This collection of essays by prominent scholars surveys the ways in which the Decalogue—the Ten Commandments—has been understood and appropriated from biblical times until today. With chapters devoted to major thinkers—such as Aquinas, Barth, Calvin, Luther, Maimonides, and Wesley—the writers explore ways the Decalogue has provided theological, ethical, moral, and devotional reflection throughout many facets of religious thought. The pieces reveal both the co...
In his clear and readable, style Walter Brueggemann presents Genesis as a single book set within the context of the whole of biblical revelation. He sees his task as bringing the text close to the faith and ministry of the church. He interprets Genesis as a proclamation of God's decisive dealing with creation rather than as history of myth. Brueggemann's impressive perspective illuminates the study of the first book of the Bible.Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and ...
In this rich and thoughtful commentary Richard Boyce makes Leviticus and Numbers come alive for serious and lively preaching and teaching. In a clear and direct style, Boyce explains the various rituals and regulations in these books, while always showing what today's believers can learn from them. Attentive to the particularities of the text in its time, Boyce is nevertheless unabashed about seeing and hearing these books as a word to the church--a word that connects again and ...
Scholars have long attempted to explain how the Pentateuch was put together. According to the predominant theory--the documentary hypothesis--the material in these books, which varies in historical and theological points of view, came from four hypothetical sources designated as J, E, D, and P. Answering the increasing scholarly call to rethink this theory, Antony Campbell and Mark O'Brien offer a revolutionary explanation for the development of plurality and multiplicity within the ...
This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the book of Deuteronomy.The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
By using recent developments in literary theory, W. Lee Humphreys uses Genesis to show how God functions as a character in the Genesis narrative. Very creatively, Humphreys explores the coherence and consistency of God as a character, the way in which God's character changes and develops throughout the narrative, and how giving attention to the character of God enriches our experience of reading Genesis.
Not only does the book of Genesis begin our Bible, but it also can serve to begin the discussion of a variety of important topics as well: the question of origins, tensions between genders and between siblings, the reality of sin, the saga of human family, and the promise of God's covenant. In this perceptive and helpful commentary, W. Sibley Towner relates the theological issues in Genesis to faith issues in the church today.Books in the Westminster Bible Companion series assist...
Narrator, characters, action, hero, quest, plot, time and space, entrances and exits--these are the essential components of all narrative literature. This authoritative and engaging introduction to the literary features of biblical narrative and poetry will help the reader grasp the full significance of these components, allowing them to enter more perceptively into the narrative worlds created by the great writers of the Bible.
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...
This volume in the Old Testament Library series focuses on the book of Leviticus.The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
Deuteronomy, Thomas Mann notes, is more than a relic of ancient history. It is a living document that deals with issues that have relevance for the modern-day reader, including justice and the vision of the Great Society, individual responsibility versus the importance of community, and the nature of loyalty to God and to the world. By examining these and other issues, readers will draw striking parallels between the world of Israel several millennia ago and today. This absorbing...
This book will provide a better understanding of the unity and integrity of Exodus--Numbers in the context of other writings and the general history of the exilic period.
This groundbreaking book points to a fresh new way of doing biblical theology. Donald Gowan organizes his study of the book of Exodus like a traditional commentary, following the text of Exodus from beginning to end. Unlike a traditional commentary, however, Gowan asks only one question of Exodus: what does this book say about God? He then traces the major affirmations about God found in Exodus through the rest of the scripture and into the theologies of Judaism and Christianity. Th...
This thought-provoking study reviews priesthood from a theological perspective and explores the theological value and significance of priests in Old and New Testaments. Richard D. Nelson reviews biblical concepts of priesthood and provides guidance and data for exegetes and systematic theologians as they work out the implications of the Bible's view of priesthood.
In this fascinating study, John Van Seters makes a compelling case for a new reading of Genesis. According to Van Seters, the book of Genesis represents the prologue to a major literary work, conceived and constructed by a single writer--an intellectual and historian. Van Seters argues that the author was a true historian who wrote history in the tradition of the ancient antiquarian.
The family narratives in the book of Genesis are important in understanding the meaning of the book and are fundamental to the unfolding story of the birth of the Israelite nation. Devora Steinmetz sees kinship in ancient narratives as a symbolic structure representing the ability of the emerging culture to survive despite conflict that threatened society's existence. The family narratives in Genesis reflect a culture's capacity to survive as a united people.The Literary Currents in...
The introduction to this book recognizes Exodus as a Christian book, although it respects its pre-Christian roots in the Hebrew Bible. The commentary then moves in a straightforward manner to review issues of faith and history, the critical and theological tasks of a commentary, and other leading theological concerns. Terence Fretheim gives special treatment to the significance of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, the relationship between law and narrative, and the shaping of lit...
Using a simple workbook-style approach, Celia Sinclair combines commentary, study guides, maps, and charts to direct the reader through the Old Testament. The author has also included the latest scholarship in Old Testament studies. Written with a high school Old Testament survey course in mind, the book is also ideal for independent study. The tear-out study guides may be used as homework or in-class assignments or as a basis for group discussions.
This book offers the best current handling of Pentateuchal traditions as they operated in the past and as they help the church now. Hans Walter Wolff sees Israel's faith tradition as a continuous kerygmatic response to a variety of cultural challenges. Walter Brueggemann introduces this dynamic view of tradition. Both authors approach the Pentateuch as a treasury of new expressions of faith resulting from conflicts between traditional formulas and changing social conditions. Today's ...
Taking a pioneering approach to commentary writing, Brevard Childs gives an entirely original treatment to the book of Exodus. Apart from the philological notes and translation, this commentary includes a form-critical section, looking at the growth of the tradition in its previous stages; a consideration of the meaning of the text in its present form; and a consideration of its meaning in its total Old Testament context.The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative tre...
This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the book of Genesis.The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
In this examination of Numbers, Martin Noth explores the community of the twelve tribes, the organization of the Levites, various divine ordinances, and other important themes in the book of Numbers. Also included is an appendix on daughters' rights of inheritance.The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
This commentary on Deuteronomy meets and exceeds the high standards of the Old Testament Library series. It provides one of the most sophisticated explanations to date of the compositional process that produced Deuteronomy, presenting that process as a combination of large-scale redactional activity and "micro-redaction." The commentary is also attentive to the historical background of Deuteronomy's origins in the reigns of Manasseh and Josiah. The fresh translation that heads each ...
Genesis
Author(s):Walter Brueggemann
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