Evangelicals Now
Christian news worldwide
magnifying glass Search archives
home Home check the archives Archives Subscribe Subscriptions Advertising Information & booking of classifieds Adverts Find a local evangelical Church Find a church for the search engines and extremely curious! About us Contact us Site Map
Printable
Version

The Face of Old Testament - A Survey of Contemporary Approaches

The Face of Old Testament Studies: a survey of contemporary approaches,
Editors David W. Baker & Bill T. Arnold
Baker Book House, Grand Rapids

This book review, like the book itself, is not for the fainthearted. If you are put off by the review, you will not enjoy the book!

The Face of Old Testament Studies ambitiously surveys the current state of Old Testament scholarship, with particular focus on developments in the last 30 years. This is no mean task where every existing discipline within the study of the Old Testament has continued to mushroom, and new areas have sprouted.

It is a collection of essays by leading conservative (some more than others) scholars, covering topics ranging from the text of the Old Testament, archaeology and epigraphy, through to a survey of work on the Pentateuch, an analysis of literary and social sciences approaches to the Old Testament, and, in the final essay, a look at Old Testament theology itself.

Each contributor demonstrates both a breadth of reading and a depth of understanding of the issues in his field. This is evident both from the clear explanations of current approaches, and from the judicious appraisal of these approaches. With its good indices both of author and subject, the book provides for the Old Testament lecturer and for the determined theological student (whether official or unofficial) a concise and independent introduction to and evaluation of questions with which they want guidance.

From the point of view of most Christians (and I willingly grant that this book is not aimed at the popular market), the format of the book is not its strength but its weakness. I can do no better than quote / paraphrase part of the outstanding essay by Walter Moberly. It is precisely because this book consists of 'discussions of discussions of the biblical text', 'there is no exegesis or persuasive and memorable interpretation of the biblical text.' As a result, 'without such firsthand engagement with the primary text, discussions can rapidly lose their bearings and significance, especially for the non-specialist' (p.459) (my emphasis).

This, then, is a book for the specialist. But it is a very good book for the specialist.

James Robson