"This work is an essential companion for understanding each book of the New Testament in its cultural context. It provides information and analysis on each biblical book, covering its cultural and historical background including the date of composition, the author and a fresh outline of each biblical book. From the life of Jesus in the Gospels, to the life of Paul in Acts, you’ll find the answers you are looking for here. Cultural and archaeological discoveries are provided throughout, helping to bring the Bible alive for any reader. It is beautifully illustrated with over 200 colorful, maps, timelines, charts, photographs, and illustrations. A helpful glossary defines technical terms, and extensive footnotes with hundreds of commentaries and books listed in the For Future Study section, as well as an extensive bibliography, provide an invaluable resource to readers seeking further study. An engaging resource intended for laypeople who want to know more about the New Testament, whether in seminary courses, college classrooms, church groups or personal study."--Back cover.

This unique commentary provides historical, social and cultural background for each passage of the Old Testament. From Genesis through Malachi, this single volume gathers and condenses an abundance of specialized knowledge, and includes a glossary, maps and charts, and expanded explanations of significant background issues.

Approach the Old Testament with confidence. Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament helps students organize and synthesize the vast amount of biblical and extrabiblical information on the Old Testament by providing a helpful visual overview of the data, chronology, historical background, and criticism. This format allows facts, relationships, parallels, and contrasts to be grasped quickly and easily. Perfect for enhancing every type of teaching and learning situation and style, including homeschooling curricula and tutoring, church classes and Sunday school. The many charts in this updated, expanded edition cover historical, literary, archaeological, and theological aspects of the Old Testament, its background, and biblical studies. Notable topics include: Genealogies Comparative Ancient Near-Eastern Chronology Parallels between Law and Wisdom The Kings of Judah and Israel Treaty Format and Biblical Covenants Dynasties of the Northern Kingdom Principles for Word Studies Messages of the Pre-Exilic Minor Prophets Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament ZondervanCharts are ready references for those who need the essential information at their fingertips. Accessible and highly useful, the books in this library offer clear organization and thorough summaries of issues, subjects, and topics that are key for Christian students and learners. The visuals and captions will cater to any teaching methodology, style, or program.

The earliest substantive sources available for historical Jesus research are in the Gospels themselves; when interpreted in their early Jewish setting, their picture of Jesus is more coherent and plausible than are the competing theories offered by many modern scholars. So argues Craig Keener in The Historical Jesus of the Gospels. In exploring the depth and riches of the material found in the Synoptic Gospels, Keener shows how many works on the historical Jesus emphasize just one aspect of the Jesus tradition against others, but a much wider range of material in the Jesus tradition makes sense in an ancient Jewish setting. Keener masterfully uses a broad range of evidence from the early Jesus traditions and early Judaism to reconstruct a fuller portrait of the Jesus who lived in history.

Craig S. Keener presents fascinating, wonderfully useful information on the historical and cultural backgrounds of nearly every verse in the New Testament.

Christianity Today 2013 Book Award Winner Winner of The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship's 2012 Award of Excellence 2011 Book of the Year, Christianbook.com's Academic Blog Most modern prejudice against biblical miracle reports depends on David Hume's argument that uniform human experience precluded miracles. Yet current research shows that human experience is far from uniform. In fact, hundreds of millions of people today claim to have experienced miracles. New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that it is time to rethink Hume's argument in light of the contemporary evidence available to us. This wide-ranging and meticulously researched two-volume study presents the most thorough current defense of the credibility of the miracle reports in the Gospels and Acts. Drawing on claims from a range of global cultures and taking a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, Keener suggests that many miracle accounts throughout history and from contemporary times are best explained as genuine divine acts, lending credence to the biblical miracle reports.

Now available in the timeless King James Version, the Archaeological Study Bible features a full-color interior, over 500 full-color photographs, in-text maps, detailed charts, study notes, and cultural facts that bring the ancient biblical world to life.

Bring the ancient biblical world to life Readers who desire a more intimate knowledge of the historical context of the Bible will appreciate the NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Full of informative articles and full-color photographs of places and objects from biblical times, this Bible examines the archaeological record surrounding God’s Word and brings the biblical world to life. Readers’ personal studies will be enriched as they become more informed about the empires, places, and peoples of the ancient world. Features: Complete text of the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV) Four-color interior throughout Bottom-of-page study notes exploring passages that speak on archaeological and cultural facts 520 articles covering five main categories: Archaeological Sites, Cultural and Historical Notes, Ancient Peoples and Lands, the Reliability of the Bible, and Ancient Texts and Artifacts Approximately 500 4-color photographs interspersed throughout Detailed book introductions that provide basic, at-a-glance information Detailed charts on pertinent topics In-text color maps that assist the reader in placing the action

As one of the most prominent themes in Scripture, the covenant is crucial to all Christian theological systems, from dispensationalism to covenant theology to theonomy to liberation theology. One would think that by now all controversies have been exhausted, but an issue of this magnitude can never finally be laid to rest. Because disagreements persist, there is room for yet another attempt to study the covenant and improve our understanding of it. This book proposes that the path toward an evangelical consensus is not to be found in building another modified systematic theology, but in a biblical theology approach. Grounded in this approach, John Walton's perspective is that while the covenant is characteristically redemptive, formulated along the lines of ancient treaties, and ultimately soteric, it is essentially revelatory. This view in turn has implications regarding the continuity or discontinuity of the covenant phases, the conditionality of the covenant, and our understanding of the people of God. And this ultimately affects the way the Old Testament is preached and taught. Walton's thesis is an important contribution to the discussion of the covenant and the attempts to find common ground among evangelicals of diverse theological traditions.

This book surveys within the various literary genres (cosmologies, personal archives and epics, hymns, and prayers) parallels between the Bible and Ancient Near Eastern literature.