Survey of the Old Testament

‫אֶ ָחד יהוה אֱ ֹלהֵ ינוּ יהוה ִי ְִשׂ ַראֵ ל ְשׁ ַמע‬

“Hear, O Israel, Yahewh our God,

Yahweh is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

By Randy Neal
[Pick the date]

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the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of
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 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND
PATRIARCHAL AGE
Introduction to the Bible and Inspiration
The purpose of this study is to give an in-depth survey of the Old Testament. While we
will not be able to study the Bible through a verse by verse format, we can be able to see the big
picture of both testaments. In order for one to properly understand the New Testament, he or she
must have a basic grasp of the Old Testament. The goal for this study is to give a skeleton view
of scripture (and then the skeleton can be fleshed out through many years of intense Bible study).
From the Book Divine we find the path that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14), and that way
or path is Jesus (John 14:6).

There Are Five Premises About The Bible

The first premise is that the Bible is Inspired. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the apostle Paul
writes: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works.” The word “inspired” comes from the Greek word, theopnestos1,
and means “God breathed.” God has infused life or breath into His work just as He did into
Adam in Genesis 2:7. The apostle Peter writes (2 Peter 1:19-21) that the prophecy under the old
covenant was spoken by holy men who were guided or moved by the Holy Spirit. The word here
rendered “moved” literally means to be “carried or borne along,” as in a ship being carried along
by the wind (see Acts 27:15, 17). The imagery here is of the prophets putting up their sails and
allowing the Holy Spirit to guide their ships along in the direction He wished.
The Holy Spirit was able to reveal things to Biblical writers that they could not have
known except through Divine Revelation (see 1 Corinthians 2:10-12). The method of God in
giving His words to inspired men varied. There was verbal utterance (Exodus 20:1ff; Revelaiton
2:1ff). There was also the use of visions (Acts 10:9-16). The inspiration of scripture also
included information the inspired writer either knew first hand (the so-called “we sections” in
Acts when Luke was with Paul; the apostle Paul’s recalling how many individuals he had
baptized, 1 Corinthians 1:14-16), or information obtained by eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1-4; 1
Corinthians 5:1, “it is reported commonly that there is fornication among you …” See also
Hebrews 2:1-4). Inspiration of the Bible entails infallibility. The Bible is inerrant in that “it is
completely truthful and accurate in all and every respect and that its original autographs are free
from error.”2
The second premise is that the Bible is the complete and final revelation of God to
mankind. Jude verse three reads: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the
common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should
earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” This means that we
should not look for another document to come along which supplants or replaces the word of

1
This is the only time this word is used in the New Testament.
2
George Thomas Kurian, Ed. Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001), 389.

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God. This would rule out the Koran, the Book of Mormon, or any other document which claims
to usurp the word of God (this would also include the Watchtower Organization and even the
modern charismatic movement which claims direct revelation or contact from God).
The third premise is that the Bible is the sole authority on every spiritual matter. Jesus
said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority (power) is given unto Me in heaven and on earth.” No
human or religious organization has the right to change or alter the revealed word. Whether that
be motivated by those who argued back in the 1960’s that God was dead (or at least so out dated
that He was no longer relevant) or post-modern thought that views the resurrection of Jesus as a
nice story (but didn’t really happen), whatever has been “bound on earth” by the teachings of the
inspired writers has been “bound in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).
The fourth premise is that the Bible is God’s road map to show lost humanity the way to
salvation. Revelation is the way or process by which God “makes known things that were
hidden before, and the truth that is revealed in the process.”3 There are two types of “revelation.”
The first type is known as natural or general revelation. Natural revelation refers to the things
we can about God through His creation. The psalmist exclaims, “The heavens declare the glory
of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1-2). Paul proclaimed that the
Gentile world was “without excuse” for denying God’s power and glorifying the creatures rather
than the Creator (Romans 1:18-23). The Gentiles were condemned for ignoring His moral law
(vs. 24-32). The second type of revelation is known as special or historical revelation (i.e.,
supernatural). In contrast to general revelation, which is available to all mankind, “God’s
special revelation is available to specific people at special times in specific places, it is available
now only by consultation of sacred scripture.” 4 The Hebrew writer bears this out in opening
verses of the letter to the Hebrews: “God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son,
Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
The fifth premise is that God’s word can be understood by your average person. True
faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) and obeying His word (James 2:17-26;
Hebrews 11:6). If God could not reveal His word to common man in a way where he could not
understand and obey, then God would not be all powerful. The fact is, He has revealed the
knowledge of truth that mankind can understand and know salvation (John 8:32; 2 Timothy 2:12;
Philippians 3:9-11).

Some Basic Facts About The Bible.

The Bible consists of sixty-six books (thirty-nine in the Old Testament, twenty-seven in
the New) and was written by some forty different men over a 1600 year period. The Bible was
written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. 5 Originally, the Bible did not contain

3
Ibid, 656.
4
Trent C. Butler, Gen. Ed. Holman Bible Dictionary. (Nashville: Homan Bible, 1991), 1182.
5
The Aramaic passages in the Old Testament are: Genesis 31:47; Ezra 4:8; 6:18; 7:12-26; Daniel 2:4b-7:28;
Jeremiah 10:11. The Greek of the New Testament is known as Koine (“common”) or Hellenistic Greek, existing
from around 330 B.C. (time of Alexander the Great) to 330 A.D. (the time of Constantine). The Greek translation of
the Old Testament, known as the Septuagint, is likewise Hellenistic Greek.

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chapters and verses. The introduction of chapters and verses in our Bible took place over a long
time. Robert Estienne (or Stephanus, the Latinized form of his family name) was an early editor
of the Greek New Testament (his family owned a printing business in Paris, France and later in
Geneva, Switzerland). Stephanus, as he is known, published four editions of the Greek New
Testament between the years of 1546 and 1551. His fourth edition introduced the verse system
into the text that we still use today. The story goes that he did so while on horseback. Stephen
Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, is credited with adding chapter divisions in the eleventh
century that are also in use today.6 The chapter and verse division of the Old Testament goes
back even further. The division of the Old Testament into verses was well firmly fixed by the
Massoretes by around 900 A.D. (by the Ben Asher family). The division of the Hebrew Bible
into chapters came much later, “and probably was first carried through by Cardinal Hugh of St.
Cher in 1244.”7
The remarkable nature of the Bible is that one finds the same theme running from
Genesis to Revelation. That grand theme is redemption! The requirement of redemption came
about due to the fall of man and woman in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). The preparation for
redemption began with the call of Abraham (the command to sacrifice his son, but then a
substitute, a ram, was given instead). This preparation continued with the call of Moses to lead
God’s children out of Egyptian bondage and with the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. The
prophecy of redemption could be heard through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1-2), who foretold of a
coming Messiah Who would redeem them from their sins and establish a new covenant (Isaiah
9:6-7; 61:1-3; Jeremiah 31:31-35). The reality of redemption is seen in the four gospel accounts
beginning with the announcement of the Messiah’s birth (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38),
followed by the arrival of the Messiah (Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 2:1-40), the adolescence of the
Messiah (Luke 2:41-52), the anointing or appearance of the Messiah (at His baptism and the
beginning of His public ministry, Matthew 3:13-17; John 1:28-51), the atonement of the Messiah
(His death on the cross, Matthew 27:28; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Acts 20:28), the adoration of the
Messiah (His ascension to heaven, Acts 1:4-11), and finally the announcement of the Messiah’s
Message (the beginning of the church, preaching of the gospel, growth of the church, and the
promise of Christ’s second coming to judge the world in righteousness).
Christ is the main theme in each section of both testaments. The Jews had a threefold
division of the Old Testament: (1) the law of Moses (Genesis-Deuteronomy) or Torah, meaning
instruction, (2) the prophets (Joshua-Malachi), and (3) the writings (Psalms-Chronicles). 8 Jesus
even endorsed a three-fold division of the Hebrew Old Testament (see Luke 24:44). Today, we
have a four-fold division of the Old Testament: (1) Law (the torah or instruction, Genesis-

6
Frederick W. Danker, Multipurpose Tools For Bible Study. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1970),
5. J. Harold Greenlee, Scribes, Scrolls, & Scriptures. A Student’s Guide to New Testament Textual Criticism.
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), 46.
7
The Massoretes were a scribal school who copied the Old Testament manuscripts and were dedicated to
preserving the text. While not the earliest school, this scribal group began around 500 A.D. F.F. Bruce, The Books
and the Parchments. How We Got Our English Bible. (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1984). Neil R.
Lightfoot, How We Got The Bible, 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988), 91-93.
8
The Hebrew Bible consisted of: Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy), Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel,
Kings, and Isaiah-Malachi), and the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther,
Ecclesiastes, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles). When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek (the
Septuagint) in the second century B.C., the arrangement was fourfold: law, history, poetry, and prophets (as in our
modern English Bible).

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Deuteronomy), (2) History (the historical books, Joshua-Esther), (3) Poetry (Job-Song of
Solomon), and (4) Prophecy (Isaiah-Malachi). The Jews reckon or count thirty-six books (they
combined Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles into one book, while we count thirty-nine books in the
Old Testament. The inspired writers under the old covenant pointed towards the coming
Messiah. In the five books of the law, we find the foundation is laid for the coming Christ. In
the books of history, we see where preparation is made for Christ. In the poetic books, we read
the aspiration for the Messiah. In the books of prophecy, we find the expectation for the
Messiah.9 When one turns to the pages of the New Testament, one finds in the gospels
(Matthew-John) the manifestation of Christ. In the one book of history (Acts), we read about the
propagation of Christ. In the epistles or letters (Romans-Jude), we find the teaching and
application of His message. The one book of prophecy (Revelation), we read of the victory of
Christ over Satan.10

Three Views of Inspiration

The history of the Bible deals with God imparting His word to mankind. This process
includes the revelation of His word, the inspiration of His word, and the transmission of the
written word. Few would argue that God has not revealed His will for humanity, but the debate
over the centuries has dealt with the method in which God has revealed His word to us. Three
main viewpoints have emerged (views which fall into three different camps or belief systems)
which try to explain the concept of inspiration: Liberalism, Neo-Orthodoxy, and
Conservatism.
Liberal Views of Inspiration. The Liberal,11 or modernist view, states that the Bible
“contains the word of God” along with a mixture of man’s words or thoughts. While this may
sound good on the surface, further study shows this belief to be inadequate. This position holds
that the Bible is not the complete word of God, nor is God’s word completely found in the Bible.
Thus, Divine Revelations can be found (according their line of reasoning) in sources other than
the Bible, and all the Bible teaches in not necessarily a worthy pattern for both “faith and
practice.”12
The right wing of the liberal camp is the illumination view. The illumination theory
states that God granted saintly and pious men special insight into Bible truths, each with varying
“degrees of understanding.” These holy men were then able to weave this insight into their
religious writings. God illuminated their minds in order for them to gain special insight into
these Divine truths. These pious men all shared this common method of “inspiration” which

9
Norman L. Geisler, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 22.
10
Ibid, 23-24.
11
Classical Liberalism is akin to modernism. Modernism has been defined as a belief system arising out of the
18th century Enlightenment Period “that hold that all forms of knowledge, including theology, must accept the laws
of scientific validity and certitude, conform to the standards of reason, and be intellectually coherent, and relate to
human experience.” This attitude towards the Bible is seen in the three key liberal/modernist ideologies: (1) a
critical view of the inerrancy of scripture and skepticism over the miraculous, (2) subordinating Christian doctrine to
practice, and (3) looking at the origins of Christianity with a skeptical eye. Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary, 515.
12
Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible. (Chicago: Moody Press,
1974), 37.

