William Johnstone

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

From the legendary Johnstones, a new standalone Western adventure set along the wagon trail just before the Civil War, as two pioneering families in search of peace make an epic cross-country journey across the Oregon Trail... One nation on the brink of war. Two families in search of peace. Twenty-seven wagons on an epic cross-country journey as bold as America itself--from legendary Western authors William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone... GO WEST, YOUNG MAN Missouri, 1860. Rumors of war between the North and South are spreading across the land. In rural Green County, many of the farmers are already choosing sides. But not John Zachary. His loyalties lie with his family first--and his heart is telling him to go west. Hoping to build a new life in the fertile valleys of Oregon, he convinces his best friend, Emmitt Braxton, to pack up their families and join him on a wagon train across the Oregon Trail. The journey will be long and hard. The physical hardships and grueling mental challenges will bring out the best in the some--and the worst in others. But with the guidance of an experienced wagon master and scout, they are determined to reach their destiny, no matter how high the cost... Twenty-seven wagons. Twenty-seven different hopes and dreams. This sprawling epic novel from these master storytellers captures the beauty and danger of the American West--and the pioneer spirit of those who tamed it...

Set in the early days of the Jensen family saga, this gunblazing adventure follows Smoke and Sally from their first year of marriage to the founding of the legendary Sugarloaf Ranch... For most couples, the marriage vows end with 'Til death do us part. But when Smoke Jensen takes Sally Reynolds as his lawfully wedded wife, it's just the beginning. The tragic deaths of Smoke's first wife and child weigh heavily on his heart. Thankfully, Sally is there to give him the support he needs when they return to Colorado, where it all happened. She's ready to embrace her husband's past--for better or worse--and to welcome his friend Preacher into the family. But when outlaws make an attempt to kidnap a local girl, Sally is forced to use the gun skills she had learned from Smoke to save both of their lives, learning the hard way what it means to be married to a Jensen...

For generations, the Jensens have struggled to build their home, their land, and their dreams. But now the family is forced to fight fire with fire, bullet by bullet, blood for blood... For Smoke and his daughter Denny, life on the Sugarloaf Ranch is more valuable than all the gold in the world. Which works out fine, since all the gold mines in Big Rock were squeezed dry years ago. Even so, that won't stop a pair of smooth-talking businessmen from trying to squeeze out a little more. One of them has developed a newfangled method for extracting gold--something called hydraulics--and he's bought up all the old mines to do it. His partner is the son of legendary gunfighter Frank Morgan, and Denny thinks he's awful handsome. Smoke isn't sure what to think of these would-be gold-diggers. Especially when the handsome one triggers a rivalry with Denny's off-and-on beau, a U. S. Deputy. And then the smart one hires a small army of gunfighter to protect his mines from sabotage... The Jensons can smell trouble brewing from a mile away. And when it involves gold, guns, and good love gone bad, it's more than just trouble. It's a massacre waiting to happen...

The "Ten Commandments" stand at the center of the book of Exodus in chapter 20 and provide the key to what the book is about. The Ten Commandments refer to the story in Exodus 1-19 that tells who God is and what God has done for Israel. They refer forward to what God expects of Israel in response, as the second half of the book begins to explain in Exodus 20-40. The Ten Commandments also provide key guidance about how to read the book of Exodus. The content of the Ten Commandments that Moses recalls in Deuteronomy 5 differs in several respects from the edition that Exodus 20 records. The differences between the version that Deuteronomy recalls and the present edition of Exodus extend far beyond the Ten Commandments and concern vital matters like covenant, law, and the festivals by which Israel celebrates these institutions. Johnstone's commentary argues that these differences are not to be glossed over but provide evidence of a dialogue between two voices that runs throughout Exodus and beyond. Dialogue is central to the formation and interpretation of Scripture and is essential to the ways in which humans attempt to speak about God. Written by accomplished scholars with all students of Scripture in mind, this innovative new commentary series is designed to make quality Bible study more accessible. Pastors, professors and students of Scripture are discovering that this commentary is a wonderful new tool for enhancing interpretation.

