Tremper Longman

A trustworthy guide--newly updated and expanded--to the book of Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes is one of the most perplexing and haunting books of the Old Testament. The main speaker in the book, a figure known as Qohelet, ponders a question that people are still asking today: "Where can we find meaning in the world?" But while the question itself is familiar, devout readers of Scripture may find Qohelet's answer startling. "Meaningless," says Qohelet, "everything is meaningless." For readers seeking to understand how this deeply pessimistic perspective fits into the rest of biblical revelation, Tremper Longman III's commentary on Ecclesiastes is a trustworthy guide. In this updated edition, Longman maintains his canonical-Christocentric approach to interpreting Ecclesiastes but expands his discussion of secondary literature by engaging with recent scholarship from a wide range of authors--Stuart Weeks, John Goldingay, Arthur Keefer, Knut Heim, George Athas, and many others. Longman first provides an extensive introduction to Ecclesiastes, exploring such background matters as authorship, language, genre, structure, literary style, and the book's theological message. He argues that the author of Ecclesiastes is not Solomon, as has been traditionally thought, but a writer who adopts a Solomonic persona. In the verse-by-verse commentary that follows, Longman helps clarify the confusing, sometimes contradictory message of Ecclesiastes by showing that the book should be divided into three sections--a prologue (1:1-11), Qohelet's autobiographical speech (1:12-12:7), and an epilogue (12:8-14)--and that the frame narrative provided by prologue and epilogue is the key to understanding the message of the book as a whole. This carefully researched commentary is an essential resource for pastors, seminary students, and thoughtful readers of Scripture.

A Jesus Creed 2017 Old Testament Book of the YearWisdom plays an important role in the Old Testament, particularly in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Now in paperback, this major work from renowned scholar Tremper Longman III examines wisdom in the Old Testament and explores its theological influence on the intertestamental books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and especially the New Testament. Longman notes that wisdom is a practical category (the skill of living), an ethical category (a wise person is a virtuous person), and most foundationally a theological category (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom). The author discusses Israelite wisdom in the context of the broader ancient Near East, examines the connection between wisdom in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, and deals with a number of contested issues, such as the relationship of wisdom to prophecy, history, and law.

Tremper Longman has studied and taught the Old Testament and its interpretation for four decades. Now, in a planned three-book project, he presents his mature thoughts on three ways of approaching the Old Testament text: as literature, as history, and as a source of theology. This first volume explores the importance of reading the Old Testament as literature. Each culture tells its stories and writes its poems in different ways. To read and understand the Old Testament texts the way the ancient authors intended, we need to be aware of the conventions of Hebrew storytelling and poetry that they used. In part 1, dealing with literary theory, Longman investigates how texts create meaning, the history of the study of the Old Testament as literature, and how genre dictates reading strategy. He explores the Hebrew conventions for both narrative and poetry in conversation with contemporary literary approaches. Parts 2 and 3 delve into practice, using the tools gained in part 1 to analyze and interpret a variety of Old Testament narratives and poetry. Longman's accessible writing and balanced judgments make this book suitable for the classroom and the church.

The book of Revelation simply cannot be understood apart from the Old Testament Through Old Testament Eyes is a new kind of commentary series that illuminates the Old Testament backgrounds, allusions, patterns, and references saturating the New Testament. The structure and content of the Old Testament were second nature to the New Testament authors and their audiences, but today's readers have no reference point for understanding their intricate role in the New Testament. Bible teachers, preachers, and students committed to understanding Scripture will gain insight through these rich Old Testament connections, which clarify puzzling passages and explain others in fresh ways. The images of Revelation--like a seven-sealed scroll, four horsemen bringing destruction and death, locusts from the Abyss, and more--often seem hopelessly complex to today's readers and have led to egregious misunderstanding and misinterpretations. But as Tremper Longman demonstrates in Revelation Through Old Testament Eyes, this confusion arises from unfamiliarity with symbolism that Revelation's first readers readily comprehended. In large part, the imagery arises from first-century AD Greco-Roman culture and from the Old Testament, with its own background in ancient Near Eastern literature. Through its unmistakable Old Testament connections, Revelation exhorts readers to persevere in the present and place their hope in God for the future. Avoiding overly technical discussions and interpretive debates to concentrate on Old Testament influences, Revelation Through Old Testament Eyes combines rigorous, focused New Testament scholarship with deep respect for the entire biblical text.

Almost 75 percent of the Old Testament is made up of poetic passages, yet for many readers (lay Christians, even seminary students and pastors), biblical poetic passages remain the greatest challenge. Being unfamiliar with poetry in general and biblical poetry in particular, their reading and preaching are limited to selected poetic passages. This in turn limits their understanding of God's word. To help readers overcome these problems, the first four chapters of this book aim to get them familiarized with the literary techniques of biblical poets. To demonstrate how the techniques work to bring across the biblical theological message, the last three chapters offer poetic analyses of three passages of different kinds. In the process, we hope to draw attention to the beauty of the Hebrew poetic art and to the creative skill of biblical poets' versification. The ultimate aim, however, is to help readers discover the rich message of the Bible. ""We should all be thankful to Dr. Samuel Goh for producing this insightful guide to the conventions of Hebrew poetry. In addition, he not only gives us the principles, but also outstanding examples of poetic analysis from passages in Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job. I was privileged to have Dr. Goh as a student when I taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in the 1990s and have been pleased to see how he has gone on to establish himself as a leading scholar in Old Testament studies. This book is thus important for every serious student of the Hebrew Bible who wants to uncover the message that God, through his human authors, intended us to learn from the fascinating and powerful poems of the Old Testament."" --Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College ""In this concise introduction, Dr. Goh has written a most useful guide for understanding the Hebrew poetry of the Bible. Informed by recent scholarship, Dr. Goh skillfully explains the complexities of analyzing the different components that shape poetic texts, before illustrating from selected passages how such study may inform our reading. For anyone interested in understanding better the dynamics of biblical poetry, this book will prove exceptionally helpful."" --T. Desmond Alexander, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Union Theological College, Belfast Samuel T. S. Goh is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Singapore Bible College, Singapore. His articles have been published in international as well as regional journals.

