Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament

A Comprehensive Guide to the Context of the Old Testament

This authoritative volume brings together a team of world-class scholars to cover the full range of Old Testament backgrounds studies in a concise, up-to-date, and comprehensive manner.

With expertise in various subdisciplines of Old Testament backgrounds, the authors illuminate the cultural, social, and historical contexts of the world behind the Old Testament. They introduce readers to a wide range of background materials, covering history, geography, archaeology, and ancient Near Eastern textual and iconographic studies.

Meant to be used alongside traditional literature-based canonical surveys, this one-stop introduction to Old Testament backgrounds fills a gap in typical introduction to the Bible courses. It contains over 100 illustrations, including photographs, line drawings, maps, charts, and tables, which will facilitate its use in the classroom.

Jonathan S. Greer (PhD, Pennsylvania State University) is associate professor of Old Testament and director of the Hesse Memorial Archaeological Laboratory at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also serves as associate director of excavations and staff zooarchaeologist at the Tel Dan archaeological site. He has published widely in the areas of biblical backgrounds and Old Testament archaeology and is the coeditor of Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament. Greer and his wife, Jennifer Jackson Greer, colead GRTS's annual Israel Study Tour.

John W. Hilber (PhD, University of Cambridge) is professor of Old Testament at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. He is the author of two books on backgrounds to the Psalms as well as numerous articles in comparative studies.

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He speaks extensively on reading the Old Testament in its ancient context and is the author or editor of numerous books, including The Lost World of Genesis One, The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, The Lost World of Adam and Eve, Old Testament Theology for Christians, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament.