Reading the Old Testament for All Its Worth // Miriam Hinksman Session 1 // 22 April 2017

What is the Old Testament?

• “What exactly is the Bible anyway? The direct, literal words of God? The words of humanity about God? God's word back to humanity's word? An imaginative record of humanity's musings about the nature of human life and the deity? A factual, historical account? The record of a people? A great and compelling work of literary artistry? A recipe book that can teach anyone, anywhere, anytime how to cook up a successful, rewarding life?” (Fontaine, 1997).

What’s in a Name?

• Old Testament • First Testament • Jewish Bible • Hebrew Bible • Tanak • Torah

What’s in the Old Testament?

• It depends who you ask! • Canon: “the closed list of books that was officially accepted retrospectively by a community as supremely authoritative and binding for religious practice and doctrine” (VanderKam 2002, 15). • Masoretic Text (MT): the standard text of the Hebrew Bible • Septuagint (LXX): the Greek translation of the Old Testament • Vulgate (V): the Latin translation of the Old Testament

What Kind of Writing is the Old Testament?

• Genre: “a term that refers to different types or varieties of literature or media. In the interpretation of texts, particularly the Bible, most exegetes agree that identifying the genre of the text to be interpreted is crucial and that the text must be understood in light of the common conventions that typified that genre at the time of its writing” (Grenz 1999, 55).

Major Genres in the Old Testament

• Narrative • Poetry • Prophecy • History • Law • Wisdom • Apocalyptic • Psalms/Liturgical songs

What is the Old Testament?

• A collection of books • A variety of genres • Sacred Scripture

Hebrew Bible (MT) Greek Bible (LXX); Roman Catholic and Slavonic/Russian Orthodox

Law (Torah) Pentateuch

Genesis Genesis Exodus Exodus Leviticus Leviticus Numbers Numbers Deuteronomy Deuteronomy

Prophets (Nevi’im) Historical Books

Former Prophets Joshua Joshua Judges Judges Ruth Samuel (1 & 2) 1 Samuel Kings (1 & 2) 2 Samuel 1 Kings Latter Prophets 2 Kings Isaiah 1 Chronicles Jeremiah 2 Chronicles Ezekiel Ezra The Twelve: 1, 2 Esdras Hosea Nehemiah Joel Tobit Amos Judith Obadiah Esther + additions to Esther Jonah 1, 2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees Micah Nahum Poetry and Wisdom Habakkuk Job Zephaniah Psalms (Ps 151, Prayer of Mannaseh) Haggai Proverbs Zechariah Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) Malachi Song of Solomon Wisdom of Solomon Writings (Kethuvim) Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) Psalms Job Prophets Proverbs Isaiah Ruth Jeremiah Song of Solomon Lamentations Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) Baruch (+letter of Jeremiah) Lamentations Ezekiel Esther Daniel (and additions to Daniel) Daniel Hosea Ezra Joel Nehemiah Amos Chronicles (1 & 2) Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi