Writing from a Jewish perspective, Jon Levenson reviews many often neglected theoretical questions. He focuses on the relationship between two interpretive communities--the community of scholars who are committed to the historical-critical method of biblical interpretation and the community responsible for the canonization and preservation of the Bible.

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

Mark Gignilliat discusses critical theologians and their theories of Old Testament interpretation in this concise overview, providing a working knowledge of the historical foundation of contemporary discussions on Old Testament interpretation. Old Testament interpretation developed as theologians and scholars proposed critical theories over time. These figures contributed to a large, developing complex of ideas and trends that serves as the foundation of contemporary discussions on interpretation. Mark Gignilliat brings these figures and their theories together in A Brief History of Old Testament Criticism. His discussion is driven by influential thinkers such as Baruch Spinoza and the critical tradition, Johann Semler and historical criticism, Hermann Gunkel and romanticism, Gerhard von Rad and the tradition-historical approach, Brevard Childs and the canonical approach, and more. This concise overview is ideal for classroom use as it provides a working knowledge of the major critical interpreters of the Old Testament, their approach to the subject matter, and the philosophical background of their approaches. Further reading lists direct readers to additional resources on specific theologians and theories. This book will serve as a companion to the forthcoming textbook Believing Criticism by Richard Schultz.

This third volume of the comprehensive international reference work on the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament deals with its reception within the time span of 1300-1800, from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Written by Jewish and Christian experts.

The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, Second Edition continues to be a balanced, engaging, and up-to-date introduction to the Hebrew scriptures, which 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, author Michael D. Coogan covers all the books of the Hebrew Bible, along with the deuterocanonical books included in the Bible used by many Christians. He treats every book of the canon with careful attention to its historical context, its particular genre, and its distinctive features. Working in detail with ancient Near Eastern sources and archaeological data, Coogan works from a primarily historical and critical methodology but also introduces readers to literary analysis and current interpretive strategies.

In The Bible after Babel John J. Collins considers the effect of the postmodern situation on biblical, primarily Old Testament, criticism over the last three decades. Collins examines the quest of historical criticism to objectively establish a text's basic meaning. Accepting that the Bible may no longer provide secure "foundations" for faith, Collins still highlights its ethical challenge to be concerned for "the other"--A challenge central both to Old Testament ethics and to the teaching of Jesus. --from publisher description.