Designed for the pastor and Bible teacher, the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament brings together commentary features rarely gathered together in one volume. With careful discourse analysis and interpretation of the Hebrew text, the authors trace the flow of argument in each Old Testament book, showing that how a biblical author says something is just as important as what they say.

Each volume offers a set of distinctive features, including: the main idea of the passage, its literary context, the author's original translation and exegetical outline with Hebrew layout, its structure and literary form, an explanation of the text, and its canonical and practical significance. The diagram of each passage enables readers to grasp quickly and accurately the main idea of the text, its development, and supporting ideas; and allows them to understand how the commentator arrived at this depiction and interpretation of the passage. The commentary places a special emphasis on identifying and discussing the main thrust of each passage and showing how it contributes to the development of the whole composition. Readers will find help in drawing out the meaning of the Hebrew for interpretation. While primarily designed for those with a basic knowledge of biblical Hebrew, all who strive to understand the Old Testament and better convey its meaning will find these books beneficial. Each unit concludes with a discussion of the canonical and practical significance of the passage, synthesizing its theology and message for readers today. There are many exegetical commentaries, but none accomplish what this series has achieved.

A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike.

Three easy-to-use sections designed to help readers live out God's story:

Praise for SGBC:

The easy-to-use format and practical guidance brings God's grand story to modern-day life so anyone can understand how it applies today. - Andy Stanley

An extremely valuable and long overdue series. - Graeme Goldsworthy

It makes the text sing and helps us hear the story afresh. - John Ortberg

Pastors and lay people will welcome this new series. - Daniel I. Block

A thorough exegetical and homiletical analysis of each passage of Judges and Ruth

This masterly commentary sheds exegetical and theological light on the books of Judges and Ruth for contemporary preachers and students of Scripture. Listening closely to the text while interacting with the best of scholarship, Chisholm shows what the text meant for ancient Israel and what it means for us today. In addition to its perceptive comments on the biblical text, it examines a host of themes such as covenants and the sovereignty of God in Judges, and providence, redemption, lovingkindness, and Christological typology in Ruth.

In his introduction to Judges, Chisholm asks and answers some difficult questions: What is the point of Judges? What role did individual judges play? What part did female characters play? Did Judges have a political agenda?

Chisholm offers astute guidance to preachers and teachers wanting to do a series on Judges or Ruth by providing insightful exegetical and theological commentary. He offers homiletical trajectories for each passage to show how historical narrative can be presented in the pulpit and classroom.

Judges records the birth pangs of the Israelite nation. From the Conquest to the Settlement, the conflicts in this book (military, political, and religious) reveal a nascent Israel, struggling to define itself as a people.

The period of the Judges, c. 1200-1100 B.C.E., was fraught with intertribal struggles, skirmishes and pitched battles with neighboring peoples, and the constant threat of assimilation. The Israelites repeatedly turned away from their God: ignored his commandments, worshiped other gods, and continually sinned. Yahweh raised up judges to lead the people back to covenant faithfulness. In their several roles as priest, prophet, and military chief of staff, these judges heeded God's call and led the people. In the Book of Judges, we get rare glimpses into the exceptional qualities and human frailties of these leaders. The approachable stories, the humor, and even the criticism of the children of Israel and the judges surprisingly illuminate a people in transition.

Boling's in-depth introduction and commentary explain the historical background, the sociocultural and religious milieu, and the literary complexities of the book. His fresh translation draws the modern reader into the dynamic stories while conveying the nuance of the Hebrew text.