The Old Testament and God: Old Testament Origins and the Question of God
By Craig G. Bartholomew (Baker Academic)
Nobody can fault Craig Bartholomew for placing the bar too low in terms of goal-setting. He wants to do for Old Testament studies what N.T. Wright has done for New Testament studies. In The Old Testament and God—the first book in a projected four-volume project—he is off to a promising start.
In this hefty volume, Bartholomew sets out the rationale for a new paradigm in Old Testament studies, audaciously beginning with the notion that the living God revealed himself through word and deed to the people of Israel. Contrary to some schools of thought that assert serious Old Testament scholarship requires a singular focus on the human dimension, Bartholomew dares to see the Old Testament as a collection of writings primarily about God and his divine actions. He seeks to break down the dividing wall between theological studies and Old Testament studies.
Belief in divine revelation does not mean Bartholomew naively thinks the Old Testament emerged in a cultural vacuum. He devotes about 40 percent of this 500-plus-page volume to an exploration of ancient Near Eastern world views—Egyptian, Sumerian, Hittite, Assyrian, Babylonian, Aramean, Phoenician, Canaanite and Persian. While noting the similarities between the Old Testament and the various other ancient Near Eastern religious writings, he points to what he calls “the Mosaic distinction”—a radical monotheism that rejected all neighboring deities as false idols.
Bartholomew offers substantive insights for serious students of the Old Testament.
Ken Camp, managing editor
Baptist Standard
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