A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

by John J. Collins

John J. Collins's Introduction to the Hebrew Bible is a leading textbook in Old Testament studies. With this new, well- tailored abridgement of that larger work, Collins's erudition is now available to general readers and professors and students who prefer a shorter, more concise introduction to the Hebrew scriptures. New features, especially designed for the college student, include maps, images, and study questions. A companion web site includes special resources for both teachers and students PowerPoint presentations, chapter by chapter test banks, study questions, suggestions for further reading, and web site links.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Reference, Christian, History, Old Testament

324 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

John J. Collins is Holmes Professor of Old Testament at Yale Divinity School. A native of Ireland, he has a doctorate from Harvard University, and earlier taught at the University of Chicago, and the University of Notre Dame. He has published widely on the subjects of apocalypticism, wisdom, Hellenistic Judaism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls and served as president of both the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature.

Reviews

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of the EFM program.
With the understanding that this is an abbreviated edition, and a purely scholarly work, it is a highly informative and worthwhile text.
Collins presents a thorough survey of the Hebrew bible, as well as a selection of the Apochrypha. He presents the historical findings concerning authorship, subject, and context in an accessible manner for the lay person. There are ample references and resources cited, as well as an enjoyable amount of maps and illustrations.
A word of caution, if you are approaching the bible from a perspective of literalism and inerrancy, your beliefs will not be validated here. The author is a scholar, and this book is written for students, it is not a theological puff piece intended to push a specific theology or agenda.
Overall I enjoyed reading this text; I especially appreciated the schedule that EFM uses, where the reader pairs this text with the raging of the actual scriptures.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Competent and careful. But not as accessible as it could be; he frequently assumes too much knowledge on the part of the reader. A little less "short" would make it more effective. In addition, his writing style is too dry and clinical. And, finally, from time to time he added claims about the appropriate interpretation of provisions -- along the lines of "this can't possibly be interpreted to support [the following odious practice]" -- without any support or even reasoning. These comments, thankfully few and far between, were jarring. Perhaps his full Introduction to the Hebrew Bible contains the analysis, but inclusion of non-obvious conclusory sentences without any explanation struck me as exceptionally lazy and -- frankly -- disinclines me to purchase the unabridged alternative. Overall rating is around a middling B.

[Michael Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a companion to reading the Bible throughout 2015. It is superb! Collins clearly and succinctly introduces each book, reviewing its setting, content, and major scholarly issues. Written from both a faith- and scholarly-perspective, I recommend this book to anyone wishing to better understand the Hebrew Bible.

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was assigned reading for first year students in EfM. This was well-written and easy to understand. I do think if you are coming to EfM as a new Christian, this book has the potential to fill you with doubt about the validity of the Bible and of God. It felt as though the author didn't believe the Hebrew Bible was the holy word of God but rather he viewed it as simply an historical book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this for first year Education for Ministry. I thought it was a wonderful introduction to the Old Testament and really helped me in my studies.

[John Defrog: global citizen, local gadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the textbook for a class I’m taking on the Old Testament, so I’m not sure how to rate it fairly, but it counts towards my Reading Challenge – not least because I was reading this when I could have been reading other books in the To Read pile – so here we are. Anyway, as the title suggests, it’s a short overview of every book in the Hebrew Bible. The overview includes the historical background and context for each book, who wrote and edited what, and what various theologians and scholars have said about them in terms of historical accuracy (or lack thereof), spiritual meaning, literary value and truthiness.

So in that sense, it’s been very educational. I do like history, and it’s interesting to see how many of these stories parallel myths and legends from nearby cultures, and how Hebrew theology was shaped over time. If nothing else, it shows how the Hebrew Bible was edited and cobbled together over the centuries, which explains why a lot of it is repetitive and inconsistent from a strictly narrative point of view. There is also some basic commentary about the nastier parts of the OT (you know, genocide, misogyny, etc) and how they don’t read well in 2024. Anyway, I came away with a far better understanding of the OT and how it relates to the New Testament.

