Old Testament Today : A Journey from Original Meaning to Contemporary Significance

by John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill

• ISBN13: 9780310238263
• ISBN10: 0310238269
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-12-01
• Publisher: Harper & Collins

Summary

Proven three-tiered approach and a wealth of full-color images help readers connect the Old Testament with today's world. Old Testament Today is unique among Old Testament surveys. It not only provides an orientation to the world of the Old Testament but also builds a bridge between the original audience and modern readers, demonstrating why the ancient message is important for faith and life today. Old Testament Today goes beyond basic content to help students understand what the Scriptures mean and how to apply them personally. Similar to the acclaimed NIV Application Commentary, this text takes the reader section by section through the Old Testament using a progressive, three-step format: - Original Meaning presents the details of the content, focusing on the story line, historical background, and literary information that address the original setting and audience. - Bridging Contexts focuses on theological perspectives and on issues of the author's purpose and the universal message of the text, building a bridge between the original audience and today's audience. - Contemporary Significance develops an understanding of the relevance of the Old Testament writings to today's Christian, showing how they can be applied in personal faith and practice. The image-rich full-color design gives Old Testament Today a strong visual appeal. A wide array of charts, sidebars, illustrations, photos, and supplemental materials complement the body of the text, helping students to easily comprehend the literature, theology, and history of the Old Testament.

