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Should Genesis rightly be identified as law--that is, as torah or legal instruction for Israel? Peterson argues in the affirmative, concluding that Genesis serves a greater function than merely offering a prehistory or backstory for the people of Israel. As the introductory book to the Torah, Genesis must first and foremost be read as legal instruction for Israel. And how exactly is that instruction presented? Peterson posits that many of the Genesis accounts serve as case law. The Genesis narratives depict what a number of key laws in the pentateuchal law codes look like in practice. When Genesis is read through this lens, the rhetorical strategy of the biblical author(s) becomes clear and the purpose for including specific narratives takes on new meaning.
Knowing when God is speaking to you is sometimes easier said than done. Indeed, many people question how God speaks to believers today or, in some cases, if he does at all. Yet, for the believer, hearing God's voice is vital for direction in one's life and for spiritual development. In this book, Peterson offers a practical guide for hearing God's voice by presenting numerous anecdotal accounts demonstrating how this has played out in his own life. At the same time, Peterson's instruction is securely anchored in the precedent of Scripture.
We are living in a rapidly changing culture. Since the 1960s, the changes in our sexual ethics have become increasingly problematic. How are people—especially Evangelicals and other conservative Christians—supposed to respond? Does the Bible address these seismic changes? How is a believer supposed to raise a family in the cultural chaos of the twenty-first century? If you have asked any of these questions before, then this book is for you. Peterson argues forcefully that the changes in our culture are a direct result of a postmodern and post-Christian cultural rejection of the mandates established by God in the opening two chapters of Genesis. The reason Western culture is imploding mor...
One of the most perplexing and misunderstood books of the Bible, Ezekiel has left many scholars and exegetes scratching their heads regarding its message, coherency, and interpretation. Brian Peterson's look at the book of Ezekiel as a unified whole set within an exilic context helps explain some of the more difficult symbolic aspects in the book and makes Ezekiel as a whole more intelligible. Drawing on ancient Near Eastern concepts and motifs such as covenant and treaty curses, the various gods that made up the Babylonian pantheon, and the position that Israel held as the people of Yahweh, Peterson enlightens readers by showing that Ezekiel can only be understood in its original context. By placing the book first in its historical context, Peterson demonstrates how the original hearers of its message would have understood it, and how this message can be appreciated and applied by people today as well.
An overview of the Old Testament that is explicitly engaged with the faith and practice of the Pentecostal movement.
One of the most perplexing and misunderstood books of the Bible, Ezekiel has left many scholars and exegetes scratching their heads regarding its message, coherency, and interpretation. Brian Peterson's look at the book of Ezekiel as a unified whole set within an exilic context helps explain some of the more difficult symbolic aspects in the book and makes Ezekiel as a whole more intelligible. Drawing on ancient Near Eastern concepts and motifs such as covenant and treaty curses, the various gods that made up the Babylonian pantheon, and the position that Israel held as the people of Yahweh, Peterson enlightens readers by showing that Ezekiel can only be understood in its original context. By placing the book first in its historical context, Peterson demonstrates how the original hearers of its message would have understood it, and how this message can be appreciated and applied by people today as well.
Virtually every scholar on both sides of the same-sex discussion eventually addresses the account of Sodom found in Genesis 19. However, in recent years, scholars have tended to downplay the importance of this chapter in relation to this debate. This book challenges this trend and seeks to demonstrate how the account of Sodom plays a key role in our understanding of a God-ordained sexual ethic, especially in light of Genesis as Torah--instruction for both ancient Israel and for the Church.
Pentecostalism is a movement that, in a little over a century, has encircled the globe and, either directly or indirectly, has impacted and influenced every quarter of Christendom. At its heart the movement bears witness to a contemporary experience of divine-human encounter in line with the prophetic claims of the Old Testament and the Pentecost testimony of the New—indeed an encounter with the power/the presence/the Spirit of God that is radically transformative enough, at both personal and corporate levels, to evoke a new way of seeing the world and, with it, a new way of reading the Word. In the post-modern situation that has forced all of us to a greater awareness of the contextual pa...
Peterson engages the identities and provenances of the authors of the various “editions” of the Deteronomistic History. Peterson asks where we might locate a figure with both motive and opportunity to draw up a proto-narrative including elements of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and the first part of 1 Kings. Peterson identifies a particular candidate in the time of David qualified to write the first edition. He then identifies the particular circle of custodians of the Deuteronomistic narrative and supplies successive redactions down to the time of Jeremiah.
Scholars have long puzzled over the distinctive themes and sequence of John’s narrative in contrast to the Synoptic Gospels. Brian Neil Peterson now offers a remarkable explanation for some of the most unusual features of John, including the early placement of Jesus’ “cleansing” of the temple, the emphasis on “signs” confirming Jesus’ identity, the prominence of Jesus’ “I Am” sayings, and a number of others. The Fourth Evangelist relied on models, motifs, and even the macrostructure of the Book of Ezekiel.