Opening the Old Testament

Opening the
Old Testament......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Figures......Page 9
Maps......Page 11
Preface......Page 12
1 What is the Old  Testament?......Page 14
One Psalm at a Time......Page 17
Clarifying Terminology......Page 18
Books and Matchboxes......Page 20
Canons and Versions......Page 24
Reading the Bible......Page 28
Law, Prophets and Writings......Page 32
The Worship Book of Ancient Israel......Page 33
David: Shepherd Boy and King......Page 35
Scholarship on the Psalms......Page 37
A Selection of Psalms......Page 40
Kingship in Israel......Page 43
The Diversity of the Old Testament......Page 59
Notes......Page 60
The Bible in Order......Page 68
Abraham and Sarah......Page 73
History and Story......Page 79
Archaeology and Social History......Page 80
Scholarly Views on Early Israelite History and Religion......Page 83
A Continuing History......Page 86
Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic History......Page 89
1 Samuel and King Saul......Page 93
Oral Tradition and Narrative Art......Page 96
History and Faith......Page 98
The Role of Archaeological Evidence......Page 100
Historical and Literary Concerns......Page 101
The Chronicler’s History......Page 102
The Chronicler’s David......Page 103
The Chronicler’s Handling of Sources......Page 105
The Two ‘Histories’......Page 106
Notes......Page 108
Authoritative Texts?......Page 113
The Ten Commandments......Page 115
Exodus 20......Page 118
A Broader Ethic from Proverbs......Page 121
Proverbs 20......Page 123
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba......Page 128
The Story of Job in the History of Interpretation......Page 134
Job 14......Page 141
Notes......Page 142
Major Theological Themes......Page 148
Covenant......Page 149
The Covenant with Noah......Page 151
The Flood Story in the Ancient Near East......Page 154
The Covenant with Abraham......Page 158
The Covenant with Moses......Page 160
The Covenant with David......Page 162
Covenant as Relationship in the Prophets......Page 163
Scholarly Evaluations of Covenant......Page 164
Creation......Page 165
The Prophets as Theologians......Page 169
Exilic Prophecy in Ezekiel and Deutero-Isaiah......Page 171
Christian Engagement with the Servant Image......Page 174
First Isaiah......Page 175
Isaiah 6......Page 177
Isaiah 7, 8 and 9......Page 180
And so to the New Testament......Page 182
Notes......Page 183
Selecting Texts......Page 186
A Bloodthirsty Old Testament?......Page 188
A Legalistic Old Testament?......Page 190
The Relationship of Old and New Testaments......Page 191
The Old Testament Canon in Relation to an
Emerging New Testament......Page 192
The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament......Page 196
Jesus as the Fulfilment of Old Testament Relationships......Page 200
Christian Use – or Abuse – of the Old Testament......Page 202
Modern Approaches to Interpreting the Old Testament......Page 203
A Liberationist Approach......Page 205
Moses......Page 206
Cultural Difference......Page 213
Pick and Mix......Page 214
A Feminist Perspective......Page 215
Ruth......Page 217
Feminist Scholarly Approaches......Page 219
The Old Testament as a Rich Resource......Page 220
Notes......Page 222
Biblical Studies Overviews......Page 224
One-Volume Commentaries......Page 225
Collections of Ancient Texts......Page 226
History of Interpretation......Page 227
Index......Page 228