Digital Logos Edition
This collection provides a helpful guide through the Scriptures for anyone looking for an introduction to or further research in Old and New Testament studies. Explore biblical structure, imagery, themes, and intertextuality with a prolific Old Testament scholar.
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This introduction to the Old Testament is written to cover all key components of most OT courses and also to help students to think for themselves about key issues of interpretation.
Built upon John Goldingay’s decades of studying and teaching the Old Testament, this introduction is unusual in that it sets out background information, notes interpretative possibilities, raises questions and suggests approaches to the text. This introduction has the feel of a workbook, encouraging students to investigate the Old Testament, both critically and prayerfully, for themselves.
Among those writing on the Old Testament today, few can match and none surpass John Goldingay in his ability to write across the full spectrum—from the highest levels of scholarship to the most accessible presentation. This does not yet mention his uncanny ability to mix the two, bringing first-rate inquiry to lay audiences. And his pedagogical panache is unrivaled! In this remarkably clever, clear and comprehensive volume, Goldingay does it again, writing what very well may be the ideal first textbook for readers of the Old Testament. This is a wise, learned and immensely shrewd introduction. I will recommend it frequently and consult it often.
—Brent A. Strawn, professor of Old Testament, Emory University
Imagine someone who has spent a lifetime listening deeply and attentively to the full range of Scripture’s testimony. Stepping back, they now describe what they have seen and heard. What emerges is a theological cathedral, laid out on the great vectors of Scripture and fitted with biblically sourced materials.
This is what John Goldingay has done. Well known for his three-volume Old Testament Theology, he has now risen to the challenge of a biblical theology. While taking the New Testament as a portal into the biblical canon, he seeks to preserve the distinct voices of Israel’s Scriptures, accepting even its irregular and sinewed pieces as features rather than problems. Goldingay does not search out a thematic core or overarching unity, but allows Scripture’s diversity and tensions to remain as manifold witnesses to the ways of God.
While many interpreters interrogate Scripture under the harsh lights of late-modern questions, Goldingay engages in a dialogue keen on letting Scripture speak to us in its own voice. Throughout he asks, “What understanding of God and the world and life emerges from these two testaments?”
Goldingay’s Biblical Theology is a landmark achievement—hermeneutically dexterous, biblically expansive, and nourishing to mind, soul and proclamation.
There are Old Testament theologies and New Testament theologies but very few biblical theologies. Yet, for Christians, the two testaments belong together. What Christian readers of Scripture need is biblical theology. So, while most scholars stay within their areas of specialization, John Goldingay boldly crosses all the boundaries scholars erect between different parts of the Bible and gives us what we need: a ‘digest of the Scriptures,’ as he calls it. His independence of mind ensures that his discussions are unpredictable and interesting. His lively and accessible style will make this a valuable resource for a wide readership.
—Richard Bauckham, emeritus professor of New Testament, University of St. Andrews
Do we need the Old Testament? That’s a familiar question, often asked. But as an Old Testament scholar, John Goldingay turns that question on its head: Do we need the New Testament?
What’s new about the New Testament? After all, the Old Testament was the only Bible Jesus and the disciples knew. Jesus affirmed it as the Word of God. Do we need anything more? And what happens when we begin to look at the Old Testament, which is the First Testament, not as a deficient old work in need of a christological makeover, but as a rich and splendid revelation of God’s faithfulness to Israel and the world?
In this cheerfully provocative yet probingly serious book, John Goldingay sets the question and views it from a variety of angles. Under his expert hand, each facet unfolds the surprising richness of the Old Testament and challenges us to recalibrate our perspective on it.
A fresh, accessible and at times provocative explanation of the enduring relevance of the Old (‘First’) Testament for Christians. It will challenge readers to embrace the first seventy percent of the canon as truly Christian Scripture.
—Mark J. Boda, professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, professor, faculty of Theology, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
The book of Isaiah’s imagery sparkles as it inspires. It draws us in to meditate and extends our vision toward the future. But what should we make of this sprawling and puzzling book—so layered and complex in its composition—as a whole?
John Goldingay helps us make sense of this “book called Isaiah” as a tapestry of patterned collages, parts put together in an intentional whole. The Theology of the Book of Isaiah studies the prophecies, messages and theology of each section of the complex book, then unfurls its unifying themes—from Zion to David to the Holy One of Israel. Like a program guide to Handel’s Messiah, Goldingay helps us see, hear and understand the grandeur of this prophetic masterpiece among the Prophets.
Just the book for Bible readers who feel lost reading Isaiah! Goldingay proves an engaging, reliable guide, leading us through Isaiah’s parts, showing its overall coherence and reviewing its treatment of key theological topics at the end. The result is a readable guidebook to the Isaiah masterpiece, and I’m pleased to recommend it.
—Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., professor emeritus of biblical literature, North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago
John E. Goldingay (PhD, University of Nottingham; DD, Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth) is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was previously principal and a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at St John’s Theological College in Nottingham, England. His books include An Introduction to the Old Testament, The Theology of the Book of Isaiah, Key Questions about Interpretation, and commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel. He has also authored the three-volume Old Testament Theology and the seventeen-volume Old Testament for Everyone series.
Goldingay also serves as priest-in-charge at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Pasadena. He holds membership in the Society of Biblical Literature and the Society for Old Testament Study, and served on the Task Force on Biblical Interpretation in the Anglican Communion and the editorial board for the Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies.