Bibles Bible Studies Books

As NT Wright says on page 497, "When exegesis comes out smoothly it shows that we are approaching the text from the right angle; when it comes out awkwardly, with phrases and sentences that do not fit, we should take it as a sign that the chapter is being forced in the wrong direction." For so long, exegetes have assumed Paul to be rather simple-minded, providing an argument then backing that up with some scripture. They have contorted verses, such as 3:23, into a proof-text to "prove that we're all sinners." As true as that may be, 3:23 is one of the most beautiful verses in all of scripture, giving everyone hope, for everyone sinned. Wright does an excellent job of show-casing Paul's incredible mind, showing at each step how the argument is wonderfully woven with both what has gone before and what is coming in mind. To get a handle on Wright's theology, this is a wonderful place to start, if one can shell out the $50. There's a reason there's not too many cheap used ones; those who've purchased them are not going to let them go, especially not for cheap. A MUST BUY, even if you disagree with him.

Published at least a year later than originally announced, this volume completes the 12-volume New Interpreter's Bible Commentary (Volume 1, Genesis-Leviticus, having been published in 1994). I've really come to enjoy and rely on the broad and balanced scholarship represented in this series (although I have to admit I haven't read any of the volumes from cover to cover). Volume X has the text and commentary for The Acts of the Apostles, Romans, and 1 Corinthians, plus an excellent "Introduction to Epistolary Literature" by Robert W. Wall.

Although the volumes are large and you'll need to dedicate 28 inches of shelf space if you intend to acquire the entire series (and you should), you'll appreciate the large, easy-to-read typeface and the inclusion of two English translations of every passage of the Bible (NRSV and NIV for the 66 books used by both Protestants and Roman Catholics; NRSV and NAB for the Deuterocanonical Books read primarily by Catholics). Besides verse-by-verse commentary, each book has a general introduction, "Overviews" to large sections within the books, and periodic "Reflections" (intended, I presume, to help kick-start many a pastor's sermon preparation). In addition, there are occasional Excursuses on a variety of fascinating topics (although there are none in Volume X, there are 4 in Volume VIII on the Gospel of Matthew). On the off chance that these commentaries won't answer every question you may have, the detailed footnotes and thorough bibliographies will direct you to all the right sources.

My only gripe is that the series does not cover ALL the books of the Apocrypha as represented in the NRSV translation. There is nothing, for instance, on 1 and 2 Esdras or 3 and 4 Maccabees. My copy of Volume X came with an announcement that in Spring 2003, Abingdon Press would be coming out with the New Interpreter's Study Bible. I plan to pre-order it as soon as I can. My only hope is that this Bible will include the Apocryphal books they neglected in the Commentary. The announcment also stated that an index volume would be issued in Fall 2003. Can a CD-ROM be far behind?

Review: 4 of 5; good work, worth a look.

Now for the comments on the topic:

Let me suggest to the reader that they do their own investigation into NT Wright before they simply assume someone else's view is correct. NT Wright certainly has some different interpretations of Romans and Paul, but a couple of points need to be made.

First, have you that have criticized him actually read his work? And that is, not parts of a couple of books and some reviews online, but have you read and studied his work? This common courtesy should be offered to any author.

Second, The comment is made that Wright's views depart from those of the Reformers: from Luther, Calvin, etc.. Let us not forget that these are merely Christian scholars too. We must compare an authors work against scripture and not be so taken with a particular theological camp that we are in danger of lifting tradition higher than it ought to be. That was what the reformers themselves were concerned about and fighting against: bringing back to scripture the significance that was being placed on tradition. Sola Scriptura was the cry and it should be the cry still today.

Concerning Wright's view of Paul, and while I am not completely sold on it yet, it seems plain after having read his work (and spoken with him) that he does not tear down that which was established at the Reformation, but he builds upon it. Through all of this he appeals with passion and sincerity to scripture, therefore, let your criticism be born of scripture also.
The above review reads almost verbatim the numerous criticisms online from Reformed pastors and theologians. Of all those criticisms that I have read (and I have read over a dozen conservatively) some make some valid points but most if not all of them discredit themselves with ignorant, or defensive or simply unwarranted accusations.

