The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

A guide to essential aspects of Old Testament exegesis.

Multiple and sometimes unexpected forms of closure in biblical narratives bring their stories to satisfactory close. Knowledge of these conventions and how they affect their stories is valuable to students of Bible and of narrative.

Rich rewards await readers who dig deep into the historical books of the Old Testament. Incredible events, amazing love stories, larger-than-life personalities and deep theological implications and themes are just part of the t treasure that awaits readers of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. These books tell the story of the nation of Israel and the God who loves her, punishes her, and always brings this recalcitrant people back to Himself. It is really the story of all of us. David M. Howard Jr. provides an in-depth introduction to the Old Testament historical books, focusing first on the overarching themes of historical narrative in general. He then turns his attention to each book. From the conquest of Canaan to the fall of Jerusalem, from war to peace and back to war, from kings and queens to farmers and housewives--David Howard covers it all in this invaluable introduction to the Old Testament historical books.

'Origin Myths and Holy Places in the Old Testament' examines the biblical narratives which describe the origins of holy places. It argues for the Hellenistic origin or redaction of most of these narratives. Three central questions are addressed: are there common features in biblical accounts about the foundation of places of worship; are there elements in the aetiological stories that reveal the 'real' mythology/rituals of the sanctuary; what were the circumstances of the creation of such narratives?

This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, provides an introduction to the Old Testament. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

A study of the significance of implied law in the Abraham narrative. Bruckner examines legal and juridical terminology in the text, with a close reading of legal referents in Genesis 18.16-20.18. He demonstrates that the literary and theological context of implied law in the narrative is creational, since the implied cosmology is based in Creator-created relationships, and the narrative referents are prior to the Sinai covenant. The narrative's canonical position is an ipso jure argument for the operation of law from the beginning of the ancestral community. The study suggests trajectories for further research in reading law within narrative texts, pentateuchal studies, and Old Testament ethics.

This provocative book combines literary and historical methods to examine the phenomenon of the 'forsaken firstborn' in Genesis. The dignity of the firstborn sons of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph-Ishmael, Esau, Reuben and Manasseh-is disregarded in the narrative and the rights inherent in their status are taken from them and conferred on a younger brother. One might easily compare this with the motif in many folktales of the youngest son outdoing his elder brothers in cleverness and skill. But unlike the folklore motif, in the book of Genesis the younger brother's success is not due to any courageous deed or heroic feat on his own part. Instead the displacement of the elder by the younger is usually the result of somebody else's initiative and achievement.

The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series provides up-to-date, evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Each volume is designed to equip pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge to better understand and apply God’s Word by presenting the message of each passage as well as an overview of other issues surrounding the text. The commentary series has been structured to help readers understand the meaning of Scripture, passage-by-passage, through the entire Bible. The New Living Translation is an authoritative Bible translation, rendered faithfully into today’s English from the ancient texts by 90 leading Bible scholars. The NLT’s scholarship and clarity breathe life into even the most difficult-to-understand Bible passages—but even more powerful are stories of how people’s lives are changing as the words speak directly to their hearts. That’s why we call it “The Truth Made Clear.” About the authors of this volume: Joseph Coleson, (PhD, Brandeis University) is Professor of Old Testament at Nazarene Theological Seminary. He has published numerous articles and books. Lawson Stone (PhD, Yale University) has expertise in early Israelite History and Religion and Old Testament Theology. He teaches at Asbury Theological Seminary and has written a host of books and articles. Jason Driesbach (MA, Dallas Theological Seminary) is a co-author of The Many Gospels of Jesus and a contributor to the Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary. He is pursuing PhD studies in the field of Hebrew Bible.

This book investigates the Dan/Danite tradition in the Hebrew Bible to determine not only what the Bible tells us about Dan, but also how far traditions about the territory, city, ancestor and tribe may have influenced each other. Bartusch argues that the political and theological interests reflected in the relatively late work of the Deuteronomistic Historian have cast a shadow over some earlier traditions, and that by combining social-science models and newer literary criticism with the more traditional historical-critical methodologies, the original meaning of the traditions of Dan may be recovered and clarified. The conclusion of such a study is that the Hebrew Bible as a whole does not entirely support the negative portrayal of Dan in its later traditions.