Introduction to the Old Testament Scriptures: Exodus to Esther
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Introduction To The Old Testament Scriptures: Exodus to Esther Middler Old Testament Isagogics Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary February 2009 1 Preface These notes serve as an introduction to the historical books of the Old Testament from Exodus through Esther. These books cover Old Testament history from Israel in Egypt through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile up to the time of Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah. The portion of the earlier edition of the notes which covered Genesis 25-50 has been incorporated into the notes for the Genesis course. These notes build on the isagogics notes which have been in use at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for many years. The original outline was prepared by Professor August Pieper, and previous editions of the notes which were published in 1979 and 1985 were largely the work of Professor E. H. Wendland. Biblical references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted. Maps, illustrations, and charts are from various sources. Since these notes are accompanied by an extensive set of PowerPoints, most of the maps and pictures have been placed into the PowerPoints rather than into the notes. These notes are intended to provide a brief running outline to assist in the reading and review of the biblical text. For more detailed notes on historical and archaeological issues and application of the text see the Concordia/NIV Study Bible and The People’s Bible. We have retained the study questions and homiletical suggestions from previous editions of these notes, even though they are not extensively used in the isagogics course as it is presently taught. Some students who use these notes may want to have these resources available for additional study. Rtf and Pdf versions of the notes will be posted on the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary web site. To use the MS Word electronic versions of these files you must install the Graeca and Hebraica fonts. These fonts are stored in the fonts folder on the common drive at WLS and at the location where the notes are posted on the WLS web site. This edition of the notes was prepared by Professors John Brug and James Westendorf. Formatting was done by students Noah Headrick and Nathaniel Biebert. John F. Brug February 2009 2 CONTENTS 1 Biblical Introduction and Bibliography ............................................................. 6 2 The Pentateuch ................................................................................................. 15 3 Genesis ............................................................................................................. 19 4 Exodus; Call of Moses (Ex 1-5) ....................................................................... 23 5 The Plagues; The Exodus (Ex 6-13) ................................................................ 32 6 From Egypt to Sinai (Ex 14-18) ....................................................................... 40 7 The Sinaitic Law (Ex 19-24) ............................................................................. 45 8 An Analysis of the Sinaitic Law ...................................................................... 52 9 The Tabernacle; Priestly Garments (Ex 25-31) ................................................ 57 10 Calf Worship, Reconfirmation, Completion (Ex 32-40) ................................. 64 11 Leviticus; The Sacrificial Code (Lv 1-7) ........................................................ 70 12 Transition; The Purification Code (Lv 8-15) .................................................. 77 13 The Holiness Code; Conclusion (Lv 17-27) ................................................... 83 14 Numbers; Organization of Israel (Nu 1-4) ...................................................... 88 15 Camp Provisions (Nu 5:1-10:10) .................................................................... 93 16 From Sinai to Kadesh (Nu 10:11-14:45) ......................................................... 97 17 The 38 Years; On to Moab (Nu 15-22) ......................................................... 101 18 On the Plains of Moab (Nu 22-25) ................................................................ 108 19 Final Preparations (Nu 26-36)....................................................................... 112 20 Deuteronomy; First Oration (Dt 1:1-4:43) .................................................... 119 21 Second Oration, Part I (Dt 5-11) ................................................................... 125 22 Second Oration, Part II (Dt 12-18) ................................................................ 130 23 Second Oration, Conclusion (Dt 19-26) ....................................................... 135 24 Third Oration (Dt 27-30) .............................................................................. 139 3 25 Last Acts and Death of Moses (Dt 31-34) .................................................... 142 26 Negative Criticism, Documentary Phase ...................................................... 145 27 The Documentary Phase Examined .............................................................. 153 28 Form Criticism .............................................................................................. 159 29 Recent Trends of Historical Criticism .......................................................... 164 30 Joshua (Jos 1-5) ............................................................................................. 176 31 The Conquest of Canaan (Jos 6-12) .............................................................. 184 32 Canaan Distributed (Jos 13-21) ..................................................................... 191 33 The Eastern Tribes Return; Joshua’s Farewells (Jos 22-24) ......................... 197 34 Judges; Episodes 1-3 (Jdg 1-5) ..................................................................... 200 35 Episodes 4 and 5 (Jdg 6-12) .......................................................................... 207 36 Episode 6; Two Appendices (Jdg 13-21) ...................................................... 215 36b Ruth (Ru 1-4) .............................................................................................. 222 37 First Samuel (1 Sm 1-7) ................................................................................ 227 38 Saul’s Rise and Fall (1 Sm 8-16) .................................................................. 234 39 Saul and David (1 Sm 17-31) ........................................................................ 241 40 Second Samuel (2 Sm 1-7) ........................................................................... 249 41 David’s Successes, Sin, Troubled House (2 Sm 8-18) .................................. 256 42 David’s Return; Appendices (2 Sm 20-24) ................................................... 260 43 Biblical Chronology ...................................................................................... 265 44 First Kings; Solomon (1 Kgs 1-11) ............................................................... 280 45 The Divided Kingdom (1 Kgs 12-16) ........................................................... 289 46 Elijah and Ahab (1 Kgs 17-22) ..................................................................... 294 47 Second Kings; Elijah and Elisha (2 Kgs 1-10).............................................. 299 48 The End of Northern Israel (2 Kgs 11-17) .................................................... 305 4 49 The Last Days of Judah (2 Kgs 18-25) ......................................................... 311 50. The Return from the Exile (Ezra 1-6) .......................................................... 317 51. Esther ........................................................................................................... 321 52. Ezra’s Return (Ezra 7-10) ............................................................................ 325 53. Nehemiah ..................................................................................................... 328 5 CHAPTER ONE THE STUDY OF BIBLICAL INTRODUCTION ISAGOGICS Theology consists of the thorough study of Scripture (exegetical theology) and the proclamation of Scripture (practical theology). Isagogics as a theological discipline is the initial stage of exegetical theology. The word isagogics is derived from the Greek εἰσάγειν, which means “lead in,” or “introduce.” Isagogics is thus the technical name applied to the study of biblical introduction. In its larger scope the term “isagogics” includes many areas of study relating to background information that provides help in gaining a better understanding of the biblical text: issues of authorship, genre, languages, culture, archaeology, geography, history, chronology, and textual transmission. All of these elements are treated in this course, but for us at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary the primary focus of any course of scriptural study is to be on the content of the biblical text. Therefore, this course goes beyond the scope of traditional isagogics into the area of biblical survey. A careful reading and study of the biblical text itself is the most crucial part of this course. While isagogics involves an introduction to the text and biblical survey scans the text for content, exegesis (Greek ἐξέγεισθαι: show the way) is a thorough interpretation of the biblical text on the basis of the original Hebrew and Greek texts. At Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary the Old Testament exegetical courses are Genesis 1-25, selected Psalms, and Isaiah 40-66. Spot exegesis of key passages of the Old Testament is included in this isagogics course and in the dogmatics