[Neil Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be one of the textbooks for a course I'm taking this fall . When I started this book, I expected to be reading a theological interpretation of the Hebrew bible (which most Protestants call the "Old Testament") along the lines of what is commonly called a commentary. This book turned out to be quite different than that. This book used various modern tools to discuss where (and when) the text originated and developed over the years. This was done through what is known as rad action criticism as well as comparing the text to archeological findings and known historical timelines. There were also discussions to help place the literary forms in historical context. To me, this book was more about equipping me to read the text with the tools to discern meaning more successfully and also to better consider commentary written by others. The book was interesting but perhaps more importantly will provide the knowledge to make reading other books on this subject more interesting and profitable. This book does not assume or dictate dogma so it is useful by anyone who is interested in this subject regardless of your individual tradition.

[Janet Mahlum · Rating 1 out of 5]

I need a star that says "hated it!" This is the worst text book I have ever had the misfortune to have to read - grade school, jr. high, sr. high, three universities and three different degrees. The author makes suppositions and states them as fact. There is a list of "For Further Reading" at the end of each chapter but no sources are quoted when the author makes a statement. So many of his statements disagreed with other studies I had done that I reached the point I could no longer trust anything he said. I am sure there are many, many other books out there on the Old Testament of Hebrew Bible that would have been much, much better for this study. Yuk! Yuk! Yuk! I hope our New Testament study is better than this.

[Akeyla Pratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting read inasmuch as it gives a lot of detail about the historical background/context of The Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. Naturally, as Collins is looking at these texts academically, there are differences in the interpretation of the scripture that I don't necessarily agree with, being an (educated) person of faith. But overall, for someone who wants to read the Old Testament analytically and for academic (not religious) purposes, this text is rather informative and is very easy to read/ goes by quickly.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is our year long study book and I am officially finished with Year One of EfM. It's been a wild ride and so fun and educational. Looking forward to Year Two!

This book is a great and easy to read intro to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and it's importance in our daily lives.

[Mardel Fehrenbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text for EFM Year One. The book is easy to read and informative about historical background and critical issues if a bit choppy in places. It left me wishing I had read the longer text.

[CJ Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standard critical intro to OT. Contains many words and some pictures, as well as several insights and a couple howlers.

[Oliver Elliot-Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended as pre-Reading for my university course and I’m very glad for it. Collins provides a clear introduction into each section( the Pentateuch, Deuteronomic history, prophets and writings) and discusses most of the books. This includes key events in the narratives, sources used, historical context that may have influenced the book, recurring theological ideas ( such as providence in Genesis 52, Exodus and the birth of Solomon or the covenant and exclusivity in Deuteronomy, the Deuteronomic history, Jeremiah, Ezra and Nehemiah) and the impact that some of the ideas have had on Judaism and Christianity today (such as Elijah’s 40 days in the desert reflecting Jesus, the interpretation of messianic hopes in 2 Samuel 7, the idea of a new covenant in Jeremiah and hopes of an afterlife and immortal souls existing in later works such as Daniel and the Wisdom of Solomon). I especially like how Collins’ analysis reflects how the Hebrew Bible is very much a human construction, put together over 100’s of years containing great works of prose (Job,Jonah and Ruth are some examples) while also being influenced by myths and cultures of other societies at the time ( for example how it was the Caanite God El that the patriarchs worshipped, the similarities of the Atrahasis creation myth to Genesis 2 and the Gilgamesh epic to the story of Noah and the key message of Qoheleth).

I would highly recommend for anyone looking to get to know the Hebrew Bible in an academic way and if you read the Bible devotionally, this guide may accompany that nicely.

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At long last, I have vanquished this tome!

