A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised

by Miles V. Van Pelt (Editor), J. Ligon Duncan III (Foreword), Richard P. Belcher Jr. (Contributor)

Read the Old Testament from a biblical-theological perspective. Featuring contributions from thirteen respected evangelical scholars, this gospel-centered introduction to the Old Testament will help anyone who teaches or studies Scripture to better see the initial outworking of God’s plan to redeem the world through Jesus Christ.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Old Testament, Reference, Biblical Studies, Church, Faith

608 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2016

About the author

Miles V. Van Pelt, Ph.D. is the Alan Hayes Belcher, Jr. Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, Director of the Summer Institute for Biblical Languages, and Academic Dean for the Jackson and Brazil campuses. Miles has strong commitment to and passion for teaching students the Bible in its original languages and has published extensively in the area of Hebrew and Aramaic language instruction, as well as biblical theology. At the RTS campus in Jackson, Miles teaches Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew Exegesis, Joshua-Esther, and courses on the books of Judges and The Song of Songs. Miles is also a competitive CrossFit athlete. He and his wife Laurie have been married for almost 30 years (rock solid and white hot!) and they have four fantastic children.

Reviews

[Michael Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have owned or own numerous single volume or collected sets of introductions to the Bible. Some have been quite helpful in my studies, personal or academic, and others have been shall we say a bit lackluster and somewhat disappointing. Given the plethora of biblical introduction style commentaries that have made their way in and out of the market, I am always interested to see what a new addition has to offer, if anything, to the discussion.

Recently, two such additions made their way to the new release offerings and I figured why not take a look. These new releases are A Biblical-Theological Introduction the Old Testament and A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament edited by Miles Van Pelt and Michael Kruger respectively with contributions from numerous heavyweights in Old and New Testament scholarship. With an admitted bit of skepticism which I typically have with books of this type, I dug into the material. Let me just say my original attitude of skepticism was very quickly replaced with appreciation for the excellent work provided by the contributors.

For starters, these are not minor contributions to the biblical introduction category of study. At over 1200 pages combined, they contain serious scholarship. Now mind you mere size does not determine the quality of scholarship as an author or editor can include a lot of fluff, big words, and concepts that are of no use or that are quite frankly wholly incorrect. One will not find useless fluff and incorrect biblical theology in these efforts. This is serious, quality, purposeful, and important biblical scholarship.

Additionally, these are gospel focused texts. I realize the term “gospel-(insert word)” is a popular title these days and is often just that, namely just a set of words that carries little if any meaning. When I state these texts are gospel focused, it means they actually use as a start and end point the message of the gospel as expressed in the front and back halves of Scripture.

An example of the focus on the gospel found in these helpful biblical introductions and more specifically the reality that the core message of Scripture is the promise, coming, and future return of or Redeemer can be observed in the introduction of the Old Testament volume:
“Jesus is the theological center of the Old Testament. This means that the person and work of Jesus as presented in the New Testament (including his birth, life, teachings, death, resurrection, ascension, and return) constitute the singular reality that unifies and explains everything that appears in the Old Testament.”

Far too often the Old Testament is skimmed over in an effort to skip right to the Gospels or writings of Paul. Without establishing the foundation found in the front of Scripture and recognizing the connectedness of the whole of Scripture as it relays the message of redemption, understanding Scripture’s coherent and unified message will be difficult if not impossible. The contributors do not fall prey to the temptation to spit apart as unrelated the Old and New Testament texts. Conversely, they aptly outline for the reader a sound biblical, gospel-centric approach.

Each book of the Bible is engaged with the all-important elements of background information, authorship, literary analysis, structure and outline, message and theology, with any relevant major themes of each book receiving in-depth discussion. Something I am always appreciative of are helpful bibliographies. Okay….call me a book nerd, but I am a stickler for authors both referencing the work of other scholars and providing helpful tools for further study. At the end of each book of the Bible that is engaged in these volumes the reader will find a great list of resources. Also provided are some very interesting appendices that discuss anything from Daniel’s 70 weeks to New Testament Textual Criticism.

