George R. Beasley-Murray

A companion series to the acclaimed Word Biblical CommentaryFinding the great themes of the books of the Bible is essential to the study of God's Word and to the preaching and teaching of its truths. These themes and ideas are often like precious gems: they lie beneath the surface and can only be discovered with some difficulty. While commentaries are useful for helping readers understand the content of a verse or chapter, they are not usually designed to help the reader to trace important subjects systematically within a given book a Scripture.The Word Biblical Themes series helps readers discover the important themes of a book of the Bible. This series distills the theological essence of a given book of Scripture and serves it up in ways that enrich the preaching, teaching, worship, and discipleship of God's people. Volumes in this series:Are written by top biblical scholarsFeature authors who wrote on the same book of the Bible for the Word Biblical Commentary seriesDistill deep and focused study on a biblical book into the most important themes and practical applications of themGive readers an ability to see the "big picture" of a book of the Bible by understanding what topics and concerns were most important to the biblical writersHelp address pressing issues in the church today by showing readers see how the biblical writers approached similar issues in their dayAre ideal for sermon preparation and for other teaching in the church Word Biblical Themes are an ideal resource for any reader who has used and benefited from the Word Biblical Commentary series, and will help pastors, bible teachers, and students as they seek to understand and apply God’s word to their ministry and learning.

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.Overview of Commentary OrganizationIntroduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology.Each section of the commentary includes:Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope.Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English.Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation.Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here.Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research.Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues.General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

'The sheer breadth of the author's inquiry forces the reader to integrate concepts about Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom and how it relates to both his ministry and his later followers. In the end there is nothing quite like this book ... Jesus and the Kingdom of God deserves to be read, weighed, and included in the library of both scholars and interested lay persons.' Books and Religion 'This important book will be appreciated by anyone interested in the perennial problem of understanding the message of Jesus... It is a masterful compendium that will have a lasting influence.' Theology Today 'Beasley-Murray assesses a broad range of current scholarship including the pivotal works of such people as Rudolf Bultmann and Joachim Jeremias. The detailed notes and extensive bibliography enhance the value of this exhaustive study.' Choice 'This very welcome study presents the quintessence of Dr Beasley-Murray's mature thinking on a subject which has engaged his attention for many years ... What we have in this work is an exegetical treasure-house.' F.F. Bruce 'This challenging work will have to be weighed and discussed by all who are seriously interested in these crucial theological issues.' Raymond E. Brown

This comprehensive study begins by investigating the antecedents of Christian baptism. It then surveys the foundation of Christian baptism in the Gospels, its emergence in the book of Acts and its development in the apostolic writings. Following a section relating baptism to New Testament doctirne, a substantial discussion of the significance of infant baptism leads to a briefer discussion of baptismal reform and ecumenism.