Bibles Bible Studies Books

This book Had excellant information on the plants grown and eaten in Jesus' time however, do not let it lead you astray, people trying to follow God's instructions for health; in the book are recipes for foods God deemed unclean, those being pork, shell fish and other animals listed in Leviticus 11. Don't be lead astray by the false teaching that Jesus made these foods clean (he was Jewish and only ate clean food and tells his followers to walk as he walked). If you yourself don't have the ability to figure this out from reading the scripture (Old Testament and New Testament), you should also buy the book Holy Cow! by Hope Egan who does an excellant job breaking through false teaching of Christens and Jewish and shines light on Gods intended plan for our eating habits and many other things. May God be with you on your journey to a healthier and more spiritual lifestyle.

This book was a very pleasant surprise. Not only does it have wonderful pictures and illustrations, the content is very comprehensive and informative. I am very happy with this purchase.

The title of the book is accurate - as the author does an excellent job in showing us "How to Read Proverbs". I have taught Proverbs 1-9 at least three times in Sunday school classes and so I knew many of the things he had to say. But it is refreshing and assuring to hear someone say the same things I had discovered about Proverbs. He gave me good ideas on how I could improve my teaching on Proverbs. Much of the material can be used straight from this book when teaching Proverbs.

He shows that Proverbs sees life as a "Road" or a "Path" or a "Way". And how we should walk a "Straight Path" and not a "Crooked Path". Life is full of "Decisions", that point us in "Directions", which will ultimately end in "Destinations".

In the 3rd chapter, I think the author is in error on page 32 when he is speaking about the two Women. There he says, "Both have prepared a meal". I know that Wisdom has prepared her table and her food, but I do not see any preparation on the part of Folly. And I think that is the point of Proverb 9. Folly does NOT prepare, even though she makes the same invitation for the simple to come. Folly's only food is stolen, but she does not prepare it. I believe that is the point of Proverbs 9. God in His Wisdom is very well prepared and thought out. His plans are always for our good. It was in wisdom the He created the world. On the other hand, Folly makes no preparations - because she really does not care about her guests.

I liked his 4th chapter and how he showed that proverbs are Parallelisms, Parallelisms of Opposites, Better-Than Proverbs, Imagery and Secondary Devices. Some people can over do this stuff and ruin a Sunday school class. But this would really be good to share with people and he has great illustrations to show each category.

Chapter 5 - I think that this is one of the key chapters in his book. He successfully shows that proverbs are not "Law" with absolute results. Instead, proverbs are general principles that have to be taken in context of life. He gives excellent examples to show how he comes to this conclusion. He also gives excellent examples to show the absurdity of reading these proverbs the wrong way. This was a great chapter as he shows that some proverbs are lessons from Observations and Experience, some are Instruction Based on Tradition, some are Learning from Mistakes, but ultimately all are learning is from God's Revelation - the Fear of the Lord.

No offense, but I thought chapter 6 was boring and I did not care that other nations in Solomon's day had also used this genre. I don't know anyone in a Sunday school class who would care. To some this might be interesting, but thankfully this is only one chapter and he does not over do this.

Chapter 7 was excellent. I had never seen the book of Job and the book of Ecclesiastes in this light. He shows how these 2 books give balance or completion to the idea of the proverbs. Just when you think you understand a proverb, read Job or Ecclesiastes to get the whole picture. I learned a lot from this chapter not only about these 2 books of wisdom literature, but also how they give perspective on proverbs. Very good!

Chapter 8 was also very well done as he showed how the lives of Joseph and Daniel are great illustrations of the proverbs. Their lives are the proverbs with flesh and bone - not just proverbs in theory. Life does not always yield the immediate results we think we will have even when we obey the Lord.

Chapter 10 is very well done and gives a good example of how to look at the entire book of Proverbs and concentrate on just one theme at a time. We need to follow that one theme through the whole of Proverbs. From this approach you will see that one theme often has many aspects and is much more than you may first think. I find this chapter an example for us to use as we start our own study of the Proverbs.

