It's like eight Bible reference books in one—a Bible handbook, commentary, topical fact-finder, theological manual, history text, illustrated encyclopedia, cross-reference guide, and archaeological update! Special Features 250 illustrations 613 Old Testament commands 300 most important Bible characters main doctrines of Christianity

    And yet his remarkable life remains shrouded in mystery. In this probing new book, John B. Polhill scrapes away the myths about this great man and uncovers the truth of his life and thought.Using Acts, the Pauline epistles, and reliable traditions from non-canonical sources, Polhill weaves together the remarkable story of Paul's transformation from persecutor to persecuted, producing a dynamic account of his entire ministry. By placing each of Paul's letters in its proper historical context, Polhill brings new light to these foundation stones of the Christian faith. He follows Paul from his early years in Tarsus and Jerusalem to his imprisonment and eventual martyrdom, painting a detailed, comprehensive portrait of Paul that will serve as an indispensable resource for students, teachers, and pastors alike.

    DeYoung wrote to his congregation, outlining seven reasons why he preferred the English Standard Version (ESV) and proposed its adoption. His letter forms the basis of this brief booklet.Is your church considering switching translations? Would you like to learn more about the ESV? If so, this is a booklet you'll want to read.Publisher's Overview:DeYoung shares seven reasons why he encouraged his church to switch Bible translations to the ESV. A few years into his current pastoral role, Kevin DeYoung was faced with a church that needed to replace its well-worn pew Bibles. DeYoung wrote to his congregation, outlining seven reasons why he preferred the English Standard Version (ESV) and was proposing its adoption. Among his top reasons for switching to the ESV DeYoung noted its essentially literal translation philosophy, avoidance of over- and under-translation, consistency in translating important Greek and Hebrew words, and retention of important literary features. DeYoung’s letter has been newly edited and put into booklet form. Sold individually or in packs of ten, Why Our Church Switched to the ESV is an excellent tool for pastors or lay leaders seeking to learn more about the English Standard Version. ....Author's Introduction at TheGospelCoalition.org:Several years ago our church switched to the ESV. To help with this transition I wrote a lengthy paper for the congregation. Last year Crossway asked if they could turn that paper into a short booklet. You can read more about the pamphlet on the Crossway blog.The previous link explains how you can download the book for free. You can also access the PDF here.We are blessed with many fine English translations. But I have been a reader of the ESV since it first came out and I am very happy our church made the switch.

    But it is questionable whether it is being obeyed to a comparable degree," says Douglas Moo in the preface to his commentary on James. "All this suggests that the message of James is one that we all need to hear--and obey. No profound theologian, James' genius lied in his profound moral earnestness; in his powerfully simple call for repentance, for action, for a consistent Christian lifestyle. His words need to thrust through our theological debates, our personal preconceptions, our spiritual malaise and set us back on the road to a biblical, invigorating, transforming Christianity." The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries have long been a trusted resource for Bible study. Written by some of the world's most distinguished evangelical scholars, these twenty volumes offer clear, reliable, and relevant explanations of every book in the New Testament. These Tyndale volumes are designed to help readers understand what the Bible actually says and what it means. The introduction to each volume gives a concise but thorough description of the authorship, date, and historical background of the biblical book under consideration. The commentary itself examines the text section by section, drawing out its main themes. It also comments on individual verses and deals with problems of interpretation. The aim throughout is to get at the true meaning of the Bible and to make its message plain to readers today. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.

    A parallel column of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) accompanies the interlinear text. Numerous textual notes are also included. The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament is the newest interlinear translation that uses the UBS4/NA27 text.

    Here you will find explanations of over 500 of the most troubling verses to test the minds and hearts of Bible readers. Four seasoned scholars, all with a notable gift for communicating with people in the pew, take you behind the scenes to find succinct solutions to a wide variety of Bible difficulties, ranging from discrepancies about numbers to questions about God's justice. Historical, cultural and linguistic backgrounds shed light on these passages and not only help explain what they meant in biblical times but also show how they are relevant today. Now carefully cross-referenced with over 100 new verses explained, as well as a dozen new introductory articles on chronology, miracles, archaeology, prophecy and more, Hard Sayings of the Bible offers the combined resources of five previous volumes that have over 250,000 copies in print. If you find yourself tied up in scriptural knots, here's the book that will help you cut through them.