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varied only according to “degree and depth.” 13 A major problem that Christians should have
with this view is the Bible (according to the illumination theory) is not the complete and final
revelation to humanity. Any understanding of God’s will only comes accidentally, not
intentionally.
The left wing of this viewpoint is the intuition view. This theory argues that the Biblical
authors were “inspired only in the sense that from time to time their natural religious insight and
genius were deepened and heightened to discover “divine truths” for their own day. The Old
Testament was nothing more than a scrapbook of the Jewish nation, filled with stories, myths,
poems, and other literary genres. There are nuggets of truth scattered throughout the Bible, but
they are randomly strung together like a necklace made of pearls and inferior gem stones alike.
The major problem with this position is emphasis being placed upon man’s ability to discover
these godly truths himself as opposed to God’s revealing His word to man.14
Neo-Orthodox Views of Inspiration. The purpose of the Neo-Orthodoxy was to recover
the ideology the great Reformers (like Luther and Calvin) and stem the tide of nineteenth and
twentieth century higher criticism. Neo-Orthodox followers interpreted scripture from a personal
and subjective point of view.15 Karl Barth, a German scholar and preacher, is known as the
father of this movement.
The right wing of this group is the existential view. Existentialism is a philosophy that
places great emphasis upon one’s individual experience, being subjective, and personal freedom
of human beings.16 The premises of liberal theologians led them to the conclusion that the Bible
was filled with many errors even in the original autographs. Thus they were faced with a
dilemma: how could God’s word be perfect if the Bible was full of mistakes? Would it not truly
be a record of fallible man’s words? Their answer: the Bible becomes the word of God in as
much as He “chooses to use this imperfect channel to confront man with His perfect word.” This
theory centers around personal encounters with God. The meaningless words jump off the pages
of the Bible in order to become concrete and meaningful to the reader. Herein lies the problem:
only at the point when the light bulb comes on does the Bible become the word of God (and then
for only an individual).17 One person reads the Bible and comes away with one view, while
another reads the same passage and comes away with a totally different interpretation. This flies
contrary to the fact that a group of people, as those gathered for the feast day of Pentecost in Acts
chapter two, can all hear the same message and a great number (3,000) come away with the same
conclusion: the need to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38).
The left wing view of Neo-Orthodoxy is the demythologizing view. This belief system
argues that the Bible must be stripped away of culture and human traditions or errors in order to
get at the core truth. Any myths must be peeled away in order to get the true message of God’s
love for the world through Christ. 18 This, of course, does away with the miraculous events in the
Bible (creation of the world and mankind, the flood, the plagues on the Egyptians, Jesus’
miracles of healing and power over nature, even the resurrection of our Lord). The feeding of
13
Ibid, 37-38.
14
Ibid, 38.
15
Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary, 541.
16
Ibid, 289. Geisler-Nix, 40.
17
Geisler-Nix, 40.
18
Ibid, 41.

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the five thousand (Matthew 14:15-21) or the feeding of the four thousand (Matthew 15:32-39) is
not a miracle of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes, but an example of sharing what you
have. Likewise, the miracle of Jesus calming the sea (Matthew 8:23-27) is not a miracle of His
power over nature, but a lesson on Jesus’ ability to bring peace and calm in our lives.
Conservativew Views of Inspiration. The third view on the inspiration of the Bible
(which is the only one of the three views which is both Biblical and correct) states that the Bible
is indeed the word of God. Scripture does not merely contain His word, nor does the Bible
simply become God’s word at some personal moment of enlightenment.19
The right wing plank of the Conservative View is called verbal dictation. This theory
states that the inspired writer was only a secretary taking down a letter from God word to word.
They use as an example Moses, who received God’s revelation at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:4;
34:27). Those who would admit to such a position would be few. In fact, the verbal dictation
belief is accepted by religious groups like Islam, who teach that the Koran (Quran) was given by
the angel Gabriel, by dictation, out of a book in heaven. The problem with this type of theory is
that prophetic writers were nothing more than mechanical robots or “teletypes.” Scripture
teaches that the Biblical writers were not merely passive receivers, but active participants in the
penning of holy scripture (see Romans 16:26; Hebrews 1:1; 1 Peter 1:9-12).20
The left wing platform of Conservatism is called the inspired concept or dynamic view.
This position teaches that God did not inspire the words, but only the thoughts or ideas of the
Biblical writers. This method, as opposed to the inspired secretary view, is able to explain the
literary and stylistic differences between the writings of Paul, Peter, Luke, or John. While the
dynamic theory is able to deal with the human aspect of inspiration, yet in doing so weakens or
minimizes the Divine aspect of inspiration.21 God revealed more than thoughts to holy men, but
intelligible human words (see 1 Corinthians 2:9-13).
A third and better alternative under the conservative view is known as the verbal plenary
view. This belief holds that all the words (verbal) in the whole Bible are God-breathed (pasa
graphe theopneustos, 2 Timothy 3:16). The Holy Spirit gave full (plenary) expression of His
thoughts in the words of the Biblical writers. He guided the very words of the writers.
Inspiration is the “process by which Spirit-moved men (2 Peter 1:20-21) produce Spirit-breathed
writings (2 Tim. 3:16).22 God’s word is “inerrant” or “totally free from error and totally true” in
all His word asserts.23

19
Ibid, 43.
20
Ibid, 43-45.
21
Ibid, 44-45.
22
Ibid, 46.
23
Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary, 393.

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 Introduction to Genesis

The first five books of the Old Testament are known as the Pentateuch or Torah
(law/instruction). Our English title for the first book of the Bible, Genesis, comes from the
Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint) and means beginning, origin,
descent, existence, or even genealogy.24 The Hebrew title comes from the first phrase in Genesis
1:1, “in the beginning” (bereshith). While Genesis makes no direct statement about authorship
(as is the case with Paul’s letters), yet statements throughout the rest of the Pentateuch (Exodus
24:4; Numbers 33:1), plus references in the rest of the Old Testament (Joshua 1:7; Judges 3:4; 1
Kings 2:3; Ezra 6:18; Malachi 4:4), and the voice of both Jewish and Christian tradition through
the centuries all combine to support the belief that Moses is the author of the Pentateuch (with
the exception, of course, of the death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34 which could be credited to
Moses’ successor, Joshua). The date of the book is generally given, among conservative
scholars, to the last half of the 15th century B.C. (1400’s). There are some who argue for an even
later date (13th century B.C.). The main theme of this book is origins or beginnings (the
genealogies or “toledot” play a big part in Old Testament history).

Notice how the book of Genesis can be broken down into two halves. The first half,
Genesis chapters 1-11, describes the origin of the nations. Chapters 1-2 give an account of the
creation of man, chapters 3-5 the fall and corruption of man, chapters 6-9 the flood and

24
William F. Ardnt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other early
Christian Literature, 2nd Ed. Rev. and Augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker from Walter
Bauer’s Fifth Ed., 1958. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979), 154-55.

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destruction of man, and chapters 10-11 the dispersion of man (the table of nations and tower of
Babel).25

The Genesis Account of Creation

The Genesis account of creation is possibly the most pivotal passage in all of scripture.
What you believe (or don’t believe) about Genesis 1:1 will determine your attitude toward the
rest of scripture. If you cannot conceive of God actually speaking the universe into existence,
then you might as well throw out of the Bible the narratives about Noah and the ark, the plagues
upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God dividing the Red Sea, plus all the rest of the miracles
recorded in scripture (especially the resurrection of Jesus).

The author of Genesis starts off by saying, “In the beginning God created …” The
inspired writer is not making reference to God’s beginning, but to the beginning of the earth and
universe. One question that puzzles many Christians’ and scientists’ is, ‘what is the age of the
earth?’ I believe this is one of the most loaded questions, because if God made the earth and
universe fully grown (as He did Adam and Eve), then He could have created a universe that may
appear to scientists’ to be much older that the actual age of the physical world/universe. God,
Elohim, is the creative force. The verb “created” (bara) is used in scripture “only of divine
activity,” this word carries with it the idea of “bringing something new into existence.” 26 The
philosophical idea of the creation being ex nihilo, out of nothing, is a nail in the coffin against the
idea that matter is eternal (that everything we see has always been here).

I believe the following chart is the best way to describe the creation narrative in Genesis
1-2. The Biblical account of creation, unlike the mythical Babylonian account of creation known
as Enuma elish, ascribes order and design (not chaos) to the universe.

Realms Inhabitants

Day 1 – Light Day 4 - Luminaries

25
Geisler, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament, 40.
26
Dr. Clyde Woods, Genesis-Exodus, The Living Way Commentary on the Old Testament. (Shreveport:
Lambert Book House, 1972), 4.

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 Day 2 – Firmament Day 5 – Birds, Fish

Day 3 – Dry land, vegetation Day 6 – Animals & Man

Day 7 – God Rested, Paused from His Creative Work27

Some Biblical scholars interpret the creation narratives of Genesis 1:1-23 and Genesis
2:4-25 as “evidence for the presence of two different and inconsistent creation accounts.”
However, Genesis 2:4 does not introduce some new account, but “is rather an expansion” of
Genesis 1:26-27. The second chapter of Genesis “presupposes the first, and the differences are
complementary and supplementary, not contradictory.”28

Creation} Genesis 1 Genesis 2

Accounts} God the Creator God-Covenant Keeper

Elohim Yahewh

God-powerful God-personal

Creation of universe Creation of man

Climaxes with man Climaxes with marriage

6 days of creation 6th day of creation.29

The Bible points out that man is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), and makes
distinction between humanity and animal. Although man could be said to be the crown of His
creative work (Psalm 8:3-8), yet all of creation points to God’s awesome power. One might ask
the question, “Why would anyone want to worship the creation, when they can worship the
Creator?” Notice what Paul said the Gentile world had done in his time: “Who changed the
truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, Who is
blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:25).

The Fall of Mankind in the Garden

27
These notes originally came from Dr. Clyde Woods course, Genesis-Exodus.
28
Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts, Old and New Testament. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
1993), 9.
29
Ibid.

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 The original home for Adam and Eve was in the lovely Garden of Eden (or “delight”).
They had all of their physical needs met, plus they had a close relationship and communion with
God every day. The exact location of this garden – only God knows, but with the mention of the
four rivers (2:10-14), part of the garden must have been located somewhere near modern day
Iraq (Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are mentioned). The reference to “Cush” (or Ethiopia) in verse
13 could suggest an extremely large garden, although the specific location of where the “tree of
life” was located only our Heavenly Father knows. Man had work to do from the beginning of
time (2:15), thus meaning that work was ordained of God and shows there is dignity in labor.
The only stipulation is found in Genesis 2:16-17 (prohibiting them from eating of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil).

The devil is the source of all evil in the world (John 8:44). Satan is the one who tempts
mankind to sin (James 1:13-16). Genesis chapter three records the origin of sin and the
byproduct of sin, death (Romans 5:12-21).30 The temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan (Genesis
3:6) can be said to be the same three avenues in which Satan tempts mankind today. Through
the atoning death of Jesus, the second Adam (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 14:45), He was
able to right the wrongs of the first Adam. Jesus was able to triumph over the same avenue of
temptations that Adam was unable to overcome.

Genesis 3:6 Luke 4:1-13 1 John 2:16

Saw tree was good for food command stone to become bread lust of flesh

Pleasant to the eyes showed Him all kingdoms of world lust of eyes

Desirable to make one wise give You glory if You bow down pride of life

The sin of Adam brought about four things: (1) a curse upon the serpent (Genesis 3:14-15), (2)
great pain upon Eve in connection with child birth and submission to her husband (Genesis
3:16), (3) increase of labor for Adam in the fields (thorns and thistles in the ground, work would
bring about much sweat), and (4) ultimately death.

30
The Bible here in Romans 5 does not teach the doctrine of original sin, that is, babies are born inheriting sin
from their father, Adam. Paul teaches us that death has been passed upon all humanity (as a result of sin). Sin
cannot exist until a person comes to an understanding of right and wrong (Romans 7:7-12). See Ezekiel 18:18-20
(the soul that sins shall die, the son does not inherit the sin of the parents). The usage of Psalm 51:5 by Calvin to
“prove” man is born a sinner is futile. First of all, the psalmist is speaking poetically. Secondly, he is using what is
known as hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point), as Paul does in 1 Timothy 1:15, where Paul refers to himself as
the “chief of sinners” (Paul wasn’t literally the worst sinner to ever walk the face of the earth, in contrast to God’s
grace he felt that way). Thirdly, the psalmist only speaks of himself as being “shapen in iniquity.” His deplorable
sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah made him feel as if he were a sinner from birth.

