Translation of: Das Alte Testament: Eine Einführung.

I. The Old Testament as a source of the history of Israel : The nature of the sources ; The periods of the history of Israel ; Israel before the settlement ; The patriarchs ; The exodus from Egypt ; Israel at Sinai ; Israel in the wilderness ; Israel before the settlement ; Israel between the settlement and the formation of the state ; The settlement ; Where the tribes settled ; Israel in the time of the Judges ; The beginnings of the monarchy ; Samuel and the kingdom of Saul ; David's rise to be king over Judah and Israel ; The reign of Solomon ; Israel and Judah in the time of the monarchy ; The split in the empire of David and Solomon ; Israel and Judah side by side ; Judah to the Babylonian exile ; Judah after the Babylonian exile ; The Babylonian exile ; Return and restoration ; The time of Ezra and Nehemiah ; Israel at the end of the Old Testament period. II. The literature of the Old Testament in the life of Ancient Israel : Form criticism and social structure in Israel ; The reciprocal relationship between genre and setting ; Forms in the cult, in the legal sphere, in politics, etc. ; Oral and written tradition ; Family, clan, tribe, local community ; Songs ; Sayings ; Narratives ; The legal sphere ; Legal authorities ; Procedures ; Laws ; The cult ; Nomadic traditions ; Calendar of festivals ; Cultic legends ; Sacrificial ritual ; Regulations for purity ; Psalms ; Political institutions. The monarchy ; Lists, annals, historical narratives ; Royal psalms ; Wisdom: traditions, sayings, didactic discourses, didactic narratives, psalms ; Prophecy ; Groups of prophets and individual figures ; Signs, visions ; Prophetic narratives ; Genres of prophetic discourse ; The way to literature ; Limits of the form-critical method ; The theological purpose of the authors. III. The books of the Old Testament : The five books of the Pentateuch (The torah) ; The book of Genesis ; The book of Exodus ; The book of Leviticus ; The book of Numbers ; Deuteronomy ; The Pentateuch as a whole ; The former prophets ; The book of Joshua ; The book of Judges ; The books of Samuel ; The books of Kings ; The Deuteronomistic history ; The latter prophets ; The book of Isaiah ; Isaiah 1-39 ; Isaiah 40-55 (Deutero-Isaiah) ; Isaiah 56-66 (Trito-Isaiah) ; The composition of the book of Isaiah ; The book of Jeremiah ; The book of Ezekiel ; The book of the twelve prophets ; Hosea ; Joel ; Amos ; Obadiah ; Jonah ; Micah ; Nahum ; Habakkuk ; Zephaniah ; Malachi ; The history of the composition of the prophetic books ; The writings ; The Psalms ; The book of Job ; Proverbs ; The five Megilloth (Festival scrolls) ; Ruth ; Song of Songs ; Koheleth (Ecclesiastes) ; Lamentations (Threni) ; The book of Esther ; The book of Daniel ; The books of Ezra and Nehemiah ; The books of Chronicles ; The canon of the Old Testament.