Drought has come to Canaan and Jacob’s sons must travel to Egypt to look for food, including youngest son Benjamin. Their brother Joseph, now governor of the land, wonders if his brothers have changed since the days they sold him into slavery. Would they abandon Benjamin too? Told through the eyes of young Benjamin, the story of Joseph’s test and the dramatic reunion of the brothers will capture the imagination of readers young and old.
From the creation and the tree of knowledge through the Exodus from Egypt and the journey to the promised land; James Kugel shows us how the earliest interpreters of the scriptures radically transformed the Bible.
Retrieves rich historical biblical insights for readers of Genesis today In this latest addition to the Bible in Medieval Tradition series, Joy Schroeder provides substantial excerpts — none previously available in English — from seven noteworthy medieval biblical interpreters who commented on Genesis between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. Representing a chronological and geographical range of authors — including Hildegard of Bingen, Nicholas of Lyra, and Denis the Carthusian — these clear, readable translations illustrate the rich diversity of medieval approaches to biblical interpretation. The commentary covers the entire book of Genesis and includes an in-depth introduction by Schroeder that locates each of the medieval authors within his or her context.
Joy Schroeder here provides substantial excerpts -- most previously unavailable in English -- from seven noteworthy medieval biblical interpreters who commented on Genesis between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries. Representing a chronological and geographical range of authors, these clear, readable translations illustrate the rich diversity of medieval approaches to biblical interpretation. This generous sampler of medieval writings is supplemented by an in-depth introduction that locates each of the medieval authors within his or her context. Covering the entire book of Genesis, this commentary offers modern readers a splendid opportunity to encounter the creative and reverent approaches to Scripture practiced by medieval biblical scholars.
The Bible is fundamental to Western culture. Political philosophers from Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau to modern political theorists such as George H. Sabine, Leo Strauss, and Sheldon S. Wolin have drawn upon biblical examples. American political leaders, such as Thomas Paine, Abraham Lincoln, and William Jennings Bryan all drew heavily upon the Bible. Today, most contemporary politicians display less familiarity with Scripture although many proudly proclaim themselves to be born-again Christians. Politics in the Bible has a simple goal: to help readers to think critically about how the Bible illuminates understanding of justice, leadership, and politics. For a political scientist, there are great advantages to studying the Bible. Students of the Bible have short texts to analyze, but they have a history of two thousand years of Jewish and Christian scholarly discussion. In that tradition, Paul R. Abramson analyzes stories drawn from eighteen of the thirty-nine books of the Hebrew Bible and fifteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. Abramson argues that the Bible is a book that should be read even by those who do not believe it has any transcendent significance. One can choose to read it as the revealed word of God, as a source of Western morality, as a compilation of interesting stories, poetry, and history, or as a work of great literature. Although this book discusses selected stories that have political implications, it also considers parts that have literary merit. This unusual volume may stimulate new thinking about the Bible as a source of insight into political ideas.
A lyrical adaptation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible presents the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses and other primary figures in a continuous narrative that upholds the complexities of the original text.
