A Child Is Born: A Beginner's Guide to Nativity Stories

by Amy-Jill Levine

Publisher:

Abingdon Press

, 2025

Overview

See Jesus’s birth through the lens of ancient Nativity stories.

Discover the fascinating connections between ancient birth stories and the Nativity of Jesus in this captivating four-week Advent study. The book discusses the births of Isaac and Ishmael, Samson, and Samuel to reveal how they foreshadow and enrich the timeless Christmas story in the final chapter. Author Amy-Jill Levine brings her expert knowledge of Scripture and careful consideration of the Christian story to show readers how Scripture’s earlier birth stories anticipate the story of Jesus’s birth and how the birth resonates and gives new meaning to those earlier stories. Transform your Advent season with fresh insights and inspiration from A Child is Born.

In addition to the book, other study components include a Leader Guide and video available on DVD.

Key Features

Looks at the birth of Jesus through the lens of the ancient Nativity narratives.

The newest addition to the author’s popular “A Beginner’s Guide” collection

DVD features lessons taught in A. J. Levine’s trademark engaging and entertaining style

Product Details

• Title: A Child Is Born: A Beginner's Guide to Nativity Stories
• Author: Amy-Jill Levine
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Print Publication Date: 2025
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781791035112, 9781791035105, 1791035108, 1791035116
• Resource ID: LLS:9781791035112
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-11-04T22:18:41Z

About Amy-Jill Levine

Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Department of Religious Studies, and Graduate Department of Religion. Holding a B.A. from Smith College, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University, and honorary Doctorates from the University of Richmond and the Episopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Levine has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. She has held office in the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the Association for Jewish Studies. Her most recent publications include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; the edited collection, The Historical Jesus in Context; and the fourteen-volume series, Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings. She has recorded “Introduction to the Old Testament,” “Great Figures of the Old Testament,” and “Great Figures of the New Testament” for the Teaching Company’s “great lectures” series. A self-described “Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches in a predominantly Protestant divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt,” Levine combines historical-critical rigor, literary-critical sensitivity, and a frequent dash of humor with a commitment to eliminating anti-Jewish, sexist, and homophobic theologies.