Concerning justification (this is a major simplification), it should be clear from the vocabulary what the word justification means. When justice is served, then someone has been found guilty or not guilty of something. When someone is justified they are declared righteous (the verdict is declared). They are not righteous because they are declared righteous. They are declared righteous (justified) when/because they have been found to BE righteous. A defendant is not declared innocent (or justified in his actions or lack thereof) because someone declared him so, but someone declared him so because the evidence demonstrated he was innocent. We are to be judged; Christ speaks the evidence on our behalf; due to the righteousness of Christ awarded us because of our faith in Jesus, God (or the judge) declares us innocent! With God, justice must be served -- He must make a decision one way or the other -- will He declared us unjust or just? Are we "unjustified" or are we "justified"? Because of Jesus and our faith in Him we are declared at JUSTIFIED! And the gavel slams down!

Bottom line is that you are not justified by faith because you believe in justification by faith. You are justified (declared just) because of the righteousness (the condition) that you received in faith in Christ. From the other side, if you 1)did not have faith in Christ, you would 2)not receive Christ's righteousness, therefore you would 3)not be declared just (or be "justified") by God.

There is a great deal more to this and I certainly do not claim to speak for Wright. I am simply suggesting that you investigate for yourself. There are plenty of resources available. And for goodness' sake, don't agree or disagree with something because it agrees with or does not agree with the Reformation. The Reformers would not. Sola Scriptura!

The New Interpreter's Bible is a twelve-volume series, updating the popular Interpreter's Bible from a few decades ago. There are several key features common to all of the volumes of this series. First, each includes a two-column, double translation of the Biblical text (NIV - New International Version, and NRSV - New Revised Standard Version) arranged by topical unit or story. Then, they provide commentaries that look at the passages as a whole, as well as verse-by-verse. Third, interesting Reflection pieces that relate the passages to each other, to history, and to current concerns occur at the conclusion of each passage. Fourth, introductory articles for each book are provided that discuss transmission, historical background, cultural setting, literary concerns, and current scholarship. Finally, there are general articles about the Bible, each Testament, and various types of literature (Narrative, Gospel, Wisdom Literature, etc.) are provided to give general placement and knowledge about the text overall.

The list of contributors, editors, and consultants on the project is a veritable Who's Who of biblical and theological scholarship, representing all major traditions and schools of thought liberal and conservative. Leander Keck, of the Yale Divinity School, is the primary editor of the series.

The volumes were published individually, and can be purchased individually, which is a good thing, given that they are a bit expensive. But for any serious biblical scholar, preacher, student, or enthusiast, they are invaluable.

--Volume X--

The tenth volume of the New Interpreter's Bible continues the New Testament, containing the books of Acts, Romans and First Corinthians, including an introductory essay on Epistolary Literature (i.e., letters). This was the final volume to be published. The series is now complete.

Robert Wall of Seattle Pacific University provides both the commentary on Acts as well as the essay on Epistolary Literature. The introductory article on Acts includes maps and drawings of archaeological sites, and looks at Acts from the standpoint of composition and conversation. Thus, Acts can serve as a story, as theology, or as historical framework.

In the essay on Epistolary Literature, Wall looks at both the Pauline collection and the letters attributed to other apostles. He examines the issues of dating and sequencing, the controversies over authorship on some letters, and the literary issues and features of letters versus other types of literature.

N. Thomas Wright, theologian of the Church of England, examines the Letter to the Romans. Looking at the structures and the themes of Romans, Wright argues against the idea of pulling out a few verses here and there as representative of the whole. `One might as well try to get the feel of a Beethoven symphony by humming over half a dozen bars from different movements.'

J. Paul Sampley of Boston University looks at First Corinthians. Sampley explores the city of Corinth, the church in the community there, Paul's relationship with the Corinthians, particular themes that appear in the letter as representative of early Christianity.

High praise goes to the general editorial staff for working with such strong authors/scholars, that their work fits together well as part of this set while retaining the individual characteristics (much like the writers of the Bible itself!).

--Other volumes available--

The following is a list of each volume in this twelve-volume set, and the contents of each.

