What was the extent and nature of Jewish proselytizing activity amongst non-Jews in Palestine and the Greco-Roman diaspora leading up to and during the beginnings of the Christian era? Was there a clear missional direction? How did Second-Temple Judaism recruit converts and gain sympathizers? This book strives to address these questions, representing an update of the discussion while also breaking new ground. A "source book" of key texts is provided at the end.

2023 Honorable Mention, Isis Duarte Book Prize, Haiti/ Dominican Republic section (LASA) 2023 Winner, Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Book Award, Caribbean Studies Association An innovative study of the artistic representations of undocumented migration within the Hispanophone Caribbean Debates over the undocumented migration of Latin Americans invariably focus on the southern US border, but most migrants never cross that arbitrary line. Instead, many travel, via water, among the Caribbean islands. The first study to examine literary and artistic representations of undocumented migration within the Hispanophone Caribbean, Crossing Waters relates a journey that remains silenced and largely unknown. Analyzing works by novelists, short-story writers, poets, and visual artists replete with references to drowning and echoes of the Middle Passage, Marisel Moreno shines a spotlight on the plight that these migrants face. In some cases, Puerto Rico takes on a new role as a stepping-stone to the continental United States and the society migrants will join there. Meanwhile the land border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the only terrestrial border in the Hispanophone Caribbean, emerges as a complex space within this cartography of borders. And while the Border Patrol occupies US headlines, the Coast Guard occupies the nightmares of refugees. An untold story filled with beauty, possibility, and sorrow, Crossing Waters encourages us to rethink the geography and experience of undocumented migration and the role that the Caribbean archipelago plays as a border zone.

'James and I stayed on at home and everything was quiet and sunny and we got to thinking the war would never come after all . . . Just when we were so sure nothing would happen, the German plane came over. It came over one night at one o'clock in the morning and the sound was quite different from an English plane and we all woke up. You could hear it drumming and drumming like a big bee in a flower, buroom, buroom, buroom, round and round in the air above the house. Then suddenly there were five loud explosions. After that there was a terrible silence and I knew that Father and Mother were looking at each other in the darkness and I felt myself getting small and tight inside. Then Father said quietly, "Meg, they must go!"' Now I am going to write a Diary because we are going to America because of the War. It has just been decided. I will write down everything about it because we shall be so much older when we come back that I will never remember it if I do not. So this is the beginning. Oh, please let us come back soon, please.' This is the fictional diary of Sabrina Lind, an eleven-year-old English girl who, with her little brother James, is sent on the long voyage across the sea to her aunt in America.

This book is part of the ongoing debate about Paul’s understanding of the relationship between his own mission and the church’s. While this study endorses some previous scholarship on Paul’s silence about the church’s proactive evangelism in his letters, it argues that explanations for such silence cannot be adequately made from exegetical conclusions on related texts alone. Rather, this study suggests that constructing a plausible conception of mission as understood by Paul, influenced by the impact of the Jesus-tradition and Jewish restoration eschatology, is essential for explaining Paul’s thinking. Dr Kang proposes that Paul’s silence regarding congregational evangelism is due to his unique two-pronged conception of mission – one being the event of eschatological heralds, the other being the event of eschatological community.

In an age of fear and insecurity, in which ethnic nationalism continues to give rise to conflict and war, we dare not avoid critical engagement with biblical texts that have been used to justify colonialism, conquest, occupation, and ethnic cleansing. Building on the idea of Scripture as dialogue partner, Matties advocates for the book of Joshua even as he engages in a difficult conversation with it. In his commentary, the twenty-fifth volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, Matties calls for an openness to the unexpected in the book of Joshua. He suggests that reading Joshua carefully will open windows into how and why we read Scripture at all.

The Indian Ocean was global long before the Atlantic, and today the countries bordering the Bay of Bengal—India, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia—are home to one in four people on Earth. Crossing the Bay of Bengal places this region at the heart of world history for the first time. Integrating human and environmental history, and mining a wealth of sources, Sunil Amrith gives a revelatory and stirring new account of the Bay and those who have inhabited it. For centuries the Bay of Bengal served as a maritime highway between India and China, and then as a battleground for European empires, all while being shaped by the monsoons and by human migration. Imperial powers in the nineteenth century, abetted by the force of capital and the power of steam, reconfigured the Bay in their quest for coffee, rice, and rubber. Millions of Indian migrants crossed the sea, bound by debt or spurred by drought, and filled with ambition. Booming port cities like Singapore and Penang became the most culturally diverse societies of their time. By the 1930s, however, economic, political, and environmental pressures began to erode the Bay’s centuries-old patterns of interconnection. Today, rising waters leave the Bay of Bengal’s shores especially vulnerable to climate change, at the same time that its location makes it central to struggles over Asia’s future. Amrith’s evocative and compelling narrative of the region’s pasts offers insights critical to understanding and confronting the many challenges facing Asia in the decades ahead.

