This clear and readable introduction provides guidance on the history and theology of the book of Isaiah.

Bryan E. Beyer follows previous bestselling texts with this comprehensive introduction to the book of Isaiah. Here is a survey with depth, presenting the prophet's overarching themes and sweeping issues while including copious details that round out a study of the man and his work. Chapters begin with outlines and objectives that allow easy entry into the discussion and end with conclusions and study questions that aid comprehension and recall. Informative sidebars delve further into the language, theological connections, and controversies of Isaiah. This volume is useful to any serious student of the Bible.

Written by eleven biblical scholars, this study explores the theology of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 and answers a number of imporant questions: What is a Christian interpretation of Isaiah 53? What is a Jewish interpretation of Isaiah 53? How did the New Testament writers understand Isaiah 53? How should forgiveness and salvation be understood in Isaiah 53? How can Isaiah 53 be used in Jewish evangelism? How do we preach Isaiah 53?

Although the Book of Hebrews "is not exactly what most of us would regard as a user-friendly book," notes Donald Hagner, "Hebrews has always been popular among Christians." Encountering the Book of Hebrews was written to help students more fully appreciate the complexities of this favorite section of Scripture. Hagner begins by exploring introductory issues (e.g., historical backgrounds, author, audience, date, purpose, structure, genre) and overarching themes (e.g., heavenly archetypes and earthly copies, the use of the Old Testament, the attitude toward Judaism). The heart of the book then offers a chapter-by-chapter exposition of Hebrews. Unlike commentaries, it does not try to be exhaustive--examining all details and answering all questions--but instead guides students to the issues that are most important for their study of this difficult book. Hagner concludes with a final look at the contribution of Hebrews to the New Testament, New Testament theology, the church, and the individual Christian. As with other volumes in the Encountering Biblical Studies series, Encountering the Book of Hebrews is designed for classroom use and includes a number of helpful features, including further-reading sections, key terms, chapter objectives, and outlines along with numerous sidebars and illustrations.

The book of Isaiah has nourished the church throughout the centuries. However, its massive size can be intimidating; its historical setting can seem distant, opaque, varied; its organization and composition can seem disjointed and fragmented; its abundance of terse, poetic language can make its message seem veiled—and where are those explicit prophecies about Christ? These are typical experiences for many who try to read, let alone teach or preach, through Isaiah. Andrew Abernethy's conviction is that thematic points of reference can be of great help in encountering Isaiah and its rich theological message. In view of what the structure of the book of Isaiah aims to emphasize, this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume employs the concept of "kingdom" as an entry point for organizing the book's major themes. In many respects, Isaiah provides a people living amidst imperial contexts with a theological interpretation of them in the light of YHWH's past, present and future sovereign reign. Four features of "kingdom" frame Abernethy's study: God, the King; the lead agents of the King; the realm of the kingdom and the people of the King. While his primary aim is to show how "kingdom" is fundamental to Isaiah when understood within its Old Testament context, interspersed canonical reflections assist those who are wrestling with how to read Isaiah as Christian Scripture in and for the church. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

A user-friendly guide to the study and interpretation of the Psalms.

One of the major flashpoints in academic biblical studies in the past 125 years has centered on the authorship and dating of the book of Isaiah. Beginning in the late 1800s, some scholars suggested that this book may have been written by multiple people over a period of centuries, a view that contrasts with the traditional one that the entire book of Isaiah was written in the eighth century BC by the Judean prophet Isaiah ben Amoz. Because for many conservative scholars the latter position is the only one that respects the divine inspiration of the text, and because they also believe that this position is endorsed by Jesus in the New Testament, the differing conclusions of mainstream and conservative scholars regarding the authorship and dating of the book of Isaiah have long served to divide these groups. Bind Up the Testimony--a collection of essays from a colloquium held at Wheaton College in 2013--brings together a variety of evangelical responses to this issue. Although a few of the essays arrive at conservative conclusions regarding the authorship and dating of the book of Isaiah, most of them attempt to chart new, more nuanced directions for thinking on this subject, and suggest that careful attention to the (complicated) compositional history of the book of Isaiah need not be a hindrance--and can, in fact, be a help--to Christians who understand the book of Isaiah as divinely inspired Scripture that has spoken to God's people throughout the ages and that continues to speak to them today.