Get It Now Dictionary Of The Old Testament: Historical Books Put Together By Bill T. Arnold Disseminated As Softcover

by Bill T. Arnold and Hugh G. M. Williamson, the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books picks up where the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch left offwith Joshua and Israel poised to enter the landand carries us through the postexilic period.
Following in the tradition of the awardwinning IVP dictionaries focused on the New Testament, this encyclopedic work is characterized by indepth articles focused on key topics, many of them written by noted experts.


The history of Israel forms the skeletal structure of the Old Testament, Understanding this history and the biblical books that trace it is essential to comprehending the Bible, The Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books is the only reference book focused exclusively on these biblical books and the history of Israel.


The dictionary presents articles on numerous historical topics as well as major articles focused on the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah.
Other articles focus on the Deuteronomistic History as well as the Chronicler's History, the narrative art of Israel's historians, innerbiblical exegesis, text and textual criticism, and the emergence of these books as canonical.
One feature is a series of eight consecutive articles on the periods of Israel's history from the settlement to postexilic period, which form a condensed history of Israel within the DOTHB.


SyroPalestinian archaeology is surveyed in one article, while significant archaeological sites receive focused treatment, usually under the names of biblical cities and towns such as Jerusalem and Samaria, Shiloh and Shechem, Dan and Beersheba.
Other articles delve into the histories and cultures of the great neighboring empiresEgypt, Assyria, Babylonia and Persiaas well as lesser peoples, such as the Ammonites, Edomites, Moabites, Philistines and Phoenicians.
In addition there are articles on architecture, Solomon's temple, agriculture and animal husbandry, roads and highways, trade and travel, and water and water systems,

The languages of Hebrew and Aramaic, as well as linguistics, each receive careful treatment, as well as the role of scribes and their schools, and writing and literacy in ancient Israel and its environs.
The DOTHB also canvases the full range of relevant extrabiblical written evidence, with five articles focused on the various nonIsraelite written sources as well as articles on Hebrew inscriptions and ancient Near Eastern iconography.


Articles on interpretive methods, on hermeneutics and on preaching the Historical Books will assist students and communicators in understanding how this biblical literature has been studied and interpreted, and its proper use in preaching.
In the same vein, theological topics such as God, prayer, faith, forgiveness and righteousness receive separate treatment,

The history of Israel has long been contested territory, but never more so than today, Much like the quest of the historical Jesus, a quest of the historical Israel is underway, At the heart of the quest to understand the history of Israel and the Old Testament's Historical Books is the struggle to come to terms with the conventions of ancient historiography.
How did these writers conceive of their task and to whom were they writing Clearly the Old Testament historians did not go about their task as we would today.
The divine word was incarnated in ancient culture,

Rather than being a dictionary of quick answers and easy resolutions readily provided, the DOTHB seeks to set out the evidence and arguments, allowing a range of informed opinion to enrich the conversation.
In this way it is hoped that the DOTHB will not only inform its readers, but draw them into the debate and equip them to examine the evidence for themselves.


Reference volumes in the IVP Bible Dictionary Series provide indepth treatment of biblical and theological topics in an accessible, encyclopedia format, including crosssectional themes, methods of interpretation, significant historical or cultural background, and each Old and New Testament book as a whole.
Great series! IVP Dictionaries are one of the most beneficial tools for background research I have found, Their thorough research into the key terms/ideas/words/places/people is formatted so well making it is easy to use, Their bibliography at the end of each section helps you find more resources if you want to go deeper, Essential for any Bible nerd library, This book is amazing for studying the Bible, Everything I have read in it is interesting and insightful, Great resource for subject research in the OT, Also has really valuable summaries of each book, Sometimes a bit dull to read, but full of great content, Presents both

conservative and liberal viewpoints, though it favors a more conservative reading of Scripture, Dictionaries are not for reading but for reference, However I did read this entire book as a companion to reading "the former prophets" in the Jewish Study Bible, I did not find this as informative as the companion volume on the Pentateuch, however this section of Scripture is difficult, Certainly I did gain a good perspective on a number of issues and over riding themes Deutronomistic history for example, The articles on "Methods of Interpretation" and "Hebrew Language" were particularly outstanding, On the Christian "liberal vs, conservative" scale, it depends on your perspective, While many will think this is conservative, from my viewpoint/background I would say it is liberal, Read significant portions for a class, Good resource with some exceptions, This dictionary had some helpful articles and some lessthanhelpful articles, Overall, this was better than some of the previous dictionaries Ive read in this series, Unfortunately, they still tend to dwell on more popular modern interpretations that call the Bible into doubt rather than defend it as Gods Word, Its a great resource to know what other theologians are saying and how to refute them, With a higher concentration of authors drawing on archeological data for support than in any of the other IVP dictionaries, this one is well worth its weight in gold.
There are a number of articles that leave the academic reader wishing for a tighter, more coherent argument, However, on the whole this entry to the series is one of my top favorites, more interesting than it sounds, Bill T. Arnold PhD, Hebrew Union College is Paul S, Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wil, Kentucky, He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Encountering the Book of Genesis, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, and a commentary onandSamuel.
He is also the coauthor with Bryan E, Beyer of Encountering the Old Testament, .