resources for further study.

Fourth Maccabees is a superbly craft ed oration that presents a case for the Jewish way of life couched almost entirely in terms of Greek ethical ideals. Using an expansion upon previous scriptural narratives as an opportunity for philosophical exposition, its author delights in the Torah, the Law of Moses, as the divinely given path to becoming our best selves now. Moreover, drawing upon Greek logic tradition, he develops an elaborate rationalisation of that law based upon the promise of eternal life with God. In this collection of essays spanning two decades of study, David deSilva examines the formative training that produced such an author, the rhetorical craft present in his work, and the author's creative use of both Jewish and Greek literary resources. Finally, he demonstrates the book's enduring message and legacy in the Christian church, from theological influence on Origen to textual relations within Codex Sinaiticus.

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.

Understanding a text from the narrator's point of view is crucial for the tasks of interpreting and translating the Bible. In this volume, Ethiopian scholar Daniel Hankore clarifi es the reading of Scripture by studying it in the light of Ethiopian Hadiyya culture and relevance theory, which facilitate Scriptural interpretation and translation. Hankore's analysis recognises the text of the Bible as a literary document or discourse while also considering its cultural context. He demonstrates that a correct understanding of the concept of the ancient Israelite vow in the framework of a social institution is key to facilitating an accurate reading and translation of this section of Genesis. The conclusion we can draw from this understanding is that the narrative of Jacob is a coherent whole. Furthermore the Dinah story is of vital importance to the narrative, a fact which has frequently been overlooked as has the connection between its different parts. Genesis 28:10-35:15 is revealed in a new light in this detailed study which focuses on relevance theory informed by Ethiopian cultural context and provides original theories about the place of the Dinah story in the narrative of Jacob. Daniel Hankore is Bible Translation Consultant at SIL Ethiopia Branch. 'This is a fresh and original contribution to the interpretation of Genesis. It also contains a full and thorough evaluation of more traditional, critical, and historical approaches to the issues raised by Genesis 25-35. It deserves to be taken most seriously by future scholars trying to understand these chapters of Scripture.' Gordon Wenham, Tutor at Trinity College, Bristol

A perfect gift for yourself or someone you love, this gorgeously packaged book includes the poetic wisdom of Proverbs and Psalms. It will offer comfort and peace through the power of Scripture, along with new and existing insights drawn from #1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer's most popular teaching topic "Battlefield of the Mind." Readers will be inspired and empowered to change their thoughts and their lives.

This new edition of a bestselling evangelical survey of the Old Testament (over 180,000 copies sold) has been thoroughly updated and features a beautiful new interior design. It is lavishly illustrated with four-color images, maps, and charts and retains the pedagogical features that have made the book so popular: * chapter outlines, objectives, and summaries * study questions * sidebars featuring primary source material, ethical and theological issues, and contemporary applications * lists of key terms, people, and places * further reading recommendations * endnotes and indexes The book is supplemented by web-based resources through Baker Academic's Textbook eSources, offering course help for professors and study aids for students.

ECPA Top Shelf Award Winner Is it really possible to enjoy the Old Testament? Christians know they are supposed to read the Old Testament. Yet many struggle to do so. They often find it confusing, theologically troubling, or just uninteresting. Eric Seibert understands this dilemma and provides a solution. His goal is to help people learn to love the Old Testament and actually want to read it. Seibert demonstrates how this part of the Bible is extremely valuable for Christians and offers dozens of practical suggestions and creative activities for hands-on interaction with the biblical text. Equipped with a variety of tools and approaches, readers discover how even the most seemingly dry passages can come to life. With Enjoying the Old Testament, readers of all ages will be inspired to pick up the Old Testament over and over again.

In Sex, Wives, and Warriors, our understanding of Old Testament narrative is expanded though Phillip Francis Esler's application of an intercultural reading of the texts, focusing on the question: "What would ancient readers have understood from these stories?" This approach reveals previously undiscovered levels of meaning in the Old Testament which readers all too often fail to place in its original cultural and historical context. Esler draws on a wide range of disciplines, and in particular brings the techniques and insights of the social sciences to bear in his analysis. Not only is this reading contextualised and its significance for the Ancient Israelites explored, but Esler utilises scholarship on myth structure and Jungian archetypes to further clarify this original understanding. This is a book ideal for anyone wishing a closer engagement with the biblical texts. Esler makes the narratives resonate with pivotal stories from the Christian and Jewish tradition and in doing so inspires us with their imaginative and literary power and enhances our capacity for intercultural understanding.

