Full Description
History & Literature of the Old Testament is author Joel D. Heck's result of years of study of the Old Testament, preaching on the Old Testament, and teaching the Old Testament. This textbook is written under the conviction that most introductions to the Old Testament are written at the level of the seminary or graduate student. Many fine introductions exist, and the author is indebted to many of them. However, the college student does not need as many technical discussions, explanations of the original Hebrew, extensive footnoting and bibliographies, or surveys of the history of the interpretation of one book or another. Consequently, this textbook is devoted to the message of the Old Testament and its individual books, and it is written for the freshman college student.
The Old Testament is not pure history but, rather, history of a particular kind. The Old Testament does not give equal time to every period of Old Testament history. It focuses its attention on those parts of history where God's plan of salvation has taken a significant step forward. Some scholars call it ""salvation history,"" while others prefer terms such as covenantal history or prophetic history. Another way of describing it is to call it selective history.
This suggests, in short, that the Old Testament paves the way for the full revelation of God in Christ Jesus. The many messianic prophecies are, perhaps, the most visible part of this preparation, but the entire history of Israel, which parallels the life of Jesus in many ways, also serves as an introduction to the New Testament.
