In The Language and Literature of the New Testament, a team of international scholars assembles to honour the academic career of New Testament scholar Stanley E. Porter. Over the years Porter has distinguished himself in a wide range of sub-disciplines within New Testament Studies. The contents of this book represent these diverse scholarly interests, ranging from canon and textual criticism to linguistics, other interpretive methodologies, Jesus and the Gospels, and Pauline studies.

Over the course of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as more and more vernacular commentaries on the Decalogue were produced throughout Europe, the moral system of the Ten Commandments gradually became more prominent. The Ten Commandments proved to be a topic from which numerous proponents of pastoral and lay catechesis drew inspiration. God's commands were discussed and illustrated in sermons and confessor's manuals, and they spawned new theological and pastoral treatises both Catholic and Reformed. But the Decalogue also served several authors, including Dante, Petrarch, and Christine de Pizan. Unlike the Seven Deadly Sins, the Ten Commandments supported a more positive image of mankind, one that embraced the human potential for introspection and the conscious choice to follow God's Law.

The Believers Church Bible Commentary presents the best of modern scholarship in an accessible, practical form. The commentary emphasizes the special concerns of readers from the Believers Church tradition.

At the end of each chapter, an article on "The Text in the Life of the Church" highlights how the Scripture passage applies to the daily practice of Christian faith. Some of the themes that the Believers Church Bible Commentary underscores are believer's baptism, submission to the rule of Christ in the church, and following Christ in personal sacrifice and service.

Biblical scholarship today is divided between two mutually exclusive concepts of the emergence of monotheism: an early-monotheistic Yahwism paradigm and a native-pantheon paradigm. This study identifies five main stages on Israel's journey towards monotheism. Rather than deciding whether Yahweh was originally a god of the Baal-type or of the El-type, this work shuns origins and focuses instead on the first period for which there are abundant sources, the Omride era. Non-biblical sources depict a significantly different situation from the Baalism the Elijah cycle ascribes to King Achab. The novelty of the present study is to take this paradox seriously and identify the Omride dynasty as the first stage in the rise of Yahweh as the main god of Israel. Why Jerusalem later painted the Omrides as anti-Yahweh idolaters is then explained as the need to distance itself from the near-by sanctuary of Bethel by assuming the Omride heritage without admitting its northern Israelite origins. The contribution of the Priestly document and of Deutero-Isaiah during the Persian era comprise the next phase, before the strict Yahwism achieved in Daniel 7 completes the emergence of biblical Yahwism as a truly monotheistic religion.

Kids will love the unique variety of activities that help them apply the Bible to their lives. The NIrV Seek and Explore Holy Bible helps children understand God's Word by using common ways that kids learn. Children are joined on their journey through the Bible by nine different animal friends who help them comprehend more about Scripture. Throughout the pages, the fun animal characters suggest activities like writing lists, creating art, and even playing games - that each help kids apply biblical principles to their lives. There are also hundreds of study helps throughout that explain select Bible verses to the reader. This Bible includes the complete New International Reader's Version (NIrV) which is written at a third-grade reading level and based on the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV). The NIrV is perfect for children learning to read and explore the Bible for the first time on their own. Features include: Full-color throughout Single-column text to help early readers Study helps to help explain the text Activities to help the child apply the Bible to their life 4 child-friendly Bible maps Presentation page Complete text of the easy-to-read New International Reader's Version (NIrV) of the Bible 8.5-point font size

For two centuries scholars have sought to discover the historical Jesus. Presently such scholarship is dominated not by the question 'Who was Jesus?' but rather 'How do we even go about answering the question, "Who was Jesus?"?' With this current situation in mind, Jonathan Bernier undertakes a two-fold task: one, to engage on the level of the philosophy of history with existing approaches to the study of the historical Jesus, most notably the criteria approach and the social memory approach; two, to work with the critical realism developed by Bernard Lonergan, introduced into New Testament studies by Ben F. Meyer, and advocated by N.T. Wright in order to develop a philosophy of history that can elucidate current debates within historical Jesus studies.