A Survey of the Old Testament - Textbook Plus - Zondervan

A Survey of the Old Testament
Copyright © 1991, 2000, 2009 by Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan Publishing House
Grand Rapids, MI 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Hill, Andrew E.
A survey of the Old Testament / Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton.
p. cm.
Third ed.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN13: 978-0 – 310 – 28095-8
ISBN 10: 0-310-28095-8
1. Bible. O.T. — Introductions. I. Walton, John H., 1952 – II. Title.
BS1140.2.H54 2000
221.6’1 — dc21 00 – 020057
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION (North American Edition). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by the International Bible Society. Used by
permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for
brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Maps by International Mapping
Interior design by Matthew Van Zomeren
Printed in the United States of America
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CONTENTS
Abbreviations 9
Preface 11
Image Sources 14
Acknowledgments 15
Using This Book 17
Part I: Introduction
1. Approaching the Old Testament JHW 20
2. Geography of the Old Testament AEH 34
Part II: The Pentateuch
3. Introduction to the Pentateuch AEH 56
4. Genesis JHW 76
5. Exodus AEH 100
6. Leviticus AEH 124
7. Numbers AEH 142
8. Deuteronomy JHW 162
9. Historical Overview of Old Testament Times JHW 180
Part III: The Historical Books
10. Introduction to the Historical Books JHW 204
11. Joshua JHW 216
12. Judges JHW 234
13. Ruth JHW 248
14. 1 – 2 Sam uel JHW 256
15. 1 – 2 Kings AEH 278
16. 1 – 2 Chron icles AEH 308
17. Ezra – Nehemiah AEH 328
18. Esther JHW 346
19. Archaeology and the Old Testament 356
Part IV: The Poetic Books
20. Hebrew Poetic and Wisdom Literature AEH 374
21. Job JHW 400
22. Psalms JHW 418
23. Proverbs AEH 440
24. Ecclesiastes JHW 454
25. Song of Songs AEH 466
26. Formation of the Old Testament Scriptures 480
7

8
Part V: The Prophets
27. Introduction to Prophetic Literature JHW 502
28. Isaiah JHW 518
29. Jeremiah JHW 532
30. Lamentations AEH 542
31. Ezekiel AEH 552
32. Daniel JHW 566
33. Hosea AEH 580
34. Joel JHW 594
35. Amos AEH 604
36. Obadiah AEH 618
37. Jonah JHW 628
38. Micah JHW 640
39. Nahum JHW 650
40. Habakkuk JHW 658
41. Zephaniah JHW 668
42. Haggai AEH 676
43. Zechariah AEH 686
44. Malachi AEH 700
Part VI: Epilogue
45. What We Have Learned JHW 714
46. Responding to God AEH 728
47. The Journey to Jesus AEH 742
Appendix A: Critical Methodologies 753
Appendix B: The Composition of the Pentateuch 761
Glossary 770
Index 775

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APPROACHING
THE OLD TESTAMENT
Studying the Old Testament is a monumental task, but proper
preparation can help the student to reap a rich harvest. The
sovereign God who created the universe, who controls history,
and who will accomplish his plan in his time has chosen to
speak. That in itself is an act of grace, and we should feel compelled
to listen. However, listening may be hindered by many complicating
factors. First, God’s revelation did not come in the English
language or through Western culture. As a result, we may have to
work harder to receive the message clearly. The more familiar students
can become with ancient Near Eastern culture, particularly
that of Israel during the Old Testament period, the more barriers
they can eliminate.
A second complicating factor is that even when we are listening,
we have a tendency either to be selective about what we hear
or to try to make the message conform to what we want to hear.
The solution to this is to allow the Bible to speak for itself. We all
have assumptions about the Bible. These need to be constantly
evaluated and refined lest they distort the teaching of the Bible.
The objectives of the biblical authors must not be subordinated to
our own objectives, however worthy the latter may be. There are
many valuable things to be learned from the Old Testament, but
not all are things that the Old Testament is trying to teach. If students
desire to reap authoritative teaching from the text, they must
learn to discern what the text is teaching rather than superimposing
their own ideas on it. When the Bible is allowed to speak from
its own vantage point and with its own agenda, the reader can be
more open to learn what it is intending to teach.
Self-Revelation
As God’s self-revelation, the objective of the Old Testament is that
the reader comes to know God better. This process, however, is
not intended to be merely cognitive. In addition, knowing God
is accomplished by experiencing his attributes. Being able to list
God’s attributes is but a first step. What must be achieved is that
his attributes become the framework of our worldview. By this we
mean that our perspective on ourselves, our society, our world,
21

