Companion To The Old Testament by Ted Leach

Companion To The Old Testament by Ted Leach

 

I really enjoy books that overview the Bible. People that enjoy studying the Bible, like myself can never really get enough commentary of their favorite book. Since commentaries and overviews are essentially opinions, each one is inherently different. Companion To The Old Testament is the first Old Testament Only commentary I have read thus far. 

Ted Leach, the author begins his overview with an informative survey of the Bible and it's history. I really enjoyed this introduction. It was very concise and offered information on several different branches of Christianity and Judaism. The author  states,

   "This book helps Christians understand how the Old Testament is “community property” shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is a constructive resource for interfaith discussion, particularly for people of different faiths (or no faith) who are seeking to identify some shared principles of our common humanity."

As promised, the introduction reflects this and offers the reader tidbits of data to reflect this statement. An interesting fact I learned is that Abraham is an important figure in not only Christianity and Judaism, but also the Muslim faith as well. In today's day in age, with all the fighting and acts of terror, we could all benefit from this knowledge. The things such as religion that seemingly separate humanity have more aspects in common then people are aware of. 

   The bulk of the book is the actual commentary of The Old Testament. 

The Companion To The Old Testament does not read like a traditional commentary though. The Companion is composed of 10 chapters including:

   An Approach To The Bible

   The Hebrew Bible

   Seeds Of Faith

   Freedom & Responsibility

   The Land Of Canaan

   Jerusalem 

   The Prophets

   In The Shadow Of Empires

   Judaism

   Messianic Hope

Concluding this mass is a list for further reading and section for end notes. I really appreciated the way this companion was laId out because it offers a wealth of details in an unconventional format. I found it very refreshing. 

I would give Companion To The Old Testament 4/5 stars. If you are looking for the regular old Bible survey, you may be disappointed. However, if you are in the market for something atypical, you are in luck. This book is for you! These are the people I would give my recommendations to. 

**Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”