Customer Reviews

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is difficult to imagine a critical, scholastic, introductory textbook to the entire Hebrew Bible (and deuterocanonical texts) that could do a better job than this. The book tops out at just over 600 pages, which is somewhat daunting, but well-worth a studious read. There is only so much that can be done in an introductory textbook without becoming overwhelming. I believe the book found it's way to that boundary between too much and not enough. Inevitably, with a book of this quality, criticisms might tend to become nit-picky. The "illustrations" gathered together in the center of the textbook are lackluster, few in number, and rather common. Anyone with a real interest in the Hebrew Bible or the ancient Near East will be familiar with most of the objects and places pictured. They could at least have presented color photographs. Even better, they could have included a CD with a large archive of photographs to flip through as you read--which brings us to the included CD. I've always felt that including the textbook on an accompanying CD was rather pointless. It's probably done to claim an added value for the product and substantiate an increase in price. Fortunately, you can find the book steeply discounted on places like Amazon.com and then toss the CD without regret (except, perhaps, for the increase in environmental waste). But even if having the book on CD was a welcome option, the publisher chose to discriminate against a large number of its customers by making the work accessible only through a Windows-based operating system. The CD will not load, install, or run on Linux or (I assume) Mac. Being a Linux user, therefore, I found the CD doubly worthless. As a lover of the Tetrateuch, I was thrilled at how much space and time was committed to Genesis and the first half of Exodus. Unfortunately, the rest of the Tetrateuch suffered. The last half of Exodus as well as Numbers receive, perhaps, the poorest treatment in the entire textbook. Leviticus, thankfully, was not treated so unjustly, but it's treatment still suffered. My biggest complaint is the biased judgment calls that Collins weaves subtly or not-so-subtly through the entire work. He repeatedly inserts factual judgments on ideas or arguments which he either has not presented evidence for or had previously discussed only as a possible way of viewing things. I found myself repeatedly writing the word "why?" in the margin or making some sort of note where Collins proceeded upon an assumption or argument that I found rather thin or unconvincing. It is clear that Collins attempts to bypass his own biases by giving time and attention to various arguments and evidences, but he is not consistent. Perhaps Collins felt the need when dealing with sacred literature to guard against the abuses of Fundamentalism. But since when was he the guardian of the text? Overall, the book comes highly recommended. One cannot fail to receive a great deal of critical, theological, and historical insight, while building a solid foundation in their study of the Hebrew Bible.

This is an excellent book, which is exactly what it claims to be an "Introduction to the Hebrew Bible". It will be welcomed by all who want a scholarly, balanced and clear introduction to the difficult topic of the Hebrew Bible. In over 600 pages the Hebrew Bible is discussed, based on solid research. However Professor Collins does not get bogged down excessively with erudite "on the other hands", which might confuse excessively.

Professor Collins skill as a teacher in Yale comes through clearly, as he covers such an amount of material with expertise and knowledge.

This book fulfills a real need for educated, interested readers who wish to gain an insight into the Hebrew Bible, which underlies our civilization.

In my six years of study as a post-graduate Theology student,I have read many books introducing me to Hebrew Scripture. Many were excellent and scholarly yet none possessed the "flow and enticement" of Collins' research and presentation. I looked forward each night to resuming my study. Collins managed to tie all the information together, fill in all the gaps, present many perspectives and offer the latest assessment of the evidence thus far. I teach an Adult Bible Study - and ALWAYS have this book at my side. It's as pleasurable a read as it is informative!

John Collins' book gives a "big picture" view of the context within which the literature was written/edited. He discusses the culture, politics, geography, theology, and potential understanding of the authors/editors throughout history.

I would recommend this book as a textbook for introductory Hebrew Bible courses and also for arm-chair Bible enthusiasts who want a deeper examination of the text.

Appropriate for all Christian denominations: Catholic/Protestant, etc.

John Collins writes in an easy-to-read style which allows for people of all reading levels to gain an appreciation for the Hebrew Bible.

This is a great overview of Biblical content and the main issues facing Biblical scholarship. An excellent resource for any student of Biblical literature, at all levels.

Collins in a straight forward fashion brings the complexities of the Hebrew Bible in an understandable way. He clearly states an overview of scholarship of a particular topic and then provides a compact review of current ways of thinking. I particularly like his book by book overviews. His charts and eaze of language makes the text readable and enlightening. I also like the CD included in the version which give more flexability in studying the text.

Collins will be ranked with Bright in the study of the Old Testament and yet making it accessable to the advanced student reader.

This is an excellent book for studying the Hebrew Scriptures. I never tired when reading it. One problem is that the CD is not compatible with a Mac computer so it is useless to me. Trouble is I had to pay for something that I cannot use.

Biblical scholars. You've got to love 'em.

This was a required book for my first seminary class. It challenged me to see the Hebrew Bible, aka "most" books in the Protestant Old Testament, in a totally different way. It teaches some of the things biblical scholars have unearthed trying to dissect and align biblical text with Near East external documents and archaeological digs.

The result: a SHATTERING of traditionally-held beliefs. For example, most folks believe Moses wrote the first five books in the Old Testament (aka the Pentateuch). But scholars have wrestled with and embraced what they call the "Documentary Hypothesis." It argues that the Pentateuch was NOT written by Moses. Instead, it was written in "strands" over several centuries by different authors (JEPD genres).

It also points out doublets and triplets in some of the narratives,suggesting EDITORIAL MANIPULATION. Additionally, the source criticism argues that certain parts of bible narratives and the time period they supposedly occurred would have been impossible for certain stories (e.g. domesticated camels during the time of Abraham). It really challenges you to read the text carefully--asking many questions--and being open to challenging your traditionally-held beliefs. I recommend it for anyone serious about bible STUDY.

Collins presents a rather interesting read. His book by book breakdown of the Hebrew Bible Scriptures is easy to read, and even enjoyable to parouse. A major pitfall of the book is that it provides deep doubts about the validity of Scripture without adequate information or data backing up such negative claims-- namely that a majority of the stories are folklorish in origin, solely for the purpose of explaining God's nature without fact, etc.-- and seems to be aimed more at disproving the Scripture's validity than studying the meaning behind Scripture. Many times Biblical scholars are able to state the intent of a Biblical passage without casting such deep shadows of doubt over how they should be read, their originality/validity, etc. Such a dark casting of the Scriptural sources seems hardly helpful to the student of these Scriptures. Yet it is also impossible to state that Collins fails to offer interesting information and historical background; this he achieves through several very well stated parallels to Ancient Middle Eastern lengends, stories, and other pieces of literature that clearly had an effect on the development of the Hebrew Bible. With plenty of delight but a bit too much doubt, this book is definitely an interesting and insightful read.

The text is a superb overview of the Hebrew bible, appropriate for an undergraduate course, personal reading, or an introductory graduate course.

Lamentably for an era of inclusiveness, the accompanying CD-ROM is Windows-only. It will not run at all on the Macintosh operating system! I asked both the publisher and the developer for a Mac CD-ROM, but one is not available