David A. deSilva

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“A very important and salutary book for all who struggle holding the critical study of Scripture and a commitment to the apostolic faith together. These 'heavy hitters' in biblical studies, share how faith has been a driving force in their scholarship and how their scholarship has been formative for their faith and practice.”

In This Way We Came to Rome

History & Biography

“In this richly-illustrated book, Thompson and Wilson―two first-rate scholars and trustworthy guides―escort us along the 150 miles of the Via Campana Consularis and the famous Via Appia that Paul, along with his companions, fellow-prisoners, and guards, traveled from the port of Puteoli to the city of Rome where he would await his trial before the imperial courts. Through their own painstaking―and physical―retracing of Paul's likeliest steps and their immersion in the archaeology of these ancient roads and their supporting infrastructure, they laid bare for us the lived realities of the wearying week-long journey that we otherwise pass over in second as a mere four verses in Acts 28:13–16. In so doing, they have also given students of the early Christian mission and the Roman world a valuable window into travel on Rome’s famous system of roads.”

Inductive Bible Study

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“For half a century, Robert Traina’s method of inductive Bible study has taught students the most important critical-thinking skill of all: how to read! His method trains people to attend closely to what is in a text and what is not in a text, to follow a text’s argument, and to map its narrative flow. Now David Bauer adds to the collaborative mix his own formidable strengths as an experienced teacher of inductive Bible study and as an internationally recognized biblical scholar. Together they present a finely honed guide to the process of observation, interpretation, and appropriation, enhanced with examples of how to execute each step and with helpful discussions about both the place of their approach in the landscape of contemporary hermeneutical debates and the connections between critical approaches and their inductive method. This volume lays an essential foundation for critical analysis and careful exegesis.”

Introducing the Pseudepigrapha of Second Temple Judaism

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“The collection known as the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha is an indispensable resource for appreciating developments within Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity--but where is one to begin, and what is one to look for in these texts? Gurtner's distinguished history of research in this corpus makes him a reliable guide for the uninitiated explorer. He focuses here on a judicious selection of the most influential and illuminating writings within this collection and orients the reader to what each contributes to our knowledge of the varieties of thought among, the multiform challenges addressed by, and the contributions of these writers, while also giving briefer orientations to other works throughout the larger collection. This is now perhaps the premier point of entry into these writings, which might otherwise seem inaccessible.”

Killing a Messiah

Fiction

“Killing a Messiah is, first and foremost, an engrossing read. Once I started it, I resented having to put it down for other tasks or for sleep! But it is also a highly informative read. Dr. Winn immerses his readers in a web of plots plausibly driven by the complex political dynamics at work in Judea in 29 CE, dynamics often lost on the casual reader of the Gospels. He advances, in narrative form, a bold hypothesis concerning the backroom maneuverings behind Jesus' arrest, trial, and condemnation that does justice both to the public view of these events preserved in our Gospels and to the character of the authorities known from other sources. Perhaps his greatest achievement is his stunningly well-rounded and sympathetic portrayal of figures like Caiaphas and Pilate. This novel will certainly enrich, and quite possibly challenge, your understanding of the most critical week in human history.”

La Santidad en las Cartas de Pablo

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“«Con su libro La santidad según las epístolas de Pablo, Adewuya resalta la importancia que Pablo da a que la fe en Cristo resulte en una vida transformada. Dios no limitó sus propósito para el mundo a la muerte de Cristo y el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo ni a la convicción de pecado. Antes bien, su fin es la «nueva creación» primordialmente a través de un pueblo que ya no viva para si mismo, sino para el Cristo que murió y resucitó por ellos; es decir, en quienes Cristo vive. A través de cada una de las cartas atribuidas a Pablo, Adewuya hace una contribución sólida que restaura la «santidad» a su lugar central en la discusión del evangelio de Pablo y en las vidas que reciben las buenas nuevas».”

Land of Contention

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures

Evangelism & Missions

“Georges and Baker have taken the seeds of previous work on honor and shame in the environment of the biblical world and in modern cultures and cultivated them into fruitful insights and guidance in the areas of theology, crosscultural engagement and, especially, missions. They provide a culturally sensitive reading of Scripture and of modern non-Western situations, significantly advancing the question of how awareness of this dimension of the texts and our global community can improve our interactions with people living from a decidedly different axis of values and in our thinking about the contextualization of the gospel.”

New Testament Christological Hymns

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Although the question of whether or not certain passages in the New Testament give us access to actual hymns used in the early church's worship remains hotly contested, I find it to be of great value to give careful attention to those places where we hear the authors of the New Testament 'sing,' even if the words are of their own composition. When it comes to the study of worship, ancient or modern, the hymn deserves as close a study as the sermon or the creed, and it is most often the hymn that survives the longest in the worshiper's consciousness and exercises the greatest impact upon his or her formation. Here is a thoroughly researched study of the hymnic passages in the New Testament that can teach us about this important dimension of early Christian religious experience—an important commentary on those passages of Scripture. I believe it is also an important window into Christian worship in its most formative generations. Every chapter is relevant to the church's ongoing quest to find authentic expressions of worship in the twenty-first century, forcing us to ask whether our own hymnody or praise song repertoire reflects the broad Scriptural understanding of the significance of the Son's incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension that is necessary to guide our own lives as disciples redeemed from the powers of this age to serve a very different kingdom.”

