Marketing consultants tell companies that they must “brand” their products. Otherwise they won’t stand out from the other businesses around them. Branding employs external markers to distinguish a product from its...

Naboth’s widow and children could have written Psalm 5. The psalmist praises God as the one who takes no delight in evil, greed, dishonesty, or treachery. The psalmist’s God is the...

Israel’s royal ideology demands that its kings deliver the needy from oppression and defend the poor from violence. Jezebel and Ahab do not simply neglect this responsibility; they intentionally repudiate it...

King Ahab covets the vineyard next to his palace. He approaches its owner, Naboth, with an offer that he cannot refuse. But Naboth does refuse. He knows that his land is...

This story concludes with a description of several other women who follow Jesus. They too live generously and gratefully in response to Jesus’ healing and forgiveness. Like the Twelve, they are...

All four Gospels include stories about a woman who anoints Jesus during a meal. Three Gospels describe this anointing as happening in Jerusalem before Jesus’ arrest as a foreshadowing of his...

Jesus restores a young man to his mother and community. He moves in close, touching the bier that carries the son. His action causes the bearers to stop, to stand still....

The grief of a mother in Nain evokes an emotional and physical response from Jesus. The widow loses her only son. She also loses her security and will live in poverty....

Paul, an advocate for inclusion of the Gentiles, now finds himself going toe-to-toe with leaders who question his apostolic authority. He counters their accusations in a very personal way—by insisting his...

The psalmist invites us to look to God for support we can count on: “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob” (niv). The Hebrew word translated “help” implies...