Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form and Background of the Old Testament [Hardcover]

William Sanford Lasor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1982

This standard textbook on the background, content, and message of the Old Testament is now thoroughly revised and updated and takes full account of new research in the field of Old Testament studies. This second edition features a new chapter on archaeology and the Old Testament by Robert E. Cooley, and other key chapters have been updated and expanded by leading scholars in the field of biblical studies—Leslie C. Allen, John E. Hartley, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., William B. Nelson Jr., Nancy Heidebrecht, and John E. McKenna.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Sanford LaSor(1911-1991) was the professor emeritus of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

David Allan Hubbard (1928-1996) was president emeritus and professor emeritus of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Frederic William Bush is Senior Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co (October 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802835562
• ISBN-13: 978-0802835567
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,595,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative book, but the authors ride the fence, August 31, 2004

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Marc Axelrod (Potter, Wi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament (Hardcover)

I thought that this was a really interesting textbook. The authors reveal the message of each Old Testament book, while discussing some of the scholarly issues surrounding each part of the Old Testament (such as the JEDP theory). Unfortunately William Lasor passed away in 1991, so Hubbard (who is dead now too) and Bush recruited six other OT scholars to complete the revision. This may be one of the reasons why the authors ride the fence on issues such as whether or not we can take the numbers in Numbers literally, the number of Isaiah's, the historical worthiness of Joshua and Jonah, and the happenings surrounding the Exodus from Egypt. The authors also seem to lean toward the book of Jonah being a parable rather than actual history, although they don't take a really strong stand on that, either.

The reviewer who wrote that this book supports the JEDP theory was mistaken: In fact, the authors predict that this theory will eventually be out of vogue with scholarship. What the authors do affirm is that Moses was originally responsible for the Pentateuch and that through the centuries, the community revised and updated it.

And contrary to an earlier reviewer, I didn't find the book tedious at all: It was very well written and very interesting throughout. I especially appreciated the articles at the end about the Authority of the Old Testament for Christians, Messianic prophecy, and the chronological puzzle.

In short, I recommend this book, only wishing that the authors would take a stand on some of the issues discussed above.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the Context, July 29, 2007

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mjmcc61 "mjmcc61" (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament (Hardcover)

After the founding pastor of my church returned to seminary to pursue his doctoral studies, he recommended this book to better understand the theological foundation of Christianity. He wisely suggested to first read the background in chapters 44-49, followed by chapters 1-15 to get the big picture on Torah and history. Then comes the survey of The Prophets in chapters 16-30, the glorious encounter with The Writings in chapters 31-43 and finally, archeology (chapter50) and messianic prophecy (chapter 51).

Over the course of nearly a year, I read this book alongside the Old Testament. I experienced what the first Ethiopian Christian must have felt as Philip explained the book of Isaiah to him in Acts 8. These three scholarly authors helped me see things I never knew existed, which positioned the gospel in a new way.

As the hearts of the pilgrims en route to Emmaus burned within them as Jesus opened the same Scriptures to them, I gained a deeper understanding and yearning. The New Testament Letter to the Hebrews now makes much more sense, and I am better able to see how OT prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus. My subsequent visit to the Holy Land was enriched by knowing the geography, history and theology of the Old Testament that I gained from this survey.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great OT basic, May 26, 2006

By 

Brad Childs (Edmonton, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament (Hardcover)

Without blabbering on about the evangelical theological leaning of each chapter I thought I'd write an actual review of this book rather than attempt to debate the authors' theology. First off, the book is a great survey. It is a bit short at times and a bit simplistic around some of the prophets (the sections on Jonah and Haggai for example are far too basic) but it is always fair and contains some great visual aids, charts, photographs and organization. The book is set up simplistically and is a must for first year theological students. The only real problem I have ever had with this text book is that I have never been a fan of the index (which is far too short).