It's not really a tome, but it is a textbook. It was assigned reading for my intro course to the Hebrew Bible (roughly what Christians call the Old Testament plus some other books and in a different order) my first year of divinity school. In that context, it's a fine book. For non-assigned reading, it oscillated between being really interesting and informative and being deadly dull and long-winded. I think that's a material thing as well as a structure thing. Also, whoever was the editor for this should be beaten with this book--there were SO MANY typos, missed words, weird sentences, and other errors. No way should this book have gotten through with that much stuff.

The book is set up like I remember my high school history books with tons of pictures and inset side notes and just a lot going on visually, which did help break up the text but was kind of overwhelming, especially when some of the pictures for less well-attested books (Ben Sira, Qoheleth) were obviously pulled in because a picture was needed rather than being directly relevant.

Overall a good crash course in the historical criticism of the Hebrew Bible, but it's definitely geared toward students. Of what age I never could tell, but if you're picking this up just out of curiosity prepare to be lectured at for several hundred pages (with some weird snarky asides; Collins makes himself known in very intrusive ways a lot). I may hang on to it for reference.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more than passable introduction/commentary on the Hebrew Bible, I enjoyed reading this quite a bit as I also read Robert Alter's translation of the Hebrew bible. (My church was reading the Old Testament this year of 2022, so those two combined were my way of personally diving into these books of scripture.)

My one complaint is that too often Collins lets his own personal biases seep into his commentary. Best to explain the text as is, not to problematize (or unproblematize!) it based on our modern sensibilities for a textbook like this one. Actually, that reminded me quite a bit of my time at Yale at their Divinity School, one reason why I went to the Catholic University of America for my PhD. Since I never took a class from Dr. Collins at Yale, reading this was also one way of filling that gap in my education. In any event, his commentary knocked my rating down down from 5 to 4 stars, maybe because the last 2 pages are steeped in this kind of commentary from Collins and I literally just finished reading them, but overall it's a good book to read alongside the scriptures that comprise the Hebrew Bible. Reading it in conjunction with Alter's translation, for which the footnotes serve as a kind of running commentary, helped also display the tensions and disagreements between different scholars of good faith. Given the multi-vocal nature of this collection of inspired texts, that seemed fitting.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not even done with this textbook and I am through with it. Biased, arrogant in tone, and spreading the author's personal views more than what actually happened in some contexts. Very one-sided, doesn't take into account other perspectives. What is worse is that I had to read this for a university class. Do not waste your time with this author's book basically on how the Hebrew Bible is a mythological and racist compilation of fairy-tales. I am open to reading perspectives about how some things might not match up with history or archaeology, because those things are worth thinking about and these things certainly do exist, but this is probably as pretentious as you can get.

Two out of many examples:

"Haggai is unequivocal in his demand that the temple be given the highest priority . . . His reasoning is not sociological but is grounded in mythological ideas about cult and fertility" (254).

"Child sacrifice was practiced in ancient Israel. Kings of Judah (Ahaz in the eighth century, 2 Kgs 16:3, and Manasseh in the seventh century, 2 Kgs 21:6) made their sons 'pass through fire,' that is, offered them as burnt offerings . . . Molech is usually taken to be a Canaanite god, but there is evidence that child sacrifice was also practiced in the name of YHWH, [such as] in Micah 6:6-8" (57).

[Andrew Rangel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the resource I have sought after for quite some time. I have had this itch that I couldn't scratch in understanding the "Old Testament". As someone who is more historical criticism vs. theological, I wanted to understand this book that has had such a huge impact on western and global culture and history. What I didn't know at the time is that historical criticism was the type of research I was looking for, and John Collins was the author I needed.

This book is an excellent breeze through the key aspects of the Hebrew Bible, and a great compliment to Yale Divinity Schools "Introduction to the Hebrew Bible" available online and taught by Joel S. Baden. It provides the insights and pieces necessary to begin a journey into historical criticism research. Coupled with "Aleph with Beth", the YouTube based free resource to learn Biblical Hebrew, you can start to get a fuller picture of an in-depth meaning of the Hebrew Bible within the context of the time of it's compilation.

