|
Apologetics
24. Questions about the Content of the
Old Testament
(Why
and how you can read it)
A
series that helps consider the foundations for faith
Contents:
Introductory
Comments
•
The
scope of the page
1.
What is the History Covered by the Old Testament?
•
The events
covered.
2.
Was this Genuine History of was it Made-Up Myth?
•
Reasons we
can be sure of its history.
3.
Is the Old Testament to be Taken Literally?
•
What this
means and doesn't mean.
4.
How does this happen in the case of Narrative History?
•
Guidance
for reading the O.T. as history.
5.
How does this apply to Law or Teaching?
•
Guidance
for reading.
6.
Should Prophecy be considered Literally?
•
Guidelines
for reading.
7.
What Additional Rules are there to help with Prophecy?
•
Guidelines
for understanding.
8.
Can you recap what is in the Old Testament?
•
An overview
and more detailed panorama.
On
this page we now come to look to see
- what is in the Old
Testament and
-
-
whether
we can trust it as history and
-
whether
we should take it literally.
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| 1.
What is the History covered by the Old Testament? |
Answer:
In
order to understand the Old Testament, it is useful for the
student to get an overview of the events covered within it.
A
Summary of the Chronology of the Old Testament as seen in
the Historical Books is as below.
a)
Summary Overview
Events:
|
Books:
|
Creation
to Abram |
Genesis
1-11 |
Abram
to Joseph |
Gen
12-50 |
|
|
Moses
& the Exodus |
Exodus
|
Moses'
Law |
Lev,
Num, Deut |
|
|
Taking
the Promised Land |
Joshua
|
Period
of the judges |
Judges
& 1 Samuel |
|
|
| Early
Kings Saul, David, Solomon |
1
& 2 Samuel & 1 Kings (+ 1 Chron) |
|
|
Divided
Kingdom to the Exile |
1
& 2 Kings (+ 2 Chron) |
(Destruction
of the northern kingdom |
2
Kings |
(Destruction
of southern kingdom |
2
Kings (+2 Chron) |
|
|
Return
from Exile to rebuild Temple
|
Ezra
|
Return
from Exile to rebuild Walls |
Nehemiah
|
b)
Detailed Breakdown
NB.
Some dates are simply approx. or rounded up indicated by
*.
All
are taken from the New Bible Dictionary
Person/Event
|
Date
|
Reference
|
|
|
|
Early
days & the Patriarchs |
|
GENESIS
|
Creation
|
|
Gen
1 & 2 |
The
Fall |
|
Gen
3 |
Early
years |
|
Gen
4-11 |
Abraham
the
first man called to have a living relationship with
God |
*2000-1850
|
Gen
11:27
- 25:11 |
Isaac
Abraham's
son |
*1900-1750
|
Gen
21:1 - 28:5, 35:27-29 |
Jacob
Isaac's
younger son, twin of Esau, became Israel
, father of the
12 tribes |
*1800-1700
|
Gen
25:26-34, 27:1 - 35:26, 45:25 49:33 |
Joseph
Israel
's eleventh son,
sold into slavery, & made Prime Minister of Egypt
|
*1750-
1650 |
37:1
- 50:26 |
|
|
|
Exodus,
Journey to Sinai & the Law |
?1280
|
EXODUS
|
Moses
& the Exodus |
|
Ex
1-12 |
Journey
to Sinai |
|
Ex
12-19 |
At
Sinai - Law given, Tabernacle Built |
|
Ex
20-40 |
|
|
|
Laws
of worship & the priesthood |
|
LEVITICUS
|
Law
of the Offerings given |
|
Lev
1-7 |
Priests,
Rules & Regulations |
|
Lev
8-27 |
|
|
|
Mixture
of law & narrative in wilderness |
|
NUMBERS
|
The
census |
|
Num
1-4 |
Rules
& regulations |
|
Num
5-9 |
Journeying
from Sinai to Kadesh |
|
Num
10-12 |
At
Kadesh the rebellion |
|
Num
13-20 |
Journey
from Kadesh to Plains of Moab
|
|
Num
20-22 |
On
the Plains of Moab
|
|
Num
23-32 |
Misc.
