A Survey of the Older Testament

[Soulfyre]

Preface

For many Christians, including evangelicals, the Old Testament is a somewhat arcane book of history, genealogies, stories, free-verse poetry (psalms in English rarely rhyme and do not have the same meter as the Hebrew), inscrutable wisdom literature, and confusing prophecies. We often vaguely remember stories of Creation, Noah and the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel, Lot's family and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham and the sacrifice of his son, Moses and the Exodus, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, Samson's haircut and pulling down the pagan temple upon himself, David killing Goliath with a slingshot and a stone, and possibly the young men taunting Elisha and being eaten by a bear. We remember the names of notable women such as Rahab, Deborah, Ruth, Delilah, Bathsheba, and Jezebel (but often forget why they were important). But we would be hard-pressed to provide a chronology of the major events of the Old Testament or the dates involved.

This study will, I hope, help fill in some of these gaps. It will not be a bird's-eye view. In fact, in some cases it will seem more like a satellite's view, with the occasional close-up. You will get a sense of the history, but I will not be doing a detailed discourse on the fine points of Daniel's Seventy Weeks or Ezekiel's Second Temple, nor will I be doing an exposition of Leviticus and the laws of cleanliness and sanctuary/temple worship. For the time being, I will leave these detailed studies up to you (although I do hope to introduce them later, and trust that this study will whet your appetite to know the source and context of your faith).

I believe that an understanding of the Old Testament, often better referred to as either the "Older" Testament or the Hebrew Bible, because this was the Bible of the apostles. Although some of their works became a part of Holy Scripture, referred to by us as the New Testament, their quotations and illustrations, with few exceptions, were drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures or from Jesus Christ Himself. Christianity is a faith which is nourished by the cultivated olive tree which supports it. It is described as a wild olive branch which has been grafted into the tree of the faithful among the Patriarchs, Judges, Prophets, and Kings of the original people of God. In us, God has created a new thing into which even His holy angels desire to look, but the branch does not support the tree--the tree supports the branch. Christianity out of context is, in fact, no Christianity at all. I hope this information begins to revolutionize and revitalize the way you understand your life in Christ.

I will also be developing more detailed information on my website, Soulfyre's Brown Study, which will soon have links to my public folder where I will be putting my more detailed information for download. I will occasionally address original languages in these, but I will attempt to find a font that will be available to all, or will save such details as illustrations, so that you will not need access to these fonts. As is my practice, I will create a parallel thread for discussion and feedback on this study.

Please pray for me as I work diligently on presenting this study, so that I might honor my Lord in my words and life.

Matthew

[Soulfyre]

Introduction and Overview, Part 1

[Editorial Note: While I will undoubtedly use several sources for this material, for which I will be giving attribution and bibliographic information. My primary source for the outline and approach, however, will be a study in development by Michael Andrus, Pastor of First Evangelical Free Church of Wichita, Kansas, graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, and on the Board of Regents of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. His input and guidance has been invaluable to me, and I hope he will undertake to publish his materials, which maintain that rare-balance of being both scholarly and user-friendly, in which the student may enjoy the fruits of his labors without being immediately overwhelmed by the science of viticulture, as it were. Such information may always be included in end notes, for those who seek to understand the careful scholarship that under-girds his conclusions. I shall probably seek to make this information available for separate download for the interested or the obsessed--you know...people like myself! I will also add a QuickTime version of the Keynote presentation we used in our Leadership class in church, which I offered some assistance in designing (that alone should be fair warning!). Matthew Brown (soulfyre)]

From literary considerations alone, the Older Testament, as I shall refer to what is conventionally called the Old Testament among Christians, is probably one of the most diverse literary accomplishments in history. It encompasses a vast time period, from the beginning of the universe to approximately 400 B.C., more than twenty-nine authors, and such diverse literary types including prose and poetry, hymnody, history, prophecy, wisdom literature, and apocalyptic writings. Nevertheless, its textual legitimacy, historical accuracy, and thematic unity is unparalleled. It is exceeded in early textual support only by the New Testament, which, despite nay-sayers, has better and earlier manuscript evidence than such classic authors as Julius Caesar, Plato, Aristotle, and Thucydides, of whose works the authorship and accuracy of modern translations is rarely questioned by any serious scholar. In fact, in terms of "lower criticism" (the science by which early manuscripts are analyzed to determine the textual accuracy of currently accepted texts), the accuracy of the Biblical text from which our modern translations are derived handily exceeds 95-98% confidence. No major (or minor) doctrinal teaching is affected by these questionable readings, which, in the entirety of the Bible, would make up about one page, which would largely be made up of obscure words, verb tenses, questionable repetitions, unnecessary harmonizations (in which two accounts by different authors are given similar readings which, nevertheless, do not alter the conclusions of the original accounts), names of locations and people, unknown musical terminology, and numbers. From the standpoint of modern standards of literary accuracy as applied to ancient texts, the Bible simply has no peers. By contrast, The Book of Mormon, which was written by a single author over a far shorter period, includes many inaccuracies, especially in quotations which clearly originated from the King James Bible. This is not to be insulting to well-intentioned Mormons (although I heartily disagree with their religious doctrine), but to pinpoint the difficulty in textual transmission and accuracy even with one author over a single lifetime.