Do not let the simplicity of this book fool you. He has done an excellent job in making it easy to read. It clearly shows you "How to Read Proverbs".

Aside from a little over-spiritualizing in the "Woman Wisdom or Folly" portion, I thought that the book was quite engaging and informative.

Positive:
- Easy to read
- Good structure
- Very helpful study questions and "for further reading" at the end of each chapter
- Good approach to the subject
- Compares Proverbs to Near Eastern wisdom texts to give background information of such kind, in such days in that region - amazing similarities!

Almost negative:
- The author uses the New Living Translation (NLT)
I must admit that I am a lover of the King James Version (KJV). But in such a book I would have expected a different version of the Bible. An example might illustrate my point:
Proverbs 8:14-15 NLT
"Common sense and success belong to me.
Insight and strength are mine.
Because of me, kings reign,
and rulers make just decrees."
Proverbs 8:14-15 KJV
"Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice."
Proverbs 10:19 NLT
"Too much talk leads to sin.
Be sensible and keep your mouth shut."
Proverbs 10:19 KJV
"In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise."

Overall an excellent book, for beginners and advanced students of the Bible alike. The author took me several layers deeper into the Word of God - I enjoyed the ride!

Part II of Longman's little "How to Read" series, I think it is by far the best of the three (his Psalms intro is a close second). His exposition on the meaning of Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly was fantastic. His integration of other wisdom books was very helpful and militates against an isolated reading of Proverbs. And his interpretation that the woman in Proverbs 31 represents Jesus was genius. This book really motivates you to tackle Proverbs on your own and to really appreciate its artform. And you can't ask more from a intro book.

For a brief, nontechnical introduction to Proverbs, and wisdom literature in general, you will want this book. Longman discusses Proverbs in three sections: 1) General overview of Proverbs and wisdom; 2) How Proverbs fits into the overall theme of ancient wisdom (this includes the other wisdom books in the Bible and wisdom in other parts of the ancient world); and 3) Themes in Proverbs (money, love & marriage, wise and foolish words).

This book is not a verse by verse study of Proverbs. For that you will want a commentary, such as that by Dave Bland or Bruce Waltke (see my reviews). Instead, this book is an introduction to Proverbs and the nature of wisdom literature.

Chapter one is entitled "Why Read Proverbs?" Below are comments from that chapter:

"Wisdom is the skill of living." (P.14)

"Wisdom entails the ability to avoid problems, and the skill to handle them when they present themselves. Wisdom also includes the ability to interpret other people's speech and writing in order to react correctly to what they are saying to us." (Pp.14-15)

Proverbs is more about E.Q. (emotional quotient) than I.Q. (intelligent quotient). Proverbs uses stories of animals (Prov. 24-28). "These animals don't have a high I.Q., but the verses plainly describe a skill in living that is remarkable."

"People who have a high I.Q. know many facts; they can solve difficult mathematical equations. Their ability to reason and use logic is superior to others'. People with emotional intelligence have other abilities, including `self-control, zeal and persistence and the ability to motivate oneself ... to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one's moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think...'" (Longman quotes from Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence). Biblical wisdom is closer to EQ than IQ. (P.15-16)

"Wisdom is a skill, a `knowing how': it is not raw intellect, a `knowing that.'" "Why read Proverbs, then? To gain wisdom, which is an ability to navigate life." (P.16)

You'll appreciate the insights Longman's book will give you to get a handle on wisdom in general and Proverbs in particular. I recommend it.

Most Christians do not know the origins of the gospels they read, or that are read to them on Sunday mornings. FEW realize that the four canonical gospels, as they have reached us some 2000 years after they were written, differ widely from each other when read "horizontally." (Reading 'horizontally' means comparing the four gospels side-by-side to see just how very different they really are.) Biblical scholars pretty much agree that the earliest, and shortest, gospel was attributed to a man named Mark. We say "attributed" because the precise authorship of any of the gospels is really not known. They were all written anonymously, from 25 to 70 years after the death of the Jewish healer and sage named Yeshua Bar Yosef (you know him better by his Romanized name: Jesus). Following Mark, the gospels according to Matthew and Luke appear some 15-20 years later, around the year 50-55 C.E.

