THE OLD TESTAMENT
PART II THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
Charles P.
Poole, Jr.
1.
Introduction
2. God
Guides His People
3. From Solomon to the Maccabees
4. Disputes
and Schisms
5. True
Religion
6. The Priest-King Melchizedek
7. The
Firstborn and Changes of Name
8. Massah-Meribath-Kadesh
9. Old
Testament History
10. Secular History of the Old Testament Era
10a.Countries
and Empires
10b.Rulers
of Nations
11. Some Important Dates
12. Outlines of the Books of the Old Testament
12a.The
Book of Genesis
12b.The
Book of Exodus
12c.
Numbers
12d.
Deuteronomy
12e. Leviticus
12f. The Book of Joshua
12h.The
Book of Ruth
12i. The First Book of Samuel
12j. The Second Book of Samuel
12k.The
Second Book of Kings
12l. The Book of Ezra
12m The Book of Nehemiah
12n.Two
Books of Chronicles
12o. First
Book of the Maccabees
12p. Second
Book of the Maccabees
12q. Tobit
12r. Judith.
12s.
Esther
12t.
Note on the
13. Coming of the Prophets
1. Introduction
In
last week’s class we covered some miscellaneous aspects of the Old Testament,
and now we will proceed to discuss the Historical Books. The following two sessions will treat in
succession the Prophetic Books, and then the Wisdom Books.
2. God
Guides His People
The
history of
The
people of
3.
From Solomon to the Maccabees
Unfortunately
after the death of Solomon the ten northern tribes separated from
4. Disputes and Schisms
There
were many cases of bitter disputes between individuals, especially between
close relatives. Adam and Eve’s son Cain
killed his brother Abel. Abraham’s elder
son Ishmael and his mother Hagar were exiled from the family because of Sarah’s
preference for his brother Isaac. The
Jewish people are descended from Isaac, and the Arabs from Ishmael. Abraham’s grandsons Esau and Jacob had a
falling out over the inheritance. His
great grandsons planned to kill their younger brother Joseph, and ended up
selling him to Ishmaelites. David was at war with his predecessor King
Saul, and later with his son Absalom.
After the death of Solomon the Jewish nation split into two nations
which were never reconciled before their destructions. The books of Kings recount the history of
the two kingdoms on a more or less equal basis, without a marked preference for
either one. With the fall of
5. True Religion
Many
of us have a picture of a stern God in the Old Testament, and a loving God in
the New. It is in Deuteronomy (6:5) that
we read the first Great Commandment which was quoted by Jesus: “You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
strength.” The Old Testament repeatedly
reminds the Israelites to be kind to widows, orphans and foreigners: “You must
not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the
6. The Priest-King Melchizedek
Abraham’s
nephew
7. The Firstborn and Changes of Name
We
are accustomed to think of the firstborn as the one who inherits, but it was
not always so in the Old Testament.
Cain, the firstborn of Adam and Eve, murdered his older brother Abel,
and was ostracized. Ishmael, the son of
Abraham and Hagar, was sent away by Abraham and Sarah in favor of Isaac who was
born of Sarah in her old age many years later.
Ishmael became the progenitor of the Arab nation, and Isaac played that
role for the Jewish nation. In the next
generation Abraham’s grandson Jacob obtained the birthright from his older twin
brother Esau by stealth (Gen 25:29-34; 27:1-45). Many years later the prophet Samuel came to
Jesse’s home to anoint the next king of
Changes in name sometimes
occurred at important points in a person’s life. The Lord said to Abram (Gen 17:5) “your name
shall be Abraham, for I will make you father of a multitude of nations.” Concerning his wife the Lord said (Gen
8. Massah-Meribath-Kadesh
The
reason why Moses was not permitted to enter the
Toward the end Yahweh spoke to Moses: “Because you
broke faith with me among the sons of
9. Old Testament History
Before
discussing the detailed chronology it is of interest to make a brief review of
the eras associated with the events of the Old Testament.
From the beginning: creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Flood,
Archaeologically the Bronz
Age lasted from 3300 to 1200, and the Iron Age 1200 to 300 BC.
