Ruth Jonah Esther

In three of the Bible’s most compelling short stories, Eugene F. Roop draws attention to the distinctive narrative characteristics of these magnificent dramas. Such scrutiny opens new vistas of interpretation that can undergird the faith, life, and neighborly relations of the church. As we enter the world of these struggles and events, we will experience in the stories sorrow and laughter, hope and loyalty, and God’s mercy and grace.

"In the Book of ESTHER, the Jews of the Persian Empire are threatened with death but given eleven months' notice of their day of destruction, is that credible? Can this really be believed? Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg gives rational answers to these and other difficult questions and in doing so, forces the reader to re-think many of his pre-conceived notions about these books, no matter how many times he has read them or how well he thinks he understands their meaning.

This beautifully illustrated volume embeds the biblical Hebrew text of the Ruth, Esther, and Jonah in the context of the evocative, full-color illustrations of Keith Neely. This innovative presentation will help students of biblical Hebrew to immediately distinguish narrative from dialogue and to observe visual cues of action, tension, and emotion. This book belongs to the GlossaHouse Illustrated Hebrew-English Old Testament (GIHEOT) series. Biblical Hebrew will no longer be thought of as a "dead" language in the minds of students-codes to be deciphered into usable English; instead Biblical Hebrew will come alive as a languages of actual communication, a vehicle used by ancient authors to express their stories in the idiom of their own hearts. Whether you are a beginning student of biblical languages, or a seasoned scholar, you will find a fresh presentation of the ancient texts that will ignite your imagination and turn the world of these words into an expansive, multicolored landscape in your mind's eye.

Attempts to unravel the unexplained mysteries which are central to each of these three books--such as the swallowing and spewing back of Jonah by a whale--not on the basis of belief, but by using modern-day historical, archaeological and textual tools.

In workbook format, this study provides exercises for students, questions for discussion, memory verses, and much more.