Raymond Westbrook and Bruce Wells examine Old Testament legal materials that illustrate how ancient Israelites settled their grievances. This textbook is unique in exploring these legal materials as they relate to the issues of everyday life--family, property, contracts, and crimes--and providing readers with a broad understanding of their ancient legal and social foundations.

This book examines many of the laws in the Torah governing sexual relations and the often implicit motivations underlying them. It also considers texts beyond the laws in which legal traditions and ideas concerning sexual behavior intersect and provide insight into ancient Israel's social norms. The book includes extended treatments on the nature and function of marriage and divorce in ancient Israel, the variation in sexual rules due to status and gender, the prohibition on male-with-male sex, and the different types of sexualities that may have existed in ancient Israel. The essays draw on a variety of methodologies and approaches, including narrative criticism, philological analysis, literary theory, feminist and gender theory, anthropological models, and comparative analysis. They cover content ranging from the narratives in Genesis, to the laws of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, to later re-interpretations of pentateuchal laws in Jeremiah and texts from the Second Temple period. Overall, the book presents a combination of theoretical discussion and close textual analysis to shed new light on the connections between law and sexuality within the Torah and beyond.

An image rich, passage-by-passage commentary that integrates textual and artifactual context from the ancient Near East to inform our understanding and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible-while remaining respectful to the inerrancy of Scripture. Without a deep knowledge of the ancient cultures the Old Testament was born from, we can be tempted to impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This unique Bible backgrounds commentary examines: The history of the ancient Near East as a means of recovering knowledge of the events that shaped the lives of the people. The archaeology as a means of recovering the lifestyle reflected in the material cultures. The literature of the ancient Near East as a means of understanding the heart and soul of the people who inhabited the ancient world that Israel shared. Detailed exegetical notes are combined with comparative discussions of the cultural settings that help scholars interpret the Pentateuch. This volume of the celebrated Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary series brings the first five books of the Bible into sharper focus-enabling scholars, pastors, and laity to access rich data from over one hundred and seventy years of explorations and excavations in the Near East. THE ZONDERVAN ILLUSTRATED BIBLE BACKGROUNDS COMMENTARY SERIES Invites you to enter the world of the Old Testament with a company of seasoned guides, experts who will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features: Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams, and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text. Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more. Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.

This book examines many of the laws in the Torah governing sexual relations and the often implicit motivations underlying them. It also considers texts beyond the laws in which legal traditions and ideas concerning sexual behavior intersect and provide insight into ancient Israel's social norms. The book includes extended treatments on the nature and function of marriage and divorce in ancient Israel, the variation in sexual rules due to status and gender, the prohibition on male-with-male sex, and the different types of sexualities that may have existed in ancient Israel. The essays draw on a variety of methodologies and approaches, including narrative criticism, philological analysis, literary theory, feminist and gender theory, anthropological models, and comparative analysis. They cover content ranging from the narratives in Genesis, to the laws of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, to later re-interpretations of pentateuchal laws in Jeremiah and texts from the Second Temple period. Overall, the book presents a combination of theoretical discussion and close textual analysis to shed new light on the connections between law and sexuality within the Torah and beyond.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT BRUCE'S TITHING BOOKSAMAZON.COM - G. MAXWELL'S PROFILES (REVIEWS) SAID: "EXCELLENT FIVE STARS ...the BEST book available right now for its insightful conclusions... unparalleled in this timely subject area..." "also takes delightful side trails..." "this book lays out the case for no tithing requirements for NT Christians like no other ""A MASTERPIECE I'm ordering copies for my friends "Pastor C. RinkeStuart, FL"I couldn't put it down."Denice ElderLouisville, KY"This book has been like a breath of fresh air and an oasis in the desert. It has been such a marvelous study for me opening my eyes to all that was truly accomplished at the cross. It has truly been an amazing study. Thank you for writing it."Michael FludDallas, TX"Exceptionally well written I was amazed."Roberta WelkStuart, FL"Wonderfully liberating Wells reminds me of a modern day Martin Luther. Twenty Six years of Christianity and I finally know I'm free "Joe CrawfordPalm City, FL"We have been blessed by this book. I wish we had found out about it sooner."Otis & Barbara PerryColumbus, OH"Your book opened some very interesting questions and I plan on purchasing several more copies for some pastors and friends of mine. It was very insightful, offering guidance and info I had not heard any place else before. Basically, it was an eye-opening reading."

