The God of the Old Testament - Encountering the Divine in Christian Scripture

Explore the Character of God in the Old Testament. "There simply is no better close reader than Walter Moberly. Immensely learned, he has a scholarly range that stretches over centuries and. a sensitivity to contemporary pop culture. Above all, he keeps in the foreground the perennial need for Christians to read Scripture both imaginatively and accurately as a guide for moral discernment. In any generation there may be no more than a few scholars of his caliber, and it is largely due to them that Israel's Scriptures remain at the center of the church's life. "-Ellen F. Davis. , Duke Divinity School"These graceful and pellucid essays, informed by their distinguished author's impressive learning and his gentle and generous Christian commitments, shed precious light on what is perhaps the most important subject in the study of the Scriptures-the nature of the God to whom they testify. I recommend the book highly. "-Jon D. Levenson. , Harvard University"Walter Moberly is one of the most gifted theological interpreters of the Old Testament in our day. In this deeply thoughtful work he offers several examples of what key biblical texts might look like when read with deep sensitivity to their underlying subject matter, the God of Israel. The remarkable attention to the grammar and literary form of the texts he has chosen will allow readers not only to follow the exegetical logic that animates Moberly but also to form their own judgments. Whether or not one agrees with all of the points made therein, the process of following Moberly on his journey will certainly be a pedagogical boon for the reader. "-Gary Anderson. , University of Notre Dame"In The God of the Old Testament. , Moberly guides readers through a series of textual journeys toward the biblical God. He chooses passages wisely, analyzes them with sensitivity, and presents the results lucidly. Alert to the ways multiple contexts produce readings that challenge, complement, and enrich each other, he describes the tensions between Scripture's one God and the privileged human points of access that (according to Scripture) lead to that God. Reading as a Christian, Moberly produces a work that is capacious precisely because it is firmly rooted. Jewish, Christian, and secular readers will profit from his discerning and balanced discussion. "-Benjamin D. Sommer. , The Jewish Theological Seminary; senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute