Bibles Bible Studies Books

I highly recommend this book to ANY reader--the football fan, the God fan, the prayer fan, or othewise. It is an excellent, life-changing read.

As a companion piece to his best-selling book by the same title, respected and influential NFL head coach Tony Dungy delves into the knowledge, inspiration and lessons contained in the Bible.

The study sections are built upon six questions:

* What is my game plan?
* What is my strength?
* What is success?
* Where is my security?
* What is my significance?
* What is my legacy?

An excellent guide to be used by an individual or in groups, coach Dungy styles this playbook for any male wishing to open his heart and make a strong commitment to live a better life.

This book is very powerful for anyone striving to excel with God as your guide. Tony Dungy is a great example of a faithful man in the face of tremendous success and soul shattering pain. Thanks for writing the book, all of us that read it are indebted to you.

Tony Dungy shows that the quiet man can accomplish great things. Coaching,and life do not require boisterous, bloviating and bullying to be sucessful. We need more coaches like Tony. In sports and in life itself.

Even if you are not a football fan, there are "life" lessons and leadership qualities that can be very beneficial to anyone who has to deal with people. This book is inspirational, using Christian principals, useful in everyday life.

Dr. Kaiser's goal in Toward an Exegetical Theology is to fill in a gaping hole in the academic preparation for ministry "between the study of the biblical text...and the actual delivery of messages to God's people," by teaching the student "how one moves from analyzing the text over to constructing a sermon that accurately reflects that same analysis and is directly dependent on it" (8).

He seeks to accomplish this though what he calls the syntactical-theological method, which does not replace, but instead adds to the grammatico-historical method, seeing the twin ideas of syntactical (ch. 4, 8) and theological studies (ch. 6) as the bridge across the gap.

After introducing the book by summarizing modern catastrophes in exegetical studies, he shows what exegesis is and is not by surveying the history of exegesis (ch. 1-2).

He defines exegesis as the diligent "practice of and the set of procedures for discovering the author's intended meaning" (47), with the homiletical goal of proclaiming God's Word "in such a way that it can be heard with all its poignancy and relevancy to the modern situation without dismissing one iota of its original normativeness" (48).

The major section of the book is devoted to explaining his method of interpretation (ch. 3-8), after which he applies the method to three specific biblical genres (ch. 9-11).

He is keenly aware that his very detailed book may have just made the process of going from exegesis to exposition overwhelming, so he concludes with a big picture reminder to preachers of the need for the Spirit's ministry and power though His Word in their lives and ministries.

Sadly, I have owned this excellent book for well over five years, but only read it when I was assigned to do so in seminary. I say "sadly" because this book is immensely helpful and formative for what is becoming the exegetical method I will follow as I embark on the journey of preparing sermons for the rest of my life (Lord willing).

No other book helped me to become better at studying the Bible and preaching. Should be required reading for all pastors, missionaries, and anyone who stands before others and says, "This is what the Bible says." If I had a million dollars, I'd buy a copy for every pastor in American. Don't hesitate-Get it, read it, follow it!

Walter C. Kaiser is Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. This book is partly Kaiser's response to the crisis in exegetical theology. This crisis begins with how to interrupt the Bible and extends to how one makes it relevant to today through the act of preaching . Here, Kaiser seeks to remedy the problems that exist in these areas by offering what he calls the syntactical-theological method of interpretation. He also includes some practical advice on what he calls "special issues." Kaiser ends with an encouraging chapter on the power of God.

The book is presented in two main sections. The first section, after the introduction, deals specifically with how to analyze the text of Scripture. Kaiser takes the reader through the viewing the passage contextually, syntactically, verbally, theologically, and homiletically. In each of these sections, Kaiser is attempting to help the interpreter understand the passage within the larger context of Scripture. That is, to not only understand what the text itself means, but also to understand how it fits into the sections that surround it, the book as a whole, and eventually, the entire canon. Each step that he explains to the reader is a means to this end. The second section outlines how one should handle those special issues that arise when moving from text to sermon - specifically, how one should handle prophecy, narrative, and poetic texts.

