Handbook on the Historical Books - Hardcover

Hamilton, Victor P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801022576 ISBN 13: 9780801022579

Publisher: Baker Academic, 2001

Synopsis

From the tumbling walls of Jericho to a Jewish girl who became the queen of Persia, the historical books of the Bible are intriguing and unquestionably fascinating. In this companion volume to his Handbook on the Pentateuch, veteran Old Testament professor Victor Hamilton demonstrates the significance of the messages contained in these biblical books. To do so, Hamilton carefully examines content, structure, and theology using rhetorical criticism, inductive Bible study techniques, published scholarship, archaeological data, word studies, and text-critical evidence. Hamilton details the events and implications of each book chapter by chapter, providing useful commentary on overarching themes and the connections and parallels between Old Testament texts. Using theological and literary analysis, this comprehensive introduction examines historical issues, attempting to uncover and discover their thrust and theological messages. For those who wish to do additional research, each chapter is appended with a bibliography of recent, relevant scholarship. Undergraduate students of advanced biblical studies will find this volume enlightening and helpful as they forge their way through the historical books, and pastors will find useful insight for their encounter with and exposition of this portion of Scripture.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"Issues of 'history' swirl notoriously all around Old Testament studies, highly subjective judgments made in the sober name of critical objectivity. In the midst of the acrimonious swirl, Hamilton cautiously, carefully, and judiciously works his way through the so-called history books of the Old Testament. Hamilton knows all about current scholarly issues, but is more interested in the text itself, the way it works, and the way the past is rendered imaginatively. As a consequence, students will find here a clear guide in considering the detail and claim of the text itself, at least for now not needing to engage the scholarly debates that focus outside the text and outside its claims." -Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary "This highly readable handbook combines clear exposition with an informed synthesis of scholarship-truly the work of a master teacher! Hamilton presents narrative summaries of the historical books that seamlessly integrate historical, compositional, and literary analysis. Students at all levels will find it to be an excellent guide to the biblical text and to the issues that lie at the heart of scholarly discussion." -L. Daniel Hawk, Ashland Theological Seminary "The many who have appreciated Victor Hamilton's Handbook on the Pentateuch will be glad to learn that he has turned his attention to the historical books of the Hebrew Bible. Like his previous volume, Handbook on the Historical Books manages to steer between the oversimplified approaches found in many evangelical texts and the complex and speculative theories found in many critical studies of Hebrew historiography. The book gives proper attention to interpretive and critical issues, but this does not obfuscate Hamilton's thorough exposition of the ideology, theology, and content of these ancient Israelite histories. Like Handbook on the Pentateuch, this volume is destined to become a standard evangelical introductory text." -Kent Sparks, Eastern College

About the Author:

Victor P. Hamilton (Ph.D., Brandeis University) is professor of Bible and Theology at Asbury College where he has taught for thirty years. His works include Genesis (2 volumes, NICOT) and Handbook on the Pentateuch.

About this edition

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0801022576
• ISBN 13: 9780801022579
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 557