Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, 2nd Edition

1010 Pages·1996·13.5 MB·English

by  Allen

© 1982, 1996 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
All rights reserved
First edition 1982
Second edition 1996
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
LaSor, William Sanford.
Old Testament survey: the message, form, and background of the Old Testament / William Sanford
LaSor, David Allan Hubbard, Frederic Wm. Bush; with contributions by Leslie C. Allen . . . [et al.].—
Second ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-8028-3788-3 (cloth: alk. paper); 978-1-467-42708-1 (ePub); 978-1-467-40984-1 (Kindle) 1.
Bible. O.T.—Introductions. I. Hubbard, David Allan. II. Bush, Frederic William. III. Allen, Leslie C.
IV. Title.
BS1140.2.L25 1996
221.6′1—dc20 96-14385
CIP
www.eerdmans.com
Contents
Acknowledgments for the Second Edition
Acknowledgments for the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Contributors
Maps
PART ONE: THE TORAH
1: The Pentateuch
2: Genesis: Primeval Prologue
3: Genesis: Patriarchal History
4: Exodus: Historical Background
5: Exodus: Message
6: Leviticus
7: Numbers
8: Deuteronomy
PART TWO: THE PROPHETS
9: The Former Prophets
10: Joshua
11: Judges
12: Birth of the Monarchy (1 Sam. 1:1–2 Sam. 5:10)
13: Israel’s Golden Age: David and Solomon (2 Sam. 5:11–1 Kgs. 11:43)
14: Divided Monarchy (1 Kgs. 12:1–2 Kgs. 18:12)
15: Judah Alone (2 Kgs. 18–25)
16: Prophets and Prophecy
17: Hebrew Poetry
18: Amos
19: Hosea
20: Micah
21: Isaiah: Background
22: Isaiah: Message
23: Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk
24: Jeremiah
25: Ezekiel
26: Obadiah and Joel
27: Jonah
28: Haggai
29: Zechariah
30: Malachi
PART THREE: THE WRITINGS
31: Introduction to the Writings
32: Psalms
33: Wisdom Literature
34: Proverbs
35: Job
36: Ecclesiastes
37: The Song of Songs
38: Ruth
39: Lamentations
40: The Scroll of Esther
41: The Chronicler’s Perspective
42: Ezra-Nehemiah
43: Daniel
PART FOUR: THE BACKGROUND
44: The Authority of the Old Testament for Christians
45: Revelation and Inspiration
46: The Concept of Canon
47: Formation of the Old Testament
48: Geography
49: The Chronological Puzzle
50: Archaeology
51: Messianic Prophecy
Abbreviations
For Further Reading
General Bibliography
Endnotes
Indexes
Acknowledgments for the Second Edition
To take advantage of the most recent biblical scholarship and the carefully
crafted inclusive language where human beings are the subject, we have used the
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), unless otherwise indicated. Special
thanks go to the Word Processing team at Fuller Theological Seminary who
prepared the disks and the hard copy for these chapters. Marilyn Marshall, who
served as a member of David A. Hubbard’s staff at Fuller and continued to assist
him in his emeritus years, deserves much credit for the coordination of the
project. Special mention is due Katherine Jeffrey for her accurate and sensitive
editing work. Allen Myers has carried the burden of the seemingly endless task
on behalf of the group at Eerdmans who have seen our efforts through to a happy
conclusion.
Acknowledgments for the First Edition
Unless otherwise stated, scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard
Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1946, 1952 © 1971, 1973 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A., and used by permission.
Special thanks for help goes to our graduate assistants Eugene Carpenter,
Ph.D., Edward M. Cook, Marianne Meye Thompson, and Marguerite Schuster,
Ph.D. Inez T. Smith coordinated the typing and collating of the various drafts.
Phyllis Jarvis of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. retyped the entire edited
manuscript, which was revised for style and checked for accuracy by Allen
Myers.
Preface to the Second Edition
The steady and widespread use of The Old Testament Survey since its publication
in 1982 has encouraged us to make it even more serviceable in this revised form.
Several aims have shaped our efforts in the updating of the volume. First, we
have tried to make the text more congenial to the thousands of college and
university students who use it annually. Simpler style, gender-sensitive language,
shorter sentences, a more congenial look to the pages, additional charts,
illustrations, and maps—these and other devices have been employed to that
