Tanakh English

This book has become a standard text in seminary and university classrooms. The purpose of this second edition is to help listeners come to a critically informed understanding of the Old Testament as the church's scripture. This book introduces the Old Testament both as a witness of ancient Israel and as a witness to the church and synagogue through the generations of those who have passed these texts on as scripture.

Though Christians affirm that the Old Testament bears witness to Christ, how the Old Testament writers did this is a matter of extensive debate. Furthermore, Christian biblical scholars also debate the degree to which contemporary interpreters of the Bible can follow the hermeneutics of the New Testament authors in using the Old Testament to point to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Five Views on Christ in the Old Testament is the first book to bring together in conversation the major views on how the Old Testament points to Christ.

With sound scholarship and her own vivid translations from the Hebrew, Old Testament professor Ellen F. Davis teaches us a spiritually engaged method of listening to scripture. In her reflections on the psalms, the stories of the patriarchs, and the books of pastoral wisdom, Davis helps us cultivate those habits of the heart that lead to a rich relationship with God.

Good Book is what happens when a regular guy actually reads the book on which his religion, his culture, and his world are based. Along the way, he grapples with the most profound theological questions: Does God prefer obedience or good deeds? And the most unexpected ones: Why are so many women in the Bible prostitutes? Why does God love bald men so much? Is Samson really that stupid? Good Book is an irreverent, enthralling journey through the world's most important work of literature.

Can the Bible be approached both as sacred scripture and as a historical and literary text? For many people, it must be one or the other. How can we read the Bible both ways? The Bible and the Believer brings together three distinguished biblical scholars--one Jewish, one Catholic, and one Protestant--to illustrate how to read the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament critically and religiously.

Does the Tanakh (the “Old Testament”) teach the divinity of the Messiah (the Christ)? The answer is “yes!” and this book will show how. The development of the Messiah theme in the Tanakh is a subtle progressive revelation, but there is nevertheless plenty there to demonstrate that a great king will one day come who will reconcile Jews and Gentiles back to God and will rule the earth as not only the son of David but also as the Son of God. To our natural minds, this seems impossible: the infinite God coming to us as a finite man; “but with God all things are possible.”

Brennan W. Breed claims that biblical interpretation should focus on the shifting capacities of the text, viewing it as a dynamic process rather than a static product. Rather than seeking to determine the original text and its meaning, Breed proposes that scholars approach the production, transmission, and interpretation of the biblical text as interwoven elements of its overarching reception history.

The goal of this book is not to convert individuals to any specific religion, but to open up our understanding of how to hear God’s voice for ourselves within whatever group we live in. Think of it like this: each of us has been given a piece of paper. None of us has a whole piece of paper because there is no way we could totally understand Him. So, each of us is missing parts of the paper: some more than others.

Witnessing the burning bush. Crossing the Red Sea. Collecting manna in the wilderness. Surviving the fiery furnace. Each miracle reminds us that the Old Testament is applicable in our lives today. Take an in-depth look at the divine acts the Lord and his prophets performed.

The ever memorable events and transactions recorded in Scripture are with many others of the most interesting nature, comprehended in the Book of Jasher; and they are all arrayed in that style of simple, unadorned majesty and precision, which so peculiarly distinguishes the genius of the Hebrew language. The book of Jasher is a venerable monument of antiquity.

The God of the Old Testament commanded and endorsed many practices that we find morally reprehensible today. High on the list was the institution of slavery, which features prominently in several sections of the Hebrew Bible. Fathers could sell their daughters into slavery, masters could beat their slaves, creditors could carry off children for failure to repay a debt, and foreigners could be kept for life, passed down as inherited property. How are we to make sense of all of this from our modern point of view?

God did not curse Eve or limit women in any way. Sadly, modern translations of Genesis 3:16 make it look like God did both. God didn't curse Adam either, but God did speak to him in a way exactly parallel to the other rebel in the Garden of Eden, the serpent-tempter. And two curses were imposed by God because of them.

The God of the Old Testament commanded and endorsed many practices that we find morally reprehensible today. High on the list was the institution of slavery, which features prominently in several sections of the Hebrew Bible. Fathers could sell their daughters into slavery; masters could beat their slaves; creditors could carry off children for failure to repay a debt; and foreigners could be kept for life, passed down as inherited property. How are we to make sense of all of this from our modern point of view?

A multitude of Biblical stories have been censored, mistranslated, ignored, and even banned by religious authorities due to their erotic, violent, or mysterious content. Here, Jonathan Kirsch recounts some of the most startling and explicit writings from the Old Testament.

Also: The Old Testament: An Introduction, Part 1 and Part 2

During its 2,500-year life, the book of Genesis has been the keystone to almost every important claim about reality, humanity, and God in Judaism and Christianity. And it continues to play a central role in debates about science, politics, and human rights. With clarity and skill, acclaimed biblical scholar Ronald Hendel provides a panoramic history of this iconic book, exploring its impact on Western religion, philosophy, science, politics, literature, and more.

While arguing with the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; . . .” In this book we will examine the Tanakh in order to assess the validity of Jesus’ claim. Hesed Volume One is the first book in a four volume series written for Jewish people who want to know the truth about Jesus.

Marijuana in the Bible: Cannabis in the Tanakh, Divine Mathematics and the Cure for Cancer delves into the historical, linguistic, and spiritual contexts of cannabis in the Hebrew Bible, offering a fresh perspective on a plant that has been both venerated and vilified throughout history. The book provides compelling evidence and scholarly interpretations that suggest cannabis was a significant component in the sacred anointing oil and other holy applications.

Was God being ironic in commanding Eve not to eat fruit from the tree of wisdom? Carolyn J. Sharp suggests that many stories in the Hebrew Scriptures may be ironically intended. Deftly interweaving literary theory and exegesis, Sharp illumines the power of the unspoken in a wide variety of texts from the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Writings. She argues that reading with irony in mind creates a charged and open rhetorical space in the texts.

“I didn’t think he’d do it. I really didn’t think he would. I thought he’d say, whoa, hold on, wait a minute. We made a deal, remember, the land, the blessing, the nation, the descendants as numerous as the sands on the shore and the stars in the sky.” So begins James Goodman’s original and urgent encounter with one of the most compelling and resonant stories ever told - God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Some people believe questioning the Bible, the direction God is going, or even God himself, is blasphemy. Some think it’s a sign of disbelief. Daniel Thornton is one such man. He believes his son, Rusty Thornton, is lost without God and takes him to a faraway place in the early 1950s near Spicewood, Texas, where he would never come in contact with people. He has an old King James Version of the Bible and began to try and cure his son’s affliction of skepticism.