A complete reference edition of the 60-volume Thru the Bible commentary series, this five-volume set is an excellent choice if you need a complete Bible commentary in durable hardcover bindings. It includes Dr. McGee's insightful study of each book of the Bible with in-depth, paragraph-by-paragraph discussions of key verses and passages. Purchase the entire five-volume set or collect them individually as your study progresses.

This volume includes nine essays that move Ezekiel's creative reuse of older materials to the foreground of discussion. The essays highlight the transformation of earlier texts, traditions, and theology in Ezekiel. They explore the diverse ways that Ezekiel reshapes Israel's legal texts, rituals, oracles against foreign nations, royal ideology, conception of the individual, remembrance of the past, and hope for the future. The work concludes by noting the subsequent transformation of Ezekiel in scribal transmission and in the New Testament.

It sounded implausible. God promised an old, childless man that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Yet Abraham chose to believe God, embarking on a transforming, lifelong journey of faith and obedience. As Jack Kuhatschek leads us through these nine studies on Abraham's life, we will learn to be people who listen to, obey and trust God and the promises that he has made to us as well. With more than 130 titles, the LifeBuilder Bible Studies series delivers sound biblical content and raises thought-provoking questions. It provides a unique Bible study experience for individuals and groups.

A beginning. An origin. A foundation. Knowing where we came from says much about where we are going. Perhaps that is why the first book of the Bible is a book of beginnings. God wants us to know where we came from. Learning that will teach us much about the place we are going. The book of Genesis brings us back to the beginning of the Bible, where the foundation of life itself is explained. We learn how we were created, about the origins of sin and its fallout, and how to best relate to God - through obedience and trust. We are drawn into tales of deceit, jealousy, and outright failure, where we see how God still uses flawed people. And weaving throughout these earliest stories of humankind are the golden threads of God's promises - promises we can trace from their origins, through the course of history, up through our lives today, and beyond us to the end of time when his final promises will at last be fulfilled. The Life Lessons with Max Lucado series brings the Bible to life in twelve lessons filled with intriguing questions, inspirational stories, and poignant reflections to take you deeper into God's Word. Each lesson includes an opening reflection, background information, an excerpt of the text (from the New International and New King James versions), exploration questions, inspirational thoughts from Max, and a closing takeaway for further reflection. The Life Lessons series is ideal for use in both a small-group setting and for individual study.

Never before has the problem of evil been a more urgent subject for our reflection. The Yahwist confronts the issue through a sequence of stories on the progressive deterioration of the divine-human relationship in Genesis 2-11. In Genesis 4 he narrates the initial slaughter of one human being by another, and strikingly, it is described as fratricidal. 'Onslaught Against Innocence: Cain, Abel, and the Yahwist' provides a close reading of J's story by using literary criticism and psychological criticism. It shows that the biblical author has more than an "archaeological" design. His characters - including God, Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel, plus minor characters - are paradigmatic. They allow J to proceed with a fine analytical feel for the nature of evil as performed by homo as homini lupus. No imaginative "mimesis" of evil has ever been recounted with such an economy of means and such depth of psychological insight. ANDRE LACOCQUE is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Chicago Theological Seminary. He is the author of 'The Trial of Innocence'; 'The Feminine Unconventional'; 'Romance, She Wrote'; 'Esther Regina'; and a commentary on Ruth. He is also the coauthor (with Paul Ricoeur) of 'Thinking Biblically: Exegetical and Hermeneutical Studies'. "Among Scripture interpreters, Andre LaCocque is a singular force because of his generative and restless mind that always seeks a new angle on the text. Here he continues his close reading of the early Genesis materials. LaCocque is an urbane intellectual who knows the world of myth and the critical claims of psychology. He is, at the same time, a most able and cunning reader of texts. The outcome of his interpretation is a vigorous, fresh reading of Genesis 4 as a primal statement of failure and possibility in Western culture. This book is an offer of his rich, suggestive interpretation and an example of how to connect what is ancient and thick to contemporary life." - WALTER BRUEGGEMANN "The master of a truly extraordinary range of techniques of interpretation, Andre LaCocque is able to extract deep theological, psychological, and moral meanings out of a deceptively simple and often under-interpreted chapter of the Bible. This sophisticated yet accessible book will repay the attention of many types of readers - Jewish or Christian, religious or secular, with training in Biblical Studies or without."- JON D. LEVENSON, Author of Creation and the Persistence of Evil

