What concepts are discussed in BOTH the Old Testament AND the New Testament?

What concepts are discussed in BOTH the Old Testament AND the New Testament?

It wasn’t really silent. There was a lot going on.

Tabernacle (1500 BC)

Solomon’s Temple (1000 BC)

First Temple destroyed (586 BC)

2nd Temple Rebuilt (538 BC)

2nd Temple Destroyed (AD 70)

Tabernacle (1500 BC)

Solomon’s Temple (1000 BC)

First Temple destroyed (586 BC)

2nd Temple Rebuilt (538 BC)

2nd Temple Destroyed (AD 70)

2nd Temple Judaism

What is the Bible? Part 3

(400 Years of Silence)

It wasn’t really silent. There was a lot going on.

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) came together in its final collection during this “400 years of Silence.”

Torah

Nevi’im

Ketuvim

“Teachings”

“Prophets”

“Writings”

Genesis

• “Beginnings”

Exodus

• “Names”

Leviticus

• “And He called”

Numbers

• “In the Wilderness”

Deuteronomy

• “Words”

TaNaKh

The Hebrew Scriptures

Joshua

Judges

Samuel

Kings

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

The Twelve

• All written on a single scroll and regarded as one book

Psalms, Proverbs, Job

Song of Songs

Ruth

Lamentations

Ecclesiastes

Esther

Daniel

Ezra/Nehemiah

Chronicles

Former

Prophets

Latter

Prophets

What concepts are discussed in BOTH the Old Testament AND the New Testament?

What concepts are discussed in BOTH the Old Testament AND the New Testament?

“In order to understand Jesus and his message, we have to have a basic understanding of first-century Judaism. To gain that understanding, reading the Old Testament alone is not enough. Jesus did not emerge from the Old Testament, he emerged from the Judaism of his time” (9).

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“The Bible does not contain all the literature that has come down to us from ancient Israel. In fact, the books of the Old Testament only represent a portion of the vast library of ancient Jewish texts that were in circulation at the time of Jesus. There are many ancient Jewish books outside the Bible that were copied and read in antiquity, and some of them were rather popular in early Christian circles” (9-10).

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“Such topics include the expectation of a messiah, a divine agent who will come at the end of time to bring about the restoration of Israel; an interest in cosmology, demons, and unclean spirits; a focus on the Torah as the rule book that defines Jewish practice and identity; a concern about what will happen to humans after we die; and the hope for the resurrection of the dead and the afterlife.

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“(again, we would expect the Old Testament to be filled with texts that talk about life after death, but for some reason the biblical authors stopped short of speculating about what will happen to us after we die)” (47).

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Captured by Assyria 722

Captured by Babylon 586

Because of the sins and rebellion of the Jewish people both the Northern and the Southern kingdoms were captured.

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The Jewish Temple, located in Jerusalem (in the south) was destroyed in 586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon.

Solomon’s Temple (1000 BC) - 1st Temple

Jewish exiles in Babylon returned to Jerusalem following a decree from Cyrus the Great to rebuild it in 515 BC by Zurababbel.

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The Rebuilt 2nd Temple (515 BC)

Alex the Great

332 BC

The Persians controlled the land of Israel for nearly 200 years until a young Alexander the Great (in 322 BC) conquered the known world spreading his Greek culture, called Hellenization.

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Hellenization refers to the spread of Greek language, culture, religion, and politics, beginning with Alexander the Great in 332 BC. Under Greek rule, Greek became the dominant language, and its customs and beliefs were widely adopted.

For Jews, the challenge was not whether to adopt Hellenistic influences but how much to integrate while maintaining their Jewish identity. Hellenistic Judaism sought to balance cultural adaptation with religious faithfulness, incorporating compatible aspects of Greek culture without compromising core Jewish beliefs (10).

All of the Jewish kids growing up in Hellenized Israel took a look at the Hebrew and said, “It’s all Greek to me!”

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So they needed a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek.

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What was that called?

The Septuagint (LXX=70) was translated and written in Alexandria, Egypt.

• Tobit (225-175 BC)
• Judith (100 BC)
• Baruch (200-100 BC)
• Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) (200-175 BC)
• Wisdom of Solomon (50 BC)
• 1, 2, 3, 4 Maccabees (150-100 BC)
• 1 and 2 Esdras (a variation of Ezra-Nehemiah)
• The Prayer of Manasseh
• Psalm 151
• Additions to Esther, Daniel, and Jeremiah.

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They are also called Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical (second canon) books

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Additional books in the LXX

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“The so-called Apocrypha, from the Greek apokryphos for "hidden," refers to a number of books written by Jewish authors that were widely read by Jews and Christians, but were regarded as of questionable authorship or having dubious origins. This is why Jews omitted them from their canon and why Christians eventually assigned them secondary status” (13).

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Early church writers (apostolic fathers) such as Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Origen often cited these books as Scripture or used them in their theological arguments.

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But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Jude 1:9

Jewish

Scriptures

24 books

In Hebrew

Protestant

Eng. Bibles

OT=39 bks

From Hebrew

NT=27

Catholic

Bible

OT=46 bks

From LXX

NT=27

Gk Orthodox

Bible

OT=49 bks

From LXX

NT=27

“Fun fact, the King James Version (KJV) originally included the Old Testament, New Testament, and Apocrypha, and it was not until the 1880s that Bible societies began to omit the Apocrypha from printings of the KJV” (14).

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Some Protestant Bibles include these books between the OT and NT.

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“If you want to understand the historical period between Malachi and Matthew, then you should make a concerted effort to read the history, wisdom literature, and apocalyptic hopes contained in this body of writings. The books called by us ‘apocrypha’ were widely read and used by Christians in the early centuries and only gradually were divided away from the Old and New Testaments. The Apocrypha provides a glimpse into the world of Second Temple Judaism and the backdrop to the New Testament period” (17).

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Since the Jewish temple was destroyed in 586, the synagogues arose and became centers of religious life and teaching for all Jews, including Jesus and the apostles who used it to teach and spread the Good News of the Kingdom which was that God’s reign on earth had arrived through Jesus Christ. They estimate that there were hundreds, if not thousands, during the time of Jesus.

The Remodeled Synagogue (4/5th century) from Capernaum (which was built on top of the one Jesus frequented often in 1st century).

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"They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach" (Mark 1:21).

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The Rise of Jewish Sects

each interpreting Judaism Differently

Sadducees Controlled the Temple and priesthood. They rejected oral tradition and the resurrection, focusing on the written Torah.

Pharisees

Strictly followed the Torah & oral tradition. Believed in the resurrection of the dead. Influential among the commoners.

Essenes

A separatist group that withdrew to the desert (e.g., Qumran community) to live in purity and await God’s intervention.

Zealots Advocated armed resistance to Roman rule, seeking to restore Israel’s independence.

What is the Bible? Part 3

(400 Years of Silence)

Sleep. Creep. Leap

Just because you don’t see anything happening, doesn’t mean that it’s not.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

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John 15:1-4

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7