OCABS Press announces two new biblical commentaries just in time for the holidays.
The Chrysostom Bible Commentary Series is not so much in honor of John Chrysostom as it is to continue and promote his legacy as an interpreter of the biblical texts for preaching and teaching God's congregation.
The Chrysostom Bible - Isaiah: A Commentary
by Paul Nadim Tarazi
"Among the Latter Prophets the most impressive individual book is undoubtedly Isaiah since its chronological coverage stretches over the pre-exilic, exilic, and post-exilic periods. It has in its purview not only Jacob and Abraham (41:8; 51:2), but also Noah (54:9) and the garden of Eden (51:3), thus encompassing all of humanity before the choosing of Abraham. Hence the stress in Isaiah on the inclusion of the nations, even in the matter of temple service in the new Zion (66:20-21). Isaiah can well be viewed, without exaggeration, as a mini-scripture. By the same token it is no wonder that, besides Genesis-the tone-setting book for the entire scripture in both its Testaments, and Psalms-the book of psalmody of the new Zion, Isaiah is the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament."
The Chrysostom Bible - Jeremiah: A Commentary
by Paul Nadim Tarazi
"The Books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel stand at the center of the Hebrew Old Testament canon...both prophets were active around the time of the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians ca. 587 B.C., and their missions were to declare that the city succumbed to such a shameful end due to its negligence of God's law. What makes Jeremiah's message more ominous in the hearer's ears than that of Ezekiel is that he carried out his mission while living in Jerusalem...in Jeremiah, other "prophets" named by name and endorsed by the majority of the people and leadership challenge Jeremiah at every step. Even an inattentive hearer can feel the "pain" of Jeremiah and thus tends to empathize with his frequent complaints. In this sense, the Book of Jeremiah stands alone in scripture as the book of God who implements his punishment in spite of any entreaty...it is the book where God "alone" stands "over the nations and over the kingdoms" of his entire earth (Jer 1:10) in his office of sole supreme judge of all, including the deities of the nations (Ps 82)."