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 With a promise of a curse upon all mankind, there is also the hope of salvation. Genesis
3:15 may be said to be the first promise in the Bible of God’s ultimate victory over Satan
(“bruise thy head”). After the fall, we read of the first record of murder in the Bible (Cain killed
his brother, Abel, in chapter 4). Seth, the third son to Adam and Eve (Genesis 4:26), would be
the one through whom Luke would trance the lineage in the genealogy back to Adam (Luke
3:38).31 In Genesis chapter five, Moses records the “generations of Adam.” Again, this should
not be looked upon as an exhaustive genealogy (as some have supposed in order to come up with
an exact date for the beginning of creation as Archbishop Usshur (who suggested that the world
began in 4004 B.C.), but this genealogy should be used to show the imperfections of mankind. 32
There does appear to be a specific pattern of expression that characterizes the list of generation in
Genesis five as follows: (1) the age of the patriarch before he “beget” the child through whom
the lineage came; (2) the birth of the child; (3) the number of years the patriarch lived after the
birth of this child; (4) the birth of additional children; and (5) the death of the patriarch and his
total years lived.33 There is some question about why those before the flood lived nearly 900
years and after the flood the life expectancy leveled off? Perhaps there was something different
about the environment before the flood that caused life to exceed over nine hundred years.34

From the Flood to the Table of Nations

Genesis chapter six tells of the degenerate condition of the world in Noah’s day. This
came about because the “son of God” (who traced their lineage back to Seth, Genesis 4:26)
married the “daughters of men” (those who traced their ancestry back to Abel) and had offspring.
God’s commentary upon this society was that their “thoughts were only on evil continually”
(verse 5) and that God was sorry (the meaning of “repented”) that He had even created mankind.
Does this mean that God had made a mistake? No, we see that God can become upset with His
children just as we do (haven’t we heard parents say before, who children had been a
disappointment to them over and over, that they wished they had never brought children into this
world?).

Righteous Noah stood out among all the wicked men of his generation. We see a glimpse
of God’s grace here in Genesis 6:8 (and even back further in Genesis 3). “But Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord.” Were it not for the grace of God, even righteous Noah and his family
would have perished in the great deluge. The Bible says Noah was 500 years old when he
31
Many believe that Luke records Jesus’ physical genealogy through Mary all the way back to Adam, while
Matthew records Jesus’ spiritual or adoptive genealogy (through Joseph) back to David and Abraham.
32
Adam’s genealogy should not be viewed as exhaustive here in Genesis 5 any more than one would argue
that all the names listed in Matthew and Luke’s genealogies list every male in the lineage of Jesus.
33
Woods, 15-16.
34
One of the most exciting finds relating to Old Testament studies is the Sumerian King List, which dates to
around 2100 B.C. This is a collection of clay tablets and prisms which divides the Sumerian kings into two
categories: those who reigned before the flood and those who reigned after the flood. The list is also incredible
because the ages of the kings are given; those who lived before the flood lived longer than those who lived after.

13
became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (5:32). When the flood came upon the earth,
Noah was 600 years old (7:11). Thus, God gave Noah 100 years to build the ark and the people
100 years to repent.35 Noah not only built an ark, but also preached to the lost souls (Peter refers
to Noah as a “preacher of righteousness,” 2 Peter 2:5). The dimensions of the ark were about
450 feet by 75 feet by 45 feet, obviously enough room to repopulate the earth with clean animals
(seven pair, 7:2) and unclean animals (one pair, 7:2). The word for “flood” used here in Genesis
6:17; 7:10; 9:11; and Psalms 29:10 (mabbul) is used only in scripture of this cataclysmic event (a
great deluge, not just a local flood). The source of water was twofold: the “fountain of the deep”
(7:11) which was first referred to in Genesis 1:2 (some type of great subterranean sources of
water, which scientists today have discovered) and the “windows of heaven” (possibly the
“waters above the firmament” of 1;7, which some experts have described as a thick canopy of
moisture). The word for “rain” in 7:12 (geshem) suggests heavy rain, an abnormal amount of
rainfall, perhaps suggesting even rain coming down in great sheets for forty days and nights. 36
No specific mention is made of reptiles (perhaps they could survive in the waters?). Everything
outside the ark that could not survive in the water perished both man and beast. The waters were
upon the earth 150 days (7:24). The total amount of time spent on the ark was actually one solar
year (17th day of the second month, 7:11, until the 27th day of the second month of the following
year, 8:15, giving us 371 days. Since the Jewish month was based on a lunar calendar, 29 ½
days, this would give us precisely one solar year).

The first thing Noah does when he exits the ark is to offer a sacrifice unto God (8:20),
and God was pleased with the offering. He promised never to curse the ground again for man’s
sake (8:21) and gave as a sign the rainbow (9:1-17). The Bible records both the good and bad
deeds of her characters. The story of Noah’s drunkenness (whether accidental or not, 9:18-21) is
overshadowed by his son, Ham, who showed some disrespect to his father’s nakedness (9:22).
As punishment, a curse is placed upon Ham’s descendants, the Canaanites (Canaan, 9:25), rather
than upon Ham himself. The curse by Noah in verses 25-27 could be viewed as prophetic of the
Israelites eventual conquest over the Canaanite peoples. This section closes by examining the
“generations” of Noah (chapter 10) and the beginning of diverse languages (chapter 11, the
tower of Babel). Even linguists’ today speak of a “mother language” that all mankind once
spoke (the so-called Indo-European). Once again, the Bible has been right all along.

From Call of Abraham to Jacob and the Twelve Sons in Egypt

The first eleven chapters of Genesis focus is upon the descendants of Adam through his
son, Seth. In the second half of Genesis (chapters 12-50), the focus is upon the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The genealogy of Shem (Genesis 11:10-26) serves as an
35
Actually, Genesis 6:3 says that God would give mankind only 120 years. Taken literally, this would mean
that God originally spoke to Noah at age 480, possibly when his sons were babies or before their birth.
36
E.A. Speiser, The ?Anchor Bible: Genesis, W.F. Albright and David Noel Freedman, Eds. (New York:
Doubleday, 1964), 53. Woods, 19.

14
introduction to the main figure in the second section of Genesis, Abraham, a native of Ur
(Mesopotamia). From the following outline, we get an overview of the call of Abraham and
God’s covenant with him.

Acts 7:3-4: Stephen tells us that God originally called Abram (meaning “exalted father”) when in
Ur (Mesopotamia), before he lived in Haran (Charan).

Genesis 11:31-32: Tera, Abram’s father, moves his family from Ur to Haran.

Genesis 12:1-3: God makes a covenant with Abram when he was probably dwelling in Haran.
God makes a nation, land, and seed promise to Abram.

Genesis 12:4-5: Abram (at the age of 75) and his family, along with Lot, leave Haran and travel
to the land of Canaan.

Genesis 13:14-17: After Lot and Abram go their separate ways, God again promises a land to
Abram and his descendants.

Genesis 15:1-21: The covenant is ratified when God passes between the sacrificed animals
Abram had offered before God.

Genesis 17:1-27: When Abram was 99 years old, God renewed His covenant, changing Abram’s
name from “exalted father” to Abraham (meaning “father of multitude”). The sign of the covenant is
circumcision.

Genesis 21:1-8: The birth of Isaac (meaning “laughter”) when Abraham was 100 years old, the
fulfillment of the seed promise.

Genesis 22:15-18: God tests Abraham’s faith by commanding him to offer his son, Isaac, on an
altar. A ram is given in his place.

When God made His covenant originally with Abram (Abraham), there were three
commands given: (1) leave your country, (2) leave your kindred, and (3) leave your father’s
house. Abram was able to obey the first one (leaving Ur, Haran), but carried his kindred and
father with him. It would be some time before he and Lot would part ways. There was a
threefold blessing promised to the great patriarch: (1) a great people (which produces a great
nation for him), (2) a land (see 12:7), and (3) a blessing for he and all of his descendants (and a
curse pronounced upon his enemies). The life of the patriarch Abraham could be said to be a
journey of faith. Abraham was not the same man at age 75 (Genesis 12) that he was some years
later when God called upon him to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22). We know that twice Abraham
passed his wife off as his sister (Genesis 12:9-20; 20:1-18), took Hagar to wife in order to have a
son (Genesis 16, trying to help expedite the seed promise) and also stayed with his family some
years before finally severing his ties with them (as God had commanded in Genesis 12:1-3). All
of this shows a journey or growth of faith, for after Isaac was born, Abraham never faltered in his
undying love, devotion, and faith in God (as demonstrated in Genesis 22 when he was ready to
slay his son). The Hebrew writer notes that Abraham’s faith was so great that even though he
slay him, God was powerful enough to raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). When
considering all of the above information, Paul’s statement in Romans 4:19-22 makes more sense:

15
 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he
was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief: but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He
was able also to perform. And therefore, ‘It was imputed to him for
righteousness.’

The life of Isaac also shows the passing of the blessing upon him and the reaffirmation of
God’s covenant with him (Genesis 26:1-5). His wife was selected, by the providence of God,
from among his own people at the bidding of Abraham (Genesis 24). The theme of barrenness is
repeated with Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:19-21), as with Abraham and Sarah. Through
prayer God intervenes on their behalf and twin sons are born. Thankfully, Isaac does not repeat
the same mistake here that his father had made in taking another wife. The promise of God that
“the elder shall serve the younger: plays out in the lives of Isaac’s two sons, Esau and Jacob, and
also later on with Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48). Yet one finds
the practice of deception again with Isaac (Genesis 26:6-17) when he passes off Rebekah as his
sister instead of his wife (like father, like son). 37 Then Isaac is deceived by his son, Jacob, who
passes himself off as Esau in order to “steal” the birthright (Genesis 27). While the Bible does
not pass judgment upon the actions of Rebekah and Jacob in this scheme, yet we see that Jacob
would pay a high price for not trusting in God to fulfill the promise made to his mother that the
elder would serve the younger (she may have thought she was helping God fulfill His plan).
Jacob would never see his mother alive again. He returns to the homeland of his mother and is
deceived by his uncle, Laban. Laban gives Leah to Jacob in matrimony instead of Rachel (as he
had promised), and had to end up serving fourteen years for both wives (29:16-28; 31:41). He
also served six years for the livestock his father-in-law had supposedly given him (31:38-41).
There was constant feuding between the two rival wives, their handmaids, and children. Here is
a list of Jacob’s twelve sons (see Genesis 35:22b-29):
Sons of Leah: Sons of Zilpah (Leah’s handmaid):
Reuben Gad
Simeon Asher
Levi
Judah
Issachar
Zebulun

37
Twice Abraham passes Sarah off as his sister, once in Genesis 12:10-20 (while in Egypt) and another time in
Genesis 10:1-18 (Abimelech, King of Gerar). This second deception occurs approximately a year before Isaac is
born. The Lord intervenes by appearing to Abimelech in a dream and by “closing up” the wombs of Abimelech’s
wives and maidens (to ensure nothing untoward happened).

16
 Sons of Rachel: Sons of Bilah (Rachel’s handmaid):
Joseph Dan
Benjamin Naphtali

Abraham’s death is recorded in Genesis 25 and Isaac’s death is recorded in Genesis

25:28-29. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and later on even Jacob were all buried in a cave at
Hebron (25:9-11; 35:27-29; 50:12-21, 28-33).38 Genesis records the deceit of Jacob’s sons in the
supposed death of Joseph (Genesis 37) and how Joseph ended up in Egypt and became second in
command only to the pharaoh. The worldwide famine reunited the families (chapter 42) when
the brothers came to buy grain. After having a little fun at the expense of his brothers, Joseph
reveals himself to his long lost siblings (chapter 45). The family of Jacob moves to Egypt,
survives the famine (chapter 46), and settles in the land of Goshen (chapter 47). We can see the
providence of God in keeping his seed alive through whom the Messiah eventually would come.
Before Jacob (name changed to Israel at Bethel where he wrestled with an angel, Genesis 35)
died, he pronounced blessings upon his sons and two grandsons (sons of Joseph). A special
blessing was given to Judah (49:8-12), prophesying that through him the Messianic line would
arise.
Introduction to Exodus
The book of Exodus picks up where Genesis leaves off – in Exodus. The book of Exodus
starts off by telling the reader that another pharaonic regime takes the throne who does not
“know Joseph.” The new pharaoh enslaves the Hebrew children. Like Genesis, the book of
Exodus receives this name from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (hexodos, a
going out, way out, away), the departure of the Hebrew children out of Egyptian bondage. The
Israelites named the book from the opening words of the first verse (ve’eleh shemot, ‘and these
are the names,’ or simply, shemot, names).39 For many of the arguments given for Mosaical
authorship of Genesis, the same can be said for Moses being the author of Exodus. The
importance of the book is seen in the fact that the author records the beginning of the Hebrew or
Israelite nation and the giving of the covenant to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The first half of the book
(chapters 1-18) covers the liberation of Israel from Egyptian bondage and their journey to Sinai.
The second half of Exodus (chapters 19-40) expounds upon the covenant given at Sinai.40
Perhaps one of the most debated subjects in all of Old Testament chronology is the date
of the exodus, the exact date of Moses’ career, the giving of the law at Sinai, and when the
period of Joshua’s conquest began. Most conservative scholars would date the exodus, based
upon internal textual evidence (see 1 Kings 6:1; Judges 11:26; Acts 13:19) to a date in the
fifteenth century B.C. (cir. 1447 B.C.). Others argue that the textual evidence can be harmonized
(based upon their interpretation of the historical/archaeological data) with a date around 1290
B.C. (thirteenth century). Although this study does not have time to go into an in depth study of

38
Rachel died and was buried at Ephrath (Bethlehem), Genesis 35:19. Prophecy made about her in Jeremiah
31:15 is fulfilled in Matthew 2:18 (the so-called slaughter of the innocents).
39
Biblicia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. (Stutgart: German Bible Society, 1987), 86.
40
Woods, 124-25.

