1992 0-7734-9601-7 Examines legal concepts in the scripture and the technical implications involved. Compares in both scripture and courtroom such concepts as covenant, apostle, witnessing, prayers, calls to worship compared with court room commands, the architecture of ancient temples and that of court rooms, exegesis, rhetorical arguments in the Bible and court, incarnation, and more. This book will stir the imaginations of scholars to find still further insights, questions and answers. The wisdom of the courtroom is an important ingredient for understanding biblical interpretation and Jewish and Christian theology.
1999 0-7734-2470-9 The first commentary ever written of a First Testament document that points out the earlier intertexts if Prof. Buchanan’s thought-provoking exegesis of Daniel. Among the insights discovered is the realization that Daniel is not unified, but is a collection of individual dramas. Furthermore, Buchanan has demonstrated that Daniel was not initially a prophecy; it is not pacifistic; and probably should not be called apocalyptic.
The dramas of Daniel are probably some of those that Judas had scholars collect in preparation for Hanukkah (2 Macc 2:13-14). The canonizers did not classify these documents with the prophets, probably because they were not considered prophecies. They are not tracts for hard times, but dramas that are success stories for celebration, In these the heroes prosper and the enemies are destroyed.
The dramas of Daniel do not at all reflect a pessimistic people under persecution, biting their fingernails and hoping against all hope that they would some day be delivered. They dramatize, rather, a bitter struggle which was over, an end that had already taken place, and victory that was celebrated.
In addition to the intertexts, Dr. Buchanan has made his case by recognizing the unity of Daniel 7, observing the two variant passages in Daniel 11, and relating the texts appropriately to the history of Hasmonean times.
1995 0-7734-2387-7 This book contains a few examples of the way midrash is discovered and recognized in the Hebrew Scripture and in the New Testament. The examples given illustrate the significance of insights gained from this kind of study and the philosophy that prompted ancient prophets, Psalmists, wisdom writers, and authors of New Testament gospels, letters, essays, and sermons to compose literature in the way they did.
1993 0-7734-2365-6 The first is the preparation of a set of Bible Commentaries, for all books of the Bible. Each author will show all of the texts used by that particular book. For example, whoever writes a commentary on Second Isaiah would put the text of Second Isaiah in one column and in a parallel column show the sources used in bold face type. The corresponding words from Second Isaiah would take into account the midrashic relationship between the texts as none of the current translations or commentaries does. When these relationships are made visible, new insights will become evident and new hypotheses will be formed.
After the textual work of the commentaries is done, it will be an easy project to prepare a new Hebrew text of the First Testament that looks like the Nestle-Aland New Testament text, with earlier texts in bold face type and documentation in the margins. It is already clear that every book of the Bible contains arguments and sermons based on earlier texts, showing that from the very beginning of our literature there has been a close relationship between the sacred text and the worshiping community. Although these commentaries will demonstrate new scholarly insights, they are also designed to be read and understood by clergy leaders who prepare sermons every week, continuing the time-honored tradition of relating the ancient text to the current church and synagogue.
1996 0-7734-2373-7 The first is the preparation of a set of Bible Commentaries, for all books of the Bible. Each author will show all of the texts used by that particular book. For example, whoever writes a commentary on Second Isaiah would put the text of Second Isaiah in one column and in a parallel column show the sources used in bold face type. The corresponding words from Second Isaiah would take into account the midrashic relationship between the texts as none of the current translations or commentaries does. When these relationships are made visible, new insights will become evident and new hypotheses will be formed.
After the textual work of the commentaries is done, it will be an easy project to prepare a new Hebrew text of the First Testament that looks like the Nestle-Aland New Testament text, with earlier texts in bold face type and documentation in the margins. It is already clear that every book of the Bible contains arguments and sermons based on earlier texts, showing that from the very beginning of our literature there has been a close relationship between the sacred text and the worshiping community. Although these commentaries will demonstrate new scholarly insights, they are also designed to be read and understood by clergy leaders who prepare sermons every week, continuing the time-honored tradition of relating the ancient text to the current church and synagogue.
1996 0-7734-2421-0 The first is the preparation of a set of Bible Commentaries, for all books of the Bible. Each author will show all of the texts used by that particular book. For example, whoever writes a commentary on Second Isaiah would put the text of Second Isaiah in one column and in a parallel column show the sources used in bold face type. The corresponding words from Second Isaiah would take into account the midrashic relationship between the texts as none of the current translations or commentaries does. When these relationships are made visible, new insights will become evident and new hypotheses will be formed.
After the textual work of the commentaries is done, it will be an easy project to prepare a new Hebrew text of the First Testament that looks like the Nestle-Aland New Testament text, with earlier texts in bold face type and documentation in the margins. It is already clear that every book of the Bible contains arguments and sermons based on earlier texts, showing that from the very beginning of our literature there has been a close relationship between the sacred text and the worshiping community. Although these commentaries will demonstrate new scholarly insights, they are also designed to be read and understood by clergy leaders who prepare sermons every week, continuing the time-honored tradition of relating the ancient text to the current church and synagogue.
1993 0-7734-2378-8 Instead of opting for one of the standard explanations of eschatology, this study looks for the origin of the concept in antiquity, requiring an examination of the Hebrew Scripture, the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic literature, the church fathers, and surrounding Greek literature and history. It involves a study of the legal, hermeneutical, cultural, historical, and political thought forms of ancient expectations. Beliefs and practices related to eschatology are examined from eighth-century Isaiah to the end of the Crusades in relationship to the promised land and the doctrine of redemption. Insights are employed to understand such New Testament problems as the Battle of Armageddon and the mystical number 666. It also uncovers the contemporary consequences of this dynamic doctrine.