Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Biblical Studies - Old Testament - General

Job is the quintessential study when it comes to questions of faith in the face of adversity and the universal human quest for meaning and order in a world that consistently mocks both. James Wharton concludes that the function of Job never has been to provide answers but to keep the questions urgent and contemporary for all who set out to honor and serve God.

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...

Often called "minor prophets," these first great classical prophets spoke to issues that dominated their times--love, redemption, fidelity, renewal, authority, justice, righteousness, and inclusivity--and that continue to have great relevance today.

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...

In Slaying the Dragon: Mythmaking in the Biblical Tradition, Bernard Batto argues that biblical authors, like other ancient Near East authors, used mythic traditions in composing their works. Batto joins massive evidence with masterful argument to show that myth actually lies at the heart of the theological enterprise of the biblical authors. Slaying the Dragon is sure to provoke dicussion on the theological relevance of myth in the biblical tradition.

In this book, W. Dow Edgerton reviews narratives from the Bible, the Talmud, Greek mythology, and modern fiction in order to provide a better understanding of the nature and work of interpretation. Disclosed are rich, complex, and compelling possibilities for imagining the work of interpretation and what it means to do that work in a time when so much is needed and so much is possible.

The Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation series explores current trends within the discipline of biblical interpretation by dealing with the literary qualities of the Bible: the play of its...

New and different readings of biblical texts are one consequence of a growing awareness of the environmental crisis and how it relates to social relations, especially in urban settings. Walter Brueggemann explores readings from Isaiah and how they relate to the environment and urban crisis. He approaches the readings as an artistic-theological history of the city of Jerusalem--a case study of urban environmental crisis that resulted from a lost sense of covenantal neighborliness. Reflecting on Jerusalem, its failure, demise, and prospect, Brueggemann uncovers some alarming parallels in...

These books of the Bible, despite their differences, all treat the phenomenon of what it means to live wisely before God. In this readable commentary, Ellen Davis points out that the writers of these books considered wisdom--and the fruits of wisdom, a well-ordered life and a peaceful mind--to be within the grasp of anyone wholeheartedly desiring it.

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...

Using a pragmatic, reader-orientated approach and informed by contemporary theory of metaphor and related topics, Katheryn Darr examines the meaning and functions of child and female imagery for sequential readers of the Isaiah scroll in its entirety. Having identified the associated commonplaces surrounding such tropes--a necessary task if one is to construe the figurative language of another society and culture competently--she turns specifically to rebellious child and personified city (and nation) imagery.

The Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation series explores current...

James Mays convincingly argues that the declaration "The Lord reigns" is not only a statement of faith but a statement of a particular worldview: that is, there is a God, and all of reality can be understood only in terms of God and God's sovereignty. By addressing the importance of the language associated with the reign of God as expressed in the Psalms, The Lord Reigns offers a way to better understand the relationship between God and creation.

In this book, Claus Westermann argues that Israel's early wisdom literature grew out of an oral tradition reflecting an agrarian setting. Dealing primarily with Proverbs 10-31, Westermann demonstrates how the wisdom literature evolved into a form of poetry that had greater universal appeal as the people of Israel became more urbanized. A distinctive feature of Roots of Wisdom is Westermann's use of other wisdom sayings, particularly those from ancient Africa, to illustrate the logical progression of wisdom poetry being simply observational in character to becoming more universal in...

In this book, Marion Soards looks at what the Bible actually says--and does not say--about homosexuality as he attempts to discover how the church should deal with this diverse issue. Soards reflects on the meaning of the biblical text and subsequent Christian history as he struggles with the issue of how Christians should respond to and comprehend God's will in dealing with homosexuality. Ultimately, he advocates a heightened sense of biblical authority and Christian compassion.

The aggressive tone of the psalms that deal with violence is often viewed as in direct opposition to Jesus' command to love one's neighbor. Erich Zenger, a preeminent international scholar, offers to Christians a new understanding of these powerful, albeit disquieting, psalms. To Zenger, these psalms are laments that cry out against violence and injustice in the world and have great relevance to people of faith today. Readers will appreciate Zenger's forthright discussion of how to use these psalms in modern prayer.

David Penchansky's What Rough Beast? is a study of six Old Testament stories. While many biblical theologies empasize reassuring images of God, Penchansky confronts those biblical passages where God is portrayed as irrational, malevolent, and even abusive, wrestling with the impact of these images on Christian faith. In dealing with these difficult passages, Penchansky contributes to a more authentic understanding of God.

Scholarship in the Hebrew Scriptures is more bountiful and diverse than ever before, a situation that presents a formidable challenge to the student trying to understand the critical issues in Hebrew Bible study. This book deals with each section of the canon and explains the standard questions, with special attention to points of scholarly agreement and contention. Written by an international group of preeminent scholars, this collection is intended for readers with a diversity of interests and is specifically designed for those making their first acquaintance with the complex character...

Donald Gowan offers a unified reading of the prophetic books, showing that each has a distinctive contribution to make to a central theme. These books--Isaiah through Malachi--respond to three key moments in Israel's history: the end of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BCE, the end of the Southern Kingdom in 587 BCE, and the beginning of the restoration from the Babylonian exile in 538 BCE. Gowan traces the theme of death and resurrection throughout these accounts, finding a symbolic message of particular significance to Christian interpreters of the Bible.

Students will appreciate this book's clarity and precision as it compares traditional methods of exegesis with newer critical...

Having found a strong correlation between themes in the psalms and the personal and spiritual issues that older adults deal with everyday, Miriam Dunson selects ten of the best-known psalms for in-depth studies exploring issues of particular concern to older people. She opens avenues for study and reflection by including in each chapter a discussion of the psalm's background, its meaning, and how it relates to the lives of older persons.

James Kugel's The Bible As It Was (1997) has been welcomed with universal praise. Here now is the full scholarly edition of this wonderfully rich and illuminating work, expanding the author's findings into an incomparable reference work.

Focusing on two dozen core stories in the Pentateuch--from the Creation and Tree of Knowledge through the Exodus from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land--James Kugel shows us how the earliest interpreters of the scriptures radically transformed the Bible and made it into the book that has come down to us today. Kugel explains how and why...