    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. Exalting Jesus in Ephesians is written by Tony Merida.

    Silva's structural approach provides the interpreter with an important lexical tool for more responsible understanding of the biblical text and more effective use of standard exegetical resources. This revised edition includes a bibliographical essay by Silva, "Recent Developments in Semantics," and an appendix by Karen H. Jobes, "Distinguishing the Meaning of Greek Verbs in the Semantic Domain for Worship," that provides the reader with a substantive example of lexical study.

    Derek Kidner provides a running exegetical commentary and lucidly handles the tough issues that Genesis raises.

    John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators." ~ G.K. Chesterton The book of Revelation was written to do just that: reveal. But most commentaries nowadays either engage in bizarre speculations about the future, or they keep an embarrassed distance from all the apocalyptic events that the apostle John says will “shortly take place.” In this commentary, Douglas Wilson provides a passage-by-passage walkthrough of the entire book, showing how John’s most notorious prophecies concern the Fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Explaining symbols and characters as he goes, Wilson shows from the text that not only is this book not an elaborate code, but that Revelation is not even ultimately concerned with the end of the world as we know it. Revelation is about the triumph of the Church, which always happens when the Man comes around.

    Extensive examples are drawn from scriptural passages. An Hebrew-English glossary

    In the introduction portion of this two-part book, Geisler examines the realities of the Christian faith, including the existence of God, the reality of truth, the nature of revelation, and guidelines for interpretation. Part two presents the origin of Scripture, its inspiration, inerrancy, and much more. (July)

    Gordon Wenham, and with this trend his commentary identifies.Dr. Wenham has a remarkable gift for clarity of expression in discussing even the most difficult problems. His terse, crisp style serves well in his interaction with the multiciplity of arguments in primary arenas of scholarly concern-textual analysis, compositional sources, chronology, theological significance. Throughout, he effectively shares his broad knowledge of current research on Genesis and provides invaluable bibliographic information.Among the topics discussed are: Genesis in recent research and an evaluation of current critical positions An analysis of the principal source hypotheses of the early 19th century to the present The new literary criticism and its relationship to source criticism The theological relationship of Genesis 1-11 to ancient Near Eastern ideas, to the rest of the Pentateuch, and to modem thought.It would be difficult to find a more concise yet thorough discussion of technical and textual matters. At the same time, Dr. Wenham displays unusual sensitivity to the compositional artistry of Genesis and the importance of storytelling in God's self-revelation to the human family.Dr. Wenham shows the opening chapters of Genesis as describing an avalanche of sin that gradually engulfs mankind-the alienation of the first man and woman and their expulsion from the presence of God in the garden, mankind's near-annihilation in the flood, the folly of Babel and humanity's dispersal over the face of the globe teaching that without God's blessing mankind is without hope. "But the promises to Abraham and the patriarchs begin to repair that situation," says Dr. Wenham. "The covenant will benefit not just Abraham and his descendants, but in him all the nations of the earth will find blessing, and the ultimate fulfillment of the creator's ideals for humanity is guaranteed ... . Let us beware of allowing ourselves to be diverted from the central thrust of the book so that we miss what the Lord, our creator and redeemer, is saying to us."

    "The Drama of Scripture" is an introduction to the basic story line and theology of the Bible. In considering the biblical story, the authors emphasize the unity of the whole, viewing the Bible as a drama in six acts--creation, sin, Israel, Christ, church, and new creation. Two overarching themes tie the biblical story together--covenant in the Old Testament and kingdom in the New Testament. Throughout, the authors suggest, God is revealed through the story and calls us to participate in his drama.

    It brings to life the words of John, the thoughts and feelings of the last living contemporary disciple of Jesus.