"This book is a testament to God's ever-reverberating love" In this Old Testament theology, Jennifer Matheny presents esed as the seed from which the diverse biblical story grows and expands, offering a needed corrective to common approaches to biblical theology."This book is a testament to God's ever-reverberating love, which offers a new lens on the Old Testament as a whole. It should be required reading for every Old Testament theology course!"-- Beth Stovell , Ambrose University"Decades after foundational works by Glueck and Sakenfeld, several scholars have returned to ponder anew the crucial but elusive Hebrew word esed . Matheny adds her voice to this important discussion, finding in esed not a center for Old Testament theology but a capacious seed that proves generative across the canon. Matheny puts readers in her debt in this helpful and thorough overview and analysis."-- Brent A. Strawn , Duke University"What if instead of trying to find a central theme that summarizes the entire Old Testament, we started from the idea of esed and traced how both God and humans embodied this core value in action? Matheny's heuristic proposal is that from this generative 'seed' the relational story of Scripture germinates through the diverse genres of the Old Testament."-- J.

Richard Middleton , Northeastern Seminary, Roberts Wesleyan University"Matheny provides an engaging and accessible analysis for esed , which has become a familiar Hebrew word in both the church and academy. Her careful work traces the breadth and possibilities for understanding the diversity and complexity of this term within the fuller context of Scripture. A very helpful and inspiring read!"-- May Young , Taylor University"This is the book that the study of biblical theology needs today! Readers will benefit from Matheny's close readings of biblical texts and her creative proposals for how to connect them, which are methodologically sophisticated, accessible, and theologically generative."-- Brad E. Kelle , Point Loma Nazarene University"Matheny shows how esed --both divine and human--helps unlock theological impulses in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings."-- Matthew Lynch , Regent College.