For a good introduction to covenant studies in particular and OT scholarship in general Covenant as Contextis a valuable resource for the beginning scholar or mature OT student. This Festschrift in honour of E. W. Nicholson is a conglomeration of essays related to the topic of covenant in the OT from respected scholars in universities in the UK, Western Europe, and the United States.

The strength of the book is the high quality level of the essays which are not only interesting but span a fairly wide scope of subjects and emphases. In the book there are articles on the use of single words or grammatical/syntactical issues for exegesis (Albrektson, Reimer); the use and influence of Second Temple Judaism on OT theology and exegesis (Barr, Fishbane, Kaiser, Horbury); the issue of various approaches to OT theology (Barton, McKane); illustrations of different canonical approaches to exegesis and theology (Clements, Davies, Miller, Salter, Gordon, Dell); source-critical studies (Day, Johnstone); form-critical analyses (Williamson), and reflections on individual scholars and their contributions (Emerton, Mayes, Smend). This eclecticism keeps the read exciting and provides a selection of covenant topics from which any student may find a point of interest.

For beginning scholars, and even more seasoned OT students, there are two major benefits to reading this book: (1) the introduction to key names and figures of the field in the recent history of interpretation, and (2) the introduction to scholarship from a more critical perspective in terms of diversity of original authorship, dating, and sources.

Within the scholarly discussion of the essays important OT scholars of the past and their respective positions are mentioned. This gives the reader a feel for their work and contribution to OT Studies. These figures include names such as Wellhausen, Eichrodt, von Rad, Noth, Mendenhall, McCarthy Perlitt, Wenham, Rendtorff, Whybray, Gunkel, Westermann, Childs, not to mention some of the very contributory to the book itself like James Barr, Ronald Clements, John Barton, Patrick Miller. Of course, the works and significance over the years of E. W. Nicholson takes centre stage. Gaining a familiarity with the work of such scholars is helpful for understanding the history of interpretation and the current trajectories of OT scholarship.

The individual essays for the most part reflect OT scholarship interacting with the traditional source-critical textures of the text. Hence it gives the reader a sense of how such perspectives influence particular conclusions and approaches to biblical studies and the particular investigation of covenant. Yet, even so, most of the essays still reflect a fairly temperate use of the critical tradition while often employing fairly canonical approaches. In so doing, the book exposes the reader to a range of methodologies in covenant studies from very historical-critical perspectives and linguistic studies to canonical approaches to OT theology.

Covenant as Context is a book that every young scholar should read to form a sense of the past, present, and even future of covenant studies and OT scholarship. The book demonstrates the diversity of discussion that even a single theme such as ‘covenant’ can produce.

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