Is the Bible pro-gay? Was the world created in billions of years, not seven days? Is the Bible anti-slavery and almost unbelievably protective of children, fetuses and the weakest members of society? In this book, using exact semantic and logical analyses, surprising leniency of the Bible is revealed, using those examples that appear at first blush to be the darkest episodes in the Bible. The incredible twists in meaning are surprising and dramatic. You don't have to know Hebrew to appreci...

"A modern classic....Thrilling and constantly illuminating."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book WorldThrough a distinguished career of critical scholarship and translation, Robert Alter has equipped us to read the Hebrew Bible as a powerful, cohesive work of literature. In this landmark work, Alter's masterly translation and probing commentary combine to give contemporary readers the definitive edition of The Five Books. Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Awar...

One of Newsweek’s Best Books of the Year and winner of the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement.A cornerstone of the scriptural canon, the Book of Psalms has been a source of solace and joy for countless readers over millennia. This timeless poetry is beautifully wrought by a scholar whose translation of the Five Books of Moses was hailed as a “godsend” by Seamus Heaney and a “masterpiece” by Robert Fagles. Alter’s The Book of Psalms captu...

A renowned scholar retraces the steps of ancient biblical interpreters as they struggled to understand the complex and troubling story of Jacob.Rife with incest, adultery, rape, and murder, the biblical story of Jacob and his children must have troubled ancient readers. They were the founders of the nation of Israel. Yet, by any standard, this was a family with problems.Jacob's oldest son Reuben is said to have slept with his father's concubine Bilhah. The ne...

Explore the contemporary significance of the Old Testament and hear the Word of God afreshThis is the second of a three-volume commentary on the Psalms, combining literary, historical, grammatical, and theological insight in a widely accessible manner. One of today's foremost experts on biblical theology, John Goldingay covers Psalms 42-89 with his own translation of each passage, followed by interpretive comments and theological implications.In addition to...

Explore how the roots of the ancient Christian tradition inform and shape faithfulness todayThe Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible enlists leading theologians to read and interpret scripture creedally for the twenty-first century, just as the church fathers, the Reformers, and other orthodox Christians did for their times and places.A rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups, the BTC provides guidance for reading the Bible u...

John Wesley's explanatory notes on the Old Testament were written several years after his notes on the New Testament, and are based on the earlier works of Matthew Henry's 'Exposition of the Old and New Testaments', and Matthew Poole's 'English Annotations on the Holy Bible'. Extracts from both of these works are paraphrased and abridged by Wesley for the Explanatory Notes on the Old Testament, unlike the Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, which were entirely of his own composition.

Torah MiEtzion presents original, insightful essays on the Bible by the rabbis and scholars of Yeshivat Har Etzion, one of today’s most vibrant and influential schools of modern biblical interpretation. Since its founding in Israel in 1968, Yeshivat Har Etzion has emphasized Bible study alongside Talmud study in order to foster what its founder, Rabbi Yehuda Amital z”l, called an “organic understanding” of Torah and Torah philosophy. The result has been the development of a unique, analyti...

John Wesley's explanatory notes on the Old Testament were written several years after his notes on the New Testament, and are based on the earlier works of Matthew Henry's 'Exposition of the Old and New Testaments', and Matthew Poole's 'English Annotations on the Holy Bible'. Extracts from both of these works are paraphrased and abridged by Wesley for the Explanatory Notes on the Old Testament, unlike the Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, which were entirely of his own composition.

A provocative new interpretation of the Adam and Eve story from an expert in Biblical literature.The Garden of Eden story, one of the most famous narratives in Western history, is typically read as an ancient account of original sin and humanity's fall from divine grace. In this highly innovative study, Ziony Zevit argues that this is not how ancient Israelites understood the early biblical text. Drawing on such diverse disciplines as biblical studies, geography, a...

Torah MiEtzion presents original, insightful essays on the Bible by the rabbis of Yeshivat Har Etzion, one of today's most vibrant and influential schools of modern biblical interpretation. Since its founding in Israel in 1968, Yeshivat Har Etzion has emphasized Bible study alongside Talmud study in order to foster what its founder, Rabbi Yehuda Amital z"l, called an "organic understanding" of Torah and Torah philosophy. The result has been the development of a unique, analytically rigorou...

Torah MiEtzion presents original, insightful essays on the Bible by the rabbis of Yeshivat Har Etzion, one of today’s most vibrant and influential schools of modern biblical interpretation. Since its founding in Israel in 1968, Yeshivat Har Etzion has emphasized Bible study alongside Talmud study in order to foster what its founder, Rabbi Yehuda Amital z”l, called an “organic understanding” of Torah and Torah philosophy. The result has been the development of a unique, analytically rigorou...