With this book, Kaiser has given the preacher a great resource. He ably walks the reader through the various ways in which individuals and groups have approached God's word and evaluates each in light the approach that he advocates in the book. Kaiser also does a good job of explaining why he interprets the way he does and how he goes about doing it. Of course, the whole book is designed to teach this method of interpretation while simultaneously helping pastors understand Scripture in way that helps him preach the text well. Probably the most helpful section of this book is found in the second half of the book. There he illustrates how to outline a passage and deals with the unique concerns of preaching from prophecy, narrative, and poetry sections of Scripture.

One critique that I have comes in Kaiser's handling of some of the Old Testament texts. One example in particular is his handling of Nehemiah (pp. 205-210). It seems that he moves too quickly to application and possibly misses the point of the text. Surely there must be more to the book of Nehemiah than advice on how to be a godly leader and deal with trouble that threatens one's leadership or the progress he is trying to make? Where is the mention of God's plan for Nehemiah and the people of Israel in his day? How does that figure into how we apply the text? While, Kaiser's reading is certainly in line with much of the popular, contemporary teaching on Nehemiah, which sees only leadership principles in its pages, I hesitate in accepting this `bare' reading of the text. This hesitation only comes in a few places, because for the most part, I agree whole-heartedly with Kaiser's approach to the Bible and the move from original message to contemporary sermon that he advocates in the rest of the book.

Walter C. Kaiser Jr. serves as president and Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Told Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. He is the author of numerous books and publications, as well as one who serves on the board of many Christian organizations. Kaiser's purpose for this book is to bridge the gap between the hermeneutics and homiletics departments of our Bible colleges and seminaries.

It is hoped, then, that this volume will be useful to those who are already in the pastorate and who are struggling week after week to resolve just this problem. But the main object of our work must be the scores of those men and women who are currently enrolled in Biblical and theological studies at the collegiate or seminary level (22).

Kaiser desires this work to be a "type of firstfruits to the Church at large ... [to] either rectify the situation with a good theory of exegesis" (22) in bridging the gap between hermeneutics and homiletics, "or to drop all professional pretensions from our Biblical and theological departments and offer only research-oriented degrees leading to teaching and writing posts in academia" (23).

Summary

Kaiser divides Toward an Exegetical Theology into four parts. Part I presents Kaiser's introduction to this work. This chapter deals with the decline in the area of hermeneutics to discover the authorial intent of the text from the Puritan age until the present. Kaiser notes the "crisis of the pulpit" (36). Far too many pastors ignore the Old Testament, deem the Old Testament irrelevant, or only relate it through the eyes of the New Testament. Chapter Two deals with the definition and history of exegesis. Kaiser states, "The sole object of the expositor is to explain as clearly as possible what the writer meant when he wrote the text under examination" (45). This statement for Kaiser defines exegesis, and then methodically takes the reader through the various eras and stages of exegesis through church history.

Part II, entitled "The Syntactical-Theological Method," contains six chapters dealing with various types of analyses which connect syntactical issues with biblical theology. Chapter Three addresses contextual analysis. "Good exegetical procedure dictates that the details be viewed in light of the total context" (69). Chapter Four deals with syntactical analysis and the various literary structures in Scripture such as prose, poetry, narrative, wisdom, and apocalyptic literature. "Each of these literary forms has a distinctive shape and style; accordingly, the approach to each form must be modified to meet its particular needs" (91). Within these forms, he notes that "the unit of concern must be the paragraph" (95) for paragraphs help the reader understand the flow and the theme of the ideas presented. Chapter Five addresses verbal analyses. Kaiser states, "Words and idioms are the most basic of all the linguistic building-blocks of meaning" (105). He notes the importance of noting the surrounding words in understanding that word's meaning. Chapter Six addresses theological analyses, which Kaiser calls "the missing ingredient in most sermon preparation" (131). He notes "exegesis is never an end in itself [but] must come to terms with the audience as well as with what the author meant by the words he used" (149). Chapter Seven then deals with this stage of preparation in dealing with homiletical analysis --- an area which in Kaiser believes theological education has failed. In this chapter, he presents to the reader "'Preparations for Homiletical Usage' [where] the basic thrust of the chapter will be ... principlization,' the final task in the exegetical process" (150).