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT BRUCE'S TITHING BOOKSAMAZON.COM - G. MAXWELL'S PROFILES (REVIEWS) SAID: "EXCELLENT FIVE STARS ...the BEST book available right now for its insightful conclusions... unparalleled in this timely subject area..." "also takes delightful side trails..." "this book lays out the case for no tithing requirements for NT Christians like no other ""A MASTERPIECE I'm ordering copies for my friends "Pastor C. RinkeStuart, FL"I couldn't put it down."Denice ElderLouisville, KY"This book has been like a breath of fresh air and an oasis in the desert. It has been such a marvelous study for me opening my eyes to all that was truly accomplished at the cross. It has truly been an amazing study. Thank you for writing it."Michael FludDallas, TX"Exceptionally well written I was amazed."Roberta WelkStuart, FL"Wonderfully liberating Wells reminds me of a modern day Martin Luther. Twenty Six years of Christianity and I finally know I'm free "Joe CrawfordPalm City, FL"We have been blessed by this book. I wish we had found out about it sooner."Otis & Barbara PerryColumbus, OH"Your book opened some very interesting questions and I plan on purchasing several more copies for some pastors and friends of mine. It was very insightful, offering guidance and info I had not heard any place else before. Basically, it was an eye-opening reading."

TITHING NAILED TO THE CROSS is a book that cuts through all the opinions, traditions, superstitions, imagined benefits, and false doctrines, to clearly and doctrinally explain the absence of tithing in the New Testament. Bruce plainly teaches why tithing is not required after the Resurrection (the beginning of the New Testament); how tithing can interfere with sonship, faith, and even salvation; and how tithing can expose you to the curse of the Law causing health, financial, marital, and many other problems.Wouldn't it be wonderful to actually have your prayers easily answered because of Jesus' finished work and the Name He gave us to use? Wouldn't you like to know that God is going to say "yes" to His promises without you having to wonder if all your church ducks are in a row? And wouldn't it be nice to have a royal ring put on your finger, a kingly robe placed on your back, and a big hug of approval without having to sleep in the bunk house as a "servant" until it's decided that you can be trusted?We may call it an "act of faith," "obedience," "doing the Word," "good stewardship," or what ever we want; but at the end of the day, it is nothing more than an obsolete, Old Testament ordinance that will only "frustrate the grace of God," as Paul taught in Galatians. As circumcision became "nothing" under the New Covenant, likewise, tithing is no longer obligatory.So, will you choose to develop a shaky faith based on the works of an Old Testament law that never should have been carried over to the New Testament? Or, will you choose to develop a resolute faith that is based on Jesus' immutable work at the cross which included the removal of Malachi's ordinances (tithing)? Will you go with the crowd, or the truth?

Find the answers to teh following: "What do middle-aged men really want from women today?" "How do you communicate with a man?" "Why don't men commit?" "Computer dating and other ways to meet 'Mr. Right'."

This book presents a reassessment of the governmental systems of the Late Babylonian period—specifically those of the Neo-Babylonian and early Persian empires—and provides evidence demonstrating that these are among the first to have developed an early form of administrative law. The present study revolves around a particular expression that, in its most common form, reads ḫīṭu ša šarri išaddad and can be translated as “he will be guilty (of an offense) against the king.” The authors analyze ninety-six documents, thirty-two of which have not been previously published, discussing each text in detail, including the syntax of this clause and its legal consequences, which involve the delegation of responsibility in an administrative context. Placing these documents in their historical and institutional contexts, and drawing from the theories of Max Weber and S. N. Eisenstadt, the authors aim to show that the administrative bureaucracy underlying these documents was a more complex, systematized, and rational system than has previously been recognized. Accompanied by extensive indexes, as well as transcriptions and translations of each text analyzed here, this book breaks new ground in the study of ancient legal systems.