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.
Different order, same books!
• Hebrew (TaNaK)
– Law (Genesis to
Deuteronomy) - 5
– Prophets - 19
• Former (Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, Kings)
• Latter (Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, and the Twelve)
– Writings - 12
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Psalms
Proverbs
Job
Song of Solomon
Ruth
Lamentations
Ecclesiastes
Esther
Daniel
Ezra
Nehemiah
Chronicles
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.
Later Revelation Builds on
Earlier Revelation
THE
PROPHETS:
MAJOR &
MINOR
HISTORICAL BOOKS:
JOSHUA THROUGH
ESTHER
TORAH: GENESIS THROUGH
DEUTERONOMY
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?
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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?
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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:
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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.
Northern Kingdom
10 Tribes
Capital:
Samaria
Israel’s Division and Captivity
Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah
Jeroboam, followed
by 18 bad kings.
722
BC
1043 BC
70 Year Captivity
605 BC
931 BC
United
Kingdom
under Southern Kingdom
2 Tribes
Saul,
David, Capital: Jerusalem
Solomon Rehoboam, followed by 11
bad and 8 good kings.
(112
597 BC
605 BC
Daniel & 3 Ezekiel &
10,000
friends
years)
Latter Prophets
536 BC
538 BC
Decree of Cyrus
586 BC
Jerusalem destroyed
Next Time:
Overview of the NT