Volume I: General Articles on the Bible; General Articles on the Old Testament; Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus

Volume II: Numbers; Deuteronomy; Introduction to Narrative Literature; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; I & II Samuel

Volume III: I & II Kings; I & II Chronicles; Ezra, Nehemiah; Esther; Additions to Esther; Tobit; Judith

Volume IV: I & II Maccabees; Introduction to Hebrew Poetry; Job; Psalms

Volume V: Introduction to Wisdom Literature; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Song of Songs; Book of Wisdom; Sirach

Volume VI: Introduction to Prophetic Literature; Isaiah; Jeremiah; Baruch; Letter of Jeremiah; Lamentations; Ezekiel

Volume VII: Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature; Daniel; Additions to Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Johan; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi

Volume VIII: General Articles on the New Testament; Matthew; Mark

Volume IX: Luke; John

Volume X: Acts; Introduction to Epistolary Literature; Romans, I Corinthians

Volume XI: II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; I & II Thessalonians; I & II Timothy; Titus; Philemon

Volume XII: Hebrews; James; I & II Peter; I, II & III John; Jude; Revelation

`The New Interpreter's Bible' is a 10-volume commentary on the Christian Bible, including the books of the Apocrypha. This review concentrates on Volume X, particularly on the commentary on Paul's letter to the Romans, easily one of most important books of the New Testament. The 375-page commentary on Romans in this volume is longer than many standalone `Romans' commentaries.

I am especially happy that it is possible to buy individual volumes from this set, as I suspect there are many potential readers who may be interested only in the Old Testament or only in the Gospels or, like me at the moment, only in the commentary on Romans.

While the set is edited and published by Methodist organizations, I am certain that the work as a whole is not colored by those things which distinguish Methodist theology from, for example, Lutheran, Baptist or Episcopal thought. I do, however, sense a stronger influence of Protestant over Catholic points of view. The `Romans' commentary is written by N. T. Wright, who wears the hats for both preacher and theologian for Westminster Abby, the ultimate center of The Church of England and, by extension, the godfather center for the Episcopal Church in America.

My understanding of this work as a whole is that professional Biblical scholars for a professional, but not scholarly audience who wishes to interpret the Bible for others write it. Thus, the audience is primarily pastors, Sunday school class teachers, and Bible Study group participants. This last may be something of a stretch, as my experience with many Bible Study participants is that they are quite happy to stay with an unassisted reading of the scriptures. And, as I have spend the last several months exploring some of the more arcane corners of Pauline scholarship, I confess this is quite a good choice for many readers. The problem is that Paul's letters are DIFFICULT reading, at least as difficult as, for example, Plato's `Republic', and may be even more difficult than the more obscure `Timaeus'. This is due to the fact that while Paul's thinking is deep, his rhetorical skills may be a bit unpolished. I have read that his texts show far less erudition in technique than his Alexandrine Jewish contemporary, Philo, in spite of the fact that both write in the same Hellenistic Greek.

Wright, just like many other recent popular writers on Paul, stress that it is important to understand Paul's overall argument before trying to pry lessons for life out of the kind of sound bite we get from the readings during our Sunday morning service. The organization of the `Interpreter's Bible' is eminently suited for those who want to see the forest and not just the trees. Each Book has a longish general introduction, followed by a Bibliography of major works on the subject. Reading the Bibliography on `Romans' is revealing in that it is limited to works that have been published in the last quarter of the 20th century. From that period, I believe Wright has pointed us to the cream of the crop, especially with his references to books by C. E. B. Cranfield, James Dunn, Ernst Kasemann, E. P. Sanders, and Wright himself. One small problem with this is that it leaves out almost 1600 years of commentary from everyone between St. Augustine to John Barth and Albert Schweitzer, most especially glossing over Martin Luther and John Calvin. But Luther's point of view is eminently represented by the `Commentary on Romans' from Ernst Kasemann.

The next item is a very detailed outline of the subjects and the argument(s) in the letter. It is important that Wright's outline is not universally accepted. Kasemann has a different outline that several other writers, including F. F. Bruce in his exegesis on Paul's Epistle to the Romans have adapted. Fortunately, there are not huge differences between the two, so I feel comfortable following Wright's outline. And, in the course of my guiding the study of `Romans' for a Bible study class, I have found the outline illuminating.

