Reading the Old Testament: An IntroductionReading the Old Testament is a clear and carefully organized introduction for contemporary readers. It is designed to guide the student of the Bible through the text and its problems, enrich their understanding of the individual biblical books, and explore the way the Bible came to be written. Reading the Old Testament combines the latest scholarship with sensitivity to religious issues and Israel's ever deepening understanding of God's ways. The author gives special attention to recent archeological discoveries in the Middle East and how these affect our understanding of the Old Testament. The book contains numerous maps, charts, and drawings. Reading the Old Testament is particularly illuminating about the way Israel's religious experience was translated into written records. No other introduction offers the same thorough treatment of the Exile and the post-exilic periods as crucial times in the formation of the Old Testament. + |
Contents
The Variety and Richness of the Psalms | 281 |
The Liturgical Origins of the Psalms | 283 |
Personal Piety and the Psalms | 285 |
Sickness and Tragedy in the Psalms | 289 |
The Kingdom Split into Two | 292 |
The Books of Kings | 294 |
The Prophets Elijah and Elisha | 297 |
The Theology of the Books of Kings | 301 |
The People and Lands of the Old Testament | 28 |
Organizing Ancient Times | 29 |
The Extent of the Ancient Near East | 31 |
Geography of the Near East | 33 |
B Egypt | 36 |
Two Thousand Years of History | 37 |
C A Survey of the Semitic Peoples | 40 |
The Akkadians | 41 |
Babylon | 42 |
Assyria | 43 |
Syria | 44 |
The Philistines | 46 |
The Small States Across the Jordan | 48 |
D Distant NonSemitic Neighbors | 49 |
Persia | 50 |
Archaeology and the Old Testament | 52 |
The Method of Archaeology | 54 |
Some Major Archaeological Excavations in Palestine | 59 |
Major Literary Finds in Syria | 61 |
Major NonBiblical Literary Finds in Palestine | 64 |
The Value and Limits of Archaeology | 67 |
Literary Tools for Old Testament Study | 69 |
Textual Criticism | 70 |
Text Traditions | 73 |
Versions | 74 |
The Bible as Literature and Story | 75 |
Oral Tradition | 77 |
Higher Criticism | 80 |
Source Criticism | 81 |
Form Criticism | 84 |
Tradition History | 85 |
Rhetorical Criticism | 87 |
The Pentateuch | 89 |
Moses as Author | 90 |
The Source Critics and the Pentateuch | 92 |
Wellhausens History of the Four Sources | 94 |
The Yah wist Epic | 98 |
The Elohist Source | 101 |
The Priestly Source | 103 |
Form Critics and the Pentateuch | 106 |
Genesis 111 The Preface to Israels Story | 109 |
Genesis 111 as Preface | 110 |
124 | 114 |
425 | 118 |
The Sin in the Garden Gen 3 | 119 |
Cain and Abel Gen 4 | 122 |
14 | 123 |
Noah and the Flood Gen 69 | 124 |
The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Flood | 126 |
The List of the Worlds Nations Gen 10 | 128 |
1032 | 129 |
Is Genesis 111 Myth or History? | 130 |
Genesis 1250 The Patriarchs | 133 |
The Setting of the Patriarchal Stories | 134 |
The Story of Abraham Gen 1225 | 136 |
Promise and Covenant | 138 |
Abraham the Faithful | 141 |
The Story of Isaac and Jacob Gen 2436 | 144 |
The Patriarchal Stories as Sagas | 148 |
The Story of Joseph Gen 3750 | 149 |
The Patriarchs and the God of the Fathers | 152 |
The Exodus from Egypt | 155 |
Egypt in the Period of the Exodus | 156 |
Pharaoh Akhenaton and Monotheism | 158 |
The Amarna Letters | 159 |
Israels Time in Egypt | 161 |
The Book of Exodus | 164 |
Moses and the Struggle for Freedom Ex 14 | 165 |
The Plagues and the Passover of the Lord Ex 512 | 167 |
The Miracle at the Red Sea Ex 1315 | 169 |
Desert Escape Ex 1518 | 170 |
The Covenant and Journey to Canaan Exodus 19 through Numbers | 173 |
The Nature of a Covenant | 174 |
Ancient Covenant Forms | 176 |
