Reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture
A Literary, Canonical, and Theological Survey
series: Reading Christian Scripture
About
This survey textbook by two respected Old Testament scholars is designed to meet the needs of contemporary undergraduate students. The book effectively covers the Old Testament books and major topics in the Old Testament, assuming no prior academic study of the Bible.
Mark Gignilliat and Heath Thomas pay attention to the subject matter of the Old Testament: God's revelation of himself. Their focus is on the triune God and God's engagement with the world. The authors attend to the Old Testament's literary, theological, and historical dimensions and explore how these texts are received and interpreted in Christian (and Jewish) tradition. The book is organized according to the Hebrew structure of the Old Testament: Law, Prophets, and Writings. The authors utilize this structure to generate numerous interpretive and theological insights as well as fresh avenues of discovery for Christian readers who may lack familiarity with the Hebrew ordering of the Old Testament documents. Chapters can be assigned in any order, making this an ideal textbook for one-semester courses.
Beautifully designed in full color, this addition to the Reading Christian Scripture series offers a full array of pedagogical aids that hold interest and aid learning: photographs, sidebars, maps, time lines, charts, glossary, and discussion questions. Additional resources for instructors and students are available through Textbook eSources.
1. Introduction to the Old Testament as Christian Scripture
2. Introduction to the Pentateuch
3. Genesis
4. Exodus
5. Leviticus
6. Numbers
7. Deuteronomy
8. Introduction to the Prophets
9. Joshua
10. Judges
11. 1-2 Samuel
12. 1-2 Kings
13. Isaiah
14. Jeremiah
15. Ezekiel
16. The Minor Prophets or the Book of the Twelve--Hosea through Malachi
17. Introduction to the Writings
18. Psalms
19. Job
20. Proverbs
21. Ruth
22. Song of Solomon
23. Ecclesiastes
24. Lamentations
25. Esther
26. Daniel
27. Ezra-Nehemiah
28. 1-2 Chronicles
Glossary
Index
Endorsements
"Whether the Old Testament was authoritative for Christians was the first controversial question that confronted the early church. If only they had had access to this wonderful resource! Sadly, the Old Testament remains a stumbling block for many. Gignilliat and Thomas make what could easily be a crooked way straight, deftly attending to, and balancing, each book's literary integrity, place in the canon as a whole, and relation to Christ. Highly recommended!"
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"This is one of those textbooks that won't be discarded at the semester's end but will be cherished as a valuable, lifelong resource. Gignilliat and Thomas introduce readers to the 'lay of the land' of the Old Testament, with a host of colorful charts, maps, and artwork. They also take readers beyond the typical boundaries of introductory textbooks by showing how the Old Testament texts echo through the canon and into reception history and theological discourse. This resource is a gift for both the classroom and the church!"
Elizabeth H. P. Backfish, associate professor of Old Testament, Jessup University
"In their Reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, Mark Gignilliat and Heath Thomas brilliantly illustrate the layered complexity of interpreting the Old Testament as Christian Scripture. Drawing on the full range of commentary, from Jerome and Augustine to the present, they engage both the beauty and the challenges of the Old Testament, always with an alertness to the questions posed by the modern Christian reader, and with helpful pointers to application. Their book-by-book introduction is enhanced by lavish illustrations from Christian art, informative sidebars, elegant and cultivated writing, and above all a deeply learned sensitivity to the particularities of the Old Testament books understood as witnesses to Christ."
J. Gordon McConville, professor emeritus of Old Testament theology, University of Gloucestershire
"It is often a challenge to find a textbook for the undergraduate classroom that will engage student attention, promote discussion, and effectively introduce the riches of the Old Testament. Reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture does exactly this. It offers a clear and well-structured overview of biblical books, prioritizing attention to literary and theological content. True to its title, it reads the Old Testament as part of the Christian canon, pointing out canonical connections that link together books of the Old Testament and that link together the Old Testament and the New. Students will be very interested in the brief but insightful Reception History sidebars, which reflect on how Christian theologians have read these texts throughout the ages. Gignilliat and Thomas have given us a textbook that will help to reinvigorate the witness of the Old Testament for the church through the classroom."
Aubrey E. Buster, associate professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College
"A beautifully produced volume, with artwork, diagrams, maps, sidebars, key verses, and discussion questions. This introduction is pitched to Christian undergrads (and perhaps, in some contexts, seminary students), from a broadly Reformed Protestant perspective. It aims to introduce earlier in students' study of the Bible a range of key insights arising from recent discussions about the biblical canon and the theological interpretation of Scripture. It will have wide appeal and, one hopes, extensive use."
Stephen B. Chapman, associate professor of Old Testament, Duke University
"If only I'd had this as my Old Testament textbook at university, I would have realized much earlier how to integrate theology and biblical studies, been more sensitive and informed about the relationship between Jewish and Christian traditions, and become more nuanced in my understanding of scholarly discussions. Gignilliat and Thomas offer all these in a clear, helpful, accessible, and aesthetically pleasing format, so that students of Scripture can discover the God who reveals himself through the Old Testament."
Brittany N. Melton, associate professor of Old Testament, Regent College
"This is an outstanding resource. It is clearly presented with useful sidebars and images and with text that is economically stated and moves along, covering the important relationship between history, text, theology, and canon. Reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture reminds me of a cross between the influential Understanding the Old Testament by Bernhard Anderson and the canonical introduction to the Old Testament by Brevard Childs. We are indebted to Gignilliat and Thomas for this fine collaborative effort. This book is sure to be seen in undergraduate and seminary classrooms. Bravo."
Christopher Seitz, senior research professor of biblical interpretation, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto
"This theologically attuned and literarily sensitive introduction demonstrates how to read the Old Testament as Christian revelation. The authors situate the Old Testament in its historical environment and illustrate its ongoing cultural impact, but they never lose sight of the text of Scripture as a living word for those who are in Christ. They lead us into an interpretation that is life-giving for those who patiently read it alongside them. Highly recommended!"
Scott C. Jones, professor of biblical studies, Covenant College
The Authors
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© Caroline Summers/Samford University Mark S. Gignilliat
Mark S. Gignilliat (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, and theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He previously taught at Wycliffe Hall,...
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Courtesy of OBU Heath A. Thomas
Heath A. Thomas (PhD, University of Gloucestershire) is president and professor of Old Testament at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He has served on staff at churches in Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, and the United Kingdom and is the...
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