The Old Testament comprises the majority of the Christian Bible and is a central part of the language of Christian faith. However, many churches tend to neglect this crucial part of Scripture, leading to the loss of the Old Testament as a resource for faith and life.
This timely book details a number of ways the Old Testament is showing signs of decay, demise, and imminent death in the church. Brent Strawn analyzes the Old Testament's important role in Christian faith and practice and criticizes current misunderstandings that contribute to its decline, offering a way forward for all students of the Bible.

Que peregrino a la Nueva Jerusalen no ha pasado por experiencias amargas y no ha encontrado consuelo y nuevas fuerzas leyendo del libro de Job y de Salmos? Esta obra no pretende ser un comentario sino una introduccion a los libros poeticos de la Biblia. Presenta un breve estudio sintetico de Job, Eclesiastes y Cantares, con un analisis y notas de cada salmo. Al autor le interesa mucho explorar los grandes problemas de la materia Por que Eclesiastes y Cantares estan incluidos en la Biblia? El escritor de Eclesiastes no cree en la inmortalidad y ve casi todo con anteojos oscuros. Cantares es altamente erotico y ni siquiera menciona el nombre de Dios. Tambien hay salmos que se caracterizan por un espiritu de venganza, que es contrario al caracter del Nuevo Testamento. Cual es el mensaje divino de estas composiciones?"

Southwestern Journal of Theology 2022 Book of the Year Award (Honorable Mention, Biblical Studies) This survey textbook is grounded in the view that the prophetic books of the Old Testament should be read as Christian Scripture. Although it covers critical issues such as authorship, background, and history, its primary focus is on the message and theology of the prophetic books and the contribution they make to the Christian canon. Particular attention is given to literary issues, such as the structure of each prophetic book. Full-color illustrations, diagrams, and artwork bring the text to life. Additional resources for instructors and students are available through Textbook eSources.

When Cecil B. DeMille's epic, The Ten Commandments, came out in 1956, lines of people crowded into theaters across America to admire the movie's spectacular special effects. Thanks to DeMille, the commandments now had fans as well as adherents. But the country's fascination with the Ten Commandments goes well beyond the colossal scenes of this Hollywood classic. In this vividly rendered narrative, Jenna Weissman Joselit situates the Ten Commandments within the fabric of American history. Her subjects range from the 1860 tale of the amateur who claimed to have discovered ancient holy stones inside a burial mound in Ohio to the San Francisco congregation of Sherith Israel, which commissioned a luminous piece of stained glass depicting Moses in Yosemite for its sanctuary; from the Kansas politician Charles Walter, who in the late nineteenth century proposed codifying each commandment into state law, to the radio commentator Laura Schlessinger, who popularized the Ten Commandments as a psychotherapeutic tool in the 1990s. At once text and object, celestial and earthbound, Judaic and Christian, the Ten Commandments were not just a theological imperative in the New World; they also provoked heated discussions around key issues such as national identity, inclusion, and pluralism. In a country as diverse and heterogeneous as the United States, the Ten Commandments offered common ground and held out the promise of order and stability, becoming the lodestar of American identity. While archaeologists, theologians, and devotees across the world still wonder what became of the tablets that Moses received on Mount Sinai, Weissman Joselit offers a surprising answer: they landed in the United States.

Das biblische Buch Esther erzahlt den Aufstieg des judischen Waisenkindes zur Koenigin Persiens und die Erhebung des loyalen Juden Mordechai zum zweiten Mann nach dem Koenig sowie die gleichsam wunderbare Errettung des Gottesvolkes Israel, dessen Existenz durch den perfiden Statthalter Haman bedroht ist. Mit der Auslegung des vorliegenden Stoffes, der in einer hebraischen Fassung und zwei griechischen, unterschiedlich gestalteten Fassungen vorliegt, sind basale linguistische, literarische, redaktionsgeschichtliche, theologische und hermeneutische Fragestellungen verbunden, die innerhalb der hebraischen Bibel singular sind. Die Auslegung der Megilla nimmt das Gesprach mit den griechischen UEberlieferungen sowie der zeitgenoessischen Literatur und altesten rabbinischen Exegese auf. Einleitend werden die wesentlichen Fragestellungen der Auslegung dargestellt.

