Digital Verbum Edition
As they have for centuries, people still turn to the Hebrew Bible to hear afresh the life-giving words of God’s everlasting covenant. Berit Olam (“The Everlasting Covenant”) brings the latest developments in the literary analysis of the ancient Hebrew texts.
Written for lay people, Bible scholars, students, and religious leaders, this multi-volume commentary reflects a relatively new development in biblical studies. The readings of the books of the Hebrew Bible offered here all focus on the final form of the texts, approaching them as literary works, recognizing that the craft of poetry and storytelling that the ancient Hebrew world provided can be found in them and that their truth can be better appreciated with a fuller understanding of that art.
The authors reflect a variety of religious traditions, professional backgrounds, and theoretical approaches. Yet they share a common desire: to make available to all of God’s people the words of the everlasting covenant in all of their beauty.
Berit Olam, an outstanding contribution to biblical literature, is a multivolume commentary filling a needed niche in the field. The commentary’s volumes look at the Hebrew Bible’s individual books in their final form; the writers approach the canon books as literary works, recognizing the fine arts of storytelling and poetry that make up the biblical corpus and therefore contributing to a fuller understanding and appreciation of the art forms that constitute the biblical text.
—Robin Gallaher Branch, Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, South Africa