A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament

Although many Catholics are familiar with the four Gospels or other writings of the New Testament, for most, reading the Old Testament is like walking into a foreign land. Who wrote these 46 books? When were they written? Why were they written? What are we to make of its laws, its stories, its history, its prophecies? Should it be read by itself, or in light of the New Testament?

In this exciting new volume, John Bergsma and Brant Pitre offer a readable, exciting, and in-depth introduction to every single book of the Old Testament. Unlike other introductions, this volume not only examines the language, literature, and culture of the Old Testament from a historical perspective. It also interprets the Old Testament from a theological perspective, drawing on the New Testament, the living Tradition, and the faith of the Catholic Church. Perhaps most unique of all, this introduction also places the Old Testament in its liturgical context, showing how each book is used in the Scripture Readings of the contemporary Lectionary.

For decades, Catholics have needed an up-to-date Introduction to the Bible that is both readable enough for anyone to pick it up and begin to study but also in-depth enough to serve as a textbook for seminarians, graduate students, directors of religious education, and interested lay readers. Now we have one. It can be used as a textbook for classes on the Bible, for "Bible studies" on individual books of the Old Testament, or as a reference work for the general reader. Through its unique combination of history and theology, faith and reason, Scripture and tradition, Old and New Testaments, the work is sure to be a landmark volume for Catholic Scripture studies in the 21st century.