Biblical Studies & Theology
Below are some books our professors recommend in the areas of Biblical studies, New Testament, Old Testament, and theology. Beneath each book you’ll see the professor(s) who recommended it. Click “Read More” for a note from the professor about the book and why it is worth a read.* Clicking on the book itself will take you to the Gordon-Conwell bookshop on ChristianBook.com where you can purchase it.
*Not all content in these books reflect the views of Gordon-Conwell.
All Faculty Book Recommendations
Select a button to read all of the Faculty Recommendations in each area.
Recommended by Dr. Todd Johnson
“Do Western Evangelical theologians work without context, providing the standard for all Evangelicals, while non-Westerners do ‘contextual’ theology? Pardue’s biblical and theological ‘no!’ is a timely admonition for Westerners to listen well to the voices of the vibrant churches of the Majority World–moving Evangelicals toward the biblical equality of cultures and peoples in the Revelation 7:9 vision. Highly recommended!”
Recommended by Kevin Kiyi Yao
“The author convincingly argues for a church-centered evangelical approach to contextualization of the gospel message.”
“This timely commentary furnishes students, pastors, and scholars alike with a marvelous new tool for thinking more deeply about the task of Biblical interpretation in a global and multicultural church. A series of opening essays orient readers to the unique circumstances and aims of African American, Asian American, Hispanic, North American Indigenous, and Majority-Culture interpretive communities, and robust chapter-length commentaries on each New Testament book comprise the remainder of the volume. The scholarship is sharp and current and promises to both challenge and bless readers from all backgrounds.”
“While confessional readers will quibble with his uses of the biblical text, Frahm’s history of Assyria is thrilling, erudite, and an excellently accessible history of the Assyrian empire.”
“Those familiar with T. Desmond Alexander’s work in biblical theology will be delighted to see that he recently authored The Message of the Kingdom of God in IVP’s long-standing Bible Speaks Today series. This resource masterfully walks the reader through key passages relating to the Kingdom of God from Genesis to Revelation. Written clearly and accessibly, this resource is highly recommended for anyone looking to trace the development of God’s kingdom throughout the Scriptures. I especially recommend it as a companion resource for church Bible studies.”
“For years, trinitarian theologians like myself have had to argue against the majority position among biblical scholars, which claimed that Nicene trinitarianism was expressed in a metaphysical way foreign to Scripture, and which often added that Jesus was only viewed as semi-divine in ancient context. Bird’s technical work is among the best in showing that biblical authors had philosophical categories in mind when depicting Jesus as fully divine.”
Recommended by Dr. Garth Rosell
“For the past three years, my wife and I have begun each day with the sequential reading of a Psalm, a brief reflection on that Psalm and a written prayer followed by our own prayers. We use Timothy and Julie Tennent’s book for the reflection and Arthur Bennett’s The Valley of Vision for our written prayers. It has been transformative, and we commend it to you.”
Recommended by Dr. Gerry Wheaton
“A wonderful, recent look at grace in Paul’s letters by a leading student of Paul in the world. Outstanding study!”
“Carol Kaminski’s commentary is a theologically rich and eminently accessible guide for teaching and preaching through 1-2 Chronicles, an often-neglected portion of Scripture. She writes in an engaging style to retell Israel’s story through the themes of repentance and restoration, the importance of godly leadership, and the call to be a worshipping and witnessing people. In her own words: “My goal has been to reflect as much as possible the worshipful and homiletical tone of Chronicles with the intent of not only engaging the reader’s mind, but also stirring the affections of the heart” (p. 4). This commentary accomplishes just that.”
Recommended by Dr. Davi Ribeiro Lin
“It is inspiring to know that, after years of much study, an academic trained in exegesis and biblical theology produces a profound and yet very accessible work. This is a work that makes us trust less in ourselves and more in the God who raises the dead–and does so in an inspiring, coherent, and deep way.”
Recommended by Dr. Aída Besançon Spencer
“My husband has spent many years amassing the data for this book. It is first a primer for theology. Then it answers the important question, may Christians use images to describe our awesome God? He begins with a detailed study of Jesus’s use of images and continues with some of the images used for the Trinity by the early church.”
Recommended by Dr. Garth Rosell
“Following the tradition of G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis, Wax draws on the church’s historic creeds and confessions to call the Christian church back to foundational truths.”
Recommended by Dr. Gerry Wheaton
“A new publication that delves into the way in which Paul’s teaching about the Christian life is similar to and differs from the main schools of thought and religion (Greco-Roman and Jewish) surrounding the Pauline churches.”
“Known especially for his work on Exodus and Leviticus, Morales now turns his focus to the Book of Numbers in the Apollos Old Testament Commentaries Series. This much-anticipated commentary on Numbers 1-19 is a must read for those looking to understand how the book of Numbers fits more broadly into the Pentateuch as a whole.”
