1. Scripture Studies Chapter 2 The Old Testament

2. The Old Testament
Read:
Matthew 5:17-48
Romans 3:1-4:12

3. The Old Testament
The prophecy of the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus

4. The Old Testament
CCC 121:The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value,92 for the Old Covenant has never been revoked. (1093)

5. The Old Testament
CCC122: Indeed, “the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men.”93 “Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional,”94 the books of the Old Testament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God’s saving love: these writings “are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way.”95 (702, 763, 708, 2568)

6. The Old Testament The Books of the Old Testament Law History Wisdom
Prophecy

7. The Old Testament
The Law
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

8. The Old Testament The “JEDP” theory of the Pentateuch
J: “Yahwist” or “Jehovist” source
E: “Elohist” source
D: “Deuteronomic” source
P: “Priestly” source

9. The Old Testament
History
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel

10. The Old Testament
History
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles

11. The Old Testament
History
Ezra
Nehemiah
Tobit
Judith
Esther

12. The Old Testament Joshua
Tells how the Israelites, led by Joshua, the successor of Moses, began their conquest of Canaan

13. The Old Testament Judges
Continues the story of the conquest of Canaan and the death of Joshua
It tells how, time and time again, the people of Israel were unfaithful to God
And how as a punishment He let them fall into the hands of their enemies
Each time, when they repented, God sent a “Judge” to be their leader and save them

14. The Old Testament
Ruth
Set in the time of the Judges, the book of Ruth tells the story of a foreign woman who converts to the worship of the one true God.
She marries Boaz, a wealthy Israelite
Her great-grandson David would be king of Israel
Therefore she is also the human ancestor of Jesus

15. The Old Testament 1 Samuel
Tells the tragic story of Saul, the first king of Israel
Saul was anointed king by the prophet Samuel
Starts out well but loses God’s favor by his disobedience
Involves Israel in a long civil war with his successor David

16. The Old Testament 2 Samuel
Continues the story of David after the death of Saul
God’s everlasting covenant with David makes Jerusalem the religious center of the world
David builds the nation of Israel into a strong power, but also suffers the consequences of his sin.

17. The Old Testament 1 Kings
Continues with the reign of David’s son Solomon, who is famous for his wisdom and makes Israel a mighty empire
Much of the book is taken up with the most important event of Solomon’s reign: the building of the Temple in Jerusalem
Solomon and his successors fall into idolatry, and God rebukes them through Elijah

18. The Old Testament 2 Kings
Tells how Israel’s two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, become deeply divided by falling away from God and turning to foreign idols
Finally God allows both kingdoms to be conquered and destroyed

19. The Old Testament 1 Chronicles
Continues the history of 1 and 2 Samuel, but from another point of view
Emphasizes the religious aspect of David’s reign
Especially his preparations for building the Temple

20. The Old Testament 2 Chronicles Continuation of 1 Chronicles
Retells some of the events of 1 and 2 Kings
Emphasizes the kingdom of Judah

21. The Old Testament
Ezra
Tells how some of the Jews are allowed to return to Israel after a long exile in Babylon
Tells how they rebuild the Temple and try to restore the worship of the true God

22. The Old Testament Nehemiah
Continues the story begun in Ezra, telling how the returned exiles restore the city of Jerusalem and promise to live by the law of Moses
Much of the book is from the memoirs of governor Nehemiah

23. The Old Testament Tobit
The story of a pious man, who follows the Law even in exile
His son is faithful to the Lord
Son ends up rich and happily married

24. The Old Testament Judith
Tells how a heroic woman saves Israel by a clever strategy
Her success comes about because she trusted in God

25. The Old Testament Esther
Tells the story of a heroic Israelite woman who becomes Queen of Persia
She saves the Jewish people from the plots of evil enemies

26. The Old Testament Wisdom Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Sirach

27. The Old Testament
Job
Why does God let bad things happen to good people?
A long debate between Job’s friends on this puzzle
They insist that God rewards good and punishes evil
Job insists that it doesn’t always happen that way

28. The Old Testament Psalms
Psalms is a collection of religious songs and poems, many of them attributed to king David
The greatest religious poetry ever composed is in the book of Psalms
We hear it every day in our liturgy
And many phrases common in our language comes from Psalms

29. The Old Testament Proverbs Proverbs is a collection of sayings
Many of them are attributed to king Solomon
Each one gives an important truth in a short and memorable form
Many are in the form of “ ” but “. . . ”

30. The Old Testament Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes is a long meditation on vanity
The complete pointlessness of worldly things
Nothing in this world is lastingly worthwhile
The only thing that matters is God

31. The Old Testament Song of Solomon The world’s most famous love poem
A bride and groom speak of their love for one another
Since earliest times, the Church has seen the poem as an allegory of Christ’s love for his Church

32. The Old Testament Wisdom Full title is The Wisdom of Solomon
A poem in praise of wisdom
Includes a long section on how patient God has been with human folly

33. The Old Testament Sirach A book about how to live a good life
How to live in the real world without compromising our faith in God

34. The Old Testament Prophecy
Prophecy means to speak in place of or for someone else
Prophets were called to speak for God without regard for their station in society
Abraham was the first prophet
Most prophets were men

