A multidisciplinary compilation of nineteen incisive essays ranges from the formality of traditional art criticism to intimate, lyrical meditations as they explore nuclear test sites, the meaning of national borders and geographical features, and the idea of the feminine and the sublime.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

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Did Eve sin before Adam? When responding to the serpent's temptation to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve says that one "must not touch it" (Gen 3:2–3). In this, Eve appears to embellish upon God's clear command that one must not eat from the tree (Gen 2:17). Did Eve add to God's command, becoming the first legalist? Was this an innocent mistake? Or is the answer altogether different? Jeffrey J. Niehaus tackles this issue head-on in When Did Eve Sin? Though many commentators believe that Eve altered God's command, there are notable exceptions in the history of interpretation that suggest another answer. Using Scripture to interpret Scripture and analyzing biblical stories where characters retell the facts, Neihaus recognizes a common scriptural pattern that resolves the mystery of Eve's words. Niehaus examines his view's implications for biblical historiography, what it meant to eat from the tree of life, how a sinless being can fall into sin, and the nature of the mysterious serpent. Everyone engaging with these questions will be deftly guided by Niehaus' thorough study of this thorny issue.

A careful examination of the earliest biblical interpretations of Genesis considers such topics as human destiny, the Creation, sexuality, sin, and forgiveness, from the perspectives of both Judaism and Christianity.

In this study, Brian A. Verrett argues that 1–2 Samuel contains a serpent motif by practicing biblical theology and literary criticism. This motif derives from the serpent in Genesis 3, and its function within the Samuel narrative is to heighten the reader’s anticipation in the coming messiah, who is the son of David and the seed of the woman from Genesis 3:15. This messiah will defeat the serpent and inaugurate his glorious reign over a renewed world. When 1–2 Samuel is read in this way, one appreciates previously unnoticed features of the text, understands aspects of the text that were formerly confusing, and rightly sees that the whole of 1–2 Samuel is a messianic document.

With so many hot-button issues causing divisiveness in our culture, many Christians are struggling to live out their faith. There is a way, says Micahn Carter. Jesus modeled it perfectly: He stood strong in the middle of tension and loved people outside of His comfort zone. Growing up in a home mired in conflict, Micahn Carter learned how to unify people at an early age. As a young adult, he was skilled at understanding all sides of an issue and building togetherness. Then he became the pastor of a small, predominantly African-American church in downtown Yakima, Washington, where he reached out to people of different cultures, races, relationships, and opinions. Within a few years, Together Church grew into a thriving, multi-racial community of several thousand members that now spans three campuses. In Made for the Middle, he reminds Christians that God sent his Son to die for broken humanity so that reconciliation could be a new way of life—reconciliation between God and man, and through the power of Jesus, reconciliation among humankind. Made for the Middle provides a roadmap for resisting the urge to pick a side in the latest cultural debate and fighting instead for unity, for together, for love. Transformation is possible only when we take the time to build relationship, to seek to understand, and to follow Jesus’s example of creating unity.