This is our backup site. Click here to visit our main site at MellenPress.com
Subject Area: Scripture-Bible Studies
Vasantha Rao, Chilkuri2012 0-7734-3918-4 388 pages
What characterizes the proper ethical treatment of animals as outlined in the Old Testament? Animals play an important role in the Old Testament, and in particular the Pentateuch. Ritual sacrifices were a part of the ancient traditions, and there are rules written into the laws that pertain to this practice as well as the religious approach to animals and nature. In the oft quoted passage from Genesis the call is to not only be fruitful and multiply, but to reign over the earth and subdue it along with the animals that God created. The author explores the fallout of an anthropocentric way of approaching nature that he claims is a misreading of Genesis. Taken out of context this can seem as though ethics is arbitrary in the pursuit of such dominion, but in reality the Pentateuch shows a rather rigid set of laws revealing the careful treatment of animals as sacred beings necessary for the flourishing of human life on earth.
Stepp, Perry Leon
1996 0-7734-2409-1 120 pages
Since the original stating of the "corporate personality" several studies have redefined its limitations, showing, first, that a corporate self-understanding is neither specifically primitive nor specifically Hebraic and, second, that the Old Testament from the beginning maintains a tension between group and individual responsibility. This study refines the understanding of "corporate personality", returning finally to a passage pivotal for the understanding of corporate identification in New Testament Theology, Romans 6:1-14. This passage as a whole, and in particular Paul's particular choice of words in Romans 6:5, cannot be properly understood without a proper grasp of the concept of corporate identification.
Ayers, Robert H.
2006 0-7734-5855-7 260 pages
An honest appraisal of much biblical material must admit that in terms of its perspectives of nature and the universe, cultural mores, moral sensitivity, and understanding of God, there are factual errors and considerable irrelevance for the contemporary world. Thus the claim of infallibility is simply false. Does this mean that the Bible must be abandoned as useless? Can it be shown that in its major and essential themes, there is no necessary contradiction with the proven facts of our world and that such themes are relevant in any age?
The views of several modern theologians who seek relevance for the biblical material are described and evaluated. It is concluded that the theologies of Reinhold Niebuhr and the Process Theologians serve best to preserve the major biblical themes as meaningful in the contemporary world. Interpreted in this way, the Bible can make a contribution to the faith and life of contemporaries.
Buchanan, George Wesley
1992 0-7734-9601-7 180 pages
Examines legal concepts in the scripture and the technical implications involved. Compares in both scripture and courtroom such concepts as covenant, apostle, witnessing, prayers, calls to worship compared with court room commands, the architecture of ancient temples and that of court rooms, exegesis, rhetorical arguments in the Bible and court, incarnation, and more. This book will stir the imaginations of scholars to find still further insights, questions and answers. The wisdom of the courtroom is an important ingredient for understanding biblical interpretation and Jewish and Christian theology.
Cameron, Nigel M. de S.
1987 0-88946-821-4 440 pages
Surveys the history of disputes in Britain between partisans of the historical-critical reading of the Old Testament and conservative scholars determined to retain the total inerrancy/infallibility of the Bible.
Peale, John S.
1985 0-88946-706-4 120 pages
Traces the biblical story from beginning to end by showing how the spiritual life of the biblical Christian develops through what the author calls "moments in spiritual history" which have parallels in the process of one's personal maturity.
Elliott, Mark
2002 0-7734-7146-4 316 pages
This study explores how traditional scholars seized upon archaeology to advocate biblical truth. It examines the conflict between critical theories of biblical interpretation and traditional methods. It delineates the tension between scholarship and the business of theology in the process of evaluation of the archaeological evidence at the beginning of the 20th century.
Welch, John W.
1990 0-88946-891-5 348 pages
The most extensive bibliography of its kind, compiled by a professor of law at Brigham Young University.
Brown, Milton P.
1996 0-7734-2424-5 100 pages
This is an introductory text for church groups and college students, examining the fruits of modern scholarship on the subject of biblical movements of prophecy and apocalypticism. It offers a clear and unobstructive alternative to the outpouring of recent books, articles and movies that have sensationalized the theme of "the last days" or the fulfillment of so-called "Bible Prophecy." This work makes accessible and inviting the insights of those whose work is often relegated to scholarly tomes.
