- HOW DID WE GET THE BIBLE?
CHAPTER 3
OLD TESTAMENT
THE BOOKS OF HISTORY
There are those who ask the question that "If the Bible is so great, why don't more people study it?", one can then ask them the questions "If the Bible is just another book, why do officials burn Bibles rather than other books?" or "If the Bible is just another book, why do people pay as much as a week's pay to get one?" or even "Why is it on the Black Market?", but the Bible itself answers their question(How We Got Our Bible-Willeford). We read in the Books of History why people reject God's Word. The Books of Poetry tell of the foolish who reject God. The Prophets cry out against those who turn away from God. It's truly ironic that Voltaire said during his day that within one hundred years there would be no more Bibles, yet after his death his house was used to store and sell Bibles(Ripley's Believe It Or Not).
BOOKS OF HISTORY
The Hebrew or "Rabbinic" Bible divides itself into three sections: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings(Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible). The twelve books of History fit into the Writings section. The Targum, the Hebrew/Aramaic translations from about the second or third century B.C., includes these books(Isaac Asimov's Commentary On The Bible). The books cover a period of about one thousand years, from Joshua to the captivity and the return of the Jewish people to the land of Judah(Understanding the Old Testament).
Someone may ask "Why study the past?", concerning these books, but just like all the books of the Bible, they are important for our learning(Romans 15:4). The Israelite people forgot the lessons from the past(The Heart Of Hebrew History), that the parents were commanded to study as a family with their children(Deuteronomy 6:2,21), and God punished them for their lack of knowledge(Hosea 4:6). We know that Christ was at the beginning of creation(John 1:1-5), and that the words spoken by the Lord in the beginning will continue(Luke 21:33). Paul reminds us to study(Second Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17). Many events are known, and not because scientists have discovered them, but because historians carefully recorded the information for posterity[for the future](Archaeology And Bible History). History supports the existence of many Old Testament characters, from the patriarchs such as Abraham and Joseph, to such Kings as Saul and Solomon(Pharoahs And Kings: A Biblical Quest). The Bible is "After all, a very important Historical document" that is "written as an eyewitness of creation, revealed by the very embodiment of Truth Himself, in which the historical beginnings of this world are simply and tersely described"(Who Could Believe Such A Story?).
JOSHUA- Means "He shall save"(Clarke's Commentary), changed by Moses(Numbers 13:16). As mentioned concerning Moses, there is some doubt as to whether Joshua wrote this book, referring to the terms "remaining to this day"(Joshua 4:9). As to the time it was written, we know it was before David(15:63), so some think it might have been Samuel(The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia). However, looking at the book, we see it had to be Joshua, or an eyewitness(Joshua 24:26). Since we know Moses predicted his own death (Deuteronomy 32:48-52), we can say that a God-inspired Joshua could also have predicted his own death(Nave's Topical Bible). Scholars believe that the book was written about 1400 B.C., give or take 50 years(Reference For Ready Growing Christians).
The book was designed to be a continuation of Deuteronomy, since it starts with the death of Moses(Joshua 1:1). The book of Joshua stretches over a period of more than twenty years ending with Joshua's death(Who's Who In The Old Testament). Historians support the events mentioned in Joshua, including the crossing of the Jordan river(Joshua 3:15-17), but stating it as some natural phenomena. In 1927, an earthquake dammed up the Jordan river and the river didn't flow for twenty-one hours, so historians claim the same happened to the Jewish people during their crossing(The Exodus Enigma). However, historians don't take into account that the Israelites walked on dry ground and not mud(Joshua 3:17). Historians also agree to the battle of Jericho[about 1,400 B.C.] ("Who Wrote The Bible?"U.S. News And World Report), but think that an earthquake caused the walls to fall down(Isaac Asimov's Commentary To The Bible). It was argued that Rahab's house couldn't have been built on the wall, until archaeologists found at Jericho evidence of homes on a wall because it was very wide(Modern Discovery And The Bible). Secular[worldly] evidence points to other conquests in the land of Canaan, such as Ai, Bethel, and Hazor(The Exodus Enigma). Such discoveries prompted an archeologist to say "they are digging up Bible stories!"(The Bible: The Inspired Book)
