Did Zechariah really see visions? This question cannot be definitely answered, so the idea must remain a hypothesis. Here, Tiemeyer shows that this hypothesis is nonetheless reasonable and instrumental in shedding light on matters in Zechariah's vision report that are otherwise unclear. Tracking through each verse of the text, the key exegetical problems are covered, including the topics of the distinction between visions and dreams, dream classification, conflicting sources of evidence for dream experiences, and rhetorical imagery as opposed to dream experience. Further attention is focused on the transmission of the divine message to Zechariah, with the key question raised of whether a visual or oral impression is described. Tiemeyer's study further demonstrates that Zech 1-6 depicts a three-tier reality. This description seeks to convey the seer's visionary experience to his readers. In a trance state, Zechariah communicates with the Interpreting Angel, while also receiving glimpses of a deeper reality known as the 'visionary world.'

This book discusses the theory that the Psalter was compiled with the specific intention that it should be used as a book for private spiritual reading. It is argued that if this were so, the work of the final editors would not have been confined to arranging the psalms in a particular order but would have included additions and interpolations intended to give the whole book a new orientation. An investigation of selected psalms shows that although the Psalter may have become a book for private devotion not long after its compilation, there is little evidence that it was compiled for that purpose.

This two-part commentary argues that Chronicles, placed as it is among the 'historical books' in the traditional Old Testament of the Christian church, is much misunderstood. Restored to its proper position as the final book in the canon as arranged in the order of the Hebrew Bible, it is rather to be understood as a work of theology essentially directed towards the future. The Chronicler begins his work with the problem facing the whole human race in Adam-the forfeiture of the ideal of perfect oneness with God's purpose. He explores the possibility of the restoration of that ideal through Israel's place at the centre of the world of the nations. This portrayal reaches its climax in an idealized presentation of the reign of Solomon, in which all the rulers of the earth, including most famously the Queen of Sheba, bring their tribute in acknowledgment of Israel's status (Volume 1). As subsequent history only too clearly shows, however, the Chronicler argues (Volume 2), that Israel itself, through unfaithfulness to Torah, has forfeited its right to possession of its land and is cast adrift among these same nations of the world. But the Chronicler's message is one of hope. By a radical transformation of the chronology of Israel's past into theological terms, the generation whom the Chronicler addresses becomes the fiftieth since Adam. It is the generation to whom the jubilee of return to the land through a perfectly enabled obedience to Torah, and thus the restoration of the primal ideal of the human race, is announced.>

This book deals with the place of the source-document Q and its compilers within late Second Temple Judaism, with special attention to Q's relationship to the Herodian Temple. The investigation of this perspective is fraught with problems because the passages that are associated with the Temple in Q do not speak with the same voice, raising the question of how to reconcile the seemingly positive view with the rather more hostile views. Using a comparative approach, Han analyses the essential differences in the two types of positions, and concludes that the negative attitude is original, while the positive position is due to a later redaction that took place after the First Revolt and the destruction of the Temple.

Phyllis Trible examines rhetorical criticism as a discipline within biblical studies. In Part One she surveys the historical antecedents of the method from ancient times to the postmodern era: classical rhetoric, literary critical theory, literary study of the Bible, and form criticism. Trible then presents samples of rhetorical analysis as the art of composition and as the art of persuasion. In Part Two, formulated guidelines are applied to a detailed study of the book of Jonah. A close reading with respect to structure, syntax, style, and substance elicits a host of meanings embedded in text, enabling the relationship between artistry and theology to emerge with clarity. Rhetorical Criticism has many distinctive features. It is the first comprehensive treatment of biblical rhetorical criticism as it has emerged within the latter half of the twentieth century. a didactic treatise that combines theoretical discussion, practical guidelines, and detailed exegesis interdisciplinary in approach, engaging the rhetorical study of the Bible with expanding developments in secular literary criticism (structuralism, poetics, reader-response criticism, and deconstruction, for example) and in the similarly burgeoning field of contemporary rhetoric itself a model of the rhetorical analysis that it describes accessible both to the novice and to the scholar

"Hierapolis in the Heavens" is a project which brings together several articles and essays that Kreitzer has written on the letter to the Ephesians and follows up a new suggestion which he first put forward in 1997 as to the setting and provenance of the epistle. Nothing quite like this has yet been published on Ephesians, particularly as it does offer some important new archaeological, textual and numismatic evidence for scholarly consideration. The book should also be of interest to social-historians of the first-century world as it argues that the letter we know as "Ephesians" was written to what was, in effect, a daughter-church of the church in Colossae; some intriguing questions about power-relations between churches such as this are opened up as a result.It was formerly known as "The Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement", a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. "The Early Christianity in Context" series, a part of JSNTS, examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. European Seminar on Christian Origins is also part of JSNTS. "Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement" is also part of JSNTS.

