From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch, 4th ed.

by T. Desmond Alexander

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2022

Overview

This accessibly written textbook has been a popular introduction to the Pentateuch for over twenty-five years. It identifies the major themes of the first five books of the Bible and offers an overview of their contents. Unlike some academic studies, it focuses on how the books from Genesis to Deuteronomy form a continuous story that provides an important foundation for understanding the whole Bible. This new edition has been substantially updated throughout to reflect the author's refined judgments and to address the future of pentateuchal studies.

Key Features

• Presents an introductory guide to the first five books of the Bible
• Seeks to guide the reader through the maze of modern approaches to the Pentateuch
• Focuses on the main themes of the Pentateuch as a unified literary work

Contents

Part 1: The Main Themes of the Pentateuch

• An Overview of the Pentateuch
• God’s Temple-City
• The Royal Lineage in Genesis
• The Blessing of the Nations
• Paradise Lost
• By Faith Abraham . . .
• Who Is the Lord?
• The Passover
• The Covenant at Sinai
• The Tabernacle
• Be Holy
• The Sacrificial System
• The Clean and the Unclean Foods
• Toward the Promised Land
• Murmurings
• Love and Loyalty
• Why Israel?
• The Pentateuch and the Biblical Metanarrative

Part 2: Pentateuchal Criticism

• Introduction to Pentateuchal Criticism
• The Rise of the Documentary Hypothesis
• Going behind the Documents
• The Documentary Hypothesis under Threat
• Exodus 19:1–31:18—A Test Case
• The Future of Pentateuchal Studies

Product Details

• Title: From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch, 4th ed.
• Author: T. Desmond Alexander
• Edition: Fourth Edition
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2022
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 422
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. O.T. Pentateuch › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• ISBNs: 9781493434640, 9781540963406, 9781540965240, 9781493434657, 9780801025976, 1493434640, 1540963403, 1540965244, 1493434659, 0801025974
• Resource ID: LLS:PRDSPRMSDPNTTCH
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:22:08Z

About T. Desmond Alexander

T. Desmond Alexander is director of Christian training at Union Theological College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. From 1980 to 1999, he was lecturer in Semitic studies at the Queen’s University of Belfast. His main field of research is the Pentateuch, about which he has written extensively in academic journals and books. Alexander also has a special interest in the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. He is the author of From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Main Themes of the Pentateuch and Abraham in the Negev, and he is a coeditor (with Brian S. Rosner) of the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (IVP, 2000), available from Logos.