A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
Pages
320
Publisher
Fortress Press
Published
7/1/2007
ISBN-13
9780800662073
John J. Collins's Introduction to the Hebrew Bible with CD-ROM is a leading textbook in Old Testament studies. With this new, well- tailored abridgement of that larger work, Collins's erudition is now available to general readers and professors and students who prefer a shorter, more concise introduction to the Hebrew scriptures.
New features, especially designed for the college student, include maps, images, and study questions. A companion web site includes special resources for both teachers and students including: PowerPoint presentations, chapter by chapter test banks, study questions, suggestions for further reading, and web site links. n.b. this has now been enhanced with the 2nd edition
Reviews
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007. Pp. xi + 324. Paper. $30.00. ISBN 0800662075. Robin Gallaher Branch Crichton College Memphis, Tennessee A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible does (almost) what it says: it introduces a (shortened) version of the Hebrew Bible from an academic perspective. Taken from Introduction to the Hebrew Bible with CD-ROM (Fortress, 2004), the book is an abridgement. Reading through the chapters, one can virtually hear John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism at Yale University, delivering his lectures and picture his lucky students taking notes fast and furiously. Collins writes in short sentences that accommodate a breath. No doubt his students greeted this book with relief because they no longer have to poke a neighbor or raise a hand to ask for a spelling clarification. Collins begins his preface (ix–x) by saying the abridgment consists of omitting five of the Minor Prophets (Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Obadiah, and Habakkuk) and some of the deuterocanonical books (Tobit, Judith, Baruch). Collins’s book is so well written that the omissions leave the reader (at least this reader) with a sense of loss. As someone who has worked on Zephaniah and Habakkuk, I would like to see Collins’s complete presentation in the 2007 version. To me, the omission of these five prophets, especially, undermines the book. How can an introduction to the Hebrew Bible lack five of its books? In all honesty, the title should be enlarged to reflect the abridgement: A Short Introduction to (a Shortened) Hebrew Bible.
[Full Review]