This Old Testament commentary series delves into Scripture with scholarly rigor while remaining accessible to a broad audience. Each volume meticulously examines the historical, theological, and literary dimensions of its designated book. The series bridges the gap between ancient texts and contemporary readers, highlighting enduring relevance. It serves as an invaluable resource for preachers, students, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the Old Testament.
"Introducing students to the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, Ernest Lucas examines the book's structure and characteristics. He covers the latest in biblical scholarship, including historical and interpretive issues, and considers a range of scholarly approaches. In particular, the guide focuses on illuminating the book's relationship to both the tradition of Hebrew prophecy and the later development of Jewish apocalyptic literature"--
In this commentary Gordon McConville offers a theological interpretation of the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy in the context of the biblical canon. He gives due attention to historical issues where these bear on what can be known about the settings in which the text emerged. His dominant method is one that approaches Deutoronomy as a finished work.
This commentary offers in-depth analysis and insights into the Old Testament, enhancing understanding of its themes, historical context, and theological significance. It provides valuable interpretations that engage both scholars and lay readers, making it a comprehensive resource for studying the text.
On the surface, the book of Ruth tells the tale of an unlikely marriage between a destitute Moabite widow and an upstanding citizen of a Judean village. The deeper import of the story, however, has to do with the internal boundaries that define the people of God. Is Israel a closed community, held together exclusively by bonds of kinship, or a nation that welcomes faithful outsiders into its sphere of belonging? Ruth appropriates marriage as the symbolic vehicle of a transformation in Israel's self-understanding - from a community articulated by Naomi's declaration that her daughters-in-law marry within their own people, to the acclamations by the people of Bethlehem that endorse Boaz's marriage to a Moabite. L. Daniel Hawk undertakes a detailed narrative analysis of Ruth that goes beyond the description of its content and stylistic features to illumine its deep structure and use of metaphor. Informed by contemporary studies on ethnicity, he discovers a work of remarkable sophistication that employs a story of intermarriage to address opposing ideas of Israelite identity. Hawk's meticulous attention to patterned structures, stylistic devices and characterization reveals the strategy by which the narrator constructs a vision of Israel that looks beyond rigid internal boundaries to the welcome of faithful foreigners as agents of blessing.