The Hebrew Bible, written over a period of more than 500 years, consists of many types of literature and reflects varying points of view. It is essentially religious, but, unlike most ancient religious books, the Old Testament is characterized by a strong sense of history; even laws and exhortations are woven into the narratives.
The themes are the uniqueness and glory of GOD (Yahweh), the COVENANTS He made with Israel, the Law, God's control of history and Israel's special destiny, God's revelation through the PROPHETS, the nature of humanity, corporate and individual sin and its remedy, and the true worship of God.
The Hebrews believed that their religion was founded on covenants that God offered them and that they had accepted. Yahweh had agreed to make them his specially chosen people and to protect them, but only if they obeyed his Law. Covenants were made originally made with ADAM and NOAH (both Gentiles), which embraced all humankind, and with ABRAHAM (a Gentile) and his descendants; but the most important covenant was revealed to MOSES. Later, after the division of the JEWS into two kingdoms--JUDAH (south) and ISRAEL (north)--the people of Judah believed that a special covenant had also been made with King DAVID and his royal descendants.
Yahweh was different from all other deities. Israel was forbidden to worship any other god, and the Mosaic religion implied that no other existed, although this was not specifically emphasized until the time of the exile during the Babylonian Captivity (587-37 BC). Other gods personified natural forces or tribes and nations, but Yahweh was supreme over everything. Because he controlled history, he could use Assyria or Babylonia to punish a rebellious Israel. Plentiful crops depended on his will alone and NOT on the magical rites by which the Baals of Canaan were worshiped. The concept of the Book of LEVITICUS was that the Hebrews were to be a holy people, separated from all defilement.
Many laws in the Pentateuch, or TORAH, the first five books of Jesus' Bible, were not different from those of surrounding nations. However, some unique commandments were given, without specific rewards and punishments; most important were the TEN COMMANDMENTS, which have a high ethical content. The TORAH (Law) was a complete religious and civil law for the whole nation. It prescribed sacrifices and festivals similar to those of other nations, but the emphasis was on morality. Yahweh was a God of justice. All sin and injustice was an offense against him; and repentance could bring forgiveness.
In the Book of JOSHUA, Yahweh is a God of war who commands the slaughter of the Canaanites, but the Hebrew religion gradually outgrew such a concept, as can be seen in the books of JEREMIAH and JONAH. The prophets saw history as an interaction between the living God and his people, and its outcome depended on their obedience. Israel was destined to be a light to the nations, but it always had a special place in God's purpose and love, and the Hebrews always struggled with the two concepts of God's impartial justice and his love toward Israel. Late in the biblical period, writers of APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE, unlike the earlier prophets, despaired of the normal forces of history and believed that God would put an end to the present age, bringing in a miraculous reign of righteousness.
These themes were not systematized into a theology but can be discerned from the literature as a whole, which expresses the hopes, fears, laments, thanksgivings, and even the doubts of the Hebrews. Thus the Book of JOB criticizes the popular, facile doctrine of reward and punishment, and the Book of ECCLESIASTES often approaches skepticism.
Pentateuch: Genesis recounts the creation of the universe and the first human beings, the traditions of the DELUGE, and the stories of the patriarchs down to the sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt and the deaths of JACOB and JOSEPH. EXODUS tells how Moses led the people from Egypt and received the covenant and Law on Mount Sinai. Leviticus is largely a legal code; NUMBERS continues the story of migration toward the Promised Land. Deuteronomy partly repeats the narrative, recording other laws, and concludes with the death of Moses. It teaches a strict doctrine of corporate reward and punishment.
The Pentateuch is based on four principal sources. The oldest, J, was perhaps written in Judah, the southern kingdom, about 950 BC. Between 900 and 750, another version from Israel, the northern kingdom, was woven in; this is called EPHRAIM (E). In the 7th century BC, Deuteronomy, or most of it (D), was compiled. About 550 BC, during the exile, the final edition of the Torah added a priestly source (P), some parts of which are very old.
Historical Books: Joshua tells of a thorough conquest of Canaan, but Judges contains traditions of the Hebrew tribes in the period before the monarchy that reveal the conquest as partial. The books of Samuel are about the founding of the monarchy under SAUL and David and contain a magnificent early source for the life of David, probably written about 961-22 BC. All the above books have been extensively edited by writers who shared the theology of the D source.
