Thou shalt not ignore this book. Or so say Walter Kaiser, Daniel Heimbach and scores of other reviewers who say that Mark Rooker’s recently published The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century is a must-read for theologians, pastors, Old Testament scholars, ethicists, and cultural commentators.

In the book, Rooker devotes a chapter to each commandment, discussing each one in its ancient context, showing how each commandment connects with other Old Testament and New Testament passages. In the concluding chapter, the author reflects again on the theological significance and contemporary implications of each commandment.

Walter Kaiser puts it nicely: “I heartily recommend Mark Rooker’s The Ten Commandments. It has the right balance between carefully exegeting the biblical text and including relevant questions that arise from our contemporary scene. . . . Here is just the solution pastors, lay leaders, and concerned laity need to reestablish our ethical and moral roots.”

Daniel Heimbach comments: “Mark Rooker has produced a book that is beautifully written and intellectually exhilarating. Since the Ten Commandments are central to biblical ethics and biblical ethics is central to Christian ethics, what Rooker has written should be required reading for anyone doing Christian ethics or engaging present culture on moral issues.” [Needless to say, if Senõr Heimbach finds a book “exhilarating,” one should put down one’s coffee, purchase the book, and read it immediately.]

We invite you to come study with Dr. Rooker, who teaches courses at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. level at Southeastern, where he is Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew. Rooker is also the author of Leviticus in the New American Commentary Series, Ezekiel in the Holman Old Testament Commentary Series, Biblical Hebrew in Transition: The Language of the Book of Ezekiel in The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, and Studies in Hebrew Language, Intertextuality, and Theology in the Texts and Studies in Religion Series. He received his B.A. from Rice University,  Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, M.A./Ph.D. from Brandeis University, and post-doctoral work from Hebrew University (Jerusalem).