The Old Testament: Historical Traditions

Paul Nadim Tarazi
Series: The Old Testament: An Introduction, vol. 1

This revised edition of Paul Tarazi’s The Old Testament: An Introduction - Historical Traditions takes into account twelve years of additional research.  The way historical background is presented constitutes the biggest challenge: this book no longer includes a reconstruction of the “history of Israel.”  The author concludes that none of the scriptural books were intended to offer a history in the sense that we se the word today, so any efforts to construct such a history necessarily leads one astray from the original intention of the scriptural text.  What the books’ original authors and editors did intend was to present a long mašal - a Hebrew word that is variously translated “parable,” allegory,” “proverb,” or “edifying story.” Therefore, the best way to understand the biblical books is to focus on the story itself.

Required for Antiochian House of Studies, Unit 2
197 pages
Paperback
Published 1991
size: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5”
ISBN-13: 978-0-88141-105-8
ISBN: 0-88141-105-1