But these gospels of Matthew and Luke contain much that Mark's gospel does not have, so biblical scholars have posited that these two writers, Matthew and Luke, must have had additional sources from which they borrowed in order to write a fuller, more detailed gospel than their predecessor Mark had available to him. Much of the difference amounted to a series sayings (with additional narratives to round them out) that are only found in Matthew and Luke-- but not in Mark.

When the gospel of Mark is "subtracted" from those of Matthew and Luke, the remainder constitutes what scholars determine to have been this mysterious source material, called "Q"-- ("Q" from the German word quella, meaning "source.") This ancient source "document" is not something that scholars could actually lay their hands on. This Gospel of Q was basically a "sayings gospel," with no narrative added to enhance or detract from the teachings of Jesus. Unfortunately, no version of it has physically survived the ravages of time-- and the early Church Fathers-- who likely regarded it to have been a threat to the early Christian church as it was being invented, defined and refined by them. Its existence was arrived at by a process of inductive reasoning, in much the same way that Sherlock Holmes solved mysteries by perceiving clues that were all around, but that other investigators failed to see.

This book, "The Lost Gospel, the Book of Christian Origins" by Burton L. Mack thoroughly dissects this mysterious, multi-layered source document and presents a readable and most informative treatise on the contents of "Q" as a gospel source, adding richness and depth of understanding to the quest of those who want to know the who-what-where-when and why of the gospel traditions that inform the doctrine and tenets of Christianity today. If you're looking for insights into perhaps the most influential collection of writings the western world had ever known, this book will do much to enrich your understanding of how the gospels we came to know were written, and the sources which helped to flesh them out.

This book is a moderately interesting read for someone trying to keep up to speed on current bible dialog. However, to contend that the idea of a common source for the gospels of Matthew and Luke is revolutionary is extremely naive.

I had classes in both Catholic high school and a Catholic University (70s & 80s) that included study of the Bible . Several things routinely taught are now portrayed as shocking and "shaking the foundations of Christianity." It is commonly understood that Matthew and Luke borrowed from Mark and some other common source. This other source was even referred to as "Q". We were also taught that the letters of Paul (or some of them) were likely not written by Paul - shocking.

What the author of this book does is take this concept of a common source for the Gospels and build it into something much more concrete that can not (and is not) substantiated.

B.L.Mack writes that there is a frightfull lack of knowledge about the formatiom of the New Tastament among average Christians. His book is an overdue,refreshing, and challenging examination of early Christian origins.and the formation of the historical Jesus movement during the times and circumstances that conditioned it's development The conclusions arrived at are at variance with much of Christianity and it's many manifestations. An excellent read.
Brian Hoadley, Calapan City Oriental Mindoro Philippines.

I found this to be a very informative book to read with a thorough look at the lost gospel of Q. The description given by Mack of the early Jesus people is that of a social movement which dared to experiment in new ways of living together across racial, ethnic, cultural and monetary boundaries. Mack mentions that the tradition that this movement was inspired by, was that of the early cynics, who were the social critics of that era, making pointed comment on human behaviour where ever possible. This part in particular did I find very inspiring to read and it gave me a very refreshing new look at the Jesus figure.

Mack does a great job at covering early research and in showing how the people of Q gradually changed as outside pressures grew. The story of Q demonstrates that the narrative gospels have no claim as historical accounts, and are carefully crafted myths with a powerful political design.

It is clear that Mack knew the difficulties in getting the message of Q to be read and accepted by the majority of Christians.

As he writes:

"The discovery of Q may create some consternation for Christians because accepting Q's challenge is not merely a matter of revising a familiar chapter of history. It is a matter of being forced to acknowledge an affair with one's own mythology. The disclosure of a myth is deemed academic as long as the myth belongs to somebody else. Recognising one's own myth is always much more difficult, if not downright dangerous."

