Old Testament

Seasoned professors Ed Hindson and Gary Yates join forces to give us “The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey.” This volume is aimed at beginning undergraduate students and serious laymen as well. B & H Academic has almost concerned the market on Bible surveys for every level and this one holds up the high standard of its sister volumes and yet is accessible to its target audience.

There’s three introductory chapters adeptly looking at big picture issues like people, places, archaeology and canon. Each section of the Old Testament gets like Pentateuch, historical books and so on get a helpful chapter.

The majority of the book is a chapter for each book of the Old Testament, except for joint chapters on, for example, I and II Kings. Each chapter covers background, an outline, a section on message that basically covers the contents of the book, and a short section on theological significance.

This book is a gorgeous volume with nice pictures, charts, and maps that will be a real asset to you.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

New Testament

“The Essence of the New Testament: A Survey” by Elmer Towns and Ben Gutierrez is similar and companion volume to “The Essence of the Old Testament:A Survey” by Hindson and Yates. It too is aimed at beginning undergraduate students and serious laymen and continues B & H Academic’s reputation for premier surveys.

There are three chapters on introductory matters. The first two cover textual issues and New Testament interpretation respectively. The chapter on “The History Between the Testaments” sets the New Testament in perspective. While I prefer the design in its OT counterpart better, this is still acceptable. I would have also preferred a more broad approach on the Gospels than just focusing on the Synoptic Problem.

The real value in this volume is the chapters on the individual books of the New Testament. They are well done and include fine pictures, maps, charts, and content.

I highly recommend this survey, and think it even a better idea to grab its OT counterpart at the same time to have an outstanding set.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

 

Are you looking for an introduction that gives more depth to a study of the General Epistles and Revelation? Then you will love this book. It’s the kind of scholarly proficient and pastorally relevant volume that can make a real impact in your studies. Besides the fact that Hebrews to Revelation is the end of the Bible, the authors see a unity of “a strong theme of being faithful and persevering in the faith.”

My favorite chapter was the first one which covered Hebrews. There were great insights on every page. It just so happened that I was recently reading the introduction in a major exegetical commentary on Hebrews and found much more here that opened up what Hebrews is all about.

The chapters on the other Epistles were good, with perhaps James and Jude getting the best treatment. Revelation was explained well, as were the schools of thought of how to view it prophetically. He attempted to explain Revelation in terms that would make sense to most of the schools of thought. In the limitations of that approach, it worked.

This is a great volume and I highly recommend it. 

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This volume joins “Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians” Volumes 1 and 2 for Witherington’s three-volume set that covers the General Epistles including the Pastorals, Epistles of John and of Peter, and in this volume, Hebrews, James, and Jude. I always marvel at his output as he has written on most of the NT and other subjects as well.

Having reviewed the other two volumes, I feel he keeps up his standard of work here. He keeps that socio-rhetorical emphasis that he is famous for as well. I can’t always agree with his conclusions, but they are never uninteresting.

He deals with Hebrews first. He summarizes the different viewpoints on authorship well (he favors Apollos) and rightfully emphasizes Christology to good effect. He sees Hebrews as a rhetorical masterpiece and I agree. His commentary, though I would disagree at points, was helpful.

I chuckle at how he writes his Introductions for each book because he approaches them in a different order each time and just seems to start at random. Still, he gets it covered each time. 

Next, he tackles James. As you might imagine with his emphases, he writes on the “social ethos of James’s audience and home congregation” with good food for thought. I found his thoughts on Jude even better.

This is a quality commentary of the acedemic type and I recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This book is ideal for its intended audience–serious beginning students of the Old Testament. Now in its Second Edition, this volume already has a successful reputation. Paul House and Eric Mitchell are both well respected scholars. There’s a helpful section entitled “Beginning the Study” that helps you get off to a good start. 

Part 1 launches into the Pentateuch. The bulk of the volume is given over to discussing individual OT books. Additional information is woven in as you are studying the individual books. The graphs and maps are from the reservoir that B & H Publishing usually draws from and are outstanding. While we might disagree on some little point made, this is a particularly great introduction to surveying the Old Testament.

If you want to maximize your learning experience, be sure to secure “Old Testament Survey: A Student’s Guide–2nd Edition” as well. It is one of the best student guides of its kind that I have seen.

This is a great addition to any Bible study library.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This volume carries on the same valuable commentary that was found in Volume 1 that covered the Pastoral Epistles and the Epistles of John. In Volume 2 he finishes the letters he feels were especially for Hellenized Christians by giving us this full commentary on I and II Peter. I always marvel at his output as a writer of commentaries and here is another 400+ page commentary.

I must confess that I find myself even in less agreement with him than with Volume 1, and it seems he started in the middle with the Introduction of I Peter. Still, that same good, easy-to-follow writing was present that makes commentary reading more enjoyable.

Conclusions about authorship I found particularly hard to follow, but he continues to present his opinions well and share scholarly thinking up to the present. He continues to see the”household code” just as he did in the Pastorals. His comments on the text still make for lively reading even where one must disagree. Agreement is not essential to gain from a commentary and I’m glad to have this one to use.

All in all, this is a solid commentary.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

I love this book! After having seen and used several New Testament Introductions, this volume strikes me as ideal. It’s clearly designed for advanced studies, yet is so well written and accessible that it will not bore the reader as some advanced studies do. I have never had access to the first edition and so am not sure the level of updating in this second edition, but this is an outstanding book.

Be sure to read the Preface to the Second Edition to see clearly the conservative outlook of Andreas Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum, and Charles Quarles, and design of the volume. On both counts, it is exactly what I would be looking for in this type volume. Chapter 1 speaks of issues of canonicity and even inerrancy. They well outline the twists and turns of scholarship while not allowing it to make them lose perspective. The chapter on the political and religious background is finely executed.

Chapter 3 expertly introduces the Gospels with a chapter following on each Gospel. Next we have a chapter on Acts, then one on Paul, followed by each of the rest of the books of the New Testament. An ending chapter and an epilogue well round out the volume.

Each of the chapters covering the perspective book is the greatest asset on the volume. Real background, scholarly thought, literary designs, theology, and contents of the book are all enlightening. Fine charts and maps only make the content better.

Again, I give this the highest possible ratings among Introductions of the New Testament.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This volume is a substantial, in-depth introduction to the Old Testament by respected scholars Eugene Merrill, Mark Rooker, and Michael Grisanti. You can tell it aims beyond basic, beginning study as it has a less flashy look (there’s a place for those too) and much text to digest.

Three chapters lay out in a helpful fashion the world of the Old Testament. Historical and cultural aspects presented here moor the Old Testament days for us.

Chapters 5-9 cover the text of the OT and how it has been studied. In the process, you get quite a history of trends and the various critical methods that the OT has been subjected to. While some of us would find little value in that subject, it was written with purpose–to show how much OT study has run off the track with dubious critical approaches. So many available OT Introductions are infected with those methods and this serves as a powerful corrective.

Chapters 10-44 cover the books of the Old Testament. Some of the issues addressed above are discussed again in regards the individual book. Further the contents and theology are effectively presented. Though charts and maps are few, those presented are excellent.

To my mind, this is a fine asset to have and I plan to consult it in individual book study in the days to come.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.