Over the centuries, the prophetic book of Zechariah has suffered from accusations of obscurity and has frustrated readers seeking to unlock its treasures. This work by Mark Boda provides insightful commentary on Zechariah, with great sensitivity to its historical, literary, and theological dimensions. Including a fresh translation of Zechariah from the original Hebrew, Boda delivers deep and thorough reflection on a too-often-neglected book of the Old Testament.

The Book of Zachariah is set in the years 421 through 420 BC, years 2 and 3 of King Darius II of the Persian Empire. Most scholars accept that the first eight chapters of Zachariah were written shortly after 421 BC at the same time as Haggai, however, the later six chapters appear to be a much older prophecy of Shadrach that became embedded in Zachariah at some point. Very little is known about the prophet Zachariah, as the era he lived in is part of the so-called missing years of Rabbinical history. His world was very different from the later Kingdom of Judea that emerged in the 2nd-century BC, as the Israelites of his time were still hedonistic, worshiping the Almighty God (El Shaddai), but still recognizing the existence of the Canaanite gods, along with the angel Iaw Sabaoth, Almighty God's messenger and warrior angel. Based on the contents of Zachariah's writing, his prophecy took place in 421 and 420 BC, a few years after the city of Jerusalem was occupied by the Medes and Persians. This places Zachariah's life at the end of the 'missing years' of Rabbinical history, which skips 164 years between 587 and 422 BC. The books of Ezra record that a king named Darius authorized the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and the city's walls, and as this Darius lived after a king named Artaxerxes, who had stopped the rebuilding, it can only be Darius II, Artaxerxes I's son. Darius II's interest in the temple in Jerusalem had also been proven by the so-called Passover Letter, an ancient Aramaic letter discovered in Elephantine, Egypt, and dating to 418 BC, year 5 of Darius II. This letter was sent by High Priest Zerubbabel's son, Hananiah, to the Israelite temple in Elephantine, and explained that King Darius had ordered all Judahites to follow the Passover. The Passover Letter then explained what was required of the Judahites in Elephantine, as the Israelite priesthood in Elephantine apparently had never heard of Passover. A later letter from 407 BC, year 17 of King Darius II, has also survived among the Elephantine papyri, and mentions the High Priest Johanan of the temple in Jerusalem, who was also mentioned in the books of Ezra, supporting the essentially factual history recorded with the books.

In der Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) erscheinen Arbeiten zu sämtlichen Gebieten der alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Im Zentrum steht die Hebräische Bibel, ihr Vor- und Nachleben im antiken Judentum sowie ihre vielfache Verzweigung in die benachbarten Kulturen der altorientalischen und hellenistisch-römischen Welt. Die BZAW akzeptiert Manuskriptvorschläge, die einen innovativen und signifikanten Beitrag zu Erforschung des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt leisten, sich intensiv mit der bestehenden Forschungsliteratur auseinandersetzen, stringent aufgebaut und flüssig geschrieben sind.

"An emerging field of study that explores the Hispanic minority in the United States, Latino Studies is enriched by an interdisciplinary perspective. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, demographers, linguists, as well as religion, ethnicity, and culture scholars, among others, bring a varied, multifaceted approach to the understanding of a people whose roots are all over the Americas and whose permanent home is north of the Rio Grande. Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies offers an authoritative, trustworthy, and up-to-date intellectual map to this ever-changing discipline."--Editorial page.

The Gospel of John’s relationship to the Synoptic Gospels is a perennial question. For centuries, the Gospel of Matthew has been considered the least likely of possible written sources of the Fourth Gospel. In an ambitious reappraisal, James Barker demonstrates John’s use of the redacted Gospel of Matthew. After reviewing the history of interpretation on the question, Barker develops three case studies. Concerning ecclesial authority, Barker contends that John’s saying concerning forgiving and retaining sins derives from Matthew’s binding and loosing logion. Regarding proof from prophecy, he argues that John relies on Matthew for Zechariah’s oracle about Israel’s king entering Jerusalem on a donkey. Finally, he argues that John’s inclusion of Samaritans contrasts sharply with Matthew’s exclusion of Samaritans from the early church. Although John’s engagement with Matthew was by no means uncritical, Barker at last concludes that John intended his Gospel to be read alongside, not instead of, Matthew.

"Examines the origins, language, textual history, and reception of the Greek Old Testament"--

This book examines community identity in the post-exilic temple community in Ezra-Nehemiah, and explores the possible influences that the Achaemenids, the ruling Persian dynasty, might have had on its construction. In the book, David Janzen reads Ezra-Nehemiah in dialogue with the Achaemenids' Old Persian inscriptions, as well as with other media the dynasty used, such as reliefs, seals, coins, architecture, and imperial parks. In addition, he discusses the cultural and religious background of Achaemenid thought, especially its intersections with Zoroastrian beliefs. Ezra-Nehemiah, Janzen argues, accepts Achaemenid claims for the necessity and beneficence of their hegemony. The result is that Ezra-Nehemiah, like the imperial ideology it mimics, claims that divine and royal wills are entirely aligned. Ezra-Nehemiah reflects the Achaemenid assertion that the peoples they have colonized are incapable of living in peace and happiness without the Persian rule that God established to benefit humanity, and that the dynasty rewards the peoples who do what they desire, since that reflects divine desire. The final chapter of the book argues that Ezra-Nehemiah was produced by an elite group within the Persian-period temple assembly, and shows that Ezra-Nehemiah's pro-Achaemenid worldview was not widely accepted within that community.

What are we to make of Isaiah's image of Mount Zion as the highest of the mountains, or Zechariah's picture of the Mount of Olives split in two, or Daniel's "beast rising out of the sea" or Revelation's "great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns"? How can Peter claim that on the day of Pentecost the prophecy of Joel was being fulfilled, with signs in heaven and wonders on earth, the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood? The language and imagery of biblical prophecy has been the source of puzzlement for many Christians and a point of dispute for some. How ironic that is! For the prophets and seers were the wordsmiths of their time. They took pains to speak God's word clearly and effectively to their contemporaries. How should we, as citizens of the twenty-first century, understand the imagery of this ancient biblical literature? Are there any clues in the texts themselves, any principles we can apply as we read these important but puzzling biblical texts? D. Brent Sandy carefully considers the language and imagery of prophecy and apocalyptic, how it is used, how it is fulfilled within Scripture, and how we should read it against the horizon of our future. Clearly and engagingly written, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks is the kind of book that gives its readers a new vantage point from which to view the landscape of prophetic and apocalyptic language and imagery.

The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of Jewish sacred writings) is of great importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The first translation of the books of the Hebrew Bible (plus additions) into the common language of the ancient Mediterranean world made the Jewish scriptures accessible to many outside Judaism. Not only did the Septuagint become Holy Writ to Greek speaking Jews but it was also the Bible of the early Christian communities: the scripture they cited and the textual foundation of the early Christian movement. Translated from Hebrew (and Aramaic) originals in the two centuries before Jesus, the Septuagint provides important information about the history of the text of the Bible. For centuries, scholars have looked to the Septuagint for information about the nature of the text and of how passages and specific words were understood. For students of the Bible, the New Testament in particular, the study of the Septuagint's influence is a vital part of the history of interpretation. But until now, the Septuagint has not been available to English readers in a modern and accurate translation. The New English Translation of the Septuagint fills this gap.