Matters |
|
Num
33-36 |
|
|
|
Moses
recaps the past & the Law |
|
DEUTERONOMY
|
Historical
Prologue given by Moses |
|
Deut
1-4 |
Stipulations
of the Covenant reiterated |
|
Deut
4 -26 |
Curses
& Blessings |
|
Deut
27 30 |
Ongoing
Leadership |
|
Deut
31 - 34 |
|
|
|
Taking
the Land and early years |
|
JOSHUA
|
Entrance
to the Land |
?1280
|
Josh
1-5 |
Conquest
of the Land |
|
Josh
5-12 |
Distribution
of the Land |
|
Josh
13-21 |
Unity
& Loyalty |
|
Josh
22-24 |
|
|
|
Rises
& falls of Israel in the Land |
|
Judges
|
Incomplete
conquest & apostasy |
|
Judg
1-3 |
Oppression
& Deliverance |
|
Judg
3-16 |
Religious
& Moral Disorder |
|
Judg
17-21 |
|
|
|
How
Ruth became part of the Messianic family tree |
|
RUTH
|
|
|
|
Samuel
& Saul's reign |
|
1
SAMUEL |
Samuel
last of the judges, a prophet |
?1075-
|
1
Sam 1-7 |
Setting
Saul as king |
?1050-
|
1
Sam 8-12 |
Saul's
failures |
|
1
Sam 13-15 |
David
anointed as king |
|
1
Sam 16 |
David
with Saul |
|
1
Sam 16-19 |
David
on the run |
|
1
Sam 20-30 |
Saul's
death |
|
1
Sam 31 |
|
|
|
Ups
& downs of David's reign |
|
2
SAMUEL |
David
as king over Judah
|
1011
|
2
Sam 1-4 |
David
as king of all Israel
|
|
2
Sam 5-10 |
David's
failure |
|
2
Sam 11,12 |
Absalom's
rebellion, David on the run |
|
2
Sam 13-18 |
David's
latter years as king |
|
2
Sam 19-24 |
|
|
|
Solomon's
reign, fall & divided land |
|
1
KINGS |
David
establishes Solomon to be king |
|
1
Kings 1,2 |
Solomon's
reign |
1071
|
1
Kings 3-11 |
The
divided kingdom |
931
|
1
Kings 12-22 |
|
|
|
The
divided kingdoms until Exile |
|
2
Kings |
NB.
Northern Kingdom
destroyed |
722
|
2
Kings 17 |
NB.
Southern kingdom exiled |
587
|
2
Kings 25 |
|
|
|
An
Historic recap |
|
1
CHRONICLES |
Genealogies
|
|
1
Chron 1-9 |
David's
reign |
|
1
Chron 10-29 |
An
Historic recap |
|
2
CHRONICLES |
Solomon's
reign |
|
2
Chron 1-9 |
Divided
kingdom to Exile |
|
2
Chron 10-36 |
|
|
|
Exilic
Return to Rebuild the Temple
|
|
EZRA
|
First
exiles return & rebuilding of Temple
|
538
|
Ezra
1-6 |
Ezra's
return & reforms |
458
|
Ezra
7-10 |
|
|
|
Exilic
Return to Rebuild the Walls |
|
NEHEMIAH
|
Nehemiah's
return to Jerusalem
|
445
|
Neh
1,2 |
Rebuilding
the Walls |
|
Neh
3-6 |
The
exiles who returned |
|
Neh
7 |
Ezra's
preaching & revival |
|
Neh
8-10 |
New
residents |
|
Neh
11 |
Priests
& dedicating the walls |
|
Neh
12 |
|
|
|
How
Esther was made Queen during the Exile & saved the
Jews |
?460
|
ESTHER
|
|
|
|
The
trials of Job |
undated
|
JOB
|
Job's
testing |
|
Job
1,2 |
Job's
discussions with 3 friends |
|
Job
3-31 |
Elihu
speaks |
|
Job
32-37 |
God
speaks |
|
Job
38-41 |
Job
restored |
|
Job
42 |
The
Major Prophets
Isaiah
from
740BC (also Amos, Hosea & Micah about his time) prophesied
against apostasy of Israel
and Judah
.
Jeremiah
from
626BC (also Zephaniah & Habakkuk about his time) prophesied
from Jerusalem
about its impending fall.
Ezekiel
exiled
to Babylon
in 597BC where he prophesied among the exiles about Jerusalem
's fall and of surrounding
nations, then of hope for the future.
