3 Old Testament

8/4/2019 3 Old Testament

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Prepared by:Richard G. Pazcoguin UST-IR


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The wordtestamentmeansagreementorcovenant.

The Old Testament refers to the severalagreements made by God with His ChosenPeople, and in a special way, to thecovenant mediated by Moses throughwhom the laws of the Lord were given toIsrael.

The Old Testament is a collection of books ofdifferent literary genre, all expressing howthe Chosen People experienced the savingwork of God in their nations history.

The Old Testament is also known as theHebrew Scripturessince it

refers to the collective written tradition of the Israelites.


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The Old Testament is a collection of memories, a

record of faith experiences. It is partial account of the Sacred History of

Gods Chosen People.

Understanding the text presupposes belief that itis indeed God that speaks.

The Old Testament should be read by Christiansin the light of the New Testament.


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"the economy of the Old Testament wasdeliberately so oriented that it shouldprepare for and declare in prophecy thecoming of Christ, redeemer of all men.

Even though they contain mattersimperfect and provisional, the books ofthe Old Testament bear witness to thewhole divine pedagogy of God's savinglove: these writings "are a storehouse ofsublime teaching on God and of soundwisdom on human life, as well as awonderful treasury of prayers; in them,too, the mystery of our salvation ispresent in a hidden way.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 112

Dei Verbum 15


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The peoplepossesses a land

a king

a temple

Sacred Judean History (J)

Sacred History of the North (E)

ELIJAH AMOS HOSEA

To give meaning to

their lifethey go back totheir traditions

creation

patriarchs

ISAIAH MICAH JEREMIAH

SOUTHERN KINGDOM: JUDAH Jerusalem

NORTHERN KINGDOM: ISRAEL

721

AssyrianInvasion

BabylonianInvasion


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c. 1000BC David conquers Jerusalemand makes it Israels capital. Solomonorganized the Kingdom. During thistime, literature began. People wrotedown their memories of theirexperiences of God, in particular, theirliberation from Egypt. In an attempt togive meaning to their life by identifyingtheir origins, they then wrote about thepatriarchs, as well as the origins ofhumanity and the universe.

When Solomon died around 933BC, theKingdom was divided. The NorthernKingdom was called Israel, withSamaria as its capital, and the southernKingdom became Judah, withJerusalem as its capital.


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Judah remained faithful to Davids dynasty and thepeople regarded the King as the principle of unityand as Gods representative. They believed thatGod lived in their midst in the Temple. Isaiah andMicah were the prophets that preached inJudah.Their Sacred History is known as the Yahwist

Tradition (J). Israel broke out with Davids dynasty, therefore the

king did not enjoy as much religious importance asthe king of Judah. The prophets were regarded asGods representatives, defending the peoples faithfrom adulterations brought about by the Caananite

religion which revered the Baals. Elijah, Amos, andHosea were the prophets of the North. The SacredHistory of the North, which also began under Davidand Solomon, is called the Elohist Tradition (E).

In 721, Israel was invaded and destroyed by theAssyrians.

In 587, Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians,and the able men were brought to Babylon to work.


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EZEKIEL

II ISAIAH

SacredPriestlyHistory (P)

In 538Cyrusliberatesthe Jews

Reflection and the traditions

become BOOKS

EZRA. About 400brings together J,E,D,Pto form the LAWor PENTATEUCH

The scrolls of

the PROPHETSare composed

The reflectionsof the WISE MENculminates in variousmasterpieces

ALEXANDERconquers theMiddle East

167-164persecutionunder Seleucids

Age of Martyrs

ROME

expandsempire

DANIEL APOCALYPSES

This was the time of the formationof the three great groupsSADDUCEESPHARISEES

ESSENES


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The people of Judah were in exile in Babylon forhalf a century. During this era of suffering andwavering faith in God, the Prophet Ezekiel and adisciple of Isaiah exhorted the people by remindingthem of Gods power and faithfulness manifested

their past experiences. The priests presented onceagain to the people their traditions to help themfind meaning in their suffering. This developmentgave birth to what will later be known as thePriestly Tradition (P).

