Studying the Old Testament: A Companion [Paperback]

Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2007

To study the Old Testament is to embark on a daunting expedition for today's students, most of whom have little or no prior knowledge of the Bible or the field of biblical studies. Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch's Studying the Old Testament: A Companion introduces major issues and methods of reading the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at a level appropriate for undergraduates or study groups. Unlike typical introductory textbooks that encourage memorization, this book adopts an inductive approach that teaches students to think critically about the Bible. Readers encounter the biblical text firsthand through guided exercises that allow them to make their own observations before they are introduced to scholarly theories. Burnette-Bletsch's clear, friendly guide to the biblical literature is supplemented by a CD-ROM that contains a variety of resources that enhance the student's experience and comprehension. In addition to guided exercises, the CD contains charts, maps, bibliographies of book, video, and internet resources, review questions and self-tests, lists of important terms, a glossary, links to ancient primary texts that offer striking parallels to the Bible, and concise but substantive discussions of topics that range from explorations of ongoing biblical research to fascinating points of contact between biblical texts and contemporary issues. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch is Lucy H. Robertson Professor of Religion at Greensboro College in Greensboro, NC.

Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (November 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687646235
• ISBN-13: 978-0687646234
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #467,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent conpanion work for Old Testament Bible Classes, August 16, 2009

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LTC Chaplain "the caregiver" (St. Petersburg, FL) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Studying the Old Testament: A Companion (Paperback)

The teacher will find Rhonda Burnette Bletsch's work to be a highly readable overview and introduction to the Old Testament. With its written text and handy CD-ROM it offers exercises, maps, charts, and simple exams to help the student understand and remember the material covered in the class. I highly recommend the book for use as a companion and guide for persons teaching the Old Testament in a church or class where it is possible for students and teachers to discuss and question the Hebrew Scriptures.

Wm. Fred Lamar, Ph. D., retired chaplain and professor

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent textbook/primer from a "liberal" perspective, August 3, 2011

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James T. Sparks (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Studying the Old Testament: A Companion (Paperback)

In this work of 305 pages, with the accompanying CD containing an additional 800 pages of articles, charts, diagrams, maps, as well as invaluable study and review questions, Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch presents an excellent overview of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Dividing her work into five chapters, she carefully takes the reader through the Hebrew Bible from beginning to end, and into the "Inter-testamental period" which bridges the Old and New Testaments.

Chapter 1: Preparing for the Journey

Chapter 2: Torah - the Journey begins

Chapter 3: Former Prophets: A Nation's Journey

Chapter 4: Latter Prophets - Israel's Moral Compass

Chapter 5: Writings - the Homeward Journey

Although rightly acknowledging that the Hebrew Bible is a book of faith for both Jews and Christians, her primary goal is to discuss the Bible as a "human" book. That is, what were the causes, motivations, and circumstances that the initial speakers, hearers, authors as well as the later editors found themselves in which prompted them to retain, shape, and add to the traditions that were handed down to them, so as to produce the works which make up the Hebrew Bible.

She discusses the historical circumstances at work which brought about the combination of the various Pentateuchal sources of JEPD into the final work of the Pentateuch. Her discussion is careful, with not too much information for the beginning student so as to overwhelm them, but enough (with more in the CD) to show the logic of her argument.

She does the same in her treatment of the Deuteronomistic History of Joshua - Kings, showing clearly her logic and reasoning for proposing a first edition of this work during the reign of Josiah, as well as its revision after his early death, which brought with it the theological challenge to the society of Judah.

Her treatment of the prophets is also very helpful and thought provoking. Again, by putting the prophets into their own historical contexts, and then by showing how the words of the various prophets were edited by later generations to meet the needs of those later generations, she clearly explains the growth and development of the prophetic literature.

She further discusses the great challenge of the destruction of the Temple and the exile, which brought further reflection and editing of the received works so as to meet the challenges of exile, return, and the problems when the returning community did not experience the "utopia" that some of the prophets had suggested would occur.

Although I may take issue with some of her conclusions, I do not take issue with her scholarship and mastery of the topic.

There are a few issues that did concern me.

First, if given a choice, the authors of the Old Testament were considered to be wrong or ill informed. Thus Daniel MUST be the Canaanite Dan'il, and the Daniel of the book must be a fictional character based on the ancient Dan'il. Haman, in the book of Esther must be fictional because he is referred to as an "Amalekite". The text of Esther does not actually say this, but she assumes it because Haman is called an "Agagite", and Agag was king of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). Mordecai must be fictional, otherwise he is over 120 years old. However, the relative particle could just as easily refer to Mordecai's ancestor Kish as being taken into exile as to Mordecai himself, but she does not even discuss this option.

Second, she is less than gracious to those who hold to conservative positions. She is scathing of "fundamentalists" (p17), a broad term that often simply means those who are to the "right" of one religiously. She calls those who seek to understand the timing of the end times from the book of Daniel as "charlatans" (p288). She does not seek to engage with more conservative scholarship, but simply rejects it. I found this sad, and somewhat irritating at times because I knew that there was more to the argument than she was offering.

Third, she is quite dismissive of the NIV as a translation of the Bible simply because the authors had to sign a document that stated their agreement with a certain view of Scripture. That, of itself, does not make a translation inadequate, but to her it does. However, she fails to give examples of how this view of Scripture makes the translation itself a poor one. I have problems with the NIV in a number of areas, but I believe that this has more to do with translation theory than a commitment to a particular view of Scripture.

Fourth, working on the premise that the authors were not seeking to write "history" as we understand it, she implies that what is written is therefore "unhistorical". This does not necessarily follow. A person may write accurately and truthfully, even while writing from a specific theological or national point of view. Yes, that theological or national viewpoint may shape what is written and how it is written, but that does not mean that it is "unhistorical". It may well be "historic". Not the complete history, which we would prefer, but historical nonetheless.

These issues aside, I found this work to be well written, very engaging, and challenging to my view and understanding of the Hebrew Bible. Within the reservations that I mentioned, I do recommend this to students of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars /, August 14, 2009

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Donnie Lee Gamble "Gods Ambassador" (Houston, Tx) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Studying the Old Testament: A Companion (Paperback)

personally think it should be removed from all professors book list for there is too much which is not germane to subject projected as to contents of material in the book and questions and statements set forth in authors intent...