101 Old Testament

Old Testament 101

Who wrote the Old Testament and how was it established?
The Old Testament was written over hundreds of years by many people. Traditions says the first 5 books were written by Moses. Some books were written by the person the book is named for. It was probably redacted (edited) over the centuries to produce the set of books we have today.
It was probably first written down during the Monarchy, after existing for centuries as oral tradition. The last book was written a few centuries before Christ. By Jesus' day, the Scriptures we now know as the Old Testament were fairly established.

What books make up the Old Testament? The Old Testament is composed of 39 books that fall into 4 categories. 1) Law (5 books): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (called the Torah, or Pentateuch)
2) History (12 books): Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
3) Poetry (5 books): Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
4) Prophets (17 books): Major (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel), Minor (Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)

What happens in the Old Testament? The Old Testament can be divided into seven major periods.

Creation to 2200 BC	1) The world and mankind are created.
2200 to 1800 BC	2) The patriarchs develop the foundation of God's chosen people.
*+/- 1440/1250 BC**	3) The Hebrews are led from bondage out of Egypt.
*1440/1250 to 1050 BC**	4) The Hebrews settle in the Promised Land and are led by Judges.
1050 to 930 BC	5) The tribes are led by 3 kings: Saul, then David, and then Solomon.
930 to 587 BC	6) The tribes are divided into 2 kingdoms: Israel and Judah.
587 to 400 BC	7) The Hebrews are exiled, but return after 70 years.

*There are 2 schools of thought on the date of the Exodus.

1) Creation to 2200 BC: The Creation of the World & Mankind
Books: Genesis 1:1 - 11:9

A) Creation

- Everything is created, ending with Adam and Eve

B) The Fall

- Adam & Eve eat of the forbidden fruit and leave the Garden of Eden

- Cain kills his brother Abel

C) The Flood

- The world had gotten so bad that God created a catastrophic flood.

- He had faithful Noah and his family build an ark to survive.

D) The Tower of Babel

- After building a tall tower to display human power, God made them speak

different languages and they scattered to the different nations.

2) 2200-1800 BC: The Patriarchs
Books: Genesis 11:10 - 50:26; Job

A) Abraham

- Abraham is called by God to be the father of the chosen people

B) Isaac

- Isaac survives an apparent sacrifice to become the second patriarch

C) Jacob

- Jacob's sons will make up the 12 tribes

D) Joseph

- Joseph survives being sold into slavery and becomes a powerful man in Egypt

- He brings his family to Egypt

E) Job

- Job has been dated to the time of Abraham

- Job is the story of a man faithful to God, no matter what hardships he faces

3) */- 1440/1250 BC: The Exodus
Books: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

A) Moses is called

- After Joseph's death, the Hebrews had no voice in Egypt

and became slaves

- Moses, a Hebrew raised in the royal court, accepted his heritage

and was called by God to lead his people out of bondage

B) Leaving Egypt

- Though doubtful at first, Moses asked Pharoah to release the Hebrews

- With God's influence (i.e. 10 plagues), the Pharoah allows them to leave

C) 40 years in the desert

- Moses receives the laws on Mt. Sinai

- Due to their disobedience at Mt. Sinai (the golden calf),

they are sentenced to wander the desert for 40 years

4) 1440/1250-1050 BC: The Conquest of the Promised Land; Judges
Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth

A) Entering the
Promised Land

- After Moses' death, Joshua leads the people into the Promised Land

- After numerous battles, the Hebrews settle in the Promised Land

B) Judges

- For a couple of centuries, the Hebrews have no organized leadership

- Instead, when trouble arises, a leader (judge) rises up to help the Hebrews

to overcome their enemy

- The cycle goes as follows: the Hebrews go astray, an enemy attacks, the

Hebrews repent, God raises a leader, the judge leads the Hebrews

to victory, and there is a time of peace

- The Judges are: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jair,

Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson

5) 1050-930 BC: The Monarchy
Books: 1&2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

A) Saul

- The people wanted a king like the other nations

- Saul became the 1st king of the Hebrews

- Though successful militarily, he became unstable towards the end of his reign

B) David

- David started by killing Goliath with a sling

- He later followed Saul as king

- Though very successful militarily, he sinned (Bathsheba)

and stumbled as a spiritual leader

C) Solomon

- Known for his wisdom, Solomon built the first temple

- He allowed other religions to creep into the nation, which would cause trouble

6) 930-587 BC: The Divided Kingdom: Israel and Judah
Books: 1&2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah

A) Israel

- The northern kingdom included 10 tribes

- From the start, every king was a poor leader in God's eyes

- Prophets warn of Israel's demise

- In 722 BC, they were conquered by the Assyrians

- The people intermarried and were assimilated by other nations

B) Judah

- The southern kingdom included 2 tribes and the city of Jerusalem

- They had their share of good and bad kings

- Prophets warn of Judah's demise if they don't change their ways

- They finally fell at the beginning of the 6th century BC to the Babylonians

- They were taken to Babylon to live in exile

7) 587-400 BC: The Exile & Return to the Promised Land
Books: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

A) Living in Babylon

- The Hebrews live in Babylon for about 70 years

B) Returning to the
Promised Land

- The Persians conquer Babylon and Cyrus allows the Hebrews

to return to their own land

C) Rebuilding Jerusalem

- Under the leadership of Ezra, Zerubbabel rebulds the temple and

Nehemiah rebuilds the walls around Jerusalem

Why should we study the Old Testament?
Over the years, there have been schools of thought which promoted only studying the New Testament. But we should learn about the Old Testament because it created the setting for the New Testament. The Old Testament was Jesus' Bible. Much of the foundation of New Testament ideas can be found in the Old Testament. We need to understand the history and development of the people of God leading up to the New Testament to give us better insight into our faith.
For example, many people think that the OT is concerned mainly about laws, whereas Jesus (in the NT) says there are but 2 laws: to love God and to love your fellow man/woman. Actually, those two laws originated in the OT.

Deut. 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

Lev. 19:18b ... you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

LINKS:
Relevant Books for Further Study:

• A Theological Introduction to the OT

• An Introduction to Old Testament Study

• A Guide Through the Old Testament

• An Historical Survey of the Old Testament

• An Introduction To The Old Testament

• An Overview of the Old Testament and
How It Relates to the New Testament

• Old Testament History

• Old Testament Characters

• Old Testament Story