Bibles Bible Studies Books

I had to purchase this book for my third semester of seminary Greek. I really enjoyed reading it. In fact, this is what I will use when I want to brush up on my Greek. Wallace will always be the standard if I need to research an exegetical problem on some passage, but Black does a great job of covering just what I need to know. I think this is a fantastic resource for anyone who has finished the first year of Greek and wants to understand more than the basics but doesn't want to swim in the sea of technicalities that is Wallace.

I had Dave Black for elementary Greek and used his "Learn to Read New Testament Greek." I took another professor for intermediate Greek, and we used Dan Wallace's book. I bought this anyway, and couldn't be more grateful. The material is much the same, but the explanations are much more comprehensible. Black can cover in 3-4 pages what Wallace would in 20-30, and you actually understand what you are dealing with. Furthermore, Black doesn't beat you in the head with over the top technicalities. Bottom line, while there may be other grammars which are helpful, this is the book that opened my understanding of intermediate Greek and enabled me to succeed in the class.

Once a student finishes the first year of Biblical Greek, there are three "intermediate" grammars that should be read: Dan Wallace's "Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics", Dana and Mantey, and this book by David Alan Black.

Without any question, you should read Black's book first.

First of all, "It's Still Greek to Me" is just plain fun to read (which is not something that can be said of very many grammar books!). Yet, all the wit and excellent writing are not merely to entertain - but reveal Prof. Black as a genuine master teacher who makes NT Greek grammar not only clear but memorable.

For students who are just finishing their first year of Greek, this book should be started as soon as you turn in your last paper for the semester - and definitely before you begin your second year of Greek or your first NT exegesis course.

If your school uses Dan Wallace's highly regarded "Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics" for intermediate Greek, you would still be VERY wise to read Black first. Much of the value of Wallace's work is the enormous number of actual texts that he interacts with. Unfortunately, this can cause students to miss the forest for the trees. By reading Black first, you will better be able to appreciate both the forest and the trees.

NT Professors are strongly encouraged to add "It's Still Greek to Me" to their "highly recommended" and "required" reading lists that they provide to their students.

Highly recommended.

I used Metzger for years as I tried time after time to learn the necessary vocublary...It's too bad Metzger doesn't do a complete update of his work. So we are left with this attempt. On the positive side: This is a newer work. Verbs have principle parts. Layout of the book is better, it is possible to "mask" part (English) and just see the Greek word: Has a good and simpler section on the Third Declension...I can't tell if the binding is good or not. It is extreemly flexible, very thin type of glue and the "jacket" allows the book to be nicely opened up for easy, flat reading, but long term will it hold up? I don't know. This is a fault of Metzger's book, it falls apart...
For the negatives: The largest part of the book is listings of words used 10 times or less for each NT book, if you have the excellent "A Reader's Greek New Testament" then this large part of the book is useless. The section on prepostions is cute, but not complete, showing houses with arrows going every-which-way. This is not the fault of the authors, but the breathing marks are printed soooo small that the first thing I do is break out the magnifing glass and remark them. Also the verbs are defined like infinities, for example "eurisko"="to find".

Black helps make the nuances of syntax easier to understand with this concise book. Chapters are well ordered and written in such a way that makes it clear to the reader with some Greek background the true meaning of Greek texts. This book even helped me with English grammar. Well worth the buy.

They only have the Gideon Bibles in the state pen
I sent this one and he likes it

This Living Bible is such a blessed book of God. It is so understandable that most grade school children would understand reading it. I am so glad that I purchased this Bible. What I like to do is first read the King James version and then read this Living Bible. You'd be amazed how it breaks words down to where it in all understandable. I give a 10 thumbs up for this Living Bible. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really enjoy reading my Living Bible. It is written in today's language. It is very easy to understand.

