Beyond the Evangelical Gender Roles Gridlock : reimagining Paul's views on women, marriage, and ministry by
Present-day Evangelicalism represents a microcosm of broader tensions over male and female gender roles, with some denominations carefully delimiting women leadership roles, especially the female pastor, and many others supporting them. The letters attributed to Paul the Apostle contain several divisive passages on the meaning of manhood and womanhood. Dated and dubious readings of these have led some, Christians and non-Christians alike, to conclude that Paul wrote with misogynistic intent. Others quote them to justify Christian patriarchalism. Beyond the Evangelical Gender Roles Gridlock: Reimagining Paul's Views on Women, Marriage, and Ministry reassesses what Paul said about women, reinterpreting his claims on marriage and ministry leadership in light of his first-century worldview. This book proposes a nuanced theological egalitarian approach with significant implications for renewing twenty-first-century congregations, homes, and society.
God, Gender, and Family Trauma: how rereading Genesis can be a revelation (2025) by
Most readers of the Hebrew Scriptures will identify Genesis with creation and the garden of Eden, Noah's ark, and the tales of the patriarchs. Biblical scholar and Lutheran minister Cory Driver helps us probe below the surface of such preconceptions, uncovering complex and often traumatic subtexts that help us recover hidden voices. Driver uses trauma-informed scholarship and Jewish midrash to invite readers into new understandings of Genesis. Viewing figures such as Sarah, Joseph, Tamar, and Dinah through this lens sheds valuable light on what the Bible can teach us about gender and family trauma. These ancient stories have vital implications for our own lives in ministry. What does it mean, for example, to see Sarah as both victim and victimizer in a patriarchal system? How does the complicated story of Lot and his daughters illuminate complex dynamics of gender-based sexual trauma? What do our accounts of figures ranging from patriarchs like Jacob to marginalized women like Tamar tell us about agency, abuse, and sense of self? What is really going on with Joseph? Through careful analysis and pastoral attention to the impacts of trauma throughout time and space, Driver helps us understand how ancient stories can inform our contemporary ministry. God sees the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit, both in the ancient Near East and in our pews today--and the good news is that God is intimately present. Consequently, in Driver's words, "trauma-informed care is the work of the whole Body of Christ."
Compassion and the Characterization of the Markan Jesus by
Why does the Gospel of Mark make specific and repeated reference to the compassion of Jesus in the miracle stories? This volume discusses the function that compassion has in the Markan characterization of Jesus, particularly in how the terminology employed depicts Jesus as entering the suffering of others. In doing so, it underscores how this portrayal is exceptional among the stories of miracle workers in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish literature. In Mark, this compassion toward the suffering other is a central feature of the kingdom of God, an attribute the Markan audience is challenged to emulate.
From Page to Proclamation by
This pioneering work invites readers to embark on a transformative journey through the heart of liturgical worship and scriptural proclamation. It introduces a new tier to biblical hermeneutics, exploring the ways in which the liturgical event and the ecclesial community color the interpretation of Scripture.Weaving together insights from Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics with the rich tapestry of Catholic liturgy, the author proposes that the meaning of a proclaimed Scripture passage emerges not from an analysis of the text itself, but in the vibrant interplay of multiple horizons--Bible, Lectionary, homilist, and worshiper.Through a lens of "play" and "festival," the intricate relationship between tradition and contemporary worship is explored, showcasing how the sensory richness of the Catholic liturgy shapes the interpretation of Scripture. It challenges readers to view the Lectionary as a living text, intimately connected to the worshiping assembly and the modern world.This thought-provoking work offers both theoretical insights and practical implications for scholars, clergy, and worshipers alike. It inspires a fresh perspective that resonates with the contemporary Catholic experience, guiding worshipers toward a profound engagement with Scripture in the dynamic event of liturgical celebration.
