A Survey of Old Testament Introduction

by Gleason L. Archer Jr.

In this revised volume, Gleason Archer's original study is updated by author Dillon Burroughs. It approaches the study of the Old Testament from both a general and specific point of view. 

Dealing first with issues over which many scholars debate, Archer offers evidence to support the conservative view of canonicity, historicity, inspiration, textual problems, and higher criticism. The second section dissects each book of the Old Testament individually. Archer thoroughly covers issues like biblical creationism; Noah's Ark and the flood; authorship; chronology; and alleged language, style, and theme differences.

A Survey of Old Testament Introduction is invaluable to students and laymen who want to understand the conservative position of Old Testament issues and are not afraid to examine critical views. 

Genres: Theology, Christian, Old Testament, Biblical Studies, Reference, Religion, Christianity

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Gleason Leonard Archer, Jr. was a Biblical scholar, educator and author.

Reviews

[Fiza Pathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Survey of the Old Testament' is a very helpful introductory book to study the Old Testament for any reader. It focuses on the Anglican books of the Bible & studies the Old Testament books through a historical & contextual analysis. The book is still very useful & enlightening even for Catholic readers of the Old Testament. For those just beginning their study of the Old Testament, this book will prove to be very useful & a handy tool to realize the background realities of Israel. The book is easy to read & formatted in a textbook manner which aids further study & easy memorization. Those who have never tried reading the Old Testament in detail before could easily use this book to comprehend the gist of each book in the Old Testament. I especially was enlightened & educated while reading the books of the Prophets & seeing the actual different themes of their ministry. The summary of the Historical Books of the Old Testament were also very useful to me, especially the historical contexts of the books, their societal realities & the religious practices of the other cultures living in their territory. I found even the notes & bibliography written at the end of the book to be very helpful & I especially loved the note about the various other tribes living in the area of the Promised Land. I always used to get boggled about the ancestry of these tribes like the Edomites, the Midinites, the Ismaelites, the Amalekites etc., & was happy to be at last enlightened by the same in this handy book. The controversy regarding the creation of the world & Darwin's theory of Evolution is also highlighted here in this book in the notes section which is easy to read & very interesting to a novice in this subject. All in all, 'Survey of the Old Testament' is a very good introductory tool to reading the Bible for all Christian denominations as well as for those simply curious about the history of the Bible before the time of Christ. 'Survey of the Old Testament' gets 5 stars from me. I hope to read the 'Survey of the New Testament' by the same author in the coming months.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Old Testament PhD student recommended Archer as a good, general, upper college level introduction to me. I went to liberal arts school where all the students kiss the ground that Wellhausen walked on. For them to even think of questioning The Documentary Hypothesis is to blaspheme Christ (or more accurately, liberal progressivism). Therefore, I trembled for joy when I bought Archer. Having been indoctrinated by the critical theories I was overjoyed when I saw someone apply sensible scholarship to a holy love for God.

Archer's set up is odd, to be honest with you. Unlike Dillard & Longman (Bibliography/Genre/Authorship/Background/theology/Approach to New Testament)Archer approaches the individual books quite differently. He is more into archeology breakthroughs, names of certain kings, "problem texts". My one flaw with the book is that he did not develop theological themes enough.

However, the First and last sections of the book are well worth the price. Archer aims his cannons at unbelieving critical theories and blows them out of the water. First he estavlishes the presuppositions of criticl scholars. If you do not believe that God is able to reveal Himself (or exists, for that matter) then naturally you will doubt the supernatural inspriation of the sacred text. In this section the most exciting part is the refutation of the Documentary Hypothesis. In the last part he examines the work of three prominent Old Testament scholars--Von Rad, Childs, and Noth. He is fair--analyzing them by their presuppositions--and then states his.

This book deserves highest possible praise. Interestingly, and I didn't know this when I first read it, but Archer holds to the pre-wrath rapture theory. I would like to reread what he said on Zechariah 14 in light of that information.

[Marilyn Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love the Old Testament then this book is a reference and compliment. Being taught in Seminary and it makes so much sense. Highly recommended.

[Thomas Chacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well devised book of a diverse of material dealing with canonicity as well as authorship of the bible from a evangelical perspective. This read is great for PHD students and some will need to atleast have some Hebrew knowledge to understanding it a little better. Though a lot of seminary student will find this book on there shelf even though they are not at the PhD level it will still help them fight a great fight for faith in the scriptures. I believe that this will be a good base for understanding not only theology of old testament but also the importance of the foundational hermeneutics for a wonderful history of the people of God.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compact book blitzes through the Old Testament in short order. Each book contains all the essential background information and content in condensed form. With helpful pictures and illustrations a reader gets the key ideas of each book presented graphically. With plenty of maps scattered throughout, readers have a better understanding of where events happen relative to each other. This book is especially helpful in understanding the prophets as Mr. Benware tells the reader the essence of the messages.

[Brian Miracle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conservative, with a high view of Scripture. Examines the Old Testament chronologically. For each book, the author discusses the dating, authorship, and circumstances of this book. He then follows with a summary of the book and a discussion of the main points. The notes at the end discussing topics like Creation, the dating of the Exodus, etc. are also useful and helpful. Ideal as a reference when studying the Old Testament as a whole.

[Charity U · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic, graduate-level, Old Testament introduction.

[Timothyemmalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a lot of really good information, both about the biblical text and relatively contemporary philosophical analysis. However, at times the author is needlessly tendentious and dismissive of contrary opinions even when his own are not quite as certain as he seems to think.

