From the tumbling walls of Jericho to a Jewish girl who became the queen of Persia, the historical books of the Bible are intriguing and unquestionably fascinating. In this companion volume to his Handbook on the Pentateuch, veteran Old Testament professor Victor Hamilton demonstrates the significance of the messages contained in these biblical books. To do so, Hamilton carefully examines content, structure, and theology using rhetorical criticism, inductive Bible study techniques, published scholarship, archaeological data, word studies, and text-critical evidence. Hamilton details the events and implications of each book chapter by chapter, providing useful commentary on overarching themes and the connections and parallels between Old Testament texts. Using theological and literary analysis, this comprehensive introduction examines historical issues, attempting to uncover and discover their thrust and theological messages. For those who wish to do additional research, each chapter is appended with a bibliography of recent, relevant scholarship. Undergraduate students of advanced biblical studies will find this volume enlightening and helpful as they forge their way through the historical books, and pastors will find useful insight for their encounter with and exposition of this portion of Scripture.
Handbook on the Historical Books
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
From the tumbling walls of Jericho to a Jewish girl who became the queen of Persia, the historical books of the Bible are intriguing and unquestionably fascinating. In this companion volume to his widely used Handbook on the Pentateuch, veteran Old Testament professor Victor Hamilton demonstrates the significance of the messages contained in these biblical books. To do so, Hamilton carefully examines content, structure, and theology using rhetorical criticism, inductive Bible study, published scholarship, archaeological data, word studies, and text-critical evidence. Hamilton details the events and theological implications of each book chapter by chapter, providing useful commentary on overarching themes and the connections between Old Testament texts. For those who wish to do additional research, each chapter is appended with a bibliography of recent, relevant scholarship. "Professor Hamilton has provided college students and anyone else serious about studying the historiographic books of the Old Testament with an excellent introduction. His careful attention to style and message bring these ancient writings to life." -Daniel I. Block, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "Victor Hamilton's Handbook on the Historical Books continues the fine work he began in his Handbook on the Pentateuch. Investigating the Old Testament historical books paragraph by paragraph, he provides lucid analyses of the overall messages and important issues in each one. Hamilton's book is clearly written, contains many helpful insights, and is well informed by the best in biblical scholarship. Students and pastors alike will benefit from it." -David M. Howard Jr., Bethel Theological Seminary Author, An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books Victor P. Hamilton (Ph.D., Brandeis University) is professor of Bible and theology at Asbury College, where he has taught for thirty years. His works include Genesis (2 volumes, NICOT) and Handbook on the Pentateuch.
From the Back Cover
"Issues of 'history' swirl notoriously all around Old Testament studies, highly subjective judgments made in the sober name of critical objectivity. In the midst of the acrimonious swirl, Hamilton cautiously, carefully, and judiciously works his way through the so-called history books of the Old Testament. Hamilton knows all about current scholarly issues, but is more interested in the text itself, the way it works, and the way the past is rendered imaginatively. As a consequence, students will find here a clear guide in considering the detail and claim of the text itself, at least for now not needing to engage the scholarly debates that focus outside the text and outside its claims." -Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary "This highly readable handbook combines clear exposition with an informed synthesis of scholarship-truly the work of a master teacher! Hamilton presents narrative summaries of the historical books that seamlessly integrate historical, compositional, and literary analysis. Students at all levels will find it to be an excellent guide to the biblical text and to the issues that lie at the heart of scholarly discussion." -L. Daniel Hawk, Ashland Theological Seminary "The many who have appreciated Victor Hamilton's Handbook on the Pentateuch will be glad to learn that he has turned his attention to the historical books of the Hebrew Bible. Like his previous volume, Handbook on the Historical Books manages to steer between the oversimplified approaches found in many evangelical texts and the complex and speculative theories found in many critical studies of Hebrew historiography. The book gives proper attention to interpretive and critical issues, but this does not obfuscate Hamilton's thorough exposition of the ideology, theology, and content of these ancient Israelite histories. Like Handbook on the Pentateuch, this volume is destined to become a standard evangelical introductory text." -Kent Sparks, Eastern College
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful summary/good place to start,
This review is from: Handbook on the Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther (Paperback)
I had Hamilton's Handbook on the Pentateuch assigned for a Seminary class and found it to be balanced, fair, and clearly and concisely written. The Handbook on the Historical Books is more of the same from an excellent, well read, scholar. Particularly helpful are the bibliographies for each of the historical books; the interested reader can easily follow up on commentaries and studies that may interest him or her.
Another commenter, a "Baptist preacher", is, I think, unfair in his criticism. He appears to take a very fundamentalist approach. For those readers who haven't already made up their minds about what the texts SHOULD mean or MUST mean, Hamilton's book is a terrific resource and a God-honoring work.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not perfect, but still one of the best,
This review is from: Handbook on the Historical Books (Hardcover)
I really like the overview that Hamilton gives on all the books. I don't agree with all of his statements, but he does a great job on summarizing the 12 books of history.
Go to a good library and read it, and then judge for yourself. It has been an immense help to me in my teaching ministry.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Read,
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This review is from: Handbook on the Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther (Paperback)
I had to read this book for a college level class, but I still found it enjoyable. He basically goes through each chapter and provides a summary of what took place and their significance. He doesn't get bogged down in the nitty-gritty details, but keeps the commentary going. I wish it would be a little more in-depth and specific in certain passages, but overall this book is a very handy guide when reading the historical books of the OT.
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