Introduction to the Old Testament

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Introduction to the Old Testament

• A survey of the Hebrew Bible

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The Old Testament

• Also known as
• Hebrew Bible
• First Testament
• Primary Testament
• The Scriptures
• Tanak

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Hebrew Bible

• Torah (Law, Pentateuch)
• Nebiim (Prophets)
• Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings)
• Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
  Twelve)
• Ketubim (The Writings)

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Greek Old Testament (Septuagint)

• Law
• History (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings,
  Chronicles, Esdras, Esther, Judith, Tobit,
  Maccabees)
• Poetry
• Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations,
  Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel)
• Minor Prophets (The Twelve)

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Time Periods Middle Bronze Age 2200-1550
BCE 12th Dynasty Egypt and Old Babylonian Late
Bronze Age 1550-1200 BCE 18-19th Dynasty Egypt
and Old Assyrian Iron Age 1200-586 BCE Egyptian
and Mesopotamian decline, Then Neo-Assyrian,
followed by Neo-Babylonian Persian
Period 586-332 BCE End of Neo-Babylonian and
Persian Hellenistic Period 332-37 BCE Alexander
the Great and successors
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Primary History
Prelude Creation, Fall, Flood, and
Dispersal First Movement The Ancestors Gods
Election Second Movement Liberation and
Covenant Third Movement Settlement and
Conflict Fourth Movement Kingdom and
Temple Coda Captivity
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Creation
Elsewhere in Bible, in context of praise,
eg., Psalm 104 Job 38-39 At beginning of Bible,
two stories presented consecutively Genesis 11
23 Genesis 24b 324 Set context of
entire following story.
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Genesis 1
6 (7) days climaxing in Sabbath Creation by
Word Importance of separations Humanity as
divine image
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Genesis 2-3
Molding of man and extraction of woman woman as
helper Role as gardener and minor limitation
of diet Rebellion and expulsion from
garden limitation to earthly life
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Continuation
Genesis 4 Cain and Abel growth of human
race Genesis 5 Genealogy from Adam to Noah
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Flood
Mesopotamian stories Gilgamesh visits
Utnapishtim Atrahasis Setting Divine beings
and human women 61-4 Two starts to story 65
and 611 (separated by 69) Waters from above and
below 711 Sweet smell leads to promise, although
humans evil 820-22 Covenant and rainbow 912-17
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After the Flood
Drunkenness of Noah 918-28 Descendants of Ham,
Japheth, Shem Gen 10 Tower of Babel
111-9 From Shem to Abram 1110-32