This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine's millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history.
Starting with the earliest references in Egyptian and Assyrian texts, Nur Masalha explores how Palestine and its Palestinian identity have evolved over thousands of years, from the Bronze Age to the present day. Drawing on a rich body of sources and the latest archaeological evidence, Masalha shows how Palestine's multicultural past has been distorted and mythologised by Biblical lore and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In the process, Masalha reveals that the concept of Palestine, contrary to accepted belief, is not a modern invention or one constructed in opposition to Israel, but rooted firmly in ancient past. Palestine represents the authoritative account of the country's history.A Proven Approach to Help You Interpret and Understand the Bible
Grasping God's Word has proven itself in classrooms across the country as an invaluable help to students who want to learn how to read, interpret, and apply the Bible for themselves. This book will equip you with a five-step Interpretive Journey that will help you make sense of any passage in the Bible. It will also guide you through all the different genres found in the Bible to help you learn the specifics of how to best approach each one.
Filling the gap between approaches that are too simple and others that are too technical, this book starts by equipping readers with general principles of interpretation, then moves on to apply those principles to specific genres and contexts.
Features include:
This fourth edition includes revised chapters on word studies and Bible translations, updated illustrations, cultural references, bibliography, and assignments. This book is the ideal resource for anyone looking for a step-by-step guide that will teach them how to accurately and faithfully interpret the Bible.
Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. Identifying nine areas where commonplaces of modern Western thought diverge with the text, the authors ask us to reconsider long-held assumptions about our most beloved book.
The King James Version has shaped the church, our worship, and our mother tongue for over 400 years. But what should we do with it today?
The KJV beautifully rendered the Scriptures into the language of turn-of-the-seventeenth-century England. Even today the King James is the most widely read Bible in the United States. The rich cadence of its Elizabethan English is recognized even by non-Christians. But English has changed a great deal over the last 400 years, and in subtle ways that very few modern readers will recognize. In Authorized Mark L. Ward, Jr. shows what exclusive readers of the KJV are missing as they read God's word.
In their introduction to the King James Bible, the translators tell us that Christians must heare CHRIST speaking unto them in their mother tongue. In Authorized Mark Ward builds a case for the KJV translators' view that English Bible translations should be readable by what they called the very vulgar, and what we would call the man on the street.
A groundbreaking new account of the writing of the Hebrew Bible
Who wrote the Bible? Its books have no bylines. Tradition long identified Moses as the author of the Pentateuch, with Ezra as editor. Ancient readers also suggested that David wrote the psalms and Solomon wrote Proverbs and Qohelet. Although the Hebrew Bible rarely speaks of its authors, people have been fascinated by the question of its authorship since ancient times. In Who Really Wrote the Bible, William Schniedewind offers a bold new answer: the Bible was not written by a single author, or by a series of single authors, but by communities of scribes. The Bible does not name its authors because authorship itself was an idea enshrined in a later era by the ancient Greeks. In the pre-Hellenistic world of ancient Near Eastern literature, books were produced, preserved, and passed on by scribal communities. Schniedewind draws on ancient inscriptions, archaeology, and anthropology, as well as a close reading of the biblical text itself, to trace the communal origin of biblical literature. Scribes were educated through apprenticeship rather than in schools. The prophet Isaiah, for example, has his disciples; Elisha has his apprentice. This mode of learning emphasized the need to pass along the traditions of a community of practice rather than to individuate and invent. Schniedewind shows that it is anachronistic to impose our ideas about individual authorship and authors on the writing of the Bible. Ancient Israelites didn't live in books, he writes, but along dusty highways and byways. Who Really Wrote the Bible describes how scribes and their apprentices actually worked in ancient Jerusalem and Judah.For every person who draws strength and direction from the Bible, there are many more who struggle with it. Some call it a long book with fine print and obscure meaning. Some call it a mystery, a chore to read, or an undecipherable puzzle.
The good news is you can easily solve this problem. With over 300,000 sold, this revised and expanded edition of Living by the Book will remove the barriers that keep Scripture from transforming your life. In a simple, step-by-step fashion, the authors explain how to glean truth from Scripture. It is practical, readable, and applicable. By following its easy-to-apply principles, you'll soon find yourself drawing great nourishment from the Word--and enjoying the process The Living by the Book Workbook is the perfect compliment to provide practical application of lessons.
Reading Scripture from the perspective of Black church tradition can help us connect with a rich faith history and address the urgent issues of our times. Demonstrating an ongoing conversation between the collective Black experience and the Bible, New Testament scholar Esau McCaulley shares a personal and scholarly testament to the power and hope of Black biblical interpretation.
A leading poet and a theologian reflect on the Old Testament story of Ruth, a tale that resonates deeply in today's world with its themes of migration, the stranger, mixed cultures and religions, law and leadership, women in public life, kindness, generosity and fear. Ruth's story speaks directly to many of the issues and deep differences that Brexit has exposed and to the polarisation taking place in many societies.
Pádraig Ó Tuama and Glenn Jordan bring the redemptive power of Ruth to bear on today's seemingly intractable social and political divisions, reflecting on its challenges and how it can help us be effective in the public square, amplify voices which are silenced, and be communities of faith in our present day.
Over the last year, the material that inspired this book has been used with over 6000 people as a public theology initiative from Corrymeela, Ireland's longest-established peace and reconciliation centre. It has been met with an overwhelming response because of its immediacy and relevance, enabling people with opposing views to come together and be heard.
How are we to live out the Bible today?
