Table of Contents

Preface

List of Boxes, Tables, and Illustrations

CHAPTER 1--The Bible: An Overview

Why we Read the Bible
The Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible (Tanak)
The New Testament
How the Bible Was Formed and Handed Down to Us
How the Bible Became Available in English
The Bible and Modern Scholarship

PART I: THE HEBREW BIBLE (OLD TESTAMENT)

CHAPTER 2--History and Geography of the Near East

Prologe to the Biblical World
Mesopotamia, Site of the World's First Urban Civilization
Egypt, The First National State
Canaan and Israel
Alexander's Conquests and the Hellenistic Era
The Roman Occupation of Judea
The Promised Land

CHAPTER 3--The God of Israel: A Composite Portrait

The Names of God
Yahweh: Leader of the Divine Council
Roles and Characteristics of the Biblical God
God in the New Testament

CHAPTER 4--The Torah: Five Books of Divine Instruction (The Pentateuch)

Who Wrote the "Books of Moses"?
The Documentary Hypotheses: Four Sources of the Pentateuch)
Some Literary Forms in the Pentateuch
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

CHAPTER 5--The Prophets (Nevi'im) I: The Deuteronomistic History

The Deuteronomistic Theory of History
Major Events and Their Meaning
Observing the Order of the Hebrew Bible
Joshua
Judges
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings

CHAPTER 6--The Prophets (Nevi'im) II: Collections Attributed to Individual Prophets

Spokespersons for God
The Three Great Crises
Order of the Prophets' Appearances
Amos
Hosea
Isaiah
Micah
Zephaniah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Jeremiah
Obadiah
Ezekiel
"Second Isaiah"
Haggai
Zechariah
"Third Isaiah"
Joel
Malachi
Jonah

CHAPTER 7--The Writings (Kethuvim): Books of Poetry, Wisdom, Short Fiction, and Sacred History

After the Exile: A Reinterpretation of Judah's Religious Mission
Hebrew Poetry
Psalms
Wisdom Literature
Proverbs
Job
Ecclesiastes
Festival Scrolls
Ruth
Song of Songs
Lamentations
Esther
Reinterpreting Israel's History for the Postexilic World
Ezra
Nehemiah
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles

CHAPTER 8--Deuterocanonical, Apocalyptic, and Extracanonical Works

The Covenant People in the Hellenistic World
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
Apocalyptic Literature and the Book of Daniel
Daniel
Additions to Daniel
Other Apocalyptic Works
2 Esdras
Pseudepigrapha
1 Enoch (Ethiopic Book of Enoch)
2 Enoch (Slavonic Book of Enoch)
Sibylline Oracles
Other Deuterocanonical Writings (Books of the Apocrypha)
Tobit
Judith
Additions to Esther
Baruch
Ecclesiasticus (The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach)
The Wisdom of Solomon (Wisdom)
Other Works of the Pseudepigrapha
Letter of Aristeas
Book of Jubilees
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
Books of Adam and Eve

CHAPTER 9--Between the Two Testaments: Hellenistic Culture and the Growth of Multiple Judaisms

Political Events
Hellenistic Thought, Culture, and Religion
The Mystery of Religions
The Diverse World of First-Century Judaisms
The Messiah: First Century Expectations
PART II: THE NEW TESTAMENT (THE CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES)

CHAPTER 10--The Books of the New Testament: The Gospels

Literary Categories in the New Testament
The Synoptic Gospels
Four Distinctive Portraits of Jesus
Mark's Gospel
Matthew's Gospel
Luke's Gospel
John's Gospel

CHAPTER 11--The Other Gospels: Additional Portraits of Jesus

Contrasting Portrayals of Jesus
The Gospel of Thomas
Secret Mark
The Gospel of Peter
Gospels about Jesus' Infancy and Childhood
The Continuing Quest for the Historical Jesus
Early Historical References to Jesus
Scholarly Portrayals of Jesus
Some General Agreements about the Historical Jesus
Jesus' Teachings about the Kingdom

CHAPTER 12--A Christian History and the Pauline Letters

The Book of Acts: A Story of Christian Beginnings
Paul and the Gentile Mission
1 Thessalonians
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Romans
Phillipians
Philemon
The Disputed Pauline Letters
2 Thessalonians
Colossians
Ephesians
The Pastoral Letters
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus

CHAPTER 13--General Epistles and Some Visions of Endtime

Hebrews and the Catholic ("General") Epistles
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
Jude
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Other Early Christian Letters and Tracts
The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)
1 Clement
The Epistle of Barnabus
Visions of Endtime
Revelation
The Apocalypse of Peter