Part III outlines special issues in expository preaching such as the use of prophecy, narrative, and poetry respectively in chapters nine, ten, and eleven. Kaiser notes in chapter nine that while preacher should preach prophetically, he must take care not to preach solely against institutional and cultural structures. Old Testament prophets made their primary appeal "to the individuals who made up those communities and institutions" (187). In chapter ten, Kaiser notes, "What is needed in preaching on ... narrative portions is some method of pointing out the abiding meanings and continuing significance for all believers" (197). Chapter eleven outlines how to preach Old Testament poetry expositionally, directing the preacher to know how "parallelism ... is the dominant stylistic feature" (212).

The conclusion of this work is found in Part IV. Chapter 12, entitled "The Exegete/Pastor and the Power of God," serves as the last chapter of this work and possesses a pastoral tone to the expositor in seeking the Holy Spirit for his power in the pulpit. "In all good conscience point to the presence of the Holy Spirit as the source of any confidence that we might have in our message even after we have acted most responsibly in the study and preparation of the text for proclamation" (235).

Critical Evaluation

As stated earlier, Kaiser's aim in this work is to help bridge the gap between the hermeneutics and homiletics departments of our Bible colleges and seminaries in the area of biblical exegesis - and he succeeds! In the preface, Kaiser believes that in order for one to be a proper exegete of the Scriptures, he could not "hope to begin unless and until he is able to translate the text from Greek to Hebrew" (9). He grants though that many pastors, teachers, and missionaries are not able to partake of these educational opportunities. Given these issues, Kaiser notes that "the method expounded in this book can be profitably employed even if one has access only to a translated version of the Scriptures" (10). Kaiser finds a tremendous balance in providing solid help for those in all levels of biblical scholarship.

Kaiser's work rightly advocates allowing the Scriptures to develop the framework for the preacher's and the listener's theology. First, he addresses in Chapter 1 the current crises in exegetical theology and notes the "yawning chasm between understanding the content of Scripture as it was given in the past and proclaiming it with such relevance in the present" (18). Kaiser notes, "We contend that the theology must be objectively derived from the text; not subjectively imposed on the text by the interpreter" (137). These impositions on the text also happen with narrative passages. He understands the temptations many preachers face and addresses them directly. "The exegete must resist the temptation to impose a mold over the text by forcing that text to answer one of his favorite questions or to deal with one of the contemporary issues that our cultures wants to have solved" (153).

His solution to this temptation involves determining the theme of each paragraph, looking for repeated terms which are stressed or defined, and looking to see what how these paragraphs fit into the overall book or section in which they are found. This theme runs continually through this work, reinforcing this all-to-important principle that the Christian's theology must arise from the text. He rightly believes that a procedure must be in place to help understand the core meaning of the text will the preacher derive his theological framework. The interpreter accomplishes this analysis through studying the terms, events, quotes and covenants found in the text, engaging in a "full involvement of Biblical theology as part of our exegesis" (137).

His chapter on "The Definition and History of Exegesis" contains some excellent material which lays the groundwork for not only the rest of the work but for a career's worth of work on the part of the exegete. He includes a wonderful paragraph that the preacher and exegete would do well to display in a prominent place for easy reference:

To begin with, let it be stated as a sort of first principle that preparation for preaching is always a movement which must begin with the text of Scripture and have as its goal the proclamation of that Word in such a way that it can be heard with all its poignancy and relevancy to the modern situation without dismissing one iota of its original normativeness (48).

He provides a helpful history of exegesis. Though this overview is not as comprehensive as Sidney Greidanus' overview in Preaching Christ from the Old Testament (Eerdmans, 1999), its inclusion in this chapter immediately the section on the definition of exegesis bolsters Kaiser's argument concerning the nature of good exegesis. For instance, Kaiser defines exegesis as seeking to "identify the single truth-intention of individual phrases, clauses, and sentences as they make up the thought of paragraphs, sections, and ultimately, entire books" (47). As he examines the five stages of Christian history, Kaiser wonderfully extracts the positives and negatives that arise from each stage of history and shows the lesson that deviating from authorial intent takes the interpreter down a problematic path --- all the while showing the worthwhile intent behind such a method. He presents both sides, yet does not give too much ground to the incorrect view. The preacher and exegete will benefit from such a balanced presentation.

