Old Testament introductions will give students a broad understanding of scholarly discussions in OT studies. However, it is necessary that students also enter into these debates by reading the primary sources for themselves. Here are some sources that deal with various criticisms in general, as well as specific works on critical methods:
Reading the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study
John Barton
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.
Barton provides an overview of the various methods in OT study, from literary criticism to postmodern criticisms like deconstructionism, as well as suggested works for further study. In short, Barton's thesis is that attempting to view one method as the right way of reading is flawed.
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The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture
Iain Provan
Waco: Baylor University Press
In this book, Provan deals with general hermeneutics and biblical studies, but it also provides a good engagement with critical methods. Section III is especially pertinent to the discussion of critical methods and their place within Christian hermeneutics.
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Prolegomena to the History of Israel
Julius Wellhausen
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013
Wellhausen presents his version of the documentary hypothesis, which paved the way for much of the literary/source criticism of the OT. Though a full Wellhausian view is no longer the mainstream model, this book was an important pioneering work.
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Form Criticism of the Old Testament
Gene Tucker
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971.
Tucker provides an introduction to the form critical method, principles, and aims. This work also provides an example of various forms that the form critic may identify in narrative and prophetic passages. Like Habel’s work on literary criticism, Tucker provides a helpful introduction and demonstration of the form critical approach.
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The Psalms: A Form Critical Introduction
Hermann Gunkel
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967.
As source criticism is linked to Wellhausen, so is form criticism connected to Hermann Gunkel. Gunkel emphasised the Sitz im Leben (setting in life) of particular genres or forms of the OT text. This is perhaps best displayed in his work on the Psalms.
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The Deuteronomistic History
Martin Noth
Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1981.
This work is an example of redaction criticism. It is not only valuable as a means of understanding the aims and methods of redaction criticism, but also Noth's theory of a deuteronomistic history/deuteronomistic historian, which remains influential today.
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Biblical Structuralism: Method and Subjectivity in the Study of Ancient Texts
Robert Polzin
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977.
Polzin provides an introduction to structuralism and its method as applied to OT studies. The benefit of Polzin’s work is that he engages with the past work of Wellhausen, von Rad, and Noth, and gives a structuralist reading of their work.
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The Old Testament in a Canonical Context
Brevard Childs
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
All of Childs’ work in biblical studies exemplifies the canonical critical approach. This particular text is listed because it focuses specifically on the OT and covers a range of topics. The student unfamiliar with Childs’ work might want to start with his Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, but this title exemplifies Childs’ continued work in the field.
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The Art of Biblical Narrative
Robert Alter
New York: Basic Books, 2011.
Like Childs, Alter’s work is a marked break from earlier critical methods. There are also some links with structuralism in that Alter is concerned with the final form of the text and seeks to employ literary methods in his study. Alter’s work goes further in highlighting the artistry of texts in their final composition and has proven extremely insightful in showing the literary style of Hebrew narrative.
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Narrative in the Hebrew Bible
David Gunn, Donna Nolan Fewell
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
While having affinities with the work of Robert Alter, Gunn and Fewell move further down the literary spectrum. They also pay close attention to the literary artistry of the text and how literary features such as word-play help to illuminate a particular story. However, they differ from Alter in their broader openness to reader response methods in the task of interpretation and finding meaning.
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The Postmodern Bible
The Bible and Culture Collective
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
This collected work provides students with an overview of and introduction to the many new postmodern methods of biblical criticism. The work introduces concepts and offers critiques of certain methods, such as rhetorical criticism and deconstructionism. In the new world of postmodern reading it can be difficult to know where to start; this work offers the student a first step into the discussion.
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