Introduction to the Old Testament

David M. Carr is Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Professor Carr's book-length publications include From D to Q: A Study of Early Jewish Interpretations of Solomon's Dream at Gibeon (1991); Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches (1996); The Erotic Word: Sexuality, Spirituality and the Bible (2003); and Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of  Scripture and Literature (2005).

• List of Figures vi List of Maps viiiList of Boxes ixPreface xiiAcknowledgments xivList of Abbreviations xviOverview of the Historical Period xviiTimeline xviiiPrologue: Orientation to Multiple Bibles and Multiple Translations 11 Studying the Bible in Its Ancient Context(s) 152 The Emergence of Ancient Israel and Its First Oral Traditions 333 The Emergence of the Monarchy and Royal and Zion Texts 534 Echoes of Past Empires in Biblical Wisdom, Love Poetry, Law, and Narrative 715 Narrative and Prophecy amidst the Rise and Fall of the Northern Kingdom 916 Micah, Isaiah, and the Southern Prophetic Encounter with Assyria 1157 Torah and History in the Wake of the Assyrian Empire 1318 Prophecy in the Transition from Assyrian to Babylonian Domination 1539 Laments, History, and Prophecies after the Destruction of Jerusalem 16510 The Pentateuch and the Exile 18711 The Torah, the Psalms, and the Persian-Sponsored Rebuilding of Judah 20712 Other Texts Formed in the Crucible of Post-Exilic Rebuilding 22913 Hellenistic Empires and the Formation of the Hebrew Bible 245Glossary 264Index 273

"Carr's book is an excellent introduction to what mainstream (non-evangelical) scholars have come to believe about ancient Israel's literary history." (International Review of Biblical Studies, 2010)