Another strength with Kaiser's work is his use of humor and metaphors periodically in his explanations. This book contains technical information about the study of exegesis, so by Kaiser using humor and word pictures, he allows the reader slightly unwind as he absorbs the content. For instance, in chapter five in his discussion on verbal analysis, he discusses the importance of the surrounding words in determining the specific meaning of a word. With levity, he notes, that "words, like people, are known by the company they keep" (106). Another example is found in Chapter 6 when he uses a stirring metaphor in describing the trained clergy's failure to connect biblical texts to today's situations and their "Achilles' heel" (131). The inclusion of these word pictures among the norm of dry, academic language that so pervades these types of works.

With the strengths found in this volume come the weaknesses. The most glaring weakness is the placement of the contents of chapter twelve. The topic of this chapter addresses the exegete/pastor and the power of God. In a quote above, Kaiser noted that for the pastor, the Holy Spirit is the source of confidence in our message regardless of the number of steps taken in preparation. Considering the importance of the presence of the Holy Spirit, Kaiser should have placed this chapter toward the beginning of this book rather than at the very last chapter. Jesus did not say, "Proper sermon preparation and exegetical work will teach you all things." Rather, Jesus says in John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (John 14:26, ESV). Kaiser fully agrees with this verse. Given this sentiment, the placement of such an important understanding at the very end of this work is puzzling.

While Kaiser notes the importance of biblical truths guiding one's theology, he strays from this philosophy not once but twice in reference to the same passage: 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. In making the point that the exegete should pay "close attention to each subtle nuance that may aid us in detecting sectional divisions" (77), he proceeds to engage in extra-biblical speculation. He wonders aloud, "Could it not be that the debated passage of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is a quote from Rabbinic law?" with no rationale on how he arrived at this point. He then proceeds to connect this passage with other passages from 1 Timothy 2:8-11 as well as 1 Corinthians 11:4-5. He also addresses these same verses on pp. 119-120, apparently to show how to apply the principles of verbal analysis. Kaiser violates his own principles for confuses Paul's admonition in 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 with men and women who pray during their own private worship with principles Paul lays out for public worship in 1 Corinthians 14:26-35.

Conclusion

I would highly recommend Kaiser's work as a good starting point in understanding how to construct a sermon that bridges the ancient text of Scripture to contemporary times. He correctly diagnoses the issues facing the contemporary preacher and then proceeds to help the preacher in a methodical fashion overcome the obstacles facing him in dealing with Old and New Testament exegetical problems. The pastor and seminarian will benefit greatly from the groundbreaking contribution.

In this work, Dr. Kaiser takes us deep into the text, and lays out a very nice and practical framework for interpreting scripture. He does a decent job of hitting the middle ground with format-the book will likely retain the interest of a Hebrew and Greek scholar, yet at the same time is usable by the one who is not schooled in Biblical languages.

I rated the book a four rather than five for just a couple of areas where I think Kaiser may be a bit too stringent in his approach. He teaches an overly restrictive (in my view) principle of limiting interpretation to only that developed theology which the hearers could have been informed of at the time. I would argue that a solid hermeneutic can include pursuant informing theology to be transported in reverse chronology to a passage, if it is done carefully in line with the analogy of faith. It would seem that we short-change the passage in light of God's full counsel if we limit it to the theology resident in the original audience.

Kaiser also is strongly against any "double sense" of prophecy and while on one hand it is the conservative approach, it may be overly so in that it discounts rabbinical history and interpretation, and it tends to "flatten" scripture which is obviously multi-dimensional in fulfillment.

Secondly, at the risk of contradicting my compliment regarding the format of the book, Kaiser takes the micro-analysis of language to a slightly annoying level. I'm not sure which came first, but the (in my view) slight over-emphasis on language in this work seem to contradict his earlier work in _Introduction To Biblical Hermeneutics_ where Kaiser/Silva actually warn about an under emphasis or over-emphasis on Greek and Hebrew language. It would seem that an exegete strictly following the approach in this book could get so caught up in parsing and analyzing syntax as to miss the plain and literal meaning.

