Table of Contents

Preface vPart One An Introduction to the Bible and the Biblical World Chapter 1 The Bible: An OverviewChapter 2 How the Bible Was Created: Transmission, Canonization, and TranslationChapter 3 The Ancient Near East: The Environment That Produced the Bible Part Two The Torah (Divine Instruction) Chapter 4 The Five Books of Torah (the Pentateuch): Themes and Theories Chapter 5 In the Beginning: The Book of GenesisChapter 6 Freedom and Responsibility: The Book of ExodusChapter 7 Law, Holiness, and Rebellion: The Books of Leviticus and Numbers Chapter 8 A New Vision of Moses’ Teaching: The Book of Deuteronomy Part Three The Prophets I Chapter 9 The Story of Ancient Israel: How the Promised Land Was Gained and LostChapter 10 Faith and War: The Book of Joshua Chapter 11 Yahweh’s Warriors: The Book of JudgesChapter 12 The Rise of David and the Birth of a Kingdom: The Books of 1 and 2 SamuelChapter 13 From the Glory of Solomon to Exile in Babylon: The Books of 1 and 2 KingsPart Four The Prophets II Chapter 14Israel’s Spokespersons for GodChapter 15 Prophets to the Northern Kingdom: The Oracles of Amos and Hosea Chapter 16 Prophets of the Assyrian Threat: The Oracles of Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, and NahumChapter 17 Prophets of the Babylonian Crisis: The Oracles of Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Obadiah Chapter 18 Prophets in Exile: The Oracles of Ezekiel and Second Isaiah Chapter 19 After the Exile—Israel’s Last Prophets: The Oracles of Haggai, Zechariah, Third Isaiah, Joel, Malachi, and JonahPart Five The Writings Chapter 20 After the Exile: Israel’s Changing Life with GodChapter 21 The Postexilic Readjustment: The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah Chapter 22 Worshiping at the Second Temple: Hebrew Poetry and the Book of PsalmsChapter 23Israel’s Wisdom Writers: The Books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes Chapter 24 Festival Scrolls: The Books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, and EstherChapter 25 Reinterpreting Israel’s History: The Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles Chapter 26 Keeping God’s Law in a Hostile World: Revolt of the Maccabees and the Book of DanielChapter 27 The Second Canon: Books of the ApocryphaPart Six The New TestamentChapter 28 The World in Which Christianity Originated: Roman Power, Greek Culture, and the Cult of Deified RulersChapter 29 First-Century Judaism: Diversity, Messianic Expectations, and the Birth of Christianity Chapter 30 Telling Jesus’ Story: The Gospel of MarkChapter 31 The Synoptic Problem: The Gospel of Matthew and Its Relationship to the Gospels of Mark and LukeChapter 32 Jesus as a Savior for “All Nations”: The Gospel of Luke Chapter 33 Another Way of Telling Jesus’ Story: The Gospel of John Chapter 34 An Account of Early Christianity: The Book of ActsChapter 35 Paul and the Gentile Mission: Letters to Churches at Thessalonica, Corinth, Galatia, Rome, Philippi, and ColossaeChapter 36 Continuing the Pauline Tradition: Second Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, and the Pastoral Epistles Chapter 37General Letters on Faith and Behavior: Hebrews and the Catholic EpistlesChapter 38 Continuing the Apocalyptic Hope: The Book of Revelation Chapter 39 Our Biblical Legacy: Evolving Concepts of GodGlossaryIndex

About the Author

Stephen L. Harris is Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento, where he served ten years as department chair. A Woodrow Wilson Fellow, he received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. A member of the Society of Biblical Literature, his publications include Understanding the Bible (8th edition, 2011); The Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (with Robert Platzner); Classical Mythology: Images and Insights (with Gloria Platzner); Exploring the Bible; and Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes, a survey of volcanic hazards on the U.S. Pacific Coast; and for National Geographic Books, Restless Earth, a study of global earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. He contributed the chapter on Archaeology and Volcanism to the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (Academic Press, 2000).