OLD TESTAMENT READING: DEUTERONOMY

We will now focus our attention on the final book of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy. We will discover that, even as the book recounts what has come before for the sake of Israel poised to enter the promised land, it does so in a new setting, in an innovative literary format, and with distinctive emphases that speak to generations present and yet to come.

Deuteronomy consists of four collections of speeches given by Moses, set off by literary superscriptions. Scholars have determined that the book is organized in the form of an ancient international treaty. Following a historical prologue, the speeches reiterate and affirm Torah instruction, institute a covenant renewal that links blessings with covenant fidelity, and detail provisions for Israel after Moses’ death (recounted in the final chapter of the book). Deuteronomy is distinctive in the Pentateuch for its focus on the centralization of Israel’s religious cult at the place where Yahweh will cause his name to dwell, the great statement of faith known as the Shema (6:4), and the first explicit statements of monotheism in the OT.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: GENESIS 1–11

The first eleven chapters of Genesis – and of the OT – constitute the Primeval History. This carefully arranged collection of traditions detail God’s good creation of the cosmos, the nature of humanity in the created order of the universe, and God’s relationship with humans. In this chapter, we will explore various genres such as cosmogony, theogony, myth , and history, all of which will help to demonstrate ways in which Israel’s Primeval History resembled the traditions of its ancient neighbors and ways in which Israel’s form and content were completely unique.

Importantly, Genesis 1–11 prepare the reader for the rest of the Bible. They also function as an explanation for Israelite readers of why things are the way they are. Furthermore, they introduce themes that will be central throughout the remainder of the OT: the concept of creation, the unchallenged sovereignty of God, the central role of humanity, and the first mention of covenant.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: SONG OF SONGS, RUTH, LAMENTATIONS, ECCLESIASTES, AND ESTHER

With this chapter, we arrive at five final books in our OT collection. They have been brought together in the Jewish canon as the “five scrolls,” related by their use in the Jewish liturgical calendar.

Our survey will begin with the Song of Songs, a collection of Israel’s love poetry. We have other ancient parallels, but we will note in these the particular imagery drawn from everyday life in Syria-Palestine. Second, Ruth is an exquisite narrative about ordinary Israelites. Their uncommonness is on display in their exemplary characters and their genealogical connection to Israel’s beloved King David. A third book, Lamentations, is a collection of five poems presented in acrostic form. Recounting the tragedies incurred in Jerusalem’s destruction, the poetry nevertheless exhibits some of the OT’s most glorious expressions of Yahweh’s mercy. Ecclesiastes , another unique poetry collection with ancient Near Eastern parallels, offers refl ections on the human experience. Finally, we will examine Esther. God is never mentioned in the book, yet this story merited inclusion in the canon, and we will note its subtle but important contribution to OT theology.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI, JOEL, AND JONAH

This final chapter on Israel’s writing prophets highlights those whose messages supported postexilic restoration during the Persian period. As in earlier chapters, we will need to consider the conditionality of prophecy as well as its “forthtelling” rather than “foretelling” nature.

In 539 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus allowed the first group of Israelite exiles to return to Jerusalem, now part of the administrative province of Yehud. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah serve to inspire this rebuilding process, particularly of the temple. We will observe in Zechariah growing evidence of a messianic hope in a future Davidic king as well as a literary shift from eschatology to apocalyptic forms. Malachi, dated around 470 BCE, builds on earlier OT prophetic themes of purity and covenant faithfulness. Much harder to date is Joel, as it contains sections indicative of two entirely different periods of Judah’s history; however, we will note the “day of Yahweh ” theme in Joel, portrayed this time as a terrible day of reckoning for the nations. Jonah is unique as a narrative, conveying through rather humorous form the serious concern of Yahweh for all peoples.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: AMOS , HOSEA , MICAH , AND ISAIAH 1–39

We have already encountered prophets in the historical books. We will look now atfour of the OT’s writing prophets: Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah. Eighth-century Israelwitnessed increased accessibility to writing and an expanded role for the prophet. Therecurrent phrase, “Thus says Yahweh” (messenger formula), epitomizes the primary roleof the prophet as a messenger speaking on behalf of God.

