In this book Barbara Green demonstrates how David is shown and can be read as emerging from a young naive, whose early successes grow into a tendency for actions of contempt and arrogance, of blindness and even cruelty, particularly in matters of cult. However, Green also shows that over time David moves closer to the demeanor and actions of wise compassion, more closely aligned with God. Leaving aside questions of historicity as basically undecidable Green's focus in her approach to the material is on contemporary literature. Green reads the David story in order, applying seven specific tools which she names, describes and exemplifies as she interprets the text. She also uses relevant hermeneutical theory, specifically a bridge between general hermeneutics and the specific challenges of the individual (and socially located) reader. As a result, Green argues that characters in the David narrative can proffer occasions for insight, wisdom, and compassion. Acknowledging the unlikelihood that characters like David and his peers, steeped in patriarchy and power, can be shown to learn and extend wise compassion, Green is careful to make explicit her reading strategies and offer space for dialogue and disagreement.

Foreword by A. Schenker S. C. Daley's book, The Textual Basis of English Translations of the Hebrew Bible, moves us beyond existing uncertainties about the textual basis of modern Bible translations to a fresh understanding of the text-critical constitution of well-known English translations of the past four hundred years. Most translations depart from the Masoretic Text selectively, and in-depth analysis of their textual decisions leads (1) to the identification of distinct periods in the textual history of the English Bible, (2) to a classification of the translations by eclectic type, and (3) to the observation that each translation is ultimately unique from a text-critical perspective. The study then revisits the topic of the text to be translated in Bibles intended for the wider public.

The book of Chronicles, the last book of the Hebrew Bible and a central historical book of the Christian Old Testament, has in recent decades gone from being "the Cinderella of biblical studies" to being one of the most researched books of the Bible. The anonymous author, often simply called "the Chronicler" by modern scholars, looks back at the old Israelite monarchy, before the Babylonian exile, from his vantage point in the post-exilic early Second Temple Period, and attempts to "update" the older historiographies of Samuel and Kings in order to elucidate their meaning to the people of his own time. In The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, Yigal Levin does the same for the modern reader. He offers a brand-new translation and commentary on 2 Chronicles chapters 10-36, tracing the "sacred history" of the monarchy from the division of Solomon's kingdom to the final exile and return. Each chapter is translated from the original Hebrew into an English that is both faithful to the original and easy for the modern reader to follow. Extensive footnotes provide full explanations of the translator's choices and of linguistic and literary issues, taking note of alternative versions offered by a wide array of ancient and modern versions and translations. The comprehensive commentary on each section provides historical background and explains the text both on a literary and a historical level, making full use of the most up-to-date research on the text, literature, history, geography and on the archaeological background of the biblical world. The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah is to be followed by The Chronicles of David and Solomon on 1 Chronicles 10 - 2 Chronicles 9, and then by The Chronicles of All Israel on the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1-9 and including comprehensive essays on the book of Chronicles, its time, purposes, methods and meanings.

Va-yeshev (Genesis 37:1-40:23) and Haftarah (Amos 2:6-3:8): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning-for young people and adults-will never be the same. The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).

In The Song of Songs in the Early Middle Ages, Hannah W. Matis examines how the Song of Songs, the collection of Hebrew love poetry, was understood in the Latin West as an allegory of Christ and the church. This reading of the biblical text was passed down via the patristic tradition, established by the Venerable Bede, and promoted by the chief architects of the Carolingian reform. Throughout the ninth century, the Song of Songs became a text that Carolingian churchmen used to think about the nature of Christ and to conceptualize their own roles and duties within the church. This study examines the many different ways that the Song of Songs was read within its early medieval historical context.