The book is easy to read for the lay person and can be highly recommended. Considering the influence that Christianity has in the world, this book deserves to be read by every Christian and the challenge given by Q ought to be taken seriously and discussed.

Burton Mack's "The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins" came to be a highly informative work on the subject on the origins of Christianity from a look at the lost gospel called the "Q." This book is indeed an interesting analysis of the role of lost gospel and the history behind it.

This work consisted of roughly 14 chapters and close to 260 pages, and it is an easy-to-read. It is with a suggestion that this book to be recommended.

I have been using this Bible and its earlier form since 1996. When it first came out, it was called the Full Life Study Bible.

It has been adpoted by the Assemblies of God Bible Alliance and has been promoted for ministers and believers alike in other countries who will never have a chance to go to Bible College.

It is rich in organization, notes, references, word meanings, and topical studies.

One of the things that really impressed me was the amount of supporting Scripture in the commentary. They do not just say what they believe, but they say it with proof.

Here some examples of the near a 85 topical studies...

The Old Testament Law
The Nature of Idolatry
Effective Praying
Worship
Biblical Hope
Wine in the Old and New Testament
The Great Tribulation
False Teachers
The Judgement of Believers
Election and Predestination
The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture
Christ's Message to the Seven Churches

This Bible is set up for those who lean towards the things of the Holy Spirit (Baptism in the Holy Spirit, signs and wonders, gifts of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and healing of the sick).

It would be good for any believer!

I've been told it is equivalent to about 2 years of Bible College in information.

It comes in the KJV and NIV versions.

I believe that this is a wonderful study bible for anyone that is interested in learning more about the pentecostal faith. I have always thought study bibles are the best for personal use, and this was probably in my top 3 of bibles i have owned. As a Bible College Student, I have been able to use some of the notes and articles written as part of the essays I am required to write. You will learn more from this Bible than most Bibles.

I have about 8 Study Bibles in my library including John MacArthur's, but this one, really is a superb addition to anyone seeking a Charismatic/Pentecostal emphasis on the Holy Scriptures, without the nonsense of what goes on in these churches these days. The subject matter, such as the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Individual Apostasy, Effective Praying, False teachers, Election and Predestination really are superb articles with a thoroughly Biblical grounding. I have come out of the Charismatic church during the last 5 years, but this Bible made me nostalgic for the purity of the New Testament church in spite of its early errors, the church then was enthusiastic and vital and ALIVE in Christ Jesus.
I would thoroughly recommend this study Bible to anyone, even of a non-Charismatic inclination, to buy one whilst they are still available!

This is by far the best study Bible in print. I am an Assemblies of God pastor and have been blessed with knowing the story of Donald Stamps. He was an Assemblies of God missionary to Brazil who was totally in love with the Lord and His Word. He saw that the pastors there needed a study Bible in their language, but also one with Pentecostal notes. Most of our pastors in other parts of the world don't have any kind of Christian resource library. For this reason Life Publishers and the Bible Alliance of the Assemblies of God is getting this Bible (an entire library in one Bible) into the hands of pastors around the world. One thing that stands out with this Bible is that it follows the rule that you take the Bible literal unless the Scriptures indicate otherwise. The other rule that it follows is that you take all doctrine from Scripture, taken in context, compares to other passages of Scripture. This is truly the Bible you want if you want to live a "Life in the Spirit."

This version is truely terrific for a lay person. The references, notes and articles included are illuminating. Bravo Zondervan!!!

After 32 years of marriage, my husband and I find this to be the most helpful marriage book we've found.

I was extremely excited to read "The Intimate Mystery," having read a number of solid marriage books over the years but nothing new recently. And I had heard good things about Dan Allender. My wife and I read the book along with a small group of young married couples from our church.

