In this introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament, Victor Hamilton moves chapter by chapter--rather than verse by verse--through the Pentateuch, examining the content, structure, and theology. Each chapter deals with a major thematic unit of the Pentateuch, and Hamilton provides useful commentary on overarching themes and connections between Old Testament texts. This second edition has been substantially revised and updated. The first edition sold over sixty thousand copies.

Steven McKenzie here surveys the historical books of the Old Testament Joshua through Ezra-Nehemiah for their historical context, contents, form, and themes, communicating them clearly and succinctly for an introductory audience. / By providing a better understanding of biblical history writing in its ancient context, McKenzie helps readers come to terms with tensions between the Bible s account and modern historical analyses. Rather than denying the results of historical research or dismissing its practitioners as wrongly motivated, he suggests that the source of the perceived discrepancy may lie not with the Bible but with the way in which it has been read. He also calls into question whether the genre of the Bible s historical books has been properly understood.

This valuable reference tool for students and pastors explores the components of the narrative genre—setting, characterization, and plot—and then develops the major theological themes in each of the Old Testament historical books.

Rich rewards await readers who dig deep into the historical books of the Old Testament. Incredible events, amazing love stories, larger-than-life personalities and deep theological implications and themes are just part of the t treasure that awaits readers of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. These books tell the story of the nation of Israel and the God who loves her, punishes her, and always brings this recalcitrant people back to Himself. It is really the story of all of us. David M. Howard Jr. provides an in-depth introduction to the Old Testament historical books, focusing first on the overarching themes of historical narrative in general. He then turns his attention to each book. From the conquest of Canaan to the fall of Jerusalem, from war to peace and back to war, from kings and queens to farmers and housewives--David Howard covers it all in this invaluable introduction to the Old Testament historical books.

Sarah H. Beckjord’s Territories of History explores the vigorous but largely unacknowledged spirit of reflection, debate, and experimentation present in foundational Spanish American writing. In historical works by writers such as Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, Bartolomé de Las Casas, and Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Beckjord argues, the authors were not only informed by the spirit of inquiry present in the humanist tradition but also drew heavily from their encounters with New World peoples. More specifically, their attempts to distinguish superstition and magic from science and religion in the New World significantly influenced the aforementioned chroniclers, who increasingly directed their insights away from the description of native peoples and toward a reflection on the nature of truth, rhetoric, and fiction in writing history. Due to a convergence of often contradictory information from a variety of sources—eyewitness accounts, historiography, imaginative literature, as well as broader philosophical and theological influences—categorizing historical texts from this period poses no easy task, but Beckjord sifts through the information in an effective, logical manner. At the heart of Beckjord’s study, though, is a fundamental philosophical problem: the slippery nature of truth—especially when dictated by stories. Territories of History engages both a body of emerging scholarship on early modern epistemology and empiricism and recent developments in narrative theory to illuminate the importance of these colonial authors’ critical insights. In highlighting the parallels between the sixteenth-century debates and poststructuralist approaches to the study of history, Beckjord uncovers an important legacy of the Hispanic intellectual tradition and updates the study of colonial historiography in view of recent discussions of narrative theory.