Yet, even with the slight nit-picks that cost the book a star in my view, this is still a solid work that will remain on my shelf. Even the negatives from my point of view are squarely on the side of conservative scholarship and the grammatical-historical school of interpretation. It's a good foundational work in hermeneutics.

This is a great reference book that will help a person learn the true meaning of God's word. With this book, a King James original bible, and a Strongs concordance, you can learn and research the truth.

The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English
I found this writing to be somewhat informative but very incomplete both in the Apocrypha and especially in the Prophets. it was very disappointing.

I had the pleasure of reading Baruch, and the Epistle of Jeremy in this translation in preparation for a recent parish Bible Study. While certainly this translation is dated, and better ones have come into being (remembering that there is no such thing as a perfect translation of anything), it is still valuable to serious students of O.T. who would like to become more familiar with the LXX, by studying a rather important, if older translation. With the very recent publication of the Orthodox Study Bible (the LXX being the O.T. of the Greek Churches), and the complete Greek Canon being available in both RSV and NRSV translations for some time now, it is likely that the Brenton will be eclipsed, but it needn't be completely forgotten. We have a copy at home, and we have donated one to our parish library too.

This book was in the condition described and arrived right on time. Thanks so much!!

This book contains the entire Greek text of the Septuagint, including the Apocrypha, along with an English translation. For those who don't know, the Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament from the third century B.C. It is abbreviated as "LXX." The name and abbreviation are based on the tradition that 70 or 72 Jewish scholars worked on the translation, six from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The format of this book is in two columns, with the Greek text taking about 3/5s of the page and the English translation the other 2/5s. The print size of the Greek text is decent sized, but the English translation is in smaller print (about Times 8). It's small, but readable. It should also be noted that this translation was done in 1851, so there is some archaic language (e.g., thee, thou, thy, art, walkedst, gavest, wast, etc.).

The English translation would best be classified as a formal equivalence translation, about the literalness of the NASB. At some places where it deviates from a literal translation there are footnotes indicating a more literal translation. Words added for clarity are sometimes italicized, but not always. This is especially the case with the definitive article ("the"). It is often added without being indicated as such. Forms of the verb "to be" are also sometimes added without being italicized. I would have preferred more consistency in this regard, as I discuss in my book Differences Between Bible Versions.

I referred to this volume when working on my Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (ALT3). I used it for studying whether the New Testament writer was quoting from the Hebrew text of the OT or from the Septuagint. I then used notations to indicate which in my NT. It is apparent that the NT writers were familiar with both the Hebrew text and with the LXX, and they freely quoted from either of these.

This use of the LXX by the New Testament writers shows that the LXX was held in high regard by the early Church. In fact, the Preface to this volume states that the LXX "... became the `Bible' of Greek-speaking Jews and then later of the early Christians."

The reason for was simply that by the time of Christ, many Jews, especially those living outside of Judea, did not know Hebrew, and once the Christian Church moved outside of Judea, most converts did not know Hebrew as well. Moreover, the New Testament authors were intimately familiar with the LXX, and its language is reflected in their writings. So a study of the LXX will enable one to better understand the NT.

The order of the OT books as found in Christian Bibles today reflects the order of books in the LXX rather than the Hebrew order of books. Moreover, the inclusion of the apocryphal books in the LXX is the main reason the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches accepts them as Scripture.

Personally, I do not agree with this assessment. However, I do think these books are worth reading. They were written during the time period between the Old and New Testaments. So they help to fill in this historical gap, and they provide background to the NT. The NT writers never quote directly from any of the apocryphal books (which is one reason I do not accept them as Scripture), but there are many allusions to these books in the NT. So the thought of the NT writers was influenced by these books. As such, it is good the apocryphal books are included in this volume, but it is also good that they are included together at the end of the book and numbered separately from the rest of the text rather than interspersed among the canonical OT books as is done in Catholic Bibles

All of this is not to say that the LXX translation is an infallible, God-breathed document. That level of inspiration only applies to the Hebrew text. However, the LXX was considered to be authoritative in the early Church. So it is worthy of our study today.

For these reasons, I recently started reading the OT using this volume, going back and forth between the Greek and English texts. And this volume is very useful for such a study of the Greek of the LXX and even for just reading the English translation of the LXX.