Abram to Abraham explores the Abraham saga (11:27-22:24) through a literary lens, following the legendary figure of Abraham as he navigates the arduous odyssey to nationhood. Rather than overlook the textual discrepancies, repetitions and contradictions long noted by diachronic scholars, this study tackles them directly, demonstrating how many problems of the ancient text in fact hold the key to deeper understanding of the narrative and its objectives. Therefore, the book frequently notes the classic division of the text according to primary sources, but offers an alternative, more harmonious reading based on the assumption that the narrative forms a single, intentionally designed unit. The narrative's artistic design is especially evident in its arrangement of the two halves of the story around the protagonists' change of name. The stories of Abram and Sarai in the first half of the cycle (11:27-16:16) are parallel to the stories of Abraham and Sarah in the second half (18:1-22:24). A close reading of this transformation in the biblical narrative illuminates the moral and theological values championed by the figure of Abraham as luminary, soldier, family man, and loyal subject of God.

Jason Silverman presents a timely and necessary study, advancing the understanding of Achaemenid ideology and Persian Period Judaism. While the Achaemenid Persian Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) dwarfed all previous empires of the Ancient Near East in both size and longevity, the royal system that forged and preserved this civilisation remains only rudimentarily understood, as is the imperial and religious legacy bequeathed to future generations. In response to this deficit, Silverman provides a critically sophisticated and interdisciplinary model for comparative studies. While the Achaemenids rebuilt the Jerusalem temple, Judaean literature of the period reflects tensions over its Persian re-establishment, demonstrating colliding religious perspectives. Although both First Zechariah (1-8) and Second Isaiah (40-55) are controversial, the greater imperial context is rarely dealt with in depth; both books deal directly with the temple's legitimacy, and this ties them intimately to kings' engagements with cults. Silverman explores how the Achaemenid kings portrayed their rule to subject minorities, the ways in which minority elites reshaped this ideology, and how long this impact lasted, as revealed through the Judaean reactions to the restoration of the Jerusalem temple.

The book of Joel is held to be one of the latest prophetic witnesses; it cites other books of the book of the Twelve prophets with a density that distinguishes it from its neighbours. The concept of the "Day of the LORD" which runs throughout the Minor Prophets as a whole reaches its zenith in Joel and its co-mingling of ecological and military metaphors advances Hosea on the former and anticipates later texts on the latter. In this volume within T&T Clark's International Theological Commentary Series Christopher Seitz starts from a foundation of historical-critical methodology to provide an account of Joel's place and purpose within the book of the Twelve prophets as a whole. Seitz examines the theology and background of Joel, and shows how Joel's theological function can provide a major hermeneutical key to the interpretation of the wider collection, and teases out the precise character of that role.

The Book of the Twelve Prophets contains an abundance of passages that discuss ancient cities (Samaria, Bet-El, Jerusalem, Ninive, Babel, among others) and their identity. Wide in scope, this volume demonstrates the sensitivity and critical awareness shown by the prophetic tradition which observed processes of urbanization that were very much double-edged. In addition to historical analysis, the essays assembled here offer important perspectives for current theological research on urban studies.

Discovered in Egypt in 1945, the fascinating and challenging Nag Hammadi writings forever changed our understanding of early Christianity. State-of-the-art and the only volume of its kind, Introduction to "Gnosticism": Ancient Voices, Christian Worlds guides students through the most significant of the Nag Hammadi texts. Employing an exceptionally lucid and accessible writing style, Nicola Denzey Lewis groups the texts by theme and genre, places them in the broader context of the ancient world, and reveals their most inscrutable mysteries. Ideal for use in courses in Early Christianity/Origins of Christianity, Christianity to 1500, Gnostic Gospels, Gnosticism, Early Christian Writings, Orthodoxy and Heresy, and New Testament Studies, Introduction to "Gnosticism" is enhanced by numerous pedagogical features, including images of the manuscripts, study and discussion questions, annotated bibliographies, tables, diagrams, and a glossary.

Basics of Ancient Ugaritic is a teaching grammar of this ancient language, one of vital importance for understanding the wider world and culture surrounding the Old Testament text. It begins with the alphabet, and each new lesson builds on the ones before it. It is not, therefore, a synthetic Ugaritic grammar-these types of texts often prove to be overwhelming for students. Instead, Basics of Ancient Ugaritic can be used for learning the language by individuals on their own or in a classroom setting. Each chapter concludes with a set of exercises allowing students to know whether they are grasping the fundamentals of the language. In short, Basics of Ancient Ugaritic represents an ideal first text for entering the larger world of Semitic languages.

