Handbook:Old Testament
From Door43
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| Article Sources: | Easton's Bible Dictionary |
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The Old Testament tells of the history of the Jewish people, from the creation of the world until the time of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament contains 39 books, which are presented in several groups.
The first five books are called the Pentateuch. They include the following: Genesis, which tells of the creation (Genesis 1-2), the stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Jacob's twelve sons, who were the fathers of the tribes of Israel. The book ends with the people of Israel as slaves in Egypt. The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy tell the story of Moses and how he led the people of Israel out of Egypt, and of the laws and customs that the Lord God gave them to live by.
The next section of the Old Testament contains books of the history of the Israelite (Jewish) people, from the time they entered the Promised Land (Canaan) through the time they went into captivity and then returned again. The book of Joshua tells about the people of Israel conquering the Promised Land. Judges tells of the early years of Israel's occupation of the Promised Land, when they were led by a series of judges.Ruth is an individual story of love and faith that took place during this time. The next six books, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles tell the history of the people of Israel living in the Promised Land. However, the people disobeyed the Lord's laws and worshiped other gods, so the Lord sent them into captivity in Babylon. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of the return of the Jews to the Promised Land after the captivity. Esther tells one story that took place in Babylon after the time of the captivity, involving Jewish people who still lived there.
The next several books are poetic in nature. Job tells the story of a man named Job and his faithful obedience to God, even in very difficult circumstances. Psalms is a book of poetry and songs, many of which were written by David. These are all written to glorify God. Proverbs is mostly a list of wise sayings written by King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. Ecclesiastes is another book written by Solomon, in which he discusses many subjects that he had thought about. Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs, consists of love songs written by Solomon. Many say these reflect the love between Jesus and His bride, the church, as well.
The rest of the Old Testament is books written by the prophets who ministered to the People of Israel before and during their captivity. The first five are large books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (which was written by Jeremiah), Ezekiel, and Daniel. The last twelve are shorter: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
