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KGS Print: This is a print resource available in the Souvay Memorial Library. Click on the link to see the item's current status, location, and call number. Most items listed under "Essential Readings" in the LibGuides will appear in current and recent Kenrick syllabi, and will have a copy in our reference section.
MOBIUS Print: This is a print resources that is not available at Kenrick but that can be requested through MOBIUS.
Internet Archive: The Internet Archive has a digital copy of this book. It is completely free to read online, but you will need to set up a personal account, through which you "check out" (get temporary access) to the e-book. Kenrick alumni and non-Kenrick patrons can also freely access these volumes once they set up their own accounts.
Mike Aquilina & Christopher Bailey
Aquilina and Bailey open a treasure chest of ancient Christian wisdom that will enrich your experience and appreciation of the psalms. Each of the short chapters on selected psalms is designed to help you pray these beautiful and personal Old Testament songs-not just to read or recite them, but to make them part of your lives. Each chapter features the complete text of the psalm in the Revised Standard version format, a brief introduction that sets the psalm in context, "words to remember"-a few lines to recall throughout the day, short reflections in modernized language from one or two great early Christian thinkers, questions to help you apply the words of the psalm and the ideas of the early Christian writers to your life. Also included are brief biographies of the men and women quoted in the book.
John Bergsma
In Psalm Basics for Catholics, John Bergsma introduces us to King David, the story of Israel, and the salvation of the Jewish people through the coming of Jesus.
Walter Brueggemann
Reading these meditative commentaries on the Psalms is closer to spiritual experience than intellectual knowledge. It is a calm and reflective experience of spiritual wisdom of the author.
Daniel J. Harrington
In a series of brief essays, Harrington opens up the language of forty psalms, explores their literary and historical context, and then ties the psalm to our reading as Christians whose ultimate hope is in Jesus Christ. As we read and reflect on the psalms with Harrington's guidance, we call to mind the ways we experience God and our hopes, both daily and for all time. Drawn into the world of the psalmist and discovering how our experiences often mirror theirs, we too will express our hope in God's love and mercy and in the coming of God's kingdom.
C. S. Lewis
In this wise and enlightening book, C. S. Lewis--the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of many beloved classics--examines the Psalms. As Lewis divines the meaning behind these timeless poetic verses, he makes clear their significance in our daily lives, and reminds us of their power to illuminate moments of grace.
Tremper Longman
Longman helps readers overcome the distance between the psalmists' world and ours. He explains the various kinds of psalms, the way they were used in Hebrew worship and their relationship to the rest of the Old Testament. Then he looks at how Christians can appropriate their message and insights today. Turning to the art of Old Testament poetry, he explains the use of parallelism and imagery. Step-by-step suggestions for interpreting the psalms on our own are followed by exercises for further study and reflection. Also included is a helpful guide to commentaries on the Psalms.
Sigmund Mowinckel
One of the most important contributions to our understanding of the psalms, this classic, two-volume study has largely provided the framework and suppositions of modern Psalms study. It argues that the psalms originated in actual temple worship and were used regularly to add drama to Israel's adoration of Yahweh. Throughout this fascinating work, Mowinckel carefully explores the relationship of the various psalm types to the congregation's devotional life, including hymns of praise from Israel's national festivals, psalms of lamentation and penitence, and personal or private psalms of thanksgiving. Other topics include the psalms' relationship to prophecy and wisdom, their composition and collection, their style and performance, and the technical terminology involved in Psalms study.
Roland E. Murphy
Murphy discusses the various types of psalms, their literary features and theological concepts; and provides concise comments and historical insight on each one. An ideal starting point for in-depth study, whether individual or group.
Candid responses to commonly asked questions about some of the most read and least read books of the Bible.
Patrick Henry Reardon
A highly inspirational book of meditations on the Psalms that takes the reader on a thought-provoking and enlightening pilgrimage through this beloved "prayer book" of the Church. How has the Church historically understood and utilized the various psalms in her liturgical life? How can we perceive the image of Christ shining through the Psalms? Christ in the Psalms offers practical advice for how to make the Psalter a part of our daily lives.