The main body of the commentary uses this outline to break up the discussion into four great sections (I through IV), with each major section being broken up into three (3) to eleven (11) sub-sections (A through K), which may or may not be broken into further subdivisions. Each major section begins with its own overview and ends with `Reflections' which are personal observations on the relevance of the section to Christian belief. All general sections are far more useful for the illumination of faith than for the comparative study of theologies.

Between these two bookends is the text of the scripture from both the NIV and theNRSV translations, followed by a verse by verse commentary on both the translation(s) and Paul's meaning within the context of his arguments. The commentary is liberally laced with references to both Old Testament texts explicitly and implicitly cited by Paul and New Testament texts from both Paul's other letters and the Gospels.

It is with the scriptural references where I start to find some problems. First, misprints or author errors I believe, corrupt a small number of the references. Fortunately, there are very few of these, and they are not too important. Other problems are with relevance. I am hard pressed to see the relevance of a minority of the citations. This brings us to my biggest problem with Wright's commentary, where he frames the new covenant, living in the body of Christ who dies in the law and rises to replace the law as a reference to a `new Exodus'. Not only do I not see allusions to this in `Romans', but I see a distinctly different Paul where Christians move from a slavery to the flesh to a slavery to the Spirit of Christ. This is part of Luther's using Paul as the foundation for his predestination theology.

Paul may not have been a `Lutheran', but he does offer more support to Luther's important arguments than the Wright lets on.

Excellent book that every Christian should read. Dr. Swindoll does an excellent job of sharing the life of Moses and comparing it to what happens in our lives; our impatience and how it affects us verses waiting for God's timing.

Chuck Swindoll beautifully brings Moses to life. One has a common picture of Moses in the "10 Commandments" by Cecil Demille in their minds. Through this book, one will truly begin to see why Moses is listed in Hebrews in the "Hall of Faith Hereos."

I have both this book and his study guide on Moses. I found these books to be instructional to me because God uses hard times of the school of experience to teach us things.
"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?" (Heb. 12:7, NIV)
Further Paul says:
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest in righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Heb. 12:11, NIV)
Moses was miraculously delivered from a genocide against the male Hebrew babies living in Egypt when they were slaves. Moses exprienced the best of Egyptian life as he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter.
But when Moses had felt sympathy for a fellow Hebrew who was being beaten by the cruel Egyptain slavedriver, he killed the man: and in so doing this the act backfired on him. He must have thought he was causing a revolution against the Egyptians, but instead found himself running for his life out of the country.
He was reduced to working as a shepherd in Midian. He married the priest's daughter and worked as a shepherd for him for 40 years!@
"Can you believe it? A man with advanced knowledge in hieroglyphics, science, literature, and military tactics was now eking out his existence on the backside of the desert, living with his father-in-law, raising a couple of boys and watching over little flocks of sheep."
There were groupings of 40 year periods of time in Moses'life-40 years in the Pharahoah's household, 40 years "living on the lam" in Midian and his 40 years leading the Hebrews throuth the desert to the land of Canann in the Exodus.
God wished to humble Moses, a former murderer and fugitive so as to make him into a suitable vessel or conduit of God's miraculous power which he would used in his confrontations with the Pharaoh and during the Exodus.
God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and sent him to his people and to the Pharaoh with the ultimatum LET MY PEOPLE GO! God worked mighty miracles through Moses and his brother Aaron to make the Pharaoh obey God. What I did notice was how at first the Pharaoh was conviced to obey God's command. Yet God himself with harden the Pharaoh's heart (make it hostile towards God and Moses again_ so that God had more moral justification to inflict more damage on Egypt. God had "stacked the deck" with Pharaoh, so to speak. Finally, it took the Destroying Angel killing all the firstborn of Egypt to make Pharaoh let his people go.
The last thing I found of interest in Chuck's study of the life of Moses was that when the Hebrews rebelled against God that God simply wanted to wipe them out and make Moses the new father of Israel. Then at Midian when Moses stuck the rock to make water gush from it instead of speaking to it, Moses disobeyed God and lost his right to enter Canaan. I think if I were in Moses' shoes I think I would have just let God wipe the whole ungrateful nation out!
Moses was the greatest prophet of the Bible, short of Jesus Christ, of couse.
What I like about some Chuck Swindol books is that you realize that the heroes of the Bible are some rough men who are at odds with society at times. Some have been to prison for their beliefs, too. Some have been executed for what they stood for. Some of the churches and teachings I have heard from some, make me think that the church in the suburbs is like some postive-thinking suburban girl's finishing school! That is sooo-unbiblical!