The Giving of the Covenant | 181 |
The Ark of the Covenant and Tent of Meeting | 182 |
The Pentateuch as Law | 184 |
Other Ancient Law Codes | 186 |
Leviticus | 188 |
The Book of Numbers | 190 |
The Murmuring in the Desert | 191 |
The Book of Deuteronomy | 193 |
The Israelite Possession of Canaan The Books of Joshua and Judges | 195 |
The Book of Joshua | 196 |
The Book of Judges | 198 |
Evaluating the Difference Between Joshua and Judges | 200 |
Joshua and the Conquest of Palestine | 201 |
Theories of a Peaceful Settlement or Internal Revolt | 203 |
The Deutcronomic History in Joshua and Judges | 205 |
The Twelve Tribes | 207 |
The Tribal League | 209 |
The Significance of the Land for Israel | 210 |
Canaanite Religion and Culture | 213 |
The Lure of Canaanite Religion | 214 |
Canaanite Nature Religion | 216 |
The Canaanite Gods | 217 |
The Religious Myth of Baal | 219 |
Israelite Echoes of the Myth | 221 |
Other Religious Practices | 222 |
Summary | 225 |
A King Like Those of Other Nations The Books of Samuel and Kings | 227 |
The Life of Samuel | 228 |
The Story of Saul | 229 |
Davids Rise to Power | 230 |
The Dark Side of David | 232 |
King Davids Glory | 234 |
Solomon and Israels Age of Glory | 236 |
Evaluating Solomons Reign | 238 |
B Kingship in the Ancient World | 240 |
Kingship in Israel | 242 |
Daily Life in Ancient Israel | 245 |
City Life | 246 |
The Human Person in Israelite Thinking | 247 |
Sickness and Old Age | 248 |
Death and Afterlife | 250 |
Daily Work | 252 |
The Family in Israel | 255 |
Sexual Attitudes | 257 |
Marriage Customs | 258 |
Friends and Enemies | 259 |
Legal Justice in Early Israel | 261 |
Royal Justice | 263 |
Slavery | 264 |
Israelite Worship and Prayer | 266 |
The Temple of Solomon | 269 |
Temple Worship | 272 |
Feast Days | 275 |
The Priests and Levites | 277 |
B The Psalms and Israels Prayer | 279 |
The Rise of Prophecy | 303 |
The Writing Prophets | 306 |
The Great Prophets of the Eighth Century | 309 |
Israels Age of Prosperity | 311 |
Collecting and Editing the Prophets Words | 313 |
Prophet of Gods Justice | 315 |
Amos and the Tradition of Prophetic Language | 317 |
Amos and the Radical New Direction of Prophecy | 318 |
Hosea and the Knowledge of God | 320 |
The Prophet of Divine Compassion | 322 |
Isaiah of Jerusalem | 324 |
Isaiah and the Historian | 326 |
The Message of Isaiah | 327 |
Isaiah and the Royal Traditions of Jerusalem | 331 |
Micah of Moresheth | 334 |
The Last Days of the Kingdom of Judah | 338 |
The Book of Zephaniah | 340 |
King Josiahs Reform | 343 |
Josiahs Political Gains | 344 |
The Book of Deuteronomy | 347 |
Deuteronomy and the Covenant | 350 |
The Place of Worship in the Land | 352 |
Who Wrote Deuteronomy? | 354 |
The Results of Josiahs Reform | 356 |
The Prophet Nahum | 357 |
The Prophet Habakkuk | 358 |
Jeremiah and the Deuteronomic History | 360 |
The Political Situation of Jeremiahs Day | 363 |
Jeremiahs Message | 365 |
The Temple Sermon | 368 |
Jeremiahs Confessions | 371 |
The Call of the Prophet | 372 |
Jeremiahs Words of Hope | 373 |
B The Deuteronomists History | 374 |
The Pattern of the Deuteronomic History | 376 |
Conclusion | 380 |
Prophecy During the Babylonian Exile | 383 |
The First Jewish Diaspora | 384 |
B Ezekiel the Prophet | 386 |
The Nature of the Book of Ezekiel | 388 |
Ezekiels Theology of Judgment | 392 |
The Plan of Restoration | 395 |
C The Priestly Edition of the Pentateuch | 398 |
The Shape of the Priestly Pentateuch | 399 |
The Theology of the Priestly Writers | 400 |
Sing Us a Song of Zion | 405 |
The Book of Lamentations | 406 |
The Prophet Obadiah | 410 |
Psalm 137 | 412 |
The Exile Nears Its End | 413 |
The Rise of Persia as a World Power | 414 |
B Second Isaiah Isaiah 4055 | 416 |
The Outline of the Book | 418 |
The Message of the Prophet | 422 |
The Servant Songs | 427 |