Daniel
exiled
to Babylon
in 605BC where he prophesied in the court through several
reigns, largely using word of knowledge, but later prophecies
about the end times.
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2.
Was this Genuine History or was it Made-Up Myth?
|
a)
Uniformity
The
first thing to note is the uniform approach and flow of the
Old Testament.
Each
book follows on from previous ones and treats what it is saying
as factual history, i.e. actually what took place in time-space
history.
As
has been noted on previous pages, subsequent writers clearly
understood prior characters as literal figures who appeared
in their history.
Indeed
we can go further and say that their certain belief in these
figures helped form and sustain their belief in God and their
calling as His people.
b)
Conforming to Known Secular Facts
The
danger in this heading is that we separate out the Old Testament
writings and put them on a different footing than other historical
written evidence this should not be.
The
difficulty of identifying times in history from within the Old
Testament itself, is that the references don't tend to be in
specific dates, but rather specific incidents or specific rulers,
e.g., :
In
the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned
in Jerusalem
forty years.
2
Kings 12:1
and
And
Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
What
Biblical historians try to due is marry up Biblical statements
with known historical data.
One
major historical source is the Canon of Ptolemy, otherwise known
as the Canon of the Kings, used by astronomers and preserved
by the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek living in Roman
Egypt in the second century AD.
It
originated from Babylonian sources, then Persian kings, after
which it was taken up by Greek astronomers covering a period
from about 700BC through to 160AD and although it only deals
in whole years (and thus omits kings who reigned for lees than
a year) it is generally considered by historians and archaeologists
to be very accurate.
Good
dates from about 1400BC onwards are based on Mesopotamian data
Good
dates from about 1200BC back to about 2100BC can be obtained
from Egyptian sources.
c)
Example of Dating the Patriarchs
References
to Abram, Isaac etc. are checked against historical data using:
•
mention of external events
during their time,
•
statements about elapsed
time between them and later
events in history,
•
evidence of social conditions
in their time.
In
respect of external events, the New Bible Dictionary
states that The only two striking external events recorded
are the raid of the four kings against the five (Gen 14) and
the destruction of the cities of the plain (Gen 19)
In
respect of elapsed time periods, the primary statements
linking Abraham's period with later events are within the following
verses:
"Then
the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants
will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will
be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will
punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they
will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go
to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.
In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here,
for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.
(Gen
15:13-16)
In
respect of social conditions, the New Bible Dictionary
states that the social customs of adoption and inheritance
in Genesis 15,16 & 21 etc. show close affinity with those
observable in cuneiform documents from Ur
and Nuzi, ranging in date
from the 18th to 15th centuries BC.
Similar
processes can be used for other parts of the Old Testament.
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3.
Is the Old Testament to be Taken Literally?
|
|
Answer:
A
better question is, Is it true?' and the answer is yes.
To
ask, is it to be taken literally, is an indication that the
questioner has little knowledge of the Old Testament.
To
start at the simple level, there are a number of different sorts
of writing and even some of the sorts are mixed, and there are
a variety of issues to be considered in each case.
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4.
How does this happen in the case of Narrative History?
|
|
Answer:
a)
General Principles
Consider
the following example:
Gen
3:1-5 Now the serpent was more
crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must
not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said
to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the
garden, but God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the
tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not
touch it, or you will die.' "You will not surely die,"
the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.
Here
there is no indication that this is to be taken as anything
other that straight forward, historical narrative.
i.e.
at a particular time and place in history you would have been
witness to this actually happening.
Now it certainly
raises questions how does a snake talk' to humans? - but
our difficulty in understanding that should not be the reason
for denying it.
As
a general principle, we should not write off some historical
event simply because we do not understand it.
Now
we may certainly assume it was literally true as an event,
because there are no signs to the contrary.
We
call also deduce a number of principles from this -
e.g.1.
Satan (for that is who subsequent Scriptures indicate the serpent
was in disguise?) seeks to bring down men and women and get
them to disobey God (confirmed elsewhere in Scripture).
e.g.2.
He used doubt as a tool to make us vulnerable to the temptation.
