Designed for students undertaking their first systematic study of the Hebrew Bible, this text has two goals: to acquaint readers with the content and major themes of the biblical documents, and to introduce them to issues in biblical scholarship. Pedagogically rich and reader-friendly, this text was designed for conventional introductory courses using historical-critical methodology, and will also be useful in courses studying the Bible as literature, or as a reference text in the study of ancient religion.

"THE WORLD'S RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS have offered answers to the weightiest questions of human existence, contributed to the formation of political and social institutions, inspired masterpieces of art and literature, and provided many of the cultural values and ideals on which entire civilizations have been based. Today, religions continue to play a powerful role in shaping the ways in which people understand themselves, the world they live in, and how they should live. Invitation to World Religions welcomes students to the study of religion. In these pages, we open the doors and invite the reader to explore with wonder and respect. We describe the essential features of the world's major religions and show how they have responded to basic human needs and to the cultural settings in which they developed. We also compare the answers religions have offered us regarding some of the most essential human questions: Why are we here? What is the nature of the universe? How should we live? Our aim has been to balance concision and substance in an introductory text that is accessible, as well as challenging"--

This concise but comprehensive introduction to the Jewish faith combines a schematic and developmental view of Jewish religious culture, along with a selection of representative texts that best illustrate the full range of Jewish religious self-expression. Enhanced by numerous pedagogical aids, its descriptive and historical narrative explores the diversity of beliefs and traditions which make up the fabric of Jewish religious experience throughout the centuries.