22 A SURVEY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT approaching the old testament
“There the angel of the
LORD appeared to him in
flames of fire from within a
bush. Moses saw that
though the bush was on
fire it did not burn up”
(Exod. 3:2). This was a
significant step in God’s
program of revelation. The
picture is found in the
Golden Hagada, an
illustrated Hebrew Bible
manuscript from Spain
dating to AD 1320.
our history, our conduct, our decisions — everything — should be knit
together by an informed and integrated view of God. The Old Testament’s
objective is not transformed lives, though knowing God should
transform one’s life. The Old Testament’s objective is not the adoption of
a value system, though a value system would certainly be one outcome
of knowing God in a real way. The Old Testament is not a repository
of historical role models, dusty hymns, and obscure prophetic sayings,
but God’s invitation to hear his story.
This story of God begins with creation. The emphasis, however, is
not on how the world began, but on how the plan began. Everything
was just right for the execution of God’s plan. In that sense, creation is
simply the introduction to history. God’s sovereignty is initially assured
by the fact that he created. While this cannot help but deny any claim
to sovereignty by other deities, its intention is not to provide polemic
against the pagan polytheism of the day. Rather than taking a negative
approach that denounces and refutes other deities, the Old Testament
takes the positive approach of telling what the one true God is like and
what he has done.
As history begins, it will be observed that the Old Testament is
concerned with political or social aspects of history only in a secondary
way. The primary interest of this history is how God has revealed
himself to people in the past. One reflection of this can be found in
the names of God that permeate the pages
oof
Scripture. These names portray him as a
GGod
who is holy, almighty, most high, and
tthe
one who has caused everything to be.
YYet
he is also a God who hears, sees, and
pprovides.
The habitual rebellion and fee-
bblemindedness
of humankind shows him
bby
contrast a God of patience and grace.
Just as creation flows into history, so
hhistory
flows into prophecy. God’s plan was
iinitiated
in the beginning, was worked out
tthrough
history, and will continue until
aall
is accomplished. By seeing God’s plan
wworked
out in the past (the Pentateuch and
tthe
historical books) and projected into the
fu future (prophetic literature), we can begin
to
appreciate the unfathomable wisdom of
GGod,
who is worthy of praise and worship
( (Psalms and wisdom literature). The Old
TTestament,
then, should be viewed as a pre-
ssentation
of God’s attributes in action. We
ccan
know who God is and what he is like
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A PPROA CHING THE OLD TESTA MENT A SURVEY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 23
by hearing what he has done and intends to do. Once we know who he
is and what he is like, the appropriate responses are worship, commitment,
and ser vice.
The Plan: God with Us
What is this plan that spans the scope of creation, history, and prophecy?
We find it communicated throughout the pages of the Bible.
God’s plan from the beginning was to create a people among whom
he could dwell and with whom he could be in relationship. We should
not suppose that he needed either a place to live or that he had some
psychological need for companionship. His plan emerges naturally as
an initiative that expresses his character as a creative, relational, and
gracious being.
This plan is reflected in the initial setting of Eden, where God’s
presence existed in what we might call a cosmic temple, and people
were placed in the garden to be near him and to have the opportunity
to come to know him. The plan was upset by the disobedience
that we call the fall, by which sin entered the picture. Consequently,
relationship with God was disrupted and the privilege of being in
the presence of God was forfeited as the first couple was driven out
of the garden.
The rest of the Bible is the account of God’s program to restore his
presence to his people and provide means for them to be able to be in
relationship with him again. We can offer a brief overview by identifying
the seven stages of God’s presence.
Stages of God’s Presence
1. Eden
2. Covenant
3. Exodus (Bush/Sinai)
4. Tabernacle/Temple
5. Incarnation (Immanuel)
6. Pentecost
7. New Creation
In the account of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1 – 9) we find the
people undertaking a project that endeavored to reestablish God’s
presence on earth. The tower was provided as a means for God to
come down and take up his residence in their city and be worshiped.
Unfortunately, their concept of God was flawed and when God came
down, he was not pleased with the underlying premise of this initiative.
His own initiative is introduced in the next chapter of Genesis
as he begins to form a covenant with Abram as a means by which he

