The Usefulness of Bible Background Resources

Some of my favorite Bible study resources are the ones that cover the historical background of the Bible. It's very helpful to learn about the historical context of the stories in Scripture. Whether studying the concept of how a king was crowned in the ANE or how marriages were conducted in 1st century Greco-Roman cultures,…

Motyer on Isaiah 7.14b: Immanuel

  Remember the context of Is. 7.14.  Yahweh tells Ahaz to ask for a sign as deep as the depths or as high as the heavens (v.11).  He refuses, so the Lord declares that he himself would give a sign: the virgin conceiving and giving birth to Immanuel (v13-14).  Here is Motyer's comment on the…