Violence disturbs. And violent depictions, when encountered in the biblical texts, are all the more disconcerting. Isaiah 63:1-6 is an illustrative instance. The prophetic text presents the "Arriving One" in gory details ('trampling down people'; 'pouring out their lifeblood' v.6). Further, the introductory note that the Arriving One is "coming from Edom" (cf. v.1) may suggest Israel's unrelenting animosity towards Edom. These two themes: the "gory depiction" and "coming from Edom" are addressed in this book. Irudayaraj uses a social identity reading to show how Edom is consistently pictured as Israel's proximate and yet 'other'-ed entity. Approaching Edom as such thus helps situate the animosity within a larger prophetic vision of identity construction in the postexilic Third Isaian context. By adopting an iconographic reading of Isaiah 63:1-6, Irudayaraj shows how the prophetic portrayal of the 'Arriving One' in descriptions where it is clear that the 'Arriving One' is a marginalised identity correlates with the experiences of the "stooped" exiles (cf 51:14). He also demonstrates that the text leaves behind emphatic affirmations ('mighty' and 'splendidly robed' cf. v.1; "alone" cf. v.3), by which the relegated voice of the divine reasserts itself. It is in this divine reassertion that the hope of the Isaian community's reclamation of its own identity rests.

One hundred and fifty years of sustained archaeological investigation has yielded a more complete picture of the ancient Near East. The Old Testament in Archaeology and History combines the most significant of these archaeological findings with those of modern historical and literary analysis of the Bible to recount the history of ancient Israel and its neighboring nations and empires. Eighteen international authorities contribute chapters to this introductory volume. After exploring the history of modern archaeological research in the Near East and the evolution of "biblical archaeology" as a discipline, this textbook follows the Old Testament's general chronological order, covering such key aspects as the exodus from Egypt, Israel's settlement in Canaan, the rise of the monarchy under David and Solomon, the period of the two kingdoms and their encounters with Assyrian power, the kingdoms' ultimate demise, the exile of Judahites to Babylonia, and the Judahites' return to Jerusalem under the Persians along with the advent of "Jewish" identity.Each chapter is tailored for an audience new to the history of ancient Israel in its biblical and ancient Near Eastern setting. The end result is an introduction to ancient Israel combined with and illuminated by more than a century of archaeological research. The volume brings together the strongest results of modern research into the biblical text and narrative with archaeological and historical analysis to create an understanding of ancient Israel as a political and religious entity based on the broadest foundation of evidence. This combination of literary and archaeological data provides new insights into the complex reality experienced by the peoples reflected in the biblical narratives.

Biblical scholarship today is divided between two mutually exclusive concepts of the emergence of monotheism: an early-monotheistic Yahwism paradigm and a native-pantheon paradigm. This study identifies five main stages on Israel's journey towards monotheism. Rather than deciding whether Yahweh was originally a god of the Baal-type or of the El-type, this work shuns origins and focuses instead on the first period for which there are abundant sources, the Omride era. Non-biblical sources depict a significantly different situation from the Baalism the Elijah cycle ascribes to King Achab. The novelty of the present study is to take this paradox seriously and identify the Omride dynasty as the first stage in the rise of Yahweh as the main god of Israel. Why Jerusalem later painted the Omrides as anti-Yahweh idolaters is then explained as the need to distance itself from the near-by sanctuary of Bethel by assuming the Omride heritage without admitting its northern Israelite origins. The contribution of the Priestly document and of Deutero-Isaiah during the Persian era comprise the next phase, before the strict Yahwism achieved in Daniel 7 completes the emergence of biblical Yahwism as a truly monotheistic religion.

Walter Brueggemann is one of the most highly regarded Old Testament scholars of our time; talk-show host Krista Tippett has even called him "a kind of theological rock star." In this new book Brueggemann probes the tasks performed by the ancient prophets of Israel and points out striking correlations between the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 b.c.e. and the catastrophic crisis of 9/11 in a.d. 2001. Brueggemann identifies a characteristic ideology of "exceptionalism" - chosenness, entitlement, privilege - which must be countered by prophetic realism and truth-telling. Denial must give way to honest grief. And, finally, widespread despair must be overcome by a buoyant hope. This sequence of ideology-realism, denial-grief, and despair-hope corresponds to Brueggemann's unpacking of the books of Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Isaiah. Thoughtful readers will find provocative fare aplenty in Brueggemann's Reality, Grief, Hope.

Va-yetse' (Genesis 28:10-32:3) and Haftarah (Hosea 12:13-14:10): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning-for young people and adults-will never be the same. The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).

