An Introduction to the Old Testament: Amazon.ca: Raymond B. Dillard, Tremper, III Longman: Books

Product Description

Review

Several distinctives set this volume 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 high 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.

With an eye on understanding the nature of Old Testament historiography, An Introduction to the Old Testament offers the reader a solid understanding of three key issues: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message -- Publisher

Book Description

This companion textbook to Carson, Moo, and Morris's acclaimed "Introduction to the New Testament" puts intellectual muscle into Old Testament study.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
The genre of introduction has a well-established place in the field of Old Testament studies. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A Good -- But Very Biased -- Starting Point, May 2 2003

By

H.R.A. - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Hardcover)

As one reviewer has noted, this one might be worth the price just for the bibliographic references in each section. All things considered, however, one would be remiss to stop at this book only, or fail to complement one's studies with other volumes.

The structure of this work follows a book-by-book introduction format: after an introduction that scratches the surface of historiograpy, archaeology, criticism, and other pertinent issues surrounding Hebrew Bible / Old Testament studies, one chapter is devoted to each book in the Protestant canon. Each chapter surveys the history of scholarship behind the book, offers some structural and literary guidance, touches on its possible theological messsage(s) and significance, and moves hastily on to a somewhat forced, unwelcome, very brief, and perhaps obligatory section entitled "Approaching the New Testament." Sufficient attention is seldom given to the theological message of any given book, much less the theological message of the many possible divisions within which each book falls (Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim, Deuteronomistic History, etc.)

One would be wise to consult specialist volumes, commentaries, and monographs in addition to this work. It serves well as a comprehensive and well-researched introduction, but the operative term is "introduction." Also, one would be well advised to bear in mind that the book is written from a very specifically evangelical & Protestant standpoint, and this bias unfortunately surfaces repeatedly throughout the pages of the work. As such, little to no attention whatsoever is given to Jewish scholarship, Catholic scholarship, or the "Apocryphal Books." Read away for introductory thoughts and bibliographic references, but don't stop here.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars A new spin on intro's, Dec 18 2003

By

Jacob Aitken (Pineville, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Hardcover)

I was much pleased when I bought this intro to the Old Testament. In short, Dillard and Longman have done the church and teh believing community a great service by providing a scholarly and evangelical introduction that is not afraid to tackle the hard questions of the Bible.

They divide each section of the introduction into Historical/literary/Theological message/Approaching the New Testament. As to one reviewer commenting that this is very biased, I actually think that this was quite objective. Longman analyzes the prevailing critics presuppositions and then provides a logical counterpart. And also, they are (while remaining robustly evangelical) more balanced in their conclusion than other evangelical scholars (cf. Gleason Archer for a passionate, well written, if a little biased example).

In my eyes, this books greatezt strengths were its incorporating the theological message and approaching the New Testament into each book. The Bible then comes alive. Its weakness is similar to many other scholarly works, it could get overly teachnical at times. Overall, a well organized intro.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful to scholars and beginners, Jan 20 2003

By

Gontroppo "Music and Theology Lover" (Bathurst, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Hardcover)

I find this Old Testament Introduction easy to read, but also reasonably comprehensive. It is not as complete as R. K. Harrisons' 1970 work, but much more inviting. It is both a handy reference work, and a book to read from cover to cover.

The New Testament applications at the end of each article are thought-provoking and essential for the Christian, for whom the New Testament opens and explains the Old.

Highly recommended.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews 4.8 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Old Testament Introduction
je besoin de cette livre en francais. Old Testament Introduction.
Ev. MAOMBI kASHINDI.
körsbarv. 36A,
904 36 UME�-sweden.
Tél: 0046-70403 5868,

Published on Sep 10 2002 by MAOMBI Kashindi

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful & incisive
This Old Testament Introduction maintains the delicate balance between scholarly pertinence and practical usefulness. Read more