Daniel Commentary, by St Jerome by
St. Jerome: Commentary on Danielis a new annotated and introduced English translation the based on the Sources edition of 2019. +
Paul and Seneca Within the Ancient Consolation Tradition : a comparison by
In this monograph, Alex W. Muir shows how Paul and Seneca were significant contributors to an ancient philosophical and rhetorical tradition of consolation. Each writer's consolatory career is surveyed in turn through close readings of key primary texts: chiefly Seneca's three literary consolations and 'Epistles'; and Paul's letters, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Corinthians, and Philippians. A final comparative dialogue highlights the pair's adaptations and innovations within this tradition.
A Way of Reading John's Gospel : cruciform structures in a cruciform gospel(2024) by
John's Gospel presents a compelling eyewitness account of Jesus' mission. It is written in simple language but consists of a rich profusion of ideas and themes that challenge the most learned scholars and can overwhelm the understanding of ordinary readers. Surprisingly, part of this complexity arises from the observation that the text appears to be rich in chiastic structures. This literary form is a Jewish style of writing, in which a series of ideas or themes is developed and then repeated in reverse order. (This pattern may be represented as, for example, A-B-C-D-D′-C′-B′-A′.) When the reader takes cognizance of this literary convention, the multiplicity of ideas falls into a more tractable pattern. This book is written by a layman for other ordinary readers in the hope that it will facilitate understanding of this Gospel in church and home study groups, Bible classes and schools, and family and personal devotions.
Jesus As the Son of 1-2 Samuel's David : an intertextual reading of the Gospel of Matthew by
Although the Gospel of Matthew emphasizes Jesus as the son of David, no one has systematically investigated how 1-2 Samuel influence Matthew's portrayal of Jesus as the son of David. This work addresses that lacuna and shows how the sustained use of 1-2 Samuel in Matthew evokes the themes of mercy and righteousness as the hallmarks of a proper Davidic shepherd. The book's systematic intertextual and narrative approach offers another way to understand Matthew's Christology and portrayal of the kingdom of heaven. It helps the reader appreciate the justice-focused nature of Jesus' rule and its religious and political implications.
Between Script and Scripture: Performance Criticism and Mark's Characterization of the Disciples by
This volume reimagines the first-century reception of the Gospel of Mark within a reconstructed (yet hypothetical) performance event. In particular, it considers the disciples' character and characterization through the lens of performance criticism. Questions concerning the characterization of the disciples have been relatively one-sided in New Testament scholarship, in favor of their negative characterization. This project demonstrates why such assumptions need not be necessary when we (re-)consider the oral/aural milieu in which the Gospel of Mark was first composed and received by its earliest audiences.
Land of Contention : biblical narratives and the struggle for the Holy Land by
God is a God of love, justice, and peace. And he has called his people to make him known to the nations by imitating him. As Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Dalrymple contends that the nature of the kingdom of God contrasts the kingdoms of the world in that the kingdom of God manifests power through love (hence, the cross) whereas the kingdoms of the world manifest power through violence. It was against the powers of the world that Jesus tells his disciples, "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword" (Matt 26:52). Jesus was saying, this is not how we do things in my kingdom. In light of this observation, the question now becomes, "What does this mean when it comes to war, especially war in the Middle East?" This book attempts to address this question by framing it first in light of the mission of God's people (part 1). Then it examines the central issues related to the promises to Abraham of family (descendants) and land (part 2). Finally, it addresses some of the present issues surrounding the war on Gaza and the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict (part 3).
Song of Songs : a commentary (2025) by
There is no other book in the Bible like the Song of Songs. It is a highly literate collection of love poems, at times intense with erotic desire and at times playful or flirtatious. This commentary draws out the tone of each poem, along with its language and literary qualities, including its metaphors, allusions, and clever use of words. While there are correspondences between the Song and the literatures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and they are cited in the commentary, the greatest foreign influence on the book comes from Greece. The commentary approaches the Song as a Jewish-Hellenistic work, in the full sense of that hyphenated term. It notes Greek ideas and tropes that appear throughout the book and shows how they have been adjusted and incorporated into Jewish thought and literary forms. The book's Grecisms are dressed in "biblical" idioms and imagery. Going beyond previous studies, this volume emphasizes that the Song's blending together of the Jewish and the Greek is part of its literary virtuosity.
Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy : Luke's Jesus and Sabbath economics (2025) by
Myers brings a well-honed interpretive eye to a thematic study of Luke's Gospel. He reads synoptically the crisis of socioeconomic disparity in Jesus's world and ours, and proposes powerful analogies that can build social imagination and animate personal and political practices for systemic change and justiceamong communities of faith today. There has been a revival of interest over the last half century in the Third Gospel's focus on issues of poverty and wealth. However, most exegetical or homiletic work by scholars and preachers of the Global North has been constrained by middle-class social assumptions, which inevitably domesticate Jesus's radical teaching and practice. To counter this, Myers argues that Luke's literary arc and individual representations are best interpreted through the lens of "Sabbath Economics" in the Hebrew Bible. He then brings socio-literary analysis and engaged commentary to bear on Luke's wise oldstories, correlating his narrative structures and symbols to systemic political and economic issues then and now. Luke's unique material, and how he redacts Mark and Q, reveals his unequivocal critique of socioeconomic disparity. Myers closely examines footprints and "demonstration projects" of Sabbath Economics in the first half of Luke, then considers archetypal characters, somatic representations, and socially contrasting scenarios of rich and poor in the second half. His approach deploys sociological exegesis, literary analysis, and liberation hermeneutics to recover Luke's story of Jesus in its historical context and its relevance to ours. A small-town prophet struggles against an imperial political-economic system that is bringing the extractive, exploitive rule of Mammon to occupied Palestine, and shows and tells how regular people can resist the rule of the one percent by embracing "the Great Economy." Myers includes suggestions for preaching Luke in Year C, and offers resources on economic equity organizing for our own Gilded Age.
Gospel As Letter : a commentary on 1 Thessalonians (2025) by
Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians enacts a historical paradigm shift by unfolding in written form that which was previously only performed orally in early Christianity. This media revolution in Christianity begins about 50 CE and will lead successively to the collection of twenty-seven writings in the New Testament. Beginning and ending characteristics of the epistle show that it is a semi-official letter from the church founders to the confessional church in Thessalonica. Since Paul stipulates that his letter should be read out in a general assembly of the congregation, artificial speech is mixed with a calculated rhetorical form--that is, narratio, propositio, argumentatio, and peroratio. The rhetorical genre of 1 Thessalonians is deliberative eulogy that seeks to encourage the community eagerly awaiting the return of Christ in their practice of the virtues of faith, love, and hope. The goal is complete holiness to prepare a befitting reception for the Parousia Christ descending from heaven. Mell pays special attention to the ethical instructions on marriage, business relationships, sibling love, and household management made in the letter's argumentatio. Paul resolves the difficult question of how deceased church members can participate in the future, earthly salvation by inferring from the gospel itself that the resurrection of Christ ensures the resurrection of all. In this way, for the first time in early Christianity, the meaning of Christ as a mediator of salvation is unfolded so that the congregation, consisting of those who are alive and those who will become alive again, participates in the future victory of God's rule over the end-time power.
The Mary We Forgot - What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today (2024) by 
Exploring the New Testament in Asia : Evangelical perspectives by 
Violence Against Women and Children in the Hebrew Bible : between trauma and resilience by 
Comfort in the Ashes : explorations in the book of Job to support trauma survivors (2025) by 
Understanding Judaism and the Jews in the Gospel of John: polemic, tradition, and Johannine self-identity by
Understanding Judaism and the Jews in the Gospel of John: Polemic, Tradition, and Johannine Self-Identity reopens the perennial question of the Fourth Gospel's perplexing characterization of "the Jews." According to the reigning paradigm, the Gospel of John witnesses to a community's burgeoning sense of religious distinctiveness. Ethnically Jewish believers in Jesus had begun to forge a new identity in contrast to the Jews. Nathan Thiel assesses the weaknesses of the prevailing model, arguing that the fourth evangelist still saw himself as living and working within the Jewish tradition. Yet if the Gospel of John is the literary product of a self-consciously Jewish author, why would he speak so often and so critically of "the Jews"? Thiel considers the factors which have conditioned the evangelist's choice of terminology: the Gospel's setting, its intended audience, and, above all, John's indebtedness to Scripture. As a first-century Jew well-versed in Israel's sacred texts, the evangelist has modeled his story of Jesus after patterns familiar to him from the Scriptures--Scriptures in which Israelite authors consistently portray their ancestors as faithless despite God's powerful work on their behalf. John is a relentless critic, but such cutting theological assessment had long been part of Israel's counterintuitive way of telling its history.
