Abstract
This volume aims to offer an accessible text-book style introduction to the writings which make up the Hebrew Bible or ‘Old Testament’, reading them as an integral part of the Christian scriptures. It provides an overview of the three major divisions of the Hebrew canon (Pentateuch or Torah, prophets, and writings) as well as a chapter on each book or pair of related books (e.g. 1-2 Kings), treating the Minor Prophets as one ‘Book of the Twelve’. These share a standard format: a brief ‘Orientation’ to the work is followed by a longer ‘Reading’ section, in which some of its key themes are passages are explored, and then a few paragraphs of ‘Implementation’ consider its relevance for Christians today and offer some ‘Christian Reading Questions’ for further discussion and reflection. Historical, theological and literary issues of particular importance are highlighted throughout in clearly marked side-panels. Interesting aspects of the book’s reception history are also often foregrounded, drawing on sources ranging from the rabbinic tradition through the early church fathers to the major Reformation theologians and beyond. This content is supplemented by a wonderful selection of images, including both classical and modern religious paintings and photographs of historical artefacts.
The volume provides a very good overview of the Hebrew scriptures as a whole and of the individual books of which they are comprised. Each chapter is well organised, and written in a clear, non-technical and engaging style. The material is evidently informed by mainstream scholarship, although in general the significance of this for a Christian reading of the texts is downplayed. For example, the widely-held questions about the authorship and internal organisation of the Book of Isaiah are acknowledged, yet do not really shape the explanation of its themes here, since this section concludes with the statement that: ‘Wherever one lands on this issue, recognizing the unity of the book as Isaiah’s prophetic witness is an important feature of the book’s own internal claims and other canonical claims’ (p. 202).
One of the main features of the volume – in line with its title – is a strong emphasis on the connections between the books of the Hebrew scriptures themselves and between them and the wider Christian biblical canon. This appreciation of the value of Israel’s scriptures for understanding the New Testament is commendable, but the question must remain whether full justice can be done to them when they are presented in such an overtly committed way as really being about Christ, rather than on their own terms as products of Jewish faith and experience, as illustrated by this claim: ‘To read Deuteronomy in its fullness – with the richness of its theological vision in view – is to read the book as Christian Scripture’ (p. 122). This confessional approach may limit the book’s usefulness in University settings, at least in the UK context, although it will doubtless gain a broader readership within church groups.