JUDGES- This book is designed to be a continuation of the book of Joshua(Judges 1:1). Many scholars agree that Samuel was the writer of this book because of several statements made in Judges, including "in those days Israel had no king"(19:1). The writing is before David(1:21). The book was believed to have been written at the beginning of the Iron Age(1:19), or approximately 1100 B.C., give or take 50 years(Reference For Ready Growing Christians). Scholars disagree as to the exact dating, because scientific dating measures are somewhat inaccurate, and so historians say that Judges covers a period of between 200 and 500 years(Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible). Rock dating has shown a single rock with a known date of a hundred years, to be tested and found to be anywhere from 6,000 to 26 Billion years old(The Mythology Of Modern Geology). Even Anthropologists disagree with Paleontologists about the dates used for early civilizations. Anthropologists study man's culture, while Paleontologists study the fossil records of Man and animals(Encyclopedia Americana). Paleontologists state that early man was originally polytheistic, worshiping many gods that eventually evolved to worshiping one God(The Illustration Of Universal Progress). Anthropologists disagree, stating that the earliest religions were monotheistic, worshiping one God, then moved onto the worship of idols(Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible). The early Hindu documents describe ONE God, with having three separately different and unique personalities(The Religions Of Man), as well as in Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon(Revelation: Its' Grand Climax At Hand!), that agrees with the Bible(Matthew 28:19; Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Second Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 2:9; First John 5:7). The ancient Tasaday of the Phillippines have a one-God view, from an "entirely uncontaminated setting. They don't even have a word for war"(The Gentle Tasaday). If Paleontologists are right then our population should be much larger than it is now. The mathematical formula/equation Pn=2/C-1(Cn-x+1)(Cx-1) that is used to estimate the population of the earth places the population at more than four billion people. Going back in time, and allowing for things like wars, plagues, and natural disasters, the human population began between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. When using the Evolutionary scientists' age estimates, the population would have to be 105000th power(The Creation-Evolution Controversy), or as astronomers would tell us would fill up 50 universes!
Some Judges are thought to have ruled together at the same time, but there is no biblical evidence to support or deny this. What the Bible doesn't say isn't as important as what God reveals to us(Deuteronomy 29:29). The Judges [and their period of rule] are: Othniel[40 years], Ehud[80 years], Shamgar[the same time?], Deborah[40 years], Gideon[40], Abimelech[3], Tola(23], Jair[22], Jephthah[6], Ibzan[7], Elon[10], Abdon[8], and then Samson[20 years](Understanding The Old Testament). Some argue whether or not Abimelech was a true judge, but most that say he was(Bible Handbook- A Guide For Basic Bible Learning). Historians agree that many of these were historic people, because history describes similar events, such as the Moabite invasion, the Ammonites, and the Philistine invasion, but some deny that any miracles were involved(The Exodus Enigma). Some scholars believe that Judges 10:11 refers not only to the Exodus but to Egyptian conquests during the time of the Judges, due to a set of drawings dated about 1207 B.C., while others think Egypt conquered certain Canaanite neighbors, and had nothing to do with the Jews of that period of time("Unearthing The Promised Land"U.S. News And World Report). Copper arrowheads were found with names on them(Halley's Bible Handbook) dating from the 12th-11th centuries B.C., and determined to be the names of some officials from the city of Succoth(Judges 8:14). Anthropology generally agrees with the book of Judges on how man departed from worshiping God to worship more than one god, doing what man wants to do (Judges 21:25).(Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible)
RUTH- This book was written as an appendix to Judges(Ruth 1:1). The writer is said to be Samuel because the style is similar to Judges, and several passages deal with Samuel's time(4:17-22). Historians estimate the time that both Judges and Ruth to have been written about 1100 B. C., during the time of the Iron Age(The Exodus Enigma). The events described in Ruth match the archeological evidence, for example the famine(1:1). This book is important to Jews in that the lineage of David is shown(4:17-22), and to Christians that Jesus was of the seed of David(Matthew 1:1-17). Naomi was Ruth's mother-in-law, and Elimeloch was Naomi's dead husband(Ruth 1:1-5; 4:9). Ruth's first husband was Mahlon, and died with his father and brother, Chilion in the land of Moab(Getting Acquainted With The Old Testament). Orpah was Chilion's wife(Who's Who In The Old Testament). Ruth followed Naomi to Israel. Ruth later married Boaz. They became the great-grandparents of David(Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible).
FIRST and SECOND SAMUEL- Originally one book, translators broke it into two parts for reasons unknown. It was also known as the First and Second Books of Kings(Clarke's Commentary). It is thought to have been divided sometime between the second century B.C. to the first century A.D. to emphasize the rule of king David. Who wrote the book(s)? It is clear from the scriptures that several people wrote parts of FIRST and SECOND SAMUEL. The writer(s) knew of David's psalms(Second Samuel 1:19-27; 22:2-51; 23:1-7). We see that Samuel wrote at least part of it(First Samuel 10:25; First Chronicles 29:29). We also know that Nathan and Gad helped write this(Second Samuel 7:2; First Chronicles 29:29). Jewish historians believe that Ezra took and compiled the writings of FIRST and SECOND SAMUEL, as well as other books, into one "history book," about the year 460 B.C., give or take 50 years(Reference For Ready Growing Christians). This book covers the time from about 1100-1015 B.C., a period spanning about 100 years(The Heart Of Hebrew History). FIRST SAMUEL records the change from a judgeship to a kingdom or monarchy, as Samuel anoints the first king of Israel, King Saul. SECOND SAMUEL continues after Samuel's and King Saul's death and tells of the life of King David(Bible Handbook- A Guide For Basic Bible Learning).
FIRST and SECOND KINGS- This also was originally one book, set to continue from the book of SECOND SAMUEL(Understanding The Old Testament). This was also known as the Third and Fourth Books of Kings(The Catholic Encyclopedia). The believed writer(s) are those mentioned in both FIRST and SECOND CHRONICLES. The compiler[not writer] is believed to be Ezra, an important Jewish figure in history, as well as in the Bible. This was considered to be a group of public and private records, and reflections from other sources(First Kings 11:41; 15:31; Second Kings 17:6-24). Most Archaeologists are "not interested in whether there was a David or Solomon" but rather "in reconstructing society", so while "Archeology throws light on the Bible, it has no business trying to prove it"("Are The Bible's Stories True?"Time). Historians agree to the events described, but some deny that God had anything to do with the events. Examples of Archaeological evidence are a Moabite stone naming King Omri, and a black obelisk naming Jehu(Peloubet's Bible Dictionary). The Seal of Baruch, the scribe of Jeremiah dated 587 B.C. has been found, as well as a Ninth[800+ B.C.] century inscription referring to the house of David(Archaeology And Old Testament Study). The period covers about 1030 B.C. to 587 B.C.(Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible). FIRST KINGS begins with Solomon and the breakup of the monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the death of King Ahab(Bible Handbook- A Guide For Basic Bible Learning). SECOND KINGS continues to the fall of both kingdoms. The prophets Elijah, Elisha, and Huldah are also mentioned(Halley's Bible Handbook).
FIRST and SECOND CHRONICLES- This was also originally one book. It was also known as "A History of Times", "The Journals", "The Book of Annals", and is also called "First and Second Paralipomenon"(Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible). FIRST CHRONICLES starts with the important names of the men of Genesis from Adam, down through history to the death of David(Nave's Topical Bible). SECOND CHRONICLES starts with Solomon to the captivity of the kingdom of Israel, and of Judah's defeat and captivity, at about 400 B.C. and with the decree of Cyrus(Second Chronicles 36:23; Ezra 1:1-4). Ezra is thought to have compiled and written part of the Chronicles(The Heart Of Hebrew History). Other writers are also mentioned, such as: Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ahijah, Iddo, Shemaiah, Jehu the prophet, Isaiah, and Hosea(First Chronicles 29:29; Second Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 20:34,37; 26:22; 28:9; 32:32; 33:19). In addition, some scholars believe that the seers[or prophets(First Samuel 9:9)] Hanani(Second Chronicles 16:7), Jahaziel(20:14), and Eliezer(20:37) were among the seers [such as Samuel](Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible), who wrote both the Chronicles(33:19). Recorders were also mentioned: Jehosaphat(Second Samuel 8:16; First Chronicles 18:15), Joah the son of Asaph(Second Kings 18:18), and Joah the son of Joahaz(Second Chronicles 34:8). These men make up about a third of all the 32 writers of the Old Testament(The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia). It should be noted that the "writers" described both the good and the bad things done by the kings, setting it apart from other documents of the time that bragged about a king's accomplishments, and ignored his failures(Clarke's Commentary). Jewish scholars agree that this difference clearly shows God's handiwork(Encyclopedia Judaica).
