theology: an introduction
 
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OT: Resources for Further Study

Here are some recommended books for those who would like to learn more about the riches of the OT.
 
User-Friendly Samplings from the OT
  • Ellen F. Davis    Professor of Bible and Practical Theology, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC   Biosketch 
    • Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament (Lanham, MD: Cowley Publications: 2001).
      • With sound scholarship and her own vivid translations from the Hebrew, Old Testament professor Ellen Davis teaches us a spiritually engaged method of reading scripture. Beginning with the psalms, whose frank prayers can be a model for our own, Davis reflects on the stories of the patriarchs and the pastoral wisdom of the book of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs in helping us cultivate those habits of the heart that lead to a rich relationship with God.  Table of Contents
  • John Goldingay    Professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA   Biosketch
  • Eugene Peterson    Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, BC  Biosketch
    • Leap over a Wall: Earthly Spirituality for Everyday Christians (San Francisco: HarperSanFranciso, 1997).
      • From Publishers Weekly: Toward the end of this book, Peterson, author of the immensely popular translation of the New Testament, The Message, observes that "the Christian life isn't a romantic idyll." Rather, he says, the Christian life is fraught with pain, spattered with grief and paradox and, in the end, lit by hope. Out of a deep awareness of these truths, Peterson engages in an examination of the life of David to illuminate the ways in which the divine is often hidden in the ordinary. Exploring a number of scriptural passages about the life of David, Peterson shows the ways in which David's life, though fraught with struggles and shortcomings, was one filled with exuberance and animated by God's deliberate power. The author brings the Old Testament world revealingly close to our own century, and he makes vivid the notion that God's purposes are worked out in the ordinariness of specific human lives.
      • Scott Wieking, Living a Life of Impact: Lessons from the Life of David. This study guide highlights some key lessons we can learn from David's experiences. Scott is adult and family pastor at First Baptist Church, Davis, California. The full-text is accessible here as a MS Word document: Living a Life of Impact. Lessons from David.doc
    • Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer (San Francisco: HarperOne, 1989).
      • Peterson speaks to Christians who realize the necessity for prayer and yearn for it but who find their prayer unconvincing and unsatisfying. Addressing the causes of this dissatisfaction, Answering God offers guidelines for using the Psalms as dynamic tools for prayer.                
  • Philip Yancey    Editor at large and columnist for Christianity Today  Biosketch
Interpreting the OT
  • Peter Enns    Former professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA   Biosketch  
    • Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005). 
      • In this accessible study, Peter Enns offers an evangelical affirmation of biblical authority that considers questions raised by the nature of the Old Testament text. Enns looks at three questions raised by biblical scholars that seem to threaten traditional views of Scripture. First, he considers ancient Near Eastern literature that is similar to the Bible. Second, he looks at the theological diversity of the Old Testament. Finally, he considers how New Testament writers used the Old Testament. Based on his reflections on these contemporary issues, Enns proposes an incarnational model of biblical authority that takes seriously both the divine and human aspects of Scripture. The book includes a useful glossary, which defines technical terms and an annotated bibliography for further reading.

OT Introductions

  • Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey, Second Edition  (Encountering Biblical Studies) (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008).
    • Arnold is Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Asbury Theology Seminary, Wilmore, KY   Biosketch
    • Beyer is Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament, Columbia International University, Columbia, SC   Biosketch
  • Tremper Longman III and Raymond B. Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament: Second Edition (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).
    • Longman is Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA   Biosketch
    • Dillard was professor of Old Testament language and literature at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA
  • John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis: Ausgburg Fortress Publishers, 2004).
    • Collins is Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT   Biosketch

Exploring the Old Testament

InterVarsity Press OT Dictionaries
OT Theology

Fretheim's Contributions

Terence E. Fretheim, Professor of Old Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN.   Biosketch    
 Academic Commentary Recommendations
 
 Building an Old Testament Library
        from Catalyst

Genesis—Ruth

By Tom Holsinger-Friesen, Ph.D., and John Wesley Fellow

Catalyst 34.1, November 2007

 

1 Samuel—Job

By Craig Vondergeest, John Wesley Fellow, now on the faculty of Presbyterian College

Catalyst 34.2, February 2008 

 

Psalms—Daniel

By Joel M. LeMon, Ph.D., and John Wesley Fellow

Catalyst 34.3, March 2008 

 

Hosea—Malachi

By Mark J. Boda, Ph.D., Professor of Old Testament, Professor in the Faculty of Theology; and Joel Barker, M.A., Adjunct Instructor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, McMaster University

Catalyst 34.4, April 2008

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