"A masterpiece of contemporary Bible translation and commentary."—Los Angeles Times Book Review, Best Books of 1999 Acclaimed for its masterful new translation and insightful commentary, The David Story is a fresh, vivid rendition of one of the great works in Western literature. Robert Alter's brilliant translation gives us David, the beautiful, musical hero who slays Goliath and, through his struggles with Saul, advances to the kingship of Israel. But this David is also fully human: an ambitious, calculating man who navigates his life's course with a flawed moral vision. The consequences for him, his family, and his nation are tragic and bloody. Historical personage and full-blooded imagining, David is the creation of a literary artist comparable to the Shakespeare of the history plays.

In an increasingly skeptical world, there is now more of a need than ever for quality apologetic resources defending the Christian faith. The purpose of this journal is to bridge the gap between the academy and the church, equipping pastors and interested laypeople to present the Christian faith to an unbelieving world.

This book facilitates the study of the historical books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles in the Hebrew bible. It illustrates how the Chronicler refashioned many texts in Samuel-Kings and also incorporated texts and details from other biblical translations of these books such as the Psalms and Isaiah. Since many biblical translation of these books have not focused on the issue of parallels, this book features a fresh translation based on the principle of synoptic parallels.

Students of the Old Testament have long recognized that in the two histories of the Hebrew monarchies, Samuel/Kings and Chronicles, a literary relationship exists which is akin to that of the Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament. That is, more than one extended narrative have come down to us from antiquity, each of which exhibits distinctive characteristics, while at the same time demonstrating a more than casual relationship with the other(s). Unlike their colleagues in Synoptic Gospel studies, however, students of Samuel/Kings and Chronicles have not had easy access to English-language harmonies in which the principal texts are laid side-by-side in such a manner that comparison is facilitated not just of large blocks of text, but of individual words and phrases as well. . . . The text is that of the Revised Standard Version, Samuel/Kings in the left column, Chronicles in the right (except where noted). At all times, however, the standard of reference has remained the Masoretic Text, and occasionally I have ventured to introduce minor adjustments to the RSV text in order more accurately to demonstrate the relationship betwween the received Hebrew text of our sources. --from the Foreword

This latest volume in the Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) series offers biblical commentary from numerous Reformation-era theologians, pastors, and preachers from a variety of theological traditions—Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Radical, and Roman Catholic—on six Old Testament books: 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, and 1-2 Chronicles.

Chronicles the ancient history of Israel and its prophets, from Samson to Elijah.