Step By Step Through the Old Testament

Rev. Christopher J. RespassFall 2012—OT1

General Information

A. The Bible is divided into two halves—Old Testament and New Testament.

B. The Old Testament is comprised of 39 books written primarily in Hebrew with some portions written in Aramaic.

The Authority of the OT for Christians

A. Some say that the relevance of the OT is diminished with the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ.

B. Contemporary arguments against practices in the church (e.g., tithing), the validity of certain relationships (e.g., same-sex), even the origin of things (e.g., cosmology, Darwinism) center on the authenticity and authority of the Old Testament.

C. The OT was the scriptural text used by Jesus and the New Testament writers.A. Jesus

1. Luke 4:1-132. Luke 4:16-213. John 5:394. Matt. 5:17-18

The Authority of the OT for Christians

B. Jesus recognized the binding authority of scripture while reserving, for himself, the right to be its true interpreter.

C. In his 13 epistles, Paul uses over 90 quotations from the OT, the majority of them appear in Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Galatians.

The Goal of Scripture: Old Testament

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

The Goal of Scripture: Old Testament

Thus, the Old Testament teaches Christians what the should and should not believe (“teaching & reproof”) and how they should and should not behave (“correction” & “training in righteousness”).

Formation of the Old Testament

1. The Old Testament is written in two languages: primarily Hebrew and

Aramaic. (note: with the conquest by the Assyrians, Aramaic became the language of diplomacy and commerce (see, 2 Kings 18:26).

Formation of the Old Testament

2. Scrolls were the standard form in which the scriptures were preserved.

Formation of the Old Testament

3.None of the original writings (“autographs”) have survived. We currently have the oldest copies which were written by scribes thousands of years ago. Due to scribal error (e.g., transposition, omission, insertions, mistakes, etc.) textual variants have been introduced. At no point has the basic message of the Old Testament been in question.

Ancient Versions of the OT

1. Samaritan Pentateuch: useful as a confirmation of certain ancient readings.

2. Aramaic Targums: A “targum” is a spoken paraphrase and explanation of Jewish Scripture that a Rabbi would give to his listeners. The more popular targums are the Targum of Onkelos and the Jerusalem Targum I.

3. Septuagint (LXX): Greek Version of the Old Testament

4. Peshitta: Syriac version of the Old Testament.

Canon of the Old Testament(See Handout)

The Hebrew Bible, Protestant Bible and the Catholic Bible all have different orderings and inclusions.