One of the best known and most important references on the life of Christ ever written, Alfred Edersheim's "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" is a storehouse of information on the background of the New Testament. This classic work successfully portrays the streets, the marketplaces, the religious conflicts, the people, and the places of Jesus' earthly ministry.

Edersheim divides his work into five sections, or books:
- Book 1--"The Preparation for the Gospel"
Introductory historical, religious, political, and cultural material based on the author's extensive knowledge of Jewish lore and customs.
- Book 2--"From Bethlehem to Jordan"
The background of Herod and his reign, St. John the Baptist and his message, and the birth and baptism of Jesus.
- Book 3--"From Jordan to the Mount of Transfiguration"
Thirty-seven chapters explore the miracles and teachings of Jesus' early ministry.
- Book 4--"The Descent into the Valley of Humiliation"
A history of the latter part of Jesus' ministry from the Transfiguration to the journey to Jerusalem.
- Book 5--"The Cross and the Crown"
A chronicle of each day of Passion Week, from Palm Sunday to the Resurrection.
- Appendices
Valuable background material on Jewish history, tradition, and law

Even when he was a prototype of European identity, Paul transgressed the limits of Europe. It is not clear whether he was conformist or rebellious, orthodox or liberal, sexist, or egalitarian. Instead of pushing the Apostle into the arbitrary categories of modern European identity, Fatima Tofighi takes into account the challenge that Paul brings to normative conceptions of political theology (Rom 13), 'religion' (Gal 2.12-14), and women's veiling (1 Cor 11. 5-16). Alternative interpretations of these passages, with the help of postmodern theory, both solve the major problems of biblical exegesis and offer a critique of the allegedly well-defined European categories.

Virtually all Christians recognize the centrality of the Bible to their faith. Yet many Christians misquote and misapply Scripture regularly. Often those who are most passionate about the authority of the Bible are at the greatest loss when it comes to understanding its message clearly and applying it faithfully. Professor Manfred Brauch believes this kind of mistaken interpretation and application of Scripture is a detriment to the integrity of our Christian witness and contributes to profound misunderstandings in Christian belief and practice. In this practical book written with the non-specialist in mind, Brauch identifies and corrects a number of basic errors in the use of the Bible that interpret and apply biblical texts in ways that distort their meaning and message. Chapters explore issues of context, selectivity, consistency, author intent and other important considerations with an eye toward addressing not just the act of interpretation, but also the attitudes behind the ways we choose to apply Scripture. Whether you lead a Bible study or small group, are a pastor or Sunday school teacher, are engaged in biblical study at a college or seminary, or are just an everyday Christian who wants to understand how to interpret God's Word well and recognize good interpretation (or the lack therof) when you encounter it, this important book will be an invaluable guide.

Justin Marc Smith argues that the gospels were intended to be addressed to a wide and varied audience. He does this by considering them to be works of ancient biography, comparative to the Greco-Roman biography. Smith argues that the earliest Christian interpreters of the Gospels did not understand their works to be sectarian documents. Rather, the wider context of Jesus literature in the second and third centuries points toward the broader Christian practice of writing and disseminating literary presentations of Jesus and Jesus traditions as widely as possible. Smith addresses the difficulty in reconstructing the various gospel communities that might lie behind the gospel texts and suggests that the 'all nations' motif present in all four of the canonical gospels suggests an ideal secondary audience beyond those who could be identified as Christian.

An examination of the final form of Hosea within the socio-historical context of Persian period Judah, making use of insights from historical-critical and reader-oriented perspectives. The amalgamation of these two seemingly divergent approaches creates a framework within which the setting and interpretive practices of both the modern critic and the ancient reader(s) can be taken seriously. The resulting examination proposes a reading of Hosea shaped, as far as possible, by the reading conventions and socio-religious concerns of Persian period Judahites.>

For some years the view has become established that the Book of the Twelve is a systematically structured literary unity. An exegesis which takes the final canonical text seriously undertakes to understand the structure and theological intention of this unity. The papers collected here attempt to reveal significant structures which overarch the individual components. Particular emphasis is placed on the reconstruction of thematic threads which are created when individual prophets take up topics from their predecessors (e.g. Jehovah's Day, conversion, role of the peoples) and intensify them. The papers were written between 1999 and 2002 under the aegis of the Society of Biblical Literature's Working Group on The Formation of the Book of the Twelve.

This is the deluxe study version of the modern New Testament as translated from the Aramaic.

