Old Testament Survey
Introduction to the Old Testament
Rick Walker, M.A., M.Div.
1. Broad Appeal of the Old Testament. No other book has broader appeal than
the Old Testament.
A. Secular Appeal. The Old Testament is studied by those who have a broad
spectrum of interests because of the contribution the Old
Testament can
make to their fields of study.
1. Archaeologists
2. Historians
3. Geographers
4. Linguists
B. Religious. The Old Testament is studied by the three world religions.
1. Jews trace their history back to Abraham and Isaac
2. Muslims trace their history back to Abraham and Ishmael
3. Christians trace their ancestry back to Abraham as the
father of those
who have faith.
C. Redemptive History. The approach we will take to the Old Testament is that
of redemptivehistory. I.e., it is not simply history, but
the action of God in
bringing redemption to mankind.
1. We acknowledge the value of the Old Testament to the
linguist,historian
and others.
2. However, we view the Old Testament as a religious
document recording redemptive
history - the history of God working out
the redemption of man through his people.
a. It is not a "closed
history." History is not simply what happens among men.
b. It is a history open to the
interaction of God among men. God is very much a
part of history as he
builds Israel into a nation,brings them out of bondage,
gives the law at Sinai
- as he punishes, rebukes, brings exile and restoration
- and points to coming
of the Messiah. It is the history of God working among
men to bring salvation.
2. Literary Divisions. From a literary standpoint, the Old Testament comprises thirty-nine
books that can be broken down into three distinct classifications.
A. Historical Writings. Genesis through Esther comprises the historical
writings. It
begins with a brief account of creation and the Fall and
its consequences. It then
launches into the history of Israel beginning with the
patriarch Abraham. The history
of Israel is carried forward down until 445 B.C.
B. Prophets. The prophets comprise seventeen books written by men who were
raised up by
God to speak his word to the Jews and, to a lesser degree,
the Gentiles (e.g., Jonah).
1. The content of the historical books, especially the
Pentateuch, serves as the
foundation for the prophetic books. They
call Israel back to the covenant God made
with Israel and Sinai.
2. Two classifications of prophets. The major prophets are
much longer than the minor
prophets.
a. Major Prophets.
1. There were four men
who were major prophets. They wrote five books: Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel.
2. The major prophets
are the first five in the canonical order.
b. Minor Prophets. There are twelve minor
prophets.
1. Writings are much
shorter than the major prophets.
2. Begins with Hosea
and continues to Malachi at the end of the Old Testament.
C. Poetry and Literature. The remainder of the Old Testament is Poetry and
Literature.
1. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.
2. These works are grouped together between the historical
and prophetic writings.
3. Chronology of the Old Testament. Refer to time-line for a brief overview of the
time periods and historical highlights.
A. Genesis 1-11. Covers a period from the beginning of creation down through
the
patriarchs moving to Egypt (c 1950 B.C.)
B. Genesis 12-50 Covers a period from 1950 until 1690 B.C. Notice how much of
Genesis is
devoted to the story of the family of Abraham as compared
to the creation of the
universe and the fall of man.
C. Exodus. Covers a period of four hundred years of Egyptian bondage of the
Jews
(1690-1290 B.C.).
1. God had promised Abraham that he would make his
descendants into a great nation and
would give them the Promised Land.
a. However, he also said that before that
happened Abraham's descendants would be in
bondage for four
hundred years (Gen. 15:13).
1. As the sun was
setting one day Abraham fell asleep and a dreadful darkness
came
over him.
2. Lord told him that
he would fulfill his promise to make his descendants into a
great
nation - but first they would be oppressed for four hundred years. Then
God
would deliver them.
b. Exodus is the fulfillment of both.
1. The Jews were
oppressed by the Egyptians.
2. The Jews were
delivered under the leadership of Moses.
2. The time frame is from about 1690 to 1290 B.C.
D. Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Covers a period of only forty years from
1290-1250 B.C.
1. Period is the forty years of wandering in the wilderness
under the leadership
of Moses.
2. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy cover three aspects
of Jewish life.
a. Leviticus has to do with regulations
for the priestly service and the
tabernacle
b. Numbers chronicles the journeys of the
Jews through the forty year period.
c. Deuteronomy means "second
law." Moses gives the Jews the Ten Commandments
and other laws a second
time just before his death and before the Jews enter
the Promised Land.
E. Joshua. Covers a period of fifty years from 1250-1200 B.C. The history of
the
partial conquest of the Promised Land under the leadership
of Joshua after the death
of Moses.
F. Judges, Ruth. Covers a period of about two hundred years (180) from
1200-1020 B.C.
A history of the unfaithfulness of Israel to the covenant.
1. Israel falls into idolatry
2. Israel is oppressed.
3. Israel repents
4. God raises up judges (sepharim) to deliver the people
from their oppressors.
G. United Kingdom. The United Monarchy under Saul, David and Solomon lasted
only about
one-hundred years (1020-922 B.C.).
1. The history of this period is covered by 1, 2 Samuel, 1,
2 Kings, and 1, 2
Chronicles.
2. This was the period in which Israel reached the zenith
of her glory.
Unfortunately, it was not to last.
H. Divided Kingdom. With the split of the kingdom after the death of Solomon,
in 922
B.C., we begin the history of both the Northern Kingdom of
Israel and the Southern
Kingdom of Judah.
1. The Northern Kingdom existed for a period of two hundred
years -from the split
of the kingdom in 922 B.C. until the fall
of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.
Due to the corruption of the Northern
Kingdom, God allowed the Northern Kingdom to
fall to the Assyrians in 722 B.C., which
brought the Northern Kingdom to a final
end.
2. The Southern Kingdom of Judah continued from 922 until
586 B.C. when it was taken
into a seventy year exile by the
Babylonians.
I. Exilic Period. The seventy years of captivity began in 586 and lasted
until 536 B.C.
a. This is known as the Exilic Period.
b. Though 586 B.C. until 539 B.C. is only a period of
forty-eight years, it is still
called the Seventy Year Captivity. We
will discuss this issue later in the course.
J. Post-exilic Period. When the Persians became the world empire by
conquering the
Babylonians, they allowed the Jews to return to their
homeland and rebuild Jerusalem
and the temple. The post-exilic begins in 539 B.C. with the
return of the first wave
of Jews under Zerubbabel.
1. Temple rebuilt in 516 B.C.
2. Period covered by the books of Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther, Malachi.
3. The Old Testament closes with Malachi and the New
Testament opens with the
promised birth of Christ.
K. Key Dates to Remember.
a. United Kingdom: 1020-922 B.C.
b. Kingdom Split at death of Solomon 922
c. Northern Kingdom 922 until 722 B.C.
d. Southern Kingdom 922 until 586 B.C.
e. Post-exilic period begins 539
f. Temple rebuilt 516
4. Writing and Translation of the Old Testament.
A. The Old Testament written over a period of about one-thousand years.
1. At least thirty different authors.
2. Written in Hebrew and very little Aramaic (Ezra
4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Jer. 10:11;
Daniel 2:4-7:28).
B. Major Translations.
1. Septuagint (LXX). In the third century B.C. a Greek
translation became
necessary because Greek had become the
lingua franca.
2. Vulgate. At the end of the fourth century A.D. the O.T.
was translated into Latin
because Latin was the lingua franca. The
Vulgate remained the most popular
translation until the Renaissance (about
one thousand years). At that time the
Old Testament began to be translated into
many other languages.