Mother Theresa of Calcutta used that phrase to describe her work. Moses was a reflection of that statement.

You cannot outwit God. Herod tried to kill all the toddlers but Moses was saved by a warning in a dream. The Court of Egypt banished him into the desert but he returned to set the Israelites free. Pharoah's magicians tried to avert the 10 plagues but God's will won.

Moses was a pencil in the writing of Exodus. Christianity and Islam both acknowledge him for the great mission he played.

I agree with another reviewer, Michael Taylor, on whom God uses and why. God will use anyone and anything in his Divine plan.

Swindoll takes references to Moses from both the Old and New Testaments and weaves them together with observations and reflections into a relational, nonacademic read that gives the reader a grip on not just what Moses did, but on who Moses was as a person--and how he became that person by God's grooming. Through his conversational, anecdotal style, Swindoll invites the reader to personally take note of and apply divine principles as fleshed out by Moses--for ex, total surrender to God's will and timing, enablement for service, challenges of opposition from without and within, standing alone with God, passing on the baton, etc.

Although the Bible says not to love the world and its imperfect ways, John Piper is apparently quite comfortable with the worldly definition of men and women: that is, that men are meant to be leaders over women. You know, there's a reason that Christ told us not to be worldly; the world, ever since the beginning, has had its own way of distorting God's perfect design and His plans for a peaceful life for us. The definition of women as followers and men as leaders is a classic example of one of these distortions, and yet why do so many believe it?

Piper seems to think that women naturally need men to be in charge of them and that men naturally hate women leading or teaching them. As an example, he gives us the image of a female umpire over a male baseball team and calls this unnatural. I can see why this would be unusual, but unnatural? Women have been educated teachers for centuries; in fact, that used to be one of the few professions we were allowed, and now suddenly we shouldn't teach anyone with male organs? Even if it's just teaching young boys to play ball? If a man hates the idea of being taught by a woman simply because she IS a woman, his reaction is caused by a sexist society or upbringing that has lead him to think female leadership is unnatural, not by some natural instinct that tells him it's wrong. I almost find it amusing how Piper assumes that such male pride is a God-given trait. Such discrimination needs to be eliminated, not encouraged as normal and healthy.

Piper also seems to think that women are born with a natural need to follow and truly flourish when they follow men. Submission is no more inborn than sexism; girls who believe it's their lot in life to follow a man have been taught to think so. On the other hand, if you raise a boy and a girl, treat them equally and give them all the same opportunities, you can bet that by the time college comes around, your daughter will NOT turn to you and say, "Well, rather than going to college, I guess it's time for me to find a man that I can happily obey till the day I die!" No, girls do not come up with such ideas on their own; we are born, as men are, with a natural desire to lead our own lives.

Now, granted, I have read Piper's sermons on marriage and I actually loved a great deal of what he had to say. Unlike some authors, Piper doesn't believe that husbands may command their wives, or that wives must be silent or speak in robotic tones when questioning their spouses choices. His portrayal of marriage was actually more of a partnership than I originally thought and I saw no real disrespect for women in it. The main problem I have with Piper's theology is not namely the issue of women in marriage, but of women in general. His tendency to preach against them being equal in leadership to men is what I find to be contradictory to God's design. In his own way, Piper greatly honors women (he also proves this by featuring women as heroines very often in his poetry). I just wish, on the subject of women being leaders, he would look a little further and deeper.

Piper manages to minimally flesh out the roles described in the Bible for man and woman, while remaining sensitive to the common "modern feminist" views without tiptoeing around the faults in that line of thought. Overall, a great summary of insightful redaction of scripture. Now I want to get the more complete book that Piper edited on this same subject.

1 Corinthians 11:7

"For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man."

This verse says nothing about the Fall. The woman was created for man, not equally for God. Paul gets it. Piper pretty much gets it.

1 Timothy 2:12-14

"12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression."

The curse of the Fall was in addition to the obvious hierarchy established through the order of creation: man then woman. Paul gets it. Piper pretty much gets it.

I bought this book to read on a nine hour none stop flight to Hawaii. After being seated I started reading it and could not put it down. My wife seated next to me joined in and we had a good time reading parts of it together. Upon my finishing the book on the flight, we later came to the same conclusion. There was good stuff in there for the both of us.

Many in parts of the U.S.A. have attempted to make a truth of the great myth of super moms, girls and women. Also buffoon like characters are being betrayed by many of our boys/men/dads and husbands in the media to aid this myth of the super women. This book comes to our rescue. Also with all the confusion made in parts of the world today due to an effort to take away the differences between men and women, we need a lesson on those differences and why. In comes this book. The book walks us through the created intent of the roles of the man and the woman. It helps the man to see his role and the women to see hers. All in all recognizing that both have the "same essence, therefore same value", just different roles for both to see and to live out. Within the bonds of marriage it's an aid to the male and the female on how to restore those roles and check invasive thinking patterns that come from the popular culture to work against that intent. Within this intent singles also learn how to conduct themselves as men and women, therefore diminishing unwise competition between the two sexes. He tells the man how he can be strong, yet inclusive, and loving towards his wife (girlfriend). He tells the wife how be assertive within the bounds of being lady-like, yet not undermining the role of her husband (boyfriend) in he assertion. A good work for all to read, I highly recommend it, so much so that I have bought this book and given it to others. This book is a great prelude into the greater works that deal with "the roles of men and women", and that to help us to counter today's "popular culture". HDS

I was very impressed by this small booklet. Piper goes through this controversial issue and lays down a solid framework for understanding Biblical manhood and womenhood.

He avoids some of the extremes that we find in our society (ie. outright feminism or outright male domination and abuse) and gives some great practical advise on the fundamental differences between the two sexes.

I received this Bible from my church as a graduation gift, and I have been absolutely thrilled! Not only is it beautiful (I have the black and tan version), but it feels good, and its content is incredible. I had been wanting a study bible for a long time, and this is everything and more than what I wanted. It has made the bible come alive for me, and I've found myself spending hours reading the notes and going to the other verses it references. I've only had it a few weeks, but it's already helped me to grow. I lead a bible study for young girls, and this has been very helpful--if I could, I'd buy a copy of this bible for each of the girls. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

This is a very well put together Bible that has all the basic info some larger ones have. Good value!

Very nice and easy to follow. The words are small but you get used to after a while. Small sacrifice compared to carrying a huge telephone book.

I really like the NIV Study Bible. My only complaint is the print is quite small and I'm getting older and will probably have trouble reading it in a year or so. Didn't think of that when I ordered a 'compact' version. Overall,it's great!

Great light weight study Bible, not for those who have trouble with small print. Sturdy..Love it

The author presents the book of revelation in a clear cut and easy to understand manner. Also, it doesn't come across of being biased as some books of theology can be. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.

The introductory material was interesting, but I did not find the actual commentary particularly insightful. The author tends to repeat himself a lot, making the same comment or point numerous times in a chapter and during the book. He also ignores/misses much of the recapitulatory nature of the book. After criticizing dispensational premillenial views (and justly so) in the introduction, he fails to recognize that chapter 20 of Revelation begins a new cycle, taking us back to the first advent of Christ and the binding of Satan. He therefore tacks on the binding of Satan and the start of the millenial period AFTER the return of Christ and the end of history in chapter 19...i.e. he takes a premillenial view. The "great supper of God" in 19:17 is an image of hell. Notice the reference to "the wine press of the fierce wrath of God" in 19:15, which forms a parallel to the reference to hell in 14:19-20. Hence, chapter 20 begins a new cycle and goes back to cover the entire church age. Koester misses this and ends up not offering a particularly coherent or insightful perspective on the millenium, among other things.

