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.

In this volume, Jeremias suggests that the book of Amos was produced through various stages over time. While he does write from a critical perspective, his creativity offers a sensitivity to literary issues within the text that is often missing from critical work.

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.

English summary: Jorg Jeremias outlines for the modern reader the most important ideas emerging from the Old Testament concerning God. He connects the historical background with the generic history and aspects from systematic theology. In this volume Theology of the Old Testament the author outlines the most important ideas about God in the Old Testament. Some of the texts, however, span more than 500 years and belong to very different genres: The Old Testament is not a homogeneous book but a library of separate volumes. Thus, the author connects for the modern reader the historical background with a generic history as well as with aspects from systematic theology. His choice of themes reflects the cohesion of the Old and New Testaments and serves to inform the modern reader. German description: In seiner Theologie des Alten Testaments fasst Jorg Jeremias die wesentlichen Aussagen uber Gott im Alten Testament zusammen. Allerdings liegen dessen Texte weit mehr als ein halbes Jahrtausend auseinander und gehoren ganz verschiedenen Gattungen an; das Alte Testament ist kein einheitliches Buch, sondern eine Bibliothek. Daher verbindet Jeremias die historische Betrachtungsweise mit einer gattungsgeschichtlichen und zuletzt einer systematischen. Die Gewichtung und Auswahl der Themen ist im Blick auf den Zusammenhalt der beiden Testamente getroffen und hat zugleich heutige Leser im Blick.

The little book of Nahum has not received good press to this day, because it is commonly classified as one of the prophecies of the biblical prophets against foreign peoples. In contrast, the words of Nahum are directed against the capital of the then Assyrian empire, under whose rule the inhabitants of Judah groaned, and are therefore of a fundamentally different quality. In addition, the words of Nahum have been recorded because they relate to the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. had already fulfilled. Centuries later, as a confirmed word of God, they have served as a pillar of hope for people who suffered from oppression in the turning of their hardship. It is even more important that the younger authors of the book gained fundamental statements about God from Nahum's past prophecy. Jeremiah works out the roots of Nahum's message in the tradition of the early prophets of the Old Testament and impresses with the accuracy of the justification of exegetical decisions in conversation with other views. In addition - according to Jeremias - instead of several literary layers in the book, only two can be assumed.