Living World of the Old Testament - B. Anderson

This famous book is a vivid and engrossing account of the life story of ancient Israel from the time of the Exodus from Egypt to the eve of the Christian era. It analyses and interprets the familiar Biblical narrative in the context of our modern knowledge of the ancient world.
A runaway bestseller through successive Longman editions with sales now exceeding 150,000 copies, it has been designed for all readers, regardless of religion or philosophical persuasion. Professor Anderson adopts no denominational standpoint. He is fully alive to all the different religious dimensions of the Old Testament, and the theological claim that it makes on us in the pluralism of the modern world.
A wealth of historical, archaelogical, literary and theological scholarship explains and illuminates the Biblical drama: it does not to overwhelm it. There is frequent quotation from the Old Testament, and maps, photographs and chronological charts clarify the discussion. An extensive guide to further reading concludes the book.
The fourth edition is a major revision in which the whole text has been extensively revised and rewritten to take full advantage of the latest archaeological findings and changes in Biblical interpretation. There are additional illustrations, and the addition of a series of `Definitions' at key moments in the text to clarify important terms like Covenant, Prophet and Messiah.
Beautifully written and profusely illustrated, The Living World of the Old Testament is a major work of scholarship, which scrupulously avoids falsification and over-simplification in presenting the findings of modern research. It has a formidable reputation as the standard introduction and companion to the subject.