17
the strengths and weaknesses of both positions, an argument based upon the evidence (both
textual and historical) can be made for a fifteenth century date for the exodus and a forty year
delay (wilderness wandering) for the start of the conquest of Canaan.
According to 1 Kings 6:1, the Bible states, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and
eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year
of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to
build the house of the LORD.” The Bible is pretty clear on the matter that 480 years after the
Hebrew children left Egypt, that Solomon began construction on the temple (in the 4 th year of his
reign). Most chronologists’ would agree that this would place the beginning of the temple’s
construction in or around 966/65 B.C. Going back 480 years would bring us to cir. 1446/47 B.C.
for the date that the Hebrews’ left Egypt (and cir. 1400 for their entrance into the promise land).
Those who argue for a later date (usually the 13 th century) for the exodus have difficulty fitting
the history or period of the judges into this time frame, for Jephthah said the Israelites entered
Canaan 300 years prior to his judgeship (he is dated to cir. 1100 B.C.). You would have to cram
300 years of history into 150 years.41 If our chronology is correct, then Israel’s oppression began
during the Hyksos period and “continued into the reign of Thutmose III, who perhaps was
Israel’s most severe taskmaster.” This would mean that the exodus “would have occurred
shortly after his death, during the reign of Amenhotep II.”42

From Enslavement of Hebrews to Call of Moses

A marvel of the inspired word is the reoccurring themes in both testaments. The theme
of pain, suffering, and redemption can be seen in the book of Exodus. When one considers the
commandment by the pharaoh43 in Exodus 2:22 to cast all male babies into the Nile, this event is
reminiscent of the order given by Herod the Great to have all male babies in Bethlehem
slaughtered upon hearing that a king was born (Matthew 2:16-18). Jesus’ parents flee to Egypt
in order to hide and protect their son (vv. 19-23). Moses’ parents likewise hid their son which
was a blatant disobedience to pharaoh’s order (Exodus 2:1-5). We see the providence of God at
work when the daughter of the pharaoh finds the baby and brings him up as her own son (Exodus
2:5-10, although Moses’ sister calls her mother to become the “nurse” for Moses).
The life of Moses can be broken down into three equal periods of 40 years each: (1) his
first 40 in the house of the pharaoh up to the time he killed an Egyptian taskmaster (Acts 7:23-
24; Exodus 2:11-14), (2) his second 40 from his time of tending sheep in Median for his father-
in-law until the time the angel of the LORD spoke to him in the burning bush (Acts 7:29-34) and
he went and told pharaoh to let God’s people go (Exodus 7:7ff,), and (3) his last 40 years leading
the children of Israel during the wilderness wandering until his death at age 120 (Deuteronomy
1:3; 34:7).
41
John J. Davis, Moses and the Gods of Egypt, 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988), 34-36.
42
Ibid, 40. See also Gleason L. Archer, Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Rev. Ed. (Chicago:
Moody Press, 1985), 221-25; 230-41. Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology And The Old Testament. (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1980), 140-50.
43
The word pharaoh means “Great House” and originally referred “to the palace rather than the inhabitant of
the palace. It was not until the late Eighteenth Dynasty that it became a respectful circumlocution for the king
himself,” John A. Wilson, The Culture of Ancient Egypt. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951, Repr.
1989), 102.

18
The Plagues on Pharaoh to Cross of Red Sea
When the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron (Exodus 7:8ff.) to appear before
Pharaoh, He gave them a “sign” (mopheth) or omen to prove that Moses was indeed from the
God Who created the universe. God has never asked mankind to believe in something where
there was no evidence to believe. The sign God gave to Moses was turning his rod into a
serpent. The word here in Exodus 7:9 for serpent (tannin, word for sea monster, sea dragon,
serpent) is different from the word serpent in Exodus 4:3 (nachash, meaning snake). One author
notes that perhaps the “sign” God gives Moses back at the burning bush becomes more ferocious
when he appears in Pharaoh’s court, something more fearful than can swallow up whole the
serpents (tannin) of Pharaoh’s magicians.44 Some have wondered how these magicians were
able to duplicate Moses’ sign? Perhaps it could be best explained that they were using trickery
here, such as snake charming, where a snake handler can make a snake become stiff as a rod, and
then strike the head (waking the snake up), thus giving the appearance that the snake comes to
life.45 While the plagues wreaked havoc upon the Egyptians, none of the plagues affected the
Hebrew people. God made a distinction between His people and His enemies. The ten plagues
upon the Egyptians becomes more severe with each passing plague.
Plague Affect
1. Blood (7:20) Pharaoh hardened his heart (7:22)
2. Frogs (8:5) Pharaoh begs relief, promises freedom (8:8), but hardened (8:15)
3. Lice (8:17) Pharaoh hardened (8:19)
4. Flies (8:24) Pharaoh bargains (8:28), but hear is hardened (8:32)
5. Livestock Diseased Pharaoh hardened (9:7)
6. Boils (9:10) Pharaoh hardened (9:12)
7. Hail (9:23) Begs relief (9:27), promises freedom (9:28), but is hardened (9:30)
8. Locusts (10:13) Bargains (10:11), begs relief (10:17), but is hardened (10:20)
9. Darkness (10:22) Bargains (10:24), but is hardened (10:27)
10. Death of firstborn Pharaoh & Egyptians beg Israel to leave Egypt (12:31-33)46
(12:29-30)

Each plague or “sign” upon the Egyptians was a defeat over one or more of the Egyptian
pantheon (gods). On the night of the last plague, God instituted the Feast of Passover (Exodus
12-13). The symbol of the lamb’s blood sprinkled on the door posts to avert the wrath of God
(death) is a foreshadowing of the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, on the cross. Jesus
observed this same feast the night of His arrest. On that night, He ushered in a new feast that
Christians refer to as the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-23; 1
Corinthians 11:23-30). After the Hebrew children left, Pharaoh had a change of heart and chased
after them (14:14ff.). The Israelites were hemmed in between the army of Pharaoh and the “Red
Sea” (yam suph, literally, “sea of reeds”).47 Israel witnesses God’s great deliverance over
Pharaoh once again. God tells Moses to take his staff (the one that was turned into a snake) and
44
Clifton J. Allen, The Brpad,am Bible Commentary, vol. 1, Rev., General Articles/Genesis-Exodus, Exodus
by Roy L. Honeycutt, Jr. (Nashville: Broadman, 1973), 331-32.
45
Davis, 90-92.
46
Nelson’s Book of Charts, 28.

19
stretch his rod over the waters (14:16). He sent a wind to divide the waters and to dry the ground
upon which the Israelites walked across unharmed (14:21-22). When the army of Pharaoh
followed suit, their chariots bogged down in the mud (14:23-25). At God’s bidding, Moses’
stretched his rod back over the water and the Egyptian army drowned in the sea (14:23-31). In
Exodus 15:1-21, the Israelites sang a song (psalm) to praise God for His victory over the
Egyptians.48
Following this great miracle, the children of God returned to grumbling and complaining.
They complained about the bitter water, and God provided sweet water for them (15:22-27).
Then they murmured because they were hungry, and God sent them manna (chapter 16). When
they cried out for water again, God told Moses to strike the rock and water came forth (17:1-7).
Prior to Moses going up to the mountain to receive the commandments from the LORD (chapter
19), we read of the appointment of judges (chapter 18) who would help Moses settle matter or
disputes of the law (while Moses would handle the more difficult matters of the law). This same
practice continued up until the first century A.D. (the time of Jesus), and we read of the
Sanhedrin (Jewish court) in Jerusalem that handled religious matters of the law. Next we will
discuss in part two the giving of the covenant at Mt. Sinai (covering the whole of the Old
Testament up until the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus).

47
Mapping out the exact location or route (from the scriptures) which the Hebrew children took from Egypt to
Sinai cannot be known for certain. There were no Rand McNally maps (or GPS) back then to tell them the names of
the places where they rested, so trying to go from the Bible to a map of the Sinai desert is tricky.
48
See also Psalm 105 & 106, which were psalms reflecting back upon this event. The apostle John says that in
heaven we will sing the song of “Moses and the Lamb,” or the song of victory.

20
 PART TWO: MOSAIC AGE
Exodus-Malachi
The Laws at Sinai
We have reached the midway point in the book of Exodus. In chapters 19-40, the book
deals with the law of Moses. The second half of Exodus can be divided into two parts: chapters
19-24 tell of the giving of the covenant to Israel and record the basic principles, while chapters
25-40 tells of the tabernacle’s design, construction, raising, and consecration. We also read of
Israel’s shameful, idolatrous behavior when Moses was up on the mountain receiving the
covenant from God (Exodus 32-34).49
With the discovery of various treaties and covenants from the Ancient Near East (which
date to the same time period as the covenant given at Sinai), we have a greater understanding of
why God delivered the law to Moses in the format we read in the Pentateuch. Near Eastern
treaties fall into two broad categories: Parity and Suzerainty Treaties. The Parity Treaty was an
agreement or covenant between two kings of equal power or importance. The Suzerainty Treaty
was a covenant between a strong king with his vassals or servants. This second treaty form is
what we find at Sinai with God (the strong King) and Israel (His weak servants or vassals). A
Suzerainty Treaty normally had six parts: a preamble, a historical introduction, general
regulations, specific stipulations, divine witnesses, and the blessings and curses.50 When we look
at the arrangement of the laws given from Exodus-Deuteronomy, they follow the basic outline of
this type of treaty or covenant.
There are two classifications of law in the Ancient Near East. The first type is known as
the casuistic law (or case law). The distinctive nature of casuistic law is the “if … the” structure.
There is a condition (“if this …”) followed by a penalty (“… then this follows”). Old Testament
case law “primarily treats civil or criminal cases rather than religious ones.” 51 The second type
of law is known as apodictic law (or absolute law). When one reads the direct addresses or
prohibitions in the Old Testament (“you shall/you shall not …”), then they are dealing with
apodictic laws. Laws given in the imperative case (such as “Honor your father and mother …”)
are also absolute laws. The apodictic category mainly treats “moral and religious matters.” 52
Although one finds a great wealth of evidence of the casuistic law in various law codes in the
Ancient Near East, very little evidence of the apodictic law (the “you shall/shall not” type) being
found outside of the Old Testament. One might say this great distinction between the Mosaic
law code and other law codes found in other cultures is a mark of inspiration.
The ten commandments given in Exodus 20:1-17 are referred to as “these words” in
Exodus 20:1 and as the “ten words” in Deuteronomy 4:13 and 10:4. These ten are the foundation
49
Woods, 174.
50
Davis, 203. We find the blessings and curses pronounced upon Israel in Deuteronomy 27:15-30:29. The
blessings were pronounced upon those who obey and the curses upon those who disobey or violate (break) the
treaty.
51
Dr. William W. Klein, R. Dr. Craig L. Blomberg, and Rd. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. Introduction To Biblical
Interpretation. (Dallas: Word, 1993), 276.
52
Ibid.