A groundbreaking account of how the Book of Exodus shaped fundamental aspects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam The Book of Exodus may be the most consequential story ever told. But its spectacular moments of heaven-sent plagues and parting seas overshadow its true significance, says Jan Assmann, a leading historian of ancient religion. The story of Moses guiding the enslaved children of Israel out of captivity to become God's chosen people is the foundation of an entirely new idea of religion, one that lives on today in many of the world's faiths. The Invention of Religion sheds new light on ancient scriptures to show how Exodus has shaped fundamental understandings of monotheistic practice and belief. Assmann delves into the enduring mythic power of the Exodus narrative, examining the text's compositional history and calling attention to distinctive motifs and dichotomies: enslavement and redemption; belief and doubt; proper worship and idolatry; loyalty and betrayal. Revelation is a central theme--the revelation of God's power in miracles, of God's presence in the burning bush, and of God's chosen dwelling among the Israelites in the vision of the tabernacle. Above all, it is God's covenant with Israel-the binding obligation of the Israelites to acknowledge God as their redeemer and obey His law-that is Exodus's most encompassing and transformative idea, one that challenged basic assumptions about humankind's relationship to the divine in the ancient world. The Invention of Religion is a powerful account of how ideas of faith, revelation, and covenant, first introduced in Exodus, shaped Judaism and were later adopted by Christianity and Islam to form the bedrock of the world's Abrahamic religions.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Ancient Prophecy: Near Eastern, Biblical, and Greek Perspectives is the first monograph-length comparative study on prophetic divination in ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and Greek sources. Prophecy is one of the ways humans have believed to become conversant with what is believed to be superhuman knowledge. The prophetic process of communication involves the prophet, her/his audience, and the deity from whom the message allegedly comes from. Martti Nissinen introduces a wealth of ancient sources documenting the prophetic phenomenon around the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, whether cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, the Hebrew Bible, Greek inscriptions, or ancient historians. Nissinen provides an up-to-date presentation of textual sources, the number of which has increased substantially in recent times. In addition, the study includes four analytical comparative chapters. The first demonstrates the altered state of consciousness to be one of the central characteristics of the prophets' public behavior. The second discusses the prophets' affiliation with temples, which are the typical venues of the prophetic performance. The third delves into the relationship between prophets and kings, which can be both critical and supportive. The fourth shows gender-inclusiveness to be one of the peculiar features of the prophetic agency, which could be executed by women, men, and genderless persons as well. The ways prophetic divination manifests itself in ancient sources depend not only on the socio-religious position of the prophets in a given society, but also on the genre and purpose of the sources. Nissinen contends that, even though the view of the ancient prophetic landscape is restricted by the fragmentary and secondary nature of the sources, it is possible to reconstruct essential features of prophetic divination at the socio-religious roots of the Western civilization.

'La historia de Israel encierra un importante mensaje para la Iglesia de hoy: el plan de Dios triunfa a pesar de las vicisitud que sufra su pueblo, de la oposicion de sus enemigos y del fracaso humano' (Prologo). El autor invita al creyente, a traves del lenguaje sencillo y la abundante informacion que presenta en esta obra, a acercarse a la seccion historica del Antiguo Testamento con la vision de que es algo actual, que tiene que ver con su propia vida y con la de la Iglesia. Los cuestionarios colocados en puntos estrategicos del texto, y las oportunas reflexiones del escritor, son un motivo mas para que la Editorial Vida tenga la seguridad de que este comentario sera especialmente util para el pueblo creyente de habla hispana."

Ruth and Esther are two prophetic pictures of the same gospel. One speaks of a last-minute rescue from death, the other of a long-awaited filling of a terrible emptiness. One ends with a baby; the other concludes with an annual remembrance of an amazing escape. But neither really ends, until they find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Part of the Teaching series, this book is designed to help the pastor/preacher, small group leader, or youth worker in preparing and presenting studies.

Practitioners of Biblical Hermeneutics have been a relatively neglected group of Biblical interpreters. For this reason, scholars have long desired an introductory work that documents the diversity of Biblical hermeneutic interpretation, beginning with Origen and extending to the present. For the first time, the Handbook brings together the texts from all of these epochs and makes them accessible through academic analyses.

Ethics in Ancient Israel is a study of ethical thinking in ancient Israel from around the eighth to the second century BC. The evidence for this consists primarily of the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha, but also other ancient Jewish writings such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and various anonymous and pseudonymous texts from shortly before the New Testament period. Professor John Barton argues that there were several models for thinking about ethics, including a 'divine command' theory, something approximating to natural law, a virtue ethic, and a belief in human custom and convention. Moreover, he examines ideas of reward and punishment, purity and impurity, the status of moral agents and patients, imitation of God, and the image of God in humanity. Barton maintains that ethical thinking can be found not only in laws but also in the wisdom literature, in the Psalms, and in narrative texts. There is much interaction with recent scholarship in both English and German. The book features discussion of comparative material from other ancient Near Eastern cultures and a chapter on short summaries of moral teaching, such as the Ten Commandments. This innovative work should be of interest to those concerned with the interpretation of the Old Testament but also to students of ethics.

