Some Christian leaders believe we should cast off the Old Testament now that we have the New. Carmen Joy Imes disagrees. In this warm, accessible volume, Imes takes readers back to Sinai, the ancient mountain where Israel met their God, and explains the meaning of events there. She argues that we've misunderstood the command about "taking the Lord's name in vain." Instead, Imes says that this command is about "bearing God's name," a theme that continues throughout the rest of Scripture. Readers will revisit the story of Israel as they trudge through the wilderness from a grueling past to a promising future. The story of Israel turns out to be our story too, and you'll discover why Sinai still matters as you follow Jesus today.

    Based on more than two decades of lectures on Old Testament interpretation, Ellen F. Davis offers a selective yet comprehensive guide to the core concepts, literary patterns, storylines, and theological perspectives that are central to Israel's Scriptures. Underlying the whole study is the primary assumption that each book of the canon has literary and theological coherence, though not uniformity.In both her close readings of individual texts and in her broad demonstrations of the coherence of whole books, Davis models the best practices of contemporary exegesis, integrating the insights of contemporary scholars with those of classical theological resources in Jewish and Christian traditions. Throughout, she keeps an eye to the experiences and concerns of contemporary readers, showing through multiple examples that the critical interpretation of texts is provisional, open-ended work--a collaboration across generations and cultures. Ultimately what she offers is an invitation into the more spacious world that the Bible discloses, which challenges ordinary conceptions of how things "really" are.

    Some, such as Thomas Aquinas, have argued that we know God through both natural and supernatural revelation, while others, especially Karl Barth, have argued that we know God only on the basis of the incarnation. Contemporary discussions of these issues sometimes give the impression that we have to choose between a speculative doctrine of God driven by natural theology or metaphysics and a Christ-centered doctrine of God driven by God's work in the history of salvation. In this volume in IVP Academic's Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture series, Steven J. Duby casts a vision for integrating natural theology, the incarnation, and metaphysics in a Christian description of God in himself.

    Large numbers of faithful Christians fought about its contents and even about its right to be called a Christian book!On one side, many Jewish converts charged Paul and most of the other Apostles with a Great Apostasy, a pulling away from the deep roots of their Jewish tradition. This, they argued, endangered the souls of believers everywhere. They sought to retain intact the strict practices and teachings of the Old Testament and to integrate more of them into the still new and developing Christian Faith.On the other side, Marcionite Christians held such antipathy toward the Old Testament that they advocated leaving it behind entirely. They even sought to purge from the New Testament practices and notions they judged too friendly to Jewish ideas.The outcome of this conflict would affect nearly every aspect of the new Christian Faith and the daily lives of believers everywhere, for centuries to come.Who won these crucial, climactic Scripture Wars?God did, of course but not without raising up a great saint whose keen mind and deep faith expelled from Christianity both false understandings of how the gentle, loving God of the New Testament relates to the often-stern God of the Old.That saint was Justin of Neapolis, known today as St. Justin Martyr. These pages tell the surprisingly exciting tale of Justin's encounters with these vigorous early heresies that threatened to paralyze the young Church just as she was struggling to her feet.Scripture Wars is an inspiring, true-life testimony to our Father's providence, a tale that has the power to strengthen the faith of Catholics even today, eighteen centuries later.

    In this book, biblical scholar G. K. Beale explores God's pattern of divine irony in both judgment and salvation, finding its greatest expression in Jesus's triumph over death through death on a cross. Unpacking this pattern throughout redemptive history, Beale shows us how God often uses what is seemingly weak and foolish to underscore his own strength and power in the lives of his people today.

    At the center of this conversation is the biblical character Eve, the archetypal woman of Genesis 1-3. Not simply one woman among many, Eve comes to represent all women, defining the very essence of what it is to be female. As Eve was a woman, so all women were Eve, the conditions of her creation and her involvement in the Fall often serving as a justification for limitations placed on women and for their subordination to men. Over the centuries, women themselves have read and interpreted the story of Eve, scrutinizing the details of the text to discern God's word for them. Often their investigations led them to insights and interpretations that differed from dominant views, shaped as they were by men. The Gospel According to Eve traces the history of women's interpretation of Genesis 1-3, readings of Scripture that affirmed women's full humanity and equal worth. Biblical scholar Amanda Benckhuysen allows the voices of women from the past to speak of Eve's story and its implications for marriage, motherhood, preaching, ministry, education, work, voting, and more.