Mills, Watson E.
2016
Mills, Watson E.
1993 0-7734-2366-4 372 pages
The bibliographies provide an index to the journal articles, essays in collected works, books and monographs, dissertations, commentaries, and various encyclopedia and dictionary articles published in the twentieth century. Technical works of scholarship, from many differing traditions, constitute the bulk of the citations, though some selected works that reinterpret the research to a wider audience have been included.
Cohen, Sascha Benjamin
1995 0-7734-2389-3 188 pages
Little serious research has been undertaken to examine the story of the binding as it appears in Jewish and Islamic traditions, to see whether the parallel components could be found in the binding of Isaac vis a vis the binding of Ishmael. This volume presents a comprehensive examination of the two traditions and analyzes the process of how the colorful tapestry of oral tradition transformed into more rigid religious doctrine, showing the interactions and transformations of the tale as it grows within the constraints, and across the bounds, of these differing traditions. This research will be useful to all students of the Bible, encouraging them to view the Aqedah through the fascinating and fluid aesthetic of the oral tradition in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Macky, Peter
1990 0-88946-619-X 320 pages
Meagher, John
1979 0-88946-876-1 165 pages
Proposes that Mark's gospel shows evidence of the distorting clumsiness that has always beset the ordinary, if occasionally creatively talented, story-teller.
Wendland, Ernst R.
1993 0-7734-9289-5 260 pages
This study illustrates a comprehensive method of analyzing the discourse structure and style of a Hebrew lyric text with special reference to its interacting thematic organization and rhetorical dynamics. An illustrated survey of ten of the principal stylistic features leads to a discussion of similar rhetorical techniques manifested by modern lyric (written) poetry in Chichewa. The study also makes an important contribution to the theory and practice of meaning-oriented Bible translation.
Gregory, Joseph F.
2005 0-7734-6253-8 196 pages
* This is an oversize book because of large number of photographs.
Scholars have long speculated that references to contemporary political and religious turmoil in the Netherlands can be found in the works of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. These assertions, however, have largely rested upon the interpretation of a few isolated details, and/or a perceived thematic relevance of the artist’s images to contemporary events and concerns. What the present study demonstrates is that Bruegel did indeed direct his critical attention to the contemporary world, and that he did so by using a form of biblical analogy that would have been familiar to him through his participation in the bibliocentric culture of his time, especially through his awareness of the popular dramas of the rederijkers which at times employed the same rhetorical trope. The study shows through an in-depth analysis of three of the artist’s major paintings, The Procession to Calvary, The Sermon of St. John the Baptist, and The Conversion of St. Paul, that he generated critical commentary upon the spiritual state of the contemporary world and its institutions by effectively mapping a biblical event against contemporary circumstances in order to generate comparative relations between them.
Parker, Neil R.
2011 0-7734-3937-4 400 pages
This text is the first to display the text of the New Testament book of Mark alongside its putative Old Testament referents.
Winslow, Karen Strand
2005 0-7734-6032-2 512 pages
This book “frames” the appearances of Moses’ wives in Israel’s story and in the interpretive literature of Jews and Christians. Their responses to the account of Zipporah and the Cushite in the Scriptures reveal their views on circumcision, exogamy, monogamy, and even chastity, for an exegetical motif emerged that Moses “withdrew” from his wife after he became a prophet for God.
Zipporah enters the script of Exodus as Moses’ wife, a foreign woman who performed the ritual that marked male Jews as God’s covenant partners and members of God’s people. Zipporah is one of three named circumcisers in the Jewish Scriptures, joining Abraham and Joshua. By circumcising her son, she made a way for the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. Like Abraham, she took a knife to her son, not to slay him, but to save his – or his or his father’s – life. The Torah also mentions Moses’ marriage to a Cushite woman – another outsider, which the priestly and prophetic leadership of Israel – Miriam and Aaron – disparaged, but which the LORD affirmed. Like other outsiders in the Bible, Moses’ foreign wives are featured and celebrated to combat trends toward separatism and exclusivism that emerged among post-exilic Jews.
However, the early interpreters of the Scriptures were not concerned with the social dynamics of Persian period Yehud or the tensions between Second Temple scribes and redactors. Early Jews and Christian sages had their own agendas for Zipporah and the Cushite and used their stories to influence their constituencies regarding marriage, procreation and sexual renunciation, as well as circumcision and baptism. Thus, this project traces the exegetical trajectories of Jews and Christians along these lines.
Page, Hugh R. Jr.
1996 0-7734-2407-5 116 pages
Essays include: an exploration of the meaning of Matthew 2:15 and conclusions on how its author and community viewed Egypt; an examination of the language of cursing in the ancient Near East; a close reading of Jeremiah 46 and its use of historical information in aims that are theologically propagandistic; the place of Asipu and Asu in the spectrum of healing disciplines in ancient Mesopotamia; and an apologia and test application for a new model of biblical criticism that focuses attention on the use of cultural data as part of a text's literary artifice. These papers illustrate how heterogeneity in methodological approach, when combined with a broad interest in human culture and commitment to the synthesis of available data, can yield significant results for scholars of antiquity. They were presented at the inaugural Colloquium of the Institute for Ancient Near Eastern and Afroasiatic Cultural Research.
2006 0-7734-5712-7 444 pages
This two-volume work, first published as one volume in 1987, is the product of a 14-year collaboration by the authors in developing a method for the reading of ancient religious tests. Their method is derived from the work of Leo Strauss and Robert Sacks, who had pointed out that the liberal-democratic philosophers were careful commentators on Genesis. The method taught by Dr. Combs and Dr. Post is to begin with the religious text and make the assumption that it is written carefully and deliberately – do not interject an interpretation unless it is in conformity with the details of the text; only reject that assumption when the text fails to make sense as written. This method is shown to be warranted by the careful structure and order of each text. Such careful attention illuminates an inherent comparative structure to each text, which in turn warrants a comparison with the other text, which in turn reveals deeper philosophical and theological issues latent with these texts.
2006 0-7734-5713-5 328 pages
This two-volume work, first published as one volume in 1987, is the product of a 14-year collaboration by the authors in developing a method for the reading of ancient religious tests. Their method is derived from the work of Leo Strauss and Robert Sacks, who had pointed out that the liberal-democratic philosophers were careful commentators on Genesis. The method taught by Dr. Combs and Dr. Post is to begin with the religious text and make the assumption that it is written carefully and deliberately – do not interject an interpretation unless it is in conformity with the details of the text; only reject that assumption when the text fails to make sense as written. This method is shown to be warranted by the careful structure and order of each text. Such careful attention illuminates an inherent comparative structure to each text, which in turn warrants a comparison with the other text, which in turn reveals deeper philosophical and theological issues latent with these texts.
Isbell, Charles David
2002 0-7734-6994-X 204 pages
Flory, Wayne S.
1995 0-7734-2391-5 160 pages
This volume demonstrates that Gnostic authority originated in and was based upon the spiritual (pneumatic) Gnostic's self-identification as consubstantial with the "highest god". The "divine spark" basic to this self-identification exalted the Gnostic over his contemporaries and even over the Demiurge (the creator-God of the Old Testament) who did not possess it. The Gnostic rejected the orthodox church and the inferior law and world of the Demiurge. Either in asceticism or in libertinism, the superiority of the Gnostic's authority is clearly expressed in the Gnostic writings, and it is uniformly based on his identity with the divine.
Sherlock, Charles
1993 0-7734-1653-6 328 pages
This volume argues that `the God who fights' is only on God's side. The God of the Bible acts as both protector and adversary. Such two-sidedness emerges in the Exodus and Judges periods, and passes into Israel's worship. As in the Exodus and Exile, Christ embraced both conquest and defeat, and the Christian life likewise embraces victory and defeat, united in the loving grace of the triune God.
Lyons, William L.
2010 0-7734-3834-3 236 pages
The study is the first extensive analysis of the biblical exegesis of three prominent biblical scholars (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Peter C. Craigie, and Tremper Longman, III) who represent different perspectives within the evangelical community about how to read these difficult passages of war. The work draws the reader beyond the current cultural debate about what some have called “holy war”, allowing scholars to formulate independent conclusions about herem based on a close reading of biblical passages and in dialogue with evangelical biblical interpretation.
