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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > The Bible
This volume examines the stories of Genesis in music, showing how
musical settings can illuminate many of the Bible's most noted
tales. Helen Leneman studies oratorios, operas and songs (as well
as their librettos) to shed light on how Genesis has been
understood and experienced over time. Examining an extensive range
of musical settings of stories from the book of Genesis, Leneman
offers an overview of chiefly 19th and 20th century musical
engagements with this biblical text. Leneman first discusses how
Eve's inner thoughts are explored by noted French composers Jules
Massenet and Gabriel Faure. The text then enters the deep waters of
Noah's flood in examination of several compositions, including two
unusual settings by Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten, as well
as more conventional settings by Saint-Saens and Donizetti. Two
major 19th century oratorio settings of Abraham's story by
lesserknown German composers Martin Blumner and Karl Mangold
provide fascinating illuminations of the Abraham narratives,
whereas parts of Rebecca's story are found in works by Cesar
Franck, Ferdinand Hiller, and most unusually, by a French woman
composer, Celanie Carissan. Finally, Leneman shows how Joseph's
story was set in numerous oratorios (including by Handel) but that
one of the most important works based on his story is an opera by
18th century French composer Etienne Mehul. In addition to
discussing these larger 19th century works, Leneman also examines
several interesting atonal 20th century works based on the stories
of Eve and the Flood, shedding new light on the history of the
interpretation of the Book of Genesis.
ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal: Romans pairs the entirety of the
book of Romans with a lightly dotted blank page opposite each page
of Bible text and hand-lettered illustrations interspersed
throughout-providing space to creatively engage with and reflect on
the Word of God.
Mayer I. Gruber provides a new commentary on and translation of
Hosea. Building upon his work that debunked the myth of sacred
prostitution, Gruber now goes on to show that the book of Hosea
repeatedly advocates a single standard of marital fidelity for men
and women and teaches cheated women to fight back. Gruber employs
the latest and most precise findings of lexicography and poetics to
solve the difficulties of the text and to determine both how Hosea
can be read and what this means. The translation differs from
classical and recent renderings in eliminating forms and
expressions, which are neither modern English nor ancient Hebrew.
Referring to places, events, and material reality of the 9th and
8th centuries BCE, Gruber uncovers the abiding messages of the
heretofore obscure book of Hosea. As in previous studies, Gruber
employs the insights of behavioral sciences to uncover forgotten
meanings of numerous allusions, idioms, similes, and metaphors.
Judicious use is made also of textual history, reception history,
and personal voice criticism. One of the least biblical books now
speaks more clearly to present and future audiences than it did to
many previous audiences.
Paul's letter to the young church in Rome has dramatically
influenced Christians through the ages. It has been described as a
'gateway into heaven'. In this letter Paul gives a complete picture
of the gospel - the fullest and grandest in the New Testament. His
horizons are vast, taking in time and eternity, the past, present
and future of humanity, and the great themes of justification,
sanctification and glorification. This is the most personally
rooted of John Stott's expositions, for he confesses to have
re-encountered Paul's letter constantly throughout his Christian
life. At the same time, her interacts with other commentators, some
of whom are challenging interpretations that are time-honoured and
traditional. He sees Romans as a Christian manifesto for our
increasingly unstable world, emphasising the good news of freedom
through Jesus Christ. Paul's vision of this freedom is astonishing.
It overcomes ethnic conflict, the darkness of moral guilt,
condemnation from God and alienation from others. It is a freedom
to serve God and our neighbours in love.
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.
The Body As Property indicates that physical disfigurement
functioned in biblical law to verify legal property acquisition,
when changes in the status of dependents were formalized. It is
based on the reality the cuneiform script, in particular, was
developed in Sumer and Mesopotamia for the purpose of record
keeping: to provide legal proof of ownership where the inscription
of a tablet evidenced the sale, or transfer, of property.
Legitimate property acquisition was as important in biblical law,
where physical disfigurements marked dependents, in a similar way
that the veil or the head covering identified a wife or concubine
in ancient Assyrian and Judean societies. This is primarily
substantiated in the accounts of prescriptive disfigurements:
namely circumcision and the piercing of a slave's ear, both of
which were required only when a son, or slave, was acquired
permanently. It is further argued that legal entitlement was
relevant also to the punitive disfigurements recorded in Exodus
21:22-24, and Deuteronomy 25:11-12, where the physical violation of
women was of concern solely as an infringement of male property
rights.
Sight and Insight shows how prominent are terms from the semantic
field of sight in the book of Genesis. They are constantly found in
openings, at turning points, and as constituents in place-names and
personal names. Because of their presence at strategic points in
the plot of Genesis, words of sight enhance cohesion among the
narratives of the book. From the beginning of time, according to
Genesis, there have been numerous instances of seeing on the part
of both God and humans. But as Genesis progresses, God gradually
becomes more hidden and his seeing gives place to human perception.
These observations are built upon a sound theoretical foundation,
outlined in the opening chapter, which provides a clear definition
of the concept of 'semantic field' and an explanation of related
semantic terms such as 'frames' and 'prototypes'. Subsequent
chapters identify the words that can be assigned to the 'sight'
field, examine the deployment of the sight field in individual
narratives in Genesis, and study the sight field over larger
sections of the book. This is the sixth volume of the Amsterdam
Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner), a
sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible
Monographs.
Like other volumes in the New Testament Guides series, James offers
a concise and accessible introduction to a New Testament text, in
this case aimed specifically at undergraduate-level students.
Kloppenborg introduces the reader to a series of critical issues
bearing on the reading of James and provides a balanced
presentation and assessment of the range of scholarly views, with
guidance for further reading and research.
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