But it should be noted that the parallel column format is not as easy to use as an interlinear. This is especially so with this volume as the verse numbers for the English text are superscripted at the beginning of each verse as is commonly done, but the verse numbers are just in the margins for the Greek text. So if you don't know Greek very well, it could be difficult to find your place when going back and forth between the Greek and English texts.

For many modern, evangelical Christians, the Old Testament can at best be a series of interesting moral stories, outdated laws, soaring poetry, or dense prophecy; with no particular rhyme or reason to its placement. Leithart aims the reader towards a unified view of the Bible, that is that there is one story told from Genesis to Revelation, that progressively expands through covenant action. In doing so, he not only calls the reader to pay attention to the interpretation of the text on a word by word level, but by paying attention to just how sections of the Bible are ordered, as would be important for a text written in the ancient near eastern context.

Leithart's hope is that the reader comes to a conclusion that the Bible says the same thing, repeatedly, that of creation and re-creation; because only then can the reader of the Bible see the connection between Adam and Solomon, or between Joseph and Daniel.

The great value of Leithart's 250 page plus work is enabling the reader to understand the literary underpinnings of the history of Hebrew people and why that promotes the overarching theology of the message. This book is valuable for teenage students and above of the Old Testament, especially those who have imbibed the idea that the Christian faith is primarily one of the inner life, and not particularly connected to history or to the larger community, nor to the responsibilities that are required of the people of God. In fact, perhaps the greatest use of this book would come from applying it in group studies or in family studies, especially with children capable of understanding larger stories and a basic depth of human relations, with how they relate to their God.

Leithart has a Cambridge Ph.D., is a Presbyterian pastor (PCA), and about the smartest guy on earth.

Wonderful book, but its mislabeled as an OT Intro. Its more an OT history. There is very little on the wisdom literature in there. It is a briilliant redemptive-historical tour. The typology gets kind of heavy and at times forced. But brilliantly draws parallels between various OT stories and convincingly illustrates how the original reader would have made the same connections.

This should not be your OT Intro textbook (use R.K. Harrison or Longman/Dillard for that). But really fun and compelling stuff.

The binding by Canon Press softcover is attractive enough, but not very durable (glued but not sewn). I own 3 or 4 copies, and I have had pages fall out after just one use.

Most Old Testament survey books quickly get bogged down in details about dating, theories of composition, and the like. As such, the end up being pretty useless to the person who simply wants to better understand what is actually *in* the Old Testament.

Thankfully, Leithart avoids this. There is not a word about composition or dating of the documents themselves. Instead, he focuses on the themes of the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis, and shows how these themes are reiterated throughout the Old Testament in preparation for the work of Christ and revelation of the New Testament.

The book is intended to be used for family devotions or study classes. To facilitate this each chapter is divided into a few (generally 3-5) sections with associated scripture readings, review questions, and questions intended to stimulate further thought. There are 8 chapters in all, focusing primarily on the narrative portions of the Old Testament. The prophets are discussed where appropriate, but primarily in relation to the coincident narrative sections.

My only complaint is that the psalms and wisdom literature are mostly omitted. This is understandable given that Leithart's focus is the Old Testament as a single story of redemptive history. Perhaps someday Dr. Leithart will be persuaded to produce a companion volume.

If you have difficult understanding how all those stories (and even those pesky genealogies) that you vaguely remember from Sunday School fit together into a coherent whole, this book is a must read.

From the back cover: "The best stories subtly weave themes and characters and symbols into a stunning final tapestry." Dr. Leithart discusses the major themes, symbols, and structures of the Old Testament (and also mentions some of the other more minor themes). What I love about this book is the new insights it gave me on how all the stories in the Bible connect, things I would never have thought to look for before, and now I will. These are insights not taught in typical adult Sunday school classes.

As an example, he says that many people are killed and murdered in the Bible, sometimes with very little detail and sometimes with great detail. So if the writer goes into details about how someone was killed, then there is probably a reason for us to know that, and the reason is to connect the event to some other event, either in the past or the future. So when we read that someone was killed by a head wound, and especially if that head wound came from a woman and his skull is caved in, then it's pointing us back to Genesis chapter 3 when God tells Satan that the seed from a woman will crush his head, and it's pointing us ahead to the Messiah, the ultimate in head-crushing. OK, I'm paraphrasing, but hopefully, you get the idea.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in great literature because the Bible is great literature, whether or not you believe it's the "Word of God." If you do believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then this book will be a great blessing to you.

