The letter to the Ephesians provokes an array of interpretive questions regarding authorship, audience, date, occasion, purpose of writing, and the nature of its moral instruction--including its words addressed to slaves and masters. Interacting critically in an arena of intense debate, Lynn Cohick provides an exegetically astute analysis of the six chapters of Ephesians, offering an insightful account of the letter's theology and soteriology as she attends to its expansive prose and lofty vision of God's redemption.

Cohick analyzes everything from the letter's description of the church and its appeals for discipleship to the complex relationship between Jews and gentiles within the text and in the broader cultural context. Her extensive knowledge of the social realities of women and families in the ancient world is also evident throughout. Historically sensitive and theologically rich, Cohick's commentary will be an abundant resource for a new generation of scholars, pastors, and lay leaders.

Exodus is the heart of the Hebrew Bible, the defining moment in Israel's birth as a people, the dramatic triumph of their God. Yahweh, Pharaoh, Moses, Aaron, the Hebrew slaves, the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea--these larger-than-life characters and epoch-making events capture the imagination of everyone from biblical scholars to moviemakers. However, the meaning and significance, the beauty and nuance, of this captivating biblical book are lost unless we have a world-class Scripture scholar to open our eyes to its riches.
In Exodus 1-18, William H. C. Propp translates the original text in all its grandeur, then provides a masterful exploration and analysis of the book's first eighteen chapters. Here the fate of the Hebrew slaves hangs in the balance of the dramatic conflict between the God of Israel and the Pharaoh of Egypt. From the discovery of Moses in a basket made of bulrushes to the story of the Burning Bush, from the ten plagues visited upon Egypt by God to water from the rock and quail and manna from the skies, Exodus is filled with the miraculous and the dramatic.
Doubleday is proud to be publishing the long-awaited first of two volumes of the Anchor Bible Commentary on Exodus. Exhaustive, meticulous, and brilliantly researched, Propp's Exodus 1-18 is well worth the wait, exceeding expectations and meeting the reader's every need.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are vital and significant records of times as tumultuous as our own, as Israel returned from the Babylonian captivity and undertook the rebuilding of the Temple, even while beset by enemies without and dissension within the community.

For the student of the post-exilic period of biblical history and thought, a detailed knowledge of both books -along with the companion history in the Chronicles is essential, says Dr. H. G. M. Williamson.

Based on years of intensive study and research, this new commentary provides competent guidance into the complexities of Ezra and Nehemiah. The author gives special attention to the perplexing scholarly problems associated with their form, structure, and literary history. Supporting the view that much of this material is from the fifth century B.C., just as it claims to be, he concludes that "there is good reason to approach Ezra and Nehemiah as two parts of single work and that this work is to be regarded as complete as it stands."

Dr. Williamson also focuses on sections of these books commonly referred to as the "Ezra Memoir" and the "Nehemiah Memoir." He notes the specifically theological purpose of such sections, in which the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple are defended against the enemies, and the leaders of Israel plead for recognition of their faithfulness to the commission given them by God through the Persian kings.

The integrity and balance in Dr. Williamson's methods, approach, and goals are apparent throughout this commentary, which strives always to give exegesis the greatest prominence rather than impose foreign, a priori categories of interpretation on the material.