"A masterpiece of contemporary Bible translation and commentary."—Los Angeles Times Book Review, Best Books of 1999 Acclaimed for its masterful new translation and insightful commentary, The David Story is a fresh, vivid rendition of one of the great works in Western literature. Robert Alter's brilliant translation gives us David, the beautiful, musical hero who slays Goliath and, through his struggles with Saul, advances to the kingship of Israel. But this David is also fully human: an ambitious, calculating man who navigates his life's course with a flawed moral vision. The consequences for him, his family, and his nation are tragic and bloody. Historical personage and full-blooded imagining, David is the creation of a literary artist comparable to the Shakespeare of the history plays.

Well detailed and illustrated outline of the rulers encompassed by the Old Testament, from Abraham to Herod.

In this introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament, Victor Hamilton moves chapter by chapter--rather than verse by verse--through the Pentateuch, examining the content, structure, and theology. Each chapter deals with a major thematic unit of the Pentateuch, and Hamilton provides useful commentary on overarching themes and connections between Old Testament texts. This second edition has been substantially revised and updated. The first edition sold over sixty thousand copies.

This commentary on 1 and 2 Kings demonstrates the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible for today's church.

A companion to the newly revised and expanded second edition of Old Testament Survey, this student workbook features all-new exercises for seminary classroom settings, including map work, fill-in-the-blanks, etc. Professors should note this is all new text that is not connected to the previous edition of the workbook that accompanied the original 1992 edition of Old Testament Survey.

EXCERPT: "When I read about the mighty King David, now an elderly man with poor blood circulation (see 1 Kings 1:1-3), I immediately remembered my once-robust father Don Gossett - a great man of God in his own right - in his latter years never being quite warm enough. A great warrior David had famously been, but now old age had caught up to him and he spent his time covered with blankets and sitting by braziers, with his personal nurse-assistant Abishag devoted to his comfort. The picture told of an infirm man told is unmistakable - but it should not be assumed that David was also senile. In his final years, my father's memory made not have been as sharp as it once had been, but he was still wise and filled with the Spirit of the Lord. David may have been physically feeble, but there is nothing to suggest he was past being capable of ruling as the King."

In this Bible speaks Today volume, John Olley shows how the two books of Kings retell the past as preached history, addressing the exilic situation of the original readers. Within this account of short-term success but ultimate failure, there are pointers of hope, of God's continuing purposes and promises. In rich and often surprising ways, the narrative in Kings is part of the history that has shaped, and will continue to shape, the faith and life of Christian believers.