Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

And Deutero-Canonical Books

Second Edition

John J. Collins

Fortress Press

Minneapolis

INTRODUCTION TO THE HEBREW BIBLE, SECOND EDITION

Copyright © 2014 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/ or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.

Cover image: Warriors scaling walls with ladders: bas-relief from the palace in Niniveh, Mesopotamia. Neo-Assyrian, 7th c. b.c.e. © Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

Cover design: Tory Herman

Book design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Print ISBN: 978-1-4514-6923-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-4514-8436-6

Contents

Maps

Illustrations

Preface

Preface to the Second Edition

Abbreviations

Introduction: What Are the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament?

PART ONE: THE TORAH/PENTATEUCH

1 The Near Eastern Context

2 The Nature of the Pentateuchal Narrative

3 The Primeval History

4 The Patriarchs

5 The Exodus from Egypt

6 The Revelation at Sinai

7 The Priestly Theology: Exodus 25–40, Leviticus, and Numbers

8 Deuteronomy

PART TWO: THE DEUTERONOMISTIC HISTORY

9 The Book of Joshua

10 Judges

11 First Samuel

12 Second Samuel

13 1 Kings 1–11: Solomon and the Divided Monarchy

14 1 Kings 12–2 Kings 25: Tales of Prophets and the End of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

PART THREE: PROPHECY

15 Amos and Hosea

16 Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah

17 The Babylonian Era: Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and Lamentations

18 The Exilic Period: Ezekiel and Obadiah

19 The Additions to the Book of Isaiah

20 Postexilic Prophecy: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Joel

PART FOUR: THE WRITINGS

21 Ezra and Nehemiah

22 The Books of Chronicles

23 The Psalms and Song of Songs

24 Proverbs

25 Job and Qoheleth

26 The Hebrew Short Story: Ruth, Esther, Tobit, Judith

27 Daniel, 1-2 Maccabees

28 The Deuterocanonical Wisdom Books: Ben Sira, Wisdom of Solomon, Baruch

29 From Tradition to Canon

Glossary

Maps

Int.1 The Ancient Near East

4.1. The world of the patriarchs

5.1. The landscape of the Book of Exodus

9.1 Israelite settlement before the monarchy

9.2 Canaanite sites in the late 13th/early 12th century b.c.e.

9.3 Areas settled by the tribes of Israel

10.1 Tribes of Israel before the monarchy

11.1 Saul’s kingdom

12.1 David and Solomon’s kingdoms

14.1 Elijah narratives

14.2 The extent of the Assyrian Empire at its zenith

16.1 Assyrian Empire

18.1 Chaldean Empire and the Saite Dynasty of Egypt

19.1 Persian Empire at its zenith

21.1 Judah as a province of the Persian Empire

27.1 Maccabean-Hasmonean Palestine

28.1 The Ancient Near East around 60 b.c.e.