Books

Confessional writings of the Lutheran Church and other information essential to understanding the confessions.

These twin convictions, shared by all of the contributors to The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, define the goal of this ambitious series of commentaries. For those many modern readers who find the Old Testament to be strange and foreign soil, the NICOT series serves as an authoritative guide bridging the cultural gap between today's world and the world of ancient Israel. Each NICOT volume aims to help us hear God's word as clearly as possible.

Scholars, pastors, and serious Bible students will welcome the fresh light that this commentary series casts on ancient yet familiar biblical texts. The contributors apply their proven scholarly expertise and wide experience as teachers to illumine our understanding of the Old Testament. As gifted writers, they present the results of the best recent research in an interesting manner.

Each commentary opens with an introduction to the biblical book, looking especially at questions concerning its background, authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology. A select bibliography also points readers to resources for their own study. The author's own translation from the original Hebrew forms the basis of the commentary proper. Verse-by-verse comments nicely balance in-depth discussions of technical matters -- textual criticism, critical problems, and so on -- with exposition of the biblical writer's theology and its implications for the life of faith today.

The Old Testament prophets played a crucial role in the history of Israel. Although there were many prophets who brought the message of God to his people, we have records of only a few. Of these, our knowledge of Jeremiah is probably the most complete. In this commentary for scholars and pastors, originally part of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, J. A. Thompson examines the book of Jeremiah with its message urging the people of Israel to be true to their covenant Lord and to live in conformity with his covenant requirements.

Thompson begins his study by looking at the role of the prophets in Israel and at Jeremiah's place among them. He then discusses the historical setting of Jeremiah's message. From this background, Thompson moves to an examination of the book of Jeremiah itself, focusing on its structure and composition before considering some important issues for exegesis--the date of Jeremiah's call, the significance of the symbolic actions he performed, and the relationship between Jeremiah and Hosea. In the last part of his extensive introduction, Thompson examines the text and poetic forms of Jeremiah.

DeClaisse-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner offer a succinct introduction to the Psalter, a new translation of all the psalms that takes special account of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and individual entries on each psalm unit. Throughout the book they draw on state-of-the-art research on the canonical shape and shaping of the Psalter and evidence a nuanced attention to the poetic nature of the psalms.

The Brotherhood Prayer Book is a book dedicated to the singing of the canonical prayer offices and the entire Psalter and Old Testament canticles, pointed to Gregorian tones. It includes liturgies for Matins, Lauds, Sext, Vespers, English Compline, Latin Compline, German Compline, and more, along with a full set of propers for the Liturgical Week, the Liturgical Year, and Saints' Days. Another highlight is the Beichtspiegel, or "confession mirror," which is a tool used for reflection and self-examination in preparation for private confession and absolution or for the Divine Service. Visit the Emmanuel Press website for a free download of the Beichtspiegel.

This book is the 2021 black-and-white paperback version of the hardcover Second Revised Edition published in 2007. Clicking on "Look Inside" will show the 2013 Text Edition of the The Brotherhood Prayer Book, which contains all of the words of the Second Revised Edition but not the music; this is also the Kindle version.

Called "the American Luther," Rev. Dr. C. F. W. Walther is celebrated as a founder of the log cabin college (1839) that became one of the ten largest seminaries in North America: Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. The educational emphasis and precedents Walther set made his theological heirs highly influential in American Christianity a century later when the synod fully embraced English. Walther's legacy persists through his most widely read book, Law and Gospel. He tirelessly led the publication of Der Lutheraner journal (founded 1844) and became the first president of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

In 1847, when Walther helped to found The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the church body included only 19 pastors, 30 congregations, and 4,099 baptized members. At the time of his death forty years later (May 7, 1887), the church body had grown to 931 pastors, 678 member congregations, 746 affiliated congregations, 544 preaching stations, and 459,376 baptized members. The 200th anniversary of Walther's birth is an important milestone for the history of confessional Lutherans and for North American Christianity.