To put it simply, these are excellent works that I encourage not just seminary students and pastors to consider purchasing. It would be a shame if these books only found their way to the shelves of the academic minded individuals. They are truly useful for the average laymen as well in their study of Scripture. In fact, I recommend splurging a little and purchasing both volumes as a set. You will not be disappointed and I submit you will greatly appreciate the amount of sound scholarship provided and more importantly, I am confident you will grow in your knowledge of Scripture and in your relationship with God as a result using these helpful tools as part of your Bible study repertoire.

I received these books for free from Crossway Books and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Elliot H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very solid introduction into the field of Biblical Theology in the Old Testament. I learned many things about the familiar books of the Old Testament. It engages in answering questions of textual criticism, recurrent themes, genre of the text, structure, and historical context. The book is quite technical, but worth reading to gain a 3,000-foot perspective on the books of the OT

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a substantial book on an important topic, and I am not qualified to offer much critical commentary with any sort of authority. What I can offer is a few thoughts on the book that might be helpful.

1. It is long. Seriously, you will have to dig in for this one and be willing to invest the energy and the time.

2. But it is not overwhelming. While this seems like it is going to be overtly academic and intellectually overwhelming, the contributors show their pastoral hearts without abandoning their theological heads. The product is a work that is meaty but digestible.

3. It is enjoyable. Some chapters are more enjoyable than others...but that may have more to do with me being more familiar and comfortable with some of the OT books than others.

I feel comfortable encouraging just about anyone to grab this volume. A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament is a work that serves just as well in the seminary classroom and the pastor's library, but it also is accessible enough that anyone who is willing to make the investment will reap great rewards.

I received a review copy from the publisher.

[Stuart Gunner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would imagine this is as helpful of a book as you can get to help you understand the authorship, context, themes, outlines, and New Testament connections for each Old Testament book

[Darren Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a whole this book is very good considering that how readable it is and I think it wouldn't be overwhelming to Christians who are used to reading Christian-living genres.

There are many pros about this book which I will list in point forms below:
1. The arrangement is according to the Hebrew canonical order which certainly do help us to understand the OT better from a theological perspective.
2. It's a good reference book which will help us to get most of the quick answers and important BT connections are somewhat lacking in the ESV study bible. Thus this book can be very helpful if you don't have the time to read individual commentaries for each OT books.
3. It is very readable and I suspect that most Christians who have a reading habit wouldn't find this book intimidating.

However there are some cons:
1. While most of the books were covered pretty well, I find that the major prophets and the twelve to be pretty disorganized when it comes to the message and theology section. The twelve being the worst but that is understandable.
2. As a reference book to cover each of the OT book, sometimes certain points made in other books will be repeated again in other books which made it repetitive and dull the reading experience especially for those reading from cover to cover. But this is necessary because it reduce the work needed to trace or reference certain ideas when we are referencing to a particular book.
3. This might just be me, but I wasn't satisfied with the author of Daniel just listing out all the seventy weeks view without taking a stance and justify his stance.

Here are some of the memorable highlights that I enjoyed
1. Introduction by Miles Van Pelt - This is a must read!
2. Genesis
3. Exodus
4. Judges
5. Psalms
6. Job
7. Ruth
8. Song of Songs - I'm not quite sure whether to take Van Pelt's shepherd interpretation stance, but I'm grateful to him for giving me this exposure. This is certainly something to look out for and to engage further if I'm going to do a deep dive with other commentaries in the future.
9. Ecclesiastes
10. Esther
11. Ezra-Nehemiah

In closing I would say this is a book that one must get. It helps you to see almost all the important connections of BT for each OT book that a study bible couldn't give and without needing to do a deep dive into commentaries. And this is something most general BT textbooks (i.e. According to Plan, Covenant Theology, A New Testament Biblical Theology, Kingdom through Covenant etc) wouldn't be able to do so because they are more focus on tracing the progression of the narrative and tracing the expectations and fulfillment rather than looking at each OT book individually. Not to say these books are redundant, they are still very necessary.

[Luke Schmeltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gospel Promised is an overview and introduction to the books of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) presented in the original Hebrew ordering, focusing on the redemptive-historical and biblical theological themes that tie the books together. Scholarly, informative, and pastoral at heart, this work is an excellent introduction to the Old Testament that I would recommend to any student of the Scriptures.

