Book Write-Up: An Introduction to the Old Testament, by John Goldingay

John Goldingay.  An Introduction to the Old Testament: Exploring Text, Approaches and Issues.  IVP Academic, 2015.  See here to purchase the book.

John Goldingay is a biblical scholar who teaches Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary.  As the title indicates, this book is an introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

Here are some observations and thoughts about the book:

A.  The book asks readers to read biblical passages and answer questions about them.  One may enter into this book thinking it is a workbook, but such an impression would be misleading.  Although readers are asked to do some work, Goldingay still shares his own insights about the meaning, messages, and theological significance of biblical writings, along with issues surrounding those writings, such as the question of their historicity, and how they compare with ancient Near Eastern religion and writings.

B.  Goldingay frequently refers readers to online material, which is located at his web site.  The online material goes more deeply into issues that are raised in this book.

C.  I just read this book, without reading the tempting online material and the biblical passages.  Just reading the book by itself, I questioned how effective of an introduction to the Hebrew Bible this book would be for beginners.  Don’t get me wrong: the book presents a lot of scholarly information, in a lucid manner.  You will get the history of the Documentary Hypothesis, a summary of various positions on the historicity of key biblical stories (i.e., the Exodus, the Conquest), and a summary and interpretation of the highlights of each biblical book.  Not only was the book helpful in clarifying the biblical text, but it also presented models and insights that were new to me; its explanation of Job and Ecclesiastes, as well as its model for the development of the Book of Daniel, come to mind as excellent discussions.  Each chapter is two pages, though, and that can easily give the impression that the treatment of the material is rather cursory.  One needs to pay attention to what one is reading, or one may miss significant details: it is like a quick car ride, in areas.  If one reads and interacts with the biblical passages, consults the materials on Goldingay’s web site, and lingers over each chapter, however, that may enhance, round out, and deepen the educational process.

D.  The best aspect of this book, in my opinion, is its sensitivity to Christian students who may have issues with the historical-critical method of reading the Bible.  Goldingay embraces that method.  He embraces positions that are conservative, but also positions that conservatives would reject.  But he attempts to offer a way forward for people to accept the historical-critical method, while still having faith in the Bible as divine revelation.  For example, he rejects the idea that the biblical writings are a bunch of pious frauds.  When the Book of Daniel depicts events prior to and during its day within the genre of predictions about the future, as if Daniel was a figure from the past who foresaw those events, Goldingay does not regard that as a con job; he thinks that the Book of Daniel’s second century BCE audience was well aware that those prophecies were written in their own time rather than in the sixth century BCE, but they saw the point of the book as God’s sovereignty over history.  When people wrote in the name of Moses or Isaiah, Goldingay maintains that they were not seeking to be fraudulent, for people back then honored those who inspired them by writing in their name.  Goldingay does not really provide rigorous support for these claims.  One can challenge some of them: I think of Bart Ehrman’s argument that forgery in the New Testament period was looked down upon, even though it was practiced.  Still, Goldingay does well to offer these suggestions.  If one wants to give the biblical writers the benefit of a doubt, to posit a model in which they sincerely believed in their message yet did things that many today would see as fraudulent, then Goldingay’s suggestions may be the way to go.

E.  The book frequently revisited the question of whether Old Testament prophecies were actually fulfilled in history.  When Isaiah said something would happen to Assyria, for example, did it happen?  That is an important question, and Goldingay did well to address it, honestly yet with sensitivity to theological ramifications.

F.  I was ambivalent about his discussion of animal sacrifices.  Goldingay tried to distance sacrifices from being about atonement and the forgiveness of sin.  In one place, he states that the Epistle to the Hebrews is right: as far as the Old Testament is concerned, the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin!  According to Goldingay, when Psalm 51 talks about sacrifices being offered, that is after the broken divine-human relationship is restored; the sacrifices are not what lead to the restoration, but they are the worship of God that occurs after the restoration.  Goldingay may have a point.  Unlike some evangelicals, I doubt that every reference to sacrifices in the Hebrew Bible is about atonement.  They may concern seeking God’s favor by offering a gift, showing God honor, or fellowship with God by eating a meal with God.  At the same time, I doubt that sacrifices can be divorced from atonement.  There are sin and guilt offerings, and, in Leviticus-Numbers, they seem to relate to the forgiveness of unintentional sins, sometimes even transgressions.  In addition, if sacrifices were unrelated to atonement, why does Hebrews go out of its way to deny that the blood of animals can take away sin?  Why would the blood of animals and atonement be mentioned in the same sentence, if at least some did not posit a connection between the two?

My critiques notwithstanding, I give this book five stars.  It was informative and, in some cases, profound.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.  My review is honest!