A Book You Must Obtain
February 21, 2008 — JimThe Old Testament: Between Theology and History
That’s the title of an excellent book forthcoming in the Westminster John Knox Press written by Niels Peter Lemche (and scheduled to appear by November- just in time for the Boston meeting of the SBL). It
“… has four parts, introduced by a “Prolegomena” and followed by an “Appendix” on the history of Palestine. The first part, “From Theology to History,” presents an outline of the emergence of historical-critical studies and describes some of its major characteristics. … The point of departure for the second part, “The Crisis for History,” is the basic logical problem of classic historical-critical study, i.e., the kind of circular argumentation used by this direction within biblical studies, sometimes called “the hermeneutical circle.” … In the third part, “From History and Back to Theology,” I try to present a kind of “consolation” to readers by proposing a new way for critical studies. … The fourth part “Old Testament and Biblical Theology,” is devoted to theological discussion about the Old Testament in the 20th century “(excerpted from the Preface).
It should be of wide interest to biblical scholars and historians and when price and availability details are announced, I’ll post them. It is certainly something to keep your eyes open for and it most certainly is something worth reading.
[N.B.- This was posted formerly but I was able to locate a copy and am compelled- because of my great enthusiasm for it- to locate and offer it again].