This book has some really good insight on the imagery of the Old Testament -- "shadows" of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. I found some of his parallels to be a little stretched, but his summaries of the stories are excellent and many of his illustrations are helpful.

All American publishers do a lousy job on this critical Hebrew Bible. Do not buy their versions. You must endure the long boat ride all the way from Germany, but you will find that your efforts are well rewarded.

First of all let me just say that the German Bible House (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft) ROCKS! Oh my gosh! Every critical punctuation, jot and tittle are in their place. The editors from this publisher care about their work and the accuracy of it.

If you're a student of Hebrew, this is the work that you want. Forget the others.

BOOK AS ADVERTISED, SOME SCATTERED MARKINGS OF NO CONSEQUENCE.
LARGE PRINT EDITION MUCH EASIER TO READ.

A clearly printed, well-bound version of the BHS. The main drawback, in exchange for the compact size compared with the full-size, hardback edition, is that the Masorah Parva notes in the margins and the footnotes are so small that they are very difficult to read. A magnifying glass is required to ease the eye strain. While the price for this edition is attractive, I wish I had purchased the full-size, hardback edition.

While it will add to your biceps more than likely, this edition is large enough to read. I bought the 1997 green cover BHS for the price, but it was so small that I came back and bought this one so I could see the holems and dageshes. Worth the money to see what you're doing.

In the field of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies, 'BHS' carries a well-deserved resonance, much like 'Mercedes' or 'Beamer' does among enthusiasts of quality cars that are within the mainstream.

The Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft's BIBLIA HEBRAICA STUTTGARTENSIA has no rivals except its own periodic updates. Like Mercedes and BMW, each edition represents improvements made to a venerable tradition, in this case one that associates its name with the renowned German scholars Alt, Eissfeldt, Kittel and their successors.

Following introductions in the major European languages and indices to the sigla that one uses to follow the textual information presented in the two 'apparati' (running footnote references) on each page of the text, one launches without comment into the biblical text itself. The gruntwork of editing and annotating each biblical book has been placed into the hands of particular scholars. As a result, the reluctance or daring with which the editors present evidence gleaned from Hebrew manuscripts and the early versions varies, but always within the general parameters established by the Biblica Hebraica tradition.

BHS is a 'diplomatic' edition. This means that a given text is presented as received. The apparati then provide the scholar with data from which he or she chooses to opt for a different 'reading' at any point along the way. The text in this case is variously known, but commonly called 'Leningradensis', a superb 11th-century manuscript in the Massoretic tradition. It is the earliest complete exemplar of the Massoretic biblical/textual tradition, thanks to the wear and scarring suffered by its slightly older cousin, the Aleppo Codex.

BHS is not a visual 'copy' of Leningradensis - one of this is available - but rather a machine-type presentation of that manuscript's contents. The quality of workmanship is awe-inspiring. Though I have worn out my share of BHS's, this is due to intensive use and occasional mistreatment in a backpack or overstuffed briefcase. I can scarcely imagined a more durable book.

The Gesellschaft will eventually produce the successor to BHS, to be titled BIBLIA HEBRAICA QUINTA. It will provide its reader with even more textual data, much of it gleaned from the Dead Sea manuscripts.

Quinta will earn its welcome. However, it is only with deep nostalgia that I will cede pride of place to the Quinta after having journeyed so long and contentedly with the incomparable BHS.

I am right now using this commentary as I lead a group with a half hour video from an EWTN and then we use the book to answer the review questions which the class does for homework. Easy for beginner students and learned enough to provoke my thoughts as well.

AS with all of his contributions to the other three Gospels and The Acts, Scott Hahn has provided invaluable help to both understanding and appreciating the Gospel of John. I loved it.

The Gospel of St. John holds so many treasures for the reader. Dr. Scott Hahn uses a clear, conversational tone in the wonderful footnotes of this Ignatius Study Bible Edition. Quotes from the Church Fathers, references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, historical and cultural insights, and word studies help the Catholic reader understand the doctrines and events of John's Gospel in a manner true to the Magisterium.

