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“Despite his special pastoral relationship with the church in Corinth, Paul confronted numerous local and cultural problems needing to be addressed. Utilizing a range of ancient sources, Craig Keener explains these problems and how Paul’s arguments would have been communicated to a first-century audience. This commentary analyzes 1 and 2 Corinthians passage by passage, in accordance with Paul’s argument, and draws from ancient letter-writing, speaking and social conventions to demonstrate how meaningful to first-century readers it would have been. The commentary will interest pastors, teachers, and scholars because of its exploration of ancient sources, often not previously cited in commentaries.” – CUP

“he first volume of Victor P. Hamilton’s two-volume study of Genesis in the NICOT series, this commentary contributes a solid, thorough explication of the wealth and depth of material embedded in Scripture’s foundational book. Hamilton’s substantive introduction—which serves both this volume and the one covering chapters 18–50—discusses the structure of Genesis, its composition, its theology, the problems involved in its interpretation, its canonicity, and the Hebrew text itself. The commentary proper, based on Hamilton’s own translation, evidences his extensive knowledge of the ancient Near East and of contemporary scholarship, including literary, form, and text criticism. Siding with the arguments in favor of the literary and theological unity of the Genesis text, Hamilton stresses the main theme running throughout the book—God’s gracious promise of blessing and reconciliation in the face of evil and sin. A unique feature of this book is Hamilton’s emphasis on the reading of Genesis by the New Testament community. Following his commentary on each section of Genesis, he discusses where and how the New Testament appropriated material from that section and incorporated it into the message of the New Covenant.” – Logos

“Ecclesiastes is one of the most fascinating — and hauntingly familiar — books of the Old Testament. The sentiments of the main speaker of the book, a person given the name Qohelet, sound incredibly modern. Expressing the uncertainty and anxieties of our own age, he is driven by the question, “Where can we find meaning in the world?” But while Qohelet’s question resonates with readers today, his answer is shocking. “Meaningless,” says Qohelet, “everything is meaningless.” How does this pessimistic perspective fit into the rest of biblical revelation? In this commentary Tremper Longman III addresses this question by taking a canonical-Christocentric approach to the meaning of Ecclesiastes. Longman first provides an extensive introduction to Ecclesiastes, exploring such background matters as authorship, language, genre, structure, literary style, and the book’s theological message. He argues that the author of Ecclesiastes is not Solomon, as has been traditionally thought, but a writer who adopts a Solomonic persona. In the verse-by-verse commentary that follows, Longman helps clarify the confusing, sometimes contradictory message of Ecclesiastes by showing that the book should be divided into three sections — a prologue (1:1-11), Qohelet’s autobiographical speech (1:12-12:7), and an epilogue (12:8-14) — and that the frame narrative provided by prologue and epilogue is the key to understanding the message of the book as a whole.” Eerdmans

“Over twenty-five years in the making, this much-anticipated commentary promises to be the standard study of Proverbs for years to come. Written by eminent Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke, this two-volume commentary is unquestionably the most comprehensive work on Proverbs available. Grounded in the new literary criticism that has so strengthened biblical interpretation of late, Waltke’s commentary on Proverbs demonstrates the profound, ongoing relevance of this Old Testament book for Christian faith and life. A thorough introduction addresses such issues as text and versions, structure, authorship, and theology. The detailed commentary itself explains and elucidates Proverbs as “theological literature.” Waltke’s highly readable style — evident even in his original translation of the Hebrew text — makes his scholarly work accessible to teachers, pastors, Bible students, and general readers alike.” – Eerdmans

“This critical commentary is from the evangelical slant, meticulous at every point. . . Mounce…provides multiple interpretations of the text of Revelation. Yet he also carefully steers a middle course between wooden literalism and undomesticated subjectivism. These features give features of widely divergent theological stances room to move effectively within the commentary. . . For pastors and preachers in search of a solid critical commentary on Revelation, this one is worth the money and time spent on it.” – The Clergy Journal

“This commentary by Pieter A. Verhoef offers a thorough exegesis and exposition of Haggai and Malachi — two important books of Scripture that, unfortunately, are little studied — and stresses the relevance of these prophets’ messages in terms of continuity and discontinuity for the Christian church. Verhoef’s introduction to each book elucidates questions of authorship, style, text, structure, historical background, and message. Making extensive use of structural analysis, Verhoef argues convincingly for the authenticity, unity, and integrity of both books. Verhoef also brings his knowledge of the ancient Near East, the Old Testament, and biblical scholarship to bear in the commentary proper, and he displays theological acumen and pastoral sensitivity in tailoring his exposition for the student and pastor as well as for the scholar.” – Eerdmans

“In the introduction to this work, Oswalt considers Isaiah’s background, unity of composition, date and authorship, canonicity, Hebrew text, theology, and problems of interpretation, and he offers a select bibliography for further research. Oswalt also provides substantial discussions of several issues crucial to the book of Isaiah. He notes, for example, that scholars often divide Isaiah into three divisions, with chapters 1–39 addressing Isaiah’s contemporaries in the eighth century B.C., chapters 40–55 presupposing the exile of the sixth century, and chapters 56–66 presupposing the eventual return from exile. While taking this scholarship into account Oswalt defends the unity of the prophetic book and argues convincingly that the whole book can be attributed to the Isaiah of the eighth century. The commentary proper, based on Oswalt’s own translation of the Hebrew text, provides pastors, scholars, and students with a lucid interpretation of the book of Isaiah in its ancient context as well as an exposition of its message for today.” – Baker Academic

“This long-anticipated work completes John Oswalt’s two-volume commentary on the book of Isaiah. After opening with a valuable discussion on the state of Isaiah studies today, Oswalt provides an insightful verse-by-verse explanation of Isaiah 40-66, giving special attention to the message of the prophet not only for his own time but also for modern readers.” – Eerdmans

“The Old Testament prophets played a crucial role in the history of Israel. Although there were many prophets who brought the message of God to his people, we have records of only a few. Of these, our knowledge of Jeremiah is probably the most complete. In this commentary, J. A. Thompson examines the book of Jeremiah with its message urging the people of Israel to be true to their covenant Lord and to live in conformity with his covenant requirements. Thompson begins his study by looking at the role of the prophets in Israel, and Jeremiah’s place among them. He then discusses the historical setting of Jeremiah’s message. From this background, Thompson moves to an examination of the book of Jeremiah itself, focusing on its structure and composition before considering some important issues for exegesis—the date of Jeremiah’s call, the significance of the symbolic actions he used, and the relationship between Jeremiah and Hosea. Lastly, Thompson examines the text and poetic forms of Jeremiah.” – Logos

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