In the Hebrew Bible, Judges 4-5 tells the lurid story of the heroic figure of Jael, a woman who seduces the Canaanite general Sisera and then nails his head to the ground with a tent-peg, thus saving Israel from the troops of King Sabin. This gruesome tale has long intrigued scholars and artists alike. The many versions of the story that have appeared in art and literature have repeatedly and creatively built on the gendered themes of the tradition, often seeing in the encounter between Jael and Sisera some fundamental truth about the relationship between women and men. In Sex and Slaughter in the Tent of Jael, Colleen Conway offers the first sustained look at how this biblical tradition has been used artistically to articulate and inform cultural debates about gender. She traces the cultural retellings of this story in poems, prints, paintings, plays, and narratives across many centuries, beginning with its appearance in Judges 4-5 and continuing up to the present day. Once separated from its original theological context, the Jael/Sisera tradition becomes largely about gender identity, particularly the conflict between the sexes. Conway examines the ways in which Jael has been reimagined by turns as a wily seductress, passionate lover, frustrated and bored mother, peace-bringing earth goddess, and deadly cyborg assassin. Meanwhile, Sisera variously plays the enemy general, the seduced lover, the noble but tragically duped victim, and the violent male chauvinist. Ultimately, Conway demonstrates that the ways in which Jael's actions are explained and assessed all depend on when, by whom, and for whom the Jael and Sisera story is being told. In examining the varying artistic renditions of the story, this book also provides a case study of the Bible's role as a common cultural resource in secular western culture.

Four biblical scholars offer passage-by-passage commentary through the narratives of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel, explaining difficult doctrines, shedding light on overlooked sections, and making applications to life and ministry today. Part of the ESV Expository Commentary.

A groundbreaking account of how the Book of Exodus shaped fundamental aspects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam The Book of Exodus may be the most consequential story ever told. But its spectacular moments of heaven-sent plagues and parting seas overshadow its true significance, says Jan Assmann, a leading historian of ancient religion. The story of Moses guiding the enslaved children of Israel out of captivity to become God's chosen people is the foundation of an entirely new idea of religion, one that lives on today in many of the world's faiths. First introduced in Exodus, new ideas of faith, revelation, and above all covenant transformed basic assumptions about humankind's relationship to the divine and became the bedrock of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

In this guide, Philip Peter Jenson provides an introduction to Leviticus, examining its structure, character, and content. In particular, he focuses on explaining the basic concepts that inform the rituals and ethics of Leviticus. This is especially the case for the pervasive and complex category of holiness, along with its antithesis, impurity. Overall, Jenson's emphasis is on the overarching coherence of the book and how it reached its present canonical form. Leviticus is a difficult book for most readers, describing rituals that are no longer practiced and reflecting a culture that is vastly different from that of the modern West. Yet it is the central book of the first section of the Bible of both Jews and Christians, and it is at the heart of the law revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. It includes the foundational texts on matters such as sacrifice or love for one's neighbour. In this comprehensive introduction, Jenson offers extensive analysis, and concludes each chapter with reflections on the contemporary significance of the texts being discussed.

The present volume contains a collection of articles from an international conference in Zurich that brought together leading voices from North America, Europe, and Israel to evaluate the present state of research on the composition of the Pentateuch. The aim of the conference was to clarify differences in methodology and to identify points of convergence in the present state of pentateuchal research as a basis for further discussion. "The essays in this volume provide important insights about the way toward a better understanding of the Pentateuch's literary development." Angela Roskop Erisman in Journal of the American Oriental Society 133.3 (2013), p. 551-553

Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Old Testament Commentaries) The books of 1 and 2 Kings cover the history of Israel from the last days of the united kingdom under David to the eventual fall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Within these books, the deuteronomic code - 'doing what is right in the Lord's sight' - provides a framework by which monarchic history is measured. In the kings' cultic failures lies the apostasy of the nation and its eventual exile. This apostasy centres on Israel's commitment to worship YHWH exclusively, and to worship according to deuteronomistic norms within the Jerusalem temple as the locus of YHWH's covenant presence. To safeguard the kings' commitments, YHWH's prophets loom large in 1 and 2 Kings: they herald YHWH's purposes, warn of his judgment for apostasy and woo his people back to the full experience of covenant life. Lissa M. Wray Beal's valuable commentary examines the successes and failures of monarchy in the divided kingdoms. It works with the final form of the biblical text and pursues historiographical, narrative and theological questions, including the relation of each chapter's themes to biblical theology. While it focuses on theological and narrative concerns, the commentary gives due attention to complex historical issues. It seeks to provide a nuanced reading that is faithful to the text's message.