This is a study in the interpretation of Paul with a focus on an interpretation of Romans 9 to 11 as a defense of God’s faithfulness to Israel. The study begins with reviews of three historical approaches to studying Paul’s relationship to the Judiasm of his era, the third anchoring Paul with the Judaism of his time (Second Temple Judaism). It then moves to an interpretation of his writings from a broad framework within that Jewish sociocultural paradigm. The study suggests that Paul’s letter to the Romans provides a defense of Judaism, and Romans 9 to 11 provides an argument for God’s faithfulness to Israel. Romans 11, particularly 11:25–32, presents a picture of Israel’s redemption and how gentiles relate to Israel’s redemption, through the mercy they have received via Israel. Gentiles are seen as instrumental in the redemption of Israel. Romans 11:25–32 should be read as a missional paradigm to Israel.

HisStory is a book about God as told through the history of the Old Testament. Broken into twelve chapters, each provides a revelation into God’s plan for all mankind. Why are we here? What is our purpose in this life? Why does evil exist in the world? How is anything that happened thousands of years ago relevant to your life today? HisStory provides insights into 4000 years of history. Told through the stories of creation, the flood, and the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, Nehemiah and others, each weave a picture of God’s plan for each of us. By reading HisStory, you will find the answers to your Life’s purpose on this earth, and how God has provided for your life through His divine provision. The entire history of these Old Testament stories is weaved into one consistent picture brought together in the conclusion. HisStory is designed to be read by someone who has little to no knowledge of the Bible, but will speak to those who have studied God’s word. Whether you are an adult or teenager, or hoping to disciple others, each chapter gives plenty of food for thought, and can be used as a study by any individual or group. This apologetics book will answer many questions, and will equip the saint and evangelize the sinner.

Understand What Scripture Says and How To Live It Today A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding everyday readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike. Each volume employs three main, easy-to-use sections designed to help readers live out God's story: LISTEN to the Story: Includes complete NIV text with references to other texts at work in each passage, encouraging the reader to hear it within the Bible's grand story. EXPLAIN the Story: Explores and illuminates each text as embedded in its canonical and historical setting. LIVE the Story: Reflects on how each text can be lived today and includes contemporary stories and illustrations to aid preachers, teachers, and students. —1 & 2 Thessalonians— Paul's letters to the Thessalonians hinge thematically on the ongoing need for them to put their hope in God. Like us, the Thessalonians were living in difficult circumstances—living in the tension between death and the promise of Jesus' final return and triumph. "In-between living" requires daily hope, and Paul infuses his letters with hope without overlooking the challenges of the day. Edited by Scot McKnight and Tremper Longman III, and written by a number of top-notch theologians, The Story of God Bible Commentary series will bring relevant, balanced, and clear-minded theological insight to any biblical education or ministry.

J. Andrew Cowan challenges the popular theory that Luke sought to boost the cultural status of the early Christian movement by emphasising its Jewish roots – associating the new church with an ancient and therefore respected heritage. Cowan instead argues that Luke draws upon the traditions of the Old Testament and its supporting texts as a reassurance to Christians, promising that Jesus' life, his works and the church that follow legitimately provide fulfilment of God's salvific plan. Cowan's argument compares Luke's writings to two near-contemporaries, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and T. Flavius Josephus, both of whom emphasized the ancient heritage of a people with cultural or political aims in view, exploring how the writings of Luke do not reflect the same cultural values or pursue the same ends. Challenging assumptions on Luke's supposed attempts to assuage political concerns, capitalize on antiquity, and present Christianity as an inner-Jewish sect, Cowan counters with arguments for Luke being critical of over-valuing tradition and defining the Jewish people as resistant to God and His messages. Cowan concludes with the argument that the apostle does not strive for legitimisation of the new church by previous cultural standards, but instead provides theological reassurance to Christians that God's plan has been fulfilled, with implications for broader debate.