Instead of Koester's book, I would recommend More Than Conquerors by William Hendriksen and The Returning King by Vern Poythress as superior short commentaries/guidebooks on Revelation. Both are idealist/amillenial in perspective, they get the structure of Revelation right, and they are more insightful in my opinion. Also excellent is the mid-sized commentary Triumph of the Lamb by Dennis Johnson.

. . . But it will. This book by Craig R. Koester will make it a whole lot easier to teach my Sunday school class on Revelation without having to go to some modernist debunker to do it. This book clearly honors Christ in its writing while making it clear that Revelation's gift to the church is hope and not calamity. If you're a serious Christian who wants a Revelation that will inspire you through trials that may befall you because of your faith, through out all of your "Left Behind" crap and read "Revelation and the End of All Things" instead. Then pass it on to someone else who needs it.

I had a hard time with this book. I started out liking it, and I do 'get it', but I cannot agree with the overall conclusion of the book: that the book of revelation is simply a book applicable for any time in history where persecution and compromise are widespread. As I search through several different bibles, look at the world today in light of history, and search my own feelings about what John was actually writing about and to whom, I am struck with the overwhelming conclusion that the revelation was and is anything but a kind of fuzzy, nonspecific book of the bible. Far from it. It takes more than scholarly logic to understand it. It takes faith. Either you 'see the signs of the times' or you have closed your eyes to the obvious. This was one of my main problems with the book.
Nonetheless, if you have the patience, it may be a different perspective worth reading about, if only to see a 'possibly' incorrect interpretation. David W.

simply outstanding! this book deals with the book of revelation and "end times" stuff related therein, with sobriety, sanity and a truly God honoring, Christ honoring manner and message. The author recognizes the need to understand revelation according to it's literary type and according to it's first century context as well, while yet recognizing that it is meant for all christians at all times. The author has truly done his homework for this book and handles the scripture with integrity and care. In this book, you will get background information on the book of revelation, differing interpretive methods, and a section by section running commentary/exposition. This book aims to help the reader make sense out of revelation by exploring what it most likely would have meant in the context of when and where revelation was written originally, and then at the same time showing how this meaning transposes to christians of all times and places. If you are steeped in the left behind series type of belief, please consider this book by Craig Koester as an alternative viewpoint. Thanks to the author for giving laypeople a solid, sane and scripturally honoring book on revelation! Also very helpful and sane treatments of the book of revelation are: Breaking The Code by Bruce Metzger: The Throne, The Lamb and The Dragon by Paul Spilsbury and: Return of The King by Vern Poythress.

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.

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!

Very balanced and even-handed introduction to this interesting subject. There is great respect for the scriptures here and a desire to understand it, without bringing in meaning that was not intended.

This leader in the conservative world of OT studies, exceptional stuff on proverbs and psalms, here gives us a book which means and fulfills its goals of introducing the subject matter to us and instilling the desire for further ventures into this virtile section of the OT.

I was especially enlightened by his comments on Job, e.g. "the book shows . . . how small a part of any situation is the fragment that we see; how much of what we do see we ignore or distort through preconceptions; and how unwise it is to extrapolate from our elementary grasp of truth."

He summarizes the wisdom section for us by offering that none of the wisdom books gives all the answers, but the total sum of their individual contributions combined with the rest of Scriture resolves some of our difficulties yet urging us on forward to the NT; while still others leave us in travail, which is "an expectant word."

Playing greatly on the Biblical theme of fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom, however as a Lutheran I must humbly protest that Kidner falls short on Christology, e.g. "To me it is clear that while some of the language was destined to prepare the way for the NT's Christology, the portrait in its own context is personifying a concept, not describing a personality" or likewise, he does not find Christ in Ecclesiastes. I find Jesus' exegesis to be mine, He is in all OT Wisdom including Ecclesiastes, Luke 24:27.

Kidner is always worth reading carefully, and keeping it on one's bookshelf for reference.

Derek Kidner is a brilliant biblical expositor. Here, in one slim paperback, he deftly guides the serious student of the bible through some of the most notoriously difficult books of the Old Testament. By it's nature, this is not a detailed commentary, rather it goes for a sweep - seeing the wood instead of the trees, as it were. While undoubtedly learned and thoughtful, it is also very readable. It sheds clear light, brings to life, and sets the wisdom contained in these books in the context of real life.

