James Limburg

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

Too often neglected or stigmatized as overly pessimistic, the book of "Ecclesiastes" speaks eloquently to the uncertainties and anxieties that people have experienced through the centuries. James Limburg brings to life this ancient book and shows how it still offers wisdom and hope in our probing, questioning twenty-first-century times. Drawing on years of careful study and classroom exposition, Limburg takes readers through this fascinating book systematically, pointing out connections to Jewish festivals and New Testament themes and incorporating interpretations by Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Rabbi Harold Kushner. He illuminates the contemporary existential themes in "Ecclesiastes" - the quest for meaning in life, the incompleteness of our knowledge, the place of work in human lives, and the need to discover God amid life's uncertainties. And Limburg argues that, instead of a summons to flee the concerns of this world, "Ecclesiastes" is really a call to worldly involvement. Not a highly technical, verse-by-verse commentary but rather a fresh, relevant discussion arising from Limburg's extensive teaching experience, "Encountering Ecclesiastes" will be ideal for students, church study groups, and any reader seeking to understand the timeless wisdom of "Ecclesiastes".

"The Psalms address the days of our lives, in times of hurting as well as happiness, helping us to learn how to pray and also how to praise," says James Limburg. Newly updated, his little classic invites Christians into the spiritual depths of the Bible's prayerbook. With examples of each type of Psalm-psalms of lament, trust, pilgrimage, praise, and creation-and with engaging stories from his own experience, Limburg acquaints the reader with "the strength, the passion, and the fire" of this ancient hymnbook and its relevance to our daily lives. Joining Christians of twenty centuries, Limburg invites and incites fellow sojourners to a deeper encounter with the Psalms and with God.

In this insightful, informative, and easy-to-read volume, James Limburg takes us into the world of the Psalms and brings their world to us. Limburg studies each Psalm and shows how the Psalms confront the issues of our contemporary culture, transcending time, and transforming our faith and experience. Books in the Westminster Bible Companion series assist laity in their study of the Bible as a guide to Christian faith and practice. Each volume explains the biblical book in its original historical context and explores its significance for faithful living today. These books are ideal for individual study and for Bible study classes and groups.

In this volume, now available in a new casebound edition, James Limburg examines Jonah with several questions in mind: How did the story originate? What is its place in the Bible? How did the New Testament understand the story? How has the story been understood in Judaism and in Islam? What might t mean for people today? And what does it have to say about God, about the human condition, and even about God and nature? In reviewing the book, Limburg gives special attention to the many contributions of artists, musicians, painters, and sculptors who, he says, may have been the best interpreters of Jonah. He also keeps in mind literary dimension of the text and takes great care to follow the divisions of the book as they were defined by Jewish scribal tradition. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The Contributors are scholars of international standing.

Filled with compact, almost aphoristic observations about the text, its background, and its theology. Its insight should sustain its value for a full generation.

James Limburg introduces the first six of the minor prophets and provides a commentary that relates to today's world. He demonstrates why attention should be given to the words of these prophets as they communicate the word of God. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.