The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction

The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Michael Coogan
Publisher: OUP USA
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2008-03-28
Genre: Bibles
ISBN: 0195305051

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.

An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books

An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books
Author: C. Hassell Bullock
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2007-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 157567436X

The Old Testament prophets spoke to Israel in times of historical and moral crisis. They saw themselves as being a part of a story that God was weaving throughout history--a story of repentance, encouragement, and a coming Messiah. In this updated introductory book, each major and minor prophet and his writing are clustered with the major historical events of their time. Our generational distance from the age of the prophets might seem to be a measureless chasm. Yet we dare not make the mistake of assuming that passing years have rendered irrelevant not only the Old Testament prophets, but also the God who comprehends, spans, and transcends all time. In these pages, C. Hassell Bullock presents a clear picture of some of history's most profound spokesmen--the Old Testament prophets--and the God who shaped them.

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
Author: Gordon D. Fee
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2009-10-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310578566

Your Guide to Understanding the Bible Understanding the Bible isn’t for the few, the gifted, the scholarly. The Bible is accessible. It’s meant to be read and comprehended by everyone from armchair readers to seminary students. A few essential insights into the Bible can clear up a lot of misconceptions and help you grasp the meaning of Scripture and its application to your 21st-century life. More than half a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their reading of the Bible. This third edition features substantial revisions that keep pace with current scholarship, resources, and culture. Changes include: •Updated language •A new authors’ preface •Several chapters rewritten for better readability •Updated list of recommended commentaries and resources Covering everything from translational concerns to different genres of biblical writing, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth is used all around the world. In clear, simple language, it helps you accurately understand the different parts of the Bible—their meaning for ancient audiences and their implications for you today—so you can uncover the inexhaustible worth that is in God’s Word.

Themes and Transformations in Old Testament Prophecy

Themes and Transformations in Old Testament Prophecy
Author: Samuel A. Meier
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 083089845X

We meet the prophets of Israel in our own time and in one place--Scripture. So it might seem odd to consider that they are not all the same, these voices from "back then." In fact, the prophets inhabited a time span of hundreds of years and faced events that on their own terms were more convulsive than our 9/11. They were not uniform in their language, their concerns, their personalities, their remedies or their visions of the future. In this book, Sam Meier explores some recurring themes and features--such as angels, writing, miracles, the future and kingmaking--all with an eye on their transformation over time. And the defining event in this transformation turns out to be the great convulsive event of the story of Israel, the defeat and exile of the kingdom of Judah. Themes and Transformations in Old Testament Prophecy is a book that goes beyond the standard introductions to the prophets. Yet it does so in a way that will inform and intrigue beginning students and anyone curious about the prophets of Israel.

Prophecy and Hermeneutics (Studies in Theological Interpretation)

Prophecy and Hermeneutics (Studies in Theological Interpretation)
Author: Christopher R. Seitz
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2007-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 144120167X

A fresh wave of studies on the prophets has appeared in recent years. Old Testament scholar Christopher R. Seitz has written Prophecy and Hermeneutics as a way of revisiting, from the ground floor up, what gave rise to studies of the prophets in our modern period. In addition, Seitz clearly shows that a new conceptuality of prophecy, hermeneutics, history, and time is needed--one that is appropriate to current views on Isaiah and the Twelve. Scholars, students, professors, and theological libraries will find this an essential foundational resource.

Israelite Prophecy and the Deuteronomistic History

Israelite Prophecy and the Deuteronomistic History
Author: Mignon R. Jacobs
Publisher: Society of Biblical Lit
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2013-10-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1589837509

This collection of essays examines the relationship of prophecy to the Deuteronomistic History (Deuteronomy–2 Kings), including the historical reality of prophecy that stands behind the text and the portrayal of prophecy within the literature itself. The contributors use a number of perspectives to explore the varieties of intermediation and the cultic setting of prophecy in the ancient Near East; the portrayal of prophecy in pentateuchal traditions, pre-Deuteronomistic sources, and other Near Eastern literature; the diverse perspectives reflected within the Deuteronomistic History; and the possible Persian period setting for the final form of the Deuteronomistic History. Together the collection represents the current state of an important, ongoing discussion. The contributors are Ehud Ben Zvi, Diana Edelman, Mignon R. Jacobs, Mark Leuchter, Martti Nissinen, Mark O’Brien, Raymond F. Person Jr., Thomas C. Römer, Marvin A. Sweeney, and Rannfrid Thelle.

The Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World

The Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World
Author: Victor H. Matthews
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780801048616

Victor Matthews, a veteran teacher and expert on the world of ancient Israel, introduces students to the Hebrew prophets and their social world. Drawing on archaeology and ancient Near Eastern texts, Matthews examines the prophets chronologically, placing them and their message into historical context. He explores pertinent aspects of historical geography, economic conditions, and social forces that influenced a prophet's life and message and explains why prophets served an integral purpose in the development of ancient Israelite religion. He also explores how prophets addressed their audience and employed rhetorical methods, images, and metaphors to communicate effectively. Logically organized, clearly written, and classroom friendly, this book meets the needs of beginning as well as advanced students. It is a substantially revised and expanded edition of the successful text Social World of the Hebrew Prophets.

The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets

The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets
Author: Carolyn Sharp
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 769
Release: 2016-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199859566

The Latter Prophets--Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve--comprise a fascinating collection of prophetic oracles, narratives, and vision reports from ancient Israel and Judah. Spanning centuries and showing evidence of compositional growth and editorial elaboration over time, these prophetic books offer an unparalleled view into the cultural norms, theological convictions, and political disputes of Israelite communities caught in the maelstrom of militarized conflicts with the empires of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. Instructive for scholar and student alike, The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets features wide-ranging discussion of ancient Near Eastern social and cultic contexts; exploration of focused topics such as the persona of the prophet and the problem of violence in prophetic rhetoric; sophisticated historical and literary analysis of key prophetic texts; issues in reception history, from these texts' earliest reinterpretations at Qumran to Christian appropriations in contemporary homiletics; feminist, materialist, and postcolonial readings engaging the insights of influential contemporary theorists; and more. The diversity of interpretive approaches, clarity of presentation, and breadth of expertise represented here will make this Handbook indispensable for research and teaching on the Latter Prophets.

The Prophets

The Prophets
Author: Abraham Joshua Heschel
Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1598561812

The Prophets is widely recognized as a masterpiece of biblical scholarship. Heschel attempts to understand the thoughts, feelings, and impressions of each of the prophets, presenting the reader with a sense of their very being. He effectively achieves a balance between the objective supernatural and the subjective human situation, and presents a unique discussion of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk and their particular challenges and journeys. In the second part of the book, Heschel addresses such subjects as pathos, wrath, sympathy, ecstasy, psychosis, and prophetic and poetic inspiration, and in so doing offers a new contribution to the philosophy of religion. The Prophets is both scholarly and devotional, an indispensable part of an in-depth understanding of the Hebrew Bible.