From the Foreword by David F Wells: I welcome this fine book. I appreciate the fact that Melvin Tinker has gone to the heart of the matter, to the very center of our faith. Evangelical faith is never going to be renewed by better marketing techniques, or more cultural accommodations, slicker presentations, or better business acumen. It will be renewed only when our knowledge of God is deepened, our walk with him becomes more genuine, our faith more authentic, and our churches more biblical. This is exactly what this book calls for. It sets up the doctrinal structure of Christian faith and lays out with great clarity the truth that these doctrines declare. And he shows that as pressing, and sometimes as novel as our challenges seem to be today, they are actually the recurring challenges that God's people have faced in every generation. Here, though, he deals with those challenges from within the biblical period and lays out the biblical answers. If we would but listen we might be quite surprised at the results! We would see the gospel making inroads into our Western world, the Church finding new life, and Christians living with greater confidence and more hope. May it indeed be so!

What if reading Genesis 2–3 in its ancient Near Eastern context shows that the creation account makes no claims regarding Adam and Eve's material origins? John Walton's groundbreaking insights into this text create space for a faithful reading of Scripture along with full engagement with science, creating a new way forward in the human origins debate.

The Genesis flood account has been probed and analyzed for centuries. But what might the biblical author have been saying to his ancient audience? In order to rediscover the biblical flood, we must set aside our own cultural and interpretive assumptions and visit the distant world of the ancient Near East. Walton and Longman lead us on this enlightening journey toward a more responsible reading of a timeless biblical narrative.

Perhaps no biblical episode is more troubling than the conquest of Canaan. But do the so-called holy war texts of the Old Testament portray a divinely inspired genocide? John Walton and J. Harvey Walton take us on an archaeological dig, reframing our questions and excavating the layers of translation and interpretation that cloud our perception of these difficult texts.

In this astute mix of cultural critique and biblical studies, John H. Walton presents and defends twenty propositions supporting a literary and theological understanding of Genesis 1 within the context of the ancient Near Eastern world and unpacks its implications for our modern scientific understanding of origins.

Many today find the Old Testament a closed book. The cultural issues seem insurmountable and we are easily baffled by that which seems obscure. Furthermore, without knowledge of the ancient culture we can easily impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This series invites you to enter the Old Testament with a company of guides, experts that will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features include • Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text. • Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more. • Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. • Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.

One of the country's greatest Bible scholars reveals the very different God envisioned by early Israelites.