Reading the Old Testament

Reading the Old Testament was written by Lawrence Boadt and was published by Paulist Press in 1984. This book was assigned reading for the ILM course titled Understanding the Old Testament. It provided detail about the types of literature and kinds of stories, as well as the current understanding about how it was passed on and gathered into written form, and eventually collected into what we call the Hebrew Scriptures. I found the lives and cultures of the people who eventually became the Jewish nation very interesting. Beginning as a small collection of people, with little in common other than being slaves in Egypt and a desire for freedom, it describes how they formed tribes, interacted with others, and survived despite good times and bad. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone wanting to understand the people and times of the Old Testament.

The jacket says, "Reading the Old Testament is a clear and carefully organized introduction for contemporary readers. It is designed to guide the student of the Bible through the text and its problems, enrich their understanding of the individual biblical books, and explore the way the Bible came to be written. It combines the latest scholarship with a sensitivity to religious issues and Israel's ever-deepening understanding of God's ways.

The author gives special attention to recent archaeological discoveries in the Middle East and how these affect our understanding of the Old Testament. The book contains numerous maps, graphs, and drawings. Reading the Old Testament is particularly illuminating about the way Israel's religious experience was translated into written records. No other introduction offers the same thorough treatment of the Exile and the post-exilic periods as crucial times in the formation of the Old Testament message."

Lawrence Boadt, C.S.P. is associate professor of Sacred Scripture at the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. He received his doctorate in Biblical Studies and Near Eastern Languages from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and has written numerous articles and books on Old Testament subjects, especially on the Prophets.