In this updated edition of The Blue Parakeet, you'll see how Scripture transcends culture and time, and you'll learn how to read God's Word in a fresh way.
The gospel is designed to be relevant in every culture, in every age, in every language. It's fully capable of this, and we are called to discern how God is speaking to us today. But applying its words and directions on how to live our lives is not always easy.
Professor and author of The King Jesus Bible Scot McKnight challenges us to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic belief or historical tradition but to see it as an ongoing Story that we're summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day.
Throughout the Bible, God speaks in each generation, in that generation's ways and beckons us to be a part of his amazing story. The Blue Parakeet is a profound meditation on how God is speaking to our generation through His Word.
Womanist Midrash, Volume 2, continues Wilda Gafney's unique and imaginative work of in-depth explorations of the well- and lesser-known women of the Hebrew Scriptures.
This volume focuses on women and girls in Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. As in her successful and widely read first volume, Gafney uses her own translations and offers midrashic interpretations of the biblical text rooted in the African American preaching and rabbinic traditions to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Grounded in rigorous scholarship, this volume employs solid womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Afro-Asiatic world, expanding conversations of and about biblical interpretation.
Clear comprehension of what the events in the Bible mean isn't a lost cause and doesn't require a PhD. This book is your guide to quickly deciphering key doctrines, providing expert observations so that you can comprehend more of Scripture than you ever have before.
There's a lot to think about in the Bible. We believe things on the basis of what it says, but Scripture doesn't spell everything out with equal clarity. For instance:
What the Bible says requires deep thought in order to come to conclusions about our Heavenly Father. If all you know of Scripture is Bible characters and stories, you're missing its life-changing teachings. But you don't have to become a theologian yourself to participate in mature reflections on its messages.
In Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Doctrine (part of the 60 Second Scholar series), Michael S. Heiser distills the research of biblical scholars down to 80 easy-to-grasp key teachings of Scripture that:
With topics ranging from how the modern Bible came about to what God's Word tells us about the end times, this introdoctrine will give you the insights you need to hold your own in even the most animated biblical discussions.
Womanist Midrash is an in- depth and creative exploration of the well- and lesser-known women of the Hebrew Scriptures. Using her own translations, Gafney offers a midrashic interpretation of the biblical text that is rooted in the African American preaching tradition to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Gafney employs a solid understanding of womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Near East. This unique and imaginative work that is grounded in serious scholarship will expand conversations about feminist and womanist biblical interpretation.
This is a beginner's guide to biblical exegesis, providing exegetical methods, practices, and theories. This book provides simple, helpful information and guidance about doing exegesis, without being overly prescriptive; succinctly introduces students to various methods; provides basic bibliographies that take students beyond an introductory discussion; and emphasizes exegesis as an everyday activity based on commonsense principles rather than as an esoteric enterprise.
This revised edition of this perennially best-selling textbook includes discussions of emerging methods of interpretation aimed at a contemporary audience. Several chapters have been updated and improved, and readers will find an incisive new chapter on exegesis with a focus on identity and advocacy. Holladay has also written a new concluding chapter on exegesis as the art of seeing. Bibliographies are updated, and a helpful glossary is included in this new edition.
In YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach, Daniel O. McClellan addresses the longstanding question of how it is that divine images could be referred to as if they both were and were not the deities they represented. Drawing insights from the fields of cognitive linguistics and the cognitive science of religion, McClellan develops a theoretical framework for divine agency and divine images in ancient Southwest Asia that explains this apparent paradox. He then applies that framework to the Hebrew Bible to show that the presence of the God of Israel was similarly manifested through material media devoted to precisely that purpose.
Serious Bible study can be a daunting task. It takes effort and skill, but it can be done well by anyone. This book provides an honest account of what will and won't help you in your Bible study endeavors as well as expert observations on Bible study tools.
The Bible is the most important book in history. It's also one of the most misunderstood. Studying Scripture involves much more than reading. Each of this book's 80 short chapters consist of statements or insights about Bible study done well or poorly and what makes that the case. You'll learn:
The Bible was put together over 2,000 years ago. There are serious obstacles to grasping its meaning and message today. In Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Study (part of the 60 Second Scholar series), biblical scholar Michael S. Heiser is your guide, providing easy-to-read lessons for grasping God's Word.
Adept Bible study isn't about a checklist of tasks and doesn't happen by making the books of the Bible conform to a method. It's about using the right tools, thinking carefully, and sticking to it. You don't need to be a scholar to understand the Bible.
Peter Leithart shows in Theopolitan Reading that the whole Bible grows from seeds planted in the early chapters of Genesis. The events of Scripture take place in the three-story world created in Genesis 1. Adam is in the background of all the men of the Bible, and Eve in the background of all the women. The Scriptures are a story of Eden lost, regained, and glorified into a heavenly city.
All the themes of Genesis come to their climax in Jesus, the Last Adam who delivers His new Eve, the church, so that together they can transform the wild waste of the world into an image of the new Jerusalem.
Theopolitan Reading doesn't lay out detailed rules for reading. Rules are of limited use. To be good readers, we need mentors who model good reading. Leithart serves as a mentor and invites readers to imitate him as he imitates Christ Jesus.
The Theopolis Fundamentals Series introduces the Biblical Horizons / Theopolis outlook and agenda to a new generation. The early volumes of the series summarize our convictions about biblical interpretation, liturgical theology and practice, and the church's cultural and political mission. The Fundamentals will be followed by a collection of Theopolis Explorations volumes that will examine Scripture, liturgy, and culture in more depth and detail.