Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction

Front Cover
Paulist Press, 1984 - Religion - 569 pages
Reading 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. +
 

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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
Index
561
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