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First and Second Samuel tell the story of the beginnings of monarchy in ancient Israel. These two powerful narratives present many great figures of biblical history--Samuel, Saul, and David--and explore the complex interaction of historical developments and human fidelity under God. In the books of Samuel, characters interact to influence and persuade, to express motivation and desire, and to shape the reader's understanding of the issues that faced the Israelites as they responded to God's invitation to covenant. Through the medium of story, the reader shares in the perennial struggle to discover, in the midst of personal and political conflict, God's ways for humanity.

When we first pick it up and open it, the Bible can seem confusing and perhaps even frightening. Here is this bulky book, made up of seventy-three sections with unfamiliar titles such as Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes, Colossians, and Corinthians, with numbers in front of almost every sentence, rarely any pictures, and perhaps a few maps of ancient areas such as Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Judah. Since the Bible looks like a book, we may start to read it as we would any other book, hoping to move from cover to cover. Then we begin to wonder, Who wrote this? When was it written? What kind of writing is this: History? Science? Biography? Fiction? What am I supposed to get out of it? As (or if) we keep reading the Bible page by page, section by section, we soon realize that this is no ordinary run-of-the-bookshelf volume. Without a guide the Bible is likely to remain the book most often purchased but not very often read and even less often understood.To rescue Bible readers and students from turning their initial enthusiasm into boredom, Gregory Dawes gives us this Introduction to the Bible, the indispensable prologue to the entire series of the New Collegeville Bible Commentary. Dividing the contents into two parts, the author first describes how the Old and New Testaments came to be put together, and then explores how their stories have been interpreted over the centuries. In the words of Dawes, this very broad overview of a very complex history offers the general reader a helpful framework within which to begin to understand the Bible. The author writes clearly, frequently seasoning his explanations with crisp examples. This book anchors individual and group Bible study on the solid foundation of basic biblical vocabulary and concepts.

Vincent M. Smiles provides a fresh look at the early Church and the faith with which they approached their dynamic, diverse community. With a brief introduction to each letter, Smiles brings to light issues such as authorship, dating, and historical situation. Smiles focuses on similarities and contrasts-such as eschatology, ecclesiology and the status of women--within these diverse, yet unified letters.A reading of these letters as partners in a conversation" provides both an understanding and inspiration for today's Christian society: inspiration to meet our challenges in faith with the same creativity as did the early Church.With an understandable, yet comprehensive manner, this commentary will appeal to those interested in the changing early Church and its ancient wisdom.