To its credit, the book has many strengths. Most significantly, the paradigm of leaving, weaving, and cleaving that Allender and Longman extract from Genesis 2 is extremely helpful. This framework for a successful, God-honoring marriage is biblical and simple.

It is also clear that these are some smart guys. I consider myself to be relatively well-read, but I literally had to check a dictionary several times to look up words in this short book. Beyond vocabulary, the book presents some higher level concepts than other marriage books, which often settle for mere self-help approaches instead.

The final positive points are more trivial. I appreciated that the book was shorter than some, which made it more readable and digestible. And the book jacket manages to be attractive without being unnecessarily feminine.

Having admitted these strengths, I will briefly explain a few disappointments. First, I was very frustrated with the experience of trying to fit together the various curriculum pieces that accompany this book. There are six different study guides, a DVD, and a leader's guide, which are all explained to be essential to working through the material. Beyond the construction of a money-making franchise, I cannot imagine why the authors would seemingly require so many different separate (and costly) pieces. We decided to skip the DVD, and the study guides and leader's guide were not particularly helpful. I'd encourage others to just read the book.

I was also surprised by how difficult it was for me to follow some of the authors' points. I'm not the brightest guy in the world, but I can read Lewis, Foster, Willard, McGrath and other intellectual heavyweights. Yet, I really struggled to get through some of the chapters. I just found some of the ideas to be almost hastily or sloppily thrown together, in a way that was not clear to the reader.

Finally, our group was somewhat taken aback by some of the examples that were used. Though I suspect that the authors were using a rhetorical approach that was intended to jar and even shock the reader on occasion, our group found it to be off-putting.

In conclusion, I am glad that I read this book, as the leave-weave-cleave paradigm was presented in a way that made sense to me. I imagine that this framework will stick with me and continue to shape my understanding of Christian marriage. However, I was not overly impressed with the book and cannot recommend it highly. If you're looking for a great book to strengthen your marriage, read Gary Thomas' "The Sacred Marriage" instead.

The NIGTC series positions itself as intending to be somewhat conservative, to deal in detail with the Greek text as well as to focus on the theology of the book. France is in that mold. He considers Mark as a storyteller, even as a "raconteur." Thus he is doing very much a literary critical approach to the text. There isn't much here on history of interpretation, form criticism, etc. He focuses on Mark as Mark, not as a defective first draft of a gospel.

A couple of examples. He take the two-stage healing in 8:22-26 as a bridge passage, linking both what came before and what followed and sees this unique story as referencing the disciples inability to clearly "see" who Jesus is. In discussing the ending he takes the view that 16:8 isn't likely to be the real end of the text. While ending at 16:8 excites us moderns due to its existential, open, daring character, he thinks it very unlikely that Mark or his culture would see it that way. He thinks the real ending has likely been lost and 16:9-20 was written later to replace what was lost. While he defends what is a minority view, his discussion of the topic is sober, presents other points of view fairly and he definitely has reasons for his view.

That is typical of the entire commentary. Albert Lukaszewki in a review for SBL called the book a "model of tempered scholarship." I agree. Even if you disagree with a specific conclusion, you will find much to appreciate in his careful, reasonable, and intellectually honest presentation.

This is an excellent commentary, one of the best, in fact, I've ever seen, and definitely THE best on the Gospel of Mark (out of the eighteen or twenty that I'm regularly dipping into). It is a commentary on the Greek text, and the Greek is not transliterated or translated, but it is still amazingly readable, lucid, and engaging. France's introduction to the Gospel of Mark is the best intro I've read, and alone worth the price of the book. He views Mark's gospel as a narrative - a drama in three acts; yet he resists imposing superficial structures on the book. He writes with a desire to hear Mark's text afresh, and tends to focus in his comments on the unfolding theological narrative itself. Yet he is obviously well-read and conversant with both the primary ancient documents themselves and the relevant literature on Mark (commentaries, monographs, essays in journals, etc.) and engages them frequently when helpful. His theology is generally conservative, with a high Christology. He is cautious with overly novel interpretations. He articulates a partial-preterist position on Mark 13. France would probably be a bit too technical for the purposes of a lay-person, but preachers can hardly afford to be without him. I would recommend reading him along side the commentaries by James Edwards (Pillar), William Lane (NICNT), and David Garland (NIVAC). Excellent!