This is my go-to resource for anyone wanting to get started in learning more about the truth behind such a powerful force of our culture today.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

We use this book in EfM (Education for Ministry) and this is my second time through, looking at the Old Testament. I love this book. You really have to slow down to read what we call the Old Testament, chock full of redundancies, contradictions and stories which are familiar, fabulous and well, sort of unbelievable. Collins helps us understand we are not crazy; that there are things which are redundant, or contradictory, or embellished, or perhaps even ancient legend rather than Jewish history, and that it is a colorful impressionistic and sometimes scholarly record giving us endless food for thought.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was key to my understanding of the Hebrew Bible, something I was quite unfamiliar with before I signed up for EfM. John J. Collins provides an interesting, insightful and well-researched interpretation of the ancients texts. I appreciate that he considers modern context and is unafraid to challenge long-held assumptions. He points out many sexist, violent and horrific parts of the books that are highly disturbing, with an eye towards possible explanations as to why they might have been written that way (in some cases he admits its just very difficult to justify). I could not have made it through the Hebrew Bible without the companion reading of Collins' text.

[Jean Marie Angelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the texts for the Education for Ministry program, which offers seminary studies in small study groups. Collins also has a longer, more detailed text on the same topic that is also worth a read. This book is very clear and engaging. It is hard to read the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and really understand. Collins explains scripture so that we understand faith and religion, but also the social, political, and cultural influences that impact the canon that we know as the Bible.

[Jim S · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were assigned this book as a reference to our course on the Old Testament Hebrew Bible for the eFM from the University of the South at Sewanee . This book is very helpful and I think essential for a lay reader to a greater understanding and clarity about the Hebrew Bible. Very good study guide and reference book. I would recommend to anyone studying the Hebrew Bible .

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good basic introduction. It's a condensation of Collins's multi-volume work on the Hebrew Bible. It omits a few of the minor prophets, nevertheless its colorful lay out, maps and timelines are exceptionally clear and informative.

[Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best guides to reading the Old Testament I’ve ever studied. It brought an entirely different and contradictory perspective from the church I grew up in.

[Kristen Griffis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for year 1 of EfM. I found it to be thought provoking and enjoyable at times.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for EFM and found it very interesting. I learned a lot.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read! There were a few things I learned along the way, and this is highly recommended.

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thorough and accessible overview of the Hebrew Bible. Prof. Collins exhibits a passion for the material as well as a lively sense of humor throughout. My only complaint is one I have with many textbooks. This is the 3rd edition, and the seams between this and previous editions show. For example: “In this chapter I consider three of these stories: Ruth, Jonah, and Esther” (p. 351), when in fact the discussion of Jonah has been moved to a different chapter. Like many textbooks, there are also a fair amount of typos, perhaps as a result of careless editing in the rush to put out the latest revision. (Happily, this textbook isn’t nearly as bad as some I’ve encountered, including a math text labelled “Thrid Edition” on the spine!)

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading this for a class but am thoroughly enjoying learning more about the Hebrew Bible (not the Christian Old Testament). I will give it a final review at the end of the semester.
I am reading the last chapter. I would recommend this book only if your are interested in a very condensed reading of the lifes of the Biblical Hebrew people, their beliefs and their Bible. It is very fact 'packed' and difficult to retain but non-the-less, worth reading.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for my Education for Ministry class. It is informative and interesting. Collins introduces each book of the Hebrew Bible by putting it into its historical, literary and theological context. Sometimes his descriptions seemed incomplete- that is because this book is an abridged version of an even longer text. Sometimes I wished for Moe, but mostly I was grateful to have this excellent book as a guide to the Hebrew Bible

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my first year of EfM study, and found it quite helpful in explaining the Bible. Collins places each book of the Bible in a historical setting of time and place that helps in understanding the culture of that period and in understanding more fully what the author(s) intended. It was a real eye-opener for me.