[David Blynov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed survey of major issues related to Old Testament scholarship, from Biblical criticism to special introductions. Although a little difficult to read at times because of all the little historical details, this book nonetheless is an excellent reference resource.

4.3/5

[Laurent Dv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good overall but very light. Instead go to "The World and the Word" or Longmann and Dillar's "Introduction to the Old Testament" .

[Michael Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conservative. Helpful. A good resource to have.

[Philippe Jonquet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough. Incredibly detailed. A hard book to read when you're just discovering the Bible because of its depth.

[Georgetta Simmons]

Used for an online course. I found the book to be very helpful.

[David Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a reference book, so not exactly a page-turner. Nevertheless, Archer was a top flight scholar and this book is a great resource. Great tables, illustrations and photos too.

[Tim Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite parts of this book were the very helpful outlines of each OT book. I'm not as interested in Critical Textual theory or of the baleful influence of unbelieving German academics, although I did appreciate Archer's alternative approach based on existing texts rather than fanciful, imaginary templates of texts that no one has seen.

The outlines were helpful to me in that I often have problems discerning the topic or purpose of many of the prophetic books.

[Sunny Petkova · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book that could be read as a textbook and as a normal invastigating book.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource. You can easily read through it to re-familiarize yourself (or familiarize yourself for the first time) with the 'Big Picture' of the Old Testament (OT). And it could also serve really well to help acquaint you with any particular OT book, in a broad sense, in order to show you how that book fits in with the story of the OT as a whole.

The graphs, maps, and illustrations are an immense help in understanding critical areas of OT theology: tabernacle/temple worship, ancient people groups with land boundaries and respective histories, and chronologies of world empires. I mean, for a survey this book has A LOT of valuable information!

While it contains the resources for a theology student, it also somehow reads quite nicely for the layman. So I recommend it to anyone wanting to know the OT a little better.

Breaking the Old Testament down into a user-friendly organization, Benware takes the student through the OT as follows:

Part 1: Introduction and Overview of the OT

Part 2: Foundational Books
Genesis
Exodus and Leviticus
Numbers and Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges and Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 and 2 Chronicles
Ezra and Esther
Nehemiah

Part 3: The Poetic Books
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Lamentations

Part 4: The Prophetic Books

Prophecies During the Divided Kingdom
Obadiah
Joel
Jonah
Amos
Hosea
Isaiah
Micah

Prophecies During the Single Kingdom
Nahum
Zephaniah
Jeremiah
Habakkuk

Prophecies During the Exile
Daniel
Ezekiel

Prophecies After the Exile
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

When all is said and done, if you don't know your OT and/or you want a basic understanding of how it fits together and what the 'Big Picture' of it is - this is a great book.

(265 pages, but the book is really little, and it reads fast!)

May the Lord Christ bless you in your studies!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gleason Archer's original version of this textbook went indepth to counter the teachings of the 'Higher Criticisim' school which attempted to discredit the authorship, dating, and consistency of the Old Testament.
Also contains book-by-book examinations of critical issues and solutions.
I used this as one of the textbooks for the Introduction to the Old Testament course I took in seminary.

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 on weight. 2 on research. 1 on style. 2 on logic. 0.5 on affections. 7.5 out of 10. I read this book over three months while taking a a survey course at ABC. It was a helpful introduction. The most helpful things were his attempts at dating the books, setting them in their historical background, and his outlines. It certainly is a useful introduction. I liked that he never doubted inerrancy and gave reasonable explanations for difficult passages. An interesting introduction to the OT.

[Adi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read the OT and all is not clear in your head, this book can be a tremendous help. It lists every book with the author/period/theme etc (very well-documented) and has graphs and useful appendices. It also highlights several themes running through the OT that are worth noticing. Well worth the read.

[Bendick Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your ordinary beginners’ guide to the Old Testament. It is good meat for those who have the basic knowledge of the books in the OT. Tackles all issues with regard to the individual books – including latest archaeological findings and challeges faced by liberal criticism. Am doing my masters in theology and this is my main textbook for Old Testament studies.

[Braley Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is pretty awful as an Old Testament introduction, as Archer really doesn’t spend much time expositing the Old Testament books themselves.

However, as a book that deals with perceived inconsistencies in the Old Testament, it’s top rate. Great for apologetics and skeptics, not so great for actually teaching and understanding the Bible.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book as an excellent reference source on the OT from a conservative evangelical scholar. Very scholarly and with good critiques of the Higher Criticism approach to biblical scholarship.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as for my Old Testament Messages online college class, and I have to say I loved it. I was able to learn about each individual book in the OT and what their purposes were as well as context.

The book itself was actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be! (size wise)

[Jonine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Benware helped me to better understand the key characters, elements, space and time of the OT, as well as the different covenants. Understanding the different covenants and why God made them, helped me to better understand the harder ideas of the OT.

[Andy]

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[Andy]

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[Anton Dubrovskiy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and easy-to-read guide to every single book of the Old Testament. Many important concepts are well explained. Great job, Dr. Benware!

[Sean McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this was a great work. It tackled all of the issues regarding the Old Testament. Well worth the read.

[Rawna]

I THINK THAT IT IS A REALLY GOOD BOOK TO REVIEW AS WELL AS A GOOD STRUCTURES ANALLYSIS THE OLD TESTAMENT.