Preface v

Part One An Introduction to the Bible and the Biblical World

Chapter 1 The Bible: An Overview

Chapter 2 How the Bible Was Created: Transmission, Canonization, and Translation

Chapter 3 The Ancient Near East: The Environment That Produced the Bible

Part Two The Torah (Divine Instruction)

Chapter 4 The Five Books of Torah (the Pentateuch): Themes and Theories

Chapter 5 In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis

Chapter 6 Freedom and Responsibility: The Book of Exodus

Chapter 7 Law, Holiness, and Rebellion: The Books of Leviticus and Numbers

Chapter 8 A New Vision of Moses’ Teaching: The Book of Deuteronomy

Part Three The Prophets I

Chapter 9 The Story of Ancient Israel: How the Promised Land Was Gained and Lost

Chapter 10 Faith and War: The Book of Joshua

Chapter 11 Yahweh’s Warriors: The Book of Judges

Chapter 12 The Rise of David and the Birth of a Kingdom: The Books of 1 and 2 Samuel

Chapter 13 From the Glory of Solomon to Exile in Babylon: The Books of 1 and 2 Kings

Part Four The Prophets II

Chapter 14 Israel’s Spokespersons for God

Chapter 15 Prophets to the Northern Kingdom: The Oracles of Amos and Hosea

Chapter 16 Prophets of the Assyrian Threat: The Oracles of Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, and Nahum

Chapter 17 Prophets of the Babylonian Crisis: The Oracles of Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Obadiah

Chapter 18 Prophets in Exile: The Oracles of Ezekiel and Second Isaiah

Chapter 19 After the Exile—Israel’s Last Prophets: The Oracles of Haggai, Zechariah, Third Isaiah, Joel, Malachi, and Jonah

Part Five The Writings

Chapter 20 After the Exile: Israel’s Changing Life with God

Chapter 21 The Postexilic Readjustment: The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah

Chapter 22 Worshiping at the Second Temple: Hebrew Poetry and the Book of Psalms

Chapter 23 Israel’s Wisdom Writers: The Books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes

Chapter 24 Festival Scrolls: The Books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, and Esther

Chapter 25 Reinterpreting Israel’s History: The Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles

Chapter 26 Keeping God’s Law in a Hostile World: Revolt of the Maccabees and the Book of Daniel

Chapter 27 The Second Canon: Books of the Apocrypha Part Six The New Testament

Chapter 28 The World in Which Christianity Originated: Roman Power, Greek Culture, and the Cult of Deified Rulers

Chapter 29 First-Century Judaism: Diversity, Messianic Expectations, and the Birth of Christianity

Chapter 30 Telling Jesus’ Story: The Gospel of Mark

Chapter 31 The Synoptic Problem: The Gospel of Matthew and Its Relationship to the Gospels of Mark and Luke

Chapter 32 Jesus as a Savior for “All Nations”: The Gospel of Luke

Chapter 33 Another Way of Telling Jesus’ Story: The Gospel of John

Chapter 34 An Account of Early Christianity: The Book of Acts

Chapter 35 Paul and the Gentile Mission: Letters to Churches at Thessalonica, Corinth, Galatia, Rome, Philippi, and Colossae

Chapter 36 Continuing the Pauline Tradition: Second Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, and the Pastoral Epistles

Chapter 37 General Letters on Faith and Behavior: Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles

Chapter 38 Continuing the Apocalyptic Hope: The Book of Revelation

Chapter 39 Our Biblical Legacy: Evolving Concepts of God

Glossary

Index