OT Historical Books – Syllabus
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” – Romans 15:4
Course Description This course consists of an in-depth exploration of the Old Testament Historical books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles (brief), Ezra, and Nehemiah. As such, it provides a detailed look at roughly 1000 years in the life of God's people spanning post-exodus through the return from exile leading us all the way through the last Old Testament narratives prior to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this course is to guide you through the Historical Books aiding you in reading, interpreting, and applying them to your life. The objectives of the course include:
• Learn the content of the Old Testament Historical Books.
• Discern what we can learn about God through these books.
• Discern what we can learn about ourselves through these books.
• Develop a good understanding of the events and timeline of Israel’s history.
• Provide a firm and encompassing big-picture view of Israel's history to aide in building and maturing our ability to effectively read and understand the Prophets & Wisdom Literature by learning the context from which the authors of those books lived.
• Learn methods and resources for more effective and deeper personal study.
Methods: • Lecture / Discussions – 80% / 20%.
• Readings o The OT Historical Books – in their entirety. o Selected chapters from Howard’s An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books
• Additional work will be recommended and encouraged, but not required. o Creating “textual” and/or “synthetic” outlines of the Historical Books. o Journaling. o Commentary reading. o Others.
Texts: • Your Bible o We will use the New International Version (NIV) for in-class readings.
• Howard, David M., Jr. An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books. Chicago: Moody, 2007 o ISBN-10: 0802441556 o $23.09 at www.amazon.com
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Tentative Schedule:
January 23 Broad overview of the Pentateuch and Introduction to Joshua January 30 Joshua 3-11 February 6 Joshua 12-24 & What Do We Do With a God Like This? February 13 Judges 1-5 February 20 Judges 6-8 February 27 Judges 9-12 March 5 Judges 13-21 March 12 Ruth and Introduction to 1&2 Samuel March 19 1 Samuel 1-3 March 26 1 Samuel 4-9 April 2 1 Samuel 10-15 April 9 1 Samuel 16-31 April 16 2 Samuel 1-12 April 23 2 Samuel 13-24 April 30 1 Kings 1-11 (Solomon) May 7 1 Kings 12-22 May 14 2 Kings May 21 Brief Discussion of 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah May 28(?) Wrap Up Week
Leader Information: Todd Bumgarner [email protected]
Assignment(s) for Next Week: • Purchase Howard’s An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books .
• Re-familiarize yourself with the following sections of Scripture o Genesis 12:1-10 o Deuteronomy 31
• Read Joshua 1-2 and ask yourself the following questions: o Why is the statement “Moses is dead” relevant? o What significance does the phrase “servant of the Lord” carry? o Who is Joshua and what does it mean to be Moses’ aide?
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