Almost 75 percent of the Old Testament is made up of poetic passages, yet for many readers (lay Christians, even seminary students and pastors), biblical poetic passages remain the greatest challenge. Being unfamiliar with poetry in general and biblical poetry in particular, their reading and preaching are limited to selected poetic passages. This in turn limits their understanding of God's word. To help readers overcome these problems, the first four chapters of this book aim to get them familiarized with the literary techniques of biblical poets. To demonstrate how the techniques work to bring across the biblical theological message, the last three chapters offer poetic analyses of three passages of different kinds. In the process, we hope to draw attention to the beauty of the Hebrew poetic art and to the creative skill of biblical poets' versification. The ultimate aim, however, is to help readers discover the rich message of the Bible. ""We should all be thankful to Dr. Samuel Goh for producing this insightful guide to the conventions of Hebrew poetry. In addition, he not only gives us the principles, but also outstanding examples of poetic analysis from passages in Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job. I was privileged to have Dr. Goh as a student when I taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in the 1990s and have been pleased to see how he has gone on to establish himself as a leading scholar in Old Testament studies. This book is thus important for every serious student of the Hebrew Bible who wants to uncover the message that God, through his human authors, intended us to learn from the fascinating and powerful poems of the Old Testament."" --Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College ""In this concise introduction, Dr. Goh has written a most useful guide for understanding the Hebrew poetry of the Bible. Informed by recent scholarship, Dr. Goh skillfully explains the complexities of analyzing the different components that shape poetic texts, before illustrating from selected passages how such study may inform our reading. For anyone interested in understanding better the dynamics of biblical poetry, this book will prove exceptionally helpful."" --T. Desmond Alexander, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Union Theological College, Belfast Samuel T. S. Goh is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Singapore Bible College, Singapore. His articles have been published in international as well as regional journals.

The Old Testament is more than a history. Make it a sourcebook for your everyday prayers.

Explore the contemporary significance of the Old Testament and hear the Word of God afreshWith Proverbs, veteran Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman III offers an accessible commentary on one of Scripture's most frequently quoted and visited books. With his deft exegetical and expositional skill, the resulting work is full of fresh insight into the meaning of the text. In addition to paragraph-level commentary, all volumes of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series feature:? A fresh translation of the Hebrew text? Incisive comments based on the author's translation? Linguistic, historical, and canonical insights? Concluding reflections? Footnotes addressing technical mattersPastors, teachers, and all serious students of the Bible will find here an accessible commentary that will serve as an excellent resource for their study.

The book of Psalms is the heart of the Old Testament, the libretto of the most vibrant worship imaginable. It informs our intellect, stimulates our imagination, arouses our emotions and stirs us to holy thoughts and actions. It is also a pivotal witness to, and anticipation of, Jesus Christ. Tremper Longman's commentary interprets each psalm in its Old Testament setting, summarizes its message and reflects on its significance from a New Testament perspective, noting any citation and also providing a Christological reading.

Explore the contemporary significance of the Old Testament and hear the Word of God afreshRespected Old Testament scholar Craig Bartholomew, coauthor of the well-received Drama of Scripture, provides a careful exegetical reading of Ecclesiastes in this addition to the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms series. In addition to paragraph-level commentary, all volumes of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series feature:? A fresh translation of the Hebrew text? Incisive comments based on the author's translation? Linguistic, historical, and canonical insights? Concluding reflections? Footnotes addressing technical mattersPastors, teachers, and all serious students of the Bible will find here an accessible commentary that will serve as an excellent resource for their study.

Tremper Longman provides a box-seat guide to Exodus, discussing its historical backdrop, sketching out its literary context, and developing its principal themes, from Israel's deliverance from servitude to Pharaoh to its dedication to service to God.

Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III have together written this brief, simple and engaging introduction to help couples build healthy and happy marriages. Following the "leave, weave and cleave" imagery of the Bible, they help couples learn how to leave their parents, weave a life together and cleave to each other.

Explore the contemporary significance of the Old Testament and hear the Word of God afreshThis is the second of a three-volume commentary on the Psalms, combining literary, historical, grammatical, and theological insight in a widely accessible manner. One of today's foremost experts on biblical theology, John Goldingay covers Psalms 42-89 with his own translation of each passage, followed by interpretive comments and theological implications. In addition to paragraph-level commentary, all volumes of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series feature:? A fresh translation of the Hebrew text? Incisive comments based on the author's translation? Linguistic, historical, and canonical insights? Concluding reflections? Footnotes addressing technical mattersPastors, teachers, and all serious students of the Bible will find here an accessible commentary that will serve as an excellent resource for their study." The book of Psalms is the literary sanctuary; a holy place where humans share their joys and struggles with brutal honesty in God's presence," writes Tremper Longman III, editor of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms series.

We all want to know our life matters. Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III look at how we are tempted to find meaning in the various areas addressed in the book of Ecclesiastes: work, success, relationships, gaining knowledge, money, etc. A fictionalized narrative introduces each chapter, creating an ongoing story throughout the book.