35. The Old Testament Prophecy
Prophets sometimes did not appear for long periods, but showed up when the people were in need
This especially happened during the 11th century – 5th century
God sent prophets to guide his people regularly

36. The Old Testament Prophecy (Major Prophets) Isaiah Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Ezekiel
Daniel

37. The Old Testament Prophecy (Minor Prophets) Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum

38. The Old Testament Prophecy (Minor Prophets) Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

39. The Old Testament Isaiah
Isaiah contains some of the clearest prophecies in the Old Testament of the coming of Christ
Warns of the disaster that will befall Israel if the people do not turn back to God
Promises redemption to the people even though they have sinned

40. The Old Testament
Isaiah was probably written and edited in at least two parts at different times and by different authors
Probably done during the Babylonian exile

41. The Old Testament Old Testament Timeline
Genesis – impossible to assign a timeline to the events of Genesis
Ca BC – God calls Abram (Abraham) to go to the land of Canaan. Time of the Patriarchs
Ca BC – Jacob and his sons go to Egypt
Ca BC – Joseph dies in Egypt

42. The Old Testament
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy and Job probably composed/conflated during this period
Ca BC – Moses born
Ca BC – traditional dating of the events described in Job
Ca BC – God appears to Moses, Israelites escape from Egypt

43. The Old Testament

44. The Old Testament
Ca BC – Moses dies within sight of the Promised Land
Joshua, Judges, Ruth composed during this period
Ca.1406 BC – Israel begins conquest of Canaan under Joshua
Ca BC – Joshua dies
Ca, BC – traditional date of events in Book of Ruth

45. The Old Testament Ca. 1120 BC – Samson is born
1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings (begun), 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles (begun), Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Wisdom probably composed during this period
Ca BC – Samuel is born
Ca BC – Saul becomes king of Israel
Ca BC – David becomes king

46. The Old Testament Ca. 970 BC – Solomon becomes king
Ca. 930 BC – Solomon dies
1 Kings (finished), 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles (finished) Tobit, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos
Ca. 930 BC – Rehoboam becomes king
Ca. 926 BC – The ten northern tribes revolt against Rehoboah

47. The Old Testament Ca. 912 BC – Elijah begins his career as a prophet
Ca. 896 BC – Elijah is taken up into heaven
Ca 721 BC – Assyrians conquer Israel and take ten tribes into captivity
Ca. 705 BC – Traditional date of the events described in Tobit

48. The Old Testament Judith, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
Ca. 586 BC – Babylonians destroy Jerusalem, raze the Temple, and carry Judah into captivity
Ca. 539 BC – Cyrus (Persian king) conquers Babylon
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Sirach written during this period
Ca. 537 BC – Decree of Cyrus allows Jews to return to Jerusalem

49. The Old Testament
Ca. 515 BC – after some delay and opposition by the Samaritans, the Second Temple is built
Ca. 336 BC – Alexander the Great begins his conquests
Ca. 175 BC – Antiochus Epiphanes becomes king

50. The Old Testament
Antiochus Epiphanes was determined to destroy all worship of the “One True God”
He believed that public acts of extreme cruelty would discourage the Jews from following their God
Ca. 167 BC – Persecution of the Jews, revolt begins

51. The Old Testament
Antiochus’ mistake was underestimating the devotion and faith of the Israelites
The Maccabean Revolt led eventually to independence
1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees is written
Ca. 164 BC – Temple rededicated
Ca. 134 BC – John Hyrcanus becomes high priest

52. The Old Testament Typology
When we read the Old Testament, we see many things that point to events in the New Testament, the coming of the Messiah
Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac points to God’s sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross
Thus we say that Isaac it a “type” (prototype) of Christ
The study of “types” such as this in the Old Testament is called Typology

53. The Old Testament Typology is a way of teaching by analogy
We explain the new in term of the old

54. The Old Testament Fulfill Genealogy Law Old Testament Pentateuch
Prophet
Type
Typology
Wisdom Literature

55. The Old Testament
Who came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament?

56. The Old Testament
Which two historical figures does Matthew mention as ancestors of Jesus Christ at the beginning of his Gospel?

57. The Old Testament
Where is the Old Testament perfected?

58. The Old Testament
What does the New Testament accomplish?

59. The Old Testament
What does Jesus’ genealogy indicate?

60. The Old Testament
What are the four main types of books in the Old Testament?

61. The Old Testament
Which books are the books of the law?

62. The Old Testament
What are other names for the books of the law?

63. The Old Testament
What does the word “Pentateuch” mean?

64. The Old Testament
What do the historical books describe?

65. The Old Testament
Which book includes many religious poems attributed to David?

66. The Old Testament
Which three books of the Old Testament are named for women?

67. The Old Testament
Why are the books from Hosea to Malachi called “Minor Prophets?”

68. The Old Testament
What can we discover from reading the Old Testament?

69. The Old Testament
What are biblical types?

70. The Old Testament
How did the Old Testament writers date events?

71. The Old Testament
What are the names of the four sources which contributed to the compilation of the Pentateuch?

72. The Old Testament
What is a “heresy?”