Ezra and Nehemiah were composed after the exile, when these two leaders restored Judaism in Palestine, and Nehemiah's own memoirs make up much of the latter book. The two Books of Chronicles cover Hebrew history from Ezra's priestly point of view but contain some valuable earlier traditions. Ruth is the story of a foreign woman who became loyal to Israel and was the ancestor of David. Esther is a tale of a Jewish queen of Persia who saved her people from persecution.
Poetical, or Wisdom, Books. Job contains some of the finest poetry in the Bible. Its themes are the problems of suffering and of man's standing before God. The Psalms were essentially composed for temple worship, although some may be pieces of individual devotion. Many are ascribed to David, but some come from an earlier period. Proverbs comprises several collections of ancient wisdom. Parts of Ecclesiastes are skeptical, but other sections express conventional wisdom. The Song of Solomon is a collection of love poems.
The Prophets: The great prophets of the 8th century BC were AMOS, HOSEA, Isaiah, and MICAH. They proclaimed God's holiness and his judgment on the idol worship and moral abuses of the Hebrew kingdoms, and called the people back to loyalty to the covenant. Jeremiah, the greatest prophet of the 7th century BC, was unique in recording his inner spiritual struggles and in promising a new covenant. Like Isaiah, he opposed military alliances with foreign nations and resistance to the Babylonian invasion. ZEPHANIAH and perhaps HABAKKUK belong to the same century. NAHUM gloats over the destruction (612 BC) of Nineveh. The most significant prophets during the period of Babylonian exile were the Ezekiel and the unknown authors of chapters 40-55 and 56-66 of Isaiah, who encouraged the return of the Jews to the Holy Land and promised a glorious national life. Lamentations reflects the miseries of the exile.
The remaining prophets followed the exile. OBADIAH is strongly nationalistic; JONAH expresses God's concern for Gentiles as well as Jews. HAGGAI and ZECHARIAH 1-8 reflect the rebuilding of a small temple in Jerusalem. JOEL, Zachariah 9-14, and MALACHI combine the themes of judgment and restoration and have apocalyptic elements. Daniel is an apocalypse from the Maccabean period (c.164 BC) and promises God's help to the Jews in time of persecution.
Torah (Law):
Nevi'im (Prophets):
Ketuvim (Writings):
Having already looked at the division of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), let us look at different Christian Versions of the Old Testament. You may find this strange, but Christians and Jews still disagree over the content of the Old Testament. The Protestant Old Testament is supposed to be identical to the Hebrew Bible, but it is NOT!; though the books are arranged and divided differently. In other websites I have devoted much space to the comparison of the Jewish Masoretic Text and the corruption of it's translation by the Essenes of Alexandria, Egypt, in 200 B.C.E. Of interest to the Christian is that these "purposeful corruptions of the Jewish texts" was done by the Essenes of Egypt in the 3rd century B.C. in order to validate their "unique theology" and give them a "Divine Book" whereby they now had, because of this Divine Book, a Divine authority for their religious beliefs over their adversaries and opponents. The Jews of Palestine never accepted this Greek translation because of its many inherent errors and this Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures incorporated pagan astral, cosmic, and sun-g-d beliefs among the Jewish Texts. Tragically this became the Scriptures for the Greek speaking world and ultimately became the Christian's Old Testament. To further complicate the matter every quote in the New Testament comes from these corrupted Greek texts.
Answer for yourself: What does that mean for the Christian today?
Simply this; many, many religious beliefs and doctrines as taught in the Christian's Old Testament and it's corresponding quotes in the New Testament find their origin in pagan sun-worship and therefore many of the "beliefs" attached to Jesus are pagan and Jesus is made to have more in common with Osiris, Bacchus, Attis, Dionysus, etc., that with the Jewish Messiah of the Jewish Scriptures. Few know this until they study the corruption of the Jewish Bible. If you want to see this in detail you need to study: http://paganizingfaithofyeshua.netfirms.com or http://www.bennoah1.freewebsites.com.
Roman Catholics since 1546 (the Council of Trent) have officially included the "deutero-canonical" or "apocryphal" books. These books were included in early editions of the King James Bible, but Protestants have not considered them authoritative because they are not found in the Hebrew Bible.
more to follow