[Ron Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Testament overview

This is an excellent overview of the Old Testament as well as giving detailed outlines for each book. Very helpful.

[Lindsay John Kennedy]

Drawn from here: http://mydigitalseminary.com/a-biblic...

Past and present Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) professors came together to produce a new pair of Old and New Testament introductions with Crossway. These “Biblical-Theological” introductions are intended for pastors and general readers, and are made by scholars who are “appreciative of dogmatics” (p10) — that is, unafraid of systematic theology — and who uphold biblical inerrancy and Reformed theology. In this post I will review A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament, edited by Miles Van Pelt.

In addition to the above points, what sets apart A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (what a mouthful), is that the authors not only want to present the message(s) of each individual OT book, but to do so “in the context of the whole canon of Scripture”, including the “authoritative witness of the New Testament”, which provides “the full and final message of the Old Testament” (p13). This means that the treatment of individual book incorporates insights from the rest of the OT and the NT, hence the title of the book.

Yet another feature that sets this work apart is the approach of the editor, Miles Van Pelt. Van Pelt has a keen interest in reading the Old Testament as a unity, particularly by following the Hebrew canonical order rather that of modern English Bibles (see more here and here). The Introduction reproduces his material from the excellent and popular BiblicalTraining lectures on the subject. If the very structure of the Bible is significant, then each book’s location is relevant for “[discovering] its full and final significance” (p30). Van Pelt’s material here is excellent and I am glad to see it reach a wider audience. Those in the know may wonder why Van Pelt does not follow the (slightly different and arguably more ancient) order from the Baba Bathra like Dempster and DeRouchie, but unfortunately he does not address this question.

After the Introduction, each OT book is examined, following the Hebrew OT order. Each chapter includes usual topics such as authorship and dating, but most attention is devoted to the book’s message and theology, with some chapters summarizing the book’s contents. Despite Van Pelt’s earnest presentation and defense of the Hebrew OT order, and structuring of the book around this order, the individual authors themselves did not devote much attention to their respective book’s Hebrew-order placement. Most ignored the issue entirely. However, unsurprisingly, Van Pelt’s chapter on Song of Solomon is an exception.

On that note, the chapter on Song of Solomon was undoubtedly my favourite. This is because I have always struggled to understand the book, but Van Pelt’s perspective (known as the three-character view) was eye-opening and has sparked my own study of the book to see if it is the best way to read it.

It goes without saying that a book from Reformed Theological Seminary professors will have all the trappings of Reformed theology, such as Covenant Theology, Calvinism, Infant Baptism, the Tripartite division of the Law, and so on. However, non-Reformed readers should not let this dissuade them. Since this book covers the Old Testament, I did not find myself frustrated on every page despite disagreeing with (while being highly appreciative of) much in Reformed theology.

Odd are the two appendices by Richard Belcher: an exhaustive comparison of approaches to the Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9, and a discussion of the role of heavenly beings in Daniel. Though these appendices are strong in their own right, they seemed parochial and narrow for an OT intro, where topics such as OT textual criticism, the Septuagint, or the Ancient Near East would more broadly useful. In comparison, the companion NT introduction discusses general topics applicable to NT study, such as the NT canon, textual criticism, the Synoptic problem, and the use of the OT in the NT.

A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament is a fine addition to the admitted wealth of OT introduction texts available. With a solid lineup, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament is very approachable for the general reader who wants to get to the heart of OT books and their message(s). Those interested in issues such as provenance, textual criticism, and cultural backgrounds will want to find additional resources, but as an introduction to the Old Testament that focuses on the message and theology of the books themselves, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament is a highly recommended addition for any library.

Many thanks to Crossway for providing a review copy through their Beyond the Page program.

