Opening the Books of Moses (Hardcover, New)

"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.