How the Bible Came to Us

Overview of the OT

Arrangement of the OT in English and Hebrew

• English– Pentateuch (Genesis to

Deuteronomy) - 5– Historical (Joshua to

Esther) - 12– Poetic & Wisdom (Job to

Song of Solomon) - 5– Prophets - 17

• Major (Isaiah to Daniel) – 5

• Minor (Hosea to Malachi) – 12

• This arrangement is derived from the Latin Vulgate and LXX.

• Hebrew (TaNaK)– Law (Genesis to

Deuteronomy) - 5– Prophets - 19

• Former (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings)

• Latter (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve)

– Writings - 12• Psalms• Proverbs• Job• Song of Solomon• Ruth• Lamentations• Ecclesiastes• Esther• Daniel• Ezra• Nehemiah• Chronicles

Different order, same books!

Titles of OT Books• Originally scrolls of OT books did not bear

titles, though there was some notation on the outside of the scroll.

• In the Hebrew Bible the titles for the books of the Torah derive from the first important word or words in the book.

• The majority of OT books are named after their main characters, supposed authors, or content.

• English titles for OT books come from the Latin Vulgate, which came from the LXX.

THE

PROPHETS: MAJOR & MINOR

HISTORICAL BOOKS: JOSHUA THROUGH ESTHER

TORAH: GENESIS THROUGH DEUTERONOMY

Later Revelation Builds on Earlier Revelation

How We Often Read the Bible

Old Testament New Testament

How We Ought to Read the Bible

The Word of God

Why Do We as Christians Need to Study the OT Today?

• Because 2/3 of our Bible is in the OT. • Because the NT can only be properly understood

against the background of the OT.• Because the Bible of the New Testament writers was

the Old Testament. These writers often quote from the Old Testament, and they assume that you are familiar with its characters and content.

• Because the same God is the author of both Testaments. You cannot know well the character of God unless you study the OT.

• Because many Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in the New Testament (and many are not!)

Why Do We as Christians Need to Study the OT Today?

• Because when you read the Gospels you are reading about events that took place under an Old Testament economy.

• Because many of the Old Testament's teachings are timeless principles.

• Because not everything is restated and reapplied in the New Testament.

• Because two basic yet essential themes of the Bible begin very early in the Old Testament:

– Kingdom– Covenant

God’s Covenants with Israel as a Framework for the OT

• Abrahamic – the foundation of all of God’s covenants with Israel, specifying:– a land– a multitude of descendants– Abraham and descendants as a means of blessing for all the

other nations.

• Mosaic – the means by which God would fulfill the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. – It set Israel apart to God as a holy nation and regulated the

entire life of the nation. – God promised blessing to the nation when they were

obedient to the stipulations of the covenant, and curses upon them when they were disobedient.

– It would be through this nation that all the other nations would recognize that Israel’s God was the true God.

God’s Covenants with Israel as a Framework for the OT

• Priestly – God promised a perpetual priesthood to the line of Phineas that carries all the way through to the future millennial kingdom.

• Deuteronomic – a renewal of God’s covenant relationship and requirements with the new generation of Israelites that were about to enter the promised land.

God’s Covenants with Israel as a Framework for the OT

• Davidic – God’s rule upon the earth through the nation of Israel included the idea of an earthly kingdom, a monarchy. In the Davidic Covenant, God promised to David that such a rule would always remain in his family, that David would never lack a man to sit upon the throne of Israel.

• New – In the New Covenant God promised an enablement whereby His covenant people would have His law written upon their hearts and would finally fulfill their designated role as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to the rest of the world.

United King-dom under Saul, David, Solomon

(112 years)

Northern Kingdom 10 Tribes Capital: Samaria

Southern Kingdom 2 Tribes Capital: Jerusalem

722 BC

Israel’s Division and Captivity

1043 BC

931 BC

Jeroboam, followedby 18 bad kings.

Rehoboam, followed by 11bad and 8 good kings.

605 BCDaniel & 3friends

597 BCEzekiel & 10,000

586 BCJerusalem destroyed

Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah

605 BC 536 BC538 BCDecree of Cyrus

70 Year Captivity

Latter Prophets

Next Time:

Overview of the NT