[Eric Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchased this to use personally for my OT classes. My assigned textbooks were the IVP Black Dictionary series, which were tertiary resources that can be really dry and tedious about the history of scholarly studies on each book and theological subject. On the other hand, this OT textbook was done by RTS professors and used as RTS' textbook. It has newer material compared to the more classic and long popular OT Survey by Tremper Longman and Dillard published by Zondervan as it is released only a few years back. I've also bought the relatively new OT survey by Southern Baptists scholars (The World and The Word) to use alongside this, and I think this stands out as the best OT textbook. Almost 1/3 of The World and The Word is spent on compositional theory, authorship, textual criticism and apologetics material, which is great if you are into all the debates around source criticism or redaction debates but if you are just going to assume the most conservative theological conviction then RTS' textbook wins hands down as it has a wealth of biblical-theological material on each individual OT book. Helpful that they ordered the chapters according to the Hebrew Canon (Tanakh) as well, especially for those into canon criticism or the theological basis for the final form of the OT canon. Heartily recommend for anyone who wants a good primer into an extensive study of the OT as it is highly readable. Besides, Van Pelt is such a cool name.

[raffaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is exactly as the cover says: a biblical and theological introduction to the Old Testament (from a Reformed point of view, though it could pass for being generically evangelical). As the introduction explains, the focus of this book is on Christ as the theological center of the OT; the kingdom of God, especially as expressed in the covenant of Moses, as the thematic framework of the OT; and the traditional threefold division of Law, Prophets, and Writings as the structure of the OT. All of the essays in this book further unpack each of these key themes, and so the book as a whole seems fairly unified in presenting a coherent view of the OT. The only real drawback is that there's only enough room for a very cursory glance at each individual book of the OT (the worst of this is the Twelve Minor prophets, which is covered in 17 pages) - but that's to be expected. All in all, it provided several insights and a helpful framework to do more study from, so I'm satisfied. Now on to A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this introduction to the Old Testament. It is an excellent overview of the OT, and I especially appreciated their approach which emphasized the literary and narrative structure of the OT. It utilized the Hebrew order of the OT, which is actually a more appropriate arrangement of the books (in my opinion). The pedagogical impetus behind the arrangement actually helps draw out the arguments and perspectives of the writers of the books.

All in all, great book and a pretty straight-forward read. I'm using it to teach an Intro to the OT class for a college-level, so the material is accessible for people with any level of background in biblical studies (or no background).

Highly recommend!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful. Basically a substantial Old Testament Introduction but written from a Redemptive-Historical perspective. Interesting the OT books are studied in the the order of the Jewish Tanaach, which I found helpful. It has been written by a number of reformed evangelical theologians, each authoring several OT book intro's. One or two are a bit dry & hard going. The chapter on Ecclesiastes I felt was really unhelpful to be honest. But mostly it is really excellent, and some chapters were outstanding eg on Ruth, and Job. I'll be referring to it again and again I'm sure in the course of study. Now the matching volume on the NT.......!

[Jonah Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this as a companion to my 2019 Bible reading. Some introductions were better than others, but overall a good introductory work on the redemptive-historical reading of each OT book.

[JR Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought and read much of this book for classes at RTS–Charlotte, then read the rest to prep teaching 9th grade O.T. Survey at my school. This book demonstrates the curricular focus of RTS itself, which is Biblical knowledge and biblical theology.

This book is the successor in my mind to the now-classic Raymond–Dillard O.T. survey, both because it is newer and more updated, but also because it fills the use-case of a pastor and student better than RD ever did. BTIOT doesn't get bogged down with textual-critical issues like JNDP theory like RD does, and it doesn't take multiple pages to give you a rundown of scholarly positions and bibliographies.

The only downside of this book is in its structure–it could use better organization. Finding out the basic when, why, where, and who information for each book is difficult. This information should be summarized at the beginning of the page. Literary organization/structure (this books' strength!) should be presented in diagrams/pictures more often. As it is, each entry reads more like a commentary than an introduction.

This is my go-to recommendation for a two-volume introduction to the Bible for any evangelical Christian pastor, teacher, or seminary student.

[Craig Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christ. Kingdom. Unity. These three words summarize the Christian worldview regarding the message of Scripture. Christ is the central figure of Scripture who accomplished redemption and to whom the Old and New Testaments point to. The kingdom is the “thematic framework” in which Christ the redeemer operates and to which every other theme of the Bible is tied to. Unity describes how Christ and kingdom are presented from Genesis to Revelation. Rather than each book standing on its own, disjointed from the others, and Christ and kingdom being haphazardly presented in Scripture, each theme is coherently and consistently presented in the sixty-six books of the Bible.