We will begin this study with a brief overview, explaining what topics we will cover in this survey. After that, I will give you a basic timeline of persons and events, which will assist you in gaining a secure foothold that will help you to understand where each book of the Older Testament fits in its historical context. Finally, I will explain briefly between the Older Testament and the Hebrew Bible, so that you will have some understanding of some similarities and differences in the organization of the two texts, and how these may, or may not, affect our unique approaches and conclusions. You will find these especially helpful in your conversations with Jews and with Messianic Christians (who often refer to themselves as "completed"--NOT "converted"--Jews), who can greatly enrich your understanding of scripture, faith, and the intended identity of the church.

I will be following a simple outline in our survey, which I believe will be self-explanatory:

• Introduction and Overview, part 1: The Structure of the Older Testament (as the sign says, "You are HERE now...")
  
  
• Introduction and Overview, part 2: Simple Ideas and a Simple Timeline
  
  
• Beginnings and the Law (The Pentateuch or Torah)
  
  
• The Problem of Evil: Why do bad things happen to good people?
  
  
• The History of Israel, Part 1: The Conquest of the Promised Land
  
  
• The History of Israel, Part 2: The United Kingdom
  
  
• Wisdom and Worship: The Heart of the Godly
  
  
• The History of Israel, Part 3: Sin and Separation Revisited - The Kingdom Divides
  
  
• Captivity, Exile, and the Return of Judah (well, at least SOME of Judah...)
  
  
• The Ministry of the Prophets, an Overview: Reprimand, Repentance, Reassurance
  
  
• The Majors - The Major Prophets
  
  
• The Minors - The Minor (but certainly not minor league) Prophets
  
  
• Some Brief Conclusions

To the Christian, the primary thematic differences between the Older Testament and the New Testament are a matter of intended perspective: the Older Testament speaks of the initiation of God's works and points toward the coming of the Messiah, while the New Testament begins with the coming of the Messiah, identifies the Messiah as Jesus (whose name, YeSHua, means "the LORD saves"), and anticipates the conclusion of God's works, the New Creation.

Note: I will be using the convention used by most publishers of the Christian Bible concerning God's name. Without going into detail concerning the various titles God is given in the Old Testament, there are three main words used to refer to God: the generic "God" (ELoHiM, the Hebrew plural of EL - its plural use is referred to as the "plural of majesty", in the same manner as modern monarchs use the word "we" in public address to refer to themselves, identifying themselves as the sovereign representative of the people they rule; many Christian theologians believe is also allows for a complex, rather than simple, unity, such as is taught in the doctrine of the Trinity), "Lord" or "Master" (ADoNaI, which refers to the Master/servant or Sovereign/subject relationship between God and His people), and the "LORD" (YaHWeH - the name God gave to Moses when Moses asked, "Whom shall I say sent me? This is considered the very name of God, which identifies Him to His people in a unique and personal sense. The best translation of His name, according to scholars, is "I AM", that is, "I am the SELF-EXISTING ONE" in the sense that God is the uncreated Creator whose existence is not ancillary or dependent. YaHWeH, simply put, eternally "IS"). The name of God was considered so sacred among His people Israel that to avoid taking His name in vain, it was pronounced only by the High Priest in the Holy of Holies annually on YoM KiPPuR, the Day of Atonement. In a later attempt to assist those who read scripture in the temple and synagogues with the proper pronunciation of the Hebrew text, the Massoretes added vowel pointing (Hebrew has no vowels in its alphabet). In the case of the name of God (YHWH, often referred to as the Tetragrammaton, or the "four-lettered"), the vowels added corresponded to the word ADoNaI. This practice was know in Hebrew as KeTHiB QeRe, or "what is written should be read...". Hence, the reader would know when he came to the letters YHWH, he should read "ADoNaI" aloud. When later translators unfamiliar with this practice saw the text, which would have appeared to be YaHoWaH...well, you can see where we derived the name "Jehovah", so popular in hymns. Acceding to tradition, we have left "Jehovah" in our vocabulary, especially in hymns, although as a name for God it is, in fact, inaccurate. I'm sure God, in His infinite condescension to our human frailties, is probably not over-exercised over the issue. Regarding such combinations as the Lord God or the LORD God, the former generally refers to the Hebrew combination ADoNaI ELoHiM, and the latter refers to YaHWeH ELoHiM (using the proper name of God). Today, many Jews will not even write out the word "God", but will, out of respect, write "G-d".]