The materials used to write the books of the Bible were made of stone, pottery, clay tablets, and papyrus, an early paper that was made from reeds(Nave's Topical Bible). Later, the copies were made from leather, and finally into vellum, a sturdy material made of animal hides(How We Got Our Bible). The Dead Sea Scrolls are an example of early writings on Papyrus(Encyclopedia International). The Dead Sea Scrolls were written some time about 300-200 B.C., just a few years after Ezra had lived(Compton's Encyclopedia). This is comparable to studying and writing about the life of Abraham Lincoln or George Washington today(What Is The Bible All About?). In addition, historians of the time of the Old Testament mention such things as King David and Solomon, and a Moabite stone dated 900 B.C. mentions more than 23 Bible names and events. Two such historians during the time of Alexander the Great were Dius and Menander. Third Century B.C. historians, like Hecatus and Manetho, mention the Biblical Exodus(The Divine Demonstration: A Textbook Of Christian Evidence). Babylonian records(Ninevah And Babylon) state Jehoiahin eating at the king's table(Second Kings 25:29).
The first Three Kings of the United Kingdom of Israel were: Saul[20-40 yrs],{scholars debate how long King Saul ruled} David[40 yrs], and Solomon[40 yrs](The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia). They had lived approximately from 1050-950 B.C., a period of about a hundred years(Fascinating Facts From The Bible). During the divided kingdom after the death of Solomon, the following Kings ruled(Who's Who In The Old Testament):
Israel Judah
Jeroboam[22] Rehoboam[17]
Nadab[2] Abijah[3]
Baasha[24] Asa[41]
Elah[2]
Zimri[7 days]
Tibni[5 years]
Omri[7] Jehoshaphat[25]
Ahab[22]
Ahaziah[2]
Joram[12] Jehoram[5]
Jehu[28] Ahaziah[1]
Athaliah[6](Queen)
Jehoahaz[17] Joash[40]
Jeroboam II[41] Uzziah[52]
Zachariah[6 months]
Shallum[1 month]
Menahem[10 yrs]
Pekahiah[2]
Pekah[20] Jotham[16]
Hoshea[9]{Israel captured 722-720 B.C.} Ahaz[16]
Hezekiah[29]
Manasseh[55]
Amon[2]
Josiah[31]
Jehoahaz[3 months]
Jehoiakim[11 yrs]
Jehoiachin[3 months]
Zedekiah[11 yrs]
Judah taken in captivity
588-587 B.C.
EZRA- Lived around 550 B.C. and tells of two of three groups going back to Jerusalem, from exile. The first with Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple, the second with Ezra, and the third is told in Nehemiah(Eerdman's Handbook To The Bible). This book has also been called First Ezdras(The Catholic Encyclopedia). History supports this book(The Book Of Knowledge). Historians know that Cyrus ruled about 559-530 B.C. during the first return, then Cambyses [530-522 B.C.], Darius I [522-486 B.C.] with the second trip with Ezra(Ezra 4:5;7:6-8), followed by Xerxes I,or Ahasuerus[486-465 B.C.] during Queen Esther's time(Ezra 4:6; Esther 1:1), and with Artaxerxes I reign[464-423 B.C.] during which Jerusalem was rewalled(Ezra 4:7-23; 7:1; Nehemiah 6:1). Historians, scripture as well as by strict tradition, describe Ezra as to have been the writer(Ezra 8:1).
NEHEMIAH- Around 444 B.C., succeeded Ezra the priest as the leader of the remnant(Clarke's Commentary). Nehemiah and the Jewish remnant endured hardships(6:2,10). The Law was read and the people promised to return to God(8:1;9:1-3). Nehemiah took several trips to Persia as Governor to encourage the King's approval for the remnant's return(13:6). This has also been called Second Ezdras(The Catholic Encyclopedia).
ESTHER- Possibly written by Ezra, the Jewish priest, scribe, and historian(Ezra 7:10), although some believe Mordecai wrote it(Halley=s Bible Handbook). Historians generally agree with the events described in Esther(Encyclopedia Britannica), including the palace of Shushan(Esther:The Romance Of Providence). The Greek historian Herodotus tells of the feast of Purim occurring about the year 483 B.C., but some think it might have happened a little later(Halley's Bible Handbook). The Jewish Holiday Purim is celebrated, and explained in Esther 9:18-32. Purim is celebrated on the last part of February to the first part of March, depending on the year(A Topical Study Of The Law Of Moses). The longest verse in the Bible is in Esther 8:9 with 90 words(Guinness Book Of World Records).
Questions
1. How many books of history are there?
2. When was the period(Age) of the Judges?
3. Name some important Judges of the Bible.
4. Who is said to have written Ruth?
5. Who is said to have compiled much of the books of History?
6. Does secular(worldly) history support Biblical history?
7. Why should we study certain books of the Bible?
8. Who is said to have written Esther?
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