More workbook than handbook, this introduction to the Old Testament is rooted in decades of tried and proven teaching. Goldingay displays a robust confidence in the truthfulness of Scripture combined with a refreshing trust in the reader's ability to grapple responsibly with the Old Testament.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Web Resources
• Part One: Introduction
• 101 Approaching the Old Testament
• 102 The Old Testament as Scripture
• 103 Reading the Old Testament as the Word of God in Its Own Right
• 104 The Books in the Old Testament
• 105 How Did Old Testament Books Get Written?
• 106 Old Testament Story and Old Testament History
• 107 A Timeline for the Old Testament
• 108 Fact and Truth in the Old Testament
• 109 When the Old Testament Is Parable Not History
• 110 Reading the Old Testament Premodernly, Modernly and Postmodernly
• 111 The Geography of Canaan
• 112 The Geography of the Middle East
• 113 How Did the Old Testament Come to Be the Old Testament?
• 114 How Old and How Reliable Is the Old Testament Text?
• 115 Old Testament Translations and the Name of God in Translations
• 116 Israelites, Hebrews, Jews; Israel, Judah, Ephraim
• 117 New Testament Lenses for Looking at the Old Testament
• 118 The Apocrypha or Second Canon
• 119 Web Resources
• Part Two: The Torah
• 201 The Torah: The Five Books
• 202 The Torah: Not Really Five Books
• 203 The Torah: The Questions It Might Raise and Answer for Israel
• 204 The Torah: Looking at It Historically
• 205 The Torah: Expectations at the Edge of the Promised Land
• 206 Reading Genesis 1–11: The Story of the Beginning
• 207 Genesis 1 and Other Middle Eastern Creation Stories
• 208 Genesis 1–4: Possible Historical Contexts
• 209 Genesis 1–4: Patriarchalism as a Contemporary Context
• 210 Genesis 1–11 and History: Views on a Spectrum
• 211 Genesis 1–11 as Parabolic History
• 212 Reading Genesis 12–50: God's Promises to Israel's Ancestors
• 213 Genesis 12–50: How Genesis Portrays Marriage
• 214 Genesis 12–50: How Genesis Portrays Family
• 215 Genesis 12–50: How Historical Is It?
• 216 Genesis 12–50: Looking for Clues Regarding How It Came into Existence
• 217 Genesis 12–50: Where the Clues Take Us—JEDP in Outline
• 218 Reading Exodus 1–18
• 219 Exodus 1–18 and How We Learn from It
• 220 Exodus 1–18: Did the Exodus Happen? Some Opinions
• 221 Exodus 1–18: The Implications, the People
• 222 Exodus 19—Leviticus—Numbers 10: Israel at Sinai
• 223 Reading Exodus 19–40 and Leviticus
• 224 Exodus 19–40 and Leviticus: Yahweh in the Midst—Speaking
• 225 Exodus 19–40 and Leviticus: Two or Three or Five Types of “Law”
• 226 Exodus 19–40 and Leviticus: Six Reasons for Having “Law”
• 227 Exodus 19–40 and Leviticus: Five More Reasons for Having “Law”
• 228 Exodus 25–40: How to Build a Sanctuary
• 229 Leviticus 1–15: How to Worship, and How to Keep Pure
• 230 Leviticus 11–15: How to Keep Pure
• 231 Reading Numbers: Israel's Journey to the Land of Promise
• 232 Numbers 11–25: How Not to Get to the Promised Land
• 233 Numbers: Four Reasons Why Israel Fought Wars
• 234 Numbers: Five More Reasons Why Israel Fought Wars
• 235 Reading Deuteronomy
• 236 Deuteronomy's Emphases
• 237 Deuteronomy's Both/And's
• 238 Deuteronomy: Who Wrote It?
• 239 Exodus Through Deuteronomy: Looking Back
• 240 Exodus Through Deuteronomy: Reviewing the Different Versions of Its Teaching
• 241 Exodus Through Deuteronomy: The Way It Has Unfolded
• 242 Exodus Through Deuteronomy: Why Does It Say the Things It Does?
• 243 Exodus Through Deuteronomy: Two Approaches to Interpreting the Torah for Today
• 244 Exodus Through Deuteronomy: Two More Approaches to Interpreting the Torah for Today
• 245 Web Resources
• Part Three: The Prophets
• 301 The Prophets: Who and What Are They?
• 302 Joshua Through Kings: Two More Ways of Seeing the Books
• 303 Joshua Through Kings: An Outline of the Books and of the History
• 304 Joshua Through Kings: Approaches to the Stories
• 305 Joshua Through Kings: What to Look for in the Stories
• 306 Joshua: An Outline of the Book
• 307 Joshua: The Book's Origin
• 308 Reading Joshua
• 309 Joshua: The Book's Spirituality
• 310 Joshua: The Book's Ethics
• 311 Joshua: The History
• 312 Joshua: Models for How Israel Came to Be Israel in Canaan
• 313 Judges: An Outline of the Book and Its Origins
• 314 Reading Judges
• 315 Judges: Its Significance
• 316 Judges: The Archaeology of the Period
• 317 First and Second Samuel: Outline and Origin
• 318 Reading 1 Samuel: Hannah, Eli, Samuel, Saul
• 319 First Samuel (and Elsewhere): Attitudes Toward Monarchy
• 320 Reading 1-2 Samuel
• 321 First and Second Samuel (and Elsewhere): Who Was David?
