Best Christian Bible Exegesis & Hermeneutics
No other study Bible does such a thorough job of explaining the historical context, unfolding the meaning of the text, and making it practical for your life. 125-page concordance, including people and places More than 20,000 study notes, charts, maps, outlines, and articles from Dr. John MacArthur Overview of Theology Index to Key Bible Doctrines 9-point type size. For more details about John MacArthur and his Bible-teaching resources, contact Grace to You at 800-55-GRACE or gty.org.
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Find Best Price at Amazon"excellent helps in studying."
"Love this Bible!!!"
"I love the Bible and all the notes and helps in this Bible really help."
"Great Bible, learning a lot."
"Best Study Bible EVER!!!!"
"I bought 2 of these bibles for friends & they were so pleased with them!"
If you knew that God was going to restore your life and everything you love any day; if you believed a great and glorious goodness was coming to you--not in a vague heaven but right here on this earth--you would have a hope to see you through anything, an anchor for your soul, "an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God" (Hebrews 6:19). Rather, the life we long for, the paradise Adam and Eve knew, is precisely the life that is coming to us. John and his wife, Stasi, live near Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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Find Best Price at Amazon"Several authors, such as N. T. Wright, Randy Alcorn, and even Dallas Willard have contributed to my understanding that what we normally think of as “Heaven” falls far short of what Scripture seems to say. When I saw an offer to preview and promote John Eldredge’s new book "All Things New," I jumped at the chance to read and review it. Where other books offer perhaps a deeper, more theological and Scripture-saturated understanding of the future, Eldredge also uses movie and story references and takes a cue from them to help us imagine what things will be like. Let me provide just one example from the book: “If you woke each morning and your heart leapt with hope, knowing that the renewal of all things was just around the corner–might even come today–you would be one happy person. If your heart’s imagination were filled with rich expectations of all the goodness coming to you, your confidence would be contagious; you would be unstoppable, revolutionary. I believe the best way to develop our understanding of the future is to take the more theological works and combine them with the imaginative ones, blending them together to create a Scripture-founded hope that resides deep within us."
"Part of what is communicated here is that our inheritance is not an alien heaven 'out there' but rather a restored earth, and given such a premise, it should be no surprise that John draws heavily on C S Lewis, particularly 'The Last Battle' to get his message across. Lewis said to one of his correspondents that 'there are better things ahead than any we leave behind', and the great achievement of 'All Things New' is in showing how this is only truly possible if the core of our old, familiar loves is retained. As John says, it is 'all things new', not 'all new things', and if our longing for the life to come has been choked by the weeds of well-meaning but errant church tradition, there is healthy enough soil here for it to begin growing again, as the author draws on scripture, personal revelation, and quotations from his favourite authors to communicate a message that is as timely as it is well-delivered and true."
"One of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read."
"There are two really great chapters in this book."
More than three quarters of a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their reading of the Bible. Updated language for better readability Scripture references now appear only in brackets at the end of a sentence or paragraph, helping you read the Bible as you would read any book―without the numbers A new authors’ preface Redesigned and updated diagrams Updated list of recommended commentaries and resources. Gordon D. Fee (PhD, University of Southern California) is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It does not take a particular demoninational point of view but rather stays focused objectively on biblical interpretation from the text."
"Every teacher and serious student of the Bible should read this several times and apply its principles."
"This book is about Biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, in other words how we can understand texts and apply them to our own contexts."
"It is loaded with practical help, guided tours of the Scriptures, and skilled ease with boiling complicate concepts down to a simple and understandable form."
"The Bible can be difficult to grasp if not for books like this one that explains "the rules of engagement"."
"Still trying to get through it, was recommended by my pastor."
"If you study the scripture whether for personal use, teaching a class, or getting ready to take college or seminary classes - get it and read it."
"The book is really good and easy to read."