Hear her voice : preaching the women of the Bible by 
The Meaning and Uses of Basilea in the Gospel of Matthew : semantic monosemy and pragmatic modulation by
Contrary to the prevailing view that Βασιλεíα is a verbal noun signifying God's rule, this study demonstrates how the term's pragmatic range in Matthew's Gospel covers both five distinct types of use and their integration into a coherent concept. The study, which is the first to examine all occurrences of Βασιλεíα in the First Gospel from the perspective of semantic monosemy, extends and enhances our appreciation of the Matthean Zentralbegriff, and engenders a more accurate apprehension of the nature and aims of The Matthean narrative and the theological views it conveys.
Narrative Hermeneutics, History, and Rhetoric by
A collection of studies of early Christian stories and narrative craft in their ancient literary, theoretical, and religious contexts in honor of a pioneering scholar, David P. Moessner.
The Transformation of Tehom: from deified power to demonized abyss by
Tehom, the Hebrew Bible's primeval deep, is a powerful concept often overlooked outside of creation and conflict contexts. Primeval waters mark the boundary between life and death in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East, representing the duality of both deliverance and judgment. This book examines all contexts of Tehom to explain its conceptual forms and use as a proper noun. Comparative methodology combined with affect and spatial theories provide new ways to understand how religious communities repurposed Tehom. These interpretations of Tehom empower resilience in times of suffering and oppression.
Reading Genesis (2024) by
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of our greatest novelists and thinkers presents a radiant, thrilling interpretation of the book of Genesis. For generations, the book of Genesis has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherency, just as fundamentalist interpretation has centered on the question of the appropriateness of reading it as literally true. Both of these approaches preclude an appreciation of its greatness as literature, its rich articulation and exploration of themes that resonate through the whole of Scripture. Marilynne Robinson's Reading Genesis, which includes the full text of the King James Version of the book, is a powerful consideration of the profound meanings and promise of God's enduring covenant with humanity. This magisterial book radiates gratitude for the constancy and benevolence of God's abiding faith in Creation.
The Dead Sea Scrolls at Seventy: Clear a Path in the Wilderness! by
The Sixteenth Orion Symposium celebrated seventy years of Dead Sea Scrolls research under the theme, "Clear a path in the wilderness!" (Isaiah 40:3). Papers use the wilderness rubric to address the self-identification of the Qumran group; dimensions of religious experience reflected in the Dead Sea writings; biblical interpretation as shaper and conveyor of that experience; the significance of the Qumran texts for critical biblical scholarship; points of contact with the early Jesus movement; and new developments in understanding the archaeology of the Qumran caves. The volume both honors past insights and charts new paths for the future of Qumran studies.
Quiet Voices : Silence in the Hebrew Bible by
Quiet Voices explores the language, context, and purpose of silence in the Hebrew Bible. It traces silence across the Bible's many genres (narrative, law, prophecy, psalmody, and wisdom) by using theoretical frames drawn from various academic disciplines (communication studies, political science, literary criticism, and sociological studies). The book examines how silence as a literary technique, particularly that of the narrator, connects theologically to themes of obedience, grief, hope, personal relationships, trauma, politics, and wisdom. The volume concludes with a theological reflection on the silence of God in the face of human suffering.
