Book Review- The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament

In The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament, Sandra L. Richter (Associate professor of Old Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary) addresses the barriers to understanding the Old Testament and attempts to make it more accessible by explaining how the OT is part of one story- ‘to tell the epic tale of God’s ongoing quest to ransom his creation’.

Richter believes that while many Christians know a lot of information about the OT, many do not know how to organize and use it, a phenomenon Richter describes as ‘dysfunctional closet syndrome’. In this book Richter’s goal is to make the OT narrative more accessible by helping the readers to organise what they know about the OT. In Richter’s opening remarks she states that her hope is ‘that the story of the OT will come alive to you such that you will recognise your own story in the sweeping epic of redemption’.

Richter appears to be passionate about reading the word of God in a literary fashion. A literary reader asks: based on the literary style and historical setting of a text, what was the author’s intended message. Richter’s approach to understanding the bible in this way was most obvious when she explained her view on the 6-day creation debate found in Genesis. While Richter does not specify whether she favors 6-day creation or not, she does communicates that she believes ‘Genesis 1 was written to provide a lens through which to read the rest of the Pentateuch as a whole’. In Richter’s view, whether the earth was made in 6 days or not is not the message Genesis is communicating but rather it’s message is about who God is and his intent for creation before launching into the story of redemption.

This literary fashion in understanding Genesis is controversial, however I do believe that this approach to understanding Genesis and the bible as a whole does hold merit when looking at the bigger picture of the bible- an unfolding story about the one and only creator of the world on a mission to redeem his lost people. Having a literary approach to specifically reading Genesis 1 also provides a reasonable perspective worth considering to those who cannot resolve 6-day creation and scientific theories about the age of the earth.

Richter show’s how the narratives of the bible characters found in the OT are all linked and part of the bigger picture. While tracing the covenantal theme through the narratives of the Patriarch’s, Richter shows how understanding the historical and social setting of the bible writers can illuminate our understanding of the bible message. By sharing her studies of the culture of the time, passages were brought to life and given profound meaning, where I had previously put them in the “too hard to understand” basket.

Richter’s intense passion in breaking down the great cultural barriers to understanding the OT and the bible in it’s entirety does in no way communicate that in order to understand the message of the bible you must have a degree in Israel’s and Ancient Near Eastern history. The word of God is powerful and its message is accessible to everyone. Rather, by understanding the culture of the writers of the bible, to me, emphasized the consistency rather then contradiction of the bible and the plain sense and relevance of the word of God that must have been inspired by the Holy Spirit to attain such perfection.

Has Richter been successful in the goal of her book? I’m my case yes. She has certainly helped organise my ‘dysfunctional closet’. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to get more out of the Old Testament which will result in appreciating the bible in it’s entirety. It's a very accessible and helpful read, even to the lay reader.