Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Tony Prete <tonyp AT waterwheel.net>]

 At 11:24 AM 10/30/98 -0800, you wrote:
>The list of works which have "OT introduction", posted in the last few
>days, is impressive.
>
>Please keep in mind that the very use of the term "OT" suggests that the
>writer / work has a Christian perspective. Nothing wrong with that.
>However, these works often have a Weltanshaung that looks for
>interpretations that presage Jesus as the Messiah, very much NOT a Jewish
>perspective on the Hebrew Bible (aka OT). An illustration at the simplest
>level: the order of the contents following the Pentateuch, differs in
>Christian and Jewish editions, perhaps reflecting a Christian perspective.
>
>E.g., Sailhammer is very interesting, but also very Christian in his work

Though myself a Christian, I agree that the Hebrew Scriptures have value and validity in and of themselves, and do not require a Christian interpretation. In other words, I hold the same view that Jesus did (though not necessarily the New Testament writers). Subsequent interpretations notwithstanding, the Hebrew Scriptures remain (as my professor, Dr. Robert Bornemann frequently said) "the words through which God speaks"--whether God is speaking to Jew or Christian.

Though I agree with the distinction between "Hebrew Scriptures" and "Old Testament" (and I avoid using the latter as best I can), I don't agree that the latter necessarily implies a Christian orientation. For most people, I think, it is more a matter of usage than theology; "Old Testament" is the way they identify the Hebrew Scripture. In that vein, I offer the following:

I recommend highly the fourth edition of Bernhard W. Anderson's Understanding the Old Testament (Prentice Hall). His only mention of "Christianity" is in the opening chapter where he describes the differences between the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. The only reference to Jesus is in the section n the Wisdom literature where the last paragraph says that the Christian church sees the wisdom movement coming to fulfillment in Jesus, and shows this from Paul and John. Anderson has excellent chronological charts that detail the development of Israel and its place in  ANE history. His writing (and I'm speaking now as an editor) is clear and straightforward. He's easy to follow and respectful of all ANE traditions.

Another excellent text, though I haven't used it as extensively as Anderson, is the third edition of J. Alberto Soggin's Introduction to the Old Testament (Westminster/John Knox). the index shows 8 mentions of Jesus of Nazareth, all of which are in a context that does not limit or detract from the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures in and of themselves. The text is more dense than Anderson, but equally valuable.

I hope we are coming to a point where we value equally all subsequent interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures, whether their origins be Christian or Jewish.







Anthony Prete
Haddonfield, NJ USA

Masters Candidate
La Salle University
Philadelphia, Pa.