Introduction to the Bible, An

by Hauer, Christian E; Young, William A

• ISBN13: 9780131189669
• ISBN10: 0131189662
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Designed for readers who have had limited or no exposure to the academic study of the Bible, An Introduction to the Bible: A Journey into Three Worlds explores the literary, historical, and contemporary "worlds" of the Bible. These include 1) the Biblical text itself (literary world); 2) the contexts in which the Bible was originally written and interpreted (historical world); and 3) the many ways in which the Bible continues to influence people in the twenty-first century (contemporary world). Christian Hauer and William Young's distinctive approach has led students for almost twenty years to appreciate the richness of meaning and interpretation in the history of Biblical scholarship. The text features a full chapter on Jewish life and literature between 200 B.C.E. and 100 C.E., including a discussion of books of the Deuterocanon (Apocrypha), and demonstrates the continuing role of the Bible in religion, politics, art, literature, and music. New to this edition: bull; bull;Thoroughly revised and updated introductory chapters, including content on archaeology (e.g., the James ossuary) and recent scholarship (e.g., the historical Jesus discussions). bull;Each chapter now concludes with a new section: The Contemporary World: Case Studies, which expands and enriches students' appreciation of contemporary issues related to the Bible. bull;Chapter 16 is expanded to explore the Bible's meaning and significance in environmental issues, popular culture, indigenous cultures, Islam and other religions, as well as politics, religion, art, music, and literature.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Three Worlds of the Bible: An Orientation

Preparing for the Journey: An Orientation to the Methods of biblical Study

The Torah

Origins: The Book of Genesis

Covenant: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

Prophets

The Nation Israel: Joshua, Judges, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings The Former Prophets

Covenant Advocates: The Prophets of Ancient Israel The Latter Prophets

The Writings

Israel's Sacred Songs: Psalms, Song of Songs, and Lamentations The Writings I

The Way of Wisdom: Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes The Writings II

The Rest of the Writings: Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ruth, Esther, and Daniel

After the Tanak

Jewish Life and Literature 200 B.C.E.-100 C.E

The Gospels

The Proclaimer: Jesus of Nazareth

The Proclaimer Becomes the Proclaimed

The Acts of the Apostles

The Birth of Christianity: The Acts of the Apostles

Letters

Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles: The Letters of Paul

The Growing Church: The Pastoral and General Epistles, Hebrews, and the Revelation to John

Conclusion

Journey On! Glossary

Annotated Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

An Introduction to the Bible: A Journey into Three Worldsis an introductory text for college students and general readers who have had little or no previous exposure to the academic study of the Bible. The three worlds are thehistorical worldout of which the Bible emerged and through which it came to us; theliterary world(or worlds) created by the Bible itself; and thecontemporary worldin which we read and try to understand the Bible. The first two worlds are likely to be strange and possibly confusing for a person entering them for the first time. The historical world involves not just the history of events to which the Bible alludes. It also encompasses the original historical context surrounding the Bible; the literary history of the Bible, which means the writing, collection, copying, passing on, and interpretation of the books through time; and the process through which the books became Scripture. The literary world is equally complex. The Bible is not so much a book as it is a library. The biblical collection contains various types of literature. Like someone traveling in a foreign country for the first time, a student embarking on an initial study of the Bible deserves an orientation before beginning the journey. Chapter 1 can be compared to an orientation to the geography, customs, and language of a new country. We will acquaint you with a few basics about each of the three worlds into which you will be venturing. Chapter 2 is like the practical preparation a student about to go abroad receives concerning such matters as how to rent a room, get to the bathroom, use the telephone, or travel on trains. We will introduce you to the methods of analysis used in the academic study of the literary and historical worlds of the Bible and to some of the ways the Bible is interpreted in the contemporary world. However, as is the case with travel, orientation is no substitute for the journey itself. In Chapters 3 through 15, we will guide you through the literary and historical worlds of the Bible and raise questions that stimulate you to consider the contemporary world of the various books. We have tried hard to avoid the latest academic jargon. Where technical terms were necessary for clarity, we tried to state clearly what they mean. In our discussions of the literary and historical worlds, our intent was to describe, not to evaluate. We hope that persons of a variety of religious backgrounds, or no religious background, will feel comfortable with our descriptions. Our purpose was to create a basis for people of various convictions about the Bible to examine its literary and historical worlds. This will, we hope, create a common ground for meaningful discussion of the contemporary world. Often, when people engage in conversation about the Bible without such a foundation, they end up talking past one another. An Introduction to the Biblecombines two of the major recent trends in biblical scholarship with more traditional concerns of biblical study. One new trend is the application of social scientific models and general history of religions models in biblical study. The second is intrinsic literary interpretation of biblical texts. We have tried to make a very clear distinction between literary inquiry and historical study. On the basis of our classroom experience, we have found that introductory students benefit from an-approach that keeps the historical and literary worlds separate. It will become obvious to even the most naive reader that this dichotomy cannot and should not be pushed too far. We have also tried to make greater use of recent research in Jewish studies than is common in introductory texts, particularly in our treatment of postexilic Israel and the New Testament period. Ideally, a student should read the entire section of the Bible along with the discussion of it. We hope that the general reader, uncoerced by the time limits of an a