Stephen B. Chapman, associate professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School, has co-edited a book offering a concise and engaging introduction to the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament through essays commissioned from 23 leading scholars.

The  book, The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, was published by Cambridge University Press in July and is part of The Cambridge Companions to Philosophy, Religion and Culture. It provides an up-to-date review of biblical scholarship.

Chapman, the director of Graduate Studies for the Graduate Program in Religion at Duke University and an affiliate faculty member in Duke's Center for Jewish Studies, co-edited the book with Marvin A. Sweeney, professor of Hebrew Bible at the Claremont School of Theology and professor of Tanak at the Academy for Jewish Religion, both in California.

The volume examines a range of topics, including the historical and religious contexts for the contents of the biblical canon, and critical approaches and methods, as well as newer topics such as the Hebrew Bible in Islam, Western art and literature, and contemporary politics.

The book serves as a resource not only for undergraduate and graduate students, but also for laypeople and scholars in other fields seeking an understanding of the current state of the academic discussion about the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It does not presume prior knowledge or engage in highly technical discussions, but does go into greater detail than a typical introductory textbook.

Chapman has published numerous essays and also is the author of 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary, which was published earlier this year, and The Law and the Prophets. He also coedited Biblischer Text und theologische Theoriebildung.