N. T. Wright
Wright points out that the Psalms have served as the central prayer and hymnbook for the church since its beginning--until now. He calls us to return to the Psalms as a steady, vital component of healthy Christian living. Reading, studying, and praying the Psalms is God's means for teaching us what it means to be human: how to express our emotions and yearnings, how to reconcile our anger and our compassion, how to see our story in light of God's sweeping narrative of salvation. Wright provides the tools for understanding and incorporating these crucial verses into our own lives. His conclusion is simple: all Christians need to read, pray, sing, and live the Psalms.
Richard J. Clifford
Clifford seeks to make the biblical wisdom literature intelligible to modern readers. Opening chapters comment on the striking similarities between ancient and modern "wisdom literature" and on the comparable literature from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan. Thereafter, a chapter is devoted to each biblical book (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Sirach, and Wisdom of Solomon), studying not only its content but also its rhetoric - how it engages the reader.
Daniel J. Harrington
Introduction to and scholarly consideration of how Jesus Ben Sira (Jesus, the son of Sirach and Jewish wisdom teacher of the late third and early second century BCE) communicated his wisdom teachings, which psychological and sociological assumptions underlay his teachings, and what they might contribute to the personal and social formation of persons today.
Tremper Longman
The author discusses Israelite wisdom in the context of the broader ancient Near East, treats the connection between wisdom in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, and deals with a number of contested issues, such as the relationship of wisdom to prophecy, history, and law.
While many proverbs speak to us directly, we can gain much greater insight by studying the book of Proverbs as a whole, understanding its relationship to ancient non-Israelite wisdom and listening to its conversation with the other great voices of wisdom in Scripture--Job and Ecclesiastes. In this book, Tremper Longman III provides a welcome guide to reading and studying, understanding and savoring the Proverbs for all their wisdom. Most important for Christian readers, we gain insight into how Christ is the climax and embodiment of wisdom.
Roland E. Murphy
This superb study thoroughly explores the wisdom writings of the Bible, interpreting this literature in a way that illumines the development of Israel's search for wisdom throughout its tumultuous history. Murphy looks at each wisdom book individually -- Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom of Solomon -- and adds to them a discussion of wisdom from other parts of the Old Testament. His careful investigations expose the various guises that wisdom adopts -- the "fear of the Lord," moral formation, the universality of human experience, the mysteries of creation, and others.
Kathleen M. O’Connor
This volume presents the spiritualties, implicit or explicit, of the wisdom books of the Old Testament. An additional goal is to explore the vast and frequently overlooked resource that wisdom literature provides for contemporary believers.
Leo G. Perdue
In this magisterial textbook, preeminent wisdom scholar Leo G. Perdue sets each book of wisdom in its historical context, examining the conditions that produced the book and shaped its thinking. This allows him to show how wisdom thought changed over time in response to shifting historical and social conditions. In addition to analyzing the historical setting of wisdom, Perdue discerns the theological themes and theological developments within this rich literature.
John H. Walton & Tremper Longman
From their analysis of the Book of Job's place in the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient Near East to their discussions of its literary features and relationship to history, Walton and Longman give us the best of their expertise. They explore the theology of Job, placing it within Israelite religion and Old Testament theology. And they coach us in how to read Job as Christians. When it turns out the book is not what we thought it was, our reading is richly layered and more satisfying. Whether you are preparing for preaching, teaching, leading a Bible study, studying for a class or for personal enrichment, How to Read Job is your starting point.
Stuart Weeks
This introduction to the study of Wisdom Literature is geared to questions of method and approach. The introduction and first chapter examine the basic questions central to the literature. Subsequent chapters outline the content, characteristics, and thought of each book, and discuss the problems involved in approaching and interpreting them. Examination of the biblical wisdom books is followed by a survey and discussion of other Jewish literature with a claim to be called "wisdom literature," including Psalms, and works from the apocrypha and from Qumran. The final chapters turn to more general issues of thought, place, and definition, concluding that wisdom literature must be understood not in terms of a shared origin, theology, or ideology, but as a type of literary discourse.