The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

"If the promised series of books on the biblical Torah to follow adhere to the high standard of scholarship, simplicity of language, ease of prose, and joy-in-reading of this volume they will be extremely useful." - Jim West, Quartz Hill School of Theology "The work is scholarly but accessible...the introduction makes a valuable contribution. Essential." - Choice Opening the Books of Moses presents an introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is written for any student engaged in the scholarly study of these most important of biblical texts. The aim throughout is to examine the books with a view to illuminating the ideas, beliefs and experiences of the time. The book presents a broad overview, which provides a survey of the current state of Pentateuchal research; an analysis of how the texts were shaped by their time and audience; an outline of Jewish areas in the Persian period; and an examination of key concerns and topics, notably the Torah, geography, ethnicity, Yahweh and other deities, theories of cult, treaties and oaths, and Moses. The book is the first volume in a six volume collection within the BibleWorld series that will explore in detail each of the individual books of the Pentateuch in turn. This first volume sets the stage as serves as a general introduction.

"If the promised series of books on the biblical Torah to follow adhere to the high standard of scholarship, simplicity of language, ease of prose, and joy-in-reading of this volume they will be extremely useful." - Jim West, Quartz Hill School of Theology "The work is scholarly but accessible...the introduction makes a valuable contribution. Essential." - Choice Opening the Books of Moses presents an introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is written for any student engaged in the scholarly study of these most important of biblical texts. The aim throughout is to examine the books with a view to illuminating the ideas, beliefs and experiences of the time. The book presents a broad overview, which provides a survey of the current state of Pentateuchal research; an analysis of how the texts were shaped by their time and audience; an outline of Jewish areas in the Persian period; and an examination of key concerns and topics, notably the Torah, geography, ethnicity, Yahweh and other deities, theories of cult, treaties and oaths, and Moses. The book is the first volume in a six volume collection within the BibleWorld series that will explore in detail each of the individual books of the Pentateuch in turn. This first volume sets the stage as serves as a general introduction.

Treats the question of interpreting difficult texts of the Bible that seem to shock our modern understanding of God and religious ideas.

In contrast to the Torah/Pentateuch, the Deuteronomistic History is not recognised by Jewish or Christian tradition as a separate collection and the term itself is an invention of modern biblical scholarship. In this detailed investigation of the Deuteronomistic History, Thomas Romer provides students and scholars of the Old Testament with a complete guide to this important subject. Romer briefly outlines the content of biblical books relevant to the study of Deuteronomistic History - Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel-Kings. He then defines the concept of Deuteronomistic History, surveying the evolution and history of the debate with particular emphasis on the work of Martin Noth. Romer then provides a sociological, historical and literary approach to the books from Deuteronomy to Kings. He examines questions such as: Why and how did Deuteronomism rise as a 'school' under Assyrian hegemony? What role did propaganda play in the composition of these books? What happened on an ideological and sociological level during the Exile and Persian period? Is the so-called Deuteronomistic literature properly understood as crisis literature? And what influence did the Deuteronomistic History have on the identity of the Second Temple period.

English summary: This introduction to the Old Testament not only presents the structure and content of the various books but also their central topics, historical background, and questions of authorship. It also contains essays on the history of research and the current discussion around the Pentateuch and the so-called Deuteronomistic historical oeuvre. All essays are written by well-known Old Testament specialists. German text. German description: Diese Einleitung bespricht neben Aufbau und Inhalt der Bucher des Alten Testaments auch ihre zentralen Themen, den geschichtlichen Hintergrund und die Verfasserfrage. Besonders behandelt werden zudem die Forschungsgeschichte und die aktuelle Diskussion um den Pentateuch und das sogenannte deuteronomistische Geschichtswerk. Neu hinzugekommen in der 2. Auflage des franzosischen Originals sind ein ausfuhrlicher Abriss uber die Geschichte Israels und Judas sowie das Kapitel Das Alte Testament der Ostkirchen. Die Beitrage stammen von ausgewiesenen Spezialisten des Alten Testaments: Philippe Abadie, Olivier Artus, Alain Buhlmann, Simon Butticaz, Philippe Guillaume, David Hamidovic, Innocent Himbaza, Ernst Axel Knauf, Michael Langlois, Corinne Lanoir, Thierry Legrand, Jean-Daniel Macchi, Christophe Nihan, Dany Nocquet, Albert de Pury, Thomas Romer, Martin Rose, Adrian Schenker, Konrad Schmid, Arnaud Serandour, Christoph Uehlinger, Jacques Vermeylen. Thomas Romer, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1955, ist Professsor fur Hebraische Bibel am College de France, Paris, und an der Universitat Lausanne. Jean-Daniel Macchi, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1963, ist Professor fur Altes Testament an der Faculte de theologie protestante der Universitat Genf. Christophe Nihan, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1972, ist Professor fur Hebraische Bibel und Geschichte des Alten Israel an der theologischen und religionswissenschaftlichen Fakultat der Universitat Lausanne. DE