In this introductory volume to the Old Testament, veteran biblical scholar Arthur Bellinzoni walks the reader through a detailed textual analysis of the Old Testament. He clearly demonstrates how anyone can comprehend the Bible better by building a proper historical reconstruction through the collection and interpretation of meaningful evidence. In doing so, Bellinzoni affords the reader relevant insights into the methods of biblical scholarship, and into the results that come with applying those methods to the books of the Old Testament. This in turn provides both biblical experts and novices with an accurate portrayal of some of history’s most debated events, along with the intellectual tools and resources to approach these, and other historical events, in a logical and effective manner

Complete with illuminating diagrams and maps, this lucidly written, fact-filled work will provide the reader with a compass for journeying through the troubling mazelike terrain between the Bible’s version of ancient Israel as the “acts of Israel’s God Yahweh,” and the contemporary secular exercise of “doing history,” which demands an objective, detached, and dispassionate perspective. Bellinzoni’s well-reasoned reconstruction of the past will enlighten and inform both regular readers of the Bible and those largely unfamiliar with its contents. By focusing on issues of methodology, this study enables readers to appreciate the reasons for applying sound scholarship to the Bible as well as to other documents or artifacts of immense historical significance.