21
stones or ten pillars for the rest of the Mosaical law. There were some 613 laws in totality from
Exodus to Deuteronomy.53

The First Four (Our Relationship Towards God):

(1) You shall have no other gods before Me – prohibits polytheism.
(2) You shall not make a graven image – forbids worship of any idols.
(3) Not taking the Lord’s name in vain – prohibits swearing falsely by the Lord, or taking
foolish vows, or using His name in a flippant manner – cursing.,
(4) Remembering the Sabbath Day – the foundation for Sabbath worship, no working on the
Sabbath, and the basis for all other future feasts (Passover, unleavened bread, Pentecost).

The Last Six (Our Relationship Towards Fellow Man):

(5) Honor father and mother – respect, obedience, and caring for needs (Matthew 15:4-5).
(6) You shall not kill – probably better rendered, ‘do not commit murder.’ Prohibition
against all unauthorized, cold blooded killing. Sacredness of all human life!
(7) You shall not commit adultery – sacredness and purity of marriage.54
(8) You shall not steal – foundation for property rights (which would include cattle,
home/business theft, dishonest transactions, ownership of servants/slaves, even
treatment of wives [regarded legally as property]).
(9) You shall not bear false witness – not giving false testimony in a court of law, lying in
general.
(10) You shall not covet – greedy desire, lust for things that belong to another.

Jesus would deal with a question about the law in Matthew 22:34-40, when He was asked
what was the greatest commandment? Jesus said the law could be summed up by saying: Love
God with all of your heart (Deuteronomy 6:5), our responsibility to God, and love your
neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18), our responsibility to our fellow man. In Exodus 25:1-
40:38, we read of the plan of the tabernacle 55 given, the construction of the tabernacle mentioned,

53
Maimonides (1135-1204 A.D.) was a Jewish philosopher, exegete, jurist, and physician who published a
“definitive list” of the laws contained in the Torah. He counted 613 different laws in the torah. Before the 12th
century, the traditional count was 611 laws. Maimonides considered Exodus 20:1, “I Am the LORD your God,” as a
command to believe in God’s existence (first and foremost). He also believed the great Shema passage in
Deuteronomy 6:4 as a command to believe there is only one God. John H. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch As Narrative,
A Biblical-Theological Commentary. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 481.
54
This became the foundation for all other law dealing with or regarding sexual relationships and offenses
(Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 18:1-8; Deuteronomy 22:13-30; 24:1-5).
55
The Hebrew word for tabernacle” (mishcan) refers to a portable dwelling place. The Greek Old Testament
rendered this word skene, a tent, both, dwelling/lodging in tents of nomadic peoples. Ardnt-Gingrich-Danker, 754.
R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testamnet, vol. 2.
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 925.

22
and the dedication of the tabernacle described. In Exodus 36:6, the people gave so many
materials for the construction of the tabernacle that Moses had to refrain the people from giving.
Laws regarding the Aaronic Priesthood are given in Exodus 28-29. Note the following chart on
the layout of the tabernacle and furnishings that were used in worship to God.

Leviticus – Holiness To The Lord

The name, Leviticus, comes to our English Bible from the Greek version (the
Septuagint), “pertaining to the Levites.” The Hebrew title is vayiqra’, meaning “and He called,”
from the first words of the book.56 The book of Leviticus deals with the proper way the
worshipper is to approach God. The phrase, “you shall be holy,” is found throughout the book
(11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:6-8). The English word “sanctify” (qadesh) is found 18 times,
“holy” and “set apart” (qadosh) 16 times, “holy” (an object set apart, qodesh) 43 times, the
phrase “holy thing” is found 14 times, and the phrase “it is most holy” 11 times in the book of
Leviticus.57 A holy God must be approached in a holy manner (Nadab and Abihu found this
lesson out the hard way in chapter 10). The length of time covered in Leviticus is approximately
one month, from the time the tabernacle was constructed (Exodus 40:17) and their departure
from Mt. Sinai (Numbers 10:11).

The Levitical Offerings

The purpose of the book of Leviticus is to show how sinful man must approach God in
the proper manner. Throughout this book we read of the sacrifices that the children of Israel
were called upon to offer. There are five different types of offerings recorded in Leviticus. The
first three were voluntary or “free-will” offerings, while the last two were mandatory.
(1). Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1:3-17; 6:8-13). A voluntary offering, to propitiate for sin in
general.
(2). Grain Offering (Leviticus 2:1-16; 6:14-18). A voluntary offering to show one’s dedication
and thanksgiving for the crops God had bestowed upon them. If flour is brought, the offering
was to be offered with oil and frankincense. If bread is brought, the loaf is to be unleavened.
Every grain offering must be seasoned with salt.
(3). Peace Offering (Leviticus 3:1-17; 7:11-21, 28-34). A voluntary offering that expressed
peace and fellowship between the worshiper and God. There were three reasons or occasions for
bringing a peace offering: first, in gratitude or thanksgiving for deliverance from danger or
illness (Psalm 107:22); second, in gratitude for a vow made in time of distress (Psalm 66:13;
116:12-19); third, out of a free-will heart for the Lord’s kindness (Psalm 54:6).58

56
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 158.
57
Robert Young, Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,
n.d.), 487-88, 834.
58
Woods, Leviticus, 18.

23
(4). Sin Offering (Leviticus 4:1-5:13; 6:24-30). A mandatory animal offering for sins of
ignorance.
(5). Trespass Offering (Leviticus 5:14-6:7; 7:1-7). A mandatory animal offering for sins of
ignorance concerning things done “in the holy things” (defiling the tabernacle or temple) as well
as sins of deceit (lying to another, staling, defrauding, or swearing falsely).59
The underlying “principle” for all of these animal sacrifices is to atone (kippur) for sin
“by the substitution of an innocent life for the guilty.” The worshipper would lay his hands upon
the innocent animal, “thus identifying himself with it as his representative.” For the worshipper
to acknowledge that his sins brought about the death of this animal, the worshipper would slay
the animal himself and then give the sacrifice “over to the priest for the completion of the
ceremony.” Some of the blood from the offering would be “sprinkled or smeared” on the altar. 60

Israel’s Annual Feasts

The three annual feasts the Jews had to observe were: (1) Passover (Leviticus 23:5-8;
Exodus 12-13; 23:15), (2) Weeks, also known as Pentecost or Harvest (Leviticus 23:15-22;
Exodus 23:16), and (3) Tabernacle, also known as Booths or Ingatherings (Leviticus 23:34-44;
Exodus 23:16). Scripture states that these three were mandatory. In fact, every male had to
appear “three times a year” before the LORD (Leviticus 23:14-19). The Jewish feasts or
festivals were seven or eight in number (depending upon whether you count Passover and
Unleavened Bread as two separate feasts or one). The feasts are as follows: Passover,
Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, New Year, Atonement, Tabernacles, Dedication or Lights, and
Purim. Of these seven or eight feasts, the first six were legislated in the Pentateuch, while the
last two began during the period of exile and intertestamental periods.
(1). Passover: The oldest Jewish festival. Fell on the 14th day of Nisan (March/April). This
celebration commemorated the Hebrew children being delivered from Egyptian bondage and
being spared from the death angel (the firstborn in the land of Egypt, Exodus 12:43-51). Jesus
instituted a feast in His kingdom, and this memorial takes place on the first day of every week
(Matthew 26:20-30; Acts 20:1-12; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30). Jesus inaugurated the Lord’s Supper
during the Passover meal He shared with the disciples. He became our Passover Lamb at
Calvary.
(2). Unleavened Bread: Immediately following Passover (April), the following seven days
would be the feast of unleavened bread (see 1 Corinthians 5:7). They left Egypt so fast that they
did not have enough time to put yeast in their bread and let the dough rise. All yeast was to be
purged from the house (in the New Testament, yeast is associated with sin, see Matthew 16:6-12;
1 Corinthians 5:6-8).
(3). Pentecost/Weeks: Seven weeks and one day after the beginning of Passover (would always
fall upon the first day of the week or a Sunday, in May or June), there would be thanksgiving for
59
Another way of classifying the blood offerings comes from Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey Of Old
Testament Introduction, Revised Ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 249-50. Three Sin Offerings: Burnt, Sin, and
Trespass. Three Peace Offerings: Thank, Votive, and Free Will.
60
Ibid, 249.

24
the early grain. They would plant the seed in September/October (the early rains would come),
the grain would grow through the winter, and then a second rainy season in early spring would
come, and then finally they would harvest the crop. During this festival they would do two
things: they honored the law of Moses and “waved the loaves of bread” before the throne of God.
They thanked God for giving them the law through Moses (Acts 2; 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8).
This celebration was also called the feast of weeks in Exodus 34:22-23 and the feast of harvest in
Exodus 23:16. Work was prohibited during this feast (Leviticus 23:21). Two loaves were
presented (Leviticus 23:17, 20) and other sacrifices were commanded (Leviticus 23:18).
(4). Atonement: Yom Kippur, or day of atonement, was a day of fasting instead of feasting
(September/October). Read Leviticus chapter 16. A great emphasis is placed upon God’s
forgiveness (the word kippur means to “cover” or “atone”). One day out of the year the high
priest would go into the holy of holies. He would first offer a sacrifice for himself before he
could enter the most holy place. He would take two goats. One goat’s blood would be sprinkled
upon the mercy seat over the ark of the covenant. This one goat took their place on the altar until
Christ came. A second goat was turned loose (the “scape goat”), representing Israel. This was
the holiest day of the year. They had been loosed from the penalty of death and were free from
last year’s sins. The goat that was sacrificed was symbolic of the atoning death of Christ,
although the Hebrew writer says that Jesus had to die only once for the sins of the world
(Hebrews 8-9). The book of Hebrews also points out that the blood of “bulls and goats” could
not take away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4), because there was a remembrance of these sins every year.
Later on in the history of Judaism, they would read the book of Jonah during the feast. They
took great comfort in knowing that if God could forgive Nineveh, then He could also forgive
them (Leviticus 23:26-27).
(5). Tabernacles/Booths: This feast took place five days after Atonement. This feast lasted
seven days (October). Thanksgiving was made for the blessings of that year, and special thanks
for the blessing of God’s protection over their ancestors who wandered in the wilderness and
lived in tents (booths). They would take brushes and make little booths (brush arbors) and dwell
in them. This reminded the children of Israel of God’s protection over them (Leviticus 2326-27).
(6). Feast of Trumpets/New Year: Also known as Rosh Hashanah. “The civil year of the Jews
began on the first day of Tishri.” During the entire New Year’s Day celebration, horns (sophars)
and trumpets “were blown” in the tabernacle (or temple in Solomon’s time) from morning until
evening. Unlike the feast of Passover or Pentecost, the New Year’s festival did not attract
pilgrims to Jerusalem, for this feast could be celebrated in the synagogue as well as the temple.
The book of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:2-12) points out that those Jews who returned from
Babylonian exile observed the feast by the public reading of the law of Moses and rejoiced.61
(7). Purim: Also known as the feast of lots (February/March). This feast is based upon the
events found in the book of Esther, where Haman plotted to have all of the Jews killed in Persia,
but Queen Esther stepped in and saved her people. Haman was killed on the gallows he prepared
for God’s people. This feast celebrates the joy of being saved from mass murder. A holiday,
festive, spirit prevails (see Esther 3:7; 9:26).

61
Merrill C. Tenney, New Testament Survey, Revised by Walter M. Dunnett. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans/Inter-
Varsity Press, 1985), 94.

