Timothy Beal

"The Bible…is a locked treasure for those unfamiliar with the Scriptures….Beal offers a key with his accessible guide." -Cleveland Plain Dealer "With skill and insight, Timothy Beal has given us a great gift: a lucid and engaging introduction to the most important book ever published." -Jon Meacham, author of American Lion, winner of the Pulitzer Prize In the tradition of Stephen Prothero's Religious Literacy, and with the deftness of Bill Bryson's...

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" Timothy Beal is the Florence Harkness Professor of Religion at Case Western Reserve University. His many books include The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book and Biblical Literacy: The Essential Bible Stories Everyone Needs to Know. He lives in Denver. The life and times of the New Testament's most mystifying and incendiary book Few biblical books have been...

Few biblical books have been as revered and reviled as Revelation. Many hail it as the pinnacle of prophetic vision, the cornerstone of the biblical canon, and, for those with eyes to see, the key to understanding the past, present, and future. Others denounce it as the work of a disturbed individual whose horrific dreams of inhumane violence should never have been allowed into the Bible. Timothy Beal provides a concise cultural history of Revelation...

Some ancient works of literature survive in fragments that appear so simple and complete that it's hard to imagine them as being part of a larger narrative. Such is the case with Ruth and Esther. On first reading they appear so simple, so whole, and their meanings so completely self-evident. Yet the closer you look, the more perplexing they become. Ruth and Esther offers that close look, enabling readers to discover the uncertainties of the texts...