Fully revised and updated using contemporary literary approaches and the most recent historical scholarship, this introduction to the Hebrew Bible provides a thorough and coherent approach to the basic human issues of the Scriptures. It emphasizes the meanings that the Hebrews gave to persons and events in their attempts to manage life’s struggles, and provides textual aids that help students understand these ideas and apply them to contemporary issues. After an initial presentation on the nature of biblical literature, the Book of Genesis is treated as a theological prelude to Israel’s story. Subsequent chapters are organized around epochs in Hebrew life. Throughout the book the authors stress the human issues at stake in Israel’s memory and the preservation of its history, and how circumstances and thought influenced the Hebrew perceptions and understanding of God.

Accessible and stimulating to students of the Hebrew Bible with a wide range of academic and religious backgrounds, People of the Covenant is grounded in the best scholarly methodologies, respect for the rich literary values of the Hebrew Bible, and concern for its enduring religious relevance.