Era of the patriarchs Abraham Isaac Jacob/Israel;
Slaves in
Rule by judges Moses leads Exodus, Joshua occupies
One united
kingdom: Saul (20 yrs), David (40 years), Solomon (40 yrs) 1030-931 BC
Northern Kingdom Israel (ten tribes) 922-721 BC
Southern Kingdom Judah (two tribes Judah and
Benjamin) 922-587 BC
Exile in
Revolt of the Maccabees,
Jewish state founded 160 BC
Expressed in terms of pentateuchal
and historical books the chronology is:
1. Genesis:
Chap. 1 to 11: Primordial History, Creation to
12
to 50: Patriarchal History,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob renamed
2. Creation, Ussher
4004 BC, physicists 17 billion years
3. Exodus - 10 Plagues,
4. Numbers - Sinai to Promised Land
5. Leviticus - about Laws; Deuteronomy - more
details
6 Joshua, Judges - Conquest and division of
7. Samuel 1 & 2 - last of the judges, first
two kings Saul, then David 1100-960 BC
8. Kings 1 & 2 - David, Solomon, first
temple was built,
9. Ezra and Nehemiah - Exile and return,
rebuilding the 2nd
10. Chronicles 1 & 2 -
retelling some of the history
11.
Other events - Tobit*, Ruth, Judith*, Esther (½*)
12. 1
& 2 Maccabees* - revolt against Seleucides, Jewish state established 160 BC
*Denotes deuterocanonical
(apocryphal) book
10. Secular
History of the Old Testament Era
It is
helpful to set the history of the Old Testament in the context of the history
of the secular states that surrounded and influenced the Jewish people. To accomplish this we will mention the names
and dates of the countries and empires that dominated the region, then we will
list some of the important rulers of those countries, especially the ones whose
names appear in the scriptures, and finally the dates of some important events
will be given.
10a. Countries
and Empires
The Achaemenid Persian empire, which was the dominant power in
the
The
Roman rule of the
10b. Rulers of Nations
Several
rulers of the above countries, listed with their dates (BC) of ruling, are as
follows:
Rameses II of
Saul of
David
of
Solomon of
Jehoshaphat of
Omri of
Ahab of
Jehu of
Uzziah of
Jeroboam II of
Tiglath-pileser
Ahaz of
Sargon II of
Hezekiah of
Sennacherib of
Josiah of
Nebuchadrezzar
II of
Cyrus
II the Great of
Darius I of
Alexander
11. Some Important Dates (BC)
There is disagreement about earlier dates;
some are approximate.
Abraham
1800
The
Exodus 1300
Conquest
of
Fall
of
Conquest
of
Fall
of
Fall
of
Return
from exile 539
12. Outlines of the Books of the Old Testament
12a. The Book of Genesis:
Chap.
1 to 11: Primordial History, Creation to
12
to 50: Patriarchal History
Chap.
1: First creation story (Elohim God)
2: Second account of creation (Yahweh
God)
3.
Fall from grace
4.
Cain and Abel
5.
Before the flood
6
to 8: Noah and the flood
9
to 10: Noah’s descendants .
11:
12 to 25 Abraham
and Sarah; Abraham and Lot separate 13, Melchizedek 14, Covenant 15, Ishmael
16, Covenant 17, Oak of Mamre 18, Sodom 18, 19, Hagar
& Ishmael 21, Isaac 21,22, Abraham dies 26.
21
to 28: Isaac
25 to 35: Esau
and Jacob: Isaac’s blessing 27, Jacob goes to Laban
28, dream 28, Rachel 30, Wrestling with
God 32, meeting
Esau 33, DinahL 34,
37
to 48.
Joseph. Sold by his brothers 37, in
12b. The Book of Exodus
1-15:
Deliverance from
19-40: Covenant of Sinai
Chap.
1: Hebrews numerous and prosperous in
2.: Birth and youth of Moses
3-4:
Call of Moses; burning bush
5-6:
Moses and Pharaoh
7 to 11: Nine
plagues: water turns to blood, frogs, mosquitoes, gadflies, livestock dies,
boils, hail, locusts, darkness
12:
Passover
13:
firstborn
14
- 15: The escape through sea of reeds
16
- 17: manna , quail, water from the rock
18:
Appointment of Judges
19:
arrival at Sinai
20
to 31: Ten Commandments, Moses on the mountain
32:
Golden Calf
33:
preparation for departure from Sinai
34:
Covenant renewed
35
to 40: preparing sanctuary, ark, altars, etc.
12c. Numbers
Chap. 1 to 4: Census of the people
7: Dedication of the Tabernacle
9 to 10: Travel to Kadesh
11 to 14: failure to enter
15 to 19: Sacrifices, priests and Levites
20 to 25: journey to
31 to 32: Midianites defeated, tribes of Gad
and Reuben settle in
33: Encampments on trip from
12d.
Deuteronomy
(second law)
Chap.
