Customer Reviews

Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is probably the best Inrto to the OT I've seen. It is highly readable, the suggested scripture readings are excellent, and one really does marvel at how neatly themes are woven to the entire Old Testament, almost to the point of being tied up with a bow! Readers who take from this book that its author sees biblical texts as "not inspired by God" would do well to read it again! The whole point of the book is to show how the Israelites used their historical experiences as a lens through which to view their relationship with God, and ultimately God's relationship with all of mankind. As such, it traces the evolution of the development of the biblical texts through Israel's history. Of course Israelites were influenced by other cultures: they were continually surrounded by, at war with, and often oppressed by them! It would be a very strange thing for these influences NOT to be evidenced in the text! Granted, as witnessed in my recent "Intro to the OT Class" that used this book as a primary text, the need to separate "faith" and "history" temporarily to see how these books developed is a daunting undertaking; however, one's individual faith can only be enhanced by realization that it was Israel's faith in God that provided the impetus for the eventual writing down of oral tradition in the first place.

Boadt's book is a masterpiece of introducing critical, theological methods to the professional or casual theologian. It is simply the best OT book I've read and several friends that I have recommended it to have agreed. Although it was intended to be graduate level, it is being used increasingly at the undergraduate level, even at some more traditionally fundamentalist schools.

Boadt is Catholic? I only know that from the reviews, and it is a testimony to his scholarship and objective approach to theology that you will not notice his Catholicism from reading this work. He is not a liberal either, I would best describe him as neo-evangelical in that he is not an inerrantist but neither is he a secular scholar. His love and respect for the Bible shows in his treatment of it. Although he is not afraid to utilize critical techniques to deal with issues of date, authorship and meaning of the Bible, he is not a text-critic by profession and so avoids that fields' tendency to dismember the Bible from over strenuous application of their pecular model.

I believe the best part of the books are his explanation of Jonah as in the genre of "Hebrew comedy" and his introduction to and application of source crit (JEPD) to the Torah. I never understood how overwhelming is the case for JEPD nor did I understand why the theory is so compelling until I read Boadt. He has converted me to an understanding of source criticism and has greatly matured and formed my theology.

I'm writing this in response to some of the other reviews you have received. I know both Fr. Boadt and the book well. I had Fr. Boadt in graduate school and we used his text, and I now use it to teach adults in parishes about the OT. While the book could use updating (it is 15 years old and much has happened in that time), it is a fine, informative work. Anyone who thinks Boadt does not see divine inspiration at work in the Bible is reading the book with blinders on. I recommend it highly.

This book is so winning (and to some, unnerving) because Boadt approaches the material so reverently. I would recommend it to someone still struggling with fundamentalist hermeneutics because he so unconsciously instructs the reader in historical-literary-generic methods of interpretation by example, while obviously intending chiefly to give insight into the important theological doctrines and themes of the Old Testament. A masterwork.

My reading of the Bible has had three levels of accompaniment. The first consists of the annotations of the New Oxford Annotated Bible, which tend to be brief explications of bits of the text that might otherwise be difficult to comprehend within the context of the writer. The second is Asimov's Guide to the Bible, which goes into somewhat greater detail and, in particular, is quite good at providing the necessary historical and geographic background.

The third is this book, which goes into considerable depth with not only the basic factual background, but also the cultural and literary background. Though written by a devout believer (a Catholic), he is not someone who believes in the literal truth of the Bible, but follows modern scholarship in teasing out the various strands of text: the J, E, and P source texts, in particular.

The book is divided into two sections and numerous chapters. The first section provides a general overview in four chapters. The first discusses the text itself, why we should read it, and its meaning for us today, and lesser issues such as the merits of various translations. Chapter 2 provides a general geographic and historical overview, discussing the peoples of that time and where and when they lived and prospered. The third chapter discusses Biblical archeology, how it works, and what sort of background it can provide. And Chapter 4 goes into the literary aspects of the writings, from the difficulties translators encounter to how the texts were considered at the time they were written down.

The bulk of the book, however, focuses on key portions of the text in turn, explaining their context and significance, and clarifying aspects that we moderns might find perplexing.

The author considers the book a textbook, and it would certainly be useful as the basis for a one- or two-semester course in the Old Testament. However, I found it very useful to read it on my own, providing a much deeper perspective than I could get just from reading the text, which, if nothing else, makes many assumptions about what I should already know.

This is a great introduction to the Old Testament. Those who label Boadt a "liberal" or "heterodox" either haven't read this book or don't understand what the Catholic Church teaches. Typically the criticism against Boadt comes from two arenas, fundamentalist Protestants or fundamentalist Catholic apologists ("fundapologists") like those from EWTN or Catholic Answers. While Boadt is a Roman Catholic, his book will benefit those of any denomination. His scholarship is first rate. Boadt places the OT in its proper historical context. He provides concise summaries of the books, the process by which the books were redacted and shaped, and how the message of each book contributes to the OT as a whole. You can't go wrong with this solid piece of scholarship.

Boadt does an excellent job describing the Israelite culture's impact on its testament. I used it in both undergraduate (St. Joseph's, Philadelphia) and graduate work (Villanova). Now I teach theology and can't live without it. Highly recommended!

A professor of mine assigned this book for a low-level theology class at a Jesuit university. I liked it so much that I decided to keep it rather than sell it back. I ended up having to buy a new copy because my father, an amateur theologian, decided to take mine after he flipped through it.

This book is approachable, clear, and easy to read. I have found few books that can successfully put the stories of the Old Testament into both a religious and historical context without giving one or the other short-shrift. This is one of those books.

This book is not designed for someone seeking in-depth exigesis, it is for beginners who are somewhat familiar with Old Testament texts and who wish to expand their understanding of those texts.

I had to use Boadt's book for 1st semester scripture in 2004, and have since used this book in my own research into the Old Testament. A marvellous work that touches on a host of topics, such as the Documentary Hypothesis, multiple authorship of Isaiah, Daniel as a psuedipigraphia, and so forth.

This is one book that must be on the book shelf of all scripture aficinados everywhere.

I believe this book is probably the best overall introduction to the Old Testament. It provides historical context of the Near East. It covers all the bases and goes into scholarly detail. It goes through the Yawehist (Y)/Elohim (E)/Priestly sources and their different contributions to the composite text. It is an easy and enjoyable read as opposed to standard Old Testment "Texbooks". I was also delighted to find that a Professor at Yale uses in her Old Testament class. It is an open source class that you can watch over the Internet.

Overall, this book should be required reading for any introduction to the Old Testament. I highly recommend it.