While I certainly wouldn't use this translation as my primary Bible, it is a nice introduction to the Bible. It is a highly readable translation, in part because it is a paraphrase, which some say makes it less reliable. I think though that it is only a problem if you are a biblical scholar. Otherwise, I don't see why this translation wouldn't work for you.

I love this translation. It is paraphrased, so being aware of that is essential. So is having the living word in your heart, that is where this translation is very sucessful.

This is the third volume in the Dictionary of the Old Testament series put out by IVP, and covers Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther in 148 articles and nearly 1,000 pages.

Bible college and Seminary students in particular may find the following articles of use/importance: Ernest Lucas's discussion of Wisdom theology (p. 901-12); Marvin Sweeney's survey of form-critical approaches to the Wisdom literature (p. 227-41); Peter Enns' entry on the Book of Ecclesiastes, with its firm insistence that Qohelet's thought cannot be aligned with any conventional biblical teaching (p. 121-32); and an article on "Chaos and Death" by Frederick J. Mabie (p. 41-54).

An essential volume for bible college students, seminary students, professors, and theological and church libraries. Recommended!

Unlike other Hebrew dictionaries such as BDB(Brown Driver Briggs or Koehler and Baumgartner, which are arranged according to word roots(BDB) or according to how the words appear in the Bible(Koehler), this one has several separate lists, each one arranged differently, such as by frequency, common root, identical looking words that have different meanings, by part of speech, and others. It also has an index of Hebrew Words in the back to help locate Hebrew words faster. Serves as a good go-between when trying to locate things in other Hebrew reference books. very practical!

What a great resource. This great tool is a Hebrew Bible word list in various forms. It is the book that gives me fits because there's always a vocabulary quiz coming out of it every day for class.

While most Biblical Hebrew textbooks take noble strides to acquaint students with basic vocabulary skills and memorization, a vocabulary guide like Van Pelt (or Landes) really equip the student with memorizing power. Don't waste your time memorizing words that only occur in BH a few times-this guide allows you to memorize the words of BH in descending word order frequency, thereby supplying the student with the skills early on to begin reading BH without too much help from lexicons and dictionaries. Also includes helpful statistics for the various verb forms that appear in BH.

Any student of biblical Hebrew knows that one of the most important tasks in mastering the language is mastery of vocabulary. This volume is a helpful guide in trying to do just that. The authors provide two ways of learning the vocabulary: by frequency and by similar roots. Both arrangements certainly make it easier to tackle the sheer number of words one must learn to master the Hebrew OT. While nothing can replace regular study and interaction with the Hebrew text, this volume is sure to be a dependable guide in that process. Much smaller than any standard Hebrew lexicon, it is much more accessible than, say, BDB and the aforementioned layout makes location of words very easy. I highly recommend this volume.

This is a great book and a welcome addition for my library of Biblical Hebrew study aids. It will be beneficial to students (and teachers) of Biblical Hebrew at almost any level of proficiency.

The authors provide plenty of lists and ways to organize words to allow for multiple focused approaches to building up Biblical Hebrew vocabulary -- for example a frequency based word list for words appearing at least 10 times, a word list arranged by a common root, lists of nouns, lists of verbs (all verbs alphabetically and arranged by a verb type and stem...), statistical distributions of occurrences, etc..

Although I do wish it had even more list, such as a list of all hapax words for each section of the Tanakh for example, I do realize that it is beyond the scope of this book as intended by the authors. I highly recommend this book.

This beautiful re-imaging of the Psalms speaks directly to the heart. Ms. Merrill succeeds in making each Psalm a meditation on Divine Love; the joy that comes from embracing it, and the pain that results when our interior enemy, fear, distances us from that Love, the Source of our Being. Each Psalm is recognizable, though the language is much more personal and immediate than a reader of the KJV, the NRSV or the BCP might normally experience. This book has enhanced my life and has become something I return to again and again.

This rather loose translation of the psalms makes for a beautiful expression if you are looking for something moving, musical and prayerful. Give it a try if the Psalms are part of your spirituality and also if you don't mind venturing from the usual translations we've been used to for years.

