The most common English translations of the Bible often sound like a single, somewhat archaic voice. In fact, the Bible is made up of many separate books composed by multiple writers in a wide range of styles and perspectives. It is, as Michael Carasik demonstrates, not a remote text reserved for churches and synagogues but rather a human document full of history, poetry, politics, theology, and spirituality. Using historic, linguistic, anthropological, and theological sources, Carasik helps us distinguish between the Jewish Bible’s voices—the mythic, the historical, the prophetic, the theological, and the legal. By articulating the differences among these voices, he shows us not just their messages and meanings but also what mattered to the authors. In these contrasts we encounter the Bible anew as a living work whose many voices tell us about the world out of which the Bible grew—and the world that it created. Listen to the author's podcast.

This activity leader's guide offers fourteen innovative learning projects that can be effectively used and enjoyed in the LDS Young Women program. the creative ideas presented will be of great value to all who lead, teach and serve. This is an idea book - a source which leaders can use as is or readily adapt to the specific needs of the girls they teach. Projects in this volume are both fun and spiritually rewarding. They include an obstalcle course that teaches faith, slumber parties where class members share their hopes for the future and learn self-motivation, an in-class project in which each young woman molds clay images of her family members while discovering the spiritual nature of genealogy, and a talent-sharing evening which emphasizes each participant's divine nature. the Good Works value comes to life with a novel service project in which teams of secret agent class members plan and execute needed acts of kindness without being seen by the recipients of their volunteer help. the importance of maintaining physical as well as spiritual fitness is emphasized in a class biking activity to designated homes and other places in the nearby area for aerobics, a nutrition lesson and snacks. Two lesson plans are provided for each of the seven Values, and each lesson plan includes a clear lesson obective, a list of materials needed to teach that objective, suggestion on preparing the lesson and making it unique, appropriate invitations for each class member, and a step-by-step outline of the class activity. Each lesson plan also suggests interesting post-project assignments for class members to help them remember the lesson's goal and incorporate it into their daily lives. the enjoyable projects in this book can truly stimulate a ward or stake Young Women's program, build the spiritual nature of every class member, and make planning and executing each activity a joy for the instructor. Activities That Inspire Young Women, Volume 1, continues and expands the exciting ides for Young Women leaders that first appeared in Activities That Build Young Women, Volumes 1 and 2.

Presents a family guide to the Bible that, told through historic art and artifacts, tells the stories of biblical characters and highlights their greater meaning for mankind.

“An intriguing narrative . . . A complementary blend of scripture, ancient legends, history, and archaeology, it will stir your curiosity.” —Lorraine Evans, Egyptologist and author of Burying the Dead In this groundbreaking work, the authors reexamine humanity’s most enduring account of bondage, emancipation, and freedom. The Great Exodus is the story of how one man, empowered by divine epiphany, brought the mighty ancient kingdom of Egypt to its knees. For thousands of years, this story has bolstered the faithful of three major religions, though little historical data confirms it. So the question must be asked: Did it ever really happen? Roberts, a historian and theologian, and Ward, an archaeologist, Egyptologist, and anthropologist, dig deeply into historical records to answer the most vexing questions: Is there any historical evidence for the biblical account of the Great Exodus? Was Moses a real person? Where is the Biblical Mount Sinai? What is the Ark of the Covenant, and where did it come from? Why did Moses write about the Serpent and the Nephilim? Is there a Templar and Masonic connection to the events and personages in the story? Did the Exodus take place under Amenhotep II or Amenhotep III, two pharaohs of the same royal house separated by two generations and eighty-odd years? Or were Thutmoses III, Hatshepsut, and Amenhotep Son of Hapu at the core of the action? The authors present two opposing, yet strangely interlaced historical accounts for the Exodus, naming the historical pharaohs and surprising candidates for the historical Moses. While Roberts presents an account that finds its moorings in the efficacy of scriptural historicity, Ward presents a new and completely unique theory for the Exodus and its cast of characters.

The book of Exodus is a key to understanding the Bible. Without it, the Bible would lack three early scenes: deliverance, covenant and worship. Exodus provides the events and narrative, the themes and imagery foundational for understanding the story of Israel and of Jesus. You can read Exodus on your own, and its main themes will be clear enough. But an expert can sharpen your understanding and appreciation of its drama. Tremper Longman provides a box-seat guide to Exodus, discussing its historical backdrop, sketching out its literary context, and developing its principal themes, from Israel's deliverance from servitude to Pharaoh to its dedication to service to God. And, for Christians, he helps us view the book from the perspective of its fulfillment in Christ.

Did the Hebrew mind work differently from those of people in the Western tradition of civilization? This long-discredited question still lingers in biblical studies. Theologies of the Mind in Biblical Israel approaches the topic of the Israelite mind from a new direction, exploring how the biblical texts themselves, especially Proverbs and Deuteronomy, describe the working of the mind. It demonstrates that the much-discussed role of memory in the Bible is just one part of a general understanding that in the realm of 'knowledge' God and humanity are rivals.