Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought

Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought

Author: Aaron Koller

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-01-09

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1107048354

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This book situates the book of Esther in the intellectual history of Ancient Judaism and provides a new understanding of its purpose.


Esther and Her Elusive God

Esther and Her Elusive God

Author: John Anthony Dunne

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2014-02-12

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 1620327848

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What if the way the book of Esther has been taught to us in church and retold to us in films, cartoons, and romance novels has missed the original point of the story? Far from being models of piety and devotion, Esther and Mordecai seem indifferent to the faith of their ancestors. How then did this story become part of the Bible and gain the broad acceptance that it has? If the church should not neglect the story, how should it be read? Esther and Her Elusive God calls Christians to avoid the common attempts to make Esther more palatable and theological, and to reclaim this secular story as Scripture. Readers will be encouraged to see in Esther a profound message of God's grace and faithfulness to his wayward people.


Where God Was Born

Where God Was Born

Author: Bruce Feiler

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2005-09-13

Total Pages: 419

ISBN-13: 0060574879

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At a time when America debates its values and the world braces for religious war, Bruce Feiler, author of the New York Times bestsellers Walking the Bible and Abraham, travels ten thousand miles through the heart of the Middle East—Israel, Iraq, and Iran—and examines the question: Is religion tearing us apart ... or can it bring us together? Where God Was Born combines the adventure of a wartime chronicle, the excitement of an archaeological detective story, and the insight of personal spiritual exploration. Taking readers to biblical sites not seen by Westerners for decades, Feiler's journey uncovers little-known details about the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and affirms the importance of the Bible in today's world. In his intimate, accessible style, Feiler invites readers on a never-in-a-lifetime experience: Israel Feiler takes a perilous helicopter dive over Jerusalem, treks through secret underground tunnels, and locates the spot where David toppled Goliath. Iraq After being airlifted into Baghdad, Feiler visits the Garden of Eden and the birthplace of Abraham, and makes a life-threatening trip to the rivers of Babylon. Iran Feiler explores the home of the Bible's first messiah and uncovers the secret burial place of Queen Esther. In Where God Was Born, Feiler discovers that at the birth of Western religion, all faiths drew from one another and were open to coexistence. Feiler's bold realization is that the Bible argues for interfaith harmony. It cannot be ceded to one side in the debate over values. Feiler urges moderates to take back the Bible and use its powerful voice as a beacon of shared ideals. In his most ambitious work to date, Bruce Feiler has written a brave, uplifting story that stirs the deepest chords of our time. Where God Was Born offers a rare, universal vision of God that can inspire different faiths to an allegiance of hope.


Baxter's Explore the Book

Baxter's Explore the Book

Author: J. Sidlow Baxter

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2010-09-21

Total Pages: 1846

ISBN-13: 0310871395

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Explore the Book is not a commentary with verse-by-verse annotations. Neither is it just a series of analyses and outlines. Rather, it is a complete Bible survey course. No one can finish this series of studies and remain unchanged. The reader will receive lifelong benefit and be enriched by these practical and understandable studies. Exposition, commentary, and practical application of the meaning and message of the Bible will be found throughout this giant volume. Bible students without any background in Bible study will find this book of immense help as will those who have spent much time studying the Scriptures, including pastors and teachers. Explore the Book is the result and culmination of a lifetime of dedicated Bible study and exposition on the part of Dr. Baxter. It shows throughout a deep awareness and appreciation of the grand themes of the gospel, as found from the opening book of the Bible through Revelation.


Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible: Esther

Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible: Esther

Author: Sidnie White Crawford

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2019-06-18

Total Pages: 1672

ISBN-13: 1467453633

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This extract from the Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible provides Crawford’s introduction to and concise commentary on Esther. The Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible presents, in nontechnical language, the best of modern scholarship on each book of the Bible, including the Apocrypha. Reader-friendly commentary complements succinct summaries of each section of the text and will be valuable to scholars, students, and general readers. Rather than attempt a verse-by-verse analysis, these volumes work from larger sense units, highlighting the place of each passage within the overarching biblical story. Commentators focus on the genre of each text—parable, prophetic oracle, legal code, and so on—interpreting within the historical and literary context. The volumes also address major issues within each biblical book—including the range of possible interpretations—and refer readers to the best resources for further discussions.


A Reluctant Queen

A Reluctant Queen

Author: Joan Wolf

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: 2011-06-20

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1595549838

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You've read it as a biblical tale of courage. Experience it anew as a heart-stirring love story. She was a simple girl faced with an impossible choice. He was a magnificent king with a lonely heart. Their love was the divine surprise that changed the course of history. The beloved story of Esther springs to fresh life in this inspired novel that vibrates with mystery, intrigue, and romance. "Joan Wolf never fails to deliver the best!" —Nora Roberts


Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible: Judith, Greek Esther, Tobit

Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible: Judith, Greek Esther, Tobit

Author: Gerald West

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2021-04-13

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13: 1467454028

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This extract from the Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible provides West, Jarick, and Grabbe’s introduction to and concise commentary on Judith, Greek Esther, and Tobit. The Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible presents, in nontechnical language, the best of modern scholarship on each book of the Bible, including the Apocrypha. Reader-friendly commentary complements succinct summaries of each section of the text and will be valuable to scholars, students, and general readers. Rather than attempt a verse-by-verse analysis, these volumes work from larger sense units, highlighting the place of each passage within the overarching biblical story. Commentators focus on the genre of each text—parable, prophetic oracle, legal code, and so on—interpreting within the historical and literary context. The volumes also address major issues within each biblical book—including the range of possible interpretations—and refer readers to the best resources for further discussions.


The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha

The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha

Author: Jonathan Klawans

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-09-29

Total Pages: 1010

ISBN-13: 0190262508

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Building on the success of the Jewish Annotated New Testament (JANT) and the Jewish Study Bible (JSB), Oxford University Press now proceeds to complete the trilogy with the Jewish Annotated Apocrypha (JAA). The books of the Apocrypha were virtually all composed by Jewish writers in the Second Temple period. Excluded from the Hebrew Bible, these works were preserved by Christians. Yet no complete, standalone edition of these works has been produced in English with an emphasis on Jewish tradition or with an educated Jewish audience in mind. The JAA meets this need. The JAA differs from prior editions of the Apocrypha in a number of ways. First, as befits a Jewish Annotated Apocrypha, the volume excludes certain texts that are widely agreed to be of Christian origin. Second, it expands the scope of the volume to include Jubilees, an essential text for understanding ancient Judaism, and a book that merits inclusion in the volume by virtue of the fact that it was long considered part of the canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (the text is also revered by Ethiopian Jews). Third, it has restructured the order of the books so that the sequencing follows the logic that governs the order of the books in the Jewish canon (Law, History, Prophecy, Wisdom and Poetry). Using the NRSV translation (plus Jubilees), each book of the Apocrypha is annotated by a recognized expert in the study of ancient Judaism. An Introduction by the editors guides readers though the making of the volume and its contents. Thematic essays by an impressive array of scholars provide helpful contexts, backgrounds and elaborations on key themes.