A Theological Introduction To The Old Testament

An important survey of literary, theological, and ethical dimensions of the Old Testament. [Full Review]

Writing a review on such a genre of book is a bit strange for a Continental scholar. Handbooks of this kind, destined for teaching purposes, are typical for North America. Obviously, this depends upon the structure of the relevant institutions: theological schools and colleges where basic insights have to be taught to students who at first actually are beginners. The appearance of a second edition after six years (orig. 1999) shows that the book was a success. In Germany, survey lectures are mostly usual in educational studies, though recently a thoroughgoing study reform introducing B.A. and M.A. degrees imitating the American system will probably produce a demand for such works also in this country. The book is without doubt an educational work. The wording of some chapters often has the character of a paraphrase of the respective biblical texts. Another pedagogical measure is selecting for each chapter exemplary key texts, such as Gen 111 and so on. In the second edition, maps and charts were added to the volume. But what is a theological introduction? The te rm introduction has its roots in the field of biblical exegesis: normally it is a technical term in the realm of historical criticism describing the literary growth of the biblical scriptures. [Full Review]

This is the second edition of this work, first published in 1999 and reviewed in RBL by Everson in June 2003 (http://bookreviews.org/pdf/1881_684.pdf) and Bulkeley in February 2004 (http://bookreviews.org/pdf/1881_683.pdf). The present edition is twenty-eight pages longer (xviii + 485) than the first (475). The chapter headings and most of the subsection headings have all been retained. Most of the alterations involve some expansion of the original text, chapter endnotes, as well as the addition of a few charts and maps. The nature of the textual alterations may be briefly exemplified. Chapter 1, The Old Testament as Theological Witness, contained a section called Social World and Theological Dynamics, with two paragr aphs devoted to gender studies and social status. These have now been expanded into two separate subsections, the first on Gender noting some developments in re cent gender-sensitive scholarship and the second on variables pertaining to Socioec onomic Status and Class. The following subsection on Canon and Church has seen th e insertion of a cross-reference to and additions of tables IIV on pages 2528 listing the divisions and contents of the Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox canons. The chapter concludes with the addition of fourteen bibliographical footnotes noting, inter alia, the revival of interest in theological readings of the Bible, the merits and demerits of historical-critical methods, the minimalist challenge, and recent imp ressive comprehensive responses to it. [Full Review]