Hermeneutics Books

The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary

Robert Alter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Gross Omissions 2 out of 5 stars.
13 of 27 people found this review helpful.

This is not a comment on the substance of Dr Alter's translation. I opened it today for comparative study; I own three other versions of The Five Books. To my dismay, I find no Parashat-Named Headings,none; merely Chapter Headings,and Bk Chapt.#s at the top of each page. I sought refuge in the index. There is no index! I have read many reviews and comments of this work and none, not one, mentioned this glaring omission. For a layman as myself I find this book too tedius to bother with,other than when I go to another version for the missing information. It is beyond my comprehension how this highly praised book by a masterful author could be published without the norms I have mentioned.

Editorial Review:

"A modern classic....Thrilling and constantly illuminating."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World

Through a distinguished career of critical scholarship and translation, Robert Alter has equipped us to read the Hebrew Bible as a powerful, cohesive work of literature. In this landmark work, Alter's masterly translation and probing commentary combine to give contemporary readers the definitive edition of The Five Books. Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Translation and the Koret Jewish Book Award for Translation, a Newsweek Top 15 Book, Los Angeles Times Favorite Book, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book.

New Jerome Biblical Commentary, The (paperback reprint) (3rd Edition)

Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Roland E. Murphy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Jerome 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I have read many Biblical commentaries. I was looking for a Catholic Bible commentary, because I am Catholic but this Jerome commentary is the least organized and the most controversial; almost evasive in its format and content.

Editorial Review:

This reference book is a compact commentary on the entire Bible that readers can use to familiarize themselves with the methods and paths followed by biblical scholars. It features current theories on dating, historical reconstruction, and archaeological information. Contemporary perspectives and topical articles of an introductory nature include Hermeneutics, Canonicity, Old Testament themes, and coverage of biblical theology. Additional commentary includes articles on Jesus, the early Church, Gnosticism, and the subapostolic church. Especially for seminarians and clergy who require a commentary on the Scriptures both during their formal study of theology and for preaching in their ministry. Also, for those interested in religion and theology on all levels and feel the need for an adequate background in the Bible.

The Bible with Sources Revealed

Richard E. Friedman

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Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

For centuries, biblical scholars have worked on discovering how the Bible came to be. The consensus that emerged from experts of various traditions was the Documentary Hypothesis: the idea that ancient writers produced documents of poetry, prose, and law over many hundreds of years, which editors then used as sources to fashion the books of the Bible that people have read for the last two thousand years.

In The Bible with Sources Revealed, Richard Elliott Friedman, one of the world's foremost experts on the Bible and author of the bestselling Who Wrote the Bible?, offers a new visual presentation of the Five Books of Moses –– Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy –– unlocking their complex and fascinating tapestry of sources. Different colors and type styles allow readers to easily identify each of the distinct sources, showcasing Friedman's highly acclaimed and dynamic translation.

This unique Bible provides a new means to explore the riches of scripture by:

•Making it possible to read the source texts individually, to see their artistry, their views of God, Israel, and humankind, and their connection to their moment in history;

•Presenting the largest collection of evidence ever assembled for establishing and explaining the Documentary Hypothesis;

•Showing visually how the Bible was formed out of these sources; and

•Helping readers appreciate that the Bible is a rich, complex, beautiful work as a result of the extraordinary way in which it was created.

Now everyone can explore these rich resources. This new version will forever change the way you understand the Five Books of Moses.

The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures

Michael D. Coogan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Lucidly written by a leading biblical scholar, this balanced, engaging, and up-to date introduction to the Hebrew scriptures distills the best of current scholarship. Employing the narrative chronology of the Bible itself and the history of the ancient Near East as a framework, author Michael Coogan covers all the books of the Hebrew Bible, along with the deuterocanonical books included in the Bible used by many Christians. He treats every book of the canon with careful attention to its historical context, its particular genre, and its distinctive features. Dealing in detail with ancient Near Eastern sources and archaeological data, Coogan works from a primarily historical and critical methodology but also introduces readers to literary analysis and other interpretive strategies, especially current ones. "The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures" is enhanced by a glossary, timelines, photos, illustrations, maps, and a four-color insert on Jerusalem in biblical times. Strategically placed boxes address issues that often puzzle readers of the Bible, provide models of interpretation of particular texts, and discuss their significance for Judaism and Christianity. Each chapter includes key terms, questions for review and discussion, and suggestions for further reading. Providing a non-denominational and non-doctrinal treatment, "The Old Testament" is accessible to students of all backgrounds. It offers a unique and captivating introduction to the Hebrew scriptures themselves and to how they have been - and can be - interpreted.

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

John J. Collins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Mythological 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 10 people found this review helpful.

The author presupposes that the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) is myth and builds all suppositions and arguments around that premise. Keep this in mind when you read.