I work slowly through the Greek text in preparation for sermons or classes. France's commentary is a great aid for me in this process because of his discussion of key Greek words and terms. But, you do not have to know Greek to profit immensely from this commentary! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get deeply in the context of Mark. There is material here for the theological student writing his paper, but also for the minister working up a lesson for this Sunday! His engagement of the text helps to move you right into the stories he is discussing, and then right into your own presentation. You won't be disappointed with this purchase.

I liked this commentary a lot. I have not focused much effort on Mark over the years, but wanted to look at it while I did a complete rereview of my Greek. It was better than I expected. The interesting comments on the Northern - Southern Kingdom's impacts on the cultures of Jerusalem and Galillee were helpful, as were the comments on the book's unlikely chronological layout. It is all good and balanced and worth reading. I for one would have liked more Greek, but it is not a real problem and makes the book for useful for a wider audience.

I find it truly amazing that there is still so much lively discussion about a Gospel of the New Testament which has been a cornerstone of Christian faith for almost 2000 years; however, the more I study New Testament exegesis, the less I'm surprised. The thing that makes the dialogue over The Gospel of Mark special is not Romans' deep theological arguments. Martin Luther, for example, in his 55 volumes of works translated into English barely mentions the Gospel, while doing an entire commentary on the Gospel of John.

The primary interest lies in the fact that less than 200 years ago, the basic opinions on dating Mark changed from its being considered a copy of Matthew to being an earlier source of both Matthew and Luke. This lively discussion was enriched even further by exegesis in the last 50 years, with the founding of `redactive' analysis by Marxson in Germany.

I've surveyed five different exegeses of Mark and have found much common ground, but also many differences, lying primarily in the translations and in the extent to which they address the history of commentary on Mark. Even though some of the volumes deal much more deeply with previous scholarship than others, all limit themselves to work done in the 20th century, and even to work done in the last 50 years. One thing I must say that although there are important differences, all of these volumes represent sound work at the deepest levels of scholarship. Some are more suitable for pastoral use than others, but none are `lightweights'.

The six volumes I surveyed follow:

`The Gospel According to Mark', William L. Lane, 1974, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., `The New International Commentary on the New Testament' Series.

`Mark 1-8:26', Robert A. Guelich, 1989, Nelson Reference & Electronic, `Word Bible Commentary' Series based on the author's own translation.

`Mark 8:27-16:20', Craig A. Evans, 2001, Nelson Reference & Electronic, `Word Bible Commentary' Series based on the author's own translation.

`The Gospel of Mark', Pheme Perkins, 1995, in Volume VIII of The New Interpreter's Bible with side by side NIV and NSRV translations.

`The Gospel of Mark', R. T. France, 2002, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., The New International Greek Testament Commentary Series.

`The Gospel According to Mark', James R. Edwards, 2002, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., `The Pillar New Testament Commentary Series'.

After having read commentary volumes from most of these series on both The Epistle to the Romans and The Epistle of James, I find a lot of consistency across volumes in the same series, so if you become comfortable with the way that `The New Interpreter's Bible ` approaches things, then you are probably on solid ground if you continue with that source, especially if you invested some big bucks in the complete 12 volume set (or there is a set available in your library's reference section, as it has appeared in every library I have visited).

`The New International Commentary on the New Testament' may be the weakest of the five series, as all it's volumes use the `American Standard Version' translation of 1901, considered to be a very literal rendering of the Greek text. While I like this over the NRSV's `politically correct' translations here and there, I suspect the newer NIV may be more up to date on the latest scholarship, especially, as I said, there has been so much done over the last 50 years. William Lane's volume in particular is nicely done, especially since it relegates a lot of the details to footnotes, so you can skip a lot of the lexical stuff.

The two volumes from the `Word Bible Commentary' series by Guelich and Evans should be your first choice if you are especially interested in the literature from the last 50 years, as their bibliographies are superb. While they are also quite deep, they nicely separate the material one wants for pastoral work from the linguistic analyses. It also represents by far the largest and most detailed work of the five. Professor Evans took over work on the second volume after Professor Guelich's death, and much of the material is based on notes from Guelich. I also like these authors' outline, as it simply deals with all the individual pericopes, and does not incorporate any speculative hypotheses about what author John Mark had in mind as he wrote.

`The Gospel of Mark' by Pheme Perkins in Volume VIII of The New Interpreter's Bible may be my least favorite; however, it may be the best option for pastoral users. It raises the fewest questions and presents two of the very best modern translations (NIV and NSRV) side by side. It also offers excellent reflections on the theological use of the paragraphs.

`The Gospel of Mark', R. T. France in `The New International Greek Testament Commentary Series' is also near the bottom of my list, as the volume offers no translation of the text on which it is commenting. While this is actually a plus for many readers, it also makes a point of not offering a lot of commentary on other interpreters' writings, even though it does have a lot to say on other writers' opinions on the structure of `Mark'.

`The Gospel According to Mark' by James R. Edwards in `The Pillar New Testament Commentary Series' is a step down from the quality of Douglas Moo's commentary on James in the same series. And, unlike Moo, Edwards offers no translation. He also seems to have the most speculations about the intentions of author Mark in pointing out irony and structural details. Edwards and France may be the two most enjoyable to read; however I suggest you buffer your reading of these authors with copies of Guelich and Evans at your elbow.

Guelich and Evans together is my favorite for serious study. France and Edwards may be the best modern introductions, if you don't mind having a copy of the Gospel open to follow their commentary.

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.

I like learning about anything and everything I can about the times when Jesus walked on this earth...this help explain some of the Gnostic Gospels in simple terms.

I was a bit hesitant to purchase a "Complete Idiot's Guide" to anything, because an idiot I certainly am not. However, I'm quite pleased that I chose to take a chance on this one. The layout of these Guides is great! They don't assume that you know anything about the subject, so all terms that may be new to the reader are explained. The text is full of cross-referencing so that you can refer back in the event that something didn't stick in your mind on the first read through.
For anyone who has a beginning interest in Gnostic beliefs or the Gnostic texts, this is a great place to start. If your interest continues after reading this book, it will serve as a great reference to refer back to while exploring deeper literature on the subject. An appendix is included to guide you in selecting further reading as well as finding web-based sources. This book also gives some interesting insight into the early development of Christianity from an unbiased perspective.

ok this was a very good book helped me alot to understand Gnostic believes and also the Gospels.It is very wise to have a copy of the Gnostic Gospels to help you understand.Also this book let you decide on your own what the truth is.I recomend this book to help you understand the truth in the spirit, heart and Love of Jesus.
Thank You
Peace Be With You

In addition to details on individual Nag Hammadi texts as well as some other Gnostic texts, Matkin presents keys players within early Chistianity on the orthodox and on the gnostic side. He also discusses those early times, later gnostic movements, and modern interests in gnosticism.

The book is nicely chunked: twenty chapters each divided into sections and subsections that makes it easy to finish one piece, put the book down, and return to it later so as not to be overwhelmed by all the complex mythologies of the Gnostics.

Matkin steers a middle road, neither a proponent of Gnosticism nor eager to dismiss it. While acknowledging Elaine Pagel's contribution to making the early Gnostics accessible, he doesn't refrain from criticizing her. While open to what made the Gnostics tick, he presents critics. For example, he he includes the comment of Frederica Mathewes-Green, an Eastern Orthodox writer, that Gnostic schemes to directly experience God were "so wacky".