I found the book hard to read. I am not a theologian, but have had a fair amount of biblical training and education overall during my life. The author uses a lot of parenthetical writing, which breaks up the sentences and paragraphs. Overall it was very hard to follow. I thought that the subject matter was good however.

Great book. I like that fact that it is laid out like a dictionary (By Topic) and not in commentary style.

Contains a wealth of solid and in-depth information aimed at scholars and educated lay persons. Articles are well written (and can be a bit dense), very informative, and contain a select bibliography for further study. An indispensible tool for any serious student of the Bible.

This is an awesome library. Jesus is everywhere in the OT. I hope to get the entire collection. Amazon is great and ships to military folk anywhere in the world with free shipping! This is a great buy.

This dictionary on the Pentateuch was very helpful in getting a historical perspective of these five books in the Old Testament. It added to my understanding of the books and individual passages, as well.

This would be an excellent resource for anyone engaging with the minimalists in regard to the historicity of Ancient Israel.

Here's the description and praises from the back of the book cover:

The first five books of the Old Testament lay the foundation on which the rest of Scripture stands. Its great themes, epochal events and towering figures set down vectors on which the biblical story is played out. The very shape of the rest of the Old Testament would collapse were the Penteteuch to be removed. The structure of New Testament thought would be barely intelligible without it.

Here we meet the great ancestral figures of Israel--Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--and the towering figure of Moses, whose presence dominates four of these five books. The creative act of God, the paradisal garden, the exile of Adam and Eve, the judgment of the great flood, the call of Abraham from among the nations, the covenant of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the giving of the law at Sinai, the plan of the tabernacle, the varied experiences of Israel in the wilderness, and the announcement of the covenant blassings and curses--all of these and more contribute to a work of world-formative power. This dictionary explores the major themes and contours of the Pentateuch.

Behind and beneath the grandeur of the Pentateuch, issues of historicity have both puzzled and beckoned. But wheras in the mid-twentieth century many English-speaking scholars were confident of archaeological support for the patriarchal accounts, the climate has now changed. In the most extreme cases, some contemporary scholars have radically challenged the antiquity of the ancestral stories, arguing for their final composition even as late as the Hellenistic era. This dictionary examines and weighs the historical issues and poses possible solutions.

The documentary hypothesis, the former reigning critical consensus, is now widely rumored to be on life support, with no heir apparent. Meanwhile, conservative scholars reconsider what indeed a claim to Mosaic authorship should entail. This dictionary offers an assessment of the array of questions surrounding these issues and considers some possible ways forward for evangelical scholarship.

At the same time, there has been a fruitful turning to the nature, message and art of the received text of the Pentateuch. Literary studies of brief episodes, sprawling sagas, complex narrative and even the fivefold composition of the Pentateuch itself have delivered promising and exciting results. This dictionary offers both appreciative panoramas and close-up assessments of these developments and their methods.

The Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch is the first in a four-volume series covering the text of the Old Testament. Following in the tradition of the four award-winning IVP dictionaries focused on the New Testament and its background, this encyclopedic work is characterized by close attention to the text of the Old Testament and the ongoing conversation of contemporary scholarship. In exploring the major themes and issues of the Pentateuch, editors T. Desmond Alexander and David W.Baker, with an international and expert group of scholars, inform and challenge through authoritative overviews, detailed examinations and new insights from the world of the ancient Near East.

"The Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch contains a wealth of important information for all students of this foundational portion of Scripture. The articles are all written by leading scholars in the field under the guidance of two preeminent Old Testament interpreters well known for their own work on the Pentateuch. This dictionary is not only informative but also readable. I highly recommend it."
Tremper Longman III, Westmont College

"I like the idea of a Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, and the decision to focus on major topics is well judged. There is a great deal of very useful discussion and analysis in the volume. It should open up the study of the Pentateuch in new ways for many a reader, and I welcome the project most warmly."
Robert P. Gordon, University of Cambridge

"By focusing on a single main section of Scripture, the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch allows for greater scope and in-depth handling of individual topics. Well researched and comprehensive in treatment, it will be a good addition to the library of students, pastors, scholars and laypeople."
Christopher R. Seitz, University of St Andrews