Understanding the Old Testament

Description

For undergraduate courses in Introduction to the Old Testament or Hebrew bible, Biblical Archaeology, and courses in the Bible as Literature that are taught in Religious Studies departments.

 

The text gives students a rich introduction to the Old Testament by interweaving multiple disciplines– history, archaeology, literature, art, theology– and scholarly approaches–interdenominational Christian, Jewish, and secular.

 

Do you want your students to be exposed to a broad, multi-disciplinary approach to the Old Testament?

Understanding the Old Testament interweaves historical study, literary criticism, and theological reflection by viewing the history of ancient Israel as a story-from its crucial beginnings at the time of the Exodus to the flowering of its literature in the late period of biblical Judaism, the so-called Maccabean period. This approach takes into account multidisciplinary approaches.

 

Encourages critical discrimination and historical criticism of the Bible. The updated biblical scholarship with new perspectives of Christian, Jewish, and secular scholars takes into account that the biblical record is a mixture of story and history. This helps students to understand biblical texts in their appropriate historical and social setting.

 

The focus begins with Exodus, the foundational story of liberation and formation of a people and then proceeds in a narrative framework. This allows new students of the Old Testament to integrate their understanding of Israel’s literature with Israel’s history.

 

Is it important to you that your students get an up-to-date book?

NEW — New sections on law, sacrifice, Israelite worship, new settlement theories, and an expanded treatment of Hellenistic Judaism and the apocrypha. Keeps the topics current within the framework of teaching ancient worlds and beliefs.

 

Visually engaging.  An abundance of photographs, archaeological artifacts, maps and charts throughout the text enliven the study and draw readers into the world of ancient Israel

 

A more interdenominational approach and Jewish and secular scholarship.  This gives students a more current and richer understanding of how the Old Testament is read.

 

NEW — Fully updated bibliography, partially annotated, of over six hundred items in various categories, including internet resources. The bibliography reflects the burgeoning resources of the World Wide Web and enables introductory students to deepen their knowledge of the Old Testament through their own research.

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction: The Old Testament as the Story of a People.

I. THE CREATION OF A PEOPLE.

1. The Beginnings of Israel.

2. Liberation from Bondage.

3. Covenant in the Wilderness.

4. The Promised Land.

5. The Formation of an All-Israelite Epic.

6. The Struggle Between Faith and Culture.

II. ISRAEL BECOMES LIKE THE NATIONS.

7. The Throne of David.

8. Prophetic Troublers of Israel.

9. Fallen is the Virgin Israel.

10. Judah’s Covenant with Death.

11. The Rediscovery of Mosaic Torah.

12. The Doom of the Nation.

III. THE COVENANT COMMUNITY IS RENEWED.

13. By the Waters of Babylon.

14. The Dawn of a New Age.

15. A Kingdom of Priests.

16. The Praises of Israel.

17. The Beginning of Wisdom.

18. The Unfinished Story.

Comprehensive Chronological Chart.

Selected Bibliography.

Author Index.

Subject Index.

NEW — Updated biblical scholarship with new perspectives of Christian, Jewish, and secular scholars. This provides students with the most recent study and views

 

NEW — New sections on law, sacrifice, Israelite worship, new settlement theories, and an expanded treatment of Hellenistic Judaism and the apocrypha. This keeps the topics current within the framework of teaching ancient worlds and beliefs.

 

NEW — Fully updated bibliography, partially annotated, of over six hundred items in various categories, including internet resources. This reflects the burgeoning resources of the World Wide Web and enables introductory students to deepen their knowledge of the Old Testament through their own research.