This commentary was researched and written using Semitic Bible Study Methods, Aramaic (the language Yeshua spoke), and the culture of Yeshua’s day. These methods were initially developed by the Sage Hillel over 2000 years ago augmented and the author. Semitic Bible study methods are based on asking questions about the Scripture, examining the language and culture of that day. This is a strange idea for church people because the Church teaches that only the Church can interpret Scripture. This is not true. God wants us to ask questions because Scripture’s meaning is as deep as God, and God is infinite.

This commentary was researched and written using Semitic Bible Study Methods, Aramaic (the language Yeshua spoke), and the culture of Yeshua’s day. These methods were initially developed by the Sage Hillel over 2000 years ago augmented and the author. Semitic Bible study methods are based on asking questions about the Scripture, examining the language and culture of that day. This is a strange idea for church people because the Church teaches that only the Church can interpret Scripture. This is not true. God wants us to ask questions because Scripture’s meaning is as deep as God, and God is infinite.

This commentary was researched and written using Semitic Bible Study Methods, Aramaic (the language Yeshua spoke), and the culture of Yeshua’s day. These methods were initially developed by the Sage Hillel over 2000 years ago augmented and the author. Semitic Bible study methods are based on asking questions about the Scripture, examining the language and culture of that day. This is a strange idea for church people because the Church teaches that only the Church can interpret Scripture. This is not true. God wants us to ask questions because Scripture’s meaning is as deep as God, and God is infinite.

"This commentary on the epistle of James provides an original translation, meticulous grammatical analysis of the Greek text, and theological exposition addressing perpetual issues in the life of the church and highlighting the enduring relevance of this epistle for Christians amid trials. The author presents careful research into the historical context, purpose, structure, and message of James, which has often been misunderstood, notably in the Lutheran tradition. Dr. Giese offers a positive, corrective interpretation. The overarching theme of James is "the gifts of the giving God and their use." James 1:16-18 stands as the theological center of the book: the eschatological gift of rebirth in Jesus Christ, to be firstfruits of the new creation, establishes the right use of all other divine gifts"--

William Varner, Professor of Bible and Greek at the Master's University, works skillfully through the Greek text of James, using modern linguistic tools and careful grammatical analysis to lay bare the meaning of this early Christian epistle. Each section contains the Greek text, text-critical notes, a discussion of literary context, a sentence flow with English translation, and thorough exegetical comments. Varner's commentary is useful for students, pastors, and scholars alike.

James Kugel’s essential introduction and companion to the Bible combines modern scholarship with the wisdom of ancient interpreters for the entire Hebrew Bible. As soon as it appeared, How to Read the Bible was recognized as a masterwork, “awesome, thrilling” (The New York Times), “wonderfully interesting, extremely well presented” (The Washington Post), and “a tour de force...a stunning narrative” (Publishers Weekly). Now, this classic remains the clearest, most inviting and readable guide to the Hebrew Bible around—and a profound meditation on the effect that modern biblical scholarship has had on traditional belief. Moving chapter by chapter, Harvard professor James Kugel covers the Bible’s most significant stories—the Creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and his wives, Moses and the exodus, David’s mighty kingdom, plus the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets, and on to the Babylonian conquest and the eventual return to Zion. Throughout, Kugel contrasts the way modern scholars understand these events with the way Christians and Jews have traditionally understood them. The latter is not, Kugel shows, a naïve reading; rather, it is the product of a school of sophisticated interpreters who flourished toward the end of the biblical period. These highly ideological readers sought to put their own spin on texts that had been around for centuries, utterly transforming them in the process. Their interpretations became what the Bible meant for centuries and centuries—until modern scholarship came along. The question that this book ultimately asks is: What now? As one reviewer wrote, Kugel’s answer provides “a contemporary model of how to read Sacred Scripture amidst the oppositional pulls of modern scholarship and tradition.”

Evidence Unseen is the most accessible and careful though through response to most current attacks against the Christian worldview.

“Women of the Word will help all who read it to find their way deeper into the Word of God without having to be seminary educated, a genius, or even an especially good student.” —Kathy Keller We all know it’s important to study God’s Word. But sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. What’s more, a lack of time, emotionally driven approaches, and past frustrations can erode our resolve to keep growing in our knowledge of Scripture. How can we, as Christian women, keep our focus and sustain our passion when reading the Bible? With over 250,000 copies sold, Women of the Word has helped countless women with a clear and concise plan they can use every time they open their Bible. Featuring the same content as the first edition, and now with added study questions at the end of each chapter, this book equips you to engage God’s Word in a way that trains your mind and transforms your heart.

In this addition to the well-received Paideia series, two respected New Testament scholars offer a practical commentary on James and Jude that is conversant with contemporary scholarship, draws on ancient backgrounds, and attends to the theological nature of the texts. This commentary, like each in the projected eighteen-volume series, proceeds by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by • attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs • showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits • commenting on the final, canonical form of each New Testament book • focusing on the cultural, literary, and theological settings of the text • making judicious use of maps, photos, and sidebars in a reader-friendly format Students, pastors, and other readers will appreciate the historical, literary, and theological insight that John Painter and David deSilva offer in interpreting James and Jude.

In this volume, Mordechai Z. Cohen explores the interpretive methods of Rashi of Troyes (1040–1105), the most influential Jewish Bible commentator of all time. By elucidating the 'plain sense' (peshat) of Scripture, together with critically selected midrashic interpretations, Rashi created an approach that was revolutionary in the talmudically-oriented Ashkenazic milieu. Cohen contextualizes Rashi's commentaries by examining influences from other centers of Jewish learning in Muslim Spain and Byzantine lands. He also opens new scholarly paths by comparing Rashi's methods with trends in Latin learning reflected in the Psalms commentary of his older contemporary, Saint Bruno the Carthusian (1030–1101). Drawing upon the Latin tradition of enarratio poetarum ('interpreting the poets'), Bruno applied a grammatical interpretive method and incorporated patristic commentary selectively, a parallel that Cohen uses to illuminate Rashi's exegetical values. Cohen thereby brings to light the novel literary conceptions manifested by Rashi and his key students, Josef Qara and Rashbam.