Best Christian Hermeneutics
More than three quarters of a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their reading of the Bible. Updated language for better readability Scripture references now appear only in brackets at the end of a sentence or paragraph, helping you read the Bible as you would read any book—without the numbers A new authors’ preface Redesigned and updated diagrams Updated list of recommended commentaries and resources. Gordon D. Fee (PhD, University of Southern California) is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If teaching disciples to read the Bible for themselves is the most important task pastors, teachers, churches can perform then I believe most have failed. I grew up in a conservative Southern Baptist church context that taught the innerancy and importance of reading Scripture daily and studying it corporately, but never once had a lesson in exegesis, hermeneutics, biblical theology, etc. The importance and practical application of proper exegesis and hermeneutics are what Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart teach in this book. Reading this book, and others like it which they recommend, is extremely important. The authors have since written a companion book that I hope to read (How to Read the Bible Book by Book) but I'll read D.A. "Reading the Bible with an eye only to its meaning for us can lead to a great deal of nonsense as well as to every imaginable kind of error--because it lacks controls... we believe that God's Word for us today is first of all precisely what his Word was to them. Second, we must learn to hear that same meaning in the variety of new or different contexts of our own day; we call this second task hermeneutics...the original meaning of the text--as much as it is in our power to discern it--is the objective point of control...And this brings us back to our insistence that proper 'hermeneutics' begins with solid 'exegesis.'". "Even the two authors of this book have some disagreements as to what certain texts 'plainly' mean. Yet all of us are reading the same Bible, and we all are trying to be obedient to what the text 'plainly' means. "There are two basic kinds of questions one should ask of every biblical passage: those that relate to context and those that relate to content.The questions of context are also of two kinds: historical and literary...The most important contextual question you will ever ask--and it must be asked over and over of every sentence and every paragraph --is, 'What's the point? Or to put it in a positive way, the true meaning of the biblical text for us is what God originally intended it to mean when it was first spoken. Consulting a commentary should be "the last thing you do" in studying a text or a book. Christians believe that the New Testament authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore able to write analogies between the Old Testament and the life of Jesus than we are able to today. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write about this analogical connection between the Israelites in the desert and life in Christ without following the usual rules about context, intent, style, and wording..." Similarly with Matthew noting Jesus' "fulfillment" of various prophecies, such as being the "son called out of Egypt." OT Narratives, their proper use: "In the biblical story God is the protagonist, Satan (or opposing people/powers) are the antagonists, and God’s people are the agonists. The basic “plot” of the biblical story is that the creator God has created a people for his name — in his own “image” — who as his image bearers were to be his stewards over the earth that he created for their benefit. The plot resolution is the long story of 'redemption,' how God rescues his people from the enemy’s clutches, restores them back into his image, and (finally) will restore them 'in a new heaven and new earth. '”. "As you read the various narratives, be constantly on the lookout for how the inspired narrator discloses the point of view from which you are to understand the story." Errors in interpretation of biblical narratives: Allegorizing - relegating the text to merely reflecting another meaning beyond the text. Redefinition - Example: 2 Chron 7:14-15. "so they tend to ignore the fact that God’s promise that he will “hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” was about the only earthly land God’s people could ever claim as “theirs,” the Old Testament land of Israel. In the new covenant, God’s people have no earthly country that is “their land” — despite the tendency of some American Christians to think otherwise about the world. "Unless Scripture explicitly tells us we must do something, what is only narrated or described does not function in a normative (i.e. obligatory) way — unless it can be demonstrated on other grounds that the author intended it to function in this way". Trying to look at Acts and the epistles for "how to do church" is problematic. The Gospels: "the major hermeneutical difficulty lies with understanding 'the kingdom of God,'". Authors shaped, and arranged his materials. "Think horizontally". "To think horizontally means that when studying a pericope in any one gospel, it is usually helpful to be aware of the parallels in the other gospels. To be sure, this point must not be overdrawn, since none of the evangelists intended his gospel to be read in parallel with the others. Nonetheless, the fact that God has provided four gospels in the canon means that