Introduction to the Old Testament: A Liberation Perspective

Rating:
Summary: Bland presentation, mediocre scholarship
Review: A publisher-friend told me about this book. She said it was just the kind of slick, easy-to-sell textbook that people want. So I took her up on the suggestion and used it in a class that I taught last fall. BIG MISTAKE. The presentation is bland. The scholarship is 10-20 years out-of-date, and the liberation perspective is a throwback to an earlier era (circa 1960-70's). Thankfully, there are still much better books out there (Anderson, Childs, Crenshaw, Duggan).

PS: My students cheered when I announced at the end of the semester that I would be using a different text in the future.

Rating:
Summary: There are better books
Review: I'm taking a course on the OT and the prof uses this book. I find the book very confusing at times.

For instance, chapters 9 and 10 are very confusing. He explains that Conquest and Gradual Settlement Models of Israel fairly well, but he does not explain the retribalizing. I was asking myself questions such as "who is retribalising?" Thankfully, I have a prof that explained this fairly well.

If, like me, you have to read this book, I wish you the best if luck in your course. To others, forget this book and get another one.

Rating:
Summary: VERY READABLE INTRO. TEXT- "modern Catholic perspective"!
Review: It is difficult to find a reasonably priced, scholarly yet easily readable OT Intro text. I had been using the Boadt READING THE OLD TESTAMENT, which I enjoyed, when our professor recommended Ceresko's book as a good and more recent alternative. If a person were to study both of these texts, paying attention to the bibliographies, one would be well served.