The Old Testament: A Literary History by Konrad Schmid

 Schmid’s The Old Testament: A Literary History opens a window on recent European biblical scholarship. This book is a good addition to a scholarly library. I would give the book three stars due to its lack of augmentation with the biblical text. The book does have pros. It does well on the intake of material. 

The book is also beautiful. The print size reads very easily. To get the most out of the book, one would probably need a modern Old Testament translation (the Oxford NRSV with the Apocrypha would be ideal, or the ESV Study Bible). I can easily see the book becoming a good literary textbook for Graduate students.

The book is full of perceptive observations. In the end, it does not support its claims with contemporary documents or manuscript evidence well enough to succeed as a history. But its overview of recent European scholarship will be of great value for scholars looking to understand current debates.

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