24 A SURVEY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT approaching the old testament
can reveal himself to the world (explained in the next section). He
chooses one family with whom he develops a relationship and among
whom he will come to dwell. This second stage is the first step of the
reclamation project.
God’s presence reaches a new level as he appears in the burning
bush to Moses and reveals his name (= his character/nature) and the
next step of his plan. His presence is made known through the plagues,
evident temporarily in the pillar of cloud and fire, and settles on the
top of Mt. Sinai, where he reveals how his people can be in relationship
with him (the law) and how they can preserve his presence (the rituals
and other instructions regarding the tabernacle).
In the next stage God actually initiates a means by which his presence
can be established on earth. The Tabernacle is a place of God’s
dwelling, and by keeping the law and observing rules of purity, the
people can enjoy relationship with the God who has come among them.
This stage of God’s presence is extended eventually into the Temple
built by Solomon and lasts through the remainder of the Old Testament.
A serious setback is suffered when the rebellion of the Israelites
finally causes God’s presence to leave the temple allowing it to be
destroyed (in Jeremiah and Ezekiel). The covenant benefits are lost as
the Israelites are exiled from the promised land and their relationship
with God hangs in the balance.
Though they return to the land and the temple is rebuilt, the next
stage of God’s presence comes in the pages of the New Testament as
God sends his Son, Jesus, to be present in human flesh (the incarnation)
and take up his residence with us (Immanuel, God with us) as
sort of a human tabernacle (John 1:14). It is through Christ that God’s
presence thus becomes available in a whole new way and also through
him that relationship is made available at a whole new level, with the
penalty of sin being paid, and a permanent mechanism for relationship
being made available.
Though Christ ascended to heaven after the resurrection, he had
promised that his presence would not be taken from us, but that a
Comforter would be sent. Thus the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
marks the beginning of yet another stage in the availability of
God’s presence, now within his people, and a relationship based on the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Consequently God’s people become the
location of God’s presence both individually (1 Cor. 6:19) and corporately
(1 Cor. 3:16). The veil is torn that restricted access to God’s presence
(Eph. 2) and relationship is available to all who seek it.
The final stage is yet to come. It is described in Revelation 21:3,
“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.
They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God.”

A PPROA CHING THE OLD TESTA MENT A SURVEY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 25
The Covenant
At the core of this self-revelation, delineating the plan of God, is the
covenant. Even the English designation “Old Testament” indicates that
the covenant is the core concept of this collection of books (testament
= covenant). Through
the covenant God both
reveals what he is like and
obliges himself to a particular
course of action.
His loyalty (Heb. h.esed )
to the covenant frequently
leads him to acts of grace
and mercy, but justice is
also built into the covenant
to ensure accountability
by his people.
Since the covenant is
the instrument used by
God to effect self-revelation,
the Old Testament
often appears to be the
history of the covenant,
or of aspects of it, more
than a history of Israel. So
Genesis 12 – 50 is a history
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of the establishment of the Abrahamic covenant. Exodus – Deuteronomy
is a history of the establishment of the Mosaic covenant at Sinai.
Joshua is a record of God’s faithfulness to the covenant, while Judges is
a record of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant. The books of Samuel
and Kings are a history of the covenant of kingship (the Davidic covenant).
It is the covenant as God’s plan that is more in focus than the
people who are involved generation after generation.
Several different approaches to the Old Testament are distinguished
from one another by the way each understands the covenant idea and
the relationship of the covenants to one another. Are there many different
covenants that independently govern periods of history, or are there
just one or two governing covenants that have other sub-covenants to
offer expansion and explanation? Is there a single unconditional covenant
that contains conditional covenants within it, or is the whole a
conditional covenant?
These are the questions that, answered different ways by different
scholars, define the theological controversies about the Old Testament,
its relationship to the New Testament, and its relevance to us today.
“Raise your staff and
stretch out your hand over
the sea to divide the water
so that the Israelites can go
through the sea on dry
ground” (Exod. 14:16).
Israel always looked back
on this event as one in
which God revealed
himself through his actions
of deliverance. The
crossing of the Red Sea is
depicted in this illustration
from the Sarajevo Hagada,
an illustrated Hebrew Bible
manuscript from Spain in
the 14th century AD.