Recommended by Dr. Seong Hyun Park
“This significant book by Gordon-Conwell professor Dr. Schnabel carefully guides the readers to understand the New Testament in its historical context. The laborious effort of the reader will be richly rewarded to encounter with fuller clarity ‘Jesus Messiah’ (rather than ‘Jesus Christ’), the center of the New Testament.”
Recommended by Dr. Gordon Hugenberger:
“Students often ask how they can gain a better knowledge of the cultural background of the Old Testament. Here is one answer to that persistent and worthy question: a 1818-page volume of 120 exceptionally readable, thorough, and well-researched articles on almost every major aspect of the culture of the biblical and post-biblical world. Each article reflects a thorough awareness of the most significant archaeological evidence bearing on each topic, a thoughtful assessment of the relevant textual and archaeological evidence, and thorough bibliographies for those wanting to go further.”
Recommended by Dr. David Currie:
“Building upon the vision of Pope John Paul II’s magisterial Theology of the Body, Tennent provides an exploration of what it means to be embodied that is deep, yet accessible; prophetic, yet pastoral; rooted in history, yet addressing contemporary issues.”
Recommended by Dr. Gordon Hugenberger:
“Written by a GCTS alum, Highly Favoured is an easy-to-read, devotionally inspiring book that is almost impossible to put down. Every story is taken from his life in Africa (born in Zambia and serving, with his dear wife Sindia, as missionaries for the past 33 years in a remote part of Mozambique). At its core, this book is a rich, coherent exploration of what the Christian life is really about, tethered firmly to the biblical text at every point by one who wears his scholarship lightly but who is exceptionally competent in original language exegesis.”
Recommended by Dr. Donald Fairbairn:
“Greek textbooks for seminary students often focus so narrowly on the New Testament that students think of Koine Greek as virtually a different language from classical Greek. It isn’t. Instead, it is simply a later form of ancient Greek as written and spoken by the common people. Boler’s text helps students to see ancient Greek as a living language and to place the New Testament within that language’s evolution.”
“Jay Sklar (MDiv ’96) serves as professor of Old Testament and VP of academics at Covenant Seminary. Many students of the Pentateuch have benefited greatly from Sklar’s clear and accessible commentary on Leviticus in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Series (IVP, 2014). For those looking to dive even deeper into a study of Leviticus, especially its literary features, Sklar recently published this commentary on Leviticus in Zondervan’s Exegetical Commentaries on the Old Testament Series. Readers will benefit greatly from Sklar’s balanced scholarship, theological depth, and attention to detail.”
Recommended by Dr. Mateus de Campos:
“Written by one of the most prominent evangelical New Testament scholars in the field, Christobiography presents a compelling case for understanding the Gospels as reliable biographical sources for reconstructing the historical Jesus. Keener situates the Gospels in the context of the literary practices of ancient Greco-Roman biographers, advocating for the historical accuracy of the accounts. Keener’s knowledge is encyclopedic, yet his argument is presented in a clear and accessible form.”
Recommended by Dr. Mateus de Campos:
“There is also a growing interest in recent years in the narrative features of the Gospels. Acknowledging the literary intentionality of the four evangelists, many scholars have applied the tools of narrative criticism to the Gospels, achieving fascinating results. Jeannine Brown provides an introductory, yet substantial discussion of the key aspects of the method: plot, characterization, intertextuality, and narrative theology. The book provides an insightful description and analysis of each aspect, along with examples. Exegetes trained in the grammatical-historical method will find in Brown’s book a helpful extra tool for their exegetical toolbox.”
Recommended by Dr. Mateus de Campos:
“An apologetic minefield, New Testament textual criticism is often the center point of discussions on the reliability of the New Testament. In reaction to some excessive skepticism on the part of the critics, Christians often run into danger of overcompensating and oversimplifying the issues. Edited by two rising stars in the field of New Testament text criticism and featuring contributions from cutting-edge scholars, Myths and Mistakes brings fresh, up-to-date, and accurate information about the history and the current state of the New Testament text.”
Recommended by Dr. Jeffrey Niehaus:
“When responding to the serpent’s temptation to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve says that one ‘must not touch it’ (Gen. 3:2-3). In this, Eve appears to embellish upon God’s clear command that one must not eat from the tree (Gen. 2:17). Did Eve add to God’s command, becoming the first legalist? Was this an innocent mistake? Or is the answer altogether different?”
Recommended by Dr. Kirsten Sanders:
“This book is a wonderful contribution to what I see as a renewal in neo-Chalcedonian thought and is worth a read for its clarity of thought and keen biblical insights.”
