Tag: Book Overviews

Author and Dating There’s much debate about the dating of this letter and, by extension, the author. Some scholars believe it’s a very late document, written in the early 100s by a disciple of Peter. This would put it more in line with 2 Peter. Others believe it was actually authored by the disciple Peter READ MORE

This book is part of the Torah – the first 5 books of the Bible. Date The oral tradition of this material is ancient, but it probably wasn’t compiled into written form until the exile or the return. Overview The early chapters of Genesis grapple with some very fundamental questions: These are questions humanity has READ MORE

This book is part of the Torah – the first 5 books of the Bible. We only hear from this Old Testament book twice in the Sunday cycle. Date The oral tradition of this material is ancient, but it probably wasn’t compiled into written form until the exile or the return. Overview Leviticus contains most READ MORE

the patience of Job You may associate this quote with this book. It actually comes from the New Testament book of James, where the apostle lauds Job for his patient suffering (James 5:11). If you think patience in suffering equates to quietly bearing your load without complaint, you’ll quickly see that Job was most definitely READ MORE

This book is part of the Torah – the first 5 books of the Bible. The prefix “deutero” means second: the second law or, better, a repetition of the law. This book consists of a series of talks given by Moses as the people wait on the edge of the promised land and Moses is READ MORE

The books of Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings form one continuous work of history. These books take us from entering the Promised Land through the Babylonian exile. They are not so much history as a theological reflection on the past by a people trying to understand how they got where they are – from READ MORE

Colossians commentary Author Colossians was most likely written by a later disciple in the spirit of Paul. Textual analysis of the book shows 34 words not used anywhere else in the New Testament, 28 of which do not appear anywhere in the undisputed letters of Paul. That, along with the absence of typical Paul-terms (like READ MORE

Sirach commentary Genre This book is wisdom literature, which gives rules of proper conduct, usually in the form of maxims, pithy insights, and “words to live by.” Wisdom literature attempts to show the way things are and the way things should be. Also of this genre are Job, Ecclesiastes, and the book of Wisdom. The READ MORE

Luke commentary Author Luke was a physician and an artist from Syria. He was highly educated, well-versed in Greco-Roman style. He has the finest Greek writing in the New Testament. He was not an eyewitness to the events but he interviewed eyewitnesses and drew from the oral collections. He was also not very familiar with READ MORE