they cannot be read totally in isolation from one another." The purpose of studying the Gospels in parallel is not to fill out the story in one gospel with details from the others. Usually such a reading of the Gospels tends to harmonize all the details and thus blur the very distinctives in each gospel that the Holy Spirit inspired. "Think vertically". To think vertically means that when reading or studying a narrative or teaching in the Gospels, one should try to be aware of both historical contexts — that of Jesus and that of the evangelist. OT is not our Testament. "unless an Old Testament law is somehow restated or reinforced in the New Testament, it is no longer directly binding on God’s people (cf. While a complete coverage of the categories of Old Testament law would take a book of its own, the portion of laws from the Pentateuch that no longer apply to Christians can be grouped conveniently into two categories: (1) the Israelite civil laws and (2) the Israelite ritual laws. All of the OT is still the word of God for us, even though it is not still God's command to us. Only that which is explicitly renewed from the Old Testament law can be considered part of the New Testament “law of Christ” (cf. Do see the Old Testament law as God’s fully inspired word for you. Don’t see the Old Testament law as God’s direct command to you. 373 – 546; Joachim Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. read Robert H. Stein’s The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teaching. how to do hermeneutics in the Gospels: "highly recommend" George E. Ladd’s The Presence of the Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974). These. The very best introduction to Revelation — how it “works” as a book, its basic point of view, and its theological contribution to the Bible — is by Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); for an “easy read” commentary intended for the lay reader, you may wish to look at Professor Fee’s Revelation in the New Covenant Commentary Series (2011), The Appendix contains information on how to choose a commentary while offering suggestions for each book and some introductions to OT and NT."
"Not an easy read, but lots of good information."
"This will change the way you read the Bible."
"Fee and Stuart, two of the world's foremost biblical scholars, guide the reader into understanding how to appropriately interpret scripture."
"It does not take a particular demoninational point of view but rather stays focused objectively on biblical interpretation from the text."
"Every teacher and serious student of the Bible should read this several times and apply its principles."
"This book is about Biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, in other words how we can understand texts and apply them to our own contexts."
"It is loaded with practical help, guided tours of the Scriptures, and skilled ease with boiling complicate concepts down to a simple and understandable form."
Best Old Testament Criticism & Interpretation
The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition, is an essential resource for anyone interested in the Hebrew Bible. Using the Jewish Publication Society translation, the books of the Jewish canon are presented in their traditional order: Torah (the five books of Moses); Nevi'im (the major and minor prophets); and Kethuvim (the other writings).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"And the footnotes are a life saver for people unfamiliar with scripture or for people who want to have a little bit more background on what their reading."
"Received in two days."
"Get it for your library, it has Jewish insights to verses that may not be in our regular commentary ."
"Bought it for a class but will continue to use it."
"This was a gift to a family member."
"Will use along with my KJV bible for study."
"has what I need for my studies."
Best New Testament Criticism & Interpretation
Now, in The Prodigal God , Keller takes his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity and uses the parable of the prodigal son to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation. Praise for Timothy Keller and The Prodigal God. "The insights Tim Keller has about the two individuals in the story, and about the heart of God who loves them both, wrecked me afresh. In this book, Timothy Keller shows us something of how this story actually reveals the heart of God, and, if we read it carefully, our own hearts. "When it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ, Timothy Keller is simply brilliant."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"But in his book Tim shows that in the original context Jesus meant for the elder son to play a much bigger role than the church has historically recognized."
"I found this book very interesting and I recommend it to anybody who maybe curious why the oldest son, who stayed home, was wrong in his actions."
"Great thought provoking book for individual or group study."
"Yet Dr Keller's depiction of Jesus message in the parable, and in its larger context, is true to Jesus' message of grace and truth: who we are, and how amazing is God's love toward us."
"In "The Prodigal God," Timothy Keller gives the familiar parable of The Prodigal Son a closer examination."
"This is a terrific study that I've found can be uncomfortable for us "comfortable" Christians but is well worth the time you may spend in introspection and prayer."
"In this book he talks about the lost sons."
"I loved this book."