A Bible with large print in an easy-to-carry format that is ideal to take with you wherever you are wanting to read and enjoy God's Word. This edition is published in large KJV Comfort Print type, which was designed exclusively for Thomas Nelson to be the most readable at any size. This KJV Bible contains a unique layout for reading and exploring God's Word. With a single-column, line-matched format in large Comfort Print, this Bible easily fits in your hand making it ideal for reading and studying Scripture. In addition, the Bible offers thousands of cross-references at the ends of verses that allow you to easily find the connections within Scripture. Features include: 43,000 cross-references at the end of verses allow you to find related passages quickly and easily The Presentation page is a special place to personalize this special gift by recording a memory or note Full 22,000 translator notes provide a look into the thinking of the translators with alternative translations that could Line-matched large-print type for a comfortable reading experience Classic verse-by-verse layout starts each verse on its own line so it's easy to navigate the text Portable personal-size format, perfect for everyday use Concordance for looking up a word's occurrences throughout the Bible Full color maps show the layout of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Ribbon markers make it easy to navigate and keep track of where you were reading Words of Christ in red quickly identify verses spoken by Jesus Gilded page edges help protect the edge of the page and provide a polished look Durable and flexible Smyth-sewn binding so the Bible will lay flat in your hand or on a desk Clear and readable 10-point KJV Comfort Print (R)

In this collection of thematically arranged essays on the Gospel according to Mark, the first part highlights its reception in early Christianity, its text form as an episodic narrative and its relation to contemporary genres. It recognizes Mark's dependence on traditions from and about Jesus of Nazareth and the presupposed knowledge about the narrated locations in Galilee. The second part focuses on the discourse itself, presenting studies on style, use of metaphor, intertextuality, and strategies of persuasion. The third part treats the Christology, ethics and eschatology and the way in which the narrator gives meaning to Jesus's death. The fourth part returns to the burning issue of what lies behind Mark and how we can study it, ending with a proposal to discuss the composition of the narrative within the framework of performance theory.

It has been hard to categorise and identify the 'Wisdom psalms' within the Psalter. Interpreters have produced different lists of wisdom psalms of greatly varying lengths, and individual scholars often change their choices over time. Cheung re-examines the issues at stake in identifying this group of psalms in order to better describe the configuration of this psalmic genre. Past scholarship has failed to settle this issue because of the use of unfit criteria and an ill-understood concept of genre. With the aid of the concepts of 'family resemblance' and 'prototypes', this book proposes to define 'wisdom psalms' as a psalm family which is characterised by a wisdom-oriented constellation of its generic features. Three such features are identified after a fresh assessment of the most typical characteristics of 'wisdom literature'. This proposed method is put to test in the extensive study of seven psalms (37, 49, 73, 128, 32, 39, and 19) and the three criteria are verified to be suitable descriptors of the 'wisdom psalm' family. Cheung also explores questions related to the wisdom-cult disparity, Joban parallels as wisdom indicators, and the wisdom-orientation of 'torah psalms'.

This work argues that the author of the Gospel of Matthew structures his work as a Bios or biography of Jesus, so as to encapsulate, in narrative form, the essence of his theological understanding of God's Basileia (sovereign rule), as proclaimed and taught in the teaching and healing mission of Jesus. Evidence for this is found in Matthew's careful use of structural markers to divide his story of Jesus into significant thematic sub-sections in which he uses a series of Basileia logia at incisive points to highlight aspects of Jesus' teaching and healing mission. In this way, Matthew is able to portray Jesus, as God's promised Messiah, who instructs his disciples through discourse and narrative, hence in word and example, in the nature and demands of God's sovereign rule.

By structuring his Gospel as a story, Matthew depicts Jesus giving instructions to his disciples and also instructs the readers of the text. Hence, Matthew's Gospel becomes a manual of instruction on the nature and demands of God's sovereignty. Its purpose is to ensure that not only the members of the Matthean community, but all future disciples of Jesus are competently trained to carry out Jesus' commission: "Go therefore and disciple all the nations ..." (28:19-20). In this way, the goods news of God's saving presence is proclaimed to all the nations until God's eschatological reign is finally established.

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Building on the unique format and success of their Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Malina and Rohrbaugh extend their framework to the Fourth Gospel. Unlike the usual historical, exegetical, or theological commentaries, this rich and engrossing work catalogs the pertinent values, conflicts, and mores of ancient Mediterranean culture. Its Gospel outline, detailed textual notes, and "reading scenarios" bring life to the social circumstances the Gospel text relates about childhood, money, divorce, military service, farming, family life, cities, demons, patronage, and a host of other aspects of the ancient world. The Fourth Gospel, the authors disclose, addresses an alienated anti-society, fundamentally at odds with the predominant culture. With its format, charts and photos, this social-science commentary is the ideal companion for the study of the Fourth Gospel.

"Within what I hope will become this dog-eared work" says Stephen Poxon, "365 shaggy dog stories are homed with verses of Scripture to encourage, inform and possibly even amuse. Use them as a dog might treat a puddle - to gaze upon with curiosity, to dip into, or to have a jolly good splash around. It might be that a line from a reflection will lead you towards a deeper concept. It might be that a thought provides a timely contemplation for the day, relevant to your circumstances and concerns. A year's worth of delightful reflections on dogs known and loved, each leading into a consideration of some aspect of God's character. "It is my prayer, as a dog devotee who tries to follow God, that these readings bring reminders of His love. As the seasons change and experiences vary between good, bad, and indifferent, may our relationship with a loving Heavenly Father remain a rewarding constant."

The author invites us to engage in the pursuit of intimacy with God, discovering a unique path, depicted as a "dance of devotion." This special dance parallels the journey of love and passion exhibited in the Song of Songs. Through the crucial stages of intimacy, our necessary consecration to the Lover of our Souls is explored, and the reader is drawn into the very mysteries of God's ways.