Where in the world was Jesus when he prayed? Where is any one of us when we pray? Since we are embodied creatures, our prayer location can be mapped onto space-time coordinates. Since we are social creatures, our prayers are also situated within our social locations. But do these sets of coordinates exhaustively identify the place that prayer takes when truly entered into? Conversely, can either set totally prevent prayer from taking place there? The studies in When Prayer Takes Place explore dimensions of these issues traced in selected texts from both parts of the Christian Bible.

Description: Where in the world was Jesus when he prayed? Where is any one of us when we pray? Since we are embodied creatures, our prayer location can be mapped onto space-time coordinates. Since we are social creatures, our prayers are also situated within our social locations. But do these sets of coordinates exhaustively identify the place that prayer takes when truly entered into? Conversely, can either set totally prevent prayer from taking place there? These questions lie at the intersection of resolutely religious vis-a-vis resolutely secular understandings of existence. The studies in this volume explore dimensions of these issues traced in selected texts from both parts of the Christian Bible. Endorsements: ""Janzen has been looking at these biblical texts all his life. Every time he looks again, he sees something else by way of connection or nuance . . . It is a delight to salute this long-loved colleague on this rich offer that, as always from him, is a gift of newness."" --Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary ""Rare is the exegete who is wise beyond his or her own specialty. Rarer still is the interpreter who explores the text down to its minutest of details with infectious wonder. Janzen is that exegete: text critic, theologian, philosopher, and poet. His exegetical forays are unhurried expeditions of a vivacious mind that will touch the heart, indelibly."" --William P. Brown, Columbia Theological Seminary ""Janzen models what the exegetical imagination can do when it is focused on significant questions and disciplined by wide-ranging study, thorough and exact knowledge of the biblical text, and the life of prayer itself. These essays invite us to slow down and savor Scripture."" --Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School ""In these essays, both old and new, Janzen delves into detailed exegetical and intertextual analyses of biblical texts, crossing both Testaments and constantly appealing to the original languages with a sensitivity that generates profoundly existential reflection on one's own relationship with God. I found his essays transformative both for my reading of Scripture and for my own life."" --J. Richard Middleton, Northeastern Seminary About the Contributor(s): J. Gerald Janzen is MacAllister-Petticrew emeritus Professor of Old Testament at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. He has published commentaries on Genesis 12-50, Exodus, and Job, and his most recent book is At the Scent of Water: The Ground of Hope in the Book of Job (2009). Brent A. Strawn is an associate professor of Old Testament at the Candler School of Theology and Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University. He recently edited The Bible and the Pursuit of Happiness: What the Old and New Testaments Teach Us about the Good Life (2012). Patrick D. Miller is Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary. He recently authored The Ten Commandments (2009).

In this volume, J. Gerald Janzen examines the text of the book of Job as a literary text within the context of the history of the religion of Israel and within the broader context of the universal human condition. He approaches the basic character of the book from a literary perspective which enables him to identify human existence as exemplified in Job and to expound on the mystery of good and evil, which gives human existence its experiential texture and which together drive humans to ask the same kind of questions asked by Job. This is the first full-length commentary to present Job systematically and literarily.

In this remarkable rereading of the biblical book of Job -- often discussed as an attempt to -justify the ways of God to man- -- J. Gerald Janzen brings new light to Job's story, showing how God invites Job to give up the traditional logic of reward-punish-ment for a life-affirming strategy of risk-reward. From this perspective, affirmation of life in the face of all its vulnerabilities is the path to true participation in the mystery of existence. / At the Scent of Water traces Job's journey from prosperity, through calamity and bitter anguish, to an encounter with God's presence in a rainstorm that renews the earth and his own appetite for life. / Janzen includes a candid epilogue on his own struggle with aggressive prostate cancer, which enabled him to connect personally with Job and to find a fresh and illuminating grace. At the Scent of Water will especially resonate with any readers who have experi-enced grief or suffering.

The book of Exodus is literally a story about "going out," and as such, it touches on something all of us have in common: each of our lives is marked by different kinds of goings out and comings in. J. Gerald Janzen reads the Exodus story as both the story of a particular people and a revelation of God's concern for the liberation and redemption of all people. The lessons of Exodus are encouraging because they hold out hope for all who are oppressed by forces over which they have no control. But the lessons are sobering also, because they caution the liberated not to perpetuate the evils under which they suffered.

Books in the Westminster Bible Companion series assist laity in their study of the Bible as a guide to Christian faith and practice. Each volume explains the biblical book in its original historical context and explores its significance for faithful living today. These books are ideal for individual study and for Bible study classes and groups.

In this volume, J. Gerald Janzen examines the text of the book of Job as a literary text within the context of the history of the religion of Israel and within the broader context of the universal human condition. He approaches the basic character of the book from a literary perspective which enables him to identify human existence as exemplified in Job and to expound on the mystery of good and evil, which gives human existence its experiential texture and which together drive humans to ask the same kind of questions asked by Job. This is the first full-length commentary to present Job systematically and literarily.

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

Janzen stresses the theological themes permeating Genesis 12-50 as calling for theological reflection and religious response, and shows how the story of Israel's ancestors has continuing significance for all humankind.