Engaging and accessible to students from all backgrounds, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context, Fourth Edition, is an updated, concise, and more accessible version of Michael D. Coogan and Cynthia R. Chapman's best-selling The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, Fourth Edition (OUP, 2017). The authors work primarily from a historical and critical methodology but also introduce students to literary analysis and other interpretive strategies.
Providing a nondenominational and nondoctrinal treatment, this text offers a unique and captivating introduction to the Hebrew scriptures themselves and to how they have been--and can be--interpreted.
A FREE 6-MONTH subscription to Oxford Biblical Studies Online (www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com)--a $180 value--is included with the purchase of every new copy of this text.
By:
Michael Coogan,
Cynthia Chapman
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 4th edition
Weight: 817g
ISBN: 9780190903756
ISBN 10: 0190903759
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 14 June 2019
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
"*=New to this Edition Preface: Abbreviations: Credits: PART ONE. INTRODUCTORY 1. WHAT IS THE BIBLE? Box 1.1 Chapter and Verse: The Jewish Tanakh The Christian Canons * Canon and Canonical Ordering of Books Box 1.2 The Canons of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: The Study of the Bible Box 1.3 The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Look Back and Ahead 2. THE PROMISED LAND Geography History A Look Back and Ahead PART TWO. COSMIC ORIGINS 3. CREATIONS Genesis 1-3 The Book of Genesis Genesis 1 and the Sabbath Box 3.1 Genesis and Science: * Box 3.2 The Sabbath across Time: Box 3.3 Myth and the Bible: The Second Account of Creation (Gen 2.4b-3.24) Box 3.4 ""God"" and ""The LORD (God)"": Box 3.5 The Garden of Eden: * Box 3.6 Adam and Eve across Time: A Look Back and Ahead 4. THE FORMATION OF THE PENTATEUCH AND THE PRIMEVAL HISTORY Genesis 4-11 The Traditional View The Development of Modern Interpretation A Summary of the Documentary Hypothesis The Formation of the Pentateuch Challenges to the Documentary Hypothesis Other Strategies for Interpreting the Pentateuch Primeval History J (the Yahwist Source) Box 4.1 Cain and Abel: * Box 4.2 The Cures of Ham across Time: Box 4.3 The Sons of God: Box 4.4 The Tower of Babel: Box 4.5 The Table of Nations: P (the Priestly Source) The Flood Box 4.6 The Documentary Hypothesis at Work: A Look Back and Ahead PART THREE. NATIONAL ORIGINS 5. THE ANCESTORS OF ISRAEL Genesis 12-50 The Narratives Box 5.1 Abram and Abraham, Sarai and Sarah: * Box 5.2 The Binding of Isaac across Time: Box 5.3 Circumcision: * Box 5.4 The Sin of Sodom: Box 5.5 The Ugaritic Texts: The Ancestors of Israel Box 5.6 Abraham, Father of Believers: * Box 5.7 The Rape of Dinah: History and the Ancestors of Israel The Religion of the Ancestors A Look Back and Ahead 6. ESCAPE FROM EGYPT Exodus 1-15 The Book of Exodus Exodus 1-15 Box 6.1 Legends of Rescue: Box 6.2 The Meaning of the Divine Name Yahweh: Box 6.3 The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart: * Box 6.4 The Passover Celebration across Time: * Box 6.5 The Exodus in African-American Interpretations: The Exodus and History The Exodus and the History of Religions A Look Back and Ahead 7. FROM EGYPT TO SINAI Exodus 16-24 Itineraries Incidents on the Journey Box 7.1 Manna: Box 7.2 The Location of Sinai: At Sinai Covenant The Ten Commandments * Box 7.3 The Ten Commandments across Time: The Ratification of the Covenant A Look Back and Ahead 8. LAW, RITUAL, AND HOLINESS Exodus 20.22-23.33 and 25-40 and Leviticus Law in the Ancient Near East Box 8.1 Excerpt from the Code of Hammurapi: The Covenant Code (Ex 20.22-23.33) The Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Priestly Vestments and Ordination Box 8.2 ""An Eye for an Eye"": The Golden Calf Box 8.3 Forty Days and Forty Nights: The Ritual Decalogue Sequel Box 8.4 An Ancient Hebrew Agricultural