These clearly written introductions offer a student-friendly approach that is rooted in up-to-date scholarship and actual classroom experience. Particularly aimed at students of theology, the Exploring the Bible Series introduces

• Jewish and Roman background
• literary genres and forms
• conventional as well as new approaches to the study of Scripture
• debated issues such as authorship, date and setting
• content and major themes of each book of the Old and New Testament
• the intersection of biblical criticism with contemporary issues of faith and culture

Each volume in the Exploring the Bible Series brims with helpful features to facilitate learning, like

• clearly stated goals for each chapter
• "What Do You Think" boxes posing issues to consider
• "Digging Deeper" boxes exploring select topics in greater detail
• boxed summaries highlighting essential facts
• practical study aids
• charts visually organizing complex material such as chronologies and genealogies
• maps giving quick geographical and spatial orientation to events
• topics for essays or research papers suggested for each chapter
• "Further Reading" giving annotated bibliographies for each chapter, classified by introductory or intermediate levels
• quotations from relevant ancient texts such as Josephus
• double-column formatting for easy reading
• glossary of terms to aid beginning students
• subject and Scripture indexes for quick access to topics

Up-to-date, reliable, balanced and clearly organized, these paperback volumes of the Exploring the Bible Series make scholarship on the Old and New Testaments accessible to contemporary students and readers. Each volume brims with helpful features to facilitate learning, including maps, charts, graphs, timelines and glossaries.