Designed for students undertaking their first systematic study of the Hebrew Bible, this text has two goals: to acquaint readers with the content and major themes of the biblical documents, and to introduce them to issues in biblical scholarship. Pedagogically rich and reader-friendly, this text was designed for conventional introductory courses using historical-critical methodology, and will also be useful in courses studying the Bible as literature, or as a reference text in the study of ancient religion.

John J. Collins’ Introduction to the Hebrew Bible is one of the most reliable and widely adopted critical textbooks at undergraduate and graduate levels alike, and for good reason. Enriched by decades of classroom teaching, it is aimed explicitly at motivated students regardless of their previous exposure to the Bible or faith commitments. Collins proceeds through the canon of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, judiciously presenting the current state of historical, archaeological, and literary understanding of the biblical text, and engaging the student in questions of significance and interpretation for the contemporary world. The second edition has been revised where more recent scholarship indicates it, and is now presented in a refreshing new format.

Studies in the Text of the Old Testament offers to the English-speaking world the combined introductions to the first three volumes of Dominique Barthélemy’s Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament. CTAT was the culmination of the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, launched by the United Bible Societies in 1969 and carried out by an international team of Old Testament textual critics under the leadership of Eugene Nida. As Emanuel Tov has stated, these introductions form “an almost complete introduction” to the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. They hold an important place in Old Testament textual criticism and can stand alone, apart from the detailed discussions of the textual problems found in the volumes. Part one surveys the history of OT textual criticism “from its origins to J. D. Michaelis” and presents the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project and its goals. Part two describes in detail the background of the modern versions that the HOTTP took into account in its work. Part three, the most extensive section, discusses the textual witnesses—the different forms of the Hebrew text and the contribution of the ancient versions. As his concluding program for a critical edition makes clear, the groundbreaking work of Barthélemy and the HOTTP served as the basis for the new Biblia Hebraica Quinta, which began publication in 2004. UBS undertook the HOTTP to offer Bible translators help in applying the results of textual criticism to their work, but there is no doubt that many others will benefit from this work, as well as the other volumes in the series “Textual Criticism and the Translator.”

Lucidly written by leading biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan, 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 covers all the books of the Hebrew Bible, along with the deuterocanonical books included in the Bible used by many Christians. He works from a primarily historical and critical methodology but also introduces students to literary analysis and other interpretive strategies. 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 this text. SAVE YOUR STUDENTS 20%! This text is available in a discounted package with The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version, College Edition, Fourth Edition. To assign this package, order package ISBN 978-0-19-935856-4. For additional Bibles and packaging options, contact your Oxford University Press Representative at 800.280.0280

"This book is an abridgment edition of Introduction to the Hebrew Bible with CD-ROM, published by Fortress Press in 2004"--Preface.

Engaging and accessible to students from all backgrounds, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament is an updated and concise version of Michael D. Coogan's best-selling The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (OUP 2013). Incorporating historical andcritical methodology, students will be introduced to literary analysis and other interpretive strategies as they explore the Old Testament.Providing a nondenominational and nondoctrinal treatment, this text offers a unique and captivating introduction to the Hebrew scriptures themselves and to how they have been--and can be--interpreted.

Jews call the Hebrew Scriptures the “Tanakh” and Christians call them the “Old Testament.” It doesn't take long to see that Jews and Christians view the same set of books differently and interpret these scriptures in unique and at times conflicting ways. The Hebrew Bible for Beginners introduces students to the tremendous influence the Hebrew Bible has had on western society for over two millennia and explores the complexities of reading ancient religious literature today. The book also addresses how certain modern critical approaches may initially be alarming, indeed even shocking, to those who have not been exposed to them, but it tackles the conversation in a respectful fashion. Avoiding jargon and convoluted prose, this highly accessible volume provides textboxes, charts, a timeline, a glossary, and regularly includes artistic renderings of biblical scenes to keep lay and beginning readers engaged.

Discover the historical and social context of one of the most influential works ever written with this authoritative new resource The newly revised second edition of The Hebrew Bible: A Contemporary Introduction to the Christian Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh delivers a brief and up-to-date introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in the broader context of world history. Its treatment of the formation of the Bible amidst different historical periods allows readers to understand the biblical texts in context. It also introduces readers to scholarly methods used to explore the formation of the Hebrew Bible and its later interpretation by Jews and Christians. Written by a leading scholar in the field, this new edition incorporates the most recent research on the archaeology and history of early Israel, the formation of the Pentateuch, and the development of the historical and poetic books. Students will benefit from the inclusion of study questions in each chapter, focus texts from the Bible that illustrate major points, timelines, illustrations, photographs and a glossary to help them retain knowledge. The book also includes: A deepened and up-to-date focus on recent methods of biblical study, including trauma studies, African American, womanist, and ecocritical approaches to the Bible An orientation to multiple bibles, translations and digital resources for study of the Bible An exploration of the emergence of ancient Israel, its first oral traditions and its earliest writings Discussions of how major features of the Bible reflect communal experiences of trauma and resilience as Israel survived under successive empires of the Ancient Near East. Fuller treatment of the final formation of biblical books in early Judaism, including coverage of diverse early Jewish texts (e.g. Ben Sira, Enoch, Judith) that were revered as scripture before there were more clearly defined Jewish and Christian Bibles Designed for students of seminary courses and undergraduate students taking an introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, this second edition of The Hebrew Bible also will interest general readers with interest in the formation of the Bible.

This book examines the small library of 24 books common to all Jewish and Christian Bibles-books that preserve the efforts of diverse writers over a span of many centuries to make sense of their personal experiences and those of their people, the ancient Israelites. Professor Christine Hayes guides her readers through the complexities of this polyphonous literature that has served as a foundational pillar of Western civilization, underscoring the variety and even disparities among the voices that speak in the biblical texts.

This resource is a concise and updated version of Coogan's 'The Old Testament'. It takes a historical and literary approach to exploring the Hebrew Bible. It begins with two introductory chapters, in order to give students the preliminary background necessary to prepare for analysis of the biblical texts 'in context'.