Understanding the Old Testament, Abridged and Updated

by Anderson, Bernhard W.; Darr, Katheryn Pfisterer

• ISBN13: 9780139483998
• ISBN10: 0139483993
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

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	xi	(6)
PREFACE	xvii
INTRODUCTION: THE OLD TESTAMENT AS THE STORY OF A PEOPLE	1	(16)
The Sense of Tradition	2	(5)
The Story of the Bible	7	(10)
PART I THE CREATION OF A PEOPLE	17	(174)
1 THE BEGINNINGS OF ISRAEL	18	(31)
The Nature of the Tradition	19	(3)
The Oral Tradition	22	(4)
The Prologue to the Exodus	26	(3)
Population Unrest in the Fertile Crescent	29	(10)
The God of Israel's Ancestors	39	(4)
The Descent into Egypt	43	(2)
The Oppression in Egypt	45	(4)
2 LIBERATION FROM BONDAGE	49	(28)
The Role of Moses	51	(4)
The Disclosure of God's Name	55	(6)
The Contest with Pharaoh	61	(8)
The Victory at the Sea	69	(8)
3 COVENANT IN THE WILDERNESS	77	(23)
Guidance in the Wilderness	78	(5)
The Covenant at Sinai	83	(3)
Covenant and Law	86	(8)
The Breaking of the Covenant	94	(3)
The Mosaic Faith	97	(3)
4 THE PROMISED LAND	100	(37)
A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey	101	(2)
Forty Years of Wandering	103	(4)
Detour Via Transjordan	107	(3)
The Invasion of Canaan	110	(8)
Israel's Conquest of Canaan: The Deuteronomistic View	118	(3)
An Alternative View of the Conquest in Joshua and Judges I	121	(3)
The Nature of the Israelite Occupation	124	(4)
The Formation of the Tribal Confederacy	128	(9)
5 THE FORMATION OF AN ALL-ISRAELITE EPIC	137	(27)
From Tradition to Literature	139	(2)
The Scope of the Old Epic Narrative	141	(2)
Overview of Israel's Epic Narrative	143	(1)
The Primeval History	144	(7)
The Ancestral History	151	(10)
The People's History	161	(3)
6 THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN FAITH AND CULTURE	164	(27)
Temptations of Canaanite Culture	165	(10)
Leaders in Crisis	175	(7)
The Decline of the Confederacy	182	(4)
The Last Judge of Israel	186	(5)
PART II ISRAEL BECOMES LIKE THE NATIONS	191	(190)
7 THE THRONE OF DAVID	192	(31)
A Time of International Favor	193	(1)
Israel's Rustic King	194	(6)
David, Architect of the Israelite State	200	(12)
Solomon in All His Glory	212	(9)
New Horizons of Faith	221	(2)
8 PROPHETIC TROUBLERS OF ISRAEL	223	(29)
The Background of Prophecy	225	(28)
A Historian's View of the Times	253
The Divided Kingdom	229	(12)
One Prophet Against Four Hundred	241	(2)
Elijah, the Tishbite	243	(8)
Elisha and the Closing Years of the Omri Dynasty	251	(1)
9 FALLEN IS THE VIRGIN ISRAEL	252	(33)
The Revolution of Jehu	253	(3)
The Age of Jeroboam II	256	(6)
The Herdsman from Tekoa	262	(9)
The Prophecy of Hosea	271	(12)
The Fall of Samaria	283	(2)
10 JUDAH'S COVENANT WITH DEATH	285	(34)
The Reign of Uzziah	286	(3)
The Book of Isaiah	289	(15)
Micah, A Rural Prophet	304	(3)
Isaiah's Later Career	307	(12)
11 THE REDISCOVERY OF MOSAIC TORAH	319	(31)
Differing Views of the Covenant	320	(1)
Manasseh, the Villain of Judah	321	(5)
New Outbursts of Prophecy	326	(7)
The Deuteronomic Reformation	333	(4)
The Book of Deuteronomy	337	(3)
The Renewal of the Covenant	340	(4)
Inadequacies of the Reform	344	(3)
Habakkuk's Watchtower of Faith	347	(2)
Faith and Nationalism	349	(1)
12 THE DOOM OF THE NATION	350	(31)
The Suffering Prophet	351	(1)
The Book of Jeremiah	351	(5)
In the Reign of Jehoiakim	356	(7)
Jeremiah's Confessions	363	(5)
In the Reign of Zedekiah	368	(9)
Beyond the Day of Doom	377	(4)
PART III THE COVENANT COMMUNITY IS RENEWED	381	(202)
13 BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON	382	(35)
The Jewish Dispersion	383	(1)
Ezekiel the Priest	383	(7)
Lamentation, Mourning, and Woe	390	(6)
The Promise of a New Beginning	396	(3)
Life Under Captivity	399	(3)
Preservation of the Tradition	402	(4)
The Priestly Point of View	406	(11)
14 THE DAWN OF A NEW AGE	417	(35)
New World Horizons	417	(4)
The Poems of Second Isaiah	421	(3)
A Herald of Good Tidings	424	(4)
The Creator and Redeemer	428	(5)
A Light to the Nations	433	(3)
The Servant of Yahweh	436	(6)
Victory Through Suffering	442	(4)
The Servant and the Messiah	446	(1)
The Continuing Isaiah Tradition	447	(2)
The Book of Isaiah as a Whole	449	(3)
15 A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS	452	(29)
Cyrus' Edict of Liberation	453	(2)
The Work of the Chroniclers	455	(5)
Zerubbabel, the Branch	460	(5)
Reconstruction and Reform	465	(6)
Ezra, the Architect of Judaism	471	(3)
Nehemiah's Terms as Governor	474	(2)
The Law and the Prophets	476	(5)
16 THE PRAISES OF ISRAEL	481	(29)
The Book of Psalms	483	(5)
Israel at Worship	488	(11)
Israel's Pilgrimage Festivals	499	(8)
The Book of Psalms as a Whole	507	(3)
17 THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM	510	(35)
The Wisdom of the East	510	(1)
Israel's Wisdom Literature	511	(5)
An Anthology of Proverbs	516	(8)
The Skepticism of Ecclesiastes	524	(5)
The Book of Job	529	(6)
From Despair to Faith	535	(7)
Later Reflections on Wisdom	542	(3)
18 THE UNFINISHED STORY	545	(38)
Tensions Within Judaism	546	(7)
The Hellenistic Era	553	(5)
The Apocalypse of Daniel	558	(4)
The Kingdom that is God's	562	(11)
Beyond the Old Testament	573	(9)
Israel's Pilgrimage	582	(1)
COMPREHENSIVE CHRONOLOGICAL CHART	583-589	(6)
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY	591	(36)
AUTHOR INDEX	627	(2)
SUBJECT INDEX	629