Bible History

In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be listened to in its historical context - from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries....

The Bible as we know it today is best understood as a process, one that begins in the tenth century BCE. In this revelatory account, a world-renowned scholar of Hebrew scripture joins a foremost authority on the New Testament to write a new biography of the Book of Books, reconstructing Jewish and Christian scriptural histories, as well as the underappreciated contest between them, from which the Bible arose. The Making of the Bible is the most comprehensive history yet told of the world's best-known literature, revealing its buried lessons and secrets.

Who wrote Great Expectations? That’s easy: Charles Dickens. Who’s the author of Beloved? Toni Morrison, of course. Now how about the Old Testament? You’d think for a book as widely known, studied, and distributed as the Bible, the question of authorship would have been sorted out by now. But the question is more complex (and fascinating) than it seems. Why? Because asking it is to challenge everything we might assume about the Bible’s identity as a book, about what “writing” and “authorship” really mean, and about how a written text could become sacred.

Combining the expertise of a biblical scholar and a missionary practitioner, Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes is an essential guidebook to the cultural background of the Bible and how it should inform our reading. E. Randolph Richards and Richard James explore deep social structures of the ancient Mediterranean - kinship, patronage, and brokerage-along with their key social tools-honor, shame, and boundaries - that the biblical authors lived in and lie below the surface of each text.

For centuries, the story of Adam and Eve has resonated richly through the corridors of art, literature, and theology. But for most moderns, taking it at face value is incongruous. Author John Walton explores the ancient Near Eastern context of Genesis 2-3, creating space for a faithful reading of Scripture along with full engagement with science for a new way forward in the human origins debate.

If Jews and Christians both believe in the same God, why is there such division? Why is history littered with deathly accounts of this division, from the early Jewish persecution of Christians to the Crusades' slaughtering of Jews? The Lion of Judah unpacks the roots of this division, showing how jealousy, theology, the law, and the integration of Gentile believers into what was once a predominantly Jewish early church contributed to the schism. It then goes on to reveal how Jesus magnificently fulfilled every word in the Bible.

A vast readership wants better access to the ancient words and ideas of the Bible. In The Bible Doesn't Say That, Dr. Joel M. Hoffman walks the listener through dozens of instances of mistranslations, misconceptions, and other misunderstandings about the Bible. In 40 short chapters, Hoffman covers fundamental theology, morality, lifestyle, and biblical imagery.

As we all know, and as many of our well-established textbooks have argued for decades, the Inquisition was one of the most frightening and bloody chapters in Western history, Pope Pius XII was anti-Semitic and rightfully called "Hitler's Pope", the Dark Ages were a stunting of the progress of knowledge to be redeemed only by the secular spirit of the Enlightenment, and the religious Crusades were an early example of the rapacious Western thirst for riches and power. But what if these long-held beliefs were all wrong?

For more than a century, archaeologists have been unearthing the tombs, temples, texts, and artifacts of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world. Using new approaches, contemporary scholars have begun to synthesize this material with the biblical traditions. The Oxford History of the Biblical World incorporates the best of this scholarship, and in chronologically ordered chapters presents the listener with an integrated study of the history, art, architecture, languages, literatures, and religion of biblical Israel and early Judaism and Christianity in their larger cultural contexts.

The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress, of palace intrigue and dramatic politics. But if you were a woman, it was also a time when death during childbirth was rife, when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education you could hope to receive was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and dynamic women in a way that no era had been before.

Lost for nearly 1,700 years, newly restored and authenticated, the Gospel of Judas presents a very different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas. Rather than paint Judas as a traitor, it portrays him as acting at Jesus' request.

Dive into a compelling exploration in our latest addition to the Israelite series. The identity and existence of the Israelites have long sparked debates and discussions in the Christian community. Do they still exist? If so, where are they now? "Hidden Identity of Blacks in the Bible" delves deep into these questions, shedding light on lesser-known interpretations and offering a fresh perspective on biblical history. Join us on this enlightening journey as we unravel mysteries, challenge common narratives, and invite you to see ancient stories through a new lens. This book promises to be ...

Simon Peter, Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Jude, Simon, Judas, and Matthias - what happened to the men who answered Jesus' call to follow him? What impact did they have on the world? Where did they go and what did they do after Jesus' resurrection and ascension? In these fascinating profiles, Dr. McBirnie offers listeners a snapshot of the lives of each apostle.

In a bold and moving book that is sure to spark heated debate, the novelist and cultural critic James Carroll maps the profoundly troubling 2,000-year course of the Church’s battle against Judaism and faces the crisis of faith it has provoked in his own life as a Catholic. More than a chronicle of religion, this dark history is the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture.

Short, sweet, and to the point. The purpose of this book is to help the reader to quickly and concisely understand the Bible issue and become a Bible believer in only 33 pages with excellent pictures. Additional Features: The Translators Note, why I use the King James Bible, a brief History of the translation, translating the Bible from one language to another, verses missing in the NIV, the Catholic Bible changed the doctrine of repentance to do penance, examples of problems with the modern versions, the key to how to study the Bible, and the answer to the question where was God’s word ...

For Christians, Flavius Josephus’ (37 to c. 100 A.D) works are one of the most essential extra-biblical chronicles written in the first century. His Jewish Antiquities are particularly valuable for Christians as a fountain of knowledge about the intertestamental period, from the destruction of Solomon’s temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 B.C. to the Roman procurator Florus in 64 A.D. But Josephus’ writings also take us back in Jewish history to God’s creation of the world, providing interesting sidelights to the Hebrew Scripture narratives from oral testimonies and other ancient, ...

Does your knowledge of the Old Testament feel like a grab bag of people, books, events, and ideas? How many times have you resolved to really understand the OT? To finally make sense of it? Perhaps you are suffering from what Sandra Richter calls the "dysfunctional closet syndrome". If so, she has a solution. Like a home-organizing expert, she comes in and helps you straighten up your cluttered closet. Whether you are a frustrated do-it-yourselfer or a beginning student enrolled in a course, The Epic of Eden will organize your understanding of the Old Testament.

Satan's transformation from opaque functionary to chief antagonist is one of the most striking features of the development of Jewish theology in the Second Temple Period and beyond. Once no more than an "accuser" testing members of the human community, Satan, along with his demons, is presented by Jewish apocalyptic texts and the New Testament as a main source of evil in the world. In Satan and the Problem of Evil, noted scholar Archie Wright explores this dynamic in both its historical and theological trajectories.

Imagine embarking on a captivating journey through the Bible, not as a religious text, but as a historical chronicle. This is the invitation extended by Werner Keller's renowned book, "The Bible as History." Published in 1955, it delves into the fascinating intersection of archaeological discoveries and biblical narratives, painting a vivid picture of the ancient world inhabited by prophets, kings, and everyday people.

History remembers the great biblical stories—Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, the Ten Commandments. But what about the ones history forgot? 📜 Lost Stories of the Bible explores the mysterious, apocryphal, and lesser-known tales hidden in ancient texts, secret scrolls, and historical whispers. From banned books to obscure biblical figures, this collection reveals forgotten prophecies, lost gospels, and suppressed scriptures that challenge everything we thought we knew. Inside this book, you'll discover: ✅ The Book of Enoch and its shocking account of fallen angels ✅ The Gospel of ...