This collection of inter-related essays argues that the way in which Chronicles incorporates and develops material from Samuel-Kings offers an analogy for the way in which the final edition of Exodus was produced. Embedded within the text of Exodus there is an earlier Deuteronomistic version recoverable from the reminiscences of the exodus in Deuteronomy. This, it is suggested, is the most objective method available for recreating the literary history of Exodus and must constitute the first stage in any analysis of Exodus. Already, it produces some surprisingly radical results.

This volume contains the proceedings of a conference held to mark the bicentenary of the death of Alexander Geddes (1737GCo1802). Geddes, a product of the Scottish and French Enlightenment, was a Roman Catholic priest; a pioneering biblical critic; a poet, some of whose works have been attributed to Robert Burns; and a political radical who studied in Paris before the French Revolution, which provided the background to the chief phase of his activity, ca. 1780GCo1800. This work is of interest to historians and to students of the Bible and English literature. The international panel of contributors includes Tom Levine on the political social and religious background, A. G. Aulg, Bultmann, C. Coury, J. W. Rogerson, J. L. Ska and M. Vervenne on GeddesGCOs biblical works, and Elinor Shaffer, G. Carruthers and L. McIlvanney on his literary works.

The highly popular Sheffield Old Testament Guides are being reissued in a new format, grouped together and prefaced by one of the best known of contemporary biblical scholars. This new format is designed to ensure that these authoritative introductions remain up to date and accessible to seminary and university students of the Old Testament while offering a broader theological and literary context for their study. John Goldingay introduces Genesis and Exodus as a whole, illuminating their distinctive literary and theological features and their importance for modern theological reflection.

This two-part commentary argues that Chronicles, placed as it is among the 'historical books' in the traditional Old Testament of the Christian church, is much misunderstood. Restored to its proper position as the final book in the canon as arranged in the order of the Hebrew Bible, it is rather to be understood as a work of theology essentially directed towards the future. The Chronicler begins his work with the problem facing the whole human race in Adam-the forfeiture of the ideal of perfect oneness with God's purpose. He explores the possibility of the restoration of that ideal through Israel's place at the centre of the world of the nations. This portrayal reaches its climax in an idealized presentation of the reign of Solomon, in which all the rulers of the earth, including most famously the Queen of Sheba, bring their tribute in acknowledgment of Israel's status (Volume 1). As subsequent history only too clearly shows, however, the Chronicler argues (Volume 2), that Israel itself, through unfaithfulness to Torah, has forfeited its right to possession of its land and is cast adrift among these same nations of the world. But the Chronicler's message is one of hope. By a radical transformation of the chronology of Israel's past into theological terms, the generation whom the Chronicler addresses becomes the fiftieth since Adam. It is the generation to whom the jubilee of return to the land through a perfectly enabled obedience to Torah, and thus the restoration of the primal ideal of the human race, is announced.

This two-part commentary argues that Chronicles, placed as it is among the 'historical books' in the traditional Old Testament of the Christian church, is much misunderstood. Restored to its proper position as the final book in the canon as arranged in the order of the Hebrew Bible, it is rather to be understood as a work of theology essentially directed towards the future. The Chronicler begins his work with the problem facing the whole human race in Adam-the forfeiture of the ideal of perfect oneness with God's purpose. He explores the possibility of the restoration of that ideal through Israel's place at the centre of the world of the nations. This portrayal reaches its climax in an idealized presentation of the reign of Solomon, in which all the rulers of the earth, including most famously the Queen of Sheba, bring their tribute in acknowledgment of Israel's status (Volume 1). As subsequent history only too clearly shows, however, the Chronicler argues (Volume 2), that Israel itself, through unfaithfulness to Torah, has forfeited its right to possession of its land and is cast adrift among these same nations of the world. But the Chronicler's message is one of hope. By a radical transformation of the chronology of Israel's past into theological terms, the generation whom the Chronicler addresses becomes the fiftieth since Adam. It is the generation to whom the jubilee of return to the land through a perfectly enabled obedience to Torah, and thus the restoration of the primal ideal of the human race, is announced.

Exodus requires the consideration not only of historical but also of institutional and theological questions. Since such disparate materials have all been brought together into one presentation, it is necessary also to look at the literary function and formulation of the book. In the light of these discussions it is possible to come to a clearer appreciation of the kind of work Exodus is.