25
(8). Dedication.Lights: Also known as Hanukkah. This feast originated during the
Intertestamental Period. The feast takes place during the month of December. They honor Judas
Maccabeus and his soldiers who cleansed the temple which had been defiled by Antiochus
Epiphanes. Antiochus had sacrificed swine upon the altar in the temple (Josephus, Antiquities of
the Jews, XII.viii.16; 1 Macc. 4:42-59; 2 Macc. 10:1-8). The name Feast of Dedication is found
in John 10:22 (Jesus observed this feast). The celebration is associated with the “ceremonial
lighting of eight lamps, an additional one on each day of the feast.” This custom “derives from
the legend that only one cruse of oil was found when the Jews reoccupied the temple, but it
miraculously lasted for seven days so the lamp in the temple was kept burning until a new supply
of oil could be consecrated.”62

Sacred Times/Holy Days

There were four specific “holy days” in the Jewish calendar. The first is the Sabbath
Day. Every seventh day was a solemn day of rest from labor to remember God (Exodus 20:8-
11; 31:12-17; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). The second is the Sabbath Year. Ever
seventh year was a year of release to allow the land to lie fallow (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus
25:1-7). The third is the year of Jubilee. Every fiftieth year, which followed seven Sabbath
years, proclaimed liberty to those who were sold into slavery because of debt, and to return
bought land to the original owner. This taught them that everything they had was owned by God
(Leviticus 25:8ff.; 27:17-24). The fourth is the New Moon. The first day of the Hebrew month
(29 days in a lunar calendar) was a day of rest, special sacrifices were offered, and celebrated by
the blowing of the trumpet (Numbers 28:11-15).63 The sacred principle behind these holy days,
days of rest, goes back to God resting on the seventh day after the six days of creation (Genesis
2:1-3). There is no idea of a “Christian Sabbath,” that Sunday is to be a day of rest and no work
at all is to be done on the Lord’s Day. We should not minimize the importance of gathering
together as the church and remembering our Lord’s death, but we should not reinterpret
something into the Lord’s Day that the New Testament does not teach. Our “Sabbath Rest”
comes in heaven (see Hebrews 4:1-11).
A brief outline of Leviticus might allow us to have a better grasp of the purpose of this
book. According to the book of Leviticus, “God must be approached by two means: sacrifice
and the priesthood.”64 The first half of Leviticus, chapters 1-10, deals with The Way to
Holiness. The first way or means of coming before God is by sacrifice (or oblation, chapters 1-
7). The second way or means of approaching God is through the priest (chapters 8-10), the one
who offers up the sacrifice for the worshiper. The second half of Leviticus deals with God
calling His people to live a holy life, The Way of Holiness, through both separation and
sanctification. In Chapters 11-16, God teaches us that holiness demands sanitation (or purity of
the body). Then in Chapters 17-27, God teaches us that holiness demands sanctification (or
purity of the soul).65

62
Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity. (Grad Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 445.
63
Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts, 47.
64
Geisler, Survey, 67.
65
Ibid, 67-68.

26
 Numbers and the Wilderness Wandering
The title for the fourth book in the Pentateuch is known as “in the wilderness” (bemidbar) in
the Hebrew Bible, from the fifth word in the first verse. 66 Much of Numbers does deal with the
taking of the census and the reason why the children of Israel spent forty years wandering in the
wilderness. Our English title comes to us through the Greek version of the Old Testament
(arthmoi, “numbers”), a term that was later adopted by the Latin Vulgate which gave the book
the title, “Book of Numbers” (Liber Numeri).67
So far, we have covered a time period which spans over 400 years of Hebrew history: 430
years (Exodus 1:15-15:21 – from the time of the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph until the time the
Hebrew children left Egypt), 2 months (Exodus 15:22-18:27), 10 months (Exodus 19:1-40:38),
and 1 month (Leviticus 1:1-27:34). In Numbers, we will cover: 20 days (Numbers 1:1-10:10),
38 years, 3 months, 10 days (Numbers 10:11-25:18), and 5 months (Numbers 26:1-36:13). The
book of Deuteronomy covers approximately 1 month. In total, we have 40 years from the time
the Israelites left Egypt until the time the second generation reached the promise land (in the
book of Joshua). The book of Numbers records: two generations (chapters 1-14 and 21-36),
two journeys (chapters 10-14 and 21-27), and two sets of Divine Instructions (chapters 5-9 and
28-36). The book of Numbers shows that the original generation that left Egypt was unable to
reach the promise land (chapters 13-14). Numbers can be broken down into two halves: Part

66
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 209.
67
Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts, 48.

27
One, Preparation of the First Generation to Inherit the Promised Land (1-10). Part Two,
Failure of the First Generation to Inherit the Promised Land (10-25).68
In Numbers 13, God told Moses to choose 12 spies (one man from each tribe) to go and spy
out the land of Canaan. God had promised He would give them the land (13:1), so this can be
viewed as a test. They were to spy out the land, see if the inhabitants were strong or weak, lived
in walled cities or tents, and whether the land was “fat or lean” (13:18-20). After forty days they
came back with this report: “We came unto the land whither thou sendest us, and surely it
floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that
dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of
Anak” (13:27-28). Ten of the twelve spies bring back an unfavorable report. They report that
they are like grasshoppers (vv. 31-33) in the sight of the Canaanites. Some have referred to the
attitude of the ten spies as the grasshopper complex (a feeling of inferiority). Caleb said, “Let us
go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (vs. 30). The Israelites (based
upon this evil report) were ready to stone Moses, appoint another leader, and return to Egypt
(14:1-4). They believed Moses had led them out to die and fall by the sword in the wilderness
(14:2-3). Only two of the twelve spies stood up for Moses, Joshua and Caleb (14:6). God was
ready to strike them all dead (14:11-12), but Moses interceded for them (vv. 13-19). God’s
punishment upon the children of Israel was this: all of those ages 20 and up would not be
allowed to enter the promise land (except Joshua and Caleb, since they did not rebel, 14:28-30).
Those under the age of 20 would be allowed to enter in; they would wander for 40 years (a year
for every day they spied out the land) as punishment (vv. 31-35).
There are many other great lessons one can learn from the book of Numbers. We see the
wrath of God upon those who rebel and His message and messengers. In Numbers 14:36-37,
God struck the 10 spies who brought back an unfavorable report with a plague and they died. In
Numbers 16, God opened up the earth and swallowed up Korah and his 250 followers for trying
to usurp authority from Moses and the Aaronic priesthood. Then God struck dead 14,700 with a
plague who grumbled against Moses and blamed him for the death of Korah’s rebellion
(Numbers 16:41-49). To show that Aaron and the tribe of Levi was God’s chosen priests, God
commanded each tribe to place a rod (with their name on it) in the tabernacle, and the tribe
whose rod buds or blooms would be God’s chosen tribe. When Moses went the next morning
into the tabernacle, Aaron’s rod had blossomed (Numbers 17). Numbers also records the deaths
of Miriam, Moses’ sister, and Aaron, his brother (Numbers 20). The Bible records that neither
Moses nor Aaron would be allowed to enter into Canaan, because of the incident in chapter 20
where they refused to give God the glory in providing water for Israel (the striking of the rock
incident).69 In Numbers 21, we also read where God sent “fiery serpents” to punish those who
complained about having to eat “this light bread,” and then many people died there (Numbers
21:4-7). Balak, King of Moab, tried to bribe a prophet named Balaam to pronounce a curse upon
the Israelites so that the Moabites could defeat them, yet only blessings proceeded out from
Balaam’s mouth (Numbers 22-24; we remember the story of Balaam and his talking donkey).
We read of the folly of the Israelites who committed fornication with the Moabite women in
connection with the god Baalpeor (Numbers 25, God killed 24,000 in a plague; see 1 Corinthians
10:8 and Revelation 2:14).This was probably the pagan practice of a religious, ceremonial orgy
68
Ibid, 49-51.
69
An earlier incident of God commanding Moses to strike a rock to bring forth water took place in Exodus
17:1-7.

28
in behalf of a particular deity.70 There were 603,550 (ages 20 years old and up) from the 12
tribes back in Numbers 1:46, and only 600,730 (under the age of 20) after the wilderness
wandering (Numbers 26:51). This shows that fewer people entered into Canaan than left Egypt
because of sin! No wonder the Hebrew writer warned Christians against following after their
example of unbelief in missing out on that spiritual land of Canaan – heaven (Hebrews 3:7-4:11).
Joshua is chosen as Moses’ successor (Numbers 27:18). The daily, weekly, and the feast
sacrifices are prescribed in Numbers 28. The book closes with the tribal allotments (Numbers
32-34), with Ruben and Gad being given their inheritance on the eastern side of the Jordan River
(Numbers 32). The Levites were given special cities in which to dwell, and there are six cities of
refuge for people to flee and live if they killed someone accidentally (Numbers 35).

The Second Giving of the Law – Deuteronomy

Like the preceding four books of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy receives its name from the
Greek translation of the Old Testament (Dueteronomion, second law). The Jews refer to this
book as “these are the words” (‘elle haddebarim), or simply “words” (debarim). This book gives
Moses’ exposition of the law to the second generation who grew up in the wilderness in the
plains of Moab (Deuteronomy 1:5). This is the last message of Moses, who at the age of 120,
prepares the Israelites to enter the promise land.71
The book of Deuteronomy consists of three sermonic expositions of the law. In Part One,
the first sermon discusses What God Has Done For Israel (1:1-4:43). In Part Two, the second
sermon discusses What God Expects Of Israel (4:44-26:19). In the Third Part, the final
sermon discusses What God Will Do For Israel (27:1-24:12).72 As part of a suzerainty
70
The book of Numbers mentions 24,000 being slaughtered, while the apostle Paul lists only 23,000. One way
to harmonize these two accounts is to suggest that Moses included those who were slain by the judges in verse 5, as
when the priest, Phinehas, drove the javelin through an Israelite man and a Midianitsh woman, vv. 6-8; the rest were
killed by God with the plague, vv. 8-9.
71
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 283.
72
We noted earlier that the format in which God gave the law or covenant to Israel, through Moses, followed
the suzerainty treaty of the Ancient Near East (covenant between a mighty king or lord to his servants). This type of

29
covenant, there are blessings and curses pronounced upon the followers. Certain curses for
disobedience here in Deuteronomy (especially chapters 27-28) and the rest of the “torah” include
the death penalty for certain sins or crimes under the law of Moses.
Death Penalty Offenses73
Crime Scripture Reference
(1). Premeditated Murder-Death Penalty required Exodus 21:12-14, 22, 23

(2). Kidnapping Exodus 21:16; Deuteronomy 24:7

Crime Scripture Reference

(3). Striking or Cursing Parents Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Prov. 20:20; see

Matt. 15:4 & Mk. 7:10

(4). Magic & Divination Exodus 22:8

(5). Besteality Ex. 29:15-16; 22:19; Lev. 20:15-16

(6). Sacrificing to false gods Exodus 22:20

(7). Profaning Sabbath Day Exodus 35:2; Numbers 15:32-35

(8). Offering Human Sacrifices Leviticus 20:2

(9). Adultery Leviticus 20:10-21; Deuteronomy 22:22

(10). Incest Leviticus 20:11, 12, 14

(11). Homosexuality Leviticus 20:13

(12). Blasphemy Leviticus 24:11-14, 16, 23

(13). False Prophecy Deuteronomy 13:1-10

(14). Incorrigible Rebelliousness Deuteronomy 17:21; 21:18-21

(15). Fornication Deuteronomy 22:20, 21

(16). Rape of Betrothed Virgin Deuteronomy 22:23-27

covenant normally contained the following elements: (1) a preamble which identified the suzerain, (2) a historical
prologue describing the benevolence of the lord to his vassal, (3) covenant stipulations, (4) divine witnesses to the
covenant, and (5) a statement of blessings and curses. Although suzerainty treaties are known from the third
millennium B.C. on to the first century B.C., the way in which the Sinai covenant is written fits well the second
millennium rather than the first (i.e., evidence of Mosaical authorship of this inspired document, rather than coming
centuries later, as modern scholars contend). See Woods, Leviticus-Numbers, 195.
73
Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts, 57-59. There were six cities of refuge (three given by
Moses, and three more by Joshua) where people could flee who killed somebody accidentally: Kedes, Shechem,
Kirjatharba (Hebron), Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan (see Deuteronomy 4:41-43; Joshua 20:1-9).

30
 The book of Deuteronomy closes with the death of Moses at the age of 120 in
Deuteronomy 34. Moses is allowed to go up to the top of Mount Pisgah, near Jericho, and view
the land of Canaan. The children of Israel mourned over the death of Moses for 30 days (34:8).
Joshua was chosen as his successor. Moses lays his hands upon Joshua and passes the torch on
to Israel’s new leader. The Bible says of Moses, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel
like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (34:10). While the Bible does attribute the
authorship of the Pentateuch to Moses, no one would be foolish enough to argue that Moses
wrote of his own death. Suffice it to say that someone, like Joshua, put the finishing touches on
Deuteronomy. This would be the same today if an author died while writing an autobiography,
and someone came along and wrote the final chapter about the author’s life! The book of Joshua
begins where Deuteronomy ends: with the death of Moses and Joshua leading the Israelites to
inherit their land!