end. Furthermore, we have transferred a number of chapters from the beginning
to the end of the book to offer teachers the choice of plunging immediately into
the biblical writings.
Second, we have sought to include in the text as well as in the endnotes and
bibliographies material as current as possible, especially in those instances
where new interpretative options have arisen or the scholarly consensus has
changed. Third, we have added a new chapter on Archaeology and have included
more data from recent archaeological research in the other chapters.
Our hope is that the revisions will enhance the use of the book for its intended
readership: college and seminary students and their teachers, as well as pastors,
Bible students, and interested laypersons. The cordial participation of a team of
colleagues in the task means that the work has undergone a breadth and depth of
scrutiny that will enhance both its clarity and its quality. We are honored by the
appearance of their names on the title page.
The sudden death in 1991 of our senior colleague, Bill LaSor, meant that we
were deprived of his keen eye and ready pen during much of the process. He did,
however, leave mounds of materials behind him with perceptive suggestions and
pointed queries that have reminded us of his commitment to the task and his
competence through six decades of indefatigable labor in biblical and Semitic
studies.
May 1996
DAVID ALLAN HUBBARD
FREDERIC WM. BUSH
***
On June 7, 1996, as this revision of Old Testament Survey was in its final stages,
David Allan Hubbard died of a heart attack at his home in Santa Barbara,
California. He was born to John and Helena Hubbard on April 8, 1928, in
Stockton, California. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Ruth; their
daughter, Mary Given; son-in-law Dean Given; grandsons David and Jeffrey;
brothers John and Robert, and a sister, Laura Smith, and their families.
David graduated from Westmont College, Santa Barbara, and completed his
M.Div. and M.Th. degrees at Fuller Seminary in 1954, subsequently being
ordained as a minister in the American Baptist Churches of the USA. He earned
a Ph.D. degree in Old Testament studies at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland
in 1957, whereupon he joined the faculty of Westmont College.
In 1963, at the age of 35, he was called to be the third president of Fuller
Theological Seminary, at which post he served until his retirement in 1993.
Under his leadership, Fuller grew to be the largest independent, fully accredited
theological seminary in the world, and, largely due to his creative vision and
administrative skill, came to include not only the School of Theology but a
School of Psychology and a School of World Mission as well. In addition to his
heavy administrative duties as president, David regularly carried a half-time load
of teaching in the Old Testament department, always packing the classroom as a
gifted and charismatic teacher. And the heritage of his parents, both of whom
served as ministers, was not only realized in the warm and vibrant faith which
marked him, but also in his service as the host and speaker of “The Joyful
Sound” international radio broadcast from 1969 to 1980.
In addition to his administrative and teaching responsibilities, David
continued an active scholarly and publishing career, producing 36 books,
including four commentaries on the Old Testament. He was both the instigator
and catalyst for the first edition of Old Testament Survey, with great skill
enabling the three of us both to make progress toward its completion and to find
consensus on its contents (no mean task!); and he carried the complete editorial
responsibility for this revised edition. Without his skill and dedication neither
edition would have seen the light of day. He was also serving as the editor of the
Word Biblical Commentary series at the time of his death.
He served for two years as president of the Association for Theological
Schools in the United States and Canada, and later in the month in which he died
was to have received a lifetime achievement award from the Association. But his
contributions were not limited to the theological world. He chaired the Pasadena
Urban Coalition from 1968 to 1971, and, at the invitation of the governor of
California, served as a member of the California State Board of Education from
1972 to 1975.