Today the "land of promise" is a spark in the tinder dry atmosphere of Middle Eastern affairs. Events there continue to wield influence among peoples and in places well beyond the region itself. This raises for Christians the acute theological problem of how to relate to the "land of promise" today and in light of the land of the Bible. Our hope is that this volume of essays will contribute to a more informed and theologically coherent response to the "Land of Promise." It is offered here in the name of peace for all peoples in that place and among those who continue to look to her as a place of promise.

Philip Church teaches biblical studies in the School of Theology, Laidlaw College, Auckland, NZ.

Tim Bulkeley teaches Old Testament at Carey Baptist College, Auckland, NZ. He is the author of Amos: Hypertext Bible Commentary (2005).

Tim Meadowcroft joined the academic staff of Laidlaw College in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1994 after completing doctoral studies at New College, University of Edinburgh. He lives in West Auckland, and is married to Sue; they have four daughters and nine grandchildren. Tim has published a number of articles and written or co-edited eight books includingThe Book of Daniel (2004, co-authored with Nate Irwin);Haggai (2006);The Message of the Word of God (2011);Gospel, Truth,& Identity: Evangelical Identity in Aotearoa New Zealand (2011, co-edited with Myk Habets);Ears that Hear: Explorations in Theological Interpretation of the Bible (2013, co-edited with Joel Green). He continues to write and publish on wisdom and apocalyptic, hermeneutics, and contextual readings of Scripture. Tim is also an honorary assistant minister in the Henderson Anglican parish.

Peter Walker is Associate Vice-Principal& Director of Development at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford, UK. He is the author of Jesus and the Holy City: New Testament Perspectives on Jerusalem (1996).