If you are a little intimidated by studying the Bible because you aren't sure you will understand it according to Church teaching...if you are looking for deeper layers of insight into Sacred Scriptures--in short, if you, at any level of expertise, would love a wonderful resource, this study edition of John's Gospel is for you!

Includes an introduction to the Study Bible, an introduction and an outline to the Gospel, as well as topical essays such as "When Did Jesus Celebrate the Last Supper?" and study questions.

For depth of study combined with clarity of explanation, this is the top of the list of commentaries on John. Having read many commentaries on John, I can say without reservation that there is no better commentary (Protestant or Catholic) on the gospel of John than this one. The archeological and historical information is up to date and in enlightening such as in the detailed discussion concerning the chronological difficulties of when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. Rather than avoiding such questions or over-simplifying the question, the authors take those difficult questions head on and satisfy us with deep analysis providing the various options in resolving those questions. All the while, the discussion is within the boundaries of church doctrine and authority while still allowing for freedom of exploration.

Very highly recommended for group study or personal devotions.

This book is highly recommended by Paul Tripp,I am taking one of his classes now.

The title of this book says it all. Dr. Longman's personal style makes this book easy enough for the layman and advanced enough to be useful for the more scholarly minded. Read this book and find out how to read the Bible as God created you, a whole person!

Most biblical studies are quite frankly designed for scholars and seminary students. As a general reader, I can unhesitatingly recommend this small volume that helps you understand the basics of the Gospels.

There are three sections for each of the four Gospels, discussing Characteristics (what makes it different from the other three Gospels), Historical background (where, when and why they were probably written and whether Matthew, Mark, Luke and John actually wrote them) and Major Themes (the messages that each writer wanted to get across). Things that the general reader might not be aware of, like the phantom "Q" Gospel that probably provided Matthew and Luke with material and the controversy over whether John or Lazarus was the "Beloved Disciple", are introduced in easy to understand fashion without overwhelming non-scholars. There is also an appendix summarizing the "Gnostic Gospels" which, although I wouldn't count on finding them in new copies of the New Testament anytime soon, are gaining credibility with scholars (especially the Gospel of Thomas).

I found it interesting and informative.

This is a very good book for summarizing dozens of scholarly fields into a coherent 'Introduction' of the canonized gospels. Great starting poing if you don't know much about Q or the M and L material. Sufficient discussion about the characteristics and histories of the four gospels. My only knock against this book is that the author too often makes the statement 'most scholars' in order to back a particular hypothesis - refuting a quote from the book that evidence should be 'weighed, not counted.' Still, I learned a lot from the book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the history of the New Testament texts.

I have used Powell's book as a text for my undergraduate "Life and Teachings of Jesus" course during this past year. It is extremely well written and organized. Powell has a gift for presenting complex information in accessible form. The charts and tables in the book are particularly helpful and to the point. My students consistently compliment the book for its content and clarity. The only disappointment is that the chapters on each of the four canonical gospels are not structured in a way that mirrors their narrative shape. The struggle to lead students through the worlds created by the gospels and to present relevant critical issues at the same time is most difficult. Powell balances these concerns as well as anyone and much better than most. If only there was space in such a textbook to lead students to a discovery of the themes of the gospels instead of listing and describing them. That is a task still left to the instructor, but Powell's book provides excellent support.

This is an Excellent book about the book of Romans. It is easy reading and very understandable!

THIS BOOK REALLY HELPED ME TO UNDERSTAND PAUL'S WRITING. IT IS VERY ENLIGHTENING. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT ! :-)

Great product, I bought these as a graduation gift for out pre-k who were moving up into the elementary class.

I wanted a leather bound Bible for my 7 year old boy that wasn't too childish, but that had large print. He always balks at even a 10pt. font size. It also had to be the NIRV translation. Not too picky, huh? This was the perfect fit. There are 10 or 15 full page pictures spread throughout the Bible, but that is about it. I was glad that this Bible was free from those annoying cartoony devotions that kids never read anyway. He is not embarrassed to carry it around because it has a plain navy blue cover, no obnoxious cartoons.