Keener Craig S. - NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture

New International Version NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Bringing to Life the Ancient World of ScriptureNIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Copyright 2016 by Zondervan All rights reserved The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by Permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Published by Zondervan Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA www.zondervan.com New International Version and NIV are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. The NIV Concordance copyright 1982, 1984, 2011 by Zondervan; The NIV Center-Column Cross-Reference System, copyright 1984 by Zondervan; Maps by International Mapping.

Copyright 2009 by Zondervan. All rights reserved. Cover image of temple in Jerusalem: JERUSALEMTHEMOVIE.COM Portions of the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Old Testament by John H. Walton and Victor H. Matthews; and portions of the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary, New Testament by Craig S. Keener can be found in the verse-by-verse study notes to the Old and New Testaments.

These are used by permission of InterVarsity Press. The following articles appear in the New Testament and are used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary: ). ePub Edition July 2016: 978-0-310-43167-1

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2015955619

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to the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Even though the Bible was written for us, it wasnt written to us.

When we take our Western, modern culture and impose it on the text, were putting in meaning that wasnt there, and were missing the meaning that the text has. Dr. John H. Walton Sometimes people get frustrated with the Bible because the difficult figures of speech and the images and the customs they read about seem foreign to them. But when we explain those, then we open up the text of the Bible in a fresh, new way to understand what the text of the Bible is really addressing. Ultimately, everything in the Bible was written in particular times and cultures.

So even though everything in it is for all time, not everything in it is for all circumstances. The better we understand the circumstances a passage originally addressed, the more confidently we can reapply its message to appropriate circumstances today. Dr. Craig S. Keener Welcome to the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. You have in your hands a comprehensive, multiuse tool that has been designed specifically to enhance your understanding of and appreciation for the cultural backgrounds that form the footings on which the foundation of Gods Word is built. About the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible This study Bible has been purpose-built to do one thing: to increase your understanding of the cultural nuances behind the text of Gods Word so that your study experience, and your knowledge of the realities behind the ideas in the text, is enriched and expanded.

This study Bible contains the full text of the New International Version of the Bible along with a library of study features designed to help you more completely grasp what the text is saying. These notes introduce and explain a wide variety of information on the Biblical text, providing deeper insights for individuals who are ready to devote themselves to serious study of the text. What Help Do These Study Features Offer? Each of the features in the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible has been developed with the goal of allowing readers to immerse themselves in the culture, the literature, the geography and the everyday life of the people to whom the Bible was originally written. Book Introductions answer questions about who wrote the books of the Bible, to whom, and when, as well as informing readers about the larger cultural and political context in which a book was written. In the Old Testament, dates of writing and specific authorship for each book are less clear than in the New Testament, where such information is marginally less controversial, although still debated. Thats why the Old Testament introductions include Key Concepts and the New Testament Introductions include Quick Glance information to help readers orient themselves.

The Old Testament includes a helpful chart that explains the nuances of meaning contained in Hebrew words that dont have exact equivalents in English. That chart is called Also included before the Old Testament is a helpful article entitled, that is a must-read before you begin your OT study. The New Testament includes a reference feature entitled that is designed to help clarify and further define the cultural contexts behind these terms. Its included as a background feature to define and explain terms that often repeat in the New Testament notes. The NIV Center-column Cross Reference system aids in deeper study of the Bibles themes, language and concepts by leading readers to related passages on the same or similar themes. Over 10,000 study notes have been placed close to the text that they amplify and explain.

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