The Old Testament ─ A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures

Lucidly written by leading biblical scholars Michael D. Coogan and Cynthia R. Chapman, this balanced, engaging, and up-to-date introduction to the Hebrew scriptures distills the best of current scholarship. Employing the narrative chronology of the Bible itself and the history of the ancient Near East as a framework, Coogan and Chapman cover all the books of the Hebrew Bible, along with the deuterocanonical books included in the Bible used by many Christians. They work from a primarily historical and critical methodology but also introduce students to literary analysis and other interpretive strategies.

FEATURES

* Chapter pedagogy includes chapter previews and summaries, key terms, a glossary, questions for review and discussion, and suggestions for further reading

* Two introductory chapters--one on the composition of the Old Testament and one on the history and geography of the ancient Near East and how it influenced the Hebrew Bible--provide students with the context necessary to analyze the biblical texts

* Strategically placed text boxes address issues that often puzzle readers of the Bible, provide models of interpretation of particular texts, and discuss their significance for Judaism and Christianity

* A strong visual program includes charts, photographs, line drawings, maps, and a color insert on Jerusalem in biblical times

A FREE 6-month subscription to Oxford Biblical Studies Online (www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com)--a $180 value--is included with the purchase of every new copy of the text.

Michael D. Coogan is Lecturer on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at the Harvard Divinity School and Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum. He is the author of A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament, Third Edition (2015), A Reader of Ancient Near Eastern Texts (2012), and The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction (2008), all published by Oxford University Press.

Cynthia R. Chapman is the Adelia A.F. Johnston and Harry Thomas Frank Associate Professor of Religion at Oberlin College, where she has taught biblical studies for twelve years. She is the author of The House of the Mother: The Social Function of Maternal Kin in Biblical Hebrew Narrative and Poetry (2016) and The Gendered Language of Warfare in the Israelite-Assyrian Encounter (2004).