A Historical Theology of the Hebrew Bible
Overview
In this meticulously researched study, Konrad Schmid offers a historical clarification of the concept of “theology.” He then examines the theologies of the three constituent parts of the Hebrew Bible—the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings— before tracing how these theological concepts developed throughout the history of ancient Israel and early Judaism.
Schmid not only explores the theology of the biblical books in isolation, but he also offers unifying principles and links between the distinct units that make up the Hebrew Bible. By focusing on both the theology of the whole Hebrew Bible as well as its individual pieces, A Historical Theology of the Hebrew Bible provides a comprehensive discussion of theological work within the Hebrew Bible.
- Analyzes the theological dimension of Hebrew Bible
- Integrates the theological themes into the current literary and historical studies
- Addresses related issues of canon, methodology, and inner-biblical interconnectedness
- Introduction
- The Use of the Concept of Theology in Relation to the Bible
- Hebrew Bible and Old Testament
- Methodological Reflections
- Theologies of Extant Hebrew Bibles and Old Testaments
- Theologies of the Three Parts of the Canon and Their Collections
- The Principal Theological Guidelines in the Literary History of the Hebrew Bible
- Themes in the Theology of the Hebrew Bible
- The Question of a Jewish Theology of the Hebrew Bible or a Christian Theology of the Old Testament
Top Highlights
“True biblical theology’ remains within the historical framework of the biblical world and its thought paradigm” (Page 23)
“textual object, the Hebrew Bible, should also be pointed out. There is no such thing as the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament” (Page xvi)
“distinct from one another in terms of their theological message” (Page 24)
“, neither are its contents simply nontheological.” (Page 54)
A Historical Theology of the Hebrew Bible is an impressive attempt to reinvigorate the theological enterprise as part of academic research of the Hebrew Bible. Readers will differ on whether Schmid has succeeded, or perhaps on whether such an attempt should even be made. But no one can deny that this volume is a herculean effort, one that required a scholar of Schmid’s gravitas. None of us involved in research of the Hebrew Scriptures can afford to ignore what he has offered here, which is indeed something of a personal tour de force.
—Bill T. Arnold, Asbury Theological Seminary
A Historical Theology of the Hebrew Bible by Konrad Schmid is a massive and compelling contribution to Hebrew Bible studies. Schmid’s deep, rich volume sketches out diachronic and synchronic dimensions of the Hebrew Bible and its texts, as well as the critical, theological issues that they entail; he additionally problematizes the enterprise in light of the long history of ‘biblical theology’ from the Reformation on. Arguably the most important work on the topic in the last fifty years, this magnum opus is must-reading for anyone interested in the theology/theologies of the Hebrew Bible.
—Mark S. Smith, Princeton Theological Seminary
Konrad Schmid’s new book is a veritable library on the study of the Hebrew Bible. Seemingly everything about this Bible and the history of its study is addressed concisely, provocatively, and with ample reference to the primary sources and the scholarship, especially that of the Germanic world, on them. Schmid is particularly alert to the many problems of construing a theology of the Hebrew Bible posed by the text itself and its often tortured history of interpretation. In the end, he makes a powerful case for a biblical theology that is historically grounded and sensitive—a theology that risks the delicate balancing act of concern for the plurality of views in the Hebrew Bible and what subsequent interpreters have made of it and for the overarching themes that can also be discerned.
—Peter Machinist, Harvard University
- Title: A Historical Theology of the Hebrew Bible
- Author: Konrad Schmid
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Pages: 456
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. O.T. › Theology--History
- ISBNs: 9780802876935, 0802876935
- Resource ID: LLS:HSTRCLTHHBRWBBL
- Resource Type: text.monograph.biblical-theology
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:38:51Z