Although the descendants of Jacob moved to Egypt as honored guests, in time they became despised slaves groaning under the mistreatment of Pharaoh. In response to the people's cries, God called a man named Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt into Canaan, but their journey took a dramatic forty-year detour when they failed to trust in God. In this study, John MacArthur guides readers through an in-depth look at the historical period beginning with God's calling of Moses, continuing through the giving of the Ten Commandments, and concluding with the Israelites' preparations to enter the Promised Land. This study includes close-up examinations of Aaron, Caleb, Joshua, Balaam and Balak, as well as careful considerations of doctrinal themes such as "Complaints and Rebellion" and "Following God's Law." The MacArthur Bible Studies provide intriguing examinations of the whole of Scripture. Each guide incorporates extensive commentary, detailed observations on overriding themes, and probing questions to help you study the Word of God with guidance from John MacArthur.

If Zechariah's vision report (Zechariah 1.8-6.8) reflects the seer's visionary experience, how does that impact our understanding of the gradual growth of the text? Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer builds on the work done in her previous book Zechariah and His Visions (Bloomsbury-T&T Clark, 2014), to demonstrate that the visionary material forms the primary textual layer. The oracular texts constitute chronologically later interpretations. Zechariah and/or later authors/editors sought guidance in the earlier vision accounts, and the oracular material reflects these endeavours. Tiemeyer's investigation is guided by the question: what is the latter material doing with the former? Is it enforcing, contradicting, or adding to it? Using a ratio composed of the difference between the intratexts and intertexts of Zech 1-8, Tiemeyer shows how this ratio is higher in the oracular material than in the visionary material. This difference points to the different origin and the different purpose of the two sets of material. While the earlier vision report draws on images found primarily in other biblical vision reports, the later oracular material has the characteristics of scribal interpretation. By drawing on earlier material, it seeks to anchor its proposed interpretations of the various vision accounts within the Israelite textual tradition. It is clear that the divine oracles were added to give, modify, and specify the meaning of the earlier vision report.

What do we know about the Book of Job? Not very much. The hero complains endlessly. He has just lost his children all his livestock. He scratches his ulcers. The misfortunes of which he complains are all duly enumerated in the prologue. They are misfortunes brought on him by Satan with God's permission. We think we know, but are we sure? Not once in the Dialogues does Job mention either Satan or anything about his misdeeds. Could it be that they are too much on his mind for him to mention them? Possibly, yet Job mentions everything else, and does much more than mention. He dwells heavily on the cause of his misfortune, which is none of those mentioned in the prologue. The cause is not divine, satanic nor physical, but merely human.

Illuminating the ethical legacy of the biblical prophets, Path of the Prophets identifies the prophetic moment in the lives of eighteen biblical figures and demonstrates their compelling relevance to us today. While the Bible almost exclusively names men as prophets, Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz celebrates heroic, largely unknown biblical women such as Shiphrah, Tirzah, and Hannah. He also deepens readers' interpretations of more familiar biblical figures not generally thought of as prophets, such as Joseph, Judah, and Caleb. Schwartz introduces the prophets with creative, first-person retellings of their decisive experiences, followed by key biblical narratives, context, and analysis. He weighs our heroes' and heroines' legacies-their obstacles and triumphs-and considers how their ethical examples live on; he guides us on how to integrate biblical-ethical values into our lives; and he challenges each of us to walk the prophetic path today.

In this new addition to the Old Testament Library series, Graeme Auld writes, "This book is about David." The author demonstrates how all the other personalities in First and Second Samuel--including Samuel, for whom the books were named--are present so that we may see and know David better. These fascinating stories detail the lives of David, his predecessors, and their families. Auld explains that though we read these books from beginning to end, we need to understand that they were composed from end to beginning. By reconstructing what must have gone before, the story of David sets up and explains the succeeding story of monarchy in Israel.

Discover what the Bible says--not what someone else thinks it says--and develop the skills and desire to dig even deeper into God's Word. With this book, readers will gain an in-depth understanding of the books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah. The book also contains study notes and questions for insight and reflection.

A recent string of popular-level books written by the New Atheists have leveled the accusation that the God of the Old Testament is nothing but a bully, a murderer, and a cosmic child abuser. This viewpoint is even making inroads into the church. How are Christians to respond to such accusations? And how are we to reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of God portrayed in the two testaments?
In this timely and readable book, apologist Paul Copan takes on some of the most vexing accusations of our time, including:

God is arrogant and jealous
God punishes people too harshly
God is guilty of ethnic cleansing
God oppresses women
God endorses slavery
Christianity causes violence
and more

Copan not only answers God's critics, he also shows how to read both the Old and New Testaments faithfully, seeing an unchanging, righteous, and loving God in both.

