Bøger af Richard S. Hess

A Respected Scholar Introduces Students to the Discipline of Old Testament StudiesRichard Hess, a trusted scholar of the Old Testament and the ancient Near East, offers a substantial introduction to the Old Testament that is accessibly written and informed by the latest biblical scholarship. Hess summarizes the contents of the Old Testament, introduces the academic study of the discipline, and helps readers understand the complex world of critical and interpretive issues, addressing major concerns in the critical interpretation of each Old Testament book and key texts.This volume provides a fulsome treatment for students preparing for ministry and assumes no prior knowledge of the Old Testament. Readers will learn how each book of the Old Testament was understood by its first readers, how it advances the larger message of the whole Bible, and what its message contributes to Christian belief and the Christian community. Twenty maps, ninety photos, sidebars, and recommendations for further study add to the book's usefulness for students. Resources for professors are available through Baker Academic's Textbook eSources.

Genesis 1–11 is a text that may well have received more attention than any other in the history of literature. Nevertheless, what do we know about the personal names that occur in these chapters and whose influence has permeated all of Western literature? Hess provides a thorough investigation of the ancient Near Eastern background of these names and discusses how each played a key role in adding significance to the stories and genealogies in which they are found. By studying both the linguistic contexts in the surrounding cultures and the wordplay in the biblical texts, the author provides the first comprehensive study of the importance of these names and traces the implications of his results for the antiquity and power of the familiar stories in which they appear.

What does the Bible say about the importance of the family? How can we apply these ancient perspectives to modern Christian life? The essays gathered in this volume provide reflections from leading biblical scholars. The authors focus on reading the Scriptures from the perspective of the authors in ancient Israelite society and the surrounding cultures. They find there an overarching sense of the central role the family played in the larger social structure. However different our contemporary culture might be, these reflections can form the basis of an evangelical vision of the family informed by a biblical worldview.