31
 Period of the Conquest and the Historical Books
In the following the so-called fourfold division of the Old Testament, based upon the
Septuagint and found in modern English translations, we move into the section known as the
“historical books.” The twelve books of history are: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2
Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. A brief summary of each book is given to
help aid in our study of the Old Testament.

Joshua
The book of Joshua describes both the conquest and settlement of the twelve tribes in
Canaan. Although God commanded them to drive out all of the Canaanites, various passages
indicated that they did not fully comply with God’s command (see Joshua 13:1; 17:12-13; 23:9-
16). In dealing with questions concerning “authorship” of this book, eyewitness accounts (the
use of “we,” Joshua 5:1, 6) and statements like, “And Joshua wrote these words in the book of
the law of God …” (24:16), show that Joshua was the author of the bulk of the book, with the
exception of the last chapter (where his death is recorded) which was handled by someone like
Caleb (who outlived Joshua, Judges 1:12), or Aaron’s son, Phinehas (Joshua 24:33). Supposing
a date of cir. 1447 B.C. for the date of the exodus, a 40 year period of wandering in the
wilderness, plus the period of conquest by Joshua followed by his death, the date of this book
was written would have been in the later part of the 14th century B.C.
Judges
After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel become unfaithful and worship pagan
gods. God then allows the Canaanites, those whom Israel did not conquer, to enslave them for a
period of years. Then when Israel would repent and pray for deliverance, God would send a
judge (a military leader) to deliver them from their oppressor. There are 13 phases or cycles of
Israel turning to idolatry, followed by their oppression, the children of Israel crying out, God
sending a judge, and then there is a rest for a period of time (i.e., 40 years, 20 years). Some
would date the writing of this book as early as the time of Samuel and perhaps by Samuel
himself (11th century B.C.), while others point to a date after the Assyrian exile of Israel (Judges
18:30, “he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land
…”) which would be after 722/721 B.C. when Samaria (Israel’s capital city) fell. The
reoccurring theme throughout the book is: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man
did that which was right in his own eyes” (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).
Judge Scripture ReferencesOppressor Period of Period of
Oppression Rest/Rule
1. Othniel Judges 3:8-11 Chushranrishathaim 8 years 40 years
2. Ehud Judges 3:12-30; 3:31 Eglon (Moab) 18 years 80 years
3. Shamgar Judges 3:31 Philistines Unspecified Unspecified
4. Deborah & Judges 4:1-5:31 Jabin (Canaan) 20 years 40 years
5. Barak
6. Gideon Judges 6:1-8:35 Midianites, Amalekites, 7 years 40 years

32
 & people of east
7. Abimelech Judges 9:1-57 Civil War Unspecified 3 years (9:22)
8. Tola Judges 10:1-2 Philistines Unspecified 23 years
9. Jair Judges 10:3-5 Philistines Unspecified 22 years
10. Jephthah Judges 11:1-12:7 Philistines, Amonites, 18 years 6 years
& Ephramites
11. Ibzan Judges 12:8-10 Unspecified Unspecified 7 years
12. Elon Judges 12:11-12 Unspecified Unspecified 10 years
13. Abdon Judges 12:13-15 Unspecified Unspecified 8 years
14. Samson Judges 13:1-16:31 Philistines 40 years 20 years74

Ruth
This book takes place during the period of the Judges, when Elimelech and Naomi move
to Moab due to a famine in Canaan. After having lived there some time, Naomi loses her
husband and two sons (Mahlon and Chilion). Naomi begs her daughter-in-laws to return to their
families so she can return to her people. Ruth, one of her daughter-in-laws, refuses to leave and
pledges her loyalty to her (1:16-17). They return to Naomi’s hometown, Bethlehem, and there
Ruth gleans the wheat fields to support the both of them. We read of the kindness (hesed) shown
to Naomi by Ruth and to Ruth by Boaz. Boaz secures the kinsman redeemer (from the verb
ga`al) law according to Deuteronomy 25:5-10 (there was one man closer related to Naomi than
he). The author shows that through the marriage of Boaz and Ruth, they continue the lineage
through whom the Kingdom was established and later on through whom the Messiah would be
born.75
1 & 2 Samuel
The books of Samuel show the beginning and change of Israel’s rule from a Theocracy
(God centered rule) to a Monarchy (earthly king rule). First Samuel begins with the special
request of the barren woman, Hannah, for a son; she promises to give her son to God all the days
of her life if He would but give her a son (chapter 1). God gives her a son (chapter 1) and she
gives him over to Eli the priest (chapters 2-3). Samuel would become the priest and last judge
(some would say) over Israel. Samuel (who name means “asked of God”) was called upon to
anoint Israel’s first king (Saul) when Israel rejects God and wants an earthly king to judge them
“like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). God grants their request, but warns them of the
consequences of having a king (1 Samuel 8:10-12). Saul is Israel’s first king (chapter 10), but he
is later rejected by God because his heart is not wholly devoted to God (see chapter 13-15).
David, the youngest son of Jesse, is anointed king because God “looks at the heart” (1 Samuel
16:7). The rest of 1 Samuel shows David’s success in battle because God is with him. Saul
turns against David (who is best friends with his son, Jonathan), tries on several occasions to kill
him, but 1 Samuel closes with Saul ending his life in battle and David becoming king.
The book of 2 Samuel shows the legitimacy of David’s reign, along with his
accomplishments and failures (his sin with Bathsheba, the cover-up of his adultery, and the
murder of Uriah, 2 Samuel 11-12). This sin truly haunts David the rest of his life. Some have
suggested that the prophets’ Nathan or Gad may be responsible for the books of Samuel.
74
Eli (1 Samuel 4:18) and Samuel (1 Samuel 7:15-17; 8:1-3) are considered the last of the judges.
75
Ruth, the Moabitess woman, was the mother of Obed, the grandmother of Jesse, and the great-grandmother
of David (Ruth 4:22). Ironically, we also find out, according to Ruth 4:19-20 and Matthew 1:5 that Rahab the harlot
(the one who hid the two spies in the book of Joshua) was Ruth’s mother-in-law.

33
However, some scholars see 1 Samuel 27:6 as referring to the period of the divided monarchy,
which would place the composition years after the deaths of Samuel, David, and Solomon. The
fact is that uncertainty about authorship should not change our outlook on the books as a whole.

1 & 2 Kings
The book of 1 Kings starts out with David’s charge to Solomon to remain faithful unto
God (1 Kings 3:3-14), the death of King David, and Solomon becoming king in place of his
father (1 Kings 1:32ff.). We also read of Solomon’s prayer for wisdom (1 Kings 3:3-15).
Solomon is best known for his great wisdom (1 Kings 3:16-28, dividing the baby in two), great
wealth (1 Kings 4:20-34), and his great building projects. The temple in Jerusalem took 7 years
to build (1 Kings 6:38) and his magnificent palace took 13 years to complete (1 Kings 7:1), plus
his rebuilding of the cities in Northern Israel (1 Kings 9:15-28). Due to his marriages and
political alliances (700 wives and 300 concubines, 1 Kings 11), Solomon turns his heart away
from God and the kingdom is eventually torn in two during the reign of his son, Rehoboam, as
God promised back in chapters 11-12. The nation of Israel split into two kingdoms: Jeroboam I
in the north (Israel) and Rehoboam in the south (Judah). 76 The rest of 1 Kings records the
downward spiral of Israel through idolatry. The prophet Elijah plays an important role in this
book as a prophet to Israel.
In 2 Kings, the book focuses upon the prophet Elisha and Israel’s continual rebellion
against God. Judah would soon follow suit with her idolatry. God finally allows Israel to be
taken away into captivity by the Assyrians in 722/21 B.C. and Judah would finally be carried
away by the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, in 586 B.C.77 Jewish tradition points to
Jeremiah as the author of the two-part volume of Kings. Jeremiah was an eyewitness of the
destruction of Jerusalem; along with the similarities in style of writing between Kings and
Jeremiah (2 Kings 24:18-25:3- is the same as Jeremiah 52) points to the possibility of Jeremiah
being the author.

1 & 2 Chronicles
The book of 1 Chronicles gives genealogical account of the Davidic lineage in the first 11
chapters. The rest of the book covers David’s reign and accomplishments. The book of 2
76
There were four different dynasties in Israel: Jeroboam I, Baasha, Zimri, and Omri. There was only one
dynasty in Judah, the Davidic Dynasty.
77
There were three carryings away with the children of Judah: (1) In 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar carries away a
group during Jehoiakim’s 3rd year (see Daniel 1:1-6, Daniel and his three friends are carried away; 2 Kings 24:1-5).
(2) In 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar carries away 10,000 captives (Ezekiel is taken away at this time, Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2
Kings 24:10-16). (3) In 586 B.C., the last and final carrying away into exile and the destruction of the temple in
Jerusalem takes place, 2 Kings 25.

34
Chronicles covers the reign of Solomon and the period of the divided kingdom. While the books
of Kings can be said to portray a kingly view of the monarchy, the book of Chronicles writes
from a priestly viewpoint. Ancient tradition ascribes the authorship of Chronicles to Ezra, who
was both a scribe and priest during the return of Judah from Babylonian Captivity.

Ezra
The book of Ezra records the return of the children of Judah from Babylonian captivity,
the rebuilding of the temple and renewal of temple worship, and the duty of Ezra the scone of
ribe to instruct the people of God according to the law of Moses. In the Hebrew Bible, the books
of Ezra and Nehemiah are one complete volume (since they deal with the same subject, the
return to rebuild the city walls and temple). Tradition usually ascribes authorship to Ezra
himself.

Nehemiah
The book of Nehemiah records the return of Jerusalem under Nehemiah in order to
rebuild the city walls. This book also covers their struggles with the enemies of Judah in
rebuilding the walls, and the success of Ezra in turning the hearts of God’s children back to Him.

Esther
One of only two books in the Old Testament that focuses upon women, Esther describes a
young, beautiful Jewish girl who grew up in the Persian Empire (the Persians conquered the
Babylonians) and becomes the new queen Xerxes. Due to a plot by Haman to kill all the Jews on
a certain day, Esther intervenes and helps save her people (at the request and encouragement of
her uncle, Mordecai). The time of writing and authorship is unclear. While there have been
many suggestions, yet none are satisfactory. The Jewish feast of Purim has its roots in Esther
(3:7; 9:26).

35
 The Poetical Books
Based upon the division of the Old Testament books in the Septuagint, the poetical
section consists of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. 78 The time frame
which these books span is from as early as the Patriarchal Age (some would date Job as far back
as the time of Abraham, cir. 1900 B.C. or earlier), up to the reign of King Solomon (cir 1000
B.C.), and even as late as the destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying away of the children of
Judah to Babylon (see Psalm 137) cir. 586 B.C.

