This New Testament marks the thirty years since the launch of The Revised English Bible. This facsimile edition comes with a new preface by the Archbishop of York John Sentamu, as well as the original preface by the former Archbishop of Canterbury and chairman of the Translation Committee, Donald Coggan. Originally commissioned by the mainline British Christian denominations, the REB translation constitutes a truly ecumenical Bible version presented in British English. This anniversary New Testament reproduces the lucid prose of the REB and is attractively presented in a single-column setting. It comes in a pocket-sized format bound in flexible green imitation leather with gilt edges, combining practicality with affordable elegance. Compact and graceful, it is suitable for every occasion and would make a fine gift.

Stephanie Day Powell illuminates the myriad forms of persuasion, inducement, discontent, and heartbreak experienced by readers of Ruth. Writing from a lesbian perspective, Powell draws upon biblical scholarship, contemporary film and literature, narrative studies, feminist and queer theories, trauma studies and psychoanalytic theory to trace the workings of desire that produced the book of Ruth and shaped its history of reception. Wrestling with the arguments for and against reading Ruth as a love story between women, Powell gleans new insights into the ancient world in which Ruth was written. Ruth is known as a tale of two courageous women, the Moabite Ruth and her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi. As widows with scarce means of financial or social support, Ruth and Naomi are forced to creatively subvert the economic and legal systems of their day in order to survive. Through exceptional acts of loyalty, they, along with their kinsman Boaz, re-establish the bonds of family and community, while preserving the line of Israel's great king David. Yet for many, the story of Ruth is deeply dissatisfying. Scholars increasingly recognize how Ruth's textual "gaps" and ambiguities render conventional interpretations of the book's meaning and purpose uncertain. Feminist and queer interpreters question the appropriation of a woman's story to uphold patriarchal institutions and heteronormative values. Such avenues of inquiry lend themselves to questions of narrative desire, that is, the study of how stories frame our desires and how our own complex longings affect the way we read.

The Perfect Gift Bible

The New Living Translation Premium Gift Bible offers today’s most popular features, including book introductions, a dictionary/concordance, and a durable binding, at an affordable price. It’s perfect for individual gift giving or for churches.

The New Living Translation is a clear and trusted English translation of the Bible. It conveys the precise meaning of the original languages in a flowing, effortless writing style that promotes comfortable and meaningful reading.

• 7.25-point type size

Tom Wright has completed a tremendous task: to provide comprehensive guides to all the books of the New Testament, and to furnish them with his own fresh translation of the entire text. Each short passage is followed by a highly readable commentary with helpful background information. The format makes it appropriate also for daily study.

Mark, Manuscripts, and Monotheism is organized into three parts: Mark's Gospel, Manuscripts and Textual Criticism, and Monotheism and Early Jesus-Devotion. With contributors hailing from several different countries, and including both senior and junior scholars, this volume contains essays penned in honor of Larry W. Hurtado by engaging and focusing upon these three major emphases in his scholarship. The result is not only a fitting tribute to one of the most influential New Testament scholars of present times, but also a welcome survey of current scholarship.

Pauline- and Gospel-centred readings have too long provided the normative understanding of Christian identity. The chapters in this volume features evidence from other, less-frequently studied texts, so as to broaden perspectives on early Christian identity. Each chapter in the collection focuses on one or more of the later New Testament epistles and answers one of the following questions: what did/do these texts uniquely contribute to Christian identity? How does the author frame or shape identity? What are the potential results of the identities constructed in these texts for early Christian communities? What are the influences of these texts on later Christian identity? Together these chapters contribute fresh insights through innovative research, furthering the discussion on the theological and historical importance of these texts within the canon. The distinguished list of contributors includes: Richard Bauckham, David G. Horrell, Francis Watson, and Robert W. Wall.