<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A simple straightforward history of the Hebrews
Review: The Story of Israel is one of the textbooks for the Old Testament Survey course I teach at the community college. Because background information is essential to understanding the environment into which these people came (though VERY unpopular to students!), Dr. Tullock writes a brief but informative section on background. It is long enough to set the stage, but short enough to keep the students interested in the course. In an effort to keep the book short, Dr. Tullock does not cover everything, but does a great job overviewing and explaining the important spots. I am pleased with this book and plan to continue using it for the courses I teach.
Rating: 
Summary: About 100 years behind the times
Review: We used this as a textbook in Old Testament Survey at Belmont - I suspect largely because the author had just retired from a professorship there. The book is well written, and accessible, but not particulary useful.Tullock assumes the validity of the documentary hypothesis (as developed by Wellhausen et al.) and proceeds from there, which is a fatal flaw for two reasons: 1)The introductory student probably doesn't care about theories of composition and would be better served by spending more time becoming acquainted with the content and themes of the OT books; 2)Wellhausen's theories are deeply flawed, as many authors in the past century have pointed out (as an example, see Kline's Structure of Biblical Authority, which makes a compelling case that the form of Deuteronomy is that of an ancient treaty and only fits the milieu of the Mosaic period). Skip this one. Note: the above comments apply to the edition which was current in 1991. One hopes that Tullock has improved the book during the intervening decade.
<< 1 >>
| 