Calendar: The Book of Leviticus Sacrifices (Lev 1-7) The Consecration Ceremonies and Their Aftermath (Lev 8-10) Purity and Impurity (Lev 11-15) The Day of Atonement (Lev 16) The Holiness Code (Lev 17-26) * Box 8.5 Same-sex Relationships: Box 8.6 Capital Punishment: Women in Israelite Ritual and Law The Ethics of Leviticus A Look Back and Ahead 9. IN THE WILDERNESS Numbers The Book of Numbers Preparations for the Journey Law, Ritual, and Purity The Chronology and Geography of the Wanderings Rebellions in the Wilderness Box 9.1 Miriam: Opposition on the Journey Box 9.2 Excerpt from the Deir Alla Texts: Preparations for the Entry into the Land A Look Back and Ahead 10. THE END OF THE JOURNEY TO THE PROMISED LAND Deuteronomy The Book of Deuteronomy Box 10.1 The Shema: The Origins of Deuteronomy * Box 10.2 Curses in the Vassal Treaties of Esar-haddon: Box 10.3 The Meanings of ""Torah"": The Deuteronomic School * Box 10.4 Redaction Criticism: Moses in the Pentateuch A Look Back and Ahead 11. JOSHUA AND THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND OF CANAAN Joshua The Deuteronomistic History The Book of Joshua * Box 11.1 Postcolonial Readings of Rahab: Box 11.2 Shechem in Biblical Tradition: A Look Back and Ahead 12. THE EMERGENCE OF ISRAEL IN THE LAND OF CANAAN Judges The Book of Judges Box 12.1 The Judges of Israel in the Book of Judges: Box 12.2 The Moabites and the Ammonites: Box 12.3 The Song of Deborah: Box 12.4 The Philistines: History and the Israelite Confederation A Look Back and Ahead PART FOUR. KINGS AND PROPHETS 13. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONARCHY 1 Samuel The Books of Samuel 1 Samuel Box 13.1 Positive Assessments of Saul: * Box 13.2 David and Goliath l: * Box 13.1 Queer Criticism and David's Love for Jonathan: A Look Back and Ahead 14. THE REIGN OF DAVID 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-2 2 Samuel * Box 14.1 Jerusalem across Time: Box 14.2 David as Poet: History A Look Back and Ahead 15. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 1 Kings 1-11 and Psalm 89 The Books of Kings 1 Kings 1-11 * Box 15.1 Solomon across Time: History The Ideology of the Davidic Monarchy * Box 15.2 The Royal Ideology across Time: A Look Back and Ahead 16. THE DIVIDED KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH FROM THE LATE TENTH TO THE EARLY EIGHTH CENTURIES BCE 1 Kings 12-2 Kings 14 with an Introduction to Prophecy History Box 16.1 Chronology of the Late Tenth to Mid-eighth Centuries BCE: Institutions and Society Prophets and Prophecy * Box 16.2 Prophets across Time: The Legends of Elijah and Elisha * Box 16.3 Elijah across Time: A Look Back and Ahead 17. THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY BCE 2 Kings 14-17, Amos, and Hosea History Box 17.1 Chronology of the Eighth Century BCE: Prophetic Books Amos Box 17.2 The Day of the Lord: Hosea Box 17.3 Prophetic Attacks on Rituals: Box 17.4 Marriage in Ancient Israel: A Look Back and Ahead 18. THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH IN THE EIGHTH AND EARLY SEVENTH CENTURIES BCE 2 Kings 15-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32, Isaiah 1-39, and Micah History Box 18.1 Chronology of the Eighth and Seventh Centuries BCE: Isaiah The Siege of Jerusalem in 734 BCE Box 18.2 The Identification of Immanuel: The Assyrian Invasion of Judah in 701 BCE Box 18.3 Sennacherib's Attack on Jerusalem (701 BCE) according to the Assyrian Annals: Box 18.4 Hezekiah's Tunnel: Micah A Look Back and Ahead 19. JUDAH IN THE SEVENTH AND EARLY SIXTH CENTURIES BCE: THE END OF ASSYRIAN DOMINATION AND THE FALL OF JERUSALEM 2 Kings 21-25, 2 Chronicles 33-36, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah History Box 19.1 Chronology of the Seventh and Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Box 19.2 Ashurbanipal's Library: Box 19.3 Megiddo and Armageddon: The Book of Zephaniah The Book of Nahum The Book of Habakkuk Jeremiah * Box 19.4 Jeremiah and the Lost Ark across Time: Box 19.5 Jeremiah and the History of Bookmaking: A Look Back and Ahead PART