Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Combined edition) [Paperback]

Kenneth E. Bailey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 1983

Based on Baileys 20-year residence in the Middle East, this is one of the most famous studies of the cultural and linguistic significance of the parables. Bailey points out subtle nuances and Oriental customs that are grist for preachers and teachers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 447 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; Combined edition (May 9, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802819478
• ISBN-13: 978-0802819475
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kenneth E. Bailey is an author and lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament studies. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he also serves as Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church, USA. He holds graduate degrees in Arabic language and literature, and in systematic theology; his Th.D. is in New Testament. He spent forty years living and teaching New Testament in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus, still holding the title of research professor (emeritus) of Middle Eastern New Testament studies at the Ecumenical Institute (Tantur), Jerusalem. Bailey has written many books in English and in Arabic, including The Cross and the Prodigal, Poet & Peasant, Through Peasant Eyes, Jacob & the Prodigal and Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15. He has also published many articles in The Princeton Seminary Bulletin, The Presbyterian Outlook, Asia Journal of Theology, Christianity Today, Expository Studies, Irish Biblical Studies, Novem Momentum, Theology Review and Temelios.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best book ever written on the parables., June 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Combined edition) (Paperback)

I have read several books on the parables, but this is the most enlightening, most preachable and most interesting there is. When you have done a great deal of reading in an area, you begin to doubt how much even a good book is going to help you learn. This book is like someone provided you with a whole new insight in to meaning of the parables. Scholarly yet down to earth! The genuis of the book is that he combines over thirty years of Biblical scholarship and living among the culture of the Middle East. You learn what it meant to the people who Jesus was teaching 2,000 years ago. The only negative for me was the poetry portion of the book, which will probably excite poetry scholars, but was a mystery to me. If you are a Biblical scholar or learner or teacher, it is a must read.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bailey's cultural insight illuminates the Parables, May 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Combined edition) (Paperback)

Bailey shares cultural information from the Middle East to illuminate the parables of Luke. I read this book as a text for a course in Hermeneutics and am fully impressed with his understanding of the more "obscure" parables. Bailey also uses ancient translations of the New Testament as well as Western scholarship in his search for the true meaning of the texts. There are indeed two chices for understanding the Parables, one is to come at them from a Western mindset. The more logical approach is to observe the modern Middle East and assume that much remains largely unchanged from the first century. Bailey's observations allow one to think in a much different way, not only in regard to the parables, but to the entire bible.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highest recommendation, October 11, 2006

By 

John Nordin (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Combined edition) (Paperback)

Bailey's unique contribution is that he sat down with a number of trusted Palestinian nomads and listened carefully to their take on the cultural issues behind various parables. He contends, with some justice, that this group of people have something in contact with the original culture that these parables arose in, and thus can help us understand the unstated assumptions and cultural implications of the texts. He invested many years in this and did it with care and precision. On top of that, he has explored the early translations of the New Testament into Syrac and related languages. The result is nothing short of stunning. His analysis of the puzzling parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13) is worth the price of admission alone, and even on the well-trod parable of the Good Samaritan, he has much valuable insight to share.

Bailey has also written other works including "Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15" that focus on the lost sheep, lost coin, lost son, parables of that chapter. All of his works I especially recommended.