Job
The book of Job is a theodicy which deals with the goodness of God verses the existence
of evil in the world.79 The background of the book seems to fit well into the Patriarchal period
(cir. 1900 B.C.), but no conclusive evidence can be given for dating Job to this era (or any other
specific century). We read where Satan is working behind the scenes (chapters 1-2) to tempt Job
into turning away from God. Satan does so by taking away his family/children (chapter 1), his
earthly possessions (chapter 1), and his health (chapter 2).80 Job agrees with the rest of scripture
78
In the Jewish classification or division of the Old Testament, the poetical books fall under the heading of the
“Writings.” Some today further classify Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes as wisdom literature, or books of Jewish
wisdom.
79
The word “theodicy” refers to a defense or vindication of God being all powerful (His omnipotence) and His
all goodness (omni-belevolent) in view of the presence of suffering and evil in the world.
80
The book of Job depicts Satan as being able to come before the very throne of God and challenge God’s
servant, Job, which is something difficult to explain. Nonetheless, this was possible at one time. Following the

36
that human suffering is attributed to man’s sin and fall in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3; Romans
5:12; John 8:44; James 1:12-15). Job laments his suffering (Job 3), and his friends (Eliphaz,
Bildad, and Zophar) suggest that he is suffering due to some awful sin he has committed (see
chapters 4-31). Their logic goes something like this:
All suffering is the result of someone’s sin.
Job is suffering.
Therefore, Job has sinned.
To test the accuracy or soundness of a logical syllogism, one must prove that each premise (in
this case, Premise 1 and 2) is true before the conclusion can be shown to be both sound and
accurate. I have no problem with the second premise (Job is suffering, we can all agree upon this
statement), but I do disagree with the first premise (that all human suffering is the result of
someone’s personal sin). All suffering is a by-product of sin in the world, but not all suffering is
a direct result of a specific sin or action. We must realize, as Jesus taught His disciples about the
blind man in John 9:1-5, that some suffering exists due to no fault of our own (or due to the
maliciousness of others). Because the first premise is wrong, then the conclusion cannot be
drawn that Job is suffering because he committed some awful sin.81
Each time (in chapters 4-31) after one of Job’s friends accuses him of suffering due to his
own transgressions, Job defends his moral integrity. Job spends five chapters (27-31) after his
three friends finish speaking in defending his honor. Then a man called Elihu steps in (chapters
32-37) and speaks from wisdom; he reprimands Job “because he justified himself rather than
God” (32:3) and his three friends “because they have found no answer, and yet had condemned
Job” (32:3). There also seems to be a hint from Elihu that Job’s answers become a little too
boastful and full of pride. God does not always have to give a ‘why’ or ‘how come’ to
mankind’s questions (33:13). We cannot possibly know the mind of God (36:22-33). If we
cannot know the simple questions in life, how can we understand the more complexities of life?
In the end, Job does not speak words of wisdom (34:35).
God steps in and challenges Job “out of the whirlwind” (38:1). God demanded an answer out of
Job since Job had demanded an answer from God (38:1-12). These series of questions (38:4-
41:33) Job was unable to answer. If God was unable to answer these simple questions, how
could he possibly understand the greatest question of all, ‘why does mankind suffer?’ Job
submits to God’s sovereignty and repents of his haughty heart (42:1-6). God demands that Job’s
three friends repent of their error (42:7-9), and the book closes by saying that God blessed Job
twofold more at the end of his life than at the beginning (42:10-14) and died at the ripe old age of
140. As we examine the book as a whole, the great British Old Testament commentator, H.H.
Rowley, once noted:
It is true that Job longs for death to escape from his sufferings, but it is incidental to the
Dialogue rather than its major theme. Still less is it relevant to the main message of the
resurrection of Christ, Satan’s power seems to be more limited in what he could do (such as bodily demon
possessions; see Revelation 13:7-17 and 20:1-10).
81
In Luke 13:1-5, Jesus counteracts the common misconception held by people like the Pharisees; they
believed that all human tragedies were a direct result of sin (fatalistic; a calamity strikes you, then you must have
done something evil).

37
 book of Job. Similarly, while Job complains of the injustice of his sufferings, it is a
complaint against God rather than against man, and though in the ends his prosperity is
restored, it is not because God has yielded to his defence (sic, defense).82

Psalms
The title of this book (tehillim) refers to songs of praise. The Septuagint gave the book
its present title, “The Book of Psalms” (biblos pslamon).83 The book of Psalms has been called
the hymn book of ancient Israel. Although we normally think of the psalms of David, there were
other inspired men who also penned psalms that help make up the whole Book of Psalms. There
are 150 psalms in all, and they are broken down into five separate categories or books. Each
book or section closes out with a doxology (“Blessed be the LORD …”).
Book I: Psalms 1-41
Book II: Psalms 42-72
Book III: Psalms 73-89
Book IV: Psalms 90-106
Book V: Psalms 107-150
One psalms is attributed to Moses (Psalm 90), seventy-three to David (mostly from books
I and II), twelve by Asaph (50, 73-83), ten by the sons of Korah (42, 44-49, 84, 87-88), one or
two by Solomon (possibly 72, 127), one by Heman the Ezrahite (88), and one by Ethan the
Ezrahite (89). The earliest psalm could have been written by 1405 B.C. (i.e., Moses) and some
as late as the destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying away into Babylonian captivity (Psalm
137) in 586 B.C. Although David contributed much to the writing and collection of the psalms,
one way to view the book as a whole (all 150 psalms) is the priests’ finalize and used these
hymns to celebrate in worship to God after the rebuilding of the second temple in the time of
Ezra, Zerrubbabel, and Nehemiah.
Beginning in the nineteenth century, great emphasis was placed upon studying these
psalms according to their various types (much like we would have a topical index in the back of
our modern day hymnals). There are some six different categories or “types” of psalms. The
first type is the hymn (about 40 in all) that center around praising God. There normally is an

82
H.H. Rowley, The New Century Bible Commentary: The Book of Job, Ronald E. Clements, Ed. (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 6-7.
83
The Greek word, psalmos, comes from the verb, psallo, and in Classical Greek meant to “pluck” a string, to
“twang a bow string,” then to pluck a harp or other stringed instrument. However, by the time of the first century
A.D. (New Testament times), the verb psallo is used in the New Testament in a figurative sense. See Colin Brown,
Ed. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), s.v.
“Song,” R.H. Bartels: 668-675. Gingrich-Danker, Greek-English Lexicon, 891; Gerhard Kittle and Gerhard
Friedrich, Eds. Theological Dictionary Of The New Testament, vol. VIII, trans Geoffrey W. Bromiley. (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, Repr. 1993), s.v. “hymnos,” Delling: 489-502; esp. 489-99. Later on the Early Church Fathers
would echo the fact that the church sang “a cappella.” See Everett Ferguson’s article in The Instrumental Music
Issue. (Nashville: Gospel Advocate, 1987), 79-100.

38
introduction (a call to praise), then the main body (reasons why God is worthy of praise), and a
conclusion (either restating the introduction or ending with a prayer). The second type is the
individual lament (one who cries out unto God, as an individual, and beseeches God to heal
them of both physical and spiritual ills or protect him from his enemies). The third type is
known as the community lament (where an individual speaks in behalf of the whole nation of
Israel for God’s continued protection and blessing). The fourth type is the thanksgiving psalm
(public worship/thanksgiving is given to God for His blessings). The fifth type is psalm of trust
or confidence (a select number of psalms focus upon the inspired writer’s trust or faith in God
above all others). The sixth type is the royal psalm (centered around the king or monarchy of
Israel/Judah in particular, but after the end of both kingdoms their fulfillment was to be found in
the coming Messiah, Jesus). The seventh type is the wisdom psalm (those that emphasize the
importance of Godly wisdom).84

Proverbs
The structure of Proverbs is laid out like a father imparting wisdom or instruction to a son
(just as Moses had commanded the father’s to do so, Deuteronomy 6:3-9). 85 One could even say
that Proverbs 1:6 is the key verse to the whole book (“the fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge …”)! The book of Proverbs was written and compiled, for the most part, by King
Solomon. In fact, the first twenty-four chapters were penned by Solomon himself. Chapters
twenty-five through twenty-nine contain the wise saying of Solomon written down by King
Hezekiah’s scribes. The last two chapters, thirty and thirty-one, were composed by two wise
men, Agur and Lemuel, of whom little is known about. The book records that Solomon spoke
3,000 proverbs and wrote 3,500 songs (1 Kings 4:32). Some scholars have tried to minimize
Solomon’s wise sayings by arguing that there was a great body of wisdom literature throughout
the Ancient Near East, especially from Egypt. Many of us are familiar with the wit and wisdom
of Benjamin Franklin. Sayings such as, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” or “The early bird
gets the worm,” or even, “Early to bed, and early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
Some might even find a bit of Biblical truth to these sayings (albeit, uninspired) that Franklin
coined (or borrowed from others), but that does not make them any less wise or unimportant.
Regardless of any other body of wisdom literature from the same part of the world and from the
same time period, we know that what Solomon wrote (spoke) was Divinely inspired. In fact,
Judaism (as a whole) placed great importance upon Godly wisdom. We find traces of this
wisdom literature in the teachings of Jesus and the book of James.

84
Not all commentators agree on the different categories or types of psalms; some would argue for a generic
category to include all others not found in the above seven.
85
Our title for this book comes from the first verse, “proverbs of Solomon” (misheley shelomoh). A proverb
(mashal) is a type of comparison (like a metaphor or simile) or wise saying. Jesus used this same teaching method
in His extended parables and even shorter, extended metaphors (usually consisting of one or two sentences).

39
Ecclesiastes
The title of this book in the original is Qohelet, from the verb Qahal, meaning speaker in
an assembly. This word form was used in reference to the “congregation” or assembly of
Israel.86 The title in the Septuagint, ecclesiastes, comes from the word in the New Testament
meaning assembly, congregation, or church (ekklesia). So the writer refers to himself as the
“Preacher, the son of David, King of Jerusalem” (1:1). This could refer to none other than
Solomon himself.
Ecclesiastes has been called the “most philosophical book in the Bible.87 There are
three main views in which this book has been interpreted. The first view looks at this book from
a purely naturalistic perspective. They argue that Ecclesiastes a fatalistic (doom and gloom,
7:13), pessimistic (4:2), materialistic (3:19-21), hedonistic (pleasure and satisfaction, 2:24), and
agnostic (don’t know whether there is a God or not, 1:13ff.) view of life. Many try to focus on
the seemingly negativity of the book (I read an article once which stated that Ernest
Hemmingway, upon reading the book and battling cancer, committed suicide). How sad! The
second interpretation states that Ecclesiastes a partially theistic view of life. They see the first
section of the book (1:3-11:10) teaching how a worldly man perceives life (pessimistic,
agnostic), while the second section (chapter 12) gives the way in which the spiritual man views
life. A third view sees Ecclesiastes as being wholly theistic in its outlook on life. Solomon does
teach that at some point in his life he lived a hard life and sowed his wild oats. Yet I believe that
many miss the main point of the book. Solomon is trying to show two contrasts of life: the one
of utter futility in seeking after pleasure and happiness (“vanity of vanities”) Solomon once
sought apart from God and the other that sees life through the eyes of God (12:1, 13-14).

Song of Solomon
The first verse of this book describes itself as “the song of songs, which is Solomon’s.”
The phrase “song of songs” is a superlative, meaning t he very best song. This is not just any
love song, but it is a love song. Since Solomon died around 931 B.C., the book would have been
written prior to his death. Solomon’s bride that he speaks of is a Shulamite (6:13). 88 Although
Shulamites are not found among the list of Solomon’s wives (1 Kings 11:1), the 700 wives and
300 concubines who “turned away his heart” from God (1 Kings 11:3), yet this lovely woman
mentioned in Song of Solomon may have come along after the ones mentioned in 1 Kings
chapter 11. One might even argue that most, if not all, of these wives were acquired for political
reasons (in the ancient world, a king might marry off a daughter hoping that would keep another
kingdom from attacking you).

86
William Holladay, A Concise Hebrew And Aramaic Lexicon Of The Old Testament. (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, Repr. 1983), 314-15.
87
Geisler, 215.
88
The designation, “Shulamite,” could mean that she was from the town of Shulem (a possible variant of
Shunem), which was a town in the Plain of Esdraelon, southwest of the Sea of Galilee. The beautiful woman named
Abishag was from this town (1 Kings 1:1-4, 15; 2:17-22). The prophet Elisha raise up a Shunammite woman’s son
(2 Kings 4:8-37). Clifton J. Allen, Ed. The Broadman Bible Commentary vol. 5, Proverbs-Isaiah, by John T. Bunn.
(Nashville: Broadman, 1971), 144.

40
 There are three main schools of thought when interpreting this book. The first school of
thought is an allegorical interpretation to Song of Songs. This view has been popular for
centuries and views the book as being symbolic of God’s love for Israel (or Jesus’ love for His
church). This method sees the romantic love as a type of spiritual love. The second school of
thought views the book literally, that is, Solomon is describing a literal romantic love he had for
a particular woman. The argument goes on to say that Song of Songs was written as a testimony
or argument against the practice of polygamy (that even Solomon never found this type of love
with all of his other wives). The third school of thought is known as the typical view. This
third argument likewise sees the book as a reference to actual historical events, but in “contrast
to some of the more glamorous wives of Solomon, such as Pharaoh’s daughter, the Shulamite
was a country girl who possessed a beautiful soul as well as a fair body.” This simple girl from
the farm was able to show Solomon the true meaning of monogamous love, “a love for which he
had gladly exchanged the corrupt splendor of his court.” This song transfers natural love by
placing it on an even higher plane, that is, a holy one. “And yet (in opposition to the literalists’)
the author intends for this couple” to represent thy “typical” love of God for His people (and thus
foreshadowing the love Christ would have for is church). The third view is really a combination
of the first two and a good explanation (and faithful to the text).89

Major and Minor Prophets

89
Archer, 500-02.

41
42