The Old Testament and God

by Craig G. Bartholomew

Publisher:

SPCK

, 2022

Overview

In The Old Testament and God, Craig G. Bartholomew offers an innovative, compelling new introduction that takes a critical realist approach to our understanding of the history, literature and theology of the Old Testament.

Opening up a distinctly theological interpretation, he explores the key questions that arise from reading the Old Testament against its environment and pays close attention to intertextuality – both within the Old Testament itself and between the Old and New Testaments. Packed full of brilliant insight, this is a fresh, illuminating account of the question of God in the context of Old Testament interpretation today.

The Old Testament and God is the first volume in a ground-breaking new series, Old Testament Origins and the Question of God, which acts as a companion series to N. T. Wright’s Christian Origins and the Question of God. Thorough and eye-opening, it is ideal for both students and professors of Old Testament studies who are looking for a big-picture, holistic narrative approach to the Old Testament that still takes into account its own unique challenges.

A paradigm-shifting study, The Old Testament and God will leave you with a deeper, comprehensive understanding of the literary, historical and theological dimensions of the Old Testament, its interpretation, and its function as part of Christian scripture. Its cutting-edge approach has far-reaching implications for all areas of theological enquiry, making it essential reading for all serious students of the Bible and theology today.

Key Features

• Offers an innovative, compelling new introduction to theology of the Old Testament.
• Explores the key questions that arise from reading the Old Testament
• Brings a a deeper, comprehensive understanding of the literary of the Old Testament.

Contents

• Part 1: What Should We Do with the Old Testament?
• Part 2: Tools for the Task
• Part 3: The World Views of the Ancient Near East
• Part 4: The God Who Approaches

Praise for the Print Edition

Within the sometimes bewildering world of Old Testament scholarship, with its modern and postmodern presuppositions, Craig Bartholomew charts a new way forward, one that takes fully seriously the historical, literary and theological dimensions of the Old Testament, and above all takes the God of the Old Testament fully seriously as one who acts and reveals. For anyone who finds the Old Testament irrepressibly fascinating, this will be an exciting as well as a learned and coherently argued book.

-- Richard Bauckham, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Studies, University of St Andrews, Scotland

In this far-reaching and ambitious work, Bartholomew compellingly contends for an audacious notion: the Old Testament needs God and, above all else, enacts deific truth. This claim stands in sharp contrast with modernity reinforced by its tacit atheism and sardonic rejection of the supernatural. Consequently, the most central aspect of the Scriptures is absent in most post-Enlightenment biblical criticism. The Old Testament and God models an alternative, post-critical approach that is both overtly theistic and particularly Christian.

--H. H. Hardy II, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

In this introductory volume, Bartholomew makes an impressive start to a project that seeks to do for the Old Testament what N. T. Wright has done for the New Testament. A great strength of his approach is an in-depth philosophical and methodological awareness. This enables him to provide a sharp critical evaluation of a number of traditional scholarly views. His careful attention to the historical, literary and theological dimensions of the Old Testament sheds new light on many disputed issues, as well as illuminating the rich Old Testament portrayal of the living God.

--Philip Jenson, Teaching Associate in Old Testament, Ridley Hall, Cambridge

Product Details

• Title: The Old Testament and God
• Author: Craig G. Bartholomew
• Series: Old Testament Origins and the Question of God
• Volume: 1
• Publisher: SPCK
• Print Publication Date: 2022
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Pages: 577
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. O.T. › History
• ISBNs: 9780281073931, 9780281073948, 0281073937, 0281073945
• Resource ID: LLS:OLDTESTAMENTGOD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-01-31T19:39:52Z

About Craig G. Bartholomew

Craig G. Bartholomew is the Director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, Cambridge. He is the author of numerous influential books on the Old Testament and hermeneutics, including Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics, Old Testament Wisdom Literature and the volume on Ecclesiastes in the Baker Commentary series on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms.