A Severe Mercy

Sin and its remedy run through the Old Testament from beginning to end, and Mark J. Boda follows that thread across the whole canon in its final, received form. His approach is canonical-thematic, building on the foundations Brevard Childs laid while drawing in more recent methods for reading Scripture alongside other disciplines. He works on two levels: first placing the key expressions, images and passages within the books where they appear, then identifying the subthemes that develop across the collection as a whole.

The result is a broad and demanding study, described by its publisher as the first comprehensive treatment of the subject this century. It will reward theology students, pastors and scholars who want a careful, text-by-text account of how the Old Testament understands human failure and the possibility of restoration.