An Introduction to the Old Testament [Hardcover]

Tremper Longman (Author), Raymond B. Dillard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 1994

Several distinctives set this volume apart from other introductions to the Old Testament: - It is thoroughly evangelical in its perspective. - It emphasizes 'special introduction' -- the study of individual books. -It interacts in an irenic spirit with the historical-critical method. - It features high points of research history and representative scholars rather than an exhaustive treatment of past scholarship. - It deals with the meaning of each book, not in isolation but in a canonical context. - It probes the meaning of each book in the setting of its culture. With an eye on understanding the nature of the Old Testament historiography, An Introduction to the Old Testament offers the reader a solid understanding of three key issues: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Several distinctives set this volume apart from other introductions to the Old Testament: ? It is thoroughly evangelical in its perspective. ? It emphasizes “special introduction”—the study of individual books. ? It interacts in an irenic spirit with the historical-critical method. ? It features high points of research history and representative scholars rather than an exhaustive treatment of past scholarship. ? It deals with the meaning of each book not in isolation, but in a canonical context. ? It probes the meaning of each book in the setting of its culture.

With an eye on understanding the nature of Old Testament historiography, An Introduction to the Old Testament offers the reader a solid understanding of three key issues: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message -- Publisher

From the Author

Tremper Longman III (Ph.D., Yale University) is professor of Old Testament at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is the coauthor of Introduction to the Old Testament as well as many other books and articles

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; First Edition edition (December 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310432502
• ISBN-13: 978-0310432500
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new spin on intro's, December 18, 2003

By 

Jacob Aitken (Pineville, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Hardcover)

I was much pleased when I bought this intro to the Old Testament. In short, Dillard and Longman have done the church and teh believing community a great service by providing a scholarly and evangelical introduction that is not afraid to tackle the hard questions of the Bible.

They divide each section of the introduction into Historical/literary/Theological message/Approaching the New Testament. As to one reviewer commenting that this is very biased, I actually think that this was quite objective. Longman analyzes the prevailing critics presuppositions and then provides a logical counterpart. And also, they are (while remaining robustly evangelical) more balanced in their conclusion than other evangelical scholars (cf. Gleason Archer for a passionate, well written, if a little biased example).

In my eyes, this books greatezt strengths were its incorporating the theological message and approaching the New Testament into each book. The Bible then comes alive. Its weakness is similar to many other scholarly works, it could get overly teachnical at times. Overall, a well organized intro.

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More advanced than Hendriksen, June 6, 2000

By 

Reformed Library "Reformed Library" (Vancouver, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Hardcover)

Good discussions of date, authorship, text, audience and message of the books of the Old Testament. More in depth than Hendriksen's "Survey of the Bible."

It really does go beyond simple cultural information. This title was a required text for me in Seminary...it was one of the best investments I've ever made. The information in the book will overflow into your personal studies.

Extremely helpful insights into why the human authors of Scripture phrased certain things in the way they did.

This is a great tool!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful & incisive, May 22, 2001

By 

Ronald Harrison (Telford, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Hardcover)

This Old Testament Introduction maintains the delicate balance between scholarly pertinence and practical usefulness. Dillard & Longman capably present the various issues necessary to address in OT Introduction--authorship & dating, textual issues, etc.--while always offering thorough theological understanding & New Testament/Christological significance. This volume is difficult to put down; this is not simply a reference book but also a book that can be read from cover to cover. This is the best way to understand Dillard's & Longman's overall perspective of the OT. An insightful & incisive work.