The book was shipped to me very quickly, and was in beautiful, like new condition.

This book is just the Psalms of the Bible. I thought it might give you a little more than that based on how much people loved it. Don't be misled. It is just a book of the Psalms. Which are still awesome...

Psalms for sunny days, for New-age Buddhists.
Wipe out those that hate me" phrases in the traditional translations of the Psalms. Get with it. Be happy.

Another Amazon reviewer wrote, "Since I bought this book, its beautiful, inclusive language and non-sexist image-names for God ....its interpretation of "enemies" as my own fears....." I am glad she found help in this book during a terrible time in her life.

But when the worst happens - and it has and will again - I need the hard edge psalms to know that a human poet, writing thousands of years ago experienced the same pain, fear, and rage that I do yet came through it.

A pleasant enough devotional - but not the whole story.

Hermeneutical Spiral is a fresh approach to hermeneutics with detailed research and scholarship.

This is the book for pastor, layman, student, college student or any Christian want to know the biblical truth, the often words "bible speak". I have many "how to" books on intepretation but overall to me this is most practical how-to that when I put it in practice; simply "It work". When I go to theology SWC school, so often my professor use it's methods for our assignments; eventhough he not use that book, the reason it: "too many pages for a semester". I highly recommended for anyone love God and His Living Word - Word of Life...I John 1

I am enrolled at Moody Graduate Seminary in introductory Hermeneutics (Principals of Biblical Research and Interpretation). This book was listed as "recommended" not mandatory. When I realized that the study guide for the course and the main text book (Duvall & Hays: Grasping God's Word)regularly cited this text, I realized that this book was essential reading for the serious hermeneutics student.

This book is aptly subtitled, for comprehensive it is! Osborne goes the length in this book from explaining how to study the Biblical text in its original language to advice on delivery of sermons.

A basic thesis he mentions a number of times throughout the book is that the goal of hermeneutics is not the commentary but the sermon. This textbook is very detailed and yet practical: almost everything he writes is aimed at how to write a relevant sermon for a congregation today.

Part one deals with General Hermeneutics. Here he addresses matters of context, grammar, semantics, syntax, and historical and cultural backgrounds.

In part two Osborne discusses extensively the different genre of the Bible which he divides as narrative, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, apocalyptic, parable, and epistle. A preacher will do well to consult the different chapters when preaching on a text of a particular genre.

In Part 3, the author deals with Applied Hermeneutics. He writes about the place of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology in the interpretation of Scripture. The second to last chapter is about contextualization-showing a congregation today how the text is relevant for them. The book comes together in the last chapter, "The Sermon," in which Osborne gives both theoretical and practical instruction in preparing the sermon and preaching.

Osborne promotes what is often called the textual-thematic (also known as textual- reconstructive or expository) sermon. He does not, however, totally reject the topical sermon.

This is a very good book. It would serve well as a textbook for a seminary course on hermeneutics. Considering its size (500 pages of dense type), a minister in a busy pastorate might be a bit intimidated to take it on. But then, that's what sabbaticals are for!

I have read this book at least five times and will read it again, because it is quite simply the best read on the subject. It is not a verse by verse commentary, but a theological commentary that is reader friendly, but one recognizes the depth of research and understanding of history that Bauckham pours into this book. He has another book called The Climax of Prophecy that carries much of the same subject matter, but this one is an easier read. This book completely changed my thinking on the book of Revelation. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a serious approach to Revelation and not the canned stuff that you get from the Left Behind series. This book will leave you hoping for Bauckham to write a verse by verse commentary on Revelation. Until he does read Craig Koester's book Revelation and The End of All Things along with this book. Bauckham makes sense of the 144,000, the two witnesses, the goal of history and how the book centers around the worship of God and Christ. I recommend this book for everybody from scholar on down.

