An Introduction to the Old Testament

by Raymond B. Dillard; Tremper Longman III

Publisher:

Zondervan

, 2007

ISBN: 9780310493563

(11)

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Overview

This second edition of An Introduction to the Old Testament integrates and interacts with recent developments in Old Testament scholarship. Several distinctive features set it apart from other introductions to the Old Testament:

It is thoroughly evangelical in its perspective
It emphasizes “special introduction”—the study of individual books
It interacts in an irenic spirit with the historical-critical method
It features points of research history and representative scholars rather than an exhaustive treatment of past scholarship
It deals with the meaning of each book, not in isolation but in a canonical context
It probes the meaning of each book in the setting of its culture

Including callouts, charts, and graphs, this text is written with an eye on understanding the nature of Old Testament historiography. This upper-level introduction to the Old Testament offers students a solid understanding of three key issues: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message.

Top Highlights

“In the first place it is important to differentiate history and historiography. The first refers to the events that have taken place in the past, and the second, to writing about the events.” (Page 19)

“The function of the history contained in Genesis is to provide a prologue and foundation of the founding of the nation of Israel and the giving of the law in the book of Exodus. It recounts how God chose Abraham and guided his family as his special people.” (Page 55)

“The book of Leviticus thus teaches that God is separate from the present world and that only those who are also freed from the taint of sin are permitted into his presence.” (Page 85)

“A genre is a group of texts that bear one or more traits in common with each other. These texts may be similar in content, structure, phraseology, function, style, and/or mood.” (Page 30)

“Three general topics constitute the discussion in each chapter: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message.” (Page 17)

Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies and the chair of the Religious Studies department at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives with his wife, Alice. He is the Old Testament editor for the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary and has authored many articles and books on the Psalms and other Old Testament books.

Raymond B. Dillard (PhD, Dropsie University) was professor of Old Testament language and literature at Westminster Theological Seminary.