Provides an accurate and fulsome picture of the earliest Christian women by examining a wide variety of first century Jewish and Greco-Roman documents.

Ephesians speaks to our deepest questions about God: the redemptive plan of God written from ages past now revealed; the work of Christ complete and effective now and for eternity; the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives and build a community. The clear message of God's unfathomable grace establishes the believer's hope and undergirds the call for faithful living. Down through the centuries, the clarion call to unity that permeates Ephesians has inspired and challenged the faithful to live out the promises found in Christ. This short letter speaks to the twenty-first century's longing...

Emphasizing the historical distance between the New Testament and contemporary culture, Philippians--part of the new, highly-anticipated Story of God Bible Commentary series on the New Testament--provides pastors, students, Sunday School teachers, and lay people a clear and compelling exposition of the text in the context of the Bible's overarching story. The authors move away from "application" language, which has been criticized as being too simplistic, instead encouraging discussion of how the Bible's story can be lived today.

Offering a new type of application...

Luke-Acts contains many and diverse female characters, many of whom play significant roles in the unfolding drama of God's plan of salvation through Jesus and the early church. Women followers of Jesus are fully-fledged disciples who prove to be reliable and insightful, participating in God's mission at all levels. They act as interpreters of salvation history, God's prophetic mouthpieces, witnesses to the resurrection, proclaimers and teachers of the gospel, and patrons and leaders of the early church. At the heart of this narratival exposure lies a particular theology of women. This...

Motherhood provides a crucial place for exploring human life and its meaning. Within motherhood lies a deep tension between the pain, crisis, and association with death in motherhood and the joy, transformation, and life in motherhood. Few metaphors in Scripture (or in life) stand so firmly between life and death, love and loss, and joy and deep pain. After all, motherhood's meaning in part comes again and again at these crucial crossroads. Thus, motherhood has powerful implications for our biblical and theological understanding. Bringing together Jewish and ecumenical Christian scholars from...