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Useful Books about the New Testament for Evangelical Readers
THE INTER-TESTAMENTAL PERIOD Hengel, Martin. Judaism and Hellenism. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1974. While not a conservative study, this book gives a useful summary of the impact of Greek culture on Israel in the early centuries BC. It is written at a masters or doctoral level. Kampen, John. The Hasideans and the Origin of Pharisaism: A Study in 1 and 2 Maccabees. Atlanta, GA: Scholars, 1988. This is not a conservative study. It does suggest useful information about the origin of the Pharisees who would be such an important force in the Gospels. It is written at a masters or doctoral level. Rehwinkel, Alfred M. The New Testament World and its Historical and Geographical Background. St. Louis, MO: Alfred M. Rehwinkel, nd. This is a good summary of the background of the New Testament from the exile to the first century AD. It was published by the author, so it is hard to find. It is a conservative masters level study. Yamauchi, Edwin M. Pre-Christian Gnosticism: A Survey of the Proposed Evidences. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1983. This is a conservative study written at a masters or doctoral level. One of the academic debates has centered on whether Gnosticism existed in some form in the early centuries BC. That debate has really been over the definition of Gnosticism. Yamauchi argued that by his definition of the term, it did not exist that early. QUMRAN AND THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS Bruce, F. F. Biblical Exegesis in the Qumran Texts. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1959. This is a conservative study that explores the principles used in the Qumran scrolls to interpret the Old Testament. It is written at a masters or doctoral level. Garnet, Paul. Salvation and Atonement in the Qumran Scrolls. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1977. This is a mainstream but interesting study of ways that the Qumran scrolls understood the idea of salvation. It is written at a masters or doctoral level. Eisenman, Robert H. and Wise, Michael. The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered: The First Complete Translation and Interpretation of 50 Key Documents Withheld for over 50 Years. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1992. This is a useful set of translations of texts from Qumran. It is written at a masters level. Wise, Michael, et al. Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation. San Francisco: Harper, 1996. This is a useful translation of 131 Qumran texts. It is written at a masters or doctoral level. Scanlin, Harold. The Dead Sea Scrolls & Modern Translations of the Old Testament: How the Dead Sea Scroll Discoveries Have Influenced Modern English Translations. Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1993. While over a decade old now, this is a solid conservative survey of the texts found at Qumran. It is useful at a masters or doctoral level. SURVEYS AND GENERAL STUDIES Bratcher, Robert G. Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament. London: United Bible Society, 1961. This is a good introduction to the New Testament use of the Old Testament. It puts in parallel columns the way that the text reads in the New Testament and the Old Testament. It is a conservative study written at a college level. Elliott-Binns, L. E. Galilean Christianity. Chicago: Alec R. Allenson, 1956. This is a useful study of the development of Christianity in Galilee. The discussion of the Christian flight to Pella might provide a useful context for the book of Hebrews. The book is written at a masters level. Franzmann, Martin H. The Word of the Lord Grows: An Introduction to the Origin, Purpose, and Meaning of the New Testament. St. Louis: Concordia, 1961. This is a great conservative, Lutheran introduction to the content of the New Testament and its historical setting. Gromacki, Robert G. New Testament Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1974. This is a good conservative introduction to the New Testament. it is written at a college level. Sauer, Erich. The Triumph of the Crucified: A Survey of the History of Salvation in the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1985. This paperback is a solid, conservative overview of the development of theological ideas in the New Testament. it is written at a college or masters level. Thiessen, Henry Clarence. Introduction to the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002. This is a reasonably good. conservative, college level text book providing an introduction to the New Testament. GOSPELS Bailey, Kenneth E. Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1976. This version prints together two of Bailey's books. These are very important books for understanding the Gospels. The are conservative, and they are written at a college level. Bailey spent his career as a missionary in the Near East. His books discuss how the parables would have been heard by that culture. His books are a must read. Many thousands of pastors have preached effective sermon series based on his books. Black, David Alan. Why Four Gospels? The Historical Origins of the Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2001. This short paperback is conservative, and it is aimed at a college or masters level. It offers an explanation for why and how the Gospels were written. This has been a huge topic of academic debate, and this book offers a reasonable (although controversial) position in that debate. Dodd, C. H. The Parables of the Kingdom. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961. This is a mainstream study that may not be conservative at all points. However, it is a valuable study of academic and interpretive issues related to the parables in the Gospels. It is written at a college or masters level. Kiehl, Erich H. The Passion of our Lord. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1990. This is a fine conservative treatment of the facts around Jesus death. It is written at a college or masters level. Manson, T. W. The Servant-Messiah: A Study of the Public Ministry of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1977. This small paperback is a good study of how the Gospels depicted Jesus as the Messiah. It is conservative, and it is written at a college or masters level. Meyer, Marvin W. Who Do People Say I Am? The Interpretation of Jesus in the New Testament Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1983. This small paperback traces through the Gospels and explores how their teaching about Jesus developed throughout His ministry. This book is conservative, and it is written at a general or college level. Scharlemann, Martin H. Proclaiming the Parables. St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 1963. This is a solid conservative treatment of the parables written at a college or masters level. Stein, Robert H. An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1981. This is a mainstream discussion of the parables. Since it is not a conservative approach, it has to be evaluated critically. However, it makes some useful points about the history of the interpretation of the parables. It is written at a masters level. ACTS AND PAULINE EPISTLES Bruce, F. F. The Pauline Circle. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1985. This short paperback is a conservative study that is written at a general or college level. It surveys the people in the New Testament who are described as being friends of the Apostle Paul. Dunn, James D. G. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1998. This is a survey of the academic debate about Paul's theology. Ramsay, William M. St. Paul: the Traveller and the Roman Citizen. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1962. This is a reprint of a book from 1897. While a very old study, it is a classic that is still somewhat valuable. It is conservative, and it is written at a general or college level. Scharlemann, Martin H. Stephen: A Singular Saint. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1968. Stephen's speech in Acts was unusual ways. This is a conservative study of the academic debate about Stephen. It also offers an interpretation of Stephen's message. It is written at a masters or doctoral level. Theissen, Gerd. The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth. This is not a conservative study, and it must be read critically. However, it makes some interesting observations about the historical and cultural context of Paul's letters to the Corinthians. It is a masters or doctoral level book. Vos, Geerhardus. The Pauline Eschatology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1966. This is a reprint of a book from 1930. It is a solid conservative study of Paul's eschatology at least as it is viewed from an amil perspective. It is written at a masters level. HEBREWS, PETER, JAMES, JOHN'S LETTERS, AND REVELATION Cody, Aelred. Heavenly Sanctuary and Liturgy in the Epistle to the Hebrews: The Achievement of Salvation in the Epistle's Perspectives. St. Meinard, IN: 1960. This is a mainstream but pretty conservative study. It is written at a masters or doctoral level. It traces the idea of a heavenly sanctuary in the Old and New Testaments as well as their general cultural setting. Guthrie, George H. The Structure of Hebrews: A Text-Linguistic Analysis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1994. This is a useful discussion of the academic debate about the structure of the book of Hebrews. Noe, John. Shattering the 'Left Behind' Delusion. Bradford, PA: International Preterist Association, 2000. This is a conservative study written at a college level. It argues that the book of Revelation should be seen entirely as Rome's attack against Jerusalem in 70 AD. He believed that everything in the book discussed things in the first century AD. Trotter, Andrew H. Jr. Interpreting the Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997. This is a conservative book that suggests a way to interpret the book of Hebrews. It is written at a general or college level. |
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Copyright © 2009 Dr. Rodger Dalman
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