Massey, Isabel
1991 0-88946-784-6 232 pages
Elucidation of several key concepts in Matthew's Sermon on the Mount: "father", "be ye perfect", "measure for measure" ,"word(s)', "vacuous", and the "fruit" metaphor, having both the presuppositions and the modest objectives proper to a study in the area of targum and New Testament at the present stage of scholarship in that area.
Parker, Kim Ian
1992 0-7734-9154-6 196 pages
This bold and innovative series of essays addresses the encounter between the biblical exegesis and liberal democratic thought. Explores how early modern liberal democratic thinkers such as Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, and Kant employ the Bible in the development of their political theories. The introductory essay focuses on the tension between Reason, Revelation, and liberal democracy, and a concluding essay proposes a substantive method for serious reflection about the issues.
Sims, James H.
1995 0-7734-2361-3 180 pages
This study shows similarities in Daniel's and Revelation's structural combination of genres (narrative vision, prophecy-apocalyptic, epistle-vision), explores similarities in their characterization of the central characters and of some divine figures, and analyzes the effect on structure of the distinctive outlook of each author: horizontally through history in Daniel and vertically upward in imminent expectation in John's vision. Part I deals with the genre, chronology and historicity of Daniel, and suggests a new approach to the problems of "mixed genre" and "historical errors," showing the literary unity binding Daniel's narratives and visions together. Part II discusses the prophetic, apocalyptic, and epistolary characteristics of the Book of Revelation and provides a literary analysis of the whole as a unified work of art. Part III analyzes Daniel and Revelation intertextually, focusing particularly on previously unnoted similarities in structural and thematic unifying features of the works. There is also a consideration of the influence of each book on English literature.
Larrick, Geary
1990 0-88946-492-8 164 pages
Section One contains music terms found in the Bible, accompanied by the singular verse that includes each term. Section Two lists song texts found in the Bible. Includes commentary, 20 original artworks, and two essays.
McKnight, Edgar V.
1992 0-7734-2852-6 136 pages
Essays include: T. C. Smith - Scholar, Teacher, Churchman (Morris Ashcraft); New Testament Theology - Historical Event, Literary Text, and the Locus of Revelation (Dan O. Via); Reframing and Reevaluating the Argument of the Pastoral Epistles toward a Contemporary New Testament Theology (Marion L. Soards); Essene Influence in Roman Christianity - A Look at the Second-Century Evidence (E. Glen Hinson); Tradition and Witness in Antioch - Acts 15 and Didache 6 (Clayton N. Jefford); The Church and Inclusive Language for God? (Charles H. Talbert); and Christian Higher Education at the Crossroads (William E. Hull).
Anderson, William H. U.
1997 0-7734-2429-6 294 pages
This study examines the possibility that Qoheleth's main canonical function may be to grant integrity and comfort to sensitive and thoughtful believers who see the harsh reality of life and God's apparent indifference to it. It also struggles with issues in hermeneutics with regard to the problematics between exegesis and theology which Qoheleth acutely presents in the canon and for theology. The introduction deals with some introductory matters in Qoheleth studies (death and emotional effects in Qoheleth, scepticism/pessimism and form criticism of the book), followed by a new English translation. Part I employs historical criticism in the exegesis of Qoheleth. Part II looks at alternative theological and literary views to wisdom and Qoheleth.
Fredericks, Daniel C.
1988 0-88946-088-4 312 pages
Previous conclusions on the date of the language of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) have been based on comparisons with Mishnaic Hebrew, Late Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Canaanite-Phoenician. This study concludes that when all such comparisons are submitted to reliable methodology, the late date of Qoheleth's composition becomes less probable since the language shows itself to be basically classical in both grammar and vocabulary.
Boenig, Robert
1984 0-7734-0633-6 193 pages
Makes available in modern English works that escaped translation or been difficult to access. Presents the full range of Rolle's commentaries, and demonstrates that his interpretation of mysticism is grounded both in scripture and his personal experience. Contains: Short Exposition of Psalm 20; Treatise on the Twentieth Psalm; Comment on the First Verses of the Canticle of Canticles; Commentary on the Apocalypse
McLean, John A.
