This republication of a classic work contains a new introduction by Walter Brueggemann that places Gerhard von Rad's work within the context of German theology, Old Testament theology, and the history of interpretation of the Old Testament. In Old Testament Theology, von Rad applies the most advanced results of form criticism to develop a new understanding of the Bible. His original approach is now available once again in English.

The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

From its inception at the time of the Enlightenment until the mid-twentieth century, the historical-critical method constituted the dominant paradigm in Old Testament studies. In this magisterial overview, Niels Peter Lemche surveys the development of the historical-critical method and the way it changed the scholarly perception of the Old Testament. He describes the rise and influence of historical-critical approaches and traces their decline and fall. Then, he discusses the identity of the authors of the Old Testament, based on the content of the literature they wrote, demonstrating that the "collapse of history" does not preclude critical study. Lemche goes on to investigates the theological consequences of this "collapse" and surveys Old Testament and biblical theology in its various manifestations in the twentieth century. An appendix includes a history of Palestine from the Stone Age to modern times, constructed without recourse to the Old Testament.

John Hayes and Frederick Prussner offer a thorough study covering the history, methodologies, and difficulties that are associated with the writing of Old Testament theology. Their impressive work features comprehensive history, summaries, contemporary issues, comparative evaluations, recent developments, and individual sections on more than fifty theologians and Old Testament scholars. Provides insights to the related issues of neo-orthodoxy, archaeology, philosophy, the church, and culture.

What is the central theme of the Bible?Given the diversity of authorship, genre, and context of the Bible's various books, is it evenpossible to answer such a question? Or in trying to do so, is an external grid being unnaturallysuperimposed on the biblical text?These are difficult questions that the discipline of biblical theology has struggled to answer.In this thoroughly revised and expanded edition of his classic Toward an Old Testament Theology, Walter Kaiser offers a solution to these unresolved issues. He proposes that there is indeeda unifying center to the theology and message of the Bible that is indicated and affirmed byScripture itself. That center is the promise of God. It is one all-encompassing promise of lifethrough the Messiah that winds itself throughout salvation history in both the Old and NewTestaments, giving cohesiveness and unity to the various parts of Scripture.After laying out his proposal, Kaiser works chronologically through the books of both testaments, demonstrating how the promise is seen throughout, how the various sub-themesof each book relate to the promise, and how God's plan to fulfill the promise progressivelyunfolds. Here is a rich and illuminating biblical theology that will stir the emotion and theintellect.