A Catholic Guide to the Old Testament

Caitrin Bennett reviews the new guide from Ascension Press for Catholics studying the books of the Old Testament. 

Like thousands of other people around the world, I spent 2021 listening to the Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz. That was my first experience with Ascension’s Great Adventure Bible system, with its helpful color-coded timeline of biblical periods. I also enjoyed hearing from the creator of that system, Jeff Cavins, when he joined Fr. Mike on the podcast to introduce each new period of Biblical history. When I saw that Ascension would be releasing a new component of the Great Adventure system, A Catholic Guide to the Old Testament, I jumped at the chance to get a copy of the guide. 

Jeff Cavins has teamed up with three other Catholic biblical scholars on this beautiful and informative resource. There is something for everyone here. The book opens with some Bible basics, such as how the canon of Scripture was determined and how modern archaeological finds continue to inform our understanding of biblical events.  

Next, we get an overview of each of the ten Great Adventure time periods in the Old Testament, from the Early World to the Maccabean Revolt. Each one gives a quick summary of the narrative thread we follow in the biblical books of that time period. These sections also include full-color maps, diagrams, and family trees. All of these components make this second part of the book especially helpful to people who are not very familiar with the Old Testament yet because they zoom out to follow the larger narrative thread through these often complicated and detailed ancient texts. 

The bulk of the book is in the third and final section, which gives more detailed information about each individual book in the Old Testament. Even people who have studied the Bible in depth will learn something new in this section, which does not include any more maps or diagrams but instead focuses on concepts like the authorship and dating of the book, the literary types seen in that book, and how that book is cited or reflected in the New Testament. I loved that the authors also included a few paragraphs about how each Old Testament book was used in Catholic tradition. It is fascinating to see the connections between events and characters stretching back thousands of years to concepts like the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our Blessed Mother, and the Liturgy of the Hours. 

I would highly recommend A Catholic Guide to the Old Testament to Catholics seeking to understand the Old Testament and the roots of our faith more deeply. Well-organized and visually appealing, the hardcover edition would make a wonderful Christmas gift. Leave the recipient a note on the inside cover encouraging them to use it along with the Bible in a Year podcast, if they have not done it yet. In fact, owning this guide has made me want to start the Bible in a Year all over again in 2024—as soon as I finish the Catechism in a Year, my 2023 project!  

Copyright 2023 Caitrin Bennett
Images: Canva