Paul, the Temple, and Building a Metaphor by
David Anthony Basham argues that Paul and the Corinthians share a "system of associated commonplaces" about the Jerusalem temple. Basham proposes that when Paul applies temple language to the Corinthians by calling them naos theou ("God's temple"), he sparks a creative process of interaction between the temple and the Corinthian assembly -- a process of selecting, emphasizing, and organizing information from the source domain (temple) to see the target domain (the Corinthians) in a new light. Basham suggests that, in understanding Paul's fraught relationship with certain institutions of Second Temple Judaism and his conception of gentile inclusion, we can appreciate the creative ways in which he employs cultic imagery to describe his ministry and the ritual life of early gentile believers. By exploring the construction of metaphor, the depiction of the Jerusalem temple in Paul's letters, and Judaean religion among gentiles, Basham demonstrates that Paul's temple metaphor speaks to a new cultic reality for gentiles-in-Christ that is linked to Israel's worship, though detached from its actual expression in Jerusalem.
Priesthood and Temple in John's Apocalypse : constructing the sanctuary by
Timothy B. Tse argues that, while John uses language drawn from the Hebrew Bible's descriptions of YHWH's dwelling place, scholarship has overlooked the importance of his spatial transformation of that language. Tse thus uses theories relating to Relevance, Resistance Theory, Critical Space Theory, and Conceptual Metaphor, to demonstrate that a significant part of John's apocalyptic strategy of resistance is to re-present his vision to his audience spatially, so that they can experience a divinely ordained alternative to the world in which they live. Tse first demonstrates John's attempts to relegate his audience's experience of space to his own revelation; John's description of the visionary world creates the metaphors "the earth is a Sanctuary" and "the Saints are its priests." Tse argues that, under this view, life on earth must be evaluated according to the concerns of the Sanctuary, which by definition requires the removal of everything impure, and the Saints (namely all Christians in both the historic and visionary worlds) must take priestly responsibility for the earth. John therefore portrays the Saints joining in the removal of all impurity upon the earth by fighting, as priests, in God and the Lamb's war against Satan, Babylon, and all her impurities. Tse concludes that overall, John means to realign the church's experience of space, so that they understand themselves as priests of the Sanctuary, and live according to that reality.
The Beloved Apostle? : the transformation of the Apostle John into the fourth evangelist by
Second-century Christians had a significant role in shaping the import of the literary sources that they inherited from the first century through their editorial revisions and the church traditions that they appended to them. Michael J. Kok critically investigates the supposed clues that encouraged select Christian intellectuals to infer that John, one of Jesus' chosen twelve apostles, was the mysterious "disciple whom Jesus loved" and to ascribe the fourth canonical Gospel as well as four other New Testament books back to him. Kok outlines how the image of Saint John of Ephesus was constructed. Not all early Christians approved of the fourth canonical Gospel and some expressed strong reservations about its theology, preferring to link it with a heretical adversary rather than with an authoritative Christian founder figure. Discover how the moves made in the second century were crucial for determining whether this Gospel would be preserved at all for posterity, much less as part of the scriptural collection of the developing Orthodox Church.
Romans (Wisdom Commentary) by
Can a feminist interpretation of Romans discover anything new? In this volume, Christian Eberhart pays special attention to the fact that Paul entrusted Phoebe, a gentile woman, with the task of delivering the letter to Rome. There, she would have been the person who recited it aloud and by heart in front of various audiences. Yet as the leader of a congregation in Corinth, Phoebe had likely also been involved in the process of composing the letter, as some passages reveal. This multifaceted engagement of a woman gives new meaning to the vision of human society in Romans that celebrates the full participation of women and men, Jews and gentiles, weak and strong, and free and slave.
Poverty in the Promised Land : neighborliness, resistance, and restoration by
This book provides biblical evidence of the structural and systemic factors that have long been part of the story of poverty. The people of God have often denied such structural claims in favor of the belief that individuals are poor because of personal choice. This absolves the social institutions of society, including the church, from responsibility to address these structural forces, including within the church itself. Charity and benevolence become the antidote for such a diagnosis of poverty, rather than the deeply rooted change that God intended for the Year of Jubilee and that the early church reflected. This book supports the biblical mandate of neighborliness as both a personal and a corporate response to systemic poverty, a mandate that is the second of the two great commandments.
