Showing titles in Biblical History & Culture

The gods of ancient Canaan once ruled the imagination of an entire region. They governed rain and drought, love and war, life and death. Their stories shaped the religious world out of which biblical faith later emerged—yet most modern readers know almost nothing about them. This book brings that forgotten pantheon back into view with clarity, intelligence, and narrative drive. An Introduction to Canaanite Deities takes you inside the sacred world of the ancient Levant and shows how ordinary people understood the forces that shaped their lives. Rather than presenting dry lists of gods and...

Have you ever wondered what the Old Testament - especially the Old Testament law - has to do with your Christian life? You are not alone. Some Christian leaders believe we should cast off the Old Testament now that we have the New. Carmen Joy Imes disagrees. In this warm, accessible volume, Imes takes listeners back to Sinai, the ancient mountain where Israel met their God, and explains the meaning of events there. She argues that we've misunderstood the command about "taking the Lord's name in vain." Instead, Imes says that this command is about "bearing God's name."

Travel the Shepherd's path to the green pastures and cool, refreshing waters of Psalm 23. As a shepherd himself, W. Phillip Keller shares his insights into the life and character of sheep--and of the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for them. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 will give new meaning...

Descubre cómo discernir entre la verdad bíblica y las ideologías culturales que están infiltrando la iglesia, para que puedas vivir tu fe con claridad y convicción en medio de un mundo confuso y politizado. En el siglo veinte, dos ideas opuestas destacaban en Occidente: las enseñanzas de...

The Israel Decree meticulously traces the historical, political, legal, and scriptural foundations of Israel's God-promised right to the land. Writing with clarity and commitment to biblical truth, bestselling author and native Israeli Amir Tsarfati helps you: understand how today’s Israel is a continuation of the ancient biblical nation, fulfilling a divine promise made millennia ago; live with greater expectancy and hope in light of what Bible prophecy says about the rapture and tribulation; and be encouraged by God’s wonderful character as you see it on display.

In The Bible’s Cutting Room Floor, acclaimed author and translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman gives us the stories and other texts that didn’t make it into the Bible even though they offer penetrating insight into the Bible and its teachings. The Book of Genesis tells us about Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden, but not their saga after they get kicked out or the lessons they have for us about good and evil.

What can a Jewish historian, writing under Roman patronage, tell us about Jesus, John the Baptist, James the brother of Jesus, and the world of the New Testament? More than many realize. In this comprehensive study, Edward D. Andrews examines the writings of Flavius Josephus, the first-century priest, general, and historian whose works preserve invaluable accounts of Judea, Rome, and the key figures who shaped biblical history. Far from undermining Scripture, Josephus provides remarkable confirmation of its people, events, and settings — from Herod the Great to Pontius Pilate, from the ...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From a renowned National Book Award–winning scholar, an extraordinary new account of the life of Jesus that explores the mystery of how a poor young man inspired a religion that reshaped the world. “This is a brilliant and necessary book. Sober, wise, respectful...

Many Christians today divide ancient Jewish and Christian literature into two categories: what is in the Bible and what is not. The Christian East, however, has traditionally described a third category considered beneficial for Christians to listen to in the home: “apocrypha.” These texts, from the centuries before and after the Incarnation of Jesus Christ—beyond even the larger canons of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Old Testaments—reveal to us the religious world and theological framework of the apostles and early Church Fathers.

An accessible introduction to the historical and theological developments between the Old and New Testament. Bridging the end of the Old Testament period and the beginning of the New Testament period, this book surveys the history and theological developments of four significant eras in Israel's...

The Zondervan Biblical and Theological Lectures series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook’s direct narration of a book’s text, New Testament in Antiquity: Audio Lectures include high quality live-recordings of college-level lectures that cover the...

What if everything you've been told about your spiritual identity has been only half the story? For centuries, countless believers have lived with a diminished understanding of who they truly are—seeing themselves as merely forgiven sinners struggling toward heaven, rather than restored image-bearers designed to radiate divine light here and now. In The Broken Mirror, Jonathan Leger unveils a transformative truth that has been hiding in plain sight throughout Scripture: You were created as a mirror, designed to reflect God's very nature. Though sin shattered that reflection, Christ came ...

The Zondervan Biblical and Theological Lectures series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook's direct narration of a book's text, Thinking through Paul: Audio Lectures includes high-quality live recordings of college-level lectures that cover the important...

Rumors of war boil angrily within the Middle East at this present hour. Just as Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser vowed to push all Jews into the Mediterranean, so have today's Israel-haters proclaimed they will push all of God's chosen people into the sea, erasing all traces of the Jewish state from the land. Iran is on the brink of producing atomic weaponry with which to accomplish that avowed threat. Many fear World War III could begin if the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) attacks Iran's nuclear production facilities.

Who wrote Great Expectations? That’s easy: Charles Dickens. Who’s the author of Beloved? Toni Morrison, of course. Now how about the Old Testament? You’d think for a book as widely known, studied, and distributed as the Bible, the question of authorship would have been sorted out by now. But the question is more complex (and fascinating) than it seems. Why? Because asking it is to challenge everything we might assume about the Bible’s identity as a book, about what “writing” and “authorship” really mean, and about how a written text could become sacred.

Today in the West, many consider the church to be dead or dying. Christianity is seen as outdated, bigoted, and responsible for many of society’s problems. This leaves many believers embarrassed about their faith and many outsiders wary of religion. But what if the Christian message is not the enemy of our modern Western values, but the very thing that makes sense of them? In this fascinating book, Glen Scrivener takes listeners on a journey to discover how the teachings of Jesus not only turned the ancient world upside down, but continue to underpin the way we think.

How does the Jesus of the New Testament compare to the Jesus we think we know so well? Join bestselling author Philip Yancey as he conducts an enlightening biblical and historical investigation into the real Jesus. From the manger in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem, Philip Yancey presents a...

Evidence for the inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, testimony of fulfilled prophecy, and the argument for the existence of the God of the Bible The uniqueness of Christianity, authenticity of God’s Word, and character of God Many people in Christian circles today no longer believe that the Bible is reliable in its traditional literal and historical sense. They have come to feel that their religious experience must be realized either through some sort of subjective “relevance” and “fulfillment,” rather than truth. The purpose of this book is to survey the “many ...

In this book Christie shares personal stories and encounters, mostly from her journals that span over three decades. Her discoveries will broaden your understanding of Scripture from their Jewish perspective and reveal to you the family and culture that Romans 11 says you have been grafted into. Most importantly, we pray your heart will be strengthened in the love story that is woven throughout all of the biblical feasts.

The Zondervan Biblical and Theological Lectures series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook's direct narration of a book's text, Four Portraits, One Jesus: Audio Lectures includes high quality live-recordings of college-level lectures that cover the...