It is around these three themes that A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised and A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized have been written (Crossway, 2016). These two books are the product of professors, past and present, at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi and are edited by Miles V. Van Pelt (OT) and Michael J. Kruger (NT).

In short, these two volumes provide lay Christians, seminary students, and pastors with possibly the best biblical and theological introduction to all 66 books of the Bible from a decidedly Reformed perspective. There are several reasons why these books ought to be on your shelf.

First, these books accomplish the goal of presenting the overall biblical messages of Christ and his kingdom through the unity of Scripture. The authors do not take the higher critical road by fragmenting and juxtaposing the books of the Bible to each other. Rather, they see Scripture, as it presents itself; a unified whole with each book contributing to the overall themes, namely, Christ and kingdom. There is unity in the diversity. As Miles Van Pelt states in the preface to the Old Testament volume

Our goal is not to dismantle the Scriptures into as many unrelated parts as possible but rather to show how the vast, eclectic diversity of the Scriptures has been woven together by a single, divine author over the course of a millennium as the covenantal testimony to the person and word of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit according to the eternal decree of God the Father. (13, BTIOT).

Michael J. Kruger says as much in his introduction to the New Testament volume

Because God is the ultimate author of the New Testament writings, the distinctive theologies of individual books and the overall theology of the New Testament are fully harmonious. (23, BTINT)

Second, tying the themes of Christ and unity together, these books focus mainly (though not to the exclusion of traditional systematic theology categories) on the redemptive-historical nature of Scripture. If there were no unity to the books of the Bible we would be hard pressed to find overarching themes and a redemptive-historical focus might be impossible to argue. Much like reading the Bible straight through itself, reading these two volumes straight through will give the reader an amazing grasp on every book of the Bible in terms of its overall content, biblical context, and theological focus. If you need to read another book in order to be convinced of the redemptive-historical narrative of Scripture then this is one to get.

Third, tied to the second feature, each book is presented in its biblical-theological context. While some contributors do more or less than others on which aspect they focus more on, each chapter discusses how each book of the Bible fits into the overall message of Scripture (biblical) and what each book of the Bible uniquely contributes theologically (theological). This combination gives the reader a more balanced and broad understanding of each book of the Bible.

Fourth, as it relates to the Old Testament, they have taken the position to present the books in the order as they appear in final form in the Hebrew Bible. Van Pelt takes a few pages to discuss the history and rational for the varied ways the OT books have been ordered. Many Christians are not aware that there is more than one way the books of the Old Testament have been ordered depending on the text being used. In his chapter The Twelve, Daniel C. Timmer discusses the varied ways in which the minor prophets have been ordered. For some very enlightening discussion on why Proverbs, Ruth, and Song of Songs are in that order see Van Pelt’s chapter Song of Songs (419-20).

Finally, these books are highly accessible to the average Christian who knows their Bible fairly well and provide great content for pastors and teachers to help their congregations go deep into the text. Though the contributors are scholars, most of whom are ordained ministers and many of whom have pastoral experience, their scholarly experience has not prohibited them from producing a highly readable and accessible text. Their diversity of education and ministry experience is brought into these books and makes them that much better. This will probably be the standard biblical-theological introduction to the Bible from a Reformed perspective (or from any perspective for that matter) for years to come.

I cannot recommend A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament and A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament enough. These are solid, conservative, theological, biblical, and informed books that will help Christians better understand the broader message(s) of the Bible (Christ, kingdom, unity) as well as the many sub themes that play out in the text.

These are two books that should be standard texts for pastors and teachers and any Christian who desires to know the Bible better.

I received this book for free from Crossway for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Brian Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read through this as I taught the OT at my church in Brazil. Exceptional! I found it to be consistently helpful in helping me prepare overview lessons of each book of the OT.