A neglected area of study of the letter to the Hebrews is the function of the Old Testament in the letter's logic. Compton addresses this neglect by looking at two other ideas that have themselves received too little attention, namely (1) the unique and fundamental semantic contribution of Hebrews' exposition (vis-a-vis its exhortation) and (2) the prominence of Ps 110 in the author's exposition. The conclusion becomes clear that Hebrews' exposition-its theological argument-turns, in large part, on successive inferences drawn from Ps 110:1 and 4. Compton observes that the author uses the text in the first part of his exposition to (1) interpret Jesus' resurrection as his messianic enthronement, (2) connect Jesus' enthronement with his fulfillment of Ps 8's vision for humanity and, thus, (3) begin to explain why Jesus was enthroned through suffering. In the second and third parts of his exposition, the author uses the text to corroborate the narrative initially sketched. Thus, he uses the text to (1) show that messiah was expected to be a superior priest and, moreover, (2) show that this messianic priest was expected to solve the human problem through death.

Bere'shit (Genesis 1:1-6:8) and Haftarah (Isaiah 42:5-43:10): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning-for young people and adults-will never be the same. The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).

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.

Pekudei (Exodus 38:21-40:38) and Haftarah (1 Kings 7:40-50): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning-for young people and adults-will never be the same. The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).

In Metaphors in the Discussion on Suffering in Job 3-31, Hanneke van Loon offers a new approach to the theme of suffering in the book of Job. Her analysis of metaphors demonstrates that Job goes through different stages of existential suffering in chapters 3-14 and that he addresses the social dimension of his suffering in chapters 17 and 19. Van Loon claims that Job's existential suffering ends in 19:25, and that chapters 23-31 reflect a process in which Job translates his own experience into a call upon the audience to adopt a new attitude toward the unfortunate ones in society. The theoretical approach to metaphors is based on insights from cognitive linguistics.

The Book of Isaiah is considered one of the greatest prophetic works in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The complex history of the book's composition, over several time periods, can often perplex and enthrall. The editors to this volume encourage readers to engage deeply with the text in order to get a grasp of the traces and signs within it that can be seen to point to the book's process of composition and ongoing reinterpretation over time. The contributions discuss suggested segments of composition and levels of interpretation, both within the book of Isaiah and its history of reception. The book is divided into two sections: in the first part certain motifs that have come to Isaiah from a distant past are traced through to their origins. Arguments for a suggested 'Josianic edition' are carefully evaluated, and the relationship between the second part of Isaiah and the Book of Psalms is discussed, as are the motifs of election and the themes of Zion theology and the temple. The second part of the book focuses on the history of reception and looks at Paul's use of the book of Isaiah, and how the book is used, and perhaps misused in a contemporary setting in the growing churches in Africa. With a range of international specialists, including Hugh Williamson, Tommy Wasserman, and Knut Holter, this is an excellent resource for scholars seeking to understand Isaiah in a greater depth.

Va-yishlah (Genesis 32:4-36:43) and Haftarah (Obadiah 1:1-21): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning-for young people and adults-will never be the same. The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).

In the Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible's most widely used volume, Dennis Tucker provides a foundational analysis of the text of Jonah.This second edition of Jonah is distinguished by the detailed and comprehensive attention paid to the Hebrew text. Tucker's analysis is a convenient pedagogical and reference tool that explains the form and syntax of the biblical text, offers guidance for deciding between competing semantic analyses, engages important text-critical debates, and addresses questions relating to the Hebrew text that arenot always addressed in standard commentaries. Beyond serving as a succinct and accessible analytic key,Jonahalso reflects the most up-to-dateadvances in scholarship on Hebrew grammar and linguisticsaspecifically, this edition relies onthe methodology of generative grammar utilized in other recent volumes in this series.This handbook proves itself an indispensable tool for anyone committed to a deep reading of the Hebrew biblical text.

Through these fascinating Old Testament books, Ezra and Nehemiah you will discover a God who is in control of history and the hearts of his people. It is a real encouragement to be reminded how Yahweh can even work through the lives of secular leaders, just as he did with the Persian Kings, Cyrus and Artaxerxes.

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.

The Honey of Souls is the first full-length study of the Explanation of the Psalms by Cassiodorus. While the Explanation became a seminal document for the monastic movement in the West and was eagerly read and widely quoted for centuries, it has languished in relative obscurity in the modern period. Derek Olsen explores Cassiodorus and his strategies for reading as a window into a spirituality of the psalms that defined early Western biblical interpretation.