Old Testamet survey

Old Testament survey

    A. Language(s)-- The Old testament was written in Hebrew & Chaldee; (for a very basic backround on how language developed, see languages)
translated into the Greek- called the Septuagint

    B. Divisions--Jews have 24; we have 39; happened sometime during the 400 "silent years" (this is important; it concerns the prophecy of a completed 66 book bible;>>>>>Ex. 25:31<<<<< "the lampstand"....this foreshadowing will be covered more in 'typology')
       1. Jewish divisions of O.T. scripture - Luke 24:44

the Law - (Torah) - first 5 books
the Prophets - (Nebi'im) - 8 books; groups of 4- the Former, and the Latter
the Writings - (Kethubim) - 11 books, 3 groups; Poetic, the 5 Rolls, and Historical
often shortened to " the law and the prophets "

       2. Greek Septuagint divisions of O.T. scripture

the Pentateuch - first 5 books (Gen.-Deut.)
the Historical books - (Josh.-Est.)
the poetical books - (Job-Song.)
the Prophetical books-Major - (Isa.-Dan.)
                                 -Minor - (Hos.-Mal.)

(the terms 'major' and 'minor' refer to the length of the book, not the quality of the prophet!)

HOMEWORK!
   its time...to invest some time! Write a short paragraph (1 or 2 sentences) about the main theme of each (yes...I said each) Old testament book. this is a large undertaking, I know (I had to do it!) because it involves the reading of each book. don't rush, and don't sweat how long it takes....just keep pluggin' away at it.....the riches you will mine from the Word of God are well worth the effort! you will want to avoid commentary until you are done, or you might pick up someone elses viewpoint (good or bad). As Christians we need to have an independant faith that we can call our own. Take God at His Word...John 14:26

LANGUAGES

Ideographs- pictures that expressed an idea
Cuneiform- wedge shape; pressed into soft clay or mud
Hieroglyphs- paintings that tell a story (Egyptian)
Syllable Signs- phonetic language
Determinatives- thoughts or ideas
Semitic Languages- Shem
City of Sumeria--Summerian-tonal language
Akkadian (oldest)-2300 b.c. phonetic written language
Tower of Babel- nimrod
Ugaritic-1800-1400 b.c.
Hebrew- consonantal language---written rounded
Aramaic- consonatal language---written squared-off

Writing

1. rock, skins, wood, clay

2. papyrus- reed paper (not very durable)
stitched to form rolls(up to 30 ft.)
codex- loose leaf---first books

3. vellum (parchment)
rolls, codex (not much more durable)

4. copper
etched w/ tools

   The point that needs to be made here is that reed paper is not very durable; consequently, the oldest manuscripts that are in existence today (majority text) are from about 900 A.D. Any earlier then that and you have to ask yourself...."why did fragile writing products (that wore out with use) last so long?" [more on this in 'authenticity']

Old testament chronology

*Ca. is a contraction of "circa" meaning 'approximately.'*
----------Dates----------	------BIBLE EVENTS------	---Contemporary Cultures---
Period of beginnings (4000-2000 b.c.)	Genesis chps. 1-11	Prehistorical era
Ca. 2000-1800 b.c.	The Patriarchs- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph	Patriarchal narratives-reflect culture of Mesopotamia and Egypt
Ca. 1800-1400 b.c.	Israelites reside in Egypt	Egypt enslaves Israelites
Ca. 1400-1100 b.c.	Moses, Joshua, the Judges	Palestine occupied- various nations oppress Israel
Ca. 1100-931 b.c.	Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon	Surrounding nations defeated by Israel
Ca. 931 b.c.	The divided kingdome
	South North Rehoboam Jeroboam I
		Syrian Kingdom 931-732
Ca. 875 b.c.	Jehoshaphat Ahab
Ca. 790 b.c.	Uzziah Jeroboam II
732 b.c.		Fall of Syria
722 b.c.	Fall of Samaria
716 b.c.	Hezekiah
		Assyrian domination of Palestine 745-650
640 b.c.	Josiah
586 b.c.	Fall of Jerusalem
		Babylonian supremacy 625-539
539 b.c.	Return of the Jews	Medo-Persian rule 539-331
520-515 b.c.	Second temple
	Haggai, Zechariah
457 b.c.	Ezra
444 b.c.	Nehemiah, Malachi