In this new edition of Gerhard von Rad's classic work on the Moses traditions, the reader is provided with a more polished text, cross-references to von Rad's other works, an updated bibliography, Scripture index, and a new foreword by Walter Brueggemann. A German Lutheran pastor, University professor and a prolific Old Testament scholar, Gerhard von Rad sought a revival of Old Testament appreciation from a readership disheartened by two world wars. Hanson brings this important work to the present generation in the hopes of provoking the same reaction.

This critically acclaimed series provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The authors are scholars of international standing.

This volume contains some of the most important and enduring work of Gerhard von Rad, the most influential Old Testament theologian of the twentieth century. The chapters cover a broad range of topics, including the doctrine of creation, memory and tradition in Deuteronomy, historical writing in ancient Israel, cultic language in the Psalms, and the Old Testament worldview.

Synopsis: In this new edition of Gerhard von Rad's classic work on the Moses traditions, the reader is provided with a more polished text, cross-references to von Rad's other works, an updated bibliography, Scripture index, and a new foreword by Walter Brueggemann. Endorsements: This volume "sparkles and snaps with strong interpretive impulses that reflect on von Rad's courage and his clear-headedness about the appeal to its radical promises and its equally radical claims . . . von Rad understood well the continuing contemporeneity of the traditions that cluster around Moses, both as promise and as demand. These are radical invitations to be in the world differently." . . . There is no "obvious one-to-one correlation between the ancient dangers of Israel and our contemporary dangers, and von Rad clearly understood that one cannot easily slide from one to the other. His own work shows the difficult way of interpretation in connecting from one context of danger to another that requires interpretive skill and grace." --Walter Brueggemann, from the Foreword Author Biography: Gerhard von Rad (1901-1971) was Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg and was the premier Old Testament theologian of the twentieth century. Among his many publications are Old Testament Theology, 2 vols. (1962-1965), Wisdom in Israel (1972), and Genesis (rev. ed. 1972).

This republication of a classic work contains a new introduction by Walter Brueggemann that places Gerhard von Rad's work within the context of German theology, Old Testament theology, and the history of interpretation of the Old Testament. In Old Testament Theology, von Rad applies the most advanced results of form criticism to develop a new understanding of the Bible. His original approach is now available once again in English. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

This republication of a classic work contains a new introduction by Walter Brueggemann that places Gerhard von Rad's work within the context of German theology, Old Testament theology, and the history of interpretation of the Old Testament. In Old Testament Theology, von Rad applies the most advanced results of form criticism to develop a new understanding of the Bible. His original approach is now available once again in English. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

From the earliest days of Israel's existence as a people, holy war was a sacred institution, undertaken as a cultic act of a religious community. The concept of holy war, an intriguing and sometimes disturbing theme in the Old Testament, is given its most articulate expression in this classic study by the distinguished German scholar Gerhard von Rad. For Israel, the most important feature of holy war was the demand for faith in Yahweh's saving acts. However, von Rad argues, it was not Yahweh alone who acted; rather, because they envisioned Yahweh fighting on their behalf the Israelites themselves were inspired - and obliged - to fight even harder. In this regard, the actual events differed vastly from the picture given by the biblical narratives, which downplay and often exclude the human factor and stress the exclusive warlike action of Yahweh, thus equating holy war with absolute miracle.

This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the book of Genesis.

The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

This commentary on Deuteronomy meets and exceeds the high standards of the Old Testament Library series. It provides one of the most sophisticated explanations to date of the compositional process that produced Deuteronomy, presenting that process as a combination of large-scale redactional activity and "micro-redaction." The commentary is also attentive to the historical background of Deuteronomy's origins in the reigns of Manasseh and Josiah. The fresh translation that heads each section is followed by insightful linguistic comments that highlight Deuteronomy's famous homiletical and didactic style.

The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.