With my particular area of interest in the Hebrew roots of Christianity, I am often asked for book/resource recommendations on this topic.  Most of the ones I’m familiar with are better suited for a college classroom than personal reading/research (books by Brad Young, David Flusser, Abraham Heschel and others), and tend to dive into a number of topics outside of Hebrew roots.

One I’ve recommended in the past, and I still recommend, is Marvin Wilson’s Our Father Abraham.  While still a little on the dry side, it is more accessible than the bolus of books available on this topic.

With apologies to Dr. Wilson (whose recommendation is on the back cover), my number one recommendation has now been updated to the new book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg.

In Sitting, Spangler and Tverberg do a fantastic job of balancing accessibility, applicability and scholarship.   Organized in a logical fashion for the average Christian reader, the authors sift through the most applicable parts of pre-70 AD Judiasm (with more than adequate end notes) to paint a picture of the Israel in which Jesus lived and taught.