In the Book of Judges the narrator presents an image of the good parent YHWH whose enduring love and loyalty is offset by his wayward child Israel who defaults on the relationship repeatedly. Biblical scholars have largely concurred, demonstrating the many faults of Israel while siding with YHWH's privileged viewpoint. When object-relations theory (which examines how human beings relate to each other) is applied to Judges, a different story emerges. In its capacity to illuminate why and how relationships can be intense, problematic, rewarding, and enduring, object-relations theory reveals how both YHWH and Israel have attachment needs that are played out vividly in the story world. Deryn Guest reveals how its narrator engages in a variety of psychological strategies to mask suppressed rage as he engages in an intriguing but rather dysfunctional masochistic dance with a dominant deity who has reputation needs.

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.

The Christian doctrines of original sin and the historical fall of Adam have been in retreat since the rise of modernity. Here leading scholars present a theological, biblical, and scientific case for the necessity of belief in original sin and the historicity of Adam and Eve in response to contemporary challenges. Representing various Christian traditions, the contributors shed light on recent debates as they present the traditional doctrine of original sin as orthodox, evangelical, and the most theologically mature and cogent synthesis of the biblical witness. This fresh look at a heated topic in evangelical circles will appeal to professors, students, and readers interested in the creation-evolution debate.

The environmental crisis has prompted religious leaders and lay people to look to their traditions for resources to respond to environmental degradation. In this book, Mari Joerstad contributes to this effort by examining an ignored feature of the Hebrew Bible: its attribution of activity and affect to trees, fields, soil, and mountains. The Bible presents a social cosmos, in which humans are one kind of person among many. Using a combination of the tools of biblical studies and anthropological writings on animism, Joerstad traces the activity of non-animal nature through the canon. She shows how biblical writers go beyond sustainable development, asking us to be good neighbors to mountains and trees, and to be generous to our fields and vineyards. They envision human communities that are sources of joy to plants and animals. The Biblical writers' attention to inhabited spaces is particularly salient for contemporary environmental ethics in their insistence that our cities, suburbs, and villages contribute to flourishing landscapes.

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 bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

Inscriptions discovered since 1980 and fresh epigraph research have revealed much about the Archaeminid period in the Levant (533-332 BCE). Andre Lemaire concentrates on three areas where new data has shed light on the societies living in the largest empire that the world had known to that date. Phoenicia played a vital political and economic role in the empire because Persian kings had to rely on the Phoenician navy in their wars against Greece and Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean. Newly discovered inscriptions from Byblos, Sidon and Tyre, as well as the results of research into coins, have illuminated the chronology, history and extent of the Phoenician kingdoms, as well as their influence in Palestine. New inscriptions have added to our knowledge of the Judean Diaspora in Babylonia, Egypt and Cyprus. The main indirect information about the Exiles previously available to us was in the book of Ezekiel. Now, epigraphic data has revealed not only many names of Exiles but how and where they lived and more about their relationship with Jerusalem. The third region described is the Persian provinces of Samaria, Judaea and Idumaea, especially during the 4th century BCE. The publication of various, mainly Aramaic, contemporary inscriptions on papyri, ostraca, seals, seal-impressions and coins, sheds new light on the daily life and religion of these provinces. The insciptions help us to understand something of the chronology, society and culture of these three different provinces as well as several Biblical texts in their historical and economic contexts. With over 90 inscriptions illustrated and fully transcribed, this book provides new insight into a period that has proved difficult to study.

The Septuagint - the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible - was an influential translation for Jews and Christians of the first century. When the New Testament writers quoted the Old Testament, they most often used the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX) translation. Thus the vocabulary and thought forms of the LXX had a significant impact on the development of New Testament theology. Although the LXX and the New Testament were both written in Koine Greek, much of their vocabulary and word forms are different. Thus students and scholars who desire to read the LXX need a reliable reference guide that will help them decode the host of word forms and meanings that go beyond New Testament Greek. The Analytical Lexicon to the Septuagint lists alphabetically every Greek word form found in the standard Rahlfs LXX text, along with a detailed parsing of each form. Besides correcting errors found in the previous (1994) edition, this expanded edition also includes basic glosses (definitions) for each Greek word from Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, compiled by Johan Lust, Erik Eynikel, and Katrin Hauspie. These glosses are translation equivalents rather than technical definitions, and provide literal meanings as well as metaphorical ones. In many cases, the glosses are accompanied by grammatical and contextual information that sheds additional light on the word's meaning. The combination of the exhaustive grammatical analysis of the Analytical Lexicon and the helpful glosses of the Greek-English Lexicon make this expanded edition an indispensible tool for everyone engaged in the study of the Septuagint.