In 538, Cyrus of Persia freed the Jews. They settledin Palestine again. The sacred three sacred

histories together with Deuteronomy was compiledby a priest-scribe, Ezra, thus forming a uniquebook: the Torah or Law.

As wise men reflected over their faith-lifeexperiences, they wrote these down and theproducts were masterpieces like Job, Proverbs, and

Tobit.


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In 333 Alexander the Great conquered the MiddleEast and spread the Greek culture and language.

In 167, King Antiochus, a Syrian Seleucid successorof Alexander, forced the Jews to renounce theirfaith. He prohibited the observance of the Sabbath

rest and the practice of circumcision. Heabominated the temple by offering a pig, anunclean animal, on the altar. He martyred countlessIsraelites who chose to hold on their faith. Thecruelty of Antiochus prompted an uprising knownas the Maccabean revolt.

During the time of Syrian Seleucid rule, scriptureauthors wrote apocalypses: the coming of an endtime, the culmination of history which is Messianicage when God finally puts an end to the sufferingsof his people.

The Maccabean revolt was successful and gave theJews a century of self-rule. In 63C, Rome took over

the Middle East.


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a.k.a. -TORAHthe law-PENTATEUCHfive containers

The Torah is revered by theJews as the most sacred of allwritings. The Torah was atangible manifestation ofGods divine guidance in theirearthly pilgrimage.

This section is also calledPentateuch because it is made

up offive books:

GENESIS

EXODUS

LEVITICUS

NUMBERS

DEUTERONOMY


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The historical books tell the story ofthe chosen people as they strived tolive the provisions of their covenantwith God. Sadly, often they wereunfaithful to the covenant.Nonetheless, the historical bookshighlight the fidelity of God, who wasfirm in his conduct of justice butabounding in love and mercy despite

the peoples disobedience.

JOSHUA

JUDGES

RUTH

1 and 2 SAMUEL 1 and 2 KINGS 1 and 2

CHRONICLES

EZRA

NEHEMIAH

JUDITH

ESTHER

1 and 2

MACCABEES

TOBIT


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Prophecy is among the recognized

modes of revelation in Israel. TheProphets help the Israelites to seeevents as signs pointing towardsGod; they warn the people on theconsequences of their infidelity tothe covenant.

The Prophetic writings contain thefollowing themes:

1.Faithfulness to God2.Justice for the poor and the

oppressed

3.The coming of the Messiah

ISAIAH

JEREMIAH

+LAMENTATIONSBARUCH

EZEKIEL

DANIEL


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HOSEA

JOEL

AMOS

OBADIAH JONAH

MICAH

NAHUM

HABAKKUK

ZEPHANIAH

HAGGAI

ZECHARIAH

MALACHI
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.orthodox-cards.com/images/prophets/images/Pr_Habbakuk_jpg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.orthodox-cards.com/images/prophets/pages/Pr_Habbakuk_jpg.htm&h=257&w=180&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhabbakuk%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8


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As the Israelites reflected on humanlife in the light of their faith, they

composed prayers, poems, hymns,sayings, and parables which expresstheir religious insights on the life, aswell as on the different things thataffect humanity.

PSALMS

PROVERBS

SONG OF SONGS

ECCLESIASTES

JOB

WISDOM

SIRACH

(ECCLESIASTICUS)
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.wlb-stuttgart.de/bibel/21_ISAIA/0628_629.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/~www/referate/theologie/vusirach.html&h=1159&w=1699&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsirach%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8


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It should be noted that while we callthe first Testament Old, we do notmean that it is obsolete. Rather, weaffirm Gods first love for Israel: thatwhen God revealed himself to

humanity, his had to start with a grouppf people- the Israelites.

This love was eventually universalizedwith the coming of Christ who

mediates the new and everlastingcovenant. Hence, the New Testamentis the fulfillment of the Old. One wouldnot appreciate the fulfillment if onedoes not know the promise.


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THEO AERTS and BERNARD HURAULTTHE CATHOLIC BIBLE

Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2001

ETIENNE CHARPENTIERHOW TO READ THE OLD TESTAMENTQuezon City: Claretian Publications, 1997

IAN KNOX C.S.Sp.THEOLOGY FOR TEACHERSOttawa: Novalis Press, 1994

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

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3 Old Testament