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1
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- You shall have no other Gods before me
- You shall not make for yourselves an idol
- You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
- Honor your father and your mother
- You shall not murder
- You shall not commit adultery
- You shall not steal
- You shall not give false testimony
- You shall not covet
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2
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- Introduction to Biblical Literature
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3
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- 17 books
- Pentateuch
- Pre-exile (before Babylonian conquest)
- Post-exile (after return from Babylon)
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4
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- Genesis – book of beginnings
- Beginning of universe; beginning of human race; beginning of sin (how
people preferred going their own way rather than doing God’s will);
beginning of the Jewish people
- Key chapters
- Genesis 1-2 Creation
- Genesis 3 Sin / First promise of Redeemer
- Genesis 12 Abraham’s call
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5
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- Exodus — Liberation (the way out)
- Biggest event in Jewish history: deliverance from Egyptian slavery
- Turning group of slaves into a functioning nation
- Giving of the Ten Commandments and building of Tabernacle
- Key chapter: 20 – The Ten
Commandments
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6
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7
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- Leviticus
- The Levites (priests) and their service in the Tabernacle:
- Instructions for 5 offerings and 8 feasts
- How may an unholy people approach a holy God?
- Key verse: “Love your neighbor
as yourself” (19:18)
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8
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- Numbers — (also called Book of the March)
- Wilderness wanderings from Sinai to the border of Canaan -- a period
of about 40 years
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9
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- Deuteronomy — Moses’ last messages and songs
- Book of Remembrance: Moses looks back over a century crammed with
epoch-creating events
- Deuteronomy means “second law”
- Source for Jesus’ Great Commandment about loving God with all our
heart, soul and body
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10
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- Joshua —
- Conquest of the Promised Land / fall of Jericho and Ai
- Assigning portions of Promised Land to the tribal groups
- Key chapter:
- Joshua 24: “line in the sand”
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11
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- Judges — Israel’s Dark Ages
- 350 years from Joshua’s death to crowning of first king: Saul
- Key phrase: “Every man did what
was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6)
- 15 judges (Gideon, Samson, Deborah)
- 7 apostasies, 7 servitudes, 7 deliverances
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12
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- Ruth — establishes family line of David (the Messiah’s ancestor)
- No place for racial prejudice in God’s Kingdom
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13
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- I & II Samuel —
- From Samuel’s childhood through Saul’s troublesome times and on through
the reign of David
- God’s people come to a turning point as monarchy is set up
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14
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- Side note:
- Question: Why I & II Samuel,
I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles?
- Answer: When translated into Greek, the writings took up one third
more space than they did in Hebrew.
The parchment scrolls on which they were written were limited
in length.
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15
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- I & II Kings: 400 years of
the growth and then the decay of the kingdom
- Begin with King David and end with the king of Babylon.
- Open with building the temple / end with burning the temple
- Open with David's first successor the temple to the throne — Solomon —
and end with David's last successor — Jehoiachin — released from
captivity by the king of Babylon.
- I Kings has the story of Elijah; II Kings centers around Elisha.
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16
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- Material in Chronicles
- 1. Reign of Solomon
- 2. Division of Kingdom
- 3. Parallel History of the Two
Kingdoms
- 4. History of Judah to the
Captivity
- (from about 721 B.C. to 586 B.C.)
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17
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- Ezra — Jewish restoration from Babylonian Captivity; 50,000 Jews return from exile to their
homeland and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple
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18
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- Nehemiah — Nehemiah as new governor rebuilds walls of Jerusalem
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19
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- Esther — A plot to exterminate the Jews
- Divine deliverance of dispersed
Jews who were destined to die; God in the shadows watches His own
- Key verse: “Perhaps you have
come to the Kingdom for such a time as this”
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20
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- 5 writings from the heart
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21
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- Job:
- Why do the righteous suffer?
- Job’s 4 “friends” attempt to explain what has happened to him
- Key verse: Job 1:21-22
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22
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- Hebrew hymnal and book of prayers
- Key chapters
- Psalm 23 – the shepherd’s psalm
- Psalm 51 – David’s cry for forgiveness after his adulterous
relationship with Bathsheba
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23
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- Proverbs
- A manual for everyday living; moral and ethical implications of every
area of life
- Key verse: Proverbs 3:5-6
- Key chapter: Proverbs 31 – Ode
to a wonderful wife
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24
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- Ecclesiastes:
- There is no meaning in life and creation apart from God; skeptical
- Key verse: 2:11, 13; 12:13-14
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25
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- Song of Solomon
- The sacredness and purity of human love (perhaps a parable of divine
love).
- Key verse: 8:6-7
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26
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- Two kinds of divisions:
- Major / Minor
- Pre-exile / post exile
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27
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- Isaiah —
- More than any other Old Testament writing, looks forward to Messiah
- Passionate portrayal of God’s righteousness and the necessity of faith
- Key chapter: 53 -- “Suffering servant”
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28
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- Jeremiah —
- The God who avenges sin
- Warns Judah that her sins will result in chastisement from the North
(the Babylonians)
- God is going to make a new covenant with His people
- Uses lots of “object lessons”
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29
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- Lamentations—
- A lamenting over Judah's sins and the subsequent destruction she
suffered
- A sad cry for what has happened to God's people
- An appeal for repentance
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30
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- Ezekiel —
- Foretells day when Israel will be reunited with her own king and will
worship the one true God in the reconstructed temple.
- Strange visions
- Wheel within a wheel
- Valley of dry bones
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31
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- Daniel —
- God’s people are being persecuted
- Three Hebrew children in furnace
- Daniel in lions’ den
- In the Last Days God will bring about a Kingdom that will never be
destroyed
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32
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- Hosea
- An analogy of sin, forgiveness and grace built on Hosea’s relationship
with his unfaithful wife, Gomer
- Prophecy of Jesus, Mary and Joseph leaving Egypt and returning to
Galilee
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33
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- Joel— the prophet of Pentecost
- The Spirit poured out on humanity
- Invasion of crickets
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34
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- Amos — message to wealthy and religious leaders about their greed,
selfishness, immorality, extortion, bribery and injustice
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35
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- Obadiah —
- Shortest book in Old Testament
- Coming Day of the Lord
- Prophecy against Edom
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36
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- Jonah —
- Missionary book of Old Testament
- Let your heart be broken with what breaks God’s heart
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37
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- Micah —
- Prophecy of Bethlehem as Jesus' birthplace
- Impending judgment
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38
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- Nahum —
- Downfall of Nineveh and vindication of Judah
- God will punish arrogant and evil nations
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39
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- Habakkuk —
- A prophet's questions and complaints and God's answers
- “The just shall live by faith" (2:4) which is quoted by Paul in
his letter to the Romans
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40
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- Zephaniah — coming day of the Lord; God's judgment on Judah; righteous
remnant
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41
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- Haggai — Complete the Temple! “Is it right for you to live in luxurious
homes when the Temple lies in ruins?”
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42
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- Zechariah —
- Visions reminiscent of John’s Revelation
- Finish the Temple!
- Prophecies of the Messiah
- The 30 pieces of silver
- The piercing of Jesus’ side with a spear
- Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey
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43
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- Malachi —
- Sin and apostasy of Israel
- Passage on tithing – no one is living and giving like God wants
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Notes