This teaching and textbook describes the biblical writings, first by content and structure, and then follows their process of coming into being back to the respective reason for their origin. The framework for this is the canon of the Hebrew Bible, which is defined in the introductory section by the Greek and Christian Bible and the so-called Apocrypha. The four parts of the volume are introduced by overview chapters: the Pentateuch as a whole, the Deuteronomistic historical work, the phenomenon of prophecy and Hebrew poetry. The author also appropriately discusses the progress and current state of research. Comprehensive bibliographies characterise the entire work. Anyone wishing to intensively examine the Old Testament and its origins will obtain sound information here.

Prof. em. Dr. Walter Dietrich, University of Berne.Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Mathys, University of Basle.Prof. Dr. Thomas Römer, Collège de France and University of Lausanne.Prof. em. Dr. Rudolf Smend, University of Göttingen.