The Struggle to Restore the Land 540500 BC | 431 |
Zoroaster | 433 |
Biblical Sources for the Period after the Exile | 434 |
The Return Gets Underway | 435 |
Opposition and Difficulties | 437 |
The Prophet Haggai | 438 |
The Prophet Zechariah | 440 |
Second Zechariah | 441 |
Isaiah 5666 | 443 |
Changes in Prophecy in the Exile and After | 445 |
Life in the PostExilic Community | 449 |
The Books of Chronicles | 451 |
The Book of Ezra | 453 |
The Book of Nehemiah | 455 |
Confusion between Ezras and Nehemiahs Reforms | 456 |
Ezra and the Beginning of the Old Testament Canon | 458 |
The Samaritans | 459 |
The Jewish Colony at Elephantine | 460 |
The Book of Malachi | 462 |
The Book of Joel | 464 |
The Book of Jonah | 466 |
The Cultivation of Wisdom | 472 |
The International World of Wisdom | 474 |
The Origins of Wisdom in Israel | 475 |
The Way of the Wise | 477 |
The Book of Proverbs | 479 |
The Book of Job | 481 |
The Book of Ecclesiastes | 483 |
The Song of Songs The Canticle of Canticles | 485 |
Sirach Ecclesiasticus | 486 |
The Book of Wisdom | 488 |
The Achievement of Wisdom | 489 |
Faith Confronting New Challenges | 492 |
Hellenistic Culture | 496 |
The Book of Esther | 497 |
The Book of Judith | 499 |
The Book of Ruth | 500 |
The Book of Tobit | 501 |
The Book of Baruch and Letter of Jeremiah | 502 |
The Jewish Struggle for Freedom 175160 BC | 503 |
The First Book of Maccabees | 504 |
The Second Book of Maccabees | 505 |
B The Book of Daniel and Apocalyptic Thought | 506 |
The Special Purpose of Daniel | 509 |
The Lasting Significance of Daniel | 510 |
More on Apocalyptic | 511 |
The Value of Apocalyptic | 514 |
The Closing of the Old Testament | 517 |
The End of Jewish Independence and the Rule of Rome | 518 |
Herod the Great 40 to 4 BC | 521 |
A The Pharisees | 522 |
B Sadducees | 523 |
C Essenes | 524 |
The Dead Sea Scrolls | 526 |
Other Jewish Literature Outside the Bible | 527 |
The Talmud | 529 |
Hope for a Messiah | 531 |
Creating a Canon of Scripture | 535 |
The Value of the Old Testament for Christians | 537 |
Themes of Continuity between the New and Old Testaments | 539 |
Respecting the Old Testament Message | 540 |
Themes of Old Testament Theology | 543 |
The Only God | 544 |
God Active in History | 545 |
Personal Response and Prayer | 546 |
Covenant and Tradition | 547 |
The Prophets and Justice | 548 |
Hope and the Future | 549 |
The Mystery of Gods Ways | 551 |
Table of Abbreviations | 553 |
Reading List and Study Guide | 554 |
561 | |
Other editions - View all
Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction Lawrence Boadt,Richard J. Clifford,Daniel J. Harrington Limited preview - 2012 |
Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction Lawrence Boadt,Richard J. Clifford,Daniel J. Harrington No preview available - 2012 |
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Amos ancient Assyrian Baal Babylon Babylonian Bible biblical blessing Books of Kings called Canaanite century B.C. chapter Christians covenant creation Cyrus David death describe desert Deuteronomic History Deuteronomy divine Edom Egypt Egyptian Elijah Elohist evil exile Exodus Ezekiel Ezra faith feast form criticism Genesis give God's gods Greek Hebrew Hezekiah Hittite holy hope Hosea human important Israel Israelite Jacob Jeremiah Jerusalem Jesus Jewish Jews Joshua Josiah Judah Judges kingdom land later levites Leviticus lived Lord Maccabees major Moab Moses nations Nehemiah northern Old Testament oracles pagan Palestine patriarchs Pentateuch period Persian pharaoh Priestly priests promise prophecy prophets Proverbs Psalms punishment religious reveals role sacrifice Samaria Samuel scholars Second Isaiah Shechem Sinai Solomon songs story Syria temple themes tion traditions tribes Ugarit vision wisdom words worship Yahweh Yahwist Zechariah Zion