Introduction to the Old Testament

A survey of the Hebrew Bible

The Old Testament

Also known as

• Hebrew Bible

• First Testament

• Primary Testament

• The Scriptures

• Tanak

Hebrew Bible

• Torah (Law, Pentateuch)

• Nebiim (Prophets)– Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel,

Kings)– Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,

Twelve)

• Ketubim (The Writings)

Greek Old Testament (Septuagint)

• Law• History (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel,

Kings, Chronicles, Esdras, Esther, Judith, Tobit, Maccabees)

• Poetry• Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah,

Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel)• Minor Prophets (The Twelve)

Time Periods

Middle Bronze Age 2200-1550 BCE

12th Dynasty Egypt and Old Babylonian

Late Bronze Age 1550-1200 BCE

18-19th Dynasty Egypt and Old Assyrian

Iron Age 1200-586 BCE

Egyptian and Mesopotamian decline,

Then Neo-Assyrian, followed by Neo-Babylonian

Persian Period 586-332 BCE

End of Neo-Babylonian and Persian

Hellenistic Period 332-37 BCE

Alexander the Great and successors

Primary History

Prelude: Creation, Fall, Flood, and Dispersal

First Movement: The Ancestors [God’s Election]

Second Movement: Liberation and Covenant

Third Movement: Settlement and Conflict

Fourth Movement: Kingdom and Temple

Coda: Captivity

Creation

Elsewhere in Bible, in context of praise, eg.,

Psalm 104

Job 38-39

At beginning of Bible, two stories presented consecutively:

Genesis 1:1 – 2:3

Genesis 2:4b – 3:24

Set context of entire following story.

Genesis 1

6 (7) days climaxing in Sabbath

Creation by Word

Importance of separations

Humanity as divine image

Genesis 2-3

Molding of man and extraction of woman

woman as “helper”

Role as gardener – and minor limitation of diet

Rebellion and expulsion from garden

limitation to earthly life

Continuation

Genesis 4

Cain and Abel ; growth of human race

Genesis 5

Genealogy: from Adam to Noah

Flood

Mesopotamian stories

Gilgamesh visits Utnapishtim [Atrahasis]

Setting: Divine beings and human women [6:1-4]

Two starts to story: 6:5 and 6:11 (separated by 6:9)

Waters from above and below 7:11

Sweet smell leads to promise, although humans evil 8:20-22

Covenant and rainbow 9:12-17

After the Flood

Drunkenness of Noah 9:18-28

Descendants of Ham, Japheth, Shem: Gen 10

Tower of Babel 11:1-9

From Shem to Abram 11:10-32