"A masterpiece of contemporary Bible translation and commentary."—Los Angeles Times Book Review, Best Books of 1999 Acclaimed for its masterful new translation and insightful commentary, The David Story is a fresh, vivid rendition of one of the great works in Western literature. Robert Alter's brilliant translation gives us David, the beautiful, musical hero who slays Goliath and, through his struggles with Saul, advances to the kingship of Israel. But this David is also fully human: an ambitious, calculating man who navigates his life's course with a flawed moral vision. The consequences for him, his family, and his nation are tragic and bloody. Historical personage and full-blooded imagining, David is the creation of a literary artist comparable to the Shakespeare of the history plays.
Prophet Samuel was a child that was got by the heartfelt prayer of his mother; his mother had been barren. In her prayer, she herself had given Samuel back to God even before his conception. She fulfilled her promise of giving God the child. Samuel rose up to become a great prophet and judge of Israel. Samuel was the last judge of Israel, after whom they had kings. And Samuel saw both the good side and bad side of the ministry. When the people obeyed God under his ministry, he was happy and excited. When King Saul despised and disobeyed the Word and Commandment of God, and hence lost the kingdom of Israel, it was a moment of grief for Samuel. In fact, Samuel mourned for Saul.
An insightful untangling of divergent voices and viewpoints found in the story of the last Hebrew judge and first major prophet. Samuel and His God explores the relationship among a prophet, his deity, and their people in 1 Samuel. Marti J. Steussy illumines the vexing elements central to this multifaceted narrative and probes the questions it raises, particularly with regard to the authoritative voice of Samuel, of God as portrayed in this account, of the narrator or narrators, and of the Bible itself. In this sense, Samuel becomes a case study in how the Bible's authors use stories to argue for who may speak for God. In the biblical account, Samuel hears the Lord's calling as a boy, becomes a servant to the priest Eli, and later becomes Eli's successor. As a leader of the people of Israel and a conduit for God's message, Samuel is a figure of immense authority, ultimately anointing the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David, and thus precipitating the transformation of Israel from a collection of tribes into a nation under a monarchy. But in biblical and historical portrayals of Samuel's interactions with his God, their people, and these early kings, the narratives introduce significant discontinuities and disruptions, most famously with respect to the question of whether kingship came to Israel as a sinful human initiative or as a divine gift. Steussy takes up the challenge of helping readers grapple with the possibility that a multitude of storytellers representing disparate agendas may be responsible for aspects of Samuel's tale, and this makes mapping the cumulative story a problematic but revealing task. The relationship between Samuel and God is often contentious, and Samuel is presented as an irascible and ambitious character whose own stakes in his community at times govern how he interprets and represents his relationship to his God. Steussy's close readings negotiate the plethora of viewpoints to be found here—those of the narrator(s), the characters, and other scholars of Samuel's story.
The Old Testament book of 1 Samuel belongs to those books in the Old Testament known as the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings). In the original Hebrew, 1 & 2 Samuel are one book. Samuel the Seer examines this ancient text in which lies the birth of the state of Israel as it exists today
Prophet Samuel was a child that was got by the heartfelt prayer of his mother; his mother had been barren. In her prayer, she herself had given Samuel back to God even before his conception. She fulfilled her promise of giving God the child. Samuel rose up to become a great prophet and judge of Israel. Samuel was the last judge of Israel, after whom they had kings. And Samuel saw both the good side and bad side of the ministry. When the people obeyed God under his ministry, he was happy and excited. When King Saul despised and disobeyed the Word and Commandment of God, and hence lost the kingdom of Israel, it was a moment of grief for Samuel. In fact, Samuel mourned for Saul.
A thorough exegetical and homiletical analysis of each passage of Judges and Ruth This masterly commentary sheds exegetical and theological light on the books of Judges and Ruth for contemporary preachers and students of Scripture. Listening closely to the text while interacting with the best of scholarship, Chisholm shows what the text meant for ancient Israel and what it means for us today. In addition to its perceptive comments on the biblical text, it examines a host of themes such as covenants and the sovereignty of God in Judges, and providence, redemption, lovingkindness, and Christological typology in Ruth. In his introduction to Judges, Chisholm asks and answers some difficult questions: What is the point of Judges? What role did individual judges play? What part did female characters play? Did Judges have a political agenda? Chisholm offers astute guidance to preachers and teachers wanting to do a series on Judges or Ruth by providing insightful exegetical and theological commentary. He offers homiletical trajectories for each passage to show how historical narrative can be presented in the pulpit and classroom.
Readers of the New Testament often encounter quotes or allusions to Old Testament stories and prophecies that are unfamiliar or obscure. In order to fully understand the teachings of Jesus and his followers, it is important to understand the large body of Scripture that preceded and informed their thinking. Leading evangelical scholars G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson have brought together a distinguished team to provide readers with a comprehensive commentary on Old Testament quotations, allusions, and echoes that appear from Matthew through Revelation. College and seminary students, pastors, scholars, and interested lay readers will want to add this unique commentary to their reference libraries. Contributors Craig L. Blomberg (Denver Seminary) on Matthew Rikk E. Watts (Regent College) on Mark David W. Pao (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) and Eckhard J. Schnabel (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) on Luke Andreas J. Köstenberger (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) on John I. Howard Marshall (University of Aberdeen) on Acts Mark A. Seifrid (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) on Romans Roy E. Ciampa (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) and Brian S. Rosner (Moore Theological College) on 1 Corinthians Peter Balla (Károli Gáspár Reformed University, Budapest) on 2 Corinthians Moisés Silva (author of Philippians in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) on Galatians and Philippians Frank S. Thielman (Beeson Divinity School) on Ephesians G. K. Beale (Wheaton College Graduate School) on Colossians Jeffrey A. D. Weima (Calvin Theological Seminary) on 1 and 2 Thessalonians Philip H. Towner (United Bible Societies) on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus George H. Guthrie (Union University) on Hebrews D. A. Carson (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) on the General Epistles G. K. Beale (Wheaton College Graduate School) and Sean M. McDonough (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) on Revelation