Yet
as much as we may deduce principles from it, we must not detract
from the fact that it is conveyed as factual, historical narrative,
which God requires us to believe if we are wise.
b)
The Need for Interpretation
There are
some situations where we are forced to suggest that the writing
we have needs a measure of interpretation. Probably the greatest
illustration of this is the Creation story in Genesis 1.
There we find
reference to God creating the world in six days and resting
on the seventh.
Science
has a problem with this because current scientific knowledge
suggests that the world is millions of years old and mankind
was only in the very last bit of history. Until either science
adjusts its dating system, or we get to heaven and perhaps God
would show us otherwise(!), we must assume that the seven days'
are to mean
- either seven periods,
or
- seven days that God
took to reveal it to Moses years later.
Similarly,
in respect of the flood, although there are indications of a
flood in many parts of the world, without denying in any way
that this was a literal flood and Noah built a literal ark,
we may speculate (knowing the tendency of writers of that time
to not be so specific as they might be today) that the whole
earth' referred to, may mean all the earth of the Middle East.
Neither of
these historical references need in any way challenge our faith,
but they may need to be understood in a different way, after
interpretation, but of course we will only know this for fact
after we leave this earth!
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5.
How does this apply to Law or Teaching?
|
|
Answer:
Everything
that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave
you the green plants, I now give you
everything.  (Gen
9:3)
Now
there is no indication whatsoever that straight forward instruction
is to be considered in any way other than a literal instruction
to be obeyed.
The
difficulty that arises is to know to whom the instruction applies.
For instance in the Torah it is clear that the social laws were
for the physical nation, Israel,
a nation under God. If a nation does not acknowledge God in
the way Israel
did, it is unlikely that it is going to accept that law.
Similarly,
in the case of ceremonial law, it is no longer applicable because:
a)
The temple no longer exists, the one place where sacrifices
could be made, and
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6.
Should Prophecy be considered Literally?
|
|
Answer:
a)
General Rules:
Where
possible assume it was meant literally.
Watch
for figurative language where is obviously isn't.
If
it is clearly poetry, or in verse form, watch for a lot of figurative
language
b)
Specific uses of Figurative Language
Perhaps
some of the most common uses of figurative language are:
"All men are like
grass, and all their glory is like
the flowers of the field. The grass withers and
the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on
them.
(Isa 40:6,7)
e.g.
continuing the above quote: Surely
the people are grass.
e.g.
Psa 98:8,9 Let the rivers clap
their hands, let the mountains sing together
for joy; let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to
judge the earth.
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7.
What Additional Rules are there to help with Prophecy?
|
|
Answer:
a)
Fulfilment may be in instalments, over a period of time
Look
for a fulfilment first of all for the people to whom it was
spoken, or at least soon afterwards
e.g.
Isa 7:14-17 The Immanuel sign - to be fulfilled very
soon
Yet
such prophecies can often have a secondary (and even more important)
fulfilment
b)
Sometimes the prophecy can have a figurative rather than literal
fulfilment
then
Mt 11:13,14
Jesus says John was the Elijah
also Mt
17:3 Yet Elijah came and met Jesus on the mountain
and
Mt 17:12,13
Yet Jesus still identifies John with Elijah
also
Lk 1:17 The angel Gabriel declares John to be the fulfilment
c)
Sometimes an apparently non-prophecy in the O.T. can be seen
by N.T. writers as prophetic
then Mt 2:15 Matthew applies that to Jesus coming from
Egypt
d)
Sometimes a prophecy will only be partially fulfilled in one
generation, to be completely fulfilled in a later one
It
is like the prophet looking into the future and seeing several
ranges of hills that seem one from where he is.
e.g.1
Joel 2:28-32 Promise of the pouring out of the
Spirit
then
Acts 2:15-21
Peter says this is Joel fulfilled - yet there were not wonders
in the sky which will be fulfilled in the last of the last days
(Mt 24:29)
then
Lk 17-21 Jesus declaring the Isaiah prophecy being fulfilled
yet without the day of vengeance which comes at the end.
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8.
