In this updated edition of the popular textbook, Walter Brueggemann and Tod Linafelt introduce the reader to the broad theological scope of the Old Testament, treating some of the most important issues and methods in contemporary biblical interpretation. This clearly written textbook focuses on the literature of the Old Testament as it grew out of religious, political, and ideological contexts over many centuries in Israel's history. Covering every book in the Old Testament (arranged in canonical order), the authors demonstrate the development of theological concepts in biblical writings from the Torah through post-exilic Judaism. This introduction invites readers to engage in the construction of meaning as they venture into these timeless texts.

Author Biography

Walter Brueggemann is a beloved Old Testament scholar, teacher, and preacher. He spent most of his career at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. His books include Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now, Interrupting Silence: God's Command to Speak Out, and Truth and Hope: Essays for a Perilous Age. Tod Linafelt is Professor of Biblical Literature at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He has also served as the Cardin Family Chair in the Humanities at Loyola College in Baltimore and as the Alexander Robertson Fellow at the University of Glasgow. He is author or editor of many books, scholarly articles, and essays. Several of these have been reprinted or anthologized, including two chapters from his book Surviving Lamentations in the annual reference work Poetry Criticism, vol. 44 (2003).