Old Testament Overview

Context for the Books and Stories of the Old Testament

Anthony Neill

S&I, Adelaide, NSW

Books of the Old Testament

There are 39 books in the Old Testament. Generally these are divided into five major categories based on the Hebrew Bible..

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Law

Poetry

History

Prophets

Minor Prophets

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

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Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

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Major* Prophets

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

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* The definition of whether a prophet was major or minor is simply based on the length of his writings

Old Testament Geography

Historical Overview

A few facts you really need to know:

Old Testament: Historical Overview

BOOKS of the OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis

KEY EVENTS & PEOPLE

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel 1-8

1 Samuel 8-31

2 Samuel

1 Chronicles

1 Kings

2 Chronicles

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

1 Kings

2 Chronicles

2 Kings

Job?

Joel?

Jonah

Hosea

Micah

Amos

Isaiah

Zephaniah

Habakkuk

Obadiah

Zechariah

Nahum?

Jeremiah

Daniel

Ezekiel

Esther

Haggai

Ezra

Nehemiah

Malachi

Creation

Fall

City of Enoch

Noah and the Flood

Abraham & the Patriarchs

Joseph in Egypt

Moses in Egypt

Ten Plagues

Crossing the Red Sea

Ten Commandments

Conquest of Promised Land by Joshua

Reign of Judges

Israelites demand to have a king.

Reigns of:

• Saul
• David
• Solomon

Rebellion of Jeroboam. Ten tribes become the northern kingdom of Israel. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin become Kingdom of Judah.

Israel becomes very wicked and is destroyed by Assyrians in 722 BC.

Judah becomes more wicked. Jerusalem destroyed by Babylonians and inhabitants taken captive.

Persians conquer Babylon. Jews allowed to return to Jerusalem. Temple rebuilt 515 BC

The Six Main Periods in the Old Testament

From Adam to Malachi

Patriarchs

Patriarchs were high priests who governed the church and kingdom by virtue of their civil (kingly) and ecclesiastical (priesthood) positions - patriarchs were kings and priests.

Genesis covers four dispensations and over 2000 years of history:

1. Adam
2. Enoch
3. Noah
4. Abraham

Genesis chapters 1-11 cover the Creation, Fall and the first three dispensations. Chapters 12 to 50 cover Abraham, his dispensation and descendants in the covenant down to Joseph. This emphasis suggests that Moses, the author of Genesis, wanted to teach the Israelites about the covenants the Lord made with their forefathers and with them to join in the work of blessing all the nations and families of the earth.

Dispensation of Abraham

• Abrahamic Covenant – Posterity, Promised Land and Priesthood
• Abraham became the father of many nations
• Isaac was Abraham’s son and Jacob his grandson
• The Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel
• Israel’s 12 sons became the Twelve Tribes
• Israel’s son Joseph became a powerful leader in Egypt
• Joseph had two sons in Egypt – Ephraim and Manasseh

From Adam to Joseph of Egypt

Patriarchs

Moses to the Judges

The Books of Exodus through to Deuteronomy tell the story of Moses leading the Hebrews escape from bondage in Egypt. These books including:

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1. Ten Plagues
2. Crossing the Red Sea
3. Miracles and Murmurings in the Wilderness
4. The Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses
5. Wandering in the wilderness for forty years

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Moses died before the Hebrews entered the Promised Land. The Book of Joshua describes the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan and the division of the land amongst the Twelve Tribes.

The 200 years after the death of Joshua was a period marked by disorder, idolatry and foreign oppression. In times of war, civil/military leaders known as “Judges” would lead the tribes into battle. Some were righteous; others were not.

Some of the Judges included Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Samson and Samuel. Samuel was both a prophet and a judge. Samuel was the last judge and was replaced by a king – King Saul.

The story of Ruth occurred during the period of the Judges while the first chapters of 1 Samuel tell of the transition from the Judges to the first king of Israel – Saul.

From Egypt to Living in the Promised Land

Moses to Judges

Kingdom of Israel

During the reign of the Judges, the Twelve Tribes were fiercely independent and only united in times of military crises. After Samuel successfully led the tribes of Israel to battle against the Philistines, they demanded a king. The Israelites wanted to be like the other nations of the world. The Lord agreed to allow this but warned them of the consequences. Three kings ruled a united Israel. Each was a great and righteous king at first, but each succumbed to temptation.