Bauckham's essay of Revelation is thought provoking and spiritually challenging. His analysis of Revelation through the lens of "apocalyptic genre" gives pause to readers who are of a dispensational bent. He has a strong grasp of the 1st century influences that seemingly competed with Christian piety. To put it plainly, this book puts Revelation in context from beginning to end, while defying the more popular interpretations of today. It is a definite read for the seminary student, scholar, and layman alike.

Bauckham offers the interested reader relentless and inspiring insights into the Theology of this often misunderstood New Testament book. I found I had to put down the highlighter because I was highlighting entire pages. This book is excellent for both the serious student as well as the everyday reader.

Bauckham's work here is a fresh of breath air in the midst of a lot of choking misunderstanding. He reads Revelation appropriately in context while recognizing the highly phenomenal language of apocalyptic literature. One of the monumental strengths of this book is the way that Bauckham seamlessly weaves theology and exegesis. He explains the complexities and intricacies of the book contextually and then develops an extremely clear theology. In addition, Bauckham's treatment of Revelation in relation to the OT is clear and indispensable to really understand this book. He allows the OT scriptures to form the paradigm from which he understands John's language, imagery, even his prophetic role. With imaginative application of a paradigm-shifting book, Bauckham's work must be read and continually referred to in order to understand the richness of such a beautiful, and so often misunderstood book. Bauckham is a scholar of the highest rank, and yet his writing is both engaging and accessible. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to seriously understand Revelation.

This book came as required reading for a class in graduate school and helped reveal the overarching messages in the book of revelation. This book has been one that has perplexed me since I was a young believer. Is this book to be taken literally? Is the book figurative? Is it somewhere in-between? Bauckham falls into a general examination of the book, looking at the genre, the big issues, the themes, and specific issues that scholars debate in all circles. This book is not an exegetical painful process, rather a good look at the big picture of revelation. How should we apply it today? Are we afraid that we will be 'left behind?' Thank goodness Tim Lahaye made a DVD for those people who will be 'left behind.' Anyway, on a more serious note, this book is a great introduction to the book of Revelation and will help almost anyone get around the book without feeling overwhelmed or lost. Highly Recommended - Joseph Dworak

Bernard Anderson opens up this magical land to us, with an experts eye and a critical academic mind. He delves into the tribal conflicts and conquests knowledgeably and with a sure hand and mind.

Undoubtedly, one of the best OT texts !

The Right Rev'd Richard G. Melli, CSP, Th.D.
Dean of Academics
Chapel of the Holy Spirit School of Theology

I ordered a new Hardcover copy of the 4th Edition of Understanding the Old Testament, by Bernard W. Anderson.

Instead, I was shipped a new Softcover copy of the 4th Edition of Understanding the Old Testament.

I communicated with customer service by phone & e-mail, and requested a Hardcover replacement. I shipped back the Softcover book.

The second copy (replacement)of the 4th Edition of Understanding the Old Testament was sent to me, and despite requesting, again, a Hardcover copy; this copy, too, was Softcover.

I called & e-mailed customer service again, and this time requested a "return", having received the wrong book, twice.

I shipped the second book back, & received confirmation that my refund for the book (plus original shipping)had been ok'd.

I can't really do a review of the book I ordered because I neveer got it.

Respectfully,

John E. Rolfe

This is an invaluable guide to assist in understanding the Old Testament. The author provides important historical background to help the reader understand what the original authors/compilers were trying to say. I am currently using this text for my 1st year Education for Ministry class.

I'm enjoying the read. It is slow because of the references to Bible passages, so have your Bible handy unless you have it memorized.
I would recommend this book for anyone who wishes to get the real connection between the Old and New Testaments.

I have had a copy of the 3rd edition, which I have found truly helpful in understanding the OT in the context of the faith of the people. The material added in this edition makes the text even more useful. I highly recommend this to any serious student of the Bible.