The Old Testament: Text and Context

by Victor H. Matthews

This book examines the literature, history, and social context of the Old Testament and their relevance for making sense of this ancient collection. Particular attention is paid to differences between ancient Mediterranean and modern Western culture.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Old Testament, Religion

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Victor Harold Matthews (PhD, Brandeis University) is dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and professor of religious studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books, including Manners and Customs in the Bible, Studying the Ancient Israelites, Old Testament Turning Points, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Genesis–Deuteronomy.

Reviews

[cam_omile]

for class

[Mickey]

I worked through this during Lent and was happily surprised at the amount of detail. I am an archaeologist, have specialised in the early archaeology of the Middle East, and do a lot of Bible study. However, this book enlightened so many things for me. Knowing the context of the prophets and a lot of historical and archaeological “fact-checking” is so important to understand the Bible. This book is brilliant for any student, whether religious (Christian, Jewish, Muslim) or not. I definitely recommend!