    It was the oracle of Malachi 1:11, and it was cited (like Isaiah's Suffering Servant oracles) to prove the identity of the Messiah through His Church and His Sacrament.In The Eucharist Foretold: The Lost Prophecy of Malachi, Mike Aquilina reveals that the Messiah's true identityƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"and the identity of the Eucharistƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"helps us find our identity as "catholic," and will lead us to discover our roots in the religion of ancient Israel. To the early Christians, Malachi's oracle defined who they were individually and as a Church.

    He argues that dates were added to Old Testament narratives not as journalistic details but to teach sacred rhythms of labor and worship. LeFebvre then applies this insight to the creation week, finding that the days of creation also serve a liturgical purpose and not a scientific one. The Liturgy of Creation restores emphasis on the religious function of the creation week as a guide for Sabbath worship. Scholars, students, and church members alike will appreciate LeFebvre's careful scholarship and pastoral sensibilities.

    Nebuchadnezzar–My Power, My World, tells the story of King Nebuchadnezzar through the perspective of his (historical) wife,

    Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition presented as sermons and divided into chapters that conclude with a “Reflect & Discuss” section, making this series ideal for small group study, personal devotion, and even sermon preparation. It’s not academic but rather presents an easy reading, practical and friendly commentary. The author of Exalting Jesus in Esther is Landon Dowden.

    In this book, Mari Joerstad contributes to this effort by examining an ignored feature of the Hebrew Bible: its attribution of activity and affect to trees, fields, soil, and mountains. The Bible presents a social cosmos, in which humans are one kind of person among many. Using a combination of the tools of biblical studies and anthropological writings on animism, Joerstad traces the activity of non-animal nature through the canon. She shows how biblical writers go beyond sustainable development, asking us to be good neighbors to mountains and trees, and to be generous to our fields and vineyards. They envision human communities that are sources of joy to plants and animals. The Biblical writers' attention to inhabited spaces is particularly salient for contemporary environmental ethics in their insistence that our cities, suburbs, and villages contribute to flourishing landscapes.

    Kaiser Jr. draws on a lifetime of study to illuminate the book of Jeremiah for a contemporary audience. Following an introduction that surveys the historical and literary background of Jeremiah along with its theological emphases, Kaiser examines each verse of the text, explaining its meaning and significance.Every section is followed by devotional and application insights that guide the reader in applying the text to their everyday lives. Bibliographies in each section provide resources for further study, and most textual and linguistic matters are discussed in footnotes. Pastors, scholars, and serious students of the Bible will find this volume indispensable for understanding Jeremiah's message and how to apply it today.

    Drawing upon Christian, Jewish, and non-confessional scholarship, Christopher Dost demonstrates that the Hebrew Bible underwent radical growth and development over a period of approximately two thousand years, and that the "Bible" of Jesus' day was strikingly different from what believers often assume it to have been.

    Not just the redemption of Ruth, or Naomi, but it points to the plan for redemption that God had set up to redeem all who believe. Ruth by Jared Wilson is a ten-week accessible study that brings to life the theological depth and gospel centrality of the Christian Scriptures. For the next generation, this invaluable resource is interactive and engaging in a time in which biblical literacy amongst Christians is diminishing.

    Itconsiders how interpreters engage markers of difference, including gender, ethnicity, status and their intersections in their portrayals of Hagar. Nyasha Junior offers a reception history that examines interpretations of Hagar with a focus on interpretations of Hagar as a Black woman. Receptionhistory within biblical studies considers the use, impact, and influence of biblical texts and looks at a necessarily small number of points within the long history of the transmission of biblical texts. This volume covers a limited selection of interpretations over time that is not intended to be arepresentative sample of interpretations of Hagar. It is beyond the scope of this book to offer a comprehensive collection of interpretations of Hagar throughout the history of biblical interpretation or in popular culture. Junior argues for the African presence in biblical texts; identifies andresponds to White supremacist interpretations; offers cultural-historical interpretation that attends to the history of biblical interpretation within Black communities; and provides ideological criticism that uses the African-American context as a reading strategy. Reimagining Hagar offers ahistory of interpretation, but also expands beyond interpretation among Black communities to consider how various interpreters have identified Hagar as Black.

