The Aleppo Codex: The True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the International Pursuit of an Ancient Bible


Matti Friedman - 2012
    Using his research, including documents which have been secret for 50 years and interviews with key players, AP correspondent Friedman tells a story of political upheaval, international intrigue, charged courtroom battles, obsession, and subterfuge.

The Bible and the Believer: How to Read the Bible Critically and Religiously


Marc Zvi Brettler - 2012
    How can we read the Bible both ways?The Bible and the Believer brings together three distinguished biblical scholars--one Jewish, one Catholic, and one Protestant--to illustrate how to read the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament critically and religiously. Marc Zvi Brettler, Peter Enns, and Daniel J. Harrington tackle a dilemma that not only haunts biblical scholarship today, but also disturbs students and others exposed to biblical criticism for the first time, either in university courses or through their own reading. Failure to resolve these conflicting interpretive strategies often results in rejection of either the critical approach or the religious approach--or both. But the authors demonstrate how biblical criticism--the process of establishing the original contextual meaning of biblical texts with the tools of literary and historical analysis--need not undermine religious interpretations of the Bible, but can in fact enhance them. They show how awareness of new archeological evidence, cultural context, literary form, and other tools of historical criticism can provide the necessary preparation for a sound religious reading. And they argue that the challenges such study raises for religious belief should be brought into conversation with religious tradition rather than deemed grounds for dismissing either that tradition or biblical criticism.Guiding readers through the history of biblical exegesis within the Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant faith traditions, The Bible and the Believer bridges an age-old gap between critical and religious approaches to the Old Testament.

Paul and His Letters


John B. Polhill - 1999
    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.