J. Glen Taylor

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.

Serious Bible readers, including biblical scholars, Sunday Bible teachers, laypersons of church, and even the Sunday school kids, ask the question, Is Balaam a good or bad person? or Is Balaam a prophet of God or a pagan diviner? However, nobody has provided a relieving answer for the question up to this day. Then, what does the Balaam story in the passage of Num 22-24 tell us about the character of Balaam? More fundamentally, what does the passage want readers to know? This book suggests a new way for Bible reading, especially the Old Testament. The Old Testament readers can discover a proper strategy to understand the intention and message of every single passage of the Old Testament through the ways that are suggested in this book.

Serious Bible readers, including biblical scholars, Sunday Bible teachers, laypersons of church, and even the Sunday school kids, ask the question, Is Balaam a good or bad person? or Is Balaam a prophet of God or a pagan diviner? However, nobody has provided a relieving answer for the question up to this day. Then, what does the Balaam story in the passage of Num 22-24 tell us about the character of Balaam? More fundamentally, what does the passage want readers to know? This book suggests a new way for Bible reading, especially the Old Testament. The Old Testament readers can discover a proper strategy to understand the intention and message of every single passage of the Old Testament through the ways that are suggested in this book.

This challenging provocative book argues that there was in ancient Israel a considerable degree of overlap between the worship of the sun and of Yahweh-even that Yahweh was worshipped as the sun in some contexts. As an object created not by humankind but by God himself, the sun as an object of veneration lay outside the bounds of the second commandment and was considered by many to be an appropriate 'icon' of Yahweh of Hosts. Through its ivestigation of 'solar Yahwism', this book offers fresh insight into several passages (e.g. Genesis 1;32.23-33; Joshua 10.12-14; 1 Kings 8.12; Ezekiel 8.16-18; Psalms 19;104) and archaeological data regarding the orientations of Yawistic temples, the "lmlk" jar handles ,horse figurines, and the Taanach cult stand. The book argues that the struggle between Yahweh and other deities in ancint Israel took place within the context of the development of Yahwism itself.