Recommended by Dr. Adonis Vidu:
“Zahl argues that ‘good pneumatology not only authorizes but requires attention to concrete experiences that take place in bodies and in time, including especially affective experiences.’ He sketches a theology of grace that expects the reality of the Spirit to be empirically visible in transformed lives, rather than a mere theoretical construct. I look forward to being challenged by Zahl in my own understanding of the place of experience in theology and of the concreteness of the Spirit’s work.”
Recommended by Dr. Adonis Vidu:
“Quite likely the most anticipated theology book of 2020, the second volume to Sonderegger’s groundbreaking first volume is a genuinely fresh approach to the doctrine of the Trinity, yet in keeping with the contours of classical Trinitarianism. Not the kind of reading to be done lightly, I recommend studying this at a leisurely pace and ideally in the context of a reading group.”
Recommended by Dr. Mateus de Campos:
“One of the most celebrated works on early Christianity in recent years is N.T. Wright’s four-volume series, Christian Origins and the Question of God (Fortress Press). In The New Testament in its World, Wright and Bird apply the depth of Wright’s earlier work to a rich introduction of the New Testament. The book is beautifully designed, incredibly rich, and well written.”
Recommended by Dr. Jeff Arthurs
“An important addition to our standard tools of exegesis. Examines how New Testament authors used rhetoric, pathos in particular, to achieve their purposes.”
Recommended by Dr. Jim Critchlow
“Dr. Kim provides a conservative, engaging review of the Book of 1 Samuel and compares it to the perspectives of Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel Attributed to Luo Guanzhong that is of significant relevance to Gordon-Conwell students of all ethnicities, but particularly those of Chinese, Korean and Japanese ancestry.”
Recommended by Dr. Christine Palmer
“This book takes its reader on a journey through the Bible to discover the Lord’s call to worship from Eden to the New Jerusalem. Through the skillful exposition of well-known evangelical Bible scholars, many of whom are Gordon-Conwell faculty and alumni, a biblically-grounded vision of worship emerges that is sure to be a blessing to the Church.”
Recommended by Dr. Stephen Witmer
“I’ve never met a Richard Bauckham book I didn’t like and didn’t benefit from. He’s one of my favorite biblical scholars – thorough and measured, but also fresh and creative. This book on God’s revelation of himself is no exception. My copy is filled with underlining, circling, and exclamation points.”
Recommended by Dr. Mateus de Campos
“In 2013, John Barclay published one of the most influential books on Paul in the last few decades–“Paul and the Gift”. The book is a comprehensive treatment on the theme of grace in Paul’s theology, which brought fresh insights from sociological and anthropological approaches, illuminating a sometimes very cumbersome debate. “Paul and the Power of Grace” is a condensed presentation of Barclay’s earlier argument, but it accomplishes so much more than just providing a summary. By avoiding much of the scholarly debates he dealt with in the previous volume, Barclay keeps the argument focused and close to the text, allowing a clear picture of Paul’s theology of grace to emerge. The insights on different “perfections” of grace create a helpful framework to situate the sometimes conflicting assessments of Paul’s theology. This book is definitely a must-read. “
Recommended by Dr. Autumn Ridenour
“McCaulley offers an historical and Biblical analysis on many of the key challenges facing the black experience over the centuries as well as more recent decades. Turning to Scripture for wisdom in the contemporary church, this book is a welcome contribution for theology and ethics, causing the faithful to approach the text with fresh eyes and an open heart while seeking faithful discipleship as the body of Christ in our time. ”
Recommended by Rev. Dr. Nicole Martin:
“Gordon-Conwell alumnus Esau McCaulley puts his groundbreaking research into practice for preachers everywhere. This lens of interpretation will equip preachers of all ethnicities with a racially inclusive hermeneutic that draws us all closer to Christ.”
Recommended by Professor Rob Antonucci:
“Written by a Gordon-Conwell alumnus, this book details a personal journey and also raises awareness on how our Scripture reading and exegesis has not considered the African-American perspective on the issues addressed and how white evangelicals are often unaware of and discount their importance.”
Recommended by Dr. John Jefferson Davis
“Argues for the central importance of the ‘ordinary Supernatural’ – the quiet, unspectacular, yet supernatural action of the Holy Spirit in producing the illumination of scripture and the fruit of the Spirit for a sustainable practice of discipleship, Bible study, prayer, and worship; suitable for Bible studies, discipleship groups, and leadership training.”
Recommended by Dr. John Jefferson Davis
“Adonis Vidu’s The Same God Who Works All Things is a high level, cutting edge defense of a key doctrine in Trinitarian theology – that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always work in a unified and consistent way in the economy of redemption”