Books Jesus Read

What “They” Say . . . What Will You Say?

Dr. Bob Lay has done us a wonderful service in making the OT Apocrypha accessible to non-specialists. These ancient Jewish texts are rich devotionally, and they provide essential background for the proper interpretation of the NewTestament. I have little doubt that Jesus and his earliest Jewish followers were well acquainted with these works. We should be, as well!

~ Joe Hellerman, PhD, Professor of New Testament Language and Literature, Talbot School of Theology

I can’t think of a more winsome invitation to encounter the ancient Jewish works now known as “the Apocrypha” than Bob Lay’s Books Jesus Read: Learning from the Apocrypha . His reader- friendly introductions helpfully set the context for reviving the understanding of these old classics in a new day. Treat yourself here to some of the “other” literature that Jesus knew, books that have been read and appreciated by Jews and Christians for over two millennia. ~ Charles E. Hill, PhD, Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity, Reformed Theological Seminary Imagine discovering a hidden treasure. That is what you have in your hands at this moment. This is especially the case if you are someone divinely called into the spiritual trenches of ministry today. Robert F. Lay gifts us here with something wonderfully simple but not simplistic, thorough but not overwhelming, as he blows the dust from a forgotten spiritual classic (the Apocrypha). The balance of profound and practical here is something every minister, and the people for whom they care for, would benefit from tremendously. ~ Rev. Tom Kang, Lead Pastor at New Story Church of Los Angeles