Religious art

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Ben Witherington III

Witherington provides an introduction to the ancient art of persuasion and its use within the various New Testament documents. More than just an exploration of the use of the ancient rhetorical tools and devices, this guide introduces the reader to all that went into convincing an audience about some subject. Witherington makes the case that rhetorical criticism is a more fruitful approach to the NT epistles than the oft-employed approaches of literary and discourse criticism. Familiarity with the art of rhetoric also helps the reader explore non-epistolary genres. In addition to the general introduction to rhetorical criticism, the book guides readers through the many and varied uses of rhetoric in most NT documents--not only telling readers about rhetoric in the NT, but showing them the way it was employed. --From publisher's description.

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Carol Lerner

Descriptions and pictures of twenty plants mentioned in the Old Testament, including fig, lentil, olive, papyrus, and pomegranate.

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Burke O. Long

2 Kings is Volume 10 of The Forms of the Old Testament Literature, a series that aims to present a form-critical analysis of every book and each unit in the Hebrew Bible. Fundamentally exegetical, the FOTL volumes examine the structure, genre, setting, and intention of the biblical literature in question. They also study the history behind the form-critical discussion of the material, attempt to bring consistency to the terminology for the genres and formulas of the biblical literature, and expose the exegetical process so as to enable students and pastors to engage in their own analysis and interpretation of the Old Testament texts. Long views 1 & 2 Kings as a substantially unified written work of historiography, produced during the Babylonian exile. Hence he begins his detailed form-critical commentary on 2 Kings where he left off in his volume on 1 Kings. Following the series format, Long discusses the text of 2 Kings unit by unit in terms of structure, genre, setting, and intention, concluding each unit with a bibliography. As in his volume on 1 Kings, Long here integrates his form-critical work with a discussion of the book's literary art (e.g., style, metaphor, imagery) to expose "the narrative genius which awakens imaginative response in the reader." The volume concludes with a glossary of the genres and formulas identified in 2 Kings. - Publisher.

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Cornelis Van Dam

No exhaustive study of the Urim and Thummim has appeared since 1824, and in this book Van Dam sets out to rectify that lack of attention. He investigates all of the biblical data concerning this enigmatic oracular means of high-priestly revelation and their connection, in the historical books of the Old Testament, with the common phrase "to inquire of Yahweh/God.". Concurrent with his study of the history of the oracle, Van Dam interacts with current discussion on the nature and process of God's revelation to humankind.