Introduction to the Old Testament

by Ceresko, Anthony R.

• ISBN13: 9781570753480
• ISBN10: 1570753482
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: Orbis Books

Author Biography

Anthony R. Ceresko, O.S.F.S., Formerly of St. Peter's Pontifical Institute in Bangalore, India, Is Professor of Old Testament at the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City, Philippines

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Maps	xiii
Preface	xv
Preface to the Revised and Expanded Edition	xvii
PART I INTRODUCTION
The Bible in the Modern World	3	(14)
The Bible and Today's World	3	(4)
The Bible and Politics	3	(1)
The Bible and the Church	4	(1)
The Bible and the University	5	(1)
The Bible and Popular Culture	6	(1)
Sociology and the Bible	7	(2)
Liberation Theology and the Bible	9	(5)
The Hermeneutical Privilege of the Poor	11	(3)
The Hermeneutic of Suspicion	14	(1)
A Liberation Perspective	14	(1)
New Lands and New Eyes for Reading the Bible	15	(2)
A Modern Look at Biblical Times	17	(12)
Modern Discoveries and the Historical Critical Approach to the Bible	17	(5)
Introduction	17	(1)
The Bible and the Ancient World	17	(5)
The Geography of Palestine	22	(7)
PART II THE PENTATEUCH
The Historical Background of the Ancient Near East	29	(11)
The Fertile Crescent and the Birth of Civilization	29	(6)
The History of the Ancient Near East Prior to the Appearance of Israel	35	(5)
Introduction	35	(1)
Egypt	36	(1)
Mesopotamia	37	(1)
Syria-Palestine	38	(2)
The Ancestors of Israel	40	(17)
Introduction	40	(1)
The Formation of the Traditions in Genesis 12-50 and the Origins of Early Israel	41	(5)
Reading between the Lines of Genesis 12-50	46	(11)
The Documentary Hypothesis	57	(10)
Introduction	57	(1)
The Documentary Hypothesis or Four-Source Theory	58	(4)
An Example of Source Criticism	62	(2)
The Context for the Pentateuch's Foundational Story	64	(3)
The Four Sources	67	(12)
Creation of the Pentateuch	67	(7)
Israel's Scriptures: A Liberating Word	74	(1)
A Practical Application of Source Criticism: A Story from the Yahwist	74	(5)
The Exodus	79	(8)
Historical Background	79	(2)
The Moses Group	79	(1)
Egypt under Pharaoh Ramses II (1290--1224 B.C.E.)	80	(1)
The Exodus Itself	81	(3)
The Paradigmatic Nature of the Exodus Traditions	84	(3)
Covenant	87	(10)
PART III THE RISE OF ISRAEL IN CANAAN
The ``Conquest'' of Canaan	97	(11)
Introduction	97	(1)
Conquest or Gradual Settlement?	98	(1)
A Third Way: The Social Revolution Model	99	(9)
Introduction	99	(1)
The Context of the Social Revolution	100	(4)
The ``El-Federation'' and the Entry of the Moses Group	104	(4)
Israel in the Period of the Judges	108	(15)
Life in the Central Highlands	108	(4)
Yahwism: The Religion of the Social Revolution	112	(11)
Revelation	112	(1)
The Uniqueness of Israel's Religion	113	(3)
Unanswered Questions	116	(1)
Other Aspects of Early Israel's Faith	117	(6)
PART IV THE PERIOD OF THE MONARCHY
The Book of Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic History	123	(14)
The Book of Deuteronomy	123	(5)
The Origins of the Book of Deuternomy and the Deuteronomic Reform	123	(4)
The Socio-economic Elements in the Deuteronomic Reform	127	(1)
The Deuteronomistic History (DH)	128	(9)
The Origins of the Deuteronomistic History	128	(1)
Key Themes of the Deuteronomistic History	129	(2)
The Sources for the Deuteronomistic History	131	(2)
The Two Editions of the Deuteronomistic History	133	(4)
The Philistines and Saul	137	(11)
The Origins of the Philistines	137	(5)
The Philistines and the External Threat to Early Israel	142	(2)
Saul and the Initial Attempt to Meet the Philistine Crisis	144	(4)
From Chieftain to King	148	(16)
Internal Factors in the Rise of the Monarchy	148	(2)
The Rise of David	150	(1)
Factors That Facilitated Centralization and Monarchy	150	(3)
Kingship and Zion	153	(2)
Solomon: The Triumph of the Counter-Revolution	155	(4)
Changes in Israel's Way of Life	159	(5)
Political Changes	159	(1)
Military Changes	160	(1)
Socio-economic Changes	160	(1)
Religious Changes	161	(3)
The Divided Monarchy	164	(17)
The Shift from Tribal League to Monarchy	164	(2)
A Brief History of the Divided Monarchy	166	(15)
Introduction	166	(2)
The Northern Kingdom (Israel), 922-722 B.C.E.	168	(5)
The Southern Kingdom (Judah), 922-587 B.C.E.	173	(4)
Reflections on the Monarchy	177	(4)
PART V PROPHECY IN THE PRE-EXILIC PERIOD
The Origins and Definition of Prophecy	181	(13)
Background	181	(4)
The Word Prophet	181	(1)
The More Remote Background of Israelite Prophecy	182	(1)
The More Immediate Background of Israelite Prophecy	183	(2)
The Prophet in Israel: Messenger of the Divine Assembly	185	(2)
The Dispute between Prophets and Kings	187	(1)
From Preaching Prophets to Writing Prophets	188	(1)
The Preaching Prophets	189	(5)
The Eighth-Century B.C.E. Prophets: Amos and Hosea	194	(15)
Introduction	194	(4)
Amos	198	(5)
Hosea	203	(6)
Repentance and Return	206	(3)
Isaiah	209	(15)
Isaiah and His Successors	209	(1)
The Power and Subtlety of Isaiah's Poetry	210	(2)
The Unrelenting Doom in His Message	212	(1)
Isaiah and the Royal/Davidic and Jerusalem/Zion Traditions	212	(3)
Isaiah's First Period of Ministry: The Syro-Ephraimite Crisis of 735 B.C.E.	215	(3)
The Sennacherib Invasion and Crisis, 705-701 B.C.E.	218	(2)
Isaiah and the ``Holy One'' of Israel	220	(1)
The Isaiah Tradition and the Book of Isaiah	221	(3)
Jeremiah	224	(17)
Introduction	224	(2)
The Historical Background to Jeremiah's Prophetic Career	226	(2)
Jeremiah's Message	228	(3)
The Question of True and False Prophecy	231	(2)
The Jeremian Tradition	233	(1)
Jeremiah's ``Confessions''	234	(1)
The Basis for Hope in Jeremiah	235	(6)
PART VI THE EXILE AND THE RESTORATION
The Destruction of Jerusalem, the Exile, and the Prophet Ezekiel	241	(16)
Introduction	241	(1)
The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Devastation of Judah	242	(2)
Israel in Exile	244	(1)
The Situation in the Major Centers of Judaism, 587-539 B.C.E.	245	(2)
Judah and Jerusalem	245	(1)
Babylon	246	(1)
Egypt	246	(1)
The Prophet Ezekiel	247	(10)
Ezekiel's Character and Accomplishments	247	(2)
Ezekiel's Doctrine and Work	249	(8)
Second Isaiah (Is 40-55)	257	(14)
The Historical Context and Its Relationship to the Rest of the Book	257	(1)
The Shape and Style of Second Isaiah	258	(2)
The Purpose of Second Isaiah	260	(1)
The Message of Second Isaiah	261	(7)
Comfort and Reassurance	261	(2)
Strategy for Reconciliation	263	(2)
Creative Redemption	265	(1)
The Servant of Yahweh	265	(2)
The Servant Language in the New Testament	267	(1)
Two Important Lessons from Second Isaiah	268	(3)
New Testament Use of Old Testament Texts	268	(1)
Vicarious Suffering	269	(2)
The Reestablishment of a Jewish Community in Jerusalem and Judah	271	(14)
Introduction	271	(2)
The Four Stages of the Return and Reestablishment	273	(3)
The Priestly Writer and the Completion of the Pentateuch	276	(3)
The Pentateuch and the Deuteronomistic History	279	(1)
Conclusion	280	(5)
PART VII THE WRITINGS
The Psalms	285	(19)
Introduction	285	(1)
Hebrew Poetry	286	(3)
The Liturgical Origin of the Psalms	289	(2)
The Psalm Forms	291	(7)
The Hymn or Song of Praise	291	(1)
The Individual Lament or Song of Supplication	292	(2)
The Individual Thanksgiving Song	294	(2)
The Communal Lament	296	(1)
Royal Psalms	296	(1)
Minor Categories	297	(1)
The Shape of the Psalter	298	(1)
The Socio-historic Setting of the Psalms	299	(5)
Wisdom in Israel	304	(12)
The Development and Background of Israelite Wisdom	304	(8)
Introduction	304	(1)
The Origins of the Scribal School	305	(4)
The Royal Scribal School in Israel	309	(1)
Scribal Circles after the Exile	310	(2)
The Forms of Hebrew Wisdom	312	(4)
The Proverb	312	(1)
The Liberating Potential of Proverb and Parable	313	(1)
Other Forms or Genres	314	(2)
The Wisdom Writings: Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, and the Book of Wisdom	316	(15)
The Book of Proverbs	316	(4)
The Book of Job	320	(2)
The Book of Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth)	322	(3)
The Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus or Ben Sira)	325	(2)
The Book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon)	327	(4)
Daniel and the Apocalyptic Literature	331	(10)
Historical Background	331	(2)
The Nature of Apocalyptic Literature	333	(2)
The Book of Daniel	335	(3)
Historical Background	335	(1)
The Book of Daniel	336	(2)
Apocalyptic as a Background to the New Testament	338	(3)
Some Conclusions	341	(10)
The Old Testament: A Liberation Perspective	341	(4)
The Bible and Today's World	341	(1)
The Hermeneutic of Suspicion	341	(2)
The Hermeneutical Privilege of the Poor	343	(1)
Liberation and Israel's God	344	(1)
Liberation and Covenant	344	(1)
Liberation and Life	345	(6)
The Bible and Contemporary Socio-economic Issues	347	(1)
The Bible and Decision-making	348	(1)
The Bible and Human Liberation	349	(2)
Bibliography	351	(23)
General Index	374	(6)
Scripture Index	380