Author Biography

Andrew E. Hill is professor of Old Testament studies at Wheaton College, Illinois.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Tables	p. ix
The Design and Use of the Book	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Abbreviations	p. xx
Fundamentals
About the Old Testament	p. 2
The Big Story Line/Plotline	p. 3
Reorientation	p. 6
Expectations and Procedures	p. 8
Writing and Books	p. 19
Pentateuch
Original Meaning
Old Testament Story Line	p. 28
History Story Line	p. 41
Literary Perspective	p. 51
Bridging Contexts
Plotline of the Pentateuch	p. 67
Purpose of Each Book	p. 70
Dealing with Story	p. 83
Theological Perspectives	p. 86
Contrast: Religious Belief in the Ancient World	p. 102
Contemporary Significance
Scenario: Evolution and the Bible	p. 108
Recapitulation	p. 110
The Fall Today	p. 114
Significance of the Faith of Abraham	p. 115
Old Covenant/New Covenant	p. 117
What Are All of These Laws Doing in My Bible If the Law Is Obsolete?	p. 117
Scenario: Law	p. 118
Recapitulation	p. 120
What Does Sacred Space Mean to Me?	p. 121
A Sense of the Holy	p. 124
Historical Literature
Original Meaning
Old Testament Story Line	p. 136
World History Story Line	p. 155
Literary Perspective	p. 173
Bridging Contexts
Plotline of the Historical Literature	p. 180
Purpose of Each Book	p. 189
Understanding Historical Literature	p. 196
Pedestals and Role Models	p. 200
Theological Perspectives	p. 205
Contemporary Significance
History Seems Boring and Irrelevant to Me-Help!	p. 213
Scenario: Using Historical Literature Today	p. 216
Recapitulation	p. 217
How Can We View History Biblically?	p. 220
How Should We View the Bible Historically?	p. 224
Prophets
Original Meaning
Story Line of the Prophets in Their Times	p. 232
Literary Perspective	p. 237
Bridging Contexts
Purpose of Prophetic Books	p. 244
Prediction, Prophets, and God	p. 250
Fulfillment and Revelation	p. 252
Theological Perspectives	p. 254
Contemporary Significance
Scenario: Read Today's Headlines in the Bible	p. 264
Thinking about Prophecy	p. 265
Indictment Today	p. 267
Judgment Today	p. 274
Instruction Today	p. 275
Aftermath Today	p. 276
Recapitulation	p. 283
Wisdom Literature
Original Meaning
What Is Wisdom?	p. 283
Retribution Principle	p. 292
Story Line: Job	p. 293
Literary Perspective	p. 295
Bridging Contexts
Proverbs and Truth	p. 301
Purpose Book by Book	p. 305
Theological Perspectives	p. 316
Contemporary Significance
Scenario: Retribution Principle Today	p. 321
Recapitulation	p. 322
When Life Goes Wrong	p. 322
Seeking Fulfillment in Life	p. 327
Proverbs and the Family	p. 331
The Power of Sex	p. 335
Psalms
Original Meaning
Summary of Content	p. 343
Literary Perspective	p. 346
Bridging Contexts
Purpose: Kingship in Psalms	p. 355
Psalms as Revelation	p. 361
Theological Perspectives	p. 362
Contemporary Significance
Contemporary Worship and the Psalms	p. 371
What Do We Expect from God and What Does He Expect from Us?	p. 372
Scenario: Trusting God When He Doesn't Seem to Hear	p. 373
Recapitulation	p. 374
Devotional Use of Psalms	p. 377
Epilogue
Plotline of the Old Testament Continued to the New Testament	p. 382
How Do the Old and New Testaments Relate?	p. 384
Were Israelites "Saved"?	p. 388
Interpreting the Old Testament in Light of the New and the New in Light of the Old	p. 389
What Have We Learned?	p. 392
Overall Theme	p. 394
What to Do with It	p. 394
You Will Know That I Am Yahweh	p. 396
Appendix: Reading through the Old Testament	p. 398
Glossary	p. 401
Index	p. 405
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Old Testament Today Copyright © 2004 by John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Walton, John H., 1952– Old Testament today : a journey from original meaning to contemporary significance / John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-310-23826-9 1. Bible. O.T.—Textbooks. I. Hill, Andrew E. II. Title. BS1194.W33 2004 221.6'1—dc22 2003017823
This edition printed on acid-free paper.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.
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ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Old Testament can be considered a book, a part of a book, and a collection of books. It is a book to the extent that its parts form a single whole. This book is often referred to today as the Hebrew Bible because it constitutes the Scripture of the Jewish people.As history progressed and Jesus Christ came, taught, died, and rose again, a whole new round of Scripture was formed to document the life of Christ and the rise of the church and to explore the theological and practical implications of what Christ had done.This New Testament was joined with the Old to become the Christian Bible, and so the Old Testament has become part of that book.
We also understand that the Old Testament is a collection of books—thirty-nine books by various authors written over the span of a millennium. These books share a common religious perspective, but they vary widely in the types of literature they represent and the functions they serve. In the pages of these books the reader will find consideration of origins, tribal and national histories, collections of laws, collections of poetry, philosophical discussions, and prophetic sermons. But in all of these and through all of these, the reader will find theology—or, more appropriately put, God. Though the genres (types of literature) may vary, each is theological throughout. So, for instance, the discussion of origins is not about science; it is about God. The presentation of history is not concerned with facts or events in themselves; it is concerned with God’s role. And perhaps most important, rather than simply being human thoughts and opinions about God, the Old Testament is God’s presentation of himself, that is, his self-revelation.
THE BIG STORY LINE/PLOTLINE
God made the world operational and put people into it. Adam and Eve disobeyed his command, resulting in their being driven from the Garden of Eden. Thus begins the story of dislocation. Over time the “Eden Problem,” sin, became so pervasive that God sent a flood to destroy all but Noah and his family. The Tower of Babel represents the next step as people imagined that God had needs and saw themselves as providing the way for God to come down and have his needs met. This misperception of God can be called the “Babel Problem.” Consequently, God chose Abraham to be the ancestor of a chosen people through whom he would reveal himself and correct the distortion represented at Babel. He brought Abraham to the land of Canaan, where his family lived on the brink of extinction for three generations before going down to Egypt. There they lived for more than four hundred years and became a large nation. God brought them out of great oppression in Egypt, and they began their journey back to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. After stopping at Mount Sinai, where Moses received the law—God’s next phase in revealing himself—they were waylaid in the wilderness for a generation because they lacked the faith to let God lead them into the land.
Under the command of Joshua, the Israelites returned to the land and, in a series of battles, God won them control of the land. Joshua divided the land among the tribes, and they began to settle in. Over the next several centuries, known as the period of the judges, there was no king. Each tribe had its own tribal leadership, but they constantly fell prey to the surrounding nations.God allowed this because of the failure of the Israelites to be faithful to God in their beliefs.
Finally, the people initiated a move to a monarchy form of government. The first attempt, in which Saul was crowned king, failed because of unrealistic and theologically misguided expectations of the king and his role. At his death, Israel was just as bad off politically and spiritually as when he came to the throne. The second attempt was more successful. David was chosen by the Lord to be king, his dynasty became established through a covenant with the Lord, and Jerusalem was made the capital city. As the empire of David expanded, Israel finally came into control of the land that had been promised to Abraham nearly a millennium earlier. He successfully passed this empire to his son Solomon, but Solomon’s misjudgments and excesses in both political and theological terms eroded the empire as well as the support of the people. After Solomon’s death in 931 BC, his son Rehoboam retained control of only a small section of the kingdom from Jerusalem south, while God gave a new dynasty control of the much larger northern kingdom. The southern kingdom was now designated “Judah,” and the northern kingdom, under Jeroboam,was designated Israel.
For just over two hundred years, this situation continued. The Davidic dynasty remained in control in Judah, while the northern kingdom, Israel, experienced a series of dynastic lines. When the Assyrians extended their control across the ancient world in the middle of the eighth century, Israel joined a coalition against the Assyrians and eventually lost the war. The capital city, Samaria, was destroyed in 722 BC, and the northern kingdom was assimilated into the Assyrian Empire. Judah remained an independent nation but was for the most part under Assyrian control. During this time there were kings who were faithful to the Lord (such as Hezekiah), but for the middle fifty-five years, Manasseh forged a regime that accepted not only Assyrian rule, but foreign religious practice as well. The Assyrian Empire lasted for another century until it weakened and was taken over by the Medes and the Babylonians.
Already as the Assyrian Empire receded, the prophetic voices in Judah, such as Jeremiah, were calling on the people to return to the Lord and were warning of impending doom at the hands of the Babylonians. The Assyrian Empire breathed its last gasp in the fall of Carchemish in 605 BC, and the Babylonians began to exert their control into Judah.

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Excerpted from Old Testament Today: A Journey from Original Meaning to Contemporary Significance by John H. Walton, Andrew E. Hill, Walton
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