The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.
These essays are written in honour of John D.W. Watts, formerly Professor of Old Testament at Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky and Old Testament editor of the Word Biblical Commentary, well known for his contributions, especially to scholarship on the prophetic books. Accordingly, the essays here address the literary, redactional and canonical questions posed by the Hebrew Bible's prophetic literature. The prophetic books have defied easy classification according to genre or facile explanation of their historical development. With a special focus on the books of Isaiah and of the Twelve Prophets, the nature and formation of prophecy as literature is probed from a variety of methodological standpoints, including textual criticism, synchronic literary analysis, tradition history and redaction criticism.
A Concise Guide to Reading the Prophetic Books The Prophetic Books of the Bible are full of symbolic speeches, dramatic metaphors, and lengthy allegories—a unique blend of literary styles that can make them hard to comprehend. How can we know if we are reading them the way God intended them to be read? In this accessible guide, leading Old Testament scholar Peter Gentry identifies seven common characteristics of prophetic literature in the Bible that help us understand each book's message. With illustrations and clear examples, Gentry offers guidance for reading these challenging texts—teaching us practical strategies for deeper engagement with the biblical text as we seek to apply God's Word to our lives today.
This unique introduction to the Prophetic books provides a comprehensive examination of one of the most important, and misunderstood genres of the Hebrew Bible. It examines the nature and purpose of prophetic literature, as well as providing an in-depth account of the origins and development of each individual book. The book begins by placing the prophets in their historical context and introducing the idea of a prophetic book. A series of chronological chapters focus on each prophetic book examining its literary structure, authorship, and the editorial processes that produced each book. Readers are also introduced to the most recent scholarly research into the formation of prophetic books and the ongoing task of the scribes in updating previous works to meet new situations. The Prophetic Literature offers rich and rewarding insights into a series of prophetic works whose profound influences and inspirational wisdom have endured to the present day.
The Latter Prophets--Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve--comprise a fascinating collection of prophetic oracles, narratives, and vision reports from ancient Israel and Judah. Spanning centuries and showing evidence of compositional growth and editorial elaboration over time, these prophetic books offer an unparalleled view into the cultural norms, theological convictions, and political disputes of Israelite communities caught in the maelstrom of militarized conflicts with the empires of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. Instructive for scholar and student alike, The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets features wide-ranging discussion of ancient Near Eastern social and cultic contexts; exploration of focused topics such as the persona of the prophet and the problem of violence in prophetic rhetoric; sophisticated historical and literary analysis of key prophetic texts; issues in reception history, from these texts' earliest reinterpretations at Qumran to Christian appropriations in contemporary homiletics; feminist, materialist, and postcolonial readings engaging the insights of influential contemporary theorists; and more. The diversity of interpretive approaches, clarity of presentation, and breadth of expertise represented here will make this Handbook indispensable for research and teaching on the Latter Prophets.
The poetic books of the Old Testament--Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon--are often called humankind's reach toward God. The other books of the Old Testament picture God's reach toward man through the redemptive story. Yet these five books reveal the very hear of men and women struggling with monumental issues such as suffering, sin, forgiveness, joy, worship, and the passionate love between a man and woman. C. Hassell Bullock, a noted Old Testament scholar, delves deep into the hearts of the five poetic books, offering readers helpful details such as harmeneutical considerations for each book, theological content and themes, detailed analysis of each book, and cultural perspectives. Hebrew is a language of "intrinsic musical quality that naturally supports poetic expression," says Bullock in his introduction. That poetic expression comes from the heart of the Old Testament writers and reaches all of us exactly where we are in our own struggles and joys.
The definitive source for how to write and publish in the field of biblical studies The long-awaited second edition of the essential style manual for writing and publishing in biblical studies and related fields includes key style changes, updated and expanded abbreviation and spelling-sample lists, a list of archaeological site names, material on qur’anic sources, detailed information on citing electronic sources, and expanded guidelines for the transliteration and transcription of seventeen ancient languages. Features: Expanded lists of abbreviations for use in ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies Information for transliterating seventeen ancient languages Exhaustive examples for citing print and electronic sources