1 to 4: first discourse of Moses
4 to 11 second discourse of Moses
12 to 26 Deuteronomic code,
civil and religious
26 to 29: concluding discourse of Moses
31 to 34: last days of Moses and Joshua’s mission
12e. Leviticus, mostly about legislation;
breaks the sequence of the story
Chap.
1 to 7: sacrificial ritual
11 to 15: Ordinances of the clean and unclean
16: Day of Atonement
17 to 26: Holiness code
12f. The Book of Joshua
Chap.
1 to 5: Preparing to invade
6:
conquest of
7
- 8.conquest of Ai
9:
treaty with Gibeonites
10
to 12: further conquests
13
to 22: dividing the land among the twelve tribes
23
- 24: Joshua’s last words
12g. The Book of Judges
Chap.
1 - 2: Settlement of
2
- 3: Judges
4
- 5: Deborah and Barak
6
to 12: several judges (e.g. Gideon and Abimelech)
13
to16: Samson
17
to 21: More about Judges ruling
12h. The Book
of Ruth, four
chapters about Naomi, her daughter in law Ruth, who married
Boaz
12i. The First Book of Samuel
Chap.
1 to 3: Samuel born, grows
4
to 7:
8
to 15: Monarchy established, Saul first king
16
David anointed
17:
David defeats Goliath
18
to 23: Saul jealous of David; “Saul killed thousands, David ten thousands”
24
to 26: David spares Saul
27
to 29: David among Philistines
30
- 31: David in battles, Philistines defeat
12j. The Second Book of Samuel
Chap.
1: David mourns Saul
2
to 4: David at
5
to 10: David rules
11-
12: David sins, Nathan rebukes him
13
to 19: Absalom, son of David
20
to 24: Miscellaneous events
12k. The First Book of Kings
Chap.
1 - 2: David dies, reigned in
3:
Solomon’s judgment about child
4
- 5: Solomon reigns
5
to 9:
10:
Queen of
11. Decline and death of Solomon
12
to 16: Schism, two kingdoms, Jeroboam, Omri, Ahab
rule
17:
Prophet Elijah, Jar of meal lasts, child comes back to life
18.
Elijah beats false prophets
19,
call of prophet Elisha
20. Elijah condemns Ahab
21:
Naboth and his vinyard
22:
Ahab dies
12k. The Second Book of Kings
Chap. 1 Elijah
2:
Elijah taken up to heaven, Elisha takes his
place
3:
Moabites defeated
4
to 9 Elisha, Naaman of
10:
Ahab’s family killed
11
to 16: Reign of several kings in
17:
Fall of
18
to 23: Last days of
24:
Siege and capture of
12l. The Book of Ezra
Chap.
1 - 2: Decree of Cyrus of Persia, return of tribes to
3:
Resumption of worship
4:
Complaints of Samaritans
5
- 6: Building the
7
to 10: Organizing the community
12m. The Book of Nehemiah
Chap.
1:
2
to 8: Reestablishing Jersualem, rebuilding 2nd
9
to 13: The new community
12n. Two Books
of Chronicles repeat
much of the history, and add some details
12o. First Book of the Maccabees; 40 year period.
Chap.1. Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes, persecution
2.
Mattathias crusades for religious freedom
3
to 9: Judas Maccabaeus wins religious freedom, then
dies in battle
9
to 12: brother Jonathan struggles to maintain peace until murdered
.
13
to 16: brother Simon, era of prosperity, then
assassinated
12p. Second Book of the Maccabees; covers 15 year period of first 7 chapters of 1 Maccabees.
Chap. 6, 7, 12,
14 & 15 affirm resurrection of the dead, prayer for the dead, intercession
of the saints, sanctions in the afterlife.
12q. Tobit A monster killed seven sucessive bridegrooms
of Sarah, and Tobit was blinded, but both remained
faithful. In the end Tobit’s
sight was restored, and his son Tobiah successfully
married Sarah, all with the aid of the angel Raphael. .
12r. Judith.
Assyrian general Holofernes is ready to wipe out a
small Jewish army when the beautiful widow Judith goes to him,
after he was drunk she cut off his head, and brought it back to the Jewish camp
where it was displayed on the ramparts.
The Jews attacked and the Assyrians fled.
12s. Esther. The Jews of Persia were threatened with
extermination ordered
by Haman. Esther, advised by Mordecai, became Queen,
and brought about Haman’s downfall and his death on
his own scabbard.
12t. Note on the
13. Coming of the Prophets
In
the third installment next week we will see how the prophets fit into this
historical chronology; how they repeatedly called the people back from their
pagan practices to the worship of Yahweh and the observance of the Covenant.