Introduction to the Old Testament, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Roland Kenneth Harrison (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 662 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 1st edition (September 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802847870
• ISBN-13: 978-0802847874
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,533,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST one-volume intro to OT studies!, February 21, 2004

By 

Edmund Lau Kok Ming (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

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

R.K. Harrison's monumental single-volume "Introduction to the Old Testament" packs in everything you need to get started with a serious study of the Hebrew Scriptures. You will be acquainted especially with the history of scholarly criticisms (e.g. the Graf-Wellhausen JEPD stuff), archaeology, Ancient Near Eastern cultures and languages, book-by-book criticisms, development of theology in the OT era, etc. etc.

Over my years of studying the OT, I have noticed the ever-widening gap between the pew and the academia. The average Church-goer is woefully uninformed regarding issues of OT interpretation. Zealous readers who desire to get more out of their Bible-reading will probably be boggled by the amount of information and views/counter-views of any Critical Commentaries. Most of the time, they have to struggle to understand what was the "big deal" in all the endless arguments of scholars in the said commentaries (I know I did!). Harrison puts all the necessary views/counter-views in one convenient package to acquaint the serious reader with the "esoterica" of the academia.

Harrison hails from the traditional-conservative position. However, he gives ample ground for the presentation and careful consideration of the views of "higher critics" and liberal scholars... all with an objectivity that is laudable in this age of strawberry-flavoured "devotionals". He speaks his mind in many instances - but more with the aim of stimulating his reader to think rather than to convince you of the "infallibility" of traditional-conservative views. All the above reasons make this the BEST single-volume introduction to a lifelong serious study of the Hebrew Scriptures.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best introduction to the Old Testament, March 10, 1998

By 

David Graham (Shell, Ecuador) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

If you want a quick and easy intro to the Old Testament, do not buy this book, as it is long and detailed. If you are a serious student of the scriptures who wants as good of an intro as possible to aid your understanding of the Old Testament, then this is the book for you. This is one of the few academic works about which I can actually say that it made a true difference in my confidence about the truth of Christianity. Highly recommended.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start with THIS book for Old Testament studies, September 13, 2002

By 

Virgil Brown (White Oak, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to the Old Testament, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

A handful of years ago Thomas Thompson (of the Copenhagen School) wrote a message on an Internet listserv that he did not consider Roland K. Harrison to be a historian. However that was about 1995 and Harrison's book is from 1969 when the issues of historicity were not the same.

Harrison begins his "introduction" (the book runs over 1300 pages) with a review of the development of Old Testament study. A special chapter is dedicated to the Graf-Wellhausen hypothesis and another chapter to reactions to the same. This section is followed by ones on archaeology, chronology, and the text and canon of the Old Testament. Following sections deal with Old Testament history, religion, and
theology.

After almost 500 pages, Harrison begins to deal with the books of the Old Testament beginning with the Pentateuch. This is followed by sections of the prophets and the writings, the other two sections of the Tanakh. Finally comes a section on the Apocrypha.

Needless to say Harrison's Introduction is thorough. His includes some 400 pages more than that of Robert Pfeiffer and 850 pages more than Osterley and Robinson. THIS book is the place to start for anyone interested in what we call Old Testament studies.