Synopses & Reviews
This best-selling nonsectarian guide is designed for students undertaking their first systematic study of the Bible. It is the only single-volume introductory textbook that places each book of the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and the New Testament fully in its historical and cultural context. Understanding the Bible acquaints readers with the content as well as the major themes of each biblical book, and familiarizes them with the goals and methods of important scholarship.
About the Author
Stephen L. Harris is Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento, where he served ten years as department chair. A Woodrow Wilson Fellow, he received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. A member of the American Academy of Religion and the Jesus Seminar, his publications include Understanding the Bible, The Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, and The New Testament: A Students Introduction. He has also written books on geologic hazards, including Fire and Ice: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes, Agents of Chaos: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Other Geologic Hazards, and, for National Geographic Books, Restless Earth. He contributed the chapter on “Archaeology and Volcanism” to the new Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (Academic Press, 2000).
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – The Bible: An OverviewChapter 2 – The Process of Formation: How the Bible Came to Be Written, Transmitted, Canonized, and TranslatedPart One – The Hebrew Bible: Tanak, or Old TestamentPhoto Essay - Mesopotamia: Fountainhead of Biblical Tradition
Chapter 3 – The Ancient Near East: The Environment that Produced the BibleChapter 4 – The God of Israel: An Evolving PortraitChapter 5 – The Torah: Five Books of Divine TeachingPhoto Essay - Archaeology of the Bible
Chapter 6 – The Prophets (Nevi'im) I: The Story of Israel: From Promised Land to ExileChapter 7 – The Prophets (Nevi'im) II: Individual Spokespersons for GodPhoto Essay - Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon
Chapter 8 – The Writings (Kethuvim): Books of Poetry, Wisdom, Short Fiction, Apocalyptic Visions, and Sacred HistoryChapter 9 – Books of the Second Canon: The ApocryphaChapter 10 – Between the Two Testaments: Greek Culture and the Growth of Multiple JudaismsPart II – The New TestamentPhoto Essay - Archaeological Sites and Artifacts Associated with Jesus' Life
Chapter 11 – Books of the New Testament: An OverviewChapter 12 – The Gospels: Four Portraits of JesusPhoto Essay - Diverse Portraits of Jesus
Chapter 13 – The Continuing Quest for the Historical JesusChapter 14 – An Account of Christian Origins and the Pauline LettersPhoto Essay - Paul and His World
Chapter 15 – General Letters and a Vision of End TimeChapter 16 – Interpreting the Judeo-Christian Bible in a Changed WorldGlossaryIndex