The Bible is simply a love letter compiled into sixty-six books and written over a period ofsixteen hundred years by more than forty authors living on three continents. Although theauthors came from different backgrounds, there is one message, one theme, one thread that runs throughout the entire Bible from the first book, Genesis, to the last book, Revelation. That message is God's redeeming love for mankind--a message that is as relevant for us today as it was two thousand years ago.These five books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts) begin with the birth of Jesus Christ and conclude with the first imprisonment of the apostle Paul about six decades later. Over the course of these decades, God introduced elements of His sovereign plan that turned the world upside down. He moved from an emphasis on the nation of Israel to an emphasis on the church, from a covenant of law to a covenant of grace, from His Holy Spirit merely coming upon people to actually indwelling them, and from commanding Israel to live in such a way as to attract others to commanding the church to disperse throughout the world and make disciples of all nations.The Gospels give us four similar but distinct accounts of Jesus the Messiah, God's Son. His birth, childhood, ministry, teaching, miracles, arrest, trials, death, and resurrection are all handled differently by the four authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But in every record, by the time the tomb of Jesus was empty, the world had been changed.While the Gospels tell the story of the life of Christ, the book of Acts tells the story of the church of Christ. From its founding on the Day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem, through its expansion around the then-known world, to its crisis when the apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome for the first time, the story is one of excitement, intrigue, incredible growth, and life-changing encounters.

Originally published: London: Nelson, 1969.

This book combines a careful study of the subject matter and the literary form of each of the historical books of the Old Testament and at the same time explains why this literature should be of great interest to Christian and Jewish believers today. The study is text based, carefully examining the wording of selected pericopes and following up with reflections on the theological significance of the texts. Its focus is twofold. First, it is a study of the history of Israel through a critical examination of the biblical sources attempting to see the events through the eyes of the authors/editors and to understand the religious and national filters through which they saw those events. Secondly, it is also a study of the faith of Israel expressed in these writings in an attempt to reflect on the major patterns and themes expressed and presupposed in the narratives. Special attention is given to the stories of the prophets in these books. This book examines the biblical books in four groups: 1) the Deuteronomist history extending from Joshua to 2 Kings, 2) the Chroniclers' or priestly history extending from 1 Chronicles to Nehemiah, 3) the Maccabean story looking and 1 and 2 Maccabees from the Greek Bible, and 4) the midrashic accounts including Ruth, Esther, Judith, Esther, and Tobit. Numerous maps and diagrams assist the reader to follow the geographical references in the texts as well as complicated family lines and sequences of kings. An index assists in finding specific names and events. +

"The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible offers 36 essays on the so-called "Historical Books": Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, Ezra-Nehemiah, and 1-2 Chronicles. The essays are organized around four nodes: contexts, content, approaches, and reception. Each essay takes up two questions: (1) what does the topic/area/issue have to do with the Historical Books?" and (2) how does this topic/area/issue help readers better interpret the Historical Books?" The essays engage traditional theories and newer updates to the same, and also engage the textual traditions themselves which are what give rise to compositional analyses. Many essays model approaches that move in entirely different ways altogether, however, whether those are by attending to synchronic, literary, theoretical, or reception aspects of the texts at hand. The contributions range from text-critical issues to ancient historiography, state formation and development, ancient Near Eastern contexts, society and economy, political theory, violence studies, orality, feminism, postcolonialism, and trauma theory-among others. Taken together, these essays well represent the variety of options available when it comes to gathering, assessing, and interpreting these particular biblical books"--

Rich rewards await readers who dig deep into the historical books of the Old Testament. Incredible events, amazing love stories, larger-than-life personalities and deep theological implications and themes are just part of the t treasure that awaits readers of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. These books tell the story of the nation of Israel and the God who loves her, punishes her, and always brings this recalcitrant people back to Himself. It is really the story of all of us. David M. Howard Jr. provides an in-depth introduction to the Old Testament historical books, focusing first on the overarching themes of historical narrative in general. He then turns his attention to each book. From the conquest of Canaan to the fall of Jerusalem, from war to peace and back to war, from kings and queens to farmers and housewives--David Howard covers it all in this invaluable introduction to the Old Testament historical books.

In this excellent history of God's authoritative message to humankind, Niswonger presents the major events of the life and ministry of Jesus, Paul, and the apostolic church by unfolding it against the historical, religious, and political settings of the time and recounting the events with simplicity and directness. More than 90 photographs and maps.

Provides a discussion of introductory matters such as authorship, date, historical background, purpose, structure, and outline of the historical books of the Old Testament.