Customer Reviews

Introducing the Old Testament

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Now completely revised, updated, and expanded from its initial publication in 1987, John Drane's Introducing The Old Testament is a highly accessible text meant for both students and general readers who wish to better understand the Biblical stories that form the core of Judeo-Christian belief. The revisions have sizeably increased the length of Introducing The Old Testament, adding the most recent scholarship, particularly as regards historical queries such as the origins of the nation of Israel. Filled with black-and-white illustrations of maps, artwork, and photographs, Introducing The Old Testament is a singularly impressive body of work and an excellent way for one to familiarize oneself with the intense discussions and debates over scripture that continue to this day. Introducing The Old Testament is very highly recommended for any personal or seminary biblical studies program or reference shelf.

This volume provided a good general overview of the Bible. It included current scholarship and did not gloss over the more challenging aspects of Biblical history. It does not however include Bibliographies at the end of the chapters and often failed to sight sources to back up every statement. This is somewhat understandable but more references would have been appreciated. It appears to be an overview written from the perspective of a believing scholar. In general, it was well worth the read and very informative.

The texts of the readings are so magical that any text book review suffers but good factual information is available here about the time and culture.

My husband wanted this book as a study aid for our Sunday School class. He already had Drane's book on the New Testament and liked it a lot and thought this one would be good too. It has been been just the thing, very readable, sticks with scripture and offers a lot of background material on the events and people of the Old Testament. He has found it very worthwhile. It came quickly, even just before Christmas, great packing and Amazon's unbeatable service.