Saul (1025-1005 BC)

At first a model king, Saul lost his right to be king through a series of events including making sacrifices and offerings without authority and failing to obey the specific commands of the prophet Samuel.

David (1005-965 BC)

David captured Jerusalem, built his palace there and made it his capital. He unified the tribes politically and established a bureaucracy to govern. He had great success militarily.

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Solomon (968-928 BC)

His reign was one of prosperity and stability. He was a great builder known for his wisdom. However he later married outside the covenant and allowed his wives to introduce idolatry to Israel.

The Three Kings of Israel

United Kingdom

Divided Kingdoms

The separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah

Israel (925-722 BC)

Israel consisted of the ten tribes who rebelled against Rehoboam, King of Judah when Solomon died. Of the 19 kings who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel during the next 250 years, all were wicked. Ahab and his wife Jezebel are particularly notorious. Idolatry in Israel included the sacrificing of children. Prophets were sent to warn the people of impending destruction.

Around 725 BC, the Northern kingdom of Israel refused to pay tribute to Assyria. Assyria besieged Israel’s capital Samaria for three years. In 722 BC the Assyrians defeated Israel. The survivors were taken captive and were eventually lost to history (The Lost Ten Tribes.)

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In 925 BC, Israel split into two separate nations

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Divided Kingdom

Divided Kingdoms

The Kingdom of Judah

Judah (925-587 BC)

After 721 BC, the Kingdom of Israel no longer existed.

However the Assyrians were unable to conquer the southern kingdom of Judah. The two main tribes of Judah and Benjamin inhabited Judah. This kingdom lasted longer than Israel.

Of Judah’s twenty kings, only eight were considered to be righteous – kings such as Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah.

A series of wicked kings in Judah rejected the counsel of prophets such as Jeremiah and Lehi, and made bad political decisions. This resulted in the Babylonians invading Judah on several occasions. Zedekiah tried to rebel against the rule of Babylon. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Jews were carried captive to Babylon.

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After the Destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Divided Kingdom

Judah in Exile

At the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Assyria was defeated by a new super power – Babylon. Judah now became subject to the Babylonians. To ensure compliance from leaders in Jerusalem, the Babylonians took many nobles, craftsmen and those from elite families to Babylon as hostages including Daniel and Ezekiel in 597 BC. It was not successful in the sense that Zedekiah, king of Judah rebelled against Babylon in 589 BC, hoping that a secret alliance with Egypt would protect him. It did not!

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After the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC thousands of the survivors were taken captive to Babylon. These forced movements of Jews to Babylon are known as the “Exile” or Babylonian captivity.

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When Cyrus defeated the Babylonians in 539 BC, he allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Some returned.

Judah till 586 B.C. Judah then taken captive to Babylon

Judah & Exile

Return to Jerusalem

Having defeated the Babylonians in 539 BC, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and Judah to rebuild the temple. The first group who returned began reconstructing the temple. There was considerable opposition which halted progress for some years. With the assistance of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the Jews finished and dedicated the temple in 515 BC

Malachi probably prophesied sometime in the period after the temple was completed but before the arrival of Ezra and Nehemiah.

About 458 BC, Ezra was appointed to lead a second group of Jews back to Jerusalem with money and supplies to beautify the temple. When he arrived he found that many of the inhabitants had married outside of the covenant and were not keeping the commandments. He taught them from the scriptures.

Nehemiah served as governor in Jerusalem twice (445-433 BC and 432BC-??). He rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem so the city was properly protected. He was involved with a number of social and religious reforms including marriage within the covenant and Sabbath observance. Malachi prophesied around this time – approximately 430 BC.

Return from Babylon to Jerusalem

Return

Summary

Prophets of the Old Testament

Prophets of Israel and Judah

OT Seminary Teacher Manual p. 372

Elijah

Elisha

Amos

Hosea

Jonah

Obadiah*

Joel*

Isaiah

Micah

Nahum

Jeremiah

Zephaniah

Habakkuk

Ezekiel

Daniel

Haggai

Zechariah

Ezra

Nehemiah

Malachi

*Time of Ministry Uncertain

Return to OVERVIEW

End of Northern Kingdom

10 Lost tribes