This second edition integrates and interacts with recent developments in Old Testament scholarship. It is thoroughly evangelical in its perspective, emphasizes 'special introduction', the study of individual books, interacts in an irenic spirit with the historical-critical method, features points of research history and representative scholars rather than an exhaustive treatment of past scholarship, deals with the meaning of each book, not in isolation but in a canonical context, and probes the meaning of each book in the setting of its culture. This intermediate introduction includes callouts, charts, and graphs, and is written with an eye on understanding the nature of Old Testament historiography, and three key issues: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message.