Leading apologetics author Paul Copan examines challenging Old Testament texts, placing them in their larger historical and theological context to help readers reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of God portrayed in the Old and New Testaments.

Contents

Part 1: The Great Divorce: How Wide the Divide between the Old and New Testaments?
1. The Old Testament God: Critics from Without and from Within
2. Is the God of the Old Testament the Same as the God of the New? (1): Marcion versus Moses
3. Is the God of the Old Testament the Same as the God of the New?
(2): Moses versus Jesus?
4. Is the God of the Old Testament the Same as the God of the
New? (3): Moses versus Jesus? (Continued)
Part 2: Lex Rex (the Law, the King): What Makes the Law of Moses So Special?
5. "From Heaven or from Human Origin?" Is the Mosaic Law Just
Another Ancient Law Code?
6. Multiple Sources and Late Dates? Does the Mosaic Law Have Multiple Authors? Was Fighting the Canaanites a Fiction from the Sixth Century BC?
7. Differences between the Law of Moses and Ancient Near Eastern
Laws (1): The Biblical Vision and Worldview
8. Differences between the Law of Moses and Ancient Near Eastern
Laws (2): Human Dignity, Relationship, and Equality
9. Differences between the Law of Moses and Ancient Near Eastern
Laws (3): Poverty and Wealth
Part 3: Crime and Punishment:
Violations and Penalties in Old Testament Law
10. A Bit of Ancient Near Eastern Context
11. Israel's Punishments as Nonliteral in the Pentateuch
12. Israel's Punishments as Nonliteral in Old Testament History
Part 4: For Whom the Bell Tolls:
Harsh Texts and Difficult Old Testament Questions
13. How Was David "a Man after God's Own Heart"?
14. Why Does God Harden People's Hearts?
15. Divine Smitings (1): Noah's Flood, Egypt's Firstborn, Uzzah's
Death
16. Divine Smitings (2): Elisha and the Bears, and Punishing Children
to the Third and Fourth Generations
17. "Bashing Babies against the Rock"? Imprecatory Psalms in the Old Testament
18. "Let His Homestead Be Made Desolate": Imprecatory Psalms in
the New Testament
19. Loving Jacob, Hating Esau? Putting Divine and Human Hatred in
Perspective
Part 5: Of Human Bondage:
Women and Servants in Israelite Society
20. Is the Old Testament Really Misogynistic and Patriarchal?
21. Espousing Multiple Wives? Revisiting the Matter of Polygamy
22. Other Troubling Texts about Women: The Nameless Concubine,
the Question of War Rape
23. "Servants" in Israel: Persons or Property?
24. The "Acquisition" of "Foreign Slaves" (1): A Deeper Dive into
Leviticus 25 000
25. The "Acquisition" of "Foreign Slaves" (2): Two Objections and the
Runaway Option
Part 6: War and Peace:
Warfare and Violence in the Old Testament (and the New)
26. Jesus Loves Canaanites--and
Israelites Too: "Jesus 101" and the
Old Testament's "Dark Texts"
27. "We Left No Survivors": Exaggeration Rhetoric in Israel's War Texts
28. Revisiting the Translation of Herem: "Utter Destruction," "Consecration," "Identity Removal," "Removal from Ordinary Use"?
29. Deuteronomy's Intensified Rhetoric and the Use of Haram
30. Did the Israelites "Cruelly Invade" the Land of Canaan?
31. The "Actual" God in Old Testament Warfare
Part 7: The Heart of the Matter:
The Summing Up of All Things in Christ
32. "God Is Christlike, and in Him There Is No Un-Christlikeness at All": Our Critics from Within
33. Our Critics from Without (1): Two Important Questions
34. Our Critics from Without (2): Five Big Steps
Questions for Small Groups
Indexes

Leading apologist and scholar Paul Copan examines challenging Old Testament texts, placing them in their larger historical and theological context to help readers reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of God portrayed in the Old and New Testaments.

"Do you have a problem with something, or a lot of things, in the Old Testament? Copan has provided a virtual encyclopedia of helpful answers to frequently asked questions that trouble many readers. This is a thoroughly detailed reference work that those of us who teach or preach the Old Testament will turn to frequently, or point others to, when such questions are aired. An excellent resource indeed!"
--Christopher J. H. Wright, Langham Partnership; author of Old Testament Ethics for the People of God

"People are inclined to think that the Old Testament God is like the Taliban and the New Testament God is a comfort animal. Dr. Copan takes on that kind of view with passion. I can't imagine that there are any misapprehensions about the Scriptures, particularly about the Old Testament, that aren't covered by this book. You may not agree with everything in Dr. Copan's study, but you will be dazzled by the range of issues he covers and the range of material he offers."
--John Goldingay, Fuller Theological Seminary (emeritus)

"Many books have been published that suggest that the Old Testament describes God not as he really is but rather as Israel depicted him from their rather primitive, tribal perspective. One prominent evangelical voice has even suggested that Christians 'unhinge' themselves from the Old Testament. In this well-thought-out and accessible book, Paul Copan takes on these critics 'from within' the church. He does so with grace yet conviction. I highly recommend this book for all Christians who are tempted to ignore the Old Testament."
--Tremper Longman III, Westmont College (emeritus)

"God's people are often confused by and suspicious of the Old Testament, wondering how it aligns with Jesus; these conversations are pressing for my seminary students and for local pastors and congregations. Dr. Copan provides a valuable resource in accessible language that speaks with informed conviction and with grace. I highly recommend it for all whose faith seeks understanding."
--Lissa M. Wray Beal, Providence Theological Seminary, Otterburne, Manitoba