Bible Reference Work Finalists

The New Testament in Its World is your passageway from the twenty-first century to the era of Jesus and the first Christians. A highly readable, one-volume introduction placing the entire New Testament and early Christianity in its original context, it is the only such work by distinguished scholar and author N. T. (Tom) Wright. An ideal guide for students, The New Testament in Its World addresses the many difficult questions faced by those studying early Christianity.

God revealed himself to the ancient Israelites at specific times and places. We might know the overall story, but how accurate are our details? Collins, Holden, and company help fill in those gaps via archaeological discoveries, primary texts, descriptions of ancient customs, timelines, and evocative color photos.

This beautifully designed, full-color textbook introduces the Roman background of the New Testament by immersing students in the life and culture of the thriving first-century towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which act as showpieces of the world into which the early Christian movement was spreading. Bruce Longenecker, a leading scholar of the ancient world of the New Testament, discusses first-century artifacts in relation to the life stories of people from the Roman world. The book includes discussion questions, maps, and 175 color photographs. Additional resources are available through Textbook eSources.

Just as there was no man on earth like Job, there is no book on earth like the book of Job. In this new commentary, biblical scholar Michael Brown brings Job to life for the twenty-first-century reader, exploring the raw spirituality of Job, his extraordinary faith, his friends’ theological errors, the mysteries of God’s speeches, and the unique answers to the problem of suffering offered in the book of Job. Undergirded by solid Hebrew scholarship but written with clarity for all serious students of Scripture, the commentary provides an important introduction to the study of Job, a new translation, a series of theological reflections, and additional exegetical essays providing in-depth discussion of key passages.

New Testament introductions fall into two categories: those that emphasize the history behind the text through discussions of authorship, dating, and audience, and those that explore the content of the text itself. Few introductions weave the Old Testament into their discussions, and fewer still rely on the grand narrative of the Old Testament. But the New Testament was not written within a vacuum. Rather, it stands in continuity with the Old Testament. Israel's story is the church's story. 

In The Story Retold, G. K. Beale and Benjamin L. Gladd explore each New Testament book in light of the broad history of redemption, emphasizing the biblical-theological themes of each New Testament book. Their distinctive approach encourages readers to read the New Testament in light of the Old, not as a new story but as a story retold.