Introduction to the Old Testament

This volume introduces the Old Testament and traces the legacy of monotheism first found in the pages of Israel's Scriptures.

Bill T. Arnold (Author)

9780521705479, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 April 2014

436 pages, 61 b/w illus. 13 colour illus. 20 maps
23.4 x 18.9 x 2 cm, 0.91 kg

'… this very accessible and beautifully edited introduction certainly deserves its place among other textbooks in its genre …' H. Debel, Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses

This volume introduces ancient Israel's Scriptures, or the Hebrew Bible, commonly called the Old Testament. It also traces the legacy of monotheism first found in the pages of the Old Testament. Where pertinent to the message of the Old Testament, the book explores issues of history, comparative religions, and sociology, while striking a balance among these topics by focusing primarily on literary features of the text. In addition, frequent sidebar discussions introduce the reader to contemporary scholarship, especially the results of historical-critical research and archaeology. Along the way, the book explores how the Old Testament conceptualized and gave rise to monotheism, one of the most significant developments in history, giving this study a currency for twenty-first-century readers.

1. What is the Old Testament?
2. Word of truth - word of God
3. The Old Testament world
4. The primary history
5. Beginnings
6. Ancestors
7. Torah story
8. Torah instruction
9. Torah revisited
10. Moses' religion
11. Was there an 'ancient Israel'?
12. Land
13. Kings
14. More kings
15. History revisited
16. More books
17. Israel's wisdom
18. Israel's hymnal
19. Israel's prophets: the maturing period
20. Israel's prophets: the crisis and beyond
21. Israel's prophets: the restoration
22. Israel's apocalyptic message
23. The scrolls
24. The Old Testament today.

Subject Areas: Old Testaments [HRCF1], Bibles [HRCF], Religion: general [HRA], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]