Bücher der Reihe Old Testament Library

Among the books of the Old Testament, the book of Esther presents significant interpretive problems. The book has been preserved in Greek and Hebrew texts that diverge greatly from each other. As a result, Jews and Protestants usually read a version of the book of Esther that is several chapters shorter than the one in most Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. Jon D. Levenson capably guides the reader through both the longer Greek version and the shorter Hebrew one, demonstrating their coherence and their differences.This commentary listens to the voices of modern scholarship as well as rabbinic interpretation, providing a wealth of interpretive results.

In this commentary, now available in a new casebound edition, internationally-renowned scholar Hans Wilhelm Hertzberg probes the theological core of the narratives of Samuel, Saul, and David. Hertzberg writes with such grace and vigor that the reader is both charmed and instructed. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative...

This commentary on Deuteronomy, now available in a new casebound edition, meets and exceeds the high standards of the Old Testament Library series.

Through translation, technical notes, and insightful commentary, Richard Clifford sheds new understanding on Proverbs. By focusing on the rhetoric of Proverbs, Clifford demonstrates how the book fosters a lifelong search for wisdom, and enables readers to see how the instructions and sayings are concerned with contemporary issues...

This book, a volume in the Old Testament Library series, explores the books of Haggai and Zechariah. 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.

In this book, now available as a casebound, internationally known author John Collins presents a compelling description and analysis of these three texts and their continuing wisdom traditions.

The book of Ruth is one of the Bible's most enduring and beloved stories. At first glance, the story appears to be a simple tale of hardship and good fortune, but a close reading of the short book yields wonderful new insights. Kirsten Nielsen's comments on the book of Ruth paint a rich and subtle portrait of the characters involved in the story. She carefully traces the many connections between this biblical book and the wider context of other biblical passages, including earlier stories such as the story of Judah and Tamar, and later adaptations such as the Targum to Ruth. Nielsen provides the reader an entry to this nuanced intertextual world.

The book of Joshua details the conquests of land in Palestine by ancient Israel. For modern readers, the story can touch a nerve; its chronicle of brutality and genocide can be seen to parallel more recent history. The book of Joshua has many textual problems - primarily differences between the Hebrew and Greek texts. Much of the inconsistency stems from the varied forms of storytelling in the book, including war narratives, folktales, sermons, and city lists. In this commentary, Richard D. Nelson addresses the textual issues and offers historical, literary, and theological insights into Joshua.

Now available in a new casebound edition is Otto Kaiser's commentary on the first twelve chapters of Isaiah.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...

Few parts of the Bible have captured the imagination of individuals in the way that the book of Jonah has. James Limburg examines this well-known book, keeping several questions in mind: How did the story originate? What is its place in the Bible? How did the New Testament understand the story? How has the story been understood in Judaism and in Islam? What might it mean for people today? And what does it have to say about God, about the human condition, and even about God and nature? In reviewing the book, Limburg gives special attention to the many contributions of artists, musicians, painters, and sculptors who, he says, may have been the best interpreters of Jonah. He also keeps in mind the literary dimension of the texts and takes great care to follow the divisions of the book as they were defined by Jewish scribal tradition. Limburg begins his commentary with a fresh translation of the biblical book of Jonah and continues with a careful examination of the text, pointing out the significance of this old story for our own time. An extensive appendix provides highlights from the interpretation of Jonah in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

This volume completes the three-volume commentary treatment of the book of Isaiah in this series. A present-day reader will normally open the book of Isaiah in order to learn something about the activity and preaching of the prophet who lived in the eighth century. He will, of course, find what he is looking for in this commentary, in so far as it endeavours to identify the primary material from the prophet.

This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the books of Ezra and Nehemiah 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.

Hosea, along with Amos, opens the period of the "Writing Prophets." He is the only man called to the office of prophet who both lived and prophesied in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This volume, no available in a new casebound edition, offers a verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Hosea. James Luther Mays gives the background to the book...

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.

In this important addition to the Old Testament Library, now available in a new casebound edition, renowned scholar Brevard Childs writes on the Old Testament's most important theological book.

In this new addition to the Old Testament Library series, Graeme Auld writes, "This book is about David." The author demonstrates how all the other personalities in First and Second Samuel--including Samuel, for whom the books were named--are present so that we may see and know David better.

This original commentary foregrounds at every turn the poetic genius of the Song of Songs, one of the most elusive texts of the Hebrew Bible.

In Joel and Obadiah, John Barton furnishes a fresh translation of the ancient manuscripts and discusses questions of historical background and literary architecture before providing a theologically sensitive and critically informed interpretation of the text.

In Joel and Obadiah, John Barton furnishes a fresh translation of the ancient manuscripts and discusses questions of historical background and literary architecture before providing a theologically sensitive and critically informed interpretation of the text.