This substantial, reliable introduction examines the character and purpose of Luke and Acts and provides a thorough yet economical treatment of Luke's social, historical, and literary context. Karl Allen Kuhn presents Luke's narrative as a "kingdom story" that both announces the arrival of God's reign in Jesus and describes the ministry of the early church, revealing the character of the kingdom as dramatically at odds with the kingdom of Rome. Kuhn explores the background, literary features, plotting, and themes of Luke and Acts but also offers significant, fresh insights into the persuasive force of Luke's impressively crafted and rhetorically charged narrative.

For centuries scholars have analyzed the composition of Luke-Acts presupposing that the reference to "many" accounts in Luke's Preface indicates the written texts which served as the author's primary sources of information. To justify this portrait of Luke as a text-based author, scholars have appealed to analogies with the text-based authors Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, and Arrian. Luke among the Ancient Historians challenges this portrait of Luke's method through surveying the origins and development of ancient Greek historiography in chapters on Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Josephus, and Luke. By focusing on the values and practices of ancient historians, Peters demonstrates not only that ancient authors following the model of Thucydides regarded the testimony of eyewitnesses, as opposed to texts, as the proper sources for historians but that Luke emulated the values, practices, and craft terminology of the contemporary historiographical tradition. Taking seriously the self-presentation of Luke as a reporter of contemporary events who claims to write on the basis of "eyewitnesses from the beginning," and personal investigation, this book argues against analogies with text-based historians who wrote about non-contemporary events and instead situates Luke within a portrait of the values and practices of historians of contemporary events.

In this volume on the Holy Spirit, “Missed Treasures” designates the rich pneumatologies in the New Testament books and letters beyond Paul, John, and Luke-Acts. Depictions of the Holy Spirit in Matthew, the Letter of James, Revelation, and other books are analyzed and incorporated into the theological tapestry of New Testament thought. Another unique feature of this volume is its focus on the numinous presence of God in the sweep of Israel’s history; there are chapters on the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Wisdom of Solomon that trace Christian pneumatology back to its source, the Hebrew Scriptures. In short, this volume expands the scholarly conversation exponentially as it explores a complement of texts spanning the New Testament and reaching back into the Hebrew Scriptures. A lucid guide to the distinctive pneumatologies of the New Testament, this collection is must reading for all who would engage the dialogue between scriptural study and systematic theology.

Literary Studies in Luke-Acts is a collection of essays by a group of distinguished biblical scholars who use literary-ciritcal analyses in the study of Luke-Acts. The variety of literary-critical approaches to Luke-Acts, as compiled uniquely in this volume, provides a needed resource by presenting methodological options for approaching biblical narrative texts with literary questions and considerations. Contributors include: Arthur Bellinzoni, C. Clifton Black, Darrell L. Bock, John A. Darr, William Farmer, Mikeal Parsons, Vernon Robbins, Jack Sanders, Charles Talbert, Robert Tannehill, and Victor Paul Furnish.

The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today’' context. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.

From a Korean perspective, this book examines how Luke s Passion Narrative constructs the space-time of the Reign of God both in contest to and in compliance with that of Rome and shows how Luke s colonial relations complicate the Gospel s theological perspectives."

The merits of this volume are many.... The author writes in a very readable and intelligible sly, making the book clear and easy to understand.... His evaluations are objective, carefully weighing both strengths and weaknesses, and doing so from the standpoint of liturgical principle rather than dogmatic assertion.... Despite the scholarly approach, there is a practical emphasis not found in many introductions.... New Testament Foundations represents scholarship at its best." The Theological Educator

As more and more Christians are involved in teaching in their churches, there is a need for an accessible, engaging commentary that can enhance their understanding of Scripture and aid their teaching. The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary is that resource. This nontechnical, section-by-section commentary on the whole Bible provides reliable and readable interpretations of the Scriptures from forty-two leading evangelical scholars. The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary is a complete revision of the well-known Baker Commentary on the Bible edited by Walter Elwell, now featuring new articles and vibrant full-color images on more than 1,800 pages, complete with photos, maps, and timelines to illustrate the text. This information-packed commentary helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the Bible. Beyond that, it includes practical applications for spiritual and personal guidance, making it invaluable to any believer seeking to get the most out of their Bible study. Pastors and others in teaching ministries looking for a one-volume, evangelical commentary on the Bible will value this resource.

Fourteen members of The Context Group honor Bruce J. Malina and his scholarship in this volume by following his consistent example of developing or using explicit social scientific models to interpret documents from the ancient Mediterranean world. Ordinary features of that cultural world such as gossip, reciprocity, a pervasive military presence, the power of women, and becoming a follower of Jesus stand out with greater clarity in the Bible when a reader understands the cultural matrix in which such social dynamics function. These essays reflect The Context Group’s more than twenty years of collaborative experience in researching the cultural context of the Bible. New insights are built on the solidly established foundations of their earlier cross-cultural studies. Readers will find the individual essays enlightening and challenging. Taken as a whole they form a valuable resource and a stimulating and helpful aid to further study.