Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

Stephen L. Harris is Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento, where he served ten years as department chair. A Woodrow Wilson Fellow, he received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. A member of the Society of Biblical Literature, his publications include Understanding the Bible (8th edition, 2011); The Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (with Robert Platzner); Classical Mythology: Images and Insights (with Gloria Platzner); Exploring the Bible; and Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes, a survey of volcanic hazards on the U.S. Pacific Coast; and for National Geographic Books, Restless Earth, a study of global earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. He contributed the chapter on “Archaeology and Volcanism” to the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (Academic Press, 2000).

• Part I: The Hebrew Bible: An Overview 1. The Hebrew Bible: A Composite Portrait of God and the Divine-Human Relationship 2. The Process of Formation: The Transmission, Canonization, and Translation of the Hebrew Bible Part II: The Biblical World: Culture and Religion 3. The Ancient Near East: The Environment that Produced the Bible 4. The Land and Archaeology of Ancient Israel: Historical Origins of the Covenant People 5. The God of Israel: An Evolving Portrait Part III: The Torah 6. Who Wrote the "Books of Moses"? 7. The Five Books of Torah (Divine Instruction) 8. In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis 9. Freedom and Responsibility: The Book of Exodus 10. Regulating the Divine-Human Bond: The Books of Leviticus and Numbers 11. A Mosaic Legacy: The Book of Deuteronomy Part IV: The Prophets (Nevi'im) I 12. Introduction to the Deuteronomistic History 13. The Book of Joshua 14. YHWH's Warriors: The Book of Judges 15. The Birth of the Monarchy: The Books of 1 and 2 Samuel 16. Parallel Stories of Israel and Judah: The Books of 1 and 2 Kings Part V: The Prophets (Nevi'im) II 17. The Nature and Function of Israelite Prophecy: Spokespersons for God 18. Prophets to the Northern Kingdom: The Books of Amos and Hosea 19. The Assyrian Crisis: Isaiah of Jerusalem, Micah, Zephaniah, and Nahum 20. The Babylonian Threat: The Books of Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Obadiah 21. Prophets in Exile: The Book of Ezekiel and Second Isaiah 22. After the Exile: Israel's Last Prophets--Haggai, Zechariah, Third Isaiah, Joel, Malachi, and Jonah Part VI: The Writings (Kethuvim) 23. Introduction to the Writings: Reevaluating Israel's Life with God 24. The Postexilic Readjustment: The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah 25. Worshiping at the Second Temple: Hebrew Poetry and the Book of Psalms 26. Israel's Wisdom Writers: The Books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes 27. Four Books of the Megillot (Festival Scrolls): Ruth, Lamentations, Songs of Songs, and Esther 28. Reinterpreting Israel's History: The Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles 29. Keeping Torah in a Hostile World: The Diaspora, the Maccabean Revolt, Apocalyptism, and the Visions of Daniel Part VII: Additions to the Hebrew Bible: The Deuterocanonical and Extracanonical Books 30. The "Second Canon": Books of the Apocrypha 31. The Pseudepigrapha: Noncanonical Writings of the Late Biblical Period 32. From the Maccabees to Jesus of Nazareth: Victory, Defeat, and teh Emergence of Postbiblical Judaism and Early Christianity Glossary of Major Old Testament Characters, Terms, and Concepts Selected Bibliography Credits Index