Plant Metaphors in Prophetic Condemnations of Israel and Judah


Book Description

Tina M. Sherman offers a first-of-its-kind, detailed analysis of prophetic passages that depict people as plants—from grasses and grains to fruit trees and grapevines—examining how the biblical authors exploited these metaphors to portray the condemnation and punishment of Israel and Judah in terms of the everyday work of crop farming and plant husbandry. Additionally, she explores how the prophetic authors employed plant imagery to construct national identities that emphasize the people’s collective responsibility for the kingdoms’ fate. Plant Metaphors in Prophetic Condemnations of Israel and Judah demonstrates the usefulness of combining conceptual metaphor theory with aspects of frame semantics in the analysis of patterns of thought and expression in biblical metaphor.




Under Every Green Tree


Book Description

"By focusing on the forms of religious expression which the sixth-century prophets condemn, we can begin to apprehend the diversity which characterized exilic religion. Moreover, by recognizing the polemical nature of the prophetic critiques and by resolving to read these critiques without prophetic prejudice and instead with a non-judgmental eye, we can place ourselves in a position to re-evaluate the traditional descriptions of the sixth-century cult. Our task, then, is to read anew; our aim is to judge afresh. With this goal in mind, we turn our attention to the major prophetic texts which will comprise our study: Jeremiah 7 and 44, Ezekiel 8, Isaiah 57, and Isaiah 65." - From the Introduction




Prophetic Literature


Book Description

Prophetic Literature: From Oracles to Books presents an in-depth introduction to the origins and development of the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament, including an examination of the literary structure, authorship, and editorial processes that produced each book. The only introductory textbook that explores both how the prophetic books were composed and edited Accessible and engaging, the book contains numerous student features to encourage learning, including introductions, summaries, tables and boxes, etc Based on international scholarship on the individual prophetic books, including German scholarship that is otherwise inaccessible to most English readers




The Unity of the Bible


Book Description

This landmark work represents an imaginative and important new analysis of the basic development of the Scriptures through the centuries. Christensen explores the overall unity of the entire Bible, not just as a collection of sixty-six or seventy-two individual books, nor just as the Old and New Testaments, but as a single literary work that comprises today’s Christian Bible. He shows how it emerged over the course of centuries in distinct stages. The Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament developed in three steps from the formation of the Pentateuch and Prophets that took place up to the time of Josiah in the seventh century B.C.E., followed by the production of the Deuteronomic Canon during and following the Exile, and then the completion of the whole Hebrew Canon as we now have it. This was followed by a second major phase – the development of the Apostolic writings to be added to the First Testament as a Second (or New) Testament. After tracing the growth of the Bible in these stages, Christensen examines the structure and literary art of each major section from the Pentateuch (Torah) to the New Testament.




The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Ancient Israel


Book Description

The Companion to Ancient Israel offers an innovative overview of ancient Israelite culture and history, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields. Distinguished scholars provide original contributions that explore the tradition in all its complexity, multiplicity and diversity. A methodologically sophisticated overview of ancient Israelite culture that provides insights into political and social history, culture, and methodology Explores what we can say about the cultures and history of the people of Israel and Judah, but also investigates how we know what we know Presents fresh insights, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields Delves into ‘religion as lived,’ an approach that asks about the everyday lives of ordinary people and the material cultures that they construct and experience Each essay is an original contribution to the subject




NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition


Book Description

Know what the Bible says. Understand why the Bible matters. This stunning, full-color study Bible answers your pressing questions with just the right amount of information, placed in just the right location. With its decades-long legacy of helping readers grasp the Bible’s meaning, the NIV Study Bible embodies the mission of the NIV translation to be an accurate, readable, and clear guide into Scripture. Specifically designed to expand upon the NIV, the NIV Study Bible’s editorial team crafts that same accuracy and clarity into every study note. Now the study Bible millions have come to trust has been fully revised and updated. A new committee of top biblical scholars--who are current and former NIV translators with a passion for making the Bible’s meaning clear--have pored over every note, every article, every chart, and every essay to refine this treasured resource even more. Thousands of newly written or revised notes and articles combine with hundreds of four-color maps, charts, photos, and illustrations to create an entire library of study helps designed to increase your understanding and application of God’s word. Features: Complete text of the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV) Over 21,000 bottom-of-the-page study notes, with icons to make important information easy to spot Over 125 topical articles, 16 pages of full-color maps, the Comprehensive NIV Concordance with nearly 4800 word entries, and a subject note index enable even deeper study Sixty-six book introductions and outlines along with six section introductions provide valuable background information for each book of the Bible In-text maps, charts, diagrams, and illustrations visually clarify the stories in the Bible Words of Jesus in red




Obadiah, Jonah and Micah


Book Description

Obadiah's oracle against Edom. Jonah's mission to the city of Nineveh. Micah's message to Samaria and Jerusalem. The texts of these minor but important prophets receive a fresh and penetrating analysis in this introduction and commentary. The authors consider each book's historical setting, composition, structure and authorship, as well as important themes and issues. Each book is then expounded in the concise and informative style that has become the hallmark of the Tyndale series. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.




Baxter's Explore the Book


Book Description

Explore the Book is not a commentary with verse-by-verse annotations. Neither is it just a series of analyses and outlines. Rather, it is a complete Bible survey course. No one can finish this series of studies and remain unchanged. The reader will receive lifelong benefit and be enriched by these practical and understandable studies. Exposition, commentary, and practical application of the meaning and message of the Bible will be found throughout this giant volume. Bible students without any background in Bible study will find this book of immense help as will those who have spent much time studying the Scriptures, including pastors and teachers. Explore the Book is the result and culmination of a lifetime of dedicated Bible study and exposition on the part of Dr. Baxter. It shows throughout a deep awareness and appreciation of the grand themes of the gospel, as found from the opening book of the Bible through Revelation.




The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction


Book Description

The author offers an exploration of the 'Old Testament', illuminating its importance as history, literature, and sacred text. He provides an overview of one of the great pillars of Western religion and culture, a book which remains important today for Jews, Christians, and Muslims worldwide.




Fables in Jewish Culture


Book Description

Fables in Jewish Culture catalogues almost 400 Jewish scrolls and books from the collection of Jon A. Lindseth that contain animal stories with moral connections. Spanning six centuries, the books are in several languages, including Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and Judeo-Persian. They were printed all over the world and include animal stories from the Hebrew Bible and other religious texts as well as translations of secular stories, such as Aesop's fables in Hebrew. The catalogue is divided into four sections—Biblical works, rabbinic works, medieval works, and postmedieval works—and each entry is illustrated with a page or more from the work, a detailed description of the characteristics and publishing history of the work, and description of the fables contained therein, along with a discussion of their literary and/or cultural-historical significance. This volume includes a foreword by Jon A. Lindseth, describing how he assembled this collection of Jewish books containing fables, as well as essays on the role of fables in Jewish culture, their use in Biblical and rabbinical literature, and their appearance in Jewish and Yiddish literature. Fables in Jewish Culture concludes with a bibliography of fables in Jewish literature and multiple indexes that allow readers to locate works by a number of criteria, including fable, author, title (in English, Hebrew, and Latin), and printer. Contributors: Marion Aptroot, David Daube, Simona Gronemann, Jon A. Lindseth, Raphael Loewe, Lies Meiboom, Emile Schrijver, David Stern, Heide Warncke, Irene Zwiep.