Can you recap what is in the Old Testament?
|
|
Answer:
Here
is an overview:
Book
|
Content
|
Book
|
Content
|
Genesis
|
History
|
Esther
|
History
|
Exodus
|
History
& Law |
Job
|
Discussions
|
Leviticus
|
Law
|
Psalm
|
Poetry
|
Numbers
|
Law
& history |
Proverbs
|
Proverbs
|
Deuteronomy
|
History
& Law |
Ecclesiastes
|
Teaching
|
Joshua
|
History
|
Song
of Song |
Poetry
|
Judges
|
History
|
Isaiah
|
Prophecy
|
Ruth
|
History
|
Jeremiah
|
Prophecy
|
1
Samuel |
History
|
Lamentations
|
Prophecy
|
2
Samuel |
History
|
Ezekiel
|
Prophecy
|
1
Kings |
History
|
Daniel
|
Prophecy
|
2
Kings |
History
|
Hosea
|
Prophecy
|
1
Chronicles |
History
|
Joel
|
Prophecy
|
2
Chronicles |
History
|
Amos
|
Prophecy
|
Ezra
|
History
|
Obadiah
|
Prophecy
|
Nehemiah
|
History
|
Jonah
|
Prophecy
|
|
|
Micah
|
Prophecy
|
|
|
Nahum
|
Prophecy
|
|
|
Habakkuk
|
Prophecy
|
|
|
Zephaniah
|
Prophecy
|
|
|
Haggai
|
Prophecy
|
|
|
Zechariah
|
Prophecy
|
|
|
Malachi
|
Prophecy
|
Here
is more detail:
GENESIS
is the book
of beginnings the beginning of the world (ch. 1 & 2),
the beginning of Sin in the world (our propensity to ignore
or rebel against God ch.3), the beginning of a relationship
between God and Abraham (ch.12 on), the beginning of the family
of Jacob ( Israel
ch.26 on).
It
is purely narrative/history
and from chapter 12 on follows the lives
of Abraham, his son Isaac, his son Jacob (Israel)
and his son Joseph, and ends with Israel's
family settled in Egypt.
EXODUS
is all about
how God used Moses to deliver Israel out of slavery in Egypt
(ch.1-12) and how the now-nation of Israel met God at Mount
Sinai (ch.19-) and became a nation in relationship with Him.
Mostly history
but Law
in the last third.
LEVIVITUCUS,
NUMBERS & DUETERONOMY
are most the Law
given to Israel
at Sinai with some history
of how Israel
were told by God to
go and take the land
of Canaan
to be their new land,
but refused and so wandered in the desert for forty years.
JOSHUA
, named after
Moses' understudy, is about how Joshua led Israel
into Canaan
and took possession
of it. All history/narrative.
JUDGES
is an account
of the early years of Israel
in Canaan
where God set up judges
to rule them and guide them. As long as they kept with God
they were blessed and prosperous, but as soon as they turned
away from God, they got into trouble with their neighbours
and were oppressed by them, needing God to raise up a new
judge to deliver them. All history.
RUTH
is a story
of a non-Israelite who became part of the Jews and became
part of the family tree of Jesus. All history.
1
SAMUEL named
after the last of the judges, Samuel, who was also a prophet
(prophet = a person who heard from God and conveyed God's
word to the people). When Samuel got old the people demanded
they have a king and so Saul became first king of Israel .
He messed up and so God chose Dave to eventually replace him.
At the end of the book Saul dies in battle. All history.
2
SAMUEL is all
about David's reign as king over Israel. All history.
1
KINGS is the
reign of Solomon, David's Son (up to ch.11) and then how the
kingdom was split into a small southern kingdom based on Jerusalem
(referred to as Judah) and a bigger northern kingdom, based
on Samaria (referred to is Israel). The remainder of this
and 2 KINGS
follows the reigns of the various kings of the two kingdoms
until Jerusalem is destroyed and Israel goes into exile in
Babylon for 70 years. All history.
1
& 2 CHRONICLES
recapping these reigns of these kings. All history
.
EZRA
& NEHEMIAH
the return of the people and rebuilding of the Temple and
then the city of Jerusalem. All history.
ESTHER
history of
a Jewish Queen in Babylon
history.
JOB
discussions of 3 friends with Job about why he is suffering
historical discourse
.
PSALMS
songs about
God poetry.
PROVERBS
proverbs
about life.
ECCLESIASTES
teaching
about how futile life is without God.
SONG
OF SONGS
allegorical love song poetry.
ALL
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS
- prophecies from different periods of Israel
's history what God
said through His prophets prophecy.
.
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