    It traces God's pledge of a Savior through Abraham's line down to his great-grandson Judah. It serves as a foundation for the New Testament and its teaching that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to save humankind from sin and death. In this Tyndale Commentary, Andrew Steinmann offers a thorough exegetical commentary on Genesis, including a reconstructed timeline of events from Abraham's life through to the death of Joseph.The Tyndale Commentaries are designed to help the reader of the Bible understand what the text says and what it means. The Introduction to each book gives a concise but thorough treatment of its authorship, date, original setting, and purpose. Following a structural Analysis, the Commentary takes the book section by section, drawing out its main themes, and also comments on individual verses and problems of interpretation. Additional Notes provide fuller discussion of particular difficulties. In the new Old Testament volumes, the commentary on each section of the text is structured under three headings: Context, Comment, and Meaning. The goal is to explain the true meaning of the Bible and make its message plain.

    Leithart uncovers the narrative logic of Chronicles, highlights the role of music and government in Israel and in the church, and shows how Judah's history moves from the world of the monarchy to the postexilic world in which Israel is scattered among Gentiles. This commentary is designed to serve the church, providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups.

    Page after page, in stories and poems and prophecies, the Hebrew Scripture introduces us to a God who is unwieldy and uncontrollable, common and extraordinary, and who brings both life and death. Using stories from Scripture and from her ministry, Florer-Bixler braids together the text with the sometimes ordinary, sometimes radical grace of God. The same passages that confuse and horrify and baffle us can, if we are paying attention, lure us closer toward God. This God has traveled with people through cloud and fire, by day and by night, since the beginning of time.The Old Testament is a perplexing book of profound grace, hope, and beauty. It’s a book of fire. To read the Old Testament is to draw close to God’s love, which continues to burn away our expectations and set us ablaze. This God has traveled with people through pillars of cloud and fire, by day and by night, since the days of the exodus.

    But what about the God who tells the Israelites to wage war and kill entire people groups? Or threatens exile and then delivers? Or sends people to hell? Can these really be the same God?The simple answer is, yes. God in His Own Image takes you on a journey through the Bible exploring God’s true nature. You’ll study instances of great mercy and great severity, and by the end, you’ll begin to see why both God’s compassion and his wrath are necessary, important, and even beautiful.Get to know the God who is both Lion and Lamb, both Judge and Father, both kind and severe, and perfect in every way.

    Bringing together a diverse group of experts, it covers research on the most important issues in New Testament studies, including new discipline areas, making it an ideal supplemental textbook for a variety of courses on the New Testament. Michael Bird, David Capes, Greg Carey, Lynn Cohick, Dennis Edwards, Michael Gorman, and Abson Joseph are among the contributors.

    The importance of these teachings cannot be overstated. The Sages, who lived during the period from the fifth century BCE to the fifth century CE, considered themselves to have inherited the oral teachings God transmitted to Moses, along with the mandate to interpret them to each subsequent generation. Just as the Torah and the entire Hebrew Bible are the foundations of Judaism, the Sages’ teachings form the structures of Jewish belief and practice built on that foundation. Many of these teachings revolve around core concepts such as God’s justice, God’s love, Torah, Israel, humility, honesty, loving-kindness, reverence, prayer, and repentance. You are invited to spend a year with the inspiring ideas of the Sages through their reflections on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and the eleven Jewish holidays. Quoting from the week’s Torah portion, Rabbi Reuven Hammer presents a Torah commentary, selections from the Sages that chronicle their process of interpreting the text, a commentary that elucidates these concepts and their consequences, and a personal reflection that illumines the Sages’ enduring wisdom for our era.

    In our own Scriptures, war texts that appear to approve of genocidal killings and war rape--forcibly taking female captives for wives--raise hard questions about biblical ethics and the character of God. Have we missed something in our traditional readings? In Bloody, Brutal, and Barbaric? William Webb and Gordon Oeste address the ethics of reading biblical war texts today. Theirs is a biblical-theological reading with an eye to hermeneutical, ethical, canonical, and ancient cultural contexts. Identifying a spectrum of views on war texts ranging from "no ethical problems" to "utterly repulsive," the authors pursue a middle path using a hermeneutic of incremental, redemptive-movement ethics. Instead of trying to force traditional Christian answers to fit contemporary questions, they argue, we must properly connect the traditional answers with the biblical storyline questions that were on the minds of Scripture's original readers. And there are indeed better answers to the ethical problems in the war texts. Woven throughout the Old Testament, a collection of antiwar and subversive war texts suggest that Yahweh's involvement in Israel's warfare required some degree of accommodation to people living in a fallen world. Yet, God's redemptive influence even within the ugliness of ancient warfare shouts loudly about a future hope--a final battle fought with complete and untainted justice by Christ.