From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch

Decided to read this before studying through the book of Hebrews. It was a very good decision I believe. The first part of the book traces the development and current state of Pentatuechal criticism, critiquing it from a conservative scholarly standpoint. One would be much wiser for wading through this. Part two, the original book traces key themes through the Pentatuech from a biblical theological standpoint. His discussions are never dull, for example, I especially liked his discussion of Leviticus. His chapter on the Covenant at Sinai could well have been my favorite chapter. He has a knack for taking these sometimes neglected portions of scripture for repetition and dullness and giving them a fresh hearing. Part of the way he does this is by ending each chapter with a discussion on how the theme connects to the NT. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in biblical theology, studying in the Pentatuech or even just reading through the Pentatuech.

T. Desmond Alexander (a favorite scholar/writer of mine) has written a superb introduction to the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). Do you struggle reading through parts of Genesis (maybe), or Exodus (maybe), or Leviticus (definitely), or Numbers (yes & insert Christian pick-up line), or Deuteronomy (Idk even know how to spell that, let alone read it)? Then this book is for you (so basically it’s for everyone)... [Full Review]

Louvrage sous recension est une version augmentØe dune publication du mŒme auteur chez Baker Book en 1995: From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Main Themes of the Pentateuch. Outre le sous-titre, le principal changement entre les deux Øditions vient de ladjonction, ce qui nØtait dabord quune description synchronique des grands thŁmes du Pentateuque (lactuelle deuxiŁme partie), dune premiŁre partie (194) introduisant la problØmatique historico-critique. Bien que lauteur, qui travaille actuellement au Union Theological College de Belfast, se situe dans un courant thØologique de type «ØvangØlique», ce livre tØmoigne dun rØel effort de dialogue avec les mØthodes et les approches historico-critiques du Pentateuque. AprŁs quelques explications sur des notions comme la critique des sources, des formes, des traditions et la critique littØraire (ch. 1), la premiŁre partie du livre, intitulØe «Peutateuchal Criticism», entre dans le vif du sujet au chapitre 2 par un rappel du contenu de l«hypothŁse documentaire» et de lhistoire de sa naissance (de Jean Astruc Julius Wellhausen). LhypothŁse est clairement expliqu Øe et les critŁres utilisØs par ses tenants pour arriver la fameuse distin ction des sources J, E, P et D, sont rappelØs. Alexander signale notamment limportance des diffØrences de vocabulaire, de noms divins (YahwØ ou Elohim) ainsi que les doublets. [Full Review]