A House for My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

From the back cover: "The best stories subtly weave themes and characters and symbols into a stunning final tapestry." Dr. Leithart discusses the major themes, symbols, and structures of the Old Testament (and also mentions some of the other more minor themes). What I love about this book is the new insights it gave me on how all the stories in the Bible connect, things I would never have thought to look for before, and now I will. These are insights not taught in typical adult Sunday school classes.As an example, he says that many people are killed and murdered in the Bible, sometimes with very little detail and sometimes with great detail. So if the writer goes into details about how someone was killed, then there is probably a reason for us to know that, and the reason is to connect the event to some other event, either in the past or the future. So when we read that someone was killed by a head wound, and especially if that head wound came from a woman and his skull is caved in, then it's pointing us back to Genesis chapter 3 when God tells Satan that the seed from a woman will crush his head, and it's pointing us ahead to the Messiah, the ultimate in head-crushing. OK, I'm paraphrasing, but hopefully, you get the idea.I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in great literature because the Bible is great literature, whether or not you believe it's the "Word of God." If you do believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then this book will be a great blessing to you.

For many modern, evangelical Christians, the Old Testament can at best be a series of interesting moral stories, outdated laws, soaring poetry, or dense prophecy; with no particular rhyme or reason to its placement. Leithart aims the reader towards a unified view of the Bible, that is that there is one story told from Genesis to Revelation, that progressively expands through covenant action. In doing so, he not only calls the reader to pay attention to the interpretation of the text on a word by word level, but by paying attention to just how sections of the Bible are ordered, as would be important for a text written in the ancient near eastern context.Leithart's hope is that the reader comes to a conclusion that the Bible says the same thing, repeatedly, that of creation and re-creation; because only then can the reader of the Bible see the connection between Adam and Solomon, or between Joseph and Daniel.The great value of Leithart's 250 page plus work is enabling the reader to understand the literary underpinnings of the history of Hebrew people and why that promotes the overarching theology of the message. This book is valuable for teenage students and above of the Old Testament, especially those who have imbibed the idea that the Christian faith is primarily one of the inner life, and not particularly connected to history or to the larger community, nor to the responsibilities that are required of the people of God. In fact, perhaps the greatest use of this book would come from applying it in group studies or in family studies, especially with children capable of understanding larger stories and a basic depth of human relations, with how they relate to their God.

Most Old Testament survey books quickly get bogged down in details about dating, theories of composition, and the like. As such, the end up being pretty useless to the person who simply wants to better understand what is actually *in* the Old Testament.Thankfully, Leithart avoids this. There is not a word about composition or dating of the documents themselves. Instead, he focuses on the themes of the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis, and shows how these themes are reiterated throughout the Old Testament in preparation for the work of Christ and revelation of the New Testament.The book is intended to be used for family devotions or study classes. To facilitate this each chapter is divided into a few (generally 3-5) sections with associated scripture readings, review questions, and questions intended to stimulate further thought. There are 8 chapters in all, focusing primarily on the narrative portions of the Old Testament. The prophets are discussed where appropriate, but primarily in relation to the coincident narrative sections.My only complaint is that the psalms and wisdom literature are mostly omitted. This is understandable given that Leithart's focus is the Old Testament as a single story of redemptive history. Perhaps someday Dr. Leithart will be persuaded to produce a companion volume.If you have difficult understanding how all those stories (and even those pesky genealogies) that you vaguely remember from Sunday School fit together into a coherent whole, this book is a must read.

This book really helps to see the big picture of the OT and how it all fits together!

I don't agree with everything he says (mainly because I'm not a protestant) but the overwhelming majority of this book is phenomenal.

Peter Leithart has done a really great job here. He provides a simple and yet profound overview of the Old Testament. This book goes from Genesis to the Gospels showing the warp and woof of the scripture and the story of it.This book is practically unmatched when it comes to showing the typology of scripture. Personally, I learned to many lessons to even count from this book. It is very Christ exalting and shows how the whole Old Testament points to Christ and the Glory of Yahweh. This book will teach you at an introductory level how to read the story of scripture and will leave you praising God for the scripture.It's very easy to read and he avoids all complicated and unnecessary wording. The only difficult sections result from the weightiness of the text and not from an attempt by the author to sound intelligent.The only real complaint I have is that a few key Christian doctrines could have been spelled out for new comers, along with a bit more on the plan of redemption.This is a wonderful book.

Das Buch ist Spitze! Es ist wirklich sehr leicht und verständlich, da es das erklärte Ziel des Autors ist, dieses Buch auch im Rahmen von Familienandachten nutzen zu können. Der Text ist daher einfach und unkompliziert gehalten. Für den tieferen Einstieg sind etwas komplexere Zusammenhänge und weiterführende Themen in Fußnoten am Ende jeden Kapitels untergebracht.Jedes Kapitel schliesst außerdem mit ein paar rückblickenden Fragen, mit denen die Kernthemen des Kapitels nochmal wiederholt werden.Zusätzlich gibt es am Ende jeden Kapitels noch sogenannte "Thought Questions". Hier werden Fragen gestellt, die so nicht direkt im Buch behandelt werden. Damit will der Autor anregen, das eben gelesesne zu überdenken und auf andere Fragestellungen anzuwenden.Jetzt finde ich das Buch natürlich nicht nur wegen seiner Form gut, sondern natürlich auch, weil der Inhalt selber ebenfalls sehr gut ist. Der Autor spinnt sozusagen einen roten Faden durch das Alte Testament. Er zeigt Gottes Handeln mit seinem Volk. Er beginnt bei der Schöpfung und geht dann bis zum Auftreten Jesus'. Leithart geht auch stark auf die Typologie ein und erklärt diese.Fazit: Sehr lesenswerter Überblick über das Alte Testament. Leicht zu lesen und immer interessant!Noch kurz zur Einordnung: Leithart ist reformierter Theologe. Dies prägt natürlich seine Sicht der Dinge.

Todos deviam ler esse livro. a Ideia da "casa" que permeia o AT é incrível, e perceptível em várias partes no AT e como isso se relaciona com Cristo e o grande conflito