The Order of the Old Testament: Interpreting the Canonical Context of the Law, Prophets, and Writings

In Christian Bibles, the Old Testament is arranged in a fourfold order: Pentateuch, History, Poetry, and Prophets. What many readers don’t realize is that this differs from the threefold Hebrew canonical order known as the Tanakh: Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Although students are taught to consider context when interpreting Scripture--historical, cultural, linguistic, and canonical--the canonical context is often overlooked. However, scholars have increasingly recognized its importance for hermeneutics. Book order influences meaning and application.

This short, accessible book fills a gap in the literature and will be an excellent supplementary text for courses in Old Testament and hermeneutics. After introducing the threefold canon, the book covers six approaches for understanding the Tanakh’s structure: historical progression, author-genre, theological development, spiritual guidance, messianic trajectory, and architectural structuring. The author favors the last of these, but he gives fair treatment to each. He examines the rationale behind each approach, key proponents, and potential interpretive impact, which is demonstrated by looking at several passages as case studies.

The Order of the Old Testament is important reading for students and pastors alike.