Inventing Hebrews examines a perennial topic in the study of the Letter to the Hebrews, its structure and purpose. Michael Wade Martin and Jason A. Whitlark undertake at thorough synthesis of the ancient theory of invention and arrangement, providing a new account of Hebrews' design. The key to the speech's outline, the authors argue, is in its use of 'disjointed' arrangement, a template ubiquitous in antiquity but little discussed in modern biblical studies. This method of arrangement accounts for the long-observed pattern of alternating epideictic and deliberative units in Hebrews as blocks of narratio and argumentatiorespectively. Thus the 'letter' may be seen as a conventional speech arranged according to the expectations of ancient rhetoric (exordium, narratio, argumentatio, peroratio), with epideictic comparisons of old and new covenant representatives (narratio) repeatedly enlisted in amplification of what may be viewed as the central argument of the speech (argumentatio), the recurring deliberative summons for perseverance. Resolving a long-standing conundrum, this volume offers a hermeneutical tool necessary for interpreting Hebrews, as well as countless other speeches from Greco-Roman antiquity.

KJV Mini Pocket Bible offers the celebrated King James Version in an attractive compact size with zip, making it easy to slip into any purse, pocket or backpack. Special features include a thematic Scripture verse finder, one-year Bible reading plan, reader-friendly sub-headings, the words of Christ in red and a presentation page for gift-giving.

• 6-point type size

Previous attempts to critique the canonical approach of Brevard Childs have remained largely theoretical in nature. One of the weakness of canonical criticism, then, is its failure to have generated new readings of extended biblical passages. Reviewing the hermeneutics and the praxis of Childs's approach, Lyons then turns to the Sodom narrative (Gen 18-19) as a test of a practical exegesis according to Childs' principles, and then to reflect critically upon the reading experience generated. Surprisingly, the canonical reading produced is a wholly new one, centred around the complex, irreducible - even contradictory - request of Abraham for Yahweh to do justice (18:23-25).

This book examines the educated elite in 1 Corinthians through the development, and application, of an ancient education model. The research reads PaulGCOs text within the social world of early Christianity and uses social-scientific criticism in reconstructing a model that is appropriate for first-century Corinth. Pauline scholars have used models to reconstruct elite education but this study highlights their oversight in recognising the relevancy of the Greek Gymnasium for education. Topics are examined in 1 Corinthians to demonstrate where the model advances an understanding of PaulGCOs interaction with the elite Corinthian Christians in the context of community conflict. This study demonstrates the important contribution that this ancient education model makes in interpreting 1 Corinthians in a Graeco-Roman context. This is Volume 271 of JSNTS.

Paul's reading of the Old Testament continues to witness to the significance of reading the Old Testament in a Christian way. This study argues that a theological approach to understanding Paul's appeal to and reading of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, offers important insights into the ways in which Christians should read the Old Testament and a two-testament canon today. By way of example, this study explores the ways in which Isaiah 40-66's canonical form presents the gospel in miniature with its movement from Israel to Servant to servants. It is subsequently argued that Paul follows this literary movement in his own theological reflection in 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:10. Jesus takes on the unique role and identity of the Servant of Isaiah 40-55, and Paul takes on the role of the servants of the Servant in Isaiah 53-66. From this exegetical exploration conclusions are drawn in the final chapter that seek to apply a term from the history of interpretation to Paul's reading, that is, the plain sense of Scripture. What does an appeal to plain sense broker? And does Paul's reading of the Old Testament look anything like a plain sense reading? Gignilliat concludes that Paul is reading the Old Testament in such a way that the literal sense and its figural potential and capacity are not divorced but are actually organically linked in what can be termed a plain sense reading.

This is the teacher's guide edition to this great study of the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. With topics ranging from "God: His Character and Attributes" to "The Church: Fellowship and Worship," this study is ideal to disciple new believers or to realize afresh what it means to believe in Jesus. The teacher's guide contains all the answers to the 13 lessons taught in the accompanying students edition along with excellent teaching notes to prepare the leader to guide the group.

Modern Israel and its relations with its Arab neighbors has been conspicuously in the daily news ever since World War II. Until that time, the concept of Israel and a continuing Jewish people had been hovering in the distant background of Christian thought and doctrine since the post-apostolic era. In this important work, Dr. Diprose demonstrates the uniqueness of Israel and its special place in the divine plan. By carefully reviewing relevant New Testament and post-apostolic writings, the author traces the origin and development of Replacement Theology--the concept that the Church has completely and permanently replaced ethnic Israel in the outworking of God's plan throughout history--challenging its origin and role in the development of Christian thought on the future of ethnic Israel.