Brief summary

An excellent, informative overview of cursory introductory matters. OT introduction is quite a mindfield; however, Dillard and Longmand present a well-informed discussion. It is brief often on issues of dating and authorship, which makes this an excellent "first grab" off the shelf when a question arises. The volume is probably worth double its asking price for the literary analysis. This volume takes into account literary compentency and provides genre discussion (thanks to the illustrious Tremper Longman's coauthorship). All in all each student of the Bible needs a basic OT introduction; this is an excellent choice for the reader of today.

A new spin on intro's

I was much pleased when I bought this intro to the Old Testament. In short, Dillard and Longman have done the church and teh believing community a great service by providing a scholarly and evangelical introduction that is not afraid to tackle the hard questions of the Bible.

Helpful to scholars and beginners

I find this Old Testament Introduction easy to read, but also reasonably comprehensive. It is not as complete as R. K. Harrisons' 1970 work, but much more inviting. It is both a handy reference work, and a book to read from cover to cover.