You'll keep coming back for more! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

In my six years of study as a post-graduate Theology student,I have read many books introducing me to Hebrew Scripture. Many were excellent and scholarly yet none possessed the "flow and enticement" of Collins' research and presentation. I looked forward each night to resuming my study. Collins managed to tie all the information together, fill in all the gaps, present many perspectives and offer the latest assessment of the evidence thus far. I teach an Adult Bible Study - and ALWAYS have this book at my side. It's as pleasurable a read as it is informative!

Illuminating Historical and Archeological INformation 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The author offers considerable information which illuminates the Old Testament. He makes points for supporting as well as refuting stories, details, which otherwise might well be taken for granite by the casual reader.

Editorial Review:

This accessible introduction to the Hebrew Bible, including the Apocrypha, features a CD-ROM that uses Libronix software and offers extensive additional materials, including discussion questions, maps, illustrations, and Web resources.

Understanding The Scriptures: A Complete Course On Bible Study (The Didache Series)

Scott Hahn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Top of Its Class 5 out of 5 stars.
25 of 26 people found this review helpful.

As the director of adult faith formation at a Catholic parish, I am using this text in tandem with the Bible as the textbook for a 9-month course on the Bible (30 classes, one class per chapter in this book). Our adults are devouring the material and *absolutely love* the content, layout, font, sacred art, diagrams, and beautiful photographs, which make this book such a fabulous resource for any student of the Bible.

I wholly recommend this text to all high school classrooms as well as to all parishes and organizations that wish to facilitate a complete course on the Sacred Scriptures in order to give the student a Catholic Scriptural worldview and an overview, a framework, by which one may understand Salvation History as mediated by the Bible.

Also, if you simply want to learn the Bible in the privacy of your own home - perhaps with your spouse or a friend - you should acquire a copy for yourself and read through it (perhaps one chapter per week). The chapters are short, easy-to-read, and full of amazing information.

If sitting on your coffee table, the textbook looks enticing, and I guarantee, from personal experience that visitors will open it up and start flipping through the pages to view the eye-catching, colorful pages. Then, you'll hear the question, "Where did you get this?? How can I get my hands on one?"

Visual History of the English Bible, A: The Tumultuous Tale of the World's Bestselling Book

Donald L., Brake

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

I Wanted it To Be a Standout 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I wanted A Visual History of the English Bible to be a standout. A book that I spied in a catalog and knew I just needed to read, it deals with a topic I love and in a way that is fresh and compelling. Few readers of the English Bible really understand the history of their Bible and fewer still understand the countless sacrifices that were made to bring it to us. A book like this helps us understand even more what a treasure the Bible truly is and how blessed we are to have it available to us.

In A Visual History of the English Bible, Donald Brake simply tells the story of the English Bible, beginning with the earliest pre-English Bibles and concluding with the multiplicity of modern translations. Of course he passes through John Wycliffe, Martin Luther (whose contribution to the English Bible is undoubtedly greater than most people realize), William Tyndale and his contemporaries, and of course to the men who together translated the King James Version. He pauses to describe many lesser-known Bibles, some of which have little significance but others of which shaped and influenced the translations that would follow. Though this is a topic whose books are often written for the academy, this one is clearly written for a much more general audience. The prose is informal, as reference books go, and relies little on a lexicon unique to the subject matter.

Many references books are oversized--books that are difficult to carry around and sometimes even difficult to read. This title, though, is quite a standard hardcover size. Printed throughout on glossy paper it is exceptionally heavy, but still easy enough to carry and to read. It is wonderfully illustrated in full color. Rarely will a reader go more than two pages without finding an illustration, a photograph or a sidebar containing some kind of interesting and relevant information. The illustrations portray the heroes or villains in the story or display the beautiful Bibles that have survived from antiquity. Many of the photographs even come from the author's collection. In the sidebars the book weaves together the history of the English Bible with the author's quest to establish his own collection of rare antique Bibles. These stories, in which we find the author traveling the world seeking to track down some great treasure, are delightfully geeky but, for that very reason, a great deal of fun. By his own admission, there is a "gentle madness" in the serious pursuit of any collectible and his obsession is readily apparent in the pages of his book. It makes for good reading.

With so much good, this book could have been a standout. Unfortunately, tragically even, the book failed to live up to its promise. I say this with great disappointment as A Visual History of the English Bible could so easily have been one of my favorite books of the year. But sadly, it is hampered by poor writing. The writing is at times mediocre and at other times--too many times--just plain bad. The author relies heavily on the passive voice and includes far too many clunky sentences. Too many times the book launches forward into the future before returning to the past, providing a time line that is very difficult to follow. The writing was such a disappointment to me, especially for a book published by Baker; it is certain atypical for a book with this kind of problem to make its way through Baker's editorial process.

A Visual History of the English Bible is a book that oozes with potential, yet sadly, one that can't quite live up to it (or maybe it just can't live up to my lofty desires for it). Dogged by some poor writing, it offers great information and wonderful illustrations, but often surrounded by substandard prose. This is not to say that it is without value. The information it contains is excellent and there is much to gain from reading it. But it is sad that so much sound substance could be surrounded by so much poor style. In the hands of a good editor this book could have been a standout. But even saying that, I have little trouble recommending it as I know you'll enjoy it, as I did, for its better qualities.

