Designed to get students to read the Bible for themselves, this introduction to and overview of the Old Testament draws on the most recent research on the Hebrew scriptures to outline the historical, social, and cultural contexts out of which the biblical texts were produced.--From publisher description.

This new edition of a bestselling evangelical survey of the Old Testament (over 180,000 copies sold) has been thoroughly updated and features a beautiful new interior design. It is lavishly illustrated with four-color images, maps, and charts and retains the pedagogical features that have made the book so popular: · chapter outlines, objectives, and summaries · study questions · sidebars featuring primary source material, ethical and theological issues, and contemporary applications · lists of key terms, people, and places · further reading recommendations · endnotes and indexes The book is supplemented by web-based resources through Baker Academic's Textbook eSources, offering course help for professors and study aids for students.

Music was integral to the daily life of ancient Israel. It accompanied activities as diverse as manual labor and royal processionals. At key junctures and in core institutions, musical tones were used to deliver messages, convey emotions, strengthen communal bonds and establish human-divine contact. This book explores the intricate and multifaceted nature of biblical music through a detailed look into four major episodes and genres: the Song of the Sea (Exod. 15), King Saul and David's harp (1 Sam. 16), the use of music in prophecy, and the Book of Psalms. This investigation demonstrates how music helped shape and define the self-identity of ancient Israel.

The Bible includes any number of "tyrannical texts" that have proved to be profoundly oppressive in the lives of many people. Among them are Pauline texts that have circumscribed the lives and ministries of women throughout Christian history. What are people who honor Scripture to do with such texts, and what does it mean to speak of biblical authority in their presence? In Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts, Frances Taylor Gench provides strategies for engaging such texts with integrity- that is, without dismissing them, whitewashing them, or acquiescing to them-and as potential sources of edification for the church. Gench also facilitates reflection on the nature and authority of Scripture. Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts provides access to feminist scholarship that can inform preaching and teaching of problematic Pauline texts and encourages public engagement with them.

The book of Ecclesiastes speaks eloquently to the uncertainties and anxieties that people have experienced through the centuries. James Limburg brings this ancient book to life for readers in our probing, questioning twenty-first-century times. He illuminates the contemporary existential themes in Ecclesiastes -- the quest for meaning in life, the incompleteness of our knowledge, the place of work in human lives, and the need to discover God amid life's uncertainties. A fresh, relevant discussion, arising from Limburg's extensive teaching experience, Encountering Ecclesiastes is ideal for any reader seeking to understand the timeless wisdom of Ecclesiastes.

Concise and accessible, this one-volume edition of the New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament draws together the individual contributions to the Old Testament series and offers them to readers in a convenient and attractive format. Written by an array of respected scholars, the individual commentaries collected here bring expert insight into the Old Testament to Bible study participants, teachers, students, preachers, and all readers of Scripture. A first-rate, reliable resource for Bible study and reflection, the New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament answers the Second Vatican Council’s call to make access to Scripture “open wide to the Christian faithful.”