Understanding Old Testament Theology: Mapping the Terrain of Recent Approaches

Over the past century, the field of Old Testament studies has seen an explosion of theologies of the Old Testament, a trend that has only intensified in the past ten or twenty years. This proliferation of literature has made it difficult for students, pastors, laity—and even scholars—to keep up with.

In Understanding Old Testament Theology, professors Brittany Kim and Charlie Trimm clearly organize and explain the myriad contemporary approaches to Old Testament theology.

The book begins by highlighting the flash points that have produced such a wide range of Old Testament theologies and presents a brief history of the discipline. It then explores various approaches to Old Testament theology in seven chapters, divided into three parts. Part I examines approaches that ground Old Testament theology in history. Part II surveys approaches that foreground Old Testament theme(s). Finally, Part III considers approaches that highlight different contexts for doing Old Testament theology. Each main chapter describes both common features of the approach and points of tension and then offers a test case illuminating how it has been applied to the book of Exodus.

Accessible and unique, Understanding Old Testament Theology provides the only summary introduction of its kind to the field of Old Testament biblical theology.