• 322 First and Second Samuel: Again, Who Was David?
• 323 First and Second Kings: Outline, Origin, Aim, Resources
• 324 Reading 1-2 Kings
• 325 First and Second Kings: Prophets and Their God
• 326 The Prophets and the History of Ephraim and Judah
• 327 First and Second Kings: The Books’ Message
• 328 The Baals: Canaanite Theology and Canaanite Religion
• 329 The Latter Prophets
• 330 Isaiah: The Scroll with a Message from Israel's Holy One
• 331 Isaiah 1–12: Why It Comes in the Order It Does
• 332 Reading Isaiah 1–12
• 333 Isaiah 13–27: Yahweh's Intentions for the Nations
• 334 Reading Isaiah 13–27
• 335 Isaiah 28–39
• 336 Isaiah 31 as Poetry
• 337 Reading Isaiah 28–39; and How to Think About the Nations
• 338 Reading Micah
• 339 Reading Joel
• 340 Reading Hosea
• 341 Reading Amos and Obadiah
• 342 Amos: How Amos Believes Things Should Be or Should Have Been
• 343 Reading Jonah
• 344 Jeremiah: The History and the Book
• 345 Reading Jeremiah
• 346 Jeremiah: Social Justice (aka Faithful Judgment)
• 347 Jeremiah: Sin and Hope
• 348 Jeremiah: What Makes a False Prophet?
• 349 Jeremiah and the Superpower
• 350 Reading Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah
• 351 Reading Ezekiel
• 352 Ezekiel: Like Other Prophets, Only More So
• 353 Ezekiel: What Do His Promises Refer To? Promise and Fulfillment
• 354 Isaiah 40–55: The Context and the Approach to Communication
• 355 Isaiah 40–55: The Message and the People That It Addresses
• 356 Reading Isaiah 40–55: Who Is This Prophet, Who Is This Servant?
• 357 Reading Isaiah 56–66
• 358 Isaiah: The Three (or Four) Voices in the Book
• 359 The Unity of the Book of Isaiah
• 360 Reading Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi
• 361 Prophecy: What Is a Prophet—Then and Now?
• 362 Prophecy: What Does the Fulfillment of Prophecy Mean?
• 363 Web Resources
• Part Four: The Writings
• 401 The Writings: What Are They?
• 402 Ezra–Nehemiah
• 403 Reading Ezra–Nehemiah
• 404 Reading 1–2 Chronicles
• 405 Chronicles: A Narrative Contextual Theology of Music in Worship
• 406 Reading Esther
• 407 Esther: Its Significance in the Context of Scripture as a Whole
• 408 Reading Ruth
• 409 Ruth: What Kind of Story?
• 410 Psalms: One Hundred and Fifty Examples of How to Talk to God
• 411 Reading Psalms of Praise: How to Worship Together
• 412 Psalms of Praise: Psalm 95 and Psalm 100 as Examples of How to Worship
• 413 Psalms in Israel's Worship
• 414 The Psalm Introductions and Their Link with Worship
• 415 Psalms of David or David-Psalms?
• 416 Psalms of Prayer: How to Pray for Ourselves
• 417 Reading Psalms of Prayer
• 418 Psalms of Prayer: How to Keep Hoping and How to Keep Praying
• 419 Psalms as Intercession: How to Pray for Other People
• 420 Psalms as Intercession: How to Pray for the Government
• 421 Psalms as Imprecation: How to Pray Against Other People
• 422 Reading Thanksgiving Psalms: How to Give Your Testimony
• 423 Psalms of Protest and Thanksgiving for an Individual, a Leader, a Community
• 424 Psalms: How the Prayer-Testimony Process Gets Short-Circuited
• 425 Psalms: The Interrelationship of Praise and Prayer
• 426 Reading Psalms of Confession: How to Say You're Sorry
• 427 Reading Lamentations
• 428 Wisdom in the Old Testament: How to Learn from Life
• 429 Reading Proverbs
• 430 Proverbs 1–9: How to Stay Faithful
• 431 Reading Song of Songs
• 432 Reading Job
• 433 Job: Two Possible Insights
• 434 Job: Four More Possible Insights
• 435 Reading Ecclesiastes
• 436 Ecclesiastes: Its Characteristic Slant
• 437 Daniel: Narrative, Worship and Wisdom
• 438 Reading Daniel
• 439 Daniel 11 as a Starting Point
• 440 Daniel 7 and the Empires
• 441 Daniel: Two-Stage Origin, Binary Theology
• 442 Web Resources
• Part Five: Looking Back over the Whole
• 501 Looking Back over the Old Testament: The Narrative
• 502 Looking Back over the Old Testament: Instruction and Prophecy
• 503 Looking Back over the Old Testament: Wisdom and Psalmody
• 504 The Conversation Within the Canon: A Complex Reality
• 505 The Conversation Within the Canon: Different Emphases
• 506 The Relationship of the Old Testament and the New Testament
• 507 Web Resources
• 508 Bibliography
• Name Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index
• Praise for An Introduction to the Old Testament
• About the Author