Editorial Review:

With a full color layout and over one hundred illustrations, A Visual History of the English Bible covers the fascinating journey of the Bible from the pulpit to the people. Renowned biblical scholar Donald L. Brake invites readers to explore the process of transformation from medieval manuscripts to the contemporary translations of our day. Along the way, readers will meet many heroes of the faith--men and women who preserved and published the Scriptures, often at risk of their own lives. From Wycliffe and Tyndale to King Henry VIII and the Geneva Bible, from the Bishop's Bible and the King James Version to the American Revolution and the Civil War, this tumultuous tale is history come alive. This book is perfect for history buffs, bibliophiles, and anyone interested in the colorful account of the world's most popular book.

Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture : A Study Guide for Individuals and Small Groups

John Shelby Spong, Jill Westberg McNamara

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 133 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

An excellent overview of biblical scholarship 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

When I looked at this on Amazon, I KNEW that the reviews would be polarized. There are people who don't know anything about biblical scholarship who will give it five stars automatically, because it's all eye opening. There are devout Christians who don't want the scholarship to be true who will give it one star no matter how accurate the contents are.

On top of that, there were people who complained that the scholarship was poor, or that it was introductory only, or even some who complained that it was not relevant in the modern world (the bible is 1900 years old, how "modern" do you have to be?).

The book is exactly as advertised. The introduction says it clearly that it is introductory biblical scholarship and there any biblical scholar would find it boring or elementary. I can't fault the book for that and would dismiss any reviews that do.

The book is an overview of modern biblical scholarship (focusing more on the new testament than old) discussing when and where the particular book was written and what conditions were for the author. He also discusses the author's target audience.

While I have read more detailed analysis, few of them are more readable. It is a gentle introduction.

Even though it is introductory, it has details in it that I haven't read elsewhere that I found quite interesting.

No one would argue that it is a liberal view of Christianity, so if you aren't a liberal Christian, you may disagree with some of the statements. Most likely, those to do with the resurrection and the virgin birth would probably be offensive.

If you are looking for in-depth, authoritative analysis of the bible from a linguistics and historical point of view, look elsewhere. If you are looking for an easy introduction to the bible and know very little about it, it's one of the best books available.

Personally, I felt comforted that there are devout Christians out there as reasonable as Spong is.

Editorial Review:

By popular demandstudy guides to two of Bishop John Shelby Spong's bestselling and controversial works, including questions, reflections, and summaries for group and individual use.

Prophetic Literature: An Introduction

David L. Petersen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An emphasis upon genre in the prophets 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Petersen has written an interesting guide to the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible. The emphasis of this work, as the title clearly indicates, is on literature rather than the prophets themselves. A general overview of each prophetic book is provided but the author's major focus is upon literary units. With an emphasis on literature comes a de-emphasis on the author. Petersen's stress is upon genre, especially prose versus poetry. Literary analysis is used to determine suggestions about setting (e.g. laments), authorship, and message.

The author mentions key findings from critical schools in his discussion of each biblical book. The weight is given to form criticism followed by redaction criticism, tradition history and social-science criticism, all methodologies that result in the segmentation of the text. Though quite conversant with rhetorical features of the text the author places much less emphasis upon methods that often promote a greater textual unity like rhetorical criticism or canon criticism. For Petersen the focus of each book (Zion in Isaiah, lament in Jeremiah; glory in Ezekiel and the Day of the Lord as an emphasis in The Book of the Twelve) helps with the analysis of smaller units in a text that developed over time.

I recommend this book for any serious student of the prophets. It provides insight into current scholarly concerns about the growth of the Old Testament literature. The strength of the book is its focus on various genres in the prophets while much less will be gleaned about the prophets themselves. Petersen is very conversant with current scholarly trends and provides helpful summaries along the way.

The Art Of Biblical Poetry

Robert Alter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This book should never be out of print 5 out of 5 stars.
33 of 40 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the books that I was supposed to read for a class but didn't get around to it until now. I am halfway through this book and it is one of the most readable academic books that I've read. It is no wonder that Robert Alter has set and will set the standards by which Biblical litery criticism is judged.

The Bible comes alive under his translations and his insights into the text make this old book new and exciting.

A literary approach to reading Biblical poetry 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 22 people found this review helpful.

Alter continues here what he started in ' The Art of Biblical Narrative' and applies the techniques of literary criticism to the Biblical text. He does not discard Lowth's discovery of parallelism as the key technique of Biblical poetry but rather sharpens and intensifies the meaning of this concept. He shows the way different kind of parallelism operate in the text. He illustrates how intensification of meaning comes through repetition and variation. He closely reads some of the great Biblical poetry.
This is a wonderful work for all those who love the Bible and all those who love Poetry.

Editorial Review:

The author of "The Art of Biblical Narrative" provides a fresh interpretation of the poetry of the Old Testament and a lucid, original account of how biblical poetry works.