Showing titles in Commentaries

“Torah”, the Hebrew word for instruction or law, is the collective name for the first five Books of the Tanakh, or Jewish Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. They first appeared widely in written form among English-speaking Christians with the Geneva Bibles of the 16th century. This 21st century modernization of that text is called the Revised Geneva Translation. It is intended to make the Received Text as actionable as possible to a modern audience.

In Commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther expounds Paul's epistle with an insight, power, and depth of emotion which is sorely lacking in modern commentaries. From the very first minute of this book, Luther cuts to the heart of the epistle - the doctrine of justification - in the way that only he can. His bold words and plain-sense interpretations result in a work filled with much of the same force and passion that characterized the epistle itself.

In How to Read the Bible, Harvard professor James Kugel leads the listener chapter by chapter through the "quiet revolution" of recent biblical scholarship, showing time and again how radically the interpretations of today''s researchers differ from what people have always thought.

Of all things Catholic, there is nothing that is so familiar as the Mass. With its unchanging prayers, the Mass fits Catholics like their favorite clothes. Yet most Catholics sitting in the pews on Sundays fail to see the powerful supernatural drama that enfolds them. Pope John Paul II described the Mass as "Heaven on Earth," explaining that what "we celebrate on Earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy."

The disciplines of theology and biblical studies should serve each other, and they should serve both the church and the academy together. But the relationship between them is often marked by misunderstandings, methodological differences, and cross-discipline tension. Theologian Hans Boersma here highlights five things he wishes biblical scholars knew about theology. In a companion volume, biblical scholar Scot McKnight reflects on five things he wishes theologians knew about biblical studies.

As James Montgomery Boice points out, no book in the Bible is so filled with joy as Philippians. Even though Paul faced possible execution for his faith, he managed to remain joyful in the midst of terrible circumstances. Beyond providing encouragement, Philippians also contains a wealth of great themes. As Boice explains, it covers most of the major doctrines of the Christian faith and is at the same time extremely practical.

'Why is it better for me to forgive someone and take on the cost of that forgiveness myself?' In his new audiobook, renowned pastor and author Timothy Keller grapples with this thorny question: why we should forgive those who hurt us. It is the heart of the gospel, but it's not solely important on a religious level; the matter of forgiveness has a huge impact on social and cultural levels, in terms of how we deal with the people, and problems, in our lives.

Those who experience the Bible as a living text understand that Scripture possesses a life and power all its own. Written by human hands, texts become sacred when they resonate with ultimate truths encountered in the direst of human circumstances. Paul Nadim Tarazi’s The Rise of Scripture offers a cogent argument for the particulars of how it is the Bible as we have it became Scripture.

The image of the Golden Calf haunts the commentaries that thread through Leviticus. This catastrophic episode, in which the Israelites (freed from Egyptian slavery and forty days after their momentous encounter with God at Mount Sinai) worship a pagan idol while Moses is receiving the Torah from God on the mountaintop, gives the mostly legalistic text a unique depth and resonance. According to midrashic tradition, the post-traumatic effects of the sin of the Golden Calf linger through the generations, the sin to be “paid off” in small increments through time.

In The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church, Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949), Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, describes the Messianic work of Jesus as the realization of Old Testament revelation. Vos says the kingdom of God was inaugurated by the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, but that it awaits consummation at the end of the world. Vos concludes that religion alone can act as the supreme unifying factor in the life of man, leading it to its final goal in the service of God.

This book makes a strong biblical case for the loving character of a God who treats His creation in a recognizably good way; a God who does not arbitrarily play favorites or show biased partiality; a God who makes Himself known in a clear and believable way; a God who is not most glorified at the expense of His creation, but at the expense of Himself for the sake of His creation; a God who demonstrates His love by providing the means of salvation for every individual. This book will address questions such as: What about those who never hear about Jesus? How can we say God is good when he ...

This book is an insider's critique of the evangelicals' misuse of the Bible. By revealing evangelical distortions of the Bible, this book seeks to restore the dignity of the Christian faith and to renew public interest in Jesus, while calling evangelicals back to his teaching.

Picking up where Bible expert Bart Ehrman's New York Times best seller, Misquoting Jesus, left off, Jesus, Interrupted addresses the larger issue of what the New Testament actually teaches...and it's not what most people think. This is the book that pastors, educators, and anyone interested in the Bible have been waiting for, a clear and compelling account of the central challenges we face when attempting to reconstruct the life and message of Jesus.

Elaine Pagels explores the surprising history of the most controversial book of the Bible. In the waning days of the Roman Empire, militant Jews in Jerusalem had waged anall-out war against Rome’s occupation of Judea, and their defeat resulted in the desecration of the Great Temple in Jerusalem. In the aftermath of that war, John of Patmos, a Jewish prophet and follower of Jesus, wrote the Book of Revelation, prophesying God’s judgment on the pagan empire that devastated and dominated his people.

This letter is one of the two greatest theological treatises of the New Testament. It is the ''Leviticus'' of the New Testament, detailing how the Lord Jesus Christ is both the fulfillment and the successor to all that had gone on before. This study will contrast conditional promises of the past with unconditional promises of the New Covenant: exchanging the shadows for substance. The Calvinist and Arminian viewpoints will be explored.

In this concise, engaging book, noted New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson takes listeners on a journey back to the time of the early Roman Empire, when the New Testament was written in ordinary Greek (koine) by the first Christians. The author explains how the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and Revelation evolved into the canon of sacred writings for the Christian religion, and how they reflect a reinterpretation of the symbolic world and societal forces of first-century Greco-Roman and Jewish life.

The theologian Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) examines each chapter in The Book of Daniel and its meaning. It includes a chapter on the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s interpretation of it. Published in 1918, the book prophesied the re-establishment of the State of Israel.

The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known parables in the Bible. It is also the most misunderstood. Many people, even those who are nonreligious, are familiar with Jonah: A rebellious prophet who defies God and is swallowed by a whale. But there's much more to Jonah's story than most of us realize. In The Prodigal Prophet, pastor and New York Times best-selling author Timothy Keller reveals the hidden depths within the book of Jonah. Keller makes the case that Jonah was one of the worst prophets in the entire Bible.

The Epistle of James is one of the most challenging letters in the New Testament. Written by the half-brother of Jesus, the Apostle James pulls no punches as he encouraged the believer to practice what he preaches. James writes with gut-level reality, and here’s why: while many of the New Testament epistles deliver what we are to believe, James declares how we should behave. In this practical volume, Stephen expounds on the truths of James and clarifies the theme of this powerful letter: our faith must be lived out!

Romans is more than a collection of proof texts for Reformed theology. It is an exposition of God's plan to take back the world. In this new commentary, Douglas Wilson tackles Paul's meaty letter passage by passage, explaining Paul's central message: Jesus’s death and resurrection have transformed the world. God has brought an end to the old covenant and ushered in a new covenant, joining Jews and Gentiles in one new people.