The Christian Older Testament has an essentially five-fold division: the Pentateuch, the Historical books, Psalms and the Wisdom Literature, the Major Prophets, and the Minor Prophets. The distinction between major and minor prophets is not one of comparative importance, but one of comparative length. The Pentateuch (or the "five books") refers to the five books of Moses, and is called "the Torah" by Jews. It comprises Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Historical books are Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. These are followed by Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon (or "The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's"), which are often referred to as "the Writings", or the books of Psalms and Wisdom Literature. I prefer the latter designation, so as not to confuse people with the collection of books that Jews refer to as "the Writings", which is slightly different. Next are the Major Prophets, comprised of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Daniel, and Ezekiel. Finally, the Older Testament concludes with the Minor Prophets (not to be confused with what oil companies say they are making). These are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephania, Haggai, Zecharia, and Malachi (the latter my professors often humorously referred to as "the Italian prophet", pronouncing his name as though it were spelled "Malacci", i.e. Ma-la-chee). An easy way to learn these are to divide them into three groups of five each (the Pentateuch, the books of Psalms and Wisdom Literature, and the Major Prophets), and two groups of twelve each (the Historical books and the Minor Prophets). What about the Apocrypha, you might ask? Historically, the Apocrypha was never considered canonical (an inerrant rule of faith and practice) in the same sense as the other books. Comparatively, the Roman Catholics hold them in the highest esteem; the Orthodox hold the Apocrypha as books which are spiritually profitable and in some cases useful for historical information, but not of the same authority as the other books of the Older Testament; Protestant churches generally leave them out of their Bibles entirely (although most liberal Protestants hold all books of the Bible to be spiritually profitable only in the vaguest sense of the word "spiritual", but certainly not inerrant in ANY sense).

The Hebrew Scriptures contain all of the same books, but in a slightly different arrangement. They refer to their scriptures as the TaNaKh, which is essentially a word used as a mnemonic device, similar to an acronym, which comprises the Torah, the Nabi'im (the Prophets), and the Kethubim (the Writings). The Torah is divided as it is in the Christian Older Testament, into the five books of Moses (or for convenience, conventionally attributed to Moses, although we know that the final record of the death of Moses in Deuteronomy could not have been written by Moses, but was likely added by another author, which many assume to be Joshua). The Nabi'im, or Prophets, include what are referred to as the "former" prophets, being Joshua, Judges, Samuel (the undivided I and II Samuel), and Kings (the undivided I and II Kings), and the "latter" prophets, being Isaiah, Jeremiah (comprising Jeremiah and Lamentations), Ezekiel, and those we refer to as the Minor Prophets. Interestingly, Daniel is not considered among the prophets (in spite of his apocalyptic visions which most evangelical Christians believe are predictive, and point to the coming of Jesus Christ and the end times), but place him among the Kethubim, or "the Writings". These are comprised of Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemia (one book in the Hebrew scriptures), and Chronicles (the undivided I and II Chronicles), which concludes the TaNaKh. The Hebrew Scriptures do not include the Apocrypha. According to Luke (chapter 24, verse 44), Jesus utilized this three-part division of Scripture when, after his resurrection he appeared to his disciples, ate a piece of broiled fish, and said: "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms." We may assume that he included Daniel, since he referred to it twice during His ministry (in what is generally referred to as the Olivet Discourse, and in His response to the Sanhedrin prior to His crucifixion.

In our next installment, I will provide you a general overview of the themes of the five divisions of the Older Testament, and will discuss a simple summary which will help you to remember the Older Testament, having a "place for everything and everything in its place."

God bless and keep you in Jesus Christ, guiding you by His Holy Spirit in your study of His word,

Matthew (soulfyre)

[Soulfyre]

Introduction and Overview, Part 2: Simple Ideas and a Simple Timeline

The challenge to understanding the Older Testament is that it is not organized along an historical timeline, but is organized by category, much like a public library. Imagine trying to contruct a "theory of history" using poetry, music, history, wisdom literature, law, and new age literature (well, at least that's where most books aspiring to the prophetic or apocalyptic are unceremoniously stashed). But this is what we propose to do. Fortunately, it will become apparent that across the diversity of literature in the Older Testament God has laid a template the teleology (purposive progress toward a determined "telos", or end) of which is is largely revealed in the New Testament.

I will begin by laying out a very simple timeline that will be easy to use as a sort of mnemonic device. It provides a framework to which we will attach details, resulting in a finished product which will be servicable in providing the foundation of further study in the Older Testament. This, then, is the timeline:

• Four Great Events (Creation-2100 B.C.):

• Four Great Patriarchs and the Beginnings of a Great Nation–Israel (2100-1800 B.C.):

• The Captivity in Egypt - 400 years

• The Wilderness Wanderings for 40 years

• The Crossing of Jordan and the Conquest of the Holy Land under Joshua

• Theocracy under the Judges - 300 years

• "We Three Kings": The United Monarchy (1050-931 B.C.)

• Civil War Cracks a Kingdom in Two (931 B.C)

• The Babylonian Captivity of Judah ends as a remnant rebuilds the temple in Jerusalem (516 B.C.)

• The Old Testament concludes witht the last of the Minor Prophets, Malachi (about 400 B.C.)

• The 400 "Silent" Years

If you commit this simple timeline to memory, it will become an invaluable tool in as we progress in our studies. In the next post, we will look at the Genesis, the Book of Beginnings.

In Christ,

Matthew (soulfyre)