FIVE. EXILE AND RETURN 20. AFTER THE FALL: JUDEANS IN JUDAH AND BABYLON Lamentations, Psalm 137, Obadiah, and Ezekiel History The Book of Lamentations Box 20.1 Acrostic Poems: The Judeans in Babylonia Psalm 137 The Book of Obadiah Ezekiel Box 20.2 Yahweh as Violent Husband: A Look Back and Ahead 21. RETURN FROM EXILE Ezra 1-2 and Isaiah 34-35 and 40-55 History Box 21.1 Chronology of the Sixth Century BCE: The Priestly Source of the Pentateuch The Exilic Edition of the Deuteronomistic History Isaiah 40-55 * Box 21.2 Canonical Criticism and the Book of Isaiah: Box 21.3 The Development of Monotheism: Box 21.4 Female Images of God: A Look Back and Ahead PART SIX. RECONSTRUCTION, CONSOLIDATION, AND CHALLENGE 22. THE RESTORATION: JUDAH IN THE LATE SIXTH AND FIFTH CENTURIES BCE Ezra 3-10, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Isaiah 24-27 and 56-66, Joel, and Malachi History Box 22.1 Chronology of the Mid-sixth to the Fourth Centuries BCE: Ezra 3-6 Box 22.2 Aramaic: The Book of Haggai Zechariah 1-8 Isaiah 56-66 The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah Box 22.3 The Elephantine Papyri: Apocalyptic Literature The ""Isaiah Apocalypse"" (Isa 24-27) Zechariah 9-14 The Book of Joel The Book of Malachi A Look Back and Ahead 23. RETELLING THE STORY 1-2 Chronicles, Psalms, and Proverbs The Books of Chronicles * Box 23.1 Samaria and the Samaritans across Time: The Book of Psalms Box 23.2 Parallelism: Music in Ancient Israel A Look Back and Ahead 24. THE WISDOM OF THE SAGES: PRESERVATION AND CHALLENGE Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon with an Introduction to Wisdom Literature Wisdom Literature The Book of Proverbs The Book of Job Box 24.1 The Satan: Box 24.2 ""I Know that my Redeemer Liveth"": Box 24.3 Behemoth and Leviathan: Box 24.4 Job's Wife and Daughters: The Book of Ecclesiastes The Development of Beliefs in Life after Death in Ancient Israel The Song of Solomon A Look Back and Ahead 25. HEROES IN FOREIGN LANDS: POSTEXILIC LITERATURE AND DIASPORIC IDENTITY Ruth, Jonah, Esther, and Daniel The Book of Ruth The Book of Jonah The Book of Esther Box 25.1 The Festival of Purim: The Book of Daniel Box 25.2 Angels and Demons: Box 25.3 ""Son of Man"": Box 25.4 Outline of the Visions of Successive Kingdoms in the Book of Daniel: APPENDIX: THE APOCRYPHAL/DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS Revisions of and Additions to Biblical Books Historiographic Literature Historical Fiction Wisdom Literature Other Compositions Chronology: General Bibliography: Glossary: Weights and Measures: Index:"
Michael D. Coogan has been Lecturer on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Harvard Divinity School and is Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum. He has edited The New Oxford Annotated Bible for twenty years and written and edited many other books. Cynthia R. Chapman is Professor of Biblical Studies at Oberlin College. She is the author of The House of the Mother: The Social Roles of Maternal Kin in Biblical Hebrew Narrative and Poetry (2016) and The Gendered Language of Warfare in the Israelite-Assyrian Context (2004).
Reviews for A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in its Context
"""A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament is written by leading scholars and pitched at a level appropriate for introductory college students. Its content is thorough, its writing is clear, and its presentation--from images to layout to format--is the best of any textbook on the market.""--Daniel Pioske, Georgia Southern University ""This text clearly and cogently addresses historical, textual, and literary issues of the Old Testament. One of the book's strengths is its historical focus, which helps to place Old Testament texts into interpretive contexts.""--Jason A. Riley, Fuller Theological Seminary ""One of the best textbooks on the market today, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament provides students with a concise, clearly articulated foundation.""--Kenneth Vandergriff, Florida State University"