A cornerstone of the scriptural canon, the Book of Psalms has been a source of solace and joy for countless readers over millennia. This timeless poetry is beautifully wrought by a scholar whose translation of the Five Books of Moses was hailed as a "godsend" by Seamus Heaney and a "masterpiece" by Robert Fagles. Alter's The Book of Psalms captures the simplicity, the physicality, and the coiled rhythmic power of the Hebrew, restoring the remarkable eloquence of these ancient poems. His learned and insightful commentary illuminates the obscurities of the text.

Books in the John Phillips Commentary Series are designed to provide pastors, Sunday school teachers, and students of the Scripture with doctrinally sound interpretation that emphasizes the practical application of Bible truth. Working from the familiar King James Version, Dr. Phillips not only provides helpful commentary on the text, but also includes detailed outlines and numerous illustrations and quotations. Anyone wanting to explore the meaning of God's Word in greater depth--for personal spiritual growth or as a resource for preaching and teaching--will welcome the guidance and insights of this respected series.

The wilderness narratives Ex 15:22 17:7 and Num 11:1-20:13 are shaped by striking repetitions as well as breaks in style and content. This study describes the continued interaction between the various text signals and the co-operative reader who attempts to achieve a coherent reading. This type of an ideal reader alludes to the concepts of reception theorists W. Iser and U. Eco and is applied here for the benefit of the narratives of the Old Testament. A second main part 4demonstrates systematically the narrative tools of guiding the reader within the wilderness narratives. This approach emphasises the dynamic character of the interpretation of the text. In this way, the author re-evaluates for example text structures, blanks or duplicates by weighing up their significance and relevance for the reading process. Die W stenerz hlungen Ex. 15:22-17:7 und Num. 11:1-20:13 sind von markanten Wiederholungen wie auch von stilistischen und inhaltlichen Br chen gepr gt. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wird fortlaufend die Interaktion der unterschiedlichen Textsignale mit einem kooperierenden Leser beschrieben, der trotz aller Lesest rungen bem ht ist, eine koh rente Lekt re zu erzielen. Dieser Idealtypus eines Lesers lehnt sich an die rezeptions sthetischen Entw rfe von W. Iser und U. Eco an und soll f r narrative Texte des Alten Testamentes fruchtbar gemacht werden. In einem weiteren Hauptteil werden systematisch die textlichen Mittel der Leserlenkung innerhalb der W stenerz hlungen dargestellt. Mit dieser Herangehensweise wird der dynamische Charakter einer Textinterpretation betont. So werden beispielsweise Textstrukturen, Leerstellen oder Dubletten neu bewertet, indem ihre Signifikanz und Relevanz f r einen Leseprozess abgewogen werden.

Feed your curiosity of the Bible by exploring the deeper meaning behind familiar Old Testament passages. Below the surface of every seemingly ordinary Bible verse lies a deeper meaning just waiting to be discovered. And these hidden insights aren't just reserved for scholars, academics, or pastors. Anyone who knows where to look can uncover the surprisingly significant messages that the biblical authors intended for us to hear. In 30 Old Testament Passages with Deeper Meaning, Michael Williams seeks to lead believers to a deeper comprehension and appreciation of biblical truth. In each easy-to-read chapter, Williams focuses on one Old Testament verse or passage, and: Examines its cultural, historical, linguistic, and/or theological context. Explains how it is enhanced by the added context and perspective. Provides questions to facilitate further reflection, study, and discussion. Helping to bridge the gap between the academy and the church, this broadly accessible and edifying book will help everyday Christians get more out of their Bible. Plus, the insightful questions at the end of each chapter make this an ideal small group, Bible study, or expository preaching resource.

This accessibly written textbook has been a popular introduction to the Pentateuch for over twenty-five years. It identifies the major themes of the first five books of the Bible and offers an overview of their contents. Unlike some academic studies, it focuses on how the books from Genesis to Deuteronomy form a continuous story that provides an important foundation for understanding the whole Bible. This new edition has been substantially updated throughout to reflect the author's refined judgments and to address the future of pentateuchal studies.