Issues for Engagement

1. Engaging the Old
Testament
1

2.
What Is the Old Testament
and Why Study It?
• Canon: What is the Bible?
• Inspiration: How Was the Bible
Written?
• Textual Transmission: How Did We
Get the Bible?
• Hermeneutics: How Do We
Interpret the Bible?
The Yorck Project / Wikimedia Commons

5. Old Testament
Classification: ENGLISH
• Law
• History
• Poetry and Wisdom
• Major Prophets
• Minor Prophets

6. Old Testament Classification: HEBREW
• Torah
• Former Prophets
• Latter Prophets
• The Writings

7. 1. Canon: What is the
Bible?
• Hebrew — qaneh; Greek — kanon — a reed or
measuring stick
• It’s the “standard” for faith and practice.

9. Tests for Canon
1. Written by a prophet or other Spirit-led person
2. Written to all generations — (relevant to all
people throughout all time) — written for vs.
written to
3. Written in accord with previous revelation

10. The Council of Jamnia (ca.
AD 90)

11. 2. Inspiration: How Was
the Bible Written?

12. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in
righteousness; so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work.
See also — 2 Peter 1:20-21

13. Inspiration
• Divine inspiration allowed for human personality
to play a role.
• Implications — First — It means that the Bible is
trustworthy.
• Second — It means the Bible is authoritative

14. 3. Transmission: How Did
We Get the Bible?

15. Old Testament Texts
• Masoretic Text
• Samaritan Pentateuch
• Dead Sea Scrolls
• Septuagint
• Targums

16. “Scribes”
• Scribe — “counter”
• Torah — 400,945 letters.
• Torah — Middle word “inquired” (Leviticus
10:16)
• Torah — Middle letter in the Hebrew word
for “belly” in Leviticus 11:42

17. “Scribes”
• Hebrew
• Aramaic — Genesis 31:47b; Ezra 4:8-6:18;
7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11b; Daniel 2:4b-7:28

18. Semitic Languages
• Ammonite
• Ugaritic
• Amorite
• Aramaic
• Hebrew
• Phoenician
• Akkadian
• Moabite
• Arabic

20. 4. Hermeneutics: How Do
We Interpret the Bible?

21. Hermeneutics Guidelines
• Use the grammatical-historical method
• Understand the context
• Determine the type of literature
• Interpret figurative language
• Let Scripture interpret Scripture
• Discover the application to modern life