Positive: Although it was all good, there were a few contributors who were especially helpful: Timmer (on Joshua), Fullilove (on 1-2 Kings), VanGemeren (on Isaiah), Lee (on Jeremiah and Lamentations), Futato (on the Psalms), and Belcher (on Job).

Negative: There were a few things that disappointed me about the book.

1. There is only one (very good) chapter on the Minor Prophets. It seems odd that Lamentations got its own chapter, but Micah, Zechariah, and the others didn't.

2. Belcher denies Solomonic authorship of Ecclesiastes (p. 444), opts for the frame narrator, and has a more negative view of the book.

3. Van Pelt holds to the "shepherd" interpretation of Song of Songs (p. 428).

4. One final small critique: They follow the Hebrew order of the Bible. That's fine and all, but since I only have the English order memorized, it meant I had to use the table of contents a lot to find where specific chapters were.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty unique book in that it takes a biblical theological perspective to the Old Testament and then briefly introduces each book as such in the order of the Hebrew Bible, not the English Bible. In other words, it views all the Old Testament as ultimately unfolding into the reality of Jesus Christ and it treats the canon order of the Hebrew Bible as more meaningful than the English version's. The individual books are contributions from professors at Reformed Theological Seminary and therefore the perspective is from reformed, conservative scholarship. Very accessible for the layman, this book provides a nice launching pad into personal study of the Old Testament.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this introduction as much as the New Testament one edited by Kruger. Each chapter is written by a different RTS professor. Some chapters made the OT book come alive and gave details to help you see things that you would never have discovered (chapters on Ruth and Song of Songs of example). Some chapters were painfully long summaries of the book that are more difficult to read than the Bible itself and just say the same thing in a less helpful-paraphrase (chapters on Isaiah and Proverbs for example). All in all, a helpful introduction on the oft neglected first 3/4 of the Bible.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some high points and low points. Many of the chapters gave excellent summaries of themes, structure, and theology of the books of the Old Testament (Esther stands out as a good example). Others were weaker. The ongoing debate of how to read Song of Solomon was poorly addressed and the selected interpretation seems like a stretch. The interpretation of Ecclesiastes was similarly chosen without much discussion of alternate views. Also, by choosing to follow a Tanakh order of the Old Testament, the minor prophets were mostly glossed over.

[Alex Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible resource for one who wishes to study the Old Testament. This is not a commentary, but instead an introduction to OT books, including authorship, history, outline, theology, etc. My favorite section in each essay is the last section called: Approaching the New Testament, which gives a little bit of application in light of the full revelation of God.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a long and useful, though perhaps unduly mild-mannered, text. It gives good information on all the OT books, helpful structural analyses, and thematic links with the NT, as well as a good scholarly apparatus for further study. Checks all the boxes. It's a useful text to have around in a working library.

[Ethan Gualano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Amazing. Stunning. Outlandishly good "price-point" to information given ratio. Everyone should own this AND the New Testament counterpart. Required reading for the seminary student AND the Christian who wants to simply grow in knowledge. Would give it 6 stars if possible.

[Jeff Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very deep and gives good commentary on the OT while connecting it well with the NT. It can be a grind to read through, and would serve better as a reference/commentary for pastors and preachers, but I definitely recommend it for any Christian seeking to know more about the OT.

[Anita Keatts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

Gives a good overview of the old testament laid out according to the Hebrew Canon. Not overly technical, easy to follow

[Johnny Zacchio jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the best books on the Old Testament i’ve read up to this point! Truly outstanding.

[Kirk Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the contribution on Judges (2022).

[Joshua Molden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great recourse for every pastor to have in his library. I will use this book every time I look to write a sermon on the Old Testament. You will learn much about Old Testament scholarship when you read this book. More importantly though, you will learn much about the Old Testament text. I would highly encourage any and all Christians to use this for their personal study as well.

[Andrew Globke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding, esp. Song of Solomon and Psalms. The only bad chapters were The Twelve and Ecclesiastes. This is an excellent volume.

[Deb Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview of each of the Old Testament books - their message and theology and how they relate to the New Testament.

[Bill Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for seminary. Fine book. Not much to say (which I know is lame, but I'm tired of typing reviews...)