New Testament Commentary Survey

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“The multiplication of commentaries and monographs on individual books of the New Testament, and the difficulty of discerning the wheat from the chaff, makes this book a valuable resource indeed--a must read for the student or pastor who is building his or her library. . . . Carson certainly provides all one needs to arrive at a 'short list' of necessary resources and to be acquainted with the potential pitfalls and strengths of most books that a student might encounter in the course of researching an exegetical paper. This book is highly recommended.”

Prima Scriptura

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This book equips Christian ministry students for mature and critical engagement of author-centered, text-centered, and reader-centered interpretative theories, warning against facile or faddish escape into one or another extreme. Croy provides a clear and sufficient guide to the art of asking good questions of the biblical text and of finding reliable answers, laying a solid foundation for the practice of a wide range of exegetical skills and the development of a sound hermeneutical model. His driving interest is to equip students to interpret Scripture in order to practice its truth in every sphere of life--from the personal to the political, from the individual to the international--fulfilling Johannes Bengel's vision for biblical interpretation: apply yourself fully to the text, and apply the text fully to yourself. I look forward to using it in my own classroom.”

Revelation

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Stevens has written a guidebook to Revelation and its interpretation that is both compendious and highly accessible. . . . Hundreds of well-chosen photographs and illustrations help the world of Roman Asia Minor and of Revelation itself come alive. We are indebted to Stevens for opening up his classroom to all of us.”

Revelation

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Gordon Fee has trained a generation of scholars and pastors in the art of biblical interpretation. In this volume, this master exegete applies his skills to guide the reader through one of the most often misunderstood books of the New Testament. Fee writes a commentary on Revelation--not a commentary on commentaries on Revelation--that provides an engaging, readable exposition of this text that lay persons will find immediately accessible. His personality shines through on every page, so that the reader does not merely encounter 'material,' but also the faithful teacher behind the material. Fee's personal involvement in the translation of the NIV 2011 makes this volume particularly valuable as a commentary on this English version.”

Revelation

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“The Book of Revelation has long been considered to stand in irreconcilable tension with a core tenet of Christian theology, namely that God is love. Rob Dalrymple’s winsomely written and accessible commentary boldly challenges this judgment. He offers a much-needed summons to readers to respond to Revelation not with speculation and fear about the future, but rather with fearless witness and work on behalf of the kingdom of our God and of his Christ in the present.”

Right Texts, Wrong Meanings

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Tsang invites every reader of the Bible to engage the task of interpreting the Bible more critically and thoughtfully. Through example after example, he models the importance of and how to apply the most basic interpretative skills, letting the larger literary and historical contexts guide our interpretation. This book will certainly help any Christian test interpretations and hold onto those that are good.”

Seven Events That Shaped the New Testament World

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Brilliantly conceived and accessibly written. Carter's seven events serve as doors through which to enter into and explore the cultural complexities of the early church. This book will be an excellent secondary text for courses on New Testament introduction, but it should also find its way into the hands of any reader interested in the sociocultural context of early Christianity.”

Songs of Resistance

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Streett offers a provocative study of the principal hymnic passages in the New Testament, suggesting the ways in which those who sang these hymns in the first century engaged in subversive proclamations of a higher justice, a greater lord, and a far more lasting kingdom than what they experienced under the Roman ‘peace.’ Streett connects his discussion with more recent songs of resistance, reminding us that Christian witness must hold political powers to account.”

Strange Religion

World Religions

“A winsome and accessible introduction to two strange phenomena—the practice of religion in the Greco-Roman world and the faith and practice of the early Christians within that world. The first is probably strange to us, the second strange both to the Christians’ ancient neighbors and to us. Nijay’s exploration of the early Christians’ fundamental convictions and foundational practices promises to help us rethink our own in a post-Christendom environment, much to the twenty-first century church’s benefit. His exploration of their strangeness promises to give us permission to follow Jesus more fully where obedience might make us look strange today.”

The Authority of the Septuagint

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Students and parishioners are increasingly becoming aware that some New Testament authors grounded their claims concerning Jesus and the Christian mission in an Old Testament that diverges from our own at some important junctures. This inevitably leads to questions concerning both the authority of a Greek Bible alongside the Hebrew Scriptures and the legitimacy of these New Testament authors' interpretative claims. We now have an important collection of essays by theologians of the highest caliber to help us all wrestle with precisely these difficult issues. Highly recommended!”

The Baker Compact Dictionary of Biblical Studies

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“It is so helpful now to have a compact dictionary that focuses not just on ‘the Bible’ but also on ‘biblical studies,’ produced by two of the foremost scholars in the two testaments. I can see my own students keeping this book within arm’s reach as they pursue their coursework. It provides a ready and reliable reference on the ancient literature to which biblical scholarship commonly refers, the major contributions for which commonly quoted names are known, the tools and terms that constitute the basic vocabulary of particular kinds of biblical criticism, sites important in Scripture or in the world of its authors, and a great deal more. This will prove a welcome aid to equip those who want to engage academic biblical literature meet the challenges of the ‘learning curve’ inherent in reading, for example, a critical commentary or academic article.”