1996 0-7734-2434-2 332 pages
No current consensus on the structure of the Apocalypse of John exists. This study demonstrates that the judgment section of the Apocalypse (Rev. 4-19) is structured, in part, by the seventieth week of Daniel 9:27. The synoptic eschatological discourses of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 provide the historical link between Daniel 9:27 and the Apocalypse. Chapters correlate common apocalyptic features among the texts, produce a framework by which the judgment section of Apocalypse is structured, and critique current proposals.
Levine, Amy-Jill
1989 0-88946-614-9 319 pages
Seeks to redress the methodologically questionable and often implicitly anti-Jewish technique of negatively valuing the exclusivity logion and then assigning it to narrow "Jewish-Christian" sources incompatible with Matthew's own outlook.
Wortham, Robert A.
1999 0-7734-8025-0 174 pages
Rooker, Mark F.
2003 0-7734-6767-X 292 pages
Work covers a series of studies on Scripture and its language. It covers the historical nature of Hebrew and perspectives on the re-use of themes and topics within the canon.
Fry, C. George
2005 0-7734-6111-6 296 pages
This book will be of vital interest to all those concerned with the Contemporary Middle East, Pahlavi Iran, cross-cultural education, the education of women (especially in a third world context), as well as teaching English language and literature to those for whom English is a second language. As a visiting professor at Damavand College, Tehran, Iran, the author taught a 75 semester hour course on the English Bible as a “global classic” in the World Literatures major at that college for women. In seven chapters, he describes the country, the college, and outlines the challenges and opportunities of communicating a “religious classic” cross-culturally to students, who were predominately Shiite Muslims, and doing so while respecting the “dignity of difference.” Naturally, this is of interest to those who teach the English Bible in both public and private institutions, but it also reflects deeply on the nature of “Literature” and how it may be interpreted.
Hallo, William W.
1990 0-88946-219-4 504 pages
Interdisciplinary studies dealing with various aspects of the Hebrew Bible in relation to their literary, cultural, and historical contexts, especially the context of ancient Mesopotamia.
Price, James D. D.
2008 0-7734-5205-2 400 pages
This study provides a theory of Bible translation known as Optimal Equivalence. The author provides a general description of the theory is provided followed by a formal description of Biblical Hebrew grammar and syntax based on a text-linguistic model of the language employing transformations at the phrase, clause, and text levels. Seven appendices provide more advanced discussions of various phases of the theory. A glossary of terms, a subject and author index, and a Scripture reference index are provided.
Herman, Menahem
1992 0-7734-9959-8 208 pages
Studies the biblical tithe from anthropological and theological perspectives. Explores biblical tithe as gift rather than tax, the common interpretation of the tithe to date.
Wolfe, Rolland E.
1982 0-88946-600-9 416 pages
Shows the Bible to be a succession of twelve relatively separate religions, eight in the Old Testament and four in the New: the Sumero-Akkadian religion of Genesis 1-11; the Aramaean religion of the patriarchal nomads; the Egypto-Midianite religion of Moses; Joshua's religion of genocide; the Canaanite-Hebrew religion of the Judges and Kings; the revolutionary religion of Israel's prophets; Judaism; the humanistic religion of poets and scholars; the Mandaean religion of John the Baptist; the spiritual religion of Jesus; Paul's mystical religion of the indwelling of Christ; and the apocalyptic religion of the Revelator.
Britt, Brian
2003 0-7734-6727-0 174 pages
This book follows the theme of sacred text from Benjamin’s early writings on religion, Judaism, and language to the study of Baroque tragedy, modernism, history, and the Paris Arcades. All of these writings reflect a commentary on the idea of the sacred text in Western culture.
Horton, Fred L. Jr.
1995 0-7734-2426-1 194 pages
Mafico, Temba L.J.
2007 0-7734-5518-3 216 pages
This book attempts to answer questions about the meaning of the Hebrew root špt; the status of a šopet; and how Yahweh could be called a šopet. An examination of past research shows that several scholars have argued against assigning špt (or its cognates) the basic meaning “to judge.”