Peter R. Ackroyd – författare

These important papers by a distinguished British Old Testament theologian, many of them previously inaccessible, focus on the theme of continuity and, within that, on the development of prophecy in the Old Testament period. They include studies of 'Continuity and Discontinuity', `The Theology of Tradition', 'The Vitality of the Word of God', 'The Open Canon' and 'Original Text and Canonical Text', and on the prophets: 'Historians and Prophets', `Interpreting the Babylonian Exile', 'The Death of Hezekiah', 'A Judgment Narrative between Kings and Chronicles', and two studies of Isaiah.

'A masterly survey of the period running from the eve of the exile to the end of the sixth century BC. It is a period that abounds in problems, and the author shows a fine acquaintance with a vast literature in which they are discussed. He in cautious in judgment. courteous and fair to those with whom he is unable to agree. never dogmatic and always skilful in leading the reader through the intricacies without bewildering him' (The Times Literary Supplement).'If one persists to the end, following, under the guidance of a very fine scholar, what is undoubtedly the hard way, one will get a reward out of all proportion to what one would receive from a facile outline of the period which did not do justice tothe complexities of the evidence. Professor Ackroyd is to be congratulated on a fine achievement' (Norman W. Porteous in Theology).Peter R Ackroyd was Samuel Davidson Professor of Old Testament Studies in the University of London.

The editors of this volume have gathered a team of scholars to write a series of studies dealing with problems of meaning and interpretation of Old Testament words and ideas. The volume in is honour of Professor D. Winton Thomas, formerly Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University; its theme is one with which he has been much concerned and the contributors - colleagues, pupils and friends - mainly from Great Britain but also from other countries, offer a variety of meaning, of interpretation and of use, in the biblical text itself and in ancient translations and other writings. The studies thus take further the discussion of meaning and interpretation which is much in evidence today, while holding firmly to the understanding of words in the text itself. The Archbishop writes a forward, emphasising Professor Winton Thomas's contribution to the achievement of accuracy of understanding and to fostering a better appreciation of the need for a sound base to theological statements connected with biblical material.

In The Chronicler in His Age, the content of the book of Chronicles characterizes a range of information and concentrates on the nature and composition of Judah and Jerusalem. Ackroyd also notes that the Chronicler had a deep concern for those who were exiled and the theology that also was a part of their lives. By being designated as “the Chronicler,” the theory of the author being in a central point is given, but according to Ackroyd, that idea must be made accurate so that we can have a larger view of the interpretation that is a part of that period of time.