The contributions of Dietrich Bonhoeffer to the fields of systematics, ethics, sociology, and theology have become well known in recent decades. What has been overlooked, however, is the significant contribution he has also made to the study and interpretation of the Psalms. Bonhoeffer's approach to the Psalms is built upon an understanding of its relationship to prayer and to Jesus Christ the Crucified One. Employing methods drawn from both premodern and modern exegetes, Bonhoeffer develops a Christological interpretation of the Psalms which, in certain key aspects, has not been seen in the history of interpretation. His is an interpretation informed by the historical reality of Jesus Christ praying the prayers of the Psalms in his incarnation. As the church of today prays the Psalms, it is encouraged by understanding that they are also praying the very words which Jesus prayed. The Psalms are not only the prayerbook of the church, more fundamentally, they are the prayerbook of Jesus Christ. In this book, Pribbenow explores Bonhoeffer's unique Christological interpretation of the Psalms by means of a concentrated analysis of its development, coherence, and significance, tracing it from its formation at Berlin University, into the years of development at the Confessing Church Preacher's Seminary in Finkenwalde, and through the months of interrogation and imprisonment at the hands of the Third Reich.

Do you find the violence in the Old Testament a problem? Does it get in the way of reading the Bible - and of faith itself? While acknowledging that there are no easy answers, in God of Violence Yesterday, God of Love Today?, Helen Paynter faces the questions head-on and offers a fresh, accessible approach to a significant issue. For all those seeking to engage with the Bible and gain confidence in the God it portrays, she provides tools for reading and interpreting biblical texts, and points to ways of dealing with the overall trajectories of violence. 'In lucid prose Helen Paynter argues that violence featured in the biblical canon should not be ignored or denied but acknowledged and faced honestly. While history is played out in a broken and often violent world the author shows how the movement of scripture is toward God's creative intention for healing and wholeness. Without providing final answers Paynter offers ways of interpreting even the most violent passages so that we may hear God's word for today.' John Meredith, Editor of Word & Worship 'A rigorous yet accessible exploration of Old Testament violence ideal for individuals or groups wishing to engage with these troubling texts and the issues they raise. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in the questions it explores. If you are new to the subject, it offers a comprehensive introduction and the reassurance that you are being guided by a capable and safe pair of hands as you begin to engage with challenging and important issues.' Peter King, Diocese of Chichester

This volume highlights the textual evolution of the biblical book called Isaiah from the eighth to the third centuries BCE. The book was probably the most important Scripture for the Community that collected or composed the Dead Sea Scrolls; it significantly shaped the life and thoughts of John the Baptizer, Jesus, Paul, and the Evangelists. Distinguished scholars from the United States, Israel, Greece, and elsewhere discuss the continuing influence of Isaiah from antiquity to today and significantly through Jewish and Christian liturgies. With high-profile contributors including Dale Allison, Jeffrey Chadwick, James Charlesworth, and Emanuel Tov, the volume explores how the Book of Isaiah influenced Jewish and Christian texts and life for nearly three millennia. The collection develops from the insights and continuity of Isaiah itself to its relevance in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the lives of John the Baptizer and Jesus, as well as Paul's Letter to the Romans and the Intra-Canonical Gospels. This collection presents highly creative and ground-breaking scholarship focused on the origin and vital role of one of the most influential books in our culture.

First Order: Zeraim / Tractate Peah and Demay is the second volume in the edition of the Jerusalem Talmud. It presents basic Jewish texts on the organization of private and public charity, and on the modalities of coexistence of the ritually observant and the non-observant. This part of the Jerusalem Talmud has almost no counterpart in the Babylonian Talmud. Its study is prerequisite for an understanding of the relevant rules of Jewish tradition.

Leading Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman III provides students and pastors with expert guidance on choosing a commentary for any book of the Old Testament. The fifth edition has been updated to assess the most recently published commentaries, providing evaluative comments. Longman lists a number of works available for each book of the Old Testament, gives a brief indication of their emphases and viewpoints, and evaluates them. The result is a balanced, sensible guide for those who preach and teach the Old Testament and need help in choosing the best tools.

This book explores the conjuncture of human agency and divine volition in the biblical narrative - sometimes referred to as "double causality." A commonly held view has it that the biblical narrative shows human action to be determined by divine will. Yet, when reading the biblical narrative we are inclined to hold the actors accountable for their deeds. The book, then, challenges the common assumptions about the sweeping nature of divine causality in the biblical narrative and seeks to do justice to the roles played by the human actors in the drama. God's causing a person to act in a particular way, as He does when He hardens Pharaoh's heart, is the exception rather than the rule. On the whole, the biblical heroes act on their own; their personal initiatives and strivings are what move the story forward. How does it happen, then, that events, remarkably, conspire to realize God's plan? The study enlists concepts and theories developed within the framework of contemporary analytic philosophy, featured against the background of classical and contemporary bible commentary. In addressing the biblical narrative through these perspectives, this book holds appeal for scholars of a variety of disciplines - bible studies, philosophy, religion and philosophical theology - as well as for those who simply delight in reading the Bible.