Introduction to the Old Testament PDF

**Introduction to the Old Testament** What is the Old Testament? First of all, it is a history. It describe the major events in the history of an ancient people called the Israelites or Hebrew people. Secondly, the Old Testament is the theology of history. Just as any historian tries to interpret h...

**Introduction to the Old Testament** What is the Old Testament? First of all, it is a history. It describe the major events in the history of an ancient people called the Israelites or Hebrew people. Secondly, the Old Testament is the theology of history. Just as any historian tries to interpret history by the events he selects to be included and by the important or meaning he gives to those events, so also the writers of the Old Testament interpret the history in a theological way. They tell about events that show how God was working in the life of His people. They want to answer theological questions about the meaning of life in a world ruled by God. They do not try to speculate about philosophical questions like the existence or essence of God. They assume that God exists. They try to show how and why God is at work in our world. Like in the New Testament Gospels which give a theological history of the life of Christ. Thirdly, the Old Testament is an artistic history. Not all of all of the Old Testament is historical narrative. There are many different kinds of literature on the OT. Much of it is "Historical" but not all. For example, there are songs, sermons, proverbs, and stories used by the Israelites during different periods of their history. All of this literature is intended to show how God is involved in the world. It interprets the meaning of life under God. The purpose is to cause to respond to God by faith and loyalty. The Old Testament as we have it today is structured to three clusters. Each cluster is a different kind of literature. The first cluster contains the historical narrative and legal texts. This is a group of seventeen books, from Genesis through Esther. The second cluster contains the songs and wisdom texts, which are personal responses to the events described in the first cluster. Most of this literature is in the form of poetry. There are five books in this group from Job to the Song of Songs. The third cluster contains the prophetic and apocalyptic texts. There are seventeen books, from Isaiah through Malachi. These sermons and narratives deal with social, religious, and political problems from the eight century B.C. and after. The prophets denounced the sins of the people and called them to repent. The apocalyptic writing urges them to remain faithful to their God even when they are persecuted by other. All of these writers looked forward to a failure hope which only finds its fulfillment in the New Testament. The Old Testament it not complete without the New Testament. In the addition to these 39 books, Roman Catholic Bibles contain some other books, plus additions to the books of Daniel and Esther. These writings are called the Deuterocanon (second canon) or Apocrypha (hidden writings). We will learn more about these books later. **Cluster I The Historical Books** **A. the Pentateuch, Torah, or Books of Moses are the five books.** **Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers** and **Deuteronomy.** They are believed to have been written by Moses, with some additions by a later editor. For example, the death of Moses is included in the book of Deuteronomy. Some other person must have written that part. (or refer to find out) or because the its dictates, Moses does not need to be present in the event. He writes what was being said by find how is all knowing. **1.GENESIS:** The name means "beginnings". The book of Genesis tells the story of the beginning of the Universe, the beginning of human history, and the beginning of the Hebrew people. The narrative of the book is written within a framework of genealogies introduced by the formula, "These are the generations of (e.g. the generations of Noah)". This implies that the deeds of the person named are so important that they form a new part of the series. **2. EXODUS:** Means "going out". The book of Exodus is the story of how God rescued from slavery in Egypt. A result of his deliverance from bondage was that they became a nation\-\-- not just a family or group of slaves Egypt, and about Moses who became their leader. Moses brought them to Mount Sinai where God declared them to be the nation of Israel and His own people. He gave them a covenant and a set of laws to govern their relationship to Him and their life as a nation. **3.LEVITICUS:** The book of Leviticus continues the narrative of Exodus, with special attention to the instructions given to Moses for building a tabernacle as a place of worship, for consecrating Aaron and his sons of priests, and for carrying out of many sacrifices and other rituals which were part of the worship prescribed in the law. **4.NUMBERS:** Gets its name from the census or numbering of the people which occurs two different time in this book, in chapter 1 and chapter 26. Aside from that, it also describes the health practices, civil, military, and other instructions to the people in preparation for their journey through the wilderness. It also narrates the journey from Sinai to the Promised Land, Canaan. **5. DEUTERONOMY:** Means "the second law" or "the law repeated a second time". Moses repeated again the commandments and laws that he had given to the people at Sinai (Exodus), and gives final instructions to them before entering the Promised Land. Forty years had passed since the time that God made a covenant with the people at Sinai. It was a new generation of Israelites who are about to enter Canaan. So God renewed his covenant with them in this repetition of the Law.