Between the Testaments

In most Bibles the period between the Old and the New Testaments is represented by a single blank page which, perhaps, has symbolic significance. 'From Malachi to Matthew' has for long remained vague and unfamiliar to many readers of the Scriptures. Many mysteries remain, but in recent times much light has been cast on this whole period. Exciting new insights have been provided by the writings of numbers of scholars and by some remarkable archaeological discoveries. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls caught the popular imagination and engaged the attention of worldwide scholarship. In this small volume an attempt is made to review these years in the light of recent study and discoveries and in particular to assess the religious contribution made by that rather strange company of men known as 'the apocalyptists'. The purpose of this book is selective rather than exhaustive, indicating the part which the apocalyptists had to play within the religious development of Judaism and in the preparation of men's minds for the coming of Christianity. `The whole book may be most warmly recommended to all who desire something more informative than a blank page between the Old Testament and the New.' Church Times `The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has focussed attention afresh on this period, and Principal Russell's up-to-date review of it is both opportune and welcome. He writes out of a deep knowledge of his subiect, and his book, which is a model of compression, is clearly written and holds the reader's interest.' Times Literary Supplement `Most informative, lucid and readable. One of the features of this book is its masterly power of summary.' William Barclay in Expository Times