Books published by Westminster/John Knox Press,U.S.

In addition to being one of the world's leading interpreters of the Old Testament, Walter Brueggemann is a skilled and beloved preacher. This collection of sermons demonstrates Brueggemann's fidelity to biblical texts, which come alive with meaning in our contemporary world. Throughout, Brueggemann also reflects on his preaching.The book...

Robert Jenson offers a systematic theologian's careful reading of the Song of Songs. Jenson focuses on the overt sense of the book as an erotic love poem in order to discover how this evocative poetry solicits a theological reading. Jenson finds a story of human love for God in this complex poetic book and offers a commentary that elucidates...

Numbers chronicles a community faced with many competing interests, groups, and issues, endeavoring to define itself and its mission in the world. Dennis Olsen offers readers a comprehensive interpretation of this often overlooked book. He provides a thoroughly contemporary reading of Numbers that enlightens the modern church as it navigates...

In this volume, J. Gerald Janzen examines the text of the book of Job as a literary text within the context of the history of the religion of Israel and within the broader context of the universal human condition. He approaches the basic character of the book from a literary perspective which enables him to identify human existence as...

The latter half of the sixth century BCE found the Jewish community fragmented and under great strife after having been conquered by the Babylonian armies. As a response to a growing despair over life in servitude and exile, Isaiah 40-66 was written. Paul Hanson examines the writings of Second and Third Isaiah. What he discovers is a poetic...

This careful and thoughtful book unlocks the door to the theological and ethical treasures contained in the Epistles of John. It is an invitation to a journey of discovery, from the well-known and familiar to the less familiar but...

Thomas Oden provides a modern commentary on the pastoral letters grounded in the classical, consensual tradition of interpretation. Oden uses the best and most accurate research concerning the historical, literary, and philological aspects of the pastoral letters. He addresses tough issues: the role of women in worship, problems of the rich and...

Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

With critical scholarship and theological sensitivity, Walter Brueggemann traces the people of God through the books of Samuel as they shift from marginalized tribalism to oppressive monarchy. He carefully opens the literature of the books, sketching a narrative filled with historical realism but also bursting with an awareness that more than...

First and Second Peter, James, and Jude have existed on the edges of the canon throughout the centuries. In this volume in the Interpretation series, Pheme Perkins casts light on these often neglected writings. She ably demonstrates that these "catholic epistles" have, in fact, much to offer to today's...

Richard Nelson examines the books of Kings and treats the text as theological literature, emphasizing the literary impact of this important part of the Old Testament canon. Nelson recognizes King's as a useful though uncritical source of historical information, its purpose to transform the beliefs of its first readers, to get them to...

Steven Tuell shows how the books of Chronicles present the revelation of God's plan and purposes through the history of Israel, emphasizing the important role that King David plays within that story. Using up-to-date scholarship, Tuell focuses on the theological message of these books--that the purpose of life is to seek God, that those who...

Studies in the books of Ezra-Nehemiah have tended to become bogged down with such questions as, "Who came first, Ezra or Nehemiah, and were they contemporaries? When did Ezra make his journey to Jerusalem, how many trips did he make, and which route did he take?" In this commentary, the author undertakes a theological reading which emphasizes...

This major work explores the message and meaning of Ezekiel, one of the longest and most difficult of the prophetic books. An introduction explains what is involved in reading a prophetic book, and how the book of Ezekiel was put together and structured. It looks at the form of speech used and discusses Ezekiel's author and those who...

Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

This volume invites readers to get up close and personal with one of the most respected and beloved writers of the last four decades. Carolyn J. Sharp has transcribed numerous table conversations between Walter Brueggemann and his colleagues and former students, in addition to several of his addresses and sermons from both academic and...

This book in the Westminster Bible Companion series explores some of Paul's most central writings.

Reformed Confessions of the Sixteenth Century makes available a number of confessional documents that are not easily accessible elsewhere. Arthur Cochrane's introduction to the work and to each confession indicates each document's importance and its theological emphases. A new introduction by Jack Rogers focuses on developments in the study of...

Here beloved poet Ann Weems offers a poignant rendering of her own personal psalms of lament. She draws from the rich heritage of Scripture to give voice to the grief and anguish she has felt. Her words will deeply move anyone who has...

In a powerful and creative way, renowned author and speaker Ann Weems brings new insight into the Lenten season by providing seventy-one poems of inspiration. With her intuitive and heartening poems, Weems takes the reader on a pensive journey through Lent and...

Juliana Claassens explores alternative Old Testament metaphors that portray God as mourner, mother, and midwife--images that resist the violence and bloodshed associated with the dominant warrior imagery

The Sacred Economy of Ancient Israel offers a new reconstruction of the economic context of the Bible and of ancient Israel. It argues that the key to ancient economies is with those who worked on the land rather than in intermittent and relatively weak kingdoms and empires. Drawing on...

Building on the foundation of the popular volumes The Bible from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners and The New Testament for Beginners, Donald Griggs and Paul Walaskay offer a new study on the book of Acts.In seven chapters, Griggs and Walaskay tell the story of this popular New Testament...

Talking with your child about sex can be scary! Sex + Faith helps parents incorporate their faith values with sexual information so they can answer questions, discuss sexuality at each stage of childhood, and show support of sexual differences. Section one explains how faith relates to sexuality and the essential role parents play in forming...

Key Selling Points: Shows how the Hebrew Bible was shaped by Ancient Near East texts, addressing literary, historical, and cultural contextsOffers Hebrew Bible texts with side-by-side comparison to Ancient Near East textsIdeal for introductory courses in Hebrew...

In this commentary on I & II Timothy and Titus, Raymond Collins furnishes a fresh translation, a bibliography and an introduction to the historical background and literary architecture before providing an exposition of the biblical text.

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. These fascinating stories detail the lives of David, his predecessors, and their families. Auld explains that though we read these books from beginning to end, we need to understand that they were composed from end to beginning. By reconstructing what must have gone before, the story of David sets up and explains the succeeding story of monarchy in Israel.

Part of the "Old Testament Library" series, this title offers a close reading of the historical books of "1 Kings" and "2 Kings", concentrating on not only issues in the history of Israel but also the literary techniques of storytelling used in these books. It also contains advanced discussions of textual difficulties in 1 and 2 "Kings".

Popular author F. Belton Joyner has revised his best-selling resource for introducing the United Methodist Church. In a humorous yet respectful style, Joyner takes the reader through illuminating questions and answers on United Methodist terms and beliefs on God, Jesus, the Bible, the church...

The Practice of Pastoral Care has become a popular seminary textbook for courses in pastoral care and a manual for clinical pastoral education. In it, Doehring encourages counselors to view their ministry through a trifocal lens that incorporates premodern, modern, and postmodern approaches to...