For centuries, Pharisees have been well known but little understood--due at least in part to their outsized role in the Christian imagination arising from select negative stereotypes based in part on the Gospels. Yet historians see Pharisees as respected teachers and forward-thinking innovators who helped make the Jewish tradition more adaptable ......
Pastors, students, and scholars not in the midst of language coursework often find it difficult to maintain their knowledge of biblical languages like Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. For those looking to do so in a meaningful but manageable way, this devotional offers 365 short daily readings, pairing an Old Testament passage in Hebrew and Greek with a ......
A concise history of the Bible: its creation, use, and interpretation. What is the Bible? To answer this question we must understand the Bible's origins in the early church. In this book, celebrated church historian Justo Gonzalez introduces the reader to some important features of the earliest Bibles--for instance, the Bible's original ......
In this commentary, Thomas Renz reads Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah as three carefully crafted writings of enduring relevance that each make a vital contribution to the biblical canon. Discussing the historical settings, Renz takes up both long-standing issues, such as the relationship of Zephaniah to Josiah's reforms, as well as the socioecon
In this commentary on the book of Amos, Daniel Carroll combines a detailed reading of the Hebrew text with attention to its historical background and current relevance. What makes this volume unique is its special attention to Amos's literary features and what they reveal about the book's theology and composition. Instead of reconstructing a ......
An award-winning commentary on the book of Ruth by a renowned scholar of the Old Testament Winner of the 1989 Best Commentary Book Award from Christianity Today, Robert L. Hubbard Jr.'s The Book of Ruth has helped scholars, students, and pastors interpret one of the most beloved books of the Bible for decades. The classic commentary, now ......
A leading womanist biblical scholar reads passages from the New Testament in dialogue with modern-day issues of racial justice. The narratives and letters of the New Testament emerged from a particular set of historical contexts that differ from today's, but they resonate with us because of how the issues they raise "rhyme" with subjects of ......
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah represent a significant turning point in biblical history. They tell the story not only of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem but also of the resurrection of God's people from the death of exile. Hannah Harrington thus begins her commentary with an evocative description of these books as "the story of a new ......