Understanding the Old Testament, 5th Edition

Do you want your students to be exposed to a broad, multi-disciplinary approach to the Old Testament?

Understanding the Old Testament interweaves historical study, literary criticism, and theological reflection by viewing the history of ancient Israel as a story-from its crucial beginnings at the time of the Exodus to the flowering of its literature in the late period of biblical Judaism, the so-called Maccabean period. This approach takes into account multidisciplinary approaches.

 

Encourages critical discrimination and historical criticism of the Bible. The updated biblical scholarship with new perspectives of Christian, Jewish, and secular scholars takes into account that the biblical record is a mixture of story and history. This helps students to understand biblical texts in their appropriate historical and social setting.

 

The focus begins with Exodus, the foundational story of liberation and formation of a people and then proceeds in a narrative framework. This allows new students of the Old Testament to integrate their understanding of Israel's literature with Israel's history.

Is it important to you that your students get an up-to-date book?

NEW — New sections on law, sacrifice, Israelite worship, new settlement theories, and an expanded treatment of Hellenistic Judaism and the apocrypha. Keeps the topics current within the framework of teaching ancient worlds and beliefs.

 

Visually engaging.  An abundance of photographs, archaeological artifacts, maps and charts throughout the text enliven the study and draw readers into the world of ancient Israel

 

A more interdenominational approach and Jewish and secular scholarship.  This gives students a more current and richer understanding of how the Old Testament is read.

 

NEW — Fully updated bibliography, partially annotated, of over six hundred items in various categories, including internet resources. The bibliography reflects the burgeoning resources of the World Wide Web and enables introductory students to deepen their knowledge of the Old Testament through their own research.