Survey of the Old Testament

You can e-mail me if you have any questions about this material or class.

 

 

 

 

Bible Survey Sites

• Bible Gateway This site contains almost every version of the Bible you can imagine.
• Bible.org Not only the Bible (including the NET Bible translation), but also many articles on theology and Scripture.
• Calvin's Commentaries on the Bible This falls in the "Oldies but Goodies" department.
• Christian Classics Ethereal Library Library of ancient writings, including the Church Fathers. We're not the first generation to read and interpret the Bible.
• Christian Leadership Center This site is maintained by Allen Ross (Ph.D. Cambridge), Old Testament Professor at Beeson Divinity School. Allen is a good friend and one of the best Old Testament scholars in the business today. (Don't let him know I said that. :-) )

Library Sites

Shelton State library site

Shelton State's library catalog

The University of Alabama Library catalog

Bibliography

This section will grow as my own studies expand. I actually own or have read what I list here.

Old Testament Surveys

Raymond B. Dillard, Tremper Longman III, An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994.

R.K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2004. (first published in 1969; an oldie but goodie.)

Genesis

Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998.

Psalms

C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 1986. This book was first published in 1958. This is more of a lay devotional look at the Psalms.

Allen Ross, Exposition of the Book of Psalms. This course is taught at Beeson Divinity School.

Claus Westermann, Praise and Lament in the Psalms. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981. Westermann's work in categorizing the Psalms is instructive in studying the Psalms.

Hermeneutics

Gerald Bray, Biblical Interpretation Past and Present. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996. This is the textbook of the history of Biblical interpretation, written by my Church History professor at Beeson Divinity School.

William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993.

Isaiah

John N. Oswalt, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Isaiah (2 volumes). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998.

Allen Ross, The Book of Isaiah.

Reference Materials

Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997. (first published in French in 1958.)

Class Lecture Notes

• Lecture 1: Introduction, Textual Criticism
• Lecture 2: Canonization of the Old Testament
• Lecture 3 notes: Old Testament languages
• Special paper: Why God Used Aramaic in Scripture
• Lecture 4: The Bible from Hebrew to English
• Lecture 5: The Role of Prophecy in the Old Testament
• All the following lectures contain outlines of the books on which the lectures are based.
• Lecture 6: Genesis.
• Lecture 7: Exodus.
• Lecture 8: Leviticus-Numbers.
• Lecture 9: Deuteronomy.
• Lecture 10: Joshua-Ruth.
• Lecture 11: 1 Samuel-2 Chronicles.
• Lecture 12: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.
• Lecture 13: Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.
• Lecture 14: Psalms.
• Lecture 15: Psalms, Proverbs.
• Lectures 16-18: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
• Lecture 19: Daniel. The .pdf of this lecture contains my class notes from Daniel and Aramaic, so the file will be large and have a lot to do with the Aramaic language.
• Lectures 20-21: Minor Prophets.