From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch

Truly this volume is one of the great contributions to the theology of the Pentateuch. Alexander tediously attacks the crumbling foundations of the Documentary Hypothesis and old school liberalism. He shows the weakness of their arguments and posits that we take the Pentateuch at face value and attempt to look at it as a cohesive whole with a story to tell and underlying messages for the reader.It is this story and the messages of the Pentateuch that Alexander then displays for his readers. Moving through the Pentateuch both historically and topically, the writer deals masterfully with the genealogies, the blessing and cursing in Eden, the nature and import of the Abrahamic Covenant, the significance of the Passover, the impact of the Covenant of Sinai both for Israel and for believers today, the implications of the tabernacle, the command to be holy, the significance and symbolism of the sacrificial system and dietary laws, the gift of the Promised Land, the reason why the murmuring of the people was so important to God, the Semitic view of the topics of love and loyalty as treated in the Pentateuch, and the question of the election of Israel. In all of these areas, Alexander carefully lays out the theology of the Pentateuch and then follows this up with a connection to the New Testament. It is in these New Testament connections, Alexander shows his true prowess as a biblical scholar.I would wholeheartedly recommend this work for the student of the Pentateuch who is struggling to find the purpose and application of this most difficult, yet seminal, section of Scripture to his or her life in the 21st century.

Very insightful and helpful in understanding the continuous picture painted by the OT and NT of the history of salvation.

Very well written & scholarly approach to the Pentateuch (Torah). We are using this book as a study guide at an adult Bible study class in our Presbyterian Church. The first portion is a very detailed explanation (using a lot of Hebrew & Greek words - which I have been studying on the side) of how the Torah was written & put together by the original authors. It describes the methods of criticism used. The rest of the book is a history of Genesis thru Kings, since there is a "carryover" from Deuteronomy thru Kings.This is well worth the time & effort to really study, since the end of each chapter gives a N.T. connection with the Apostles & points on to Jesus the Christ.

Overall I would say this book is well written and well organized. However, we used this book as a text in one of my college courses and several of the "higher ups" including my professor were able to point out several fallacies. It seemed that he stuck with structure so much that he stretched the text at times. Good informational book, but read with your Scriptural eyes open.

The core of this book is exegetical-literary analysis of the themes of the Pentateuch, which was very helpful to me in guiding my study of the first five books of the Bible. He covers themes that I had not noticed in my own study, chief among which was the temple-city idea and the (related) theme of creating a holy nation suitable for God's dwelling place out of a small tribe, a theme which explains much of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy that was mysterious to me. Also well-explained is the theme of faith, which in my mind had been overshadowed by the legal demands at Sinai. Each chapter's structure, analyzing the text, connecting it to the rest of the OT and then (separately) connecting it to the NT was extremely helpful. Alexander didn't answer all my questions, but I'm indebted to him for the tremendous amount he did do. Highly recommended!Full disclosure: I read only the middle section (a bit less than half the book) dealing with his explanation and exegesis of the Pentateuch. The first section (some hundred pages or so refuting the higher critical approaches) wasn't germane to my study, and the book concludes with nearly 70 pages of indices and further reading suggestions, so I skipped that, too.

Absolutely fabulous! This book does a tremendous job describing the travels of Moses and the Israelites. The parallels of their journeys through the Wilderness and the journeys that we face today are so eerie, yet, so relevant that it is a must read for all. "Thumbs-up" as Ebert would say.

This text is thorough, yet still readable. Given our distance in time from the ancient world, understanding context is key to faithful readings of any portion of the Bible. Though I read this in Seminary, this text would be an excellent resource for anyone seeking to better understand the Scriptures.

This book has helped me with the class i'm taking and it goes more in depth of what the Penteuch really means. I would highly recommend this book

Pleased with item

one of my favourite.