Engaging the Old Testament

How to Read Biblical Narrative, Poetry, and Prophecy Well

Hernández, Dominick S.

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9781493436583
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This introductory textbook invites students into the depths and riches of the Old Testament and shows the Old Testament's relevance for Christian readers. Rising Latino evangelical Old Testament scholar Dominick Hernández demonstrates how to read Old Testament texts well and put the ancient written word into practice in our day and age. Hernández shows that four core commitments put readers on the right trajectory for reading and applying the Old Testament to their lives: (1)reading humbly, (2)reading successively, (3)reading entirely, and (4)reading deliberately. Students will learn how to become better readers of the text and how to read select Old Testament passages well, paying attention to how the biblical authors used rhetorical techniques to provoke readers to action.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsements
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• 1. What’s the Old Testament “God” to Do with Me?
• 2. The Commitment to Really Reading
• 3. From Talking to Tablets to Tabernacle to Today
• 4. Reading from Today Back to the Text
• 5. The Confessions of a Close Reader
• 6. How the Old Testament Is Told
• 7. Learning to Love the Law?
• 8. Seeds of Remembrance
• 9. Redeeming Rahab the Conqueror
• 10. Why Is the Book of Judges So Weird?
• 11. Hannah and Ruth
• 12. King David’s True Legacy
• 13. Divided Allegiances to Divided Kingdom
• 14. How Biblical Poets Wrote Poetry
• 15. How Biblical Poets Wrote Poetry
• 16. Metaphors and Retributive Justice in the Poetry of Job
• 17. How Prophets Prophesy
• 18. How to Engage Poetic Prophecy
• 19. Who Is Isaiah’s Suffering Servant?
• Postscript
• Bibliography
• Scripture Index
• Subject Index
• Back Cover