Sources from Mari in the eighteenth century BCE and others from seventh-century Assyria verify the antiquity of divination practices, of which prophecy is a type. Israel demonstrated opposition to certain divination practices, but its prophets consistently delivered messages from Yahweh, distinguished by their ethical and moral vision. These books have three basic types of OT prophetic speech: prophecies are the most common and represent messages to an individual or corporate entity; utterances are the confessions or prayers of the prophet to God; and narratives offer historical details corresponding to the prophet. Two important features will become evident as we explore the content of these books: covenant loyalty to Yahweh and the international extent of Yahweh’s authority.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

First and Second Samuel narrate Israel’s transition from a tribal confederation to a dynastic monarchy, beginning with the leadership of the prophet Samuel. Saul is anointed Israel’s fi rst king, and although eventually rejected, his reign functions to define kingship under Yahweh, including submission to Torah and to the authority of Yahweh’s prophets. David becomes Israel’s second king and eventually the “ideal” for all kings in the OT. We will also observe during David’s leadership an emerging understanding of Yahweh as “God of Israel.”

Since early Israel was a theocracy under Yahweh, we will explore the issues surrounding Israel’s need for and the legitimacy of a human king, the person and role of a suitable king, and finally, the importance of the prophet in assessing the king. Although Israel’s transition to statehood is somewhat difficult to reconstruct historically (ca. 1050–970 BCE), we will examine evidence for similar transitions in other cultures. Archaeological evidence from Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer suggests the notion of a state and its correlating centralized administration.

This chapter will lay some historical groundwork in preparation for our consideration of OT books included in the Primary History. As we attempt to reconstruct Israel’s history, we will discover several challenges. The first is how best to relate the historical accounts in the biblical texts with the evidence of modern archaeology. One example, excavation at the ancient settlement of Jericho (featured in the conquest narrative of Joshua), will demonstrate the difficulty of the endeavor and the need for a balanced interpretive approach.

A second challenge is that of OT chronology, which must be relative since we lack evidence for fixed dates prior to the seventh century BCE. Only as we move through the OT to later events can we confi rm dates of biblical accounts with parallels in ancient Near Eastern sources. Finally, we will consider what we can know of Israel’s history of religious ideas. Although biblical texts were written and preserved by members of the “official” religion, we can detect the vestiges of “local” and “family” religion from earlier sources used to compile the OT.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: EXODUS 3:1–15, 6:2–9, AND 18:1–12; PSALMS 104, 105, AND 106

In previous chapters, we focused on the structure and content of the books in the Pentateuch. Here, we will explore the religion of Moses emerging from these materials. Specifically, we will observe the way in which divine revelation developed from direct communication with individuals such as Abraham and Moses to mediated revelation through a written Torah and the priesthood. We will explore the significant concepts of holiness, covenant, and practical monotheism , particularly as compared to the religion of the ancestral narratives (Genesis) and that of surrounding ancient Near Eastern cultures.

It will be important that we consider the characteristics of Mosaic religion against the backdrop of the ancient Near East at a time when certain polytheistic cultures are known to have elevated a single deity above other gods – known as a “theology of exaltation.” Furthermore, we will explore some possible infl uences and origins for the Yahwistic faith – the religion so foundational for the remaining OT and whose roots belong to monotheistic religions to the present.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: LEVITICUS AND PSALMS 19 AND 119

In this chapter, our attention will shift from narratives to the law materials present in the Pentateuch. These portions include the Book of the Covenant, tabernacle instructions, purifi cation laws, holiness legislation, and a collection of priestly laws. The laws of Torah, better understood as instruction, represent the central feature of living in covenant relationship with Yahweh. Most notable are the Ten Commandments, whose value has remained virtually unsurpassed in the history of ethics. These “Ten Words” (Hebrew), combined with Israel’s narrative story and covenant with Yahweh, set the trajectory for the rest of the Bible.

The form in which the independent lists of laws were originally preserved in ancient Israel closely parallels that of other known law codes in the ancient Near East. Israel’s Torah instruction also exhibits certain affinities with later Greek developments, particularly in its expansion and placement within the narrative framework. Importantly, the emphasis on the writing of the covenant law marks a turn from preliterate ancestral religion to a literate Mosaic faith, and helps ensure the preservation of a sacred text for all time.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: 1 AND 2 KINGS

First and Second Kings continue the stories of monarchic rule. Textual sources from the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires aid us considerably in the historical reconstruction of these centuries, but we will quickly observe that a religious agenda is central. First, the narrative accounts are connected by a recurring literary formula that evaluates each king – not primarily on political and military achievements but on the basis of that king’s faithfulness to Yahweh. Insertions of the so-called Elijah and Elisha cycles further demonstrate a concern to emphasize prophetic authority, which demands exclusive loyalty to Yahweh.

