The last century of scholarship on the Old Testament citations in the Gospel of John has concentrated almost exclusively upon source-critical or redaction-critical issues with the aim of determining the Christological import of the citations. The current book brings a narrative-rhetorical methodology to bear upon the seven explicit Scriptural citations in the Gospel's 'Book of Signs' (1:19-12:50) that are prefaced by a distinct introductory formula (1:19-12:15). These citations are each addressed to, or imply, a particular textual audience, namely, 'the Jews'. This book argues that as such the citations do not merely have Christological significance but function at the narrative level to encourage an ideal reader to construct a particularly negative characterization of 'the Jews'.

This radical new translation conveys the early Christian scriptures in the idiom of today. It follows principles of cultural and contextual translation, and returns to the selection of books the the early Church held in highest esteem.

"It was a wooden box, simply made. 'I guess you could call it my war chest,' Grandpa said. As the children peered into the box, they saw many small figures-animals, people, and objects of all kinds. A number of them were carved from wood."

Retells the story of Michal, King David's first wife, and interweaves it with the the story of the author's own experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust.

Originally published: Oxford: Lion, 2003.

Is the typical didactic sermon still an adequate vehicle for communicating essential biblical truth? In this provocative and enlightening volume, Larry Lange contends that story sermons are a far more effective way to proclaim the Good News in a modern world that largely communicates through narrative-driven multimedia spectacle. The powerful stories in the Bible don't need to be turned into morals or ideas to convey the gospel. But because they were composed in a radically different cultural context, they may require additional explanation or interpretation to make them relevant for contemporary audiences. So how can a preacher add narrative elements to these stories without diminishing their dramatic impact or changing their meaning? Retelling The Story outlines an innovative process for retelling biblical stories that utilizes fictional elements and contexts yet remains faithful to the scriptural text. Several creative and homiletical issues are comprehensively examined, and six sample sermons are included to illustrate various aspects of this process at work. Inject exciting new life into the old, old story with this primer for developing dramatic sermons that touch hearts and minds and souls. Lange's book is very well connected to recent homiletical literature, is well researched, deeply biblical, and creatively challenging. Parish pastors will benefit from this clear and brief presentation of biblical retelling. Richard A. Jensen Carlson Professor of Homiletics emeritus Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Larry Lange and his wife, Julie Wrubbel-Lange, serve as the pastors of Grace Lutheran Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Lange is a graduate of Carthage College (B.A.), the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (M.A.), the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (M.Div.), and the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (D.Min.).

This work critically engages the hermeneutical methods used to analyse the New Testament writings, so that the lenses through which studies of the texts have been traditionally viewed can be revised. Jeremy Hultin contributes an article on the rhetorical use of the chosen citations by Jewish rabbis in their commentary on scripture, while Mark Gignilliat writes on the potential implications for viewing Old Testament Scripture in the manner of the early Church exegetes and theologians. With these two contributions providing a frame for the other chapters, the essays explore a range of topics including the significance of the number 42 in Matthew; the study of Wisdom in Matthew, the extent to which the four gospels are underlined by Hebrew material, if any; the use of Hebrew material in shaping New Testament writings; and the uses of Scripture in the letters of Paul and the letters to the Hebrews. Read separately, these articles provide fascinating insights and revisions to established ideas on intertextuality between the Old/Hebrew Bible and the New Testament writings. Taken together, the collection presents a solid argument for the fundamental revision of our current hermeneutical practice in Biblical Studies.

This volume is the fourth in a set of volumes, which together explore current approaches to the study of scripture in the Gospels. Thomas R. Hatina's latest edited collection begins with an introduction surveying methodological approaches used in the study of how scriptural allusions, quotations, and references function in John, with subsequent essays grouped into four categories that represent the breadth of current interpretive interests. The contributors begin with historical-critical approaches, before moving to rhetorical and linguistic approaches, literary approaches, and finally social memory approaches. Each study contains not only recent research on the function of scripture in John, but also an explanation of the approach taken, making the collection an ideal resource for both scholars and students who are interested in the complexities of interpretation in John's context as well as our own.

That readers and biblical texts are somehow linked in a mutually transformative relationship is hardly a novel perception, especially in contexts where the Christian Bible has been received as normative Scripture for faithful worship and living. This study focuses on an aspect of this relationship and wrestles with it not only in theory, but also in practice by asking: How may a reader who wishes to read the Christian Bible as Scripture well today be formed; and how may interpretations of Scripture themselves inform such concern? Vincent Ooi begins by showing that such concern is not only contemporary but integral to Christian traditions of reading Scripture, and that it is only recently receiving some renewed scholarly attention. He reviews some of these recent works before setting out his own approach from the perspective of theological interpretation of Scripture. He then demonstrates his approach via close exegetical engagement with three biblical texts, namely Nehemiah 9:6-37, Ezekiel 20:5-32, and Acts 7:2-60, which offer different inner-canonical readings of Scripture in the form of distinctive retellings of Israel's story. He first considers how these texts portray readers of Scripture and use scriptural traditions in relation to the wider context of the Christian canon; he then discusses what they, individually and in concert, might suggest as significant for shaping readers seeking to faithfully appropriate Scripture today. The posture of prayer, the pulse of liturgy, and the patterning of Christ are among the things proposed as formatively significant.

In Reading and Re-reading Scripture at Qumran, Moshe J. Bernstein gathers more than three decades of his work on diverse aspects of biblical interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The essays range from broad surveys of the genres of biblical interpretation in these texts to more narrowly focused studies and close readings of specific documents. Volume I focuses on the book of Genesis, with a substantial portion being dedicated to studies of the Genesis Apocryphon and Commentary on Genesis A. Volume II contains several historical and programmatic essays, with specific studies focusing on legal material in the DSS and the pesharim. Under the former rubric, the documents known as 4QReworked Pentateuch, 4QOrdinancesa, 4QMMT, and the Temple Scroll are discussed.