Dating the Old Testament Synopsis

Synopsis

Dating the Old Testament covers the following topics and more:

The book provides evidence for the literary unity of Genesis - Deuteronomy, and shows numerous examples of how an Egyptian background colored the development of these books. This indicates that these books were a product of the exodus generation. It provides a detailed critique of the Documentary Hypothesis, the theory that Genesis through Joshua were created from four different sources usually labelled J, E, D, and P.
The book describes how different sources were used to produce the books of Judges through Kings, and when these books were placed in their final form.
The book provides an extremely thorough argument for the unity of the book of Isaiah, with the historical Isaiah being the author.
The book strives to date each individual Psalm, though in many cases the confidence level in a given date must be limited.
The book describes how Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon show features that are both early and late, and suggests a way this can be explained.
The book describes why Daniel should be considered a product of the early Persian era and not the much later Maccabean period.
The book contains an appendix describing how the Hebrew language developed during the Old Testament period, and how this development can be used to help date the books of the Old Testament.