Duane Garrett

An image rich, passage-by-passage commentary that integrates textual and artifactual context from the ancient Near East to inform our understanding and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible—while remaining respectful to the inerrancy of Scripture. Without a deep knowledge of the ancient cultures the Old Testament was born from, we can be tempted to impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This unique Bible backgrounds commentary examines: The history of the ancient Near East as a means of recovering knowledge of the events that shaped the lives of the people. The archaeology as a means of recovering the lifestyle reflected in the material cultures. The literature of the ancient Near East as a means of understanding the heart and soul of the people who inhabited the ancient world that Israel shared. Detailed exegetical notes are combined with comparative discussions of the cultural settings that help scholars interpret the writings of the minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi) and books of wisdom and poetry; Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. This volume of the celebrated Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary series brings these 17 books of the Bible into sharper focus—enabling scholars, pastors, and laity to access rich data from over one hundred and seventy years of explorations and excavations in the Near East. THE ZONDERVAN ILLUSTRATED BIBLE BACKGROUNDS COMMENTARY SERIES Invites you to enter the world of the Old Testament with a company of seasoned guides, experts who will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features: Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams, and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text. Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more. Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.

Jeremiah and Lamentations approaches two historically related yet literarily distinct books of the Old Testament, carefully attending to their composition and application. Garrett and Pearson draw out the crucial themes and structures of Jeremiah: the hope of eschatological salvation nestled in the center of an expertly crafted exploration of human sin in all its blindness, perversity, and persistence. Lamentations wrestles with the unanswered questions of a community in exile, sobered by judgment and wondering whether God intends to abandon Israel entirely. Garrett and Pearson examine both Old Testament texts through the lens of Jesus, clarifying the parallels and fulfillments essential for Christian preaching.

An engaging story for young adults that illustrates the presence of a Higher Power and how it has manifested itself throughout the centuries. Simplified the explanation of the elemental relationship between science and religion with a new creation story by exploring an elementary order of time embedded in the days of the week with 2's day dedicated to the creation of the first man and the first woman and a constellational order that lays out mankind's entire history. A multidimensional journey through time impressed upon him that everything has an order. After an extraterrestrial experience in 2010 he feels compelled to put his experience in a book. One will find what is described as the "Wisdom of the Ages" where each constellation, in its proper order retells mankind's history in 2000 years increments in a 25,000 year cycle all written in the stars. This book is a must read for all those who are on A Quest For Spiritual Enlightenmen

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship. Overview of Commentary OrganizationIntroduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes:Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

A thorough exegetical and homiletical analysis of each passage of ExodusThe true fountainhead of Old Testament theology, Exodus illuminates the significance of the name Yahweh and introduces the title I AM. It tells of Israel's formative historical event, the exodus, as well as the making of the covenant at Sinai. It includes the first code of the Law in the Decalogue and Book of the Covenant. It details Israel's besetting sin in the idolatry of the golden calf episode, but it also describes Moses's intercession and the great revelation of God's mercy. In its display of the Tent of Meeting, it presents the theology of the priesthood, the sacrifices, and the central sanctuary. A Commentary on Exodus explores all of these events with a view toward their significance both for the meaning of the Old Testament and for the message of the Christian church. Exegetically deep enough to satisfy the scholar and logically organized to meet the needs of the pastor, Garrett's commentary promises to become standard reference material in Exodus studies.- Every verse is given a fresh translation with copious explanatory notes, and particular attention is given to the poetry of Exodus, which the author demonstrates to be more abundant than previously believed.- The commentary also helps to dispel much confusion about Exodus by introducing the reader to Egyptian history and by carefully analyzing questions about the date of the exodus and the location of Mount Sinai.