The one real problem I face after reading this book is that it leaves me with no excuse not to read the Nag Hammadi texts again themselves ( The Nag Hammadi Library ) which, without Matkin's guidance, may overwhelm me, as they did the first time I read them. Even the second time I read them (in 2005), I can see now I missed a lot due to less preparation. I am rereading Matkin's summary of each Nag Hammadi text as I read the texts themselves. Along with other background reading in Gnosticism, Matkin has prepared me for what I hope to be a really inspiring reading of the Nag Hammadi Library. So I am grateful to Matkin for his efforts and delivery.

If you are looking for a great book to understand the who what when where and why about these gospels, this is a good book for you. If you're needing a Cliffsnotes version of what goes on in the books and what they could be alluding to, this is NOT the book for you. But, I found the research good, intelligent and at times, humorous. This is a great read if you are curious about the gnostic gospels and want to know more, in a general sense, about what the gnostics were all about.

This book I got for my granddaughter and she loves it. There are 3 other girls and her that are having their own Bible study while the adults do theirs and they are having a great time!!

I am 12. I am really too old for this book, but it is good anyway. Good stories, wonderful Bible passages, questions, memory verses, and a key thought make this book great. While I am really too old for it, I happen to like it. Pick up this book today!

This book is very preachey and not the way we intend to teach our young daughter about the all inclusive love of God. It is very narrow minded, and it's language is offensive from p.1. The idea of a daily devotion is a good one, but the content has made me pull this one from her shelf.

Great book, really good for kids 5-10, Bible scripture and the stories really hit home and make a point. A great start to get your kid thinking about God first thing

Not for my nine year old daughter thank you very much! This *was* intended for ages 6-10. However, the devotion on April 11 deals with an topic not intended for 6-10 year olds. I don't know what the publisher was thinking! I'll be reading the rest of this (and tearing out pages) before my daughter does another devotion in the book.

Not recommended.

The Daily Bible makes understanding the text of the Bible enjoyable and allows the reader to participate in the events of time. To understand the critical events of the Bible one must understand the timing of history from Creation to Christ's second coming, in order. The Daily Bible is every verse in the Bible from Creation in The Beginning until Christ's return, in chronological order read through in a year plan. Whereas the testimony from multiple witnesses' viewpoints might cause repetition, a single account of the event is told from the best vantage point with references to others. This brevity is exemplified by narratives about "good news" events that transpired during the ministry of Jesus, better known as the Gospels. Wherever there are gaps in successive accounts F. LaGard Smith narrates in grey highlighted sections to complete the understanding of societies and cultural norms of the day. Complete accuracy and attention to detail is maintained with marginal references at the left and right of each facing page. This way of reading the Bible pleases the logical mind's understanding of history serving the one and only true God.

I bought this bible to take on a cruise in November. Its small and light weight compared to the larger version I have. The print is pretty small and I have to use reading glasses to see it, but the small size was the overriding factor for me.

This is an easy to read, thought provoking edition. The comments helps one to understand the cutlure of the time.

I bought this Bible to take with me when I travel. I've been learning a lot through this chronological reading. I usually find in-line Bible commentaries a nuisance but the commentary in this edition by F. Lagard Smith is actually really good. I have the full-sized version of this Bible that I keep by my bed for my regular reading but it is just huge and I like to pack light. So after going on several trips without it and getting behind on the schedule, I decided I had to have this. The only concern with this pocket edition is that the print is pretty small so if you have trouble with small text it might be a challenge.

This brings a new richness and insight in scriptures. Divided into specific, manageable portions for each day of the year, this is a great way to read through the bible in a single year. I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh approach to scripture studies.

It is the complete old and new testament. Rather than the traditional order of books & chapters, it is combined in a historical context. This places pieces of the Psalms in the midst of Exodus, 1 Samuel, etc. It inserts portions of Acts into letters of Paul. It intersects gospel accounts as if you were following the disciples through the three years or so of Jesus' ministry. It gives new context and lends understanding to passages that can be very difficult to read otherwise.

I really appreciated the time and effort that must have gone into this compilation. It makes a wonderful gift, or great way to start a "resolution" to read the word of God.