Matthew J. M. Coomber

Hugh R. Page Jr. 

Gale A. Yee

This concise commentary on the Historical Writings, excerpted from the Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, engages readers in the work of biblical interpretation. Contributors from a rich diversity of perspectives connect historical-critical analysis with sensitivity to current theological, cultural, and interpretive issues. Introductory articles describe the challenges of reading the Old Testament in ancient and contemporary contexts, relating the biblical theme of “the people of God” to our complex, multicultural world, and reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, followed by a survey of “Themes and Perspectives in the Historical Writings.” Each chapter (Joshua through Esther) includes an introduction and commentary on the text through the lenses of three critical questions: The Text in Its Ancient Context. What did the text probably mean in its original historical and cultural context? The Text in the Interpretive Tradition. How have centuries of reading and interpreting shaped our understanding of the text? The Text in Contemporary Discussion. What are the unique challenges and interpretive questions that arise for readers and hearers of the text today? The Historical Writings introduces fresh perspectives and draws students, as well as preachers and

Fortress Commentary on the Bible Study Edition

The Historical Writings

Cynthia Briggs Kittredge

Margaret Aymer

David A. Sánchez

The Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha and Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The New Testament present a balanced synthesis of current scholarship on the Bible, enabling readers to interpret Scripture for a complex and pluralistic world. Introductory articles in each volume discuss the dramatic challenges that have shaped contemporary interpretation of the Bible. Commentary articles set each book of the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha in its historical and cultural context, discuss the themes in each book that have proven most important for the Christian interpretive tradition, and introduce the most pressing questions facing the responsible use of the Bible today. The writers are renowned authorities in the historical interpretation of the Old and New Testaments, sensitive to theological and cultural issues arising in our encounter with the text, richly diverse in social locations and vantage points, representing a broad array of theological commitment—Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and others, and alive to the ethical consequences of interpretation today. A team of six scholar editors and seventy contributors provide clear and concise commentary on key sense units in each book of the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament. Each unit is explored through the lenses of three levels of commentary based on these critical questions. The result is a commentary that is comprehensive and useful for gaining insights on the texts for preaching, teaching, and research. In addition to the commentary essays on each book, the volumes also contain major essays that introduce each section of Scripture and explore critical questions as well as up-to-date and comprehensive bibliographies for each book and essay.

Two Volume Set

Fortress Commentary on the Bible

Matthew J. M. Coomber

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