Second, content bears out the overriding religious motivation. For example, Solomon is associated with the great wisdom tradition in Israel. Nevertheless, for these biblical authors success is measured by obedience to Yahweh, and Solomon’s devotion to Yahweh is compromised because of his many wives and religious unfaithfulness. His downfall is also Israel’s – the United Monarchy is divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Religious unfaithfulness, exhibited by most of the kings, accounts for the fall of Israel to the Assyrians in 722 bce and of Jerusalem (Judah) to the Babylonians in 586 bce.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: JOB AND PROVERBS

Having examined the nature of OT poetry, we will now explore two books by way of example. Proverbs and Job are unique in that they belong to the OT’s wisdom tradition. Wisdom literature was a highly valued and enduring literary form, well attested across the ancient Near East. Materials from Egypt ’s tradition represent primarily “standard wisdom,” a literary type characterized by proverbial sayings. These aphorisms represent predictable patterns born of everyday life experience and observation. From Mesopotamia, we have a second type that is generally more speculative and less optimistic, and willing to wrestle with the diffi cult question of theodicy.

The OT book of Proverbs is a collection of standard wisdom, presented as an educationalcurriculum and commonly based on the principle of retribution theology. Thebook of Job is a literary masterpiece representative of speculative wisdom. Although itdisplays a critique of retribution theology, Job’s message honors the tension between aloving God, a righteous individual, and retributive justice. In Israel’s wisdom literaturewe will observe in particular a distinctive moral and ethical dimension that results fromIsrael’s relationship to Yahweh.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: 1 AND 2 CHRONICLES AND EZRA -NEHEMIAH

In addition to the OT’s Primary History , we have a Chronistic History comprised of 1–2 Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah . The two histories contain some of the same materials. We will see that the Chronistic History, however, includes events of the postexilic community down to the late fifth century BCE. With the Persian Empire as the background, we will note also a different perspective, characterized by different themes, stylistic devices, portions written in Aramaic, and particular emphases on the Davidic dynasty and Israel’s religious practices associated with Jerusalem.

Chronicles and Ezra -Nehemiah are sequenced differently in various canons, indicating independent collections, but we will see that they are linked literarily by the edict of King Cyrus. This historical event marked the return of Israelite exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem, now part of the Persian province Yehud, and the subsequent restoration and rebuilding of a community. Indeed, these books are significant in the OT for the way in which they confirm the postexilic community as the legitimate successor of preexilic Israel.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: EXODUS AND NUMBERS

In this chapter we will move into the heart of the Pentateuch and explore narrative highlights from the books of Exodus and Numbers. The story begins in Egypt, where God’s people are enslaved. Yahweh reveals himself through a burning bush to Moses and instructs him to confront the pharaoh. Ten plagues challenge the Egyptian pantheon, but they also reveal the unique nature of Yahweh. He delivers his people and leads them into the desert wilderness, en route to the promised land. The journey is punctuated by episodes of Israelite rebellion, Yahweh’s responses, and tabernacle plans, but most importantly, by another covenant – Yahweh’s covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai.

We will observe that archaeology does not provide answers to many historical questions we might have regarding this ancient people and their wilderness sojourn, but it has brought to light Near Eastern political treaties remarkably similar to those of Israel. In striking contrast, no other nation perceived of its deity as a treaty partner. Yahweh, the all-sufficient covenant-making God, demanded a loyalty and exclusivity that marked the radically new idea of Israel’s monolatrous henotheism, and ultimately its concept of monotheism.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: GENESIS 49, DEUTERONOMY 32, AND JUDGES 5

In this chapter we turn from the Primary and Chronistic Histories to the books that makeup roughly the second half of the OT. We will observe a dramatic shift in content fromhistorical narrative to largely poetry. Furthermore, these books are much less linked editoriallyto one another. Rather, we will discover that superscriptions and content helpus to group them literarily and, in most cases, to relate them chronologically to oneanother and to the Primary History.

Because of the preponderance of poetry, we will spend time in this chapter on the nature and characteristics of ancient Hebrew poetry. There are certain aspects that we do not know, such as original pronunciation or meter. However, we will readily observe one major feature – that of parallelism. This “symmetry of thought” is recognizable in three primary types: synonymous, antithetical, and synthesizing parallelisms. We will explore examples, and discover along the way that ancient Hebrew poetry is rich in content and artistic skill.