REL 151 – Survey of the Old Testament
Jefferson State Community College
Clanton Campus
Spring 2015
Instructor: Cleve Mallory

Overview of the Course
This course will introduce to you the
“Three Worlds of the Bible”
– The Literary World
– The Historical World
– The Contemporary World

Overview of the Course
This course will introduce to you the
“Three Worlds of the Bible”
– The Literary World text
• Consists solely of the words on the page

Overview of the Course
This course will introduce to you the
“Three Worlds of the Bible”
– The Literary World text
– The Historical World context
• Consists of the world “behind the text”

Overview of the Course
This course will introduce to you the
“Three Worlds of the Bible”
– The Literary World text
– The Historical World context
– The Contemporary World
• Consists of “the world of the reader”

The Literary World
• The Central Themes of the Bible
– The involvement of the Creator in creation
– God’s special relationship with His people, Israel
– The faithfulness of God to His people
– The fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus
(N.T.)
– The redemption of God’s people in Jesus
(N.T.)

The Historical World
• The Bible is the bestselling book of all time.
• It is a collection of 66 books…
• Written by nearly 40 human authors…
• Spanning some 1600 years.
• The word “Bible” is translated from the
Greek biblia, meaning “books.”

The Historical World
• The books of Judeo-Christian Scripture have numerous authors (40 +). They range from kings to prophets to shepherds to fishermen.
• To those who consider the Bible sacred, the belief is that each author was inspired by the
Holy Spirit of the Most High God to the degree that every word is exactly as God would have it in its original language.

The Historical World
Canonization
• The “canon” refers to the accepted writings deemed authoritative by a religious community.
• “Canon” derives from the Greek word for “reed,” which was an ancient standard of measurement.
• Canonization is the process by which a set of books came to be viewed as having sacred authority.

The Historical World
• The fixed canon of Christian Scripture is divided into two testaments: Old and New
• To those who consider the Bible sacred, the belief is that each author was inspired by the
Holy Spirit of the Most High God to the degree that every word is exactly as God would have it in its original language.

The Old Testament
• The Hebrew Bible has Three Divisions
– The Torah (Law) canonized by ~500 BC
– The Nevi’im (Prophets) canonized by ~200 BC
– The Kethuvim (Writings) canonized by ~70 BC
• The Hebrew Bible contains 24 Books
• The Protestant O.T. contains 39 Books
(arranged diff.)

The Old Testament
• Ancient stories were passed down by oral tradition until written languages emerged.
• It is believed that the OT Books were written over a ~1,400 year span.
• The original writings were Hebrew & Aramaic
– The Septuagint
– The Vulgate
Greek translation
250-100 BC
Latin translation
400 AD
– The Wycliffe Bible Anglo Saxon
1382 AD
– King James Version
1611 AD

The Historical World
The O.T. Must Be Read in CONTEXT
– Context refers to the circumstances that form the setting for a passage of Scripture.
Time, Place, People, Political/Cultural Climate, etc.
– Proper Understanding of Context Enables Proper
Understanding of Scripture.
– To Ignore Context Is to Ignore Authorial Intent .

The Historical World
5 Types of CONTEXT
– Historical Context
Refers to the events taking place in the biblical era forming the backdrop of a passage of Scripture.
– Cultural Context
Refers to the attitudes, patterns of behavior, and/or expressions of a particular society.

The Historical World
5 Types of CONTEXT
– Literary Context
Refers to the way a passage fits into and functions within a book, group of books, or the Bible as a whole.
– Theological Context
Refers to the way a passage fits into the broader message(s) of the Bible.
What does this teach us about God?
What does this teach us about ourselves? Our world?

The Historical World
5 Types of CONTEXT
– Personal Context
Refers to the circumstances surrounding the life of the reader that might affect the way he or she reads and understands passages of
Scripture.
This is the contextual element that transitions from the Historical World to the Contemporary World.

The Contemporary World
My Understanding of the Biblical Text
Is Affected by…
– Who I Am
– Where I Live
– When I Live
– What I Have Experienced
– How I Think/ Believe/ Feel

– The Literary World
– The Historical World
– The Contemporary World
One must understand all three in order to understand the Old Testament.