A Revolutionary Jesus : violence and peacemaking in the kingdom of God by
This book is about Jesus's perspective on violence, the ways this is demonstrated in his ministry, and its implications for Jesus's followers. It begins by examining the nature and role of violence within Second Temple Jewish eschatology. "Eschatological violence"--violence connected in some way with eschatological expectations--was an important factor in the world of Jesus and his contemporaries. Many believed that God's long-awaited deliverance was contingent on his people's taking up the sword against their oppressors, thus demonstrating their zealous allegiance to the covenant. In contrast, Jesus articulated and enacted a vision for God's reign in which violence was completely disassociated both from the means of the kingdom's inauguration and from the character of those who belonged to it. This was a kingdom defined by peace, whose people would be identified by peacemaking, exemplified by its Lord, whose victory was accomplished in giving his own life. Jesus's rejection of violence thus grew from the very core of his understanding of his task, his identity, and the character of the kingdom. To be a disciple is to follow Jesus's teaching and example. Therefore, it is clear that violence should have no place in Christian praxis.
Early High Christology : John among the New Testament writers by
The application of theological and literary approaches to the study of the New Testament in recent years has enabled a seismic shift in our understanding of the identity of Jesus as the New Testament presents him. In terms of the Gospel of John, these theological and literary explorations have resulted in a richer understanding of what it means to identify Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, the one who bears unique witness to the God of Israel, and the one whose life fulfills and embodies numerous symbols that were significant within biblical texts and the traditions of Second Temple Judaism. This volume gathers many of today's most significant interpreters of the Bible as they examine John's Gospel and its distinctive theology, in relation to the wider canon of Scripture. Pastors, theologians, and biblical scholars will find studies of individual texts as well as broader biblical themes. Readers will come to appreciate anew the emphases that make John stand out among the New Testament writings. Readers will also develop a richer understanding of the deep theological connections that unite John with the Old Testament's vision of God and other New Testament portrayals of Jesus and his enduring significance.
Heaven and Hell: life after death as viewed from scripture and neuropsychology by
What happens when we die? Is there an immortal soul that survives death and enters an eternal afterlife - either in heaven, or in hell? What exactly is the soul? How is it possible that a human being can have a soul, a psyche, self-consciousness, a mind, an ego, and memories that define his identity? These questions have kept millions of people busy through the ages. This book is an effort to illuminate the mystery of death and its aftermath from the perspectives of various religious and philosophical traditions, with the focus mostly on the Sacred Scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Some enigmatic and often overlooked biblical passages are given an original analysis and explanation. This mystery is also viewed from a scientific perspective, especially the science of neuropsychology. A clarification is provided of why scientists have failed to identify, pinpoint, and explain the soul, the ego, the seat of consciousness inside the human brain. This book is meant for all people interested in religion, philosophy, and science, whether academics or lay people. Technical terms are kept to a minimum.
Enjoy the latest articles by Luther Sem's own Faculty, from Word & World, most recent issues, accessed via Luther Library's subscription to ATLA -Religion Database. For example, from the recent online issue (44.3): Sanders, Cody J. “Feral Hope for Futurist Leaders.” Word & World 44, no. 3 (Sum 2024): 355–64; and Zscheile, Dwight J. “Shifting Ministry Paradigms: From Primarily Clergy-Led, Lay-Supported, to Lay-Led, Clergy Supported.” Word & World 44, no. 3 For most recent W&W articles, not yet in ATLA (44.4), see this link
Also found in the ATLA Database: Journal of Biblical Literature and Lutheran Quarterly: New Full-text Articles in ATLA from Lutheran Quarterly or Journal of Biblical Literature
More articles from Themelios, Christian Century, and European Journal of Theology
Finally, here's a sampling of several full-text Bible-related journal articles from a recent ATLA search. Articles are from some of the following: Jewish Bible Quarterly , Concordia Theological Quarterly , Old Testament Essays, Journal of Theological Interpretation , The Christian Century , Journal of Latin American Theology: ATLA full-text articles--a sampling
Biblical Studies Database: Annual collections of scholarly bible and biblical related publications from Bloomsbury Publishing. Biblical Studies Database: Five 2025 Ebooks
