Engaging and accessible to students from all backgrounds,A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context,Second Edition, is an updated, concise, and more pedagogical version of Michael D. Coogan's best-sellingThe Old Testament: A Historical and LiteraryIntroduction to the Hebrew Scriptures,Second Edition (OUP, 2010).Coogan works primarily from a historical and critical methodology but also introduces students to literary analysis and other interpretive strategies.He examines all the books of the Hebrew Bible and considers additional writings from the ancient Near East. The Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical books are included in an appendix. Providing a nondenominational and nondoctrinal treatment, this text offers a unique and captivating introduction to the Hebrew scriptures themselves and to how they have been--and can be--interpreted. PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES: * Chapter introductions connecting each chapter to the preceding material and previewing the material to come * Chapter summaries that highlight key points and link each chapter to the rest of the book * Important terms, boldfaced at their first appearance and defined in the glossary * Numerous strategically placed text boxes that offer interesting and useful supplementary information * Timelines, photos, illustrations, maps, and a four-color insert on Jerusalem in biblical times * Review questions, suggestions for further reading, a general bibliography, and annotated bibliographies at the end of each chapter * A FREE 6-month subscription to Oxford Biblical Studies Online (www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com)--a $180 value--with the purchase of every new copy of this text. Please contact your Oxford University Press Sales Representative at 800.280.0280 for details. NEW TO THIS EDITION: * Fully revised for even easier readability, with additional coverage of such compelling topics as levirate marriage--in which the brother of a deceased man is obligated to marry his brother's widow--the law of talion ("an eye for an eye"), and traditionally pure and impure foods * Three new text boxes: "Myth and the Bible," "'God' and the Lord (God)," and "The Judges of Israel in the Book of Judges" * Ten new or revised illustrations and maps * Expanded and improved glossary and timelines * Thoroughly updated general and chapter bibliographies * A new table in the appendix depicting the modern equivalents for biblical weights and measures * Afully updated Instructor's Resource CDfeaturing a test bank of multiple-choice questions, chapter summaries, essay questions, Powerpoint-based lecture outlines, suggested readings, a glossary, and downloadable PDF files of maps from the book * Anupdated Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/coogancontaining all of the material from the Instructor's Manual along with student resources including self-quizzes, a glossary, maps, and relevant links