That one must speak of “purposes” in the title of this article poses immediately the problem of interpreting the book of Job. What is the book of Job about? It has several important themes, and therefore its author must have had several major purpo... Read More »

Name The book of Job, like the books of Joshua, Ruth, and Esther, gets its name from its main character rather than its author. The dissyllabic Hebrew name ‘Iyyob became Iob in Greek and Job in Latin and English. The meaning of the name is very uncertain... Read More »

While many people make commendable statements about Job and the book that recounts his story, relatively few know him very well. This, at least, is the basis on which almost every author justifies a new book about the enigmatic experiences of this Old Testamen... Read More »

Sermon Analysis for Pulpit Power. By H. C. Brown, Jr. Nashville: Broad-man Press, 1971. 61 pages. Paper, $.95.  The author’s purpose is to provide the minister a critical analysis for his preaching. Ninety-five questions are proposed for the testing of ... Read More »

Nearly four decades ago E. F. Scott wrote regarding the book of James: “There is no writing in the New Testament on which critical opinion has varied so widely as on this Epistle.”[1]Ernest Findlay Scott, The Literature of the New Testament (New Yo... Read More »

Preaching in a series adds zest to the pulpit fare. It puts the minister to work on a definite plan. He has no greater frustration than deciding what he will preach, and the absence of a plan, plus the rush of an average pastor’s schedule, can well leave... Read More »

Isaiah might be called the prophet for the New Testament. Isaiah is quoted more than twice as much as any other major prophet and more than all of the minor prophets combined. Because of the abundant use that New Testament writers make of Isaiah, some have sou... Read More »

The latter part of the Book of Isaiah (chapters 40-66) contains some · of the most profound teachings of the Old Testament. Nobility of thought and expression, the spiritual insight of the writer (or writers), the content of the oracles (most of them in poeti... Read More »

Introduction The book of Isaiah is composed of three natural divisions: sayings, principally of judgment, chapters 1-35; historical narratives, chapters 36-39 (almost identical with II Kings 18:13-20:19); and sayings, principally of comfort, chapters 40-66. Ib... Read More »

In sheer majesty and grandeur, to say nothing of immensity of size and theological significance, the book of Isaiah towers like some awesome cathedral over much of Old Testament literature. Like an ancient cathedral in modem Europe, however, Isaiah, too, is th... Read More »

An Outline of Luke These verses, which constitute a historical introduction to Luke’s Gospel, suggest a number of things that are of special interest: (1) Luke was not the first to write a narrative of the words and works of Jesus. (2) Luke had special q... Read More »

Over twenty years ago, the Southern Baptist Convention calendar made room for an annual Bible study week in early January. The Sunday School Board promoted the study and published a text book on a book of the Bible. The emphasis met with immediate success. Thi... Read More »