Understanding the Old Testament

by Anderson, Bernhard W.; Bishop, Steven; Newman, Judith

• ISBN13: 9780130923806
• ISBN10: 013092380X
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-23
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Understanding the Old Testament weaves together historical, theological, and literary elements in the study of the Old Testament. Anderson's textbook has long been noted for its lively presentation of Israel's narrative from the Exodus to the post-exilic period. This fifth edition of a highly popular introduction updates both the text and the bibliography to reflect the most recent scholarly insights into the meaning of the Old Testament, while retaining Anderson's distinctive approach. Anderson's Understanding the Old Testament is unparalleled for its clear and engaging prose that introduces the history, literature, and belief system of ancient Israel. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Bernhard W. Anderson (Ph.D. Yale University) is Professor of Old Testament Theology Emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary Steven Bishop (Ph.D. Boston University) is Lecturer in Old Testament at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas Judith H. Newman (Ph.D. Harvard University) is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto with a joint appointment to the Department of Religion

Table of Contents

Illustrations and Aids	x
Preface	xv
Introduction	1	(1)
The Story of a People	1	(2)
The Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament	3	(4)
The Story of the Bible	7	(10)
Part I The Creation of a People	17	(178)
The Beginnings of Israel	18	(30)
The Nature of the Tradition	19	(3)
The Oral Tradition	22	(3)
The Prologue to the Exodus	25	(3)
Population Unrest in the Fertile Crescent	28	(10)
The God of Israel's Ancestors	38	(4)
The Descent into Egypt	42	(2)
The Oppression in Egypt	44	(4)
Liberation from Bondage	48	(28)
The Role of Moses	50	(4)
The Disclosure of God's Name	54	(6)
The Contest with Pharaoh	60	(8)
The Victory at the Sea	68	(8)
Covenant in the Wilderness	76	(25)
Guidance in the Wilderness	77	(5)
The Covenant at Sinai	82	(4)
Covenant and Law	86	(8)
The Breaking of the Covenant	94	(4)
The Mosaic Faith	98	(3)
The Promised Land	101	(38)
A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey	102	(2)
Forty Years of Wandering	104	(4)
Detour via Transjordan	108	(3)
The Invasion of Canaan	111	(8)
Israel's Conquest of Canaan: The Deuteronomistic View	119	(3)
An Alternative View of the Conquest in Joshua and Judges 1	122	(3)
The Nature of the Israelite Occupation	125	(6)
The Formation of the Tribal Confederacy	131	(8)
The Formation of an All-Israelite Epic	139	(28)
From Tradition to Literature	141	(2)
The Scope of the Old Epic Narrative	143	(3)
Overview of Israel's Epic Narrative	146	(1)
The Primeval History	146	(7)
The Ancestral History	153	(10)
The People's History	163	(4)
The Struggle Between Faith and Culture	167	(28)
Temptations of Canaanite Culture	168	(10)
Leaders in Crisis	178	(8)
The Decline of the Confederacy	186	(4)
The Last Judge of Israel	190	(5)
Part II Israel Becomes Like the Nations	195	(192)
The Throne of David	196	(32)
A Time of International Favor	197	(1)
Israel's Rustic King	198	(6)
David, Architect of the Israelite State	204	(13)
Solomon in All His Glory	217	(8)
New Horizons of Faith	225	(3)
Prophetic Troublers of Israel	228	(29)
The Background of Prophecy	230	(4)
The Divided Kingdom	234	(12)
One Prophet Against Four Hundred	246	(2)
Elijah, the Tishbite	248	(8)
Elisha and the Closing Years of the Omri Dynasty	256	(1)
Fallen is the Virgin Israel	257	(33)
The Revolution of Jehu	258	(3)
The Age of Jeroboam II	261	(6)
The Herdsman from Tekoa	267	(8)
The Prophecy of Hosea	275	(13)
The Fall of Samaria	288	(2)
Judah's Covenant with Death	290	(34)
The Reign of Uzziah	291	(3)
The Book of Isaiah	294	(15)
Micah, A Rural Prophet	309	(3)
Isaiah's Later Career	312	(12)
The Rediscovery of Mosaic Torah	324	(31)
Differing Views of the Covenant	325	(1)
Manasseh, the Villain of Judah	326	(5)
New Outbursts of Prophecy	331	(7)
The Deuteronomic Reformation	338	(4)
The Book of Deuteronomy	342	(3)
The Renewal of the Covenant	345	(4)
Inadequacies of the Reform	349	(4)
Habakkuk's Watchtower of Faith	353	(1)
Faith and Nationalism	354	(1)
The Doom of the Nation	355	(32)
The Suffering Prophet	356	(1)
The Book of Jeremiah	356	(4)
In the Reign of Jehoiakim	360	(7)
Jeremiah's Confessions	367	(6)
In the Reign of Zedekiah	373	(8)
Beyond the Day of Doom	381	(6)
Part III The Covenant Community is Renewed	387	(211)
By the Waters of Babylon	388	(37)
The Jewish Dispersion	389	(1)
Ezekiel the Priest	389	(7)
Lamentation, Mourning, and Woe	396	(6)
The Promise of a New Beginning	402	(3)
Life Under Captivity	405	(3)
Preservation of the Tradition	408	(3)
The Priestly Point of View	411	(14)
The Dawn of a New Age	425	(35)
New World Horizons	425	(4)
The Poems of Second Isaiah	429	(3)
A Herald of Good Tidings	432	(4)
The Creator and Redeemer	436	(5)
A Light to the Nations	441	(3)
The Servant of YHWH	444	(7)
Victory Through Suffering	451	(3)
The Servant and the Messiah	454	(1)
The Continuing Isaiah Tradition	455	(2)
The Book of Isaiah as a Whole	457	(3)
A Kingdom of Priests	460	(30)
Cyrus' Edict of Liberation	461	(2)
The Work of the Chroniclers	463	(5)
Zerubbabel, the Branch	468	(6)
Reconstruction and Reform	474	(5)
Ezra, the Architect of Judaism	479	(4)
Nehemiah's Terms as Governor	483	(2)
The Law and the Prophets	485	(5)
The Praises of Israel	490	(29)
The Book of Psalms	492	(6)
Israel at Worship	498	(10)
Israel's Pilgrimage Festivals	508	(8)
The Book of Psalms as a Whole	516	(3)
The Beginning of Wisdom	519	(34)
The Wisdom of the East	519	(1)
Israel's Wisdom Literature	520	(5)
An Anthology of Proverbs	525	(7)
The Wise and the Foolish	532	(1)
The Skepticism of Ecclesiastes	533	(6)
The Book of Job	539	(6)
From Despair to Faith	545	(8)
The Unfinished Story	553	(45)
Tensions Within Judaism	554	(7)
The Hellenistic Era	561	(2)
The Evolution of Wisdom	563	(4)
The Resistance Movement	567	(6)
The Apocalypse of Daniel	573	(3)
The Kingdom That Is God's	576	(11)
Beyond the Hebrew Bible	587	(10)
Israel's Pilgrimage	597	(1)
Comprehensive Chronological Chart	598	(7)
Selected Bibliography	605	(38)
Author Index	643	(3)
Subject Index	646