New Book on the Theology of Amos by John Barton

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John Barton, The Theology of the Book of Amos. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Pbk. ISBN-13: 9780521671750. pp.215.

The publisher’s blurb says:

In modern times Amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. This book provides a detailed exploration of this theme and other important elements of the theology underlying the book of Amos. It also includes chapters on the text itself, providing a critical assessment of how the book came to be, the original message of Amos and his circle, which parts of the book may have been added by later scribes, and the finished form of the book. The author also considers the book’s reception in ancient and modern times by interpreters as varied as rabbis, the Church Fathers, the Reformers and liberation theologians. Throughout, the focus is on how to read the book of Amos holistically to understand the organic development of the prophet’s message through the many stages of the book’s development and interpretation.

Table of Contents:
General editors’ preface
Preface
1. Amos: the critical issues
2. Religious belief and practice in Amos’s day
3. The theology of Amos and his circle
4. Theological theme in the additions to the book of Amos
5. The theology of the book of Amos
6. The reception of the theology of Amos
7. The theology of Amos then and now.
Features:
• Provides an up-to-date survey of theories about the writing and theology of the book of Amos
• Discusses social justice in the prophets and links to Liberation Theology
• Reflects current interest in reading the ‘final form’ of biblical books

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament Vol 1

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The JESOT website explains:

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament (JESOT) is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the academic and evangelical study of the Old Testament. The journal seeks to fill a need in academia by providing a venue for high-level scholarship on the Old Testament from an evangelical standpoint. The journal is not affiliated with any particular academic institution, and with an international editorial board, online format, and multi-language submissions, JESOT cultivates and promotes Old Testament scholarship in the evangelical global community. The journal differs from many evangelical journals in that it seeks to publish current academic research in the areas of ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinics, Linguistics, Septuagint, Research Methodology, Literary Analysis, Exegesis, Text Criticism, and Theology as they pertain only to the Old Testament. The journal will be freely available to the scholarly community and will be published bi-annually online. Hard copies will be produced by request. JESOT also includes up-to-date book reviews on various academic studies of the Old Testament.

The contents of the first issue are:

Michael S. Hieser, “Does Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible Demonstrate an Evolution from Polytheism to Monotheism in Israelite Religion?” Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1.1 (2012): 1-12.

Eugene H. Merrilll, “Deuteronomy and de Wette: A Fresh Look at a Fallacious Premise,”  Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1.1 (2012): 25-42.

Joel E. Anderson, “A Narrative Reading of Solomon’s Execution of Joab in 1 Kings 1 – 2: Letting Story Interpret Story,”  Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1.1 (2012): 43-62.

Todd Scacewater, “Divorce and Remarriage in Deuteronomy 24:1 – 4,?  Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1.1 (2012): 63-79.

John F. Hobbins, “Critical Biblical Theology in a New Key A Review Article,”  Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1.1 (2012): 81-101.

“Book Reviews,”  Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1.1 (2012): 103-130.

HT: Ancient Hebrew Poetry, which has a favourable review here.