Old Testament - General

1. Old Testament - General What are the FOUR major divisions of the current OT? What are the THREE major divisions of the Hebrew OT? What was the language of the OT? What is the Septuagint LXX? What is the meaning of “canon” in reference to the Bible? What are the Deutero-canonical Books?

2. The Books of the O.T. The Five Books of Moses – The Law – The Torah Genesis The beginnings (the primeval history) Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph Exodus Salvation – Israel in Egypt, Wilderness & Sinai Passover – Covenant – Law – Tabernacle Leviticus Sanctification – Be Holy for I AM HOLY 5 Sacrifices – Feasts – Purifications Numbers In the Wilderness – Trip to the Promised Land Deuteronomy Commitment 3 Sermons by Moses The Historical Books Joshua – Judges – Ruth I & II Samuel – I & II Kings – I & II Chronicles Ezra – Nehemiah – Esther

3. The Books of the O.T. Poetical Books – Wisdom Books Job Mystery of Suffering Psalms Life of Praise Proverbs Victory of Wisdom Ecclesiastes Illusion of the worldly desires Song of Songs Union with Christ Prophets Major Isaiah – Jeremiah – Lamentation – Ezekiel – Daniel Minor Hosea– Joel –Amos–Obadiah – Jonah–MicahNahum–Habakkuk – ZephaniahHaggai–Zechariah–Malachi

4. The Divisions of the Hebrew O.T. Traditionally 24 books arranged in 3 divisions: Torah – ‘law’ The 5 books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Nebiim – ‘prophets’ The 4 Former Prophets – Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings The 4 Latter Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Book of the Twelve Prophets Ketubim – ‘writings’ Psalms, Proverbs, Job Megillot – ‘scrolls’: Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentation, Ecclesiastes, Esther Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles The 24 are identical to the 39 of the generally used OT The Lord Jesus and the Apostles used “the scripture” in the debate – reference to the entire Hebrew canon (e.g. Luke 11:50) and the 3 divisions (Luke 24:44)

5. Hebrew – some Aramaic (in Daniel) • The SeptuagintLXX – Latin word for 70 • The Greek translation done in Alexandria in c. 300 B.C. • Quickly became the Bible of the Jews outside Palestine and the early Church • The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible by St. Jerome The Language of the O.T.

6. The Talmudists (A.D. 100-500) • Followed very elaborate regulations in transcribing synagogue scrolls • The Massoretic Period (A.D. 500-900) • From Massora (Tradition) – were well disciplined and devised a complicated system of safeguards against scribal slips Textual Transmission

7. The Dead Sea scrolls consist of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the WadiQumran near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include some of the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 BC and preserve evidence of late Second Temple Judaism. They are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, mostly on parchment, but with some written on papyrus. These manuscripts generally date between 150 BC to 70 AD. The scrolls are most commonly identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes. The Dead Sea Scrolls are traditionally divided into three groups: "Biblical" manuscripts (copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 40% of the identified scrolls; "Apocryphal" or "Pseudepigraphical" manuscripts (known documents from the Second Temple Period like Enoch, Jubilees, Tobit, Sirach, non-canonical psalms, etc., that were not ultimately canonized in the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls; and "Sectarian" manuscripts (previously unknown documents that speak to the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism) like the Community Rule, War Scroll, Pesher (Hebrew pesherפשר = "Commentary") on Habakkuk, and the Rule of the Blessing, which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls.

8. The Canon From Greek “kanon” meaning reed or cane. It also means rule or measure. In case of the Bible, it refers to the list of books accepted as Holy Scripture: the Canonical Books.

9. Deutro-Canonical Books Tobit Judith Cont. of Esther Chapter 10 - 16 Wisdom of Solomon Joshua Son of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) Baruch Epistle of Jeremiah Cont. of Daniel Ch. 3 (cont.) & Ch. 13-14 I, II & III Maccabees Esdras Psalm 151 Psalms Prayer of Manasseh Kings

10. The Catholic deuterocanonical scriptural texts are: • Tobit • Judith • Additions to Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4-16:24) • Wisdom • Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) • Baruch, including the Letter of Jeremiah (Additions to Jeremiah in the Septuagint) • Additions to Daniel: • Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children (Vulgate Daniel 3:24-90) • Susanna (Vulgate Daniel 13, Septuagint prologue) • Bel and the Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14, Septuagint epilogue) • 1 Maccabees • 2 Maccabees The Eastern Orthodox books included in the Old Testament are the seven deuterocanonical books listed above, plus 3 Maccabees and 1 Esdras (also included in the Clementine Vulgate), while Baruch is divided from the Epistle of Jeremiah, making a total of 49 Old Testament books in contrast with the Protestant 39-book canon Other texts printed in Orthodox Bibles are considered of some value (like the additional Psalm 151, and the Prayer of Manasses) or are included as an appendix (like the Greek 4 Maccabees, and the Slavonic 2 Esdras).

11. Time Line Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

16. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

17. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

18. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

21. Old Testament - General What are the FOUR major divisions of the current OT? Low (Pentateuch / The Five Books), History Books, Poetical Books, Prophets (Major & Minor) What are the THREE major divisions of the Hebrew OT? Torah (Law / Moses), Prophets, Writings (Psalms) What was the language of the OT? Hebrew – some Aramaic (in the Book of Daniel) What is the Septuagint LXX? The Greek translation of the OT (c. 300 B.C.) What is the meaning of “canon” in reference to the Bible? It means rule or standard and it refers to the list of books accepted as Holy Scripture (the Canonical Books) What are the Deutero-canonical Books? Books found in the Greek translation but not in the Hebrew version of the OT and are accepted by the Orthodox and Catholic churches.