Handouts #02, #08, #09

Study Guide for Quiz #1

On Handout #02, #08, & #09

• Be able to name the six basic categories of things we pay attention to when we read the Bible.
• Be able to identify the following significant persons from the OT, and be able to put the following major OT names into the correct chronological order:
  • Abraham
  • David
  • Ezra
  • Isaiah
  • Jacob / Israel
  • Joshua
  • Moses
  • Nehemiah
  • Noah
  • Saul
• Be able to identify the following dates from the Old Testament, and to name what happened on them. (all dates are BC)
  • 1446
  • 1000
  • 931 🠔 There are two significant events connected to this date. Know them both.
  • 722
  • 586
  • 516
• Know the names of the two “divided kingdoms” after the death of Solomon
• Know the names of the capital cities of those two kingdoms
• Know which kingdom the descendants of David ruled.
• Be able to name, in order, the five main covenants of the Old Testament.

_{Handout 02}

This handout summarizes the things we look for when we read the Bible

I. Do I get a new “meaning” every time I read a passage in the Bible?

This deals with the questions:

“What does it mean?” ← versus → “What does it means to me?”

When we re-read a passage in the Bible…

• We might observe some details…
• We might perceive…
• We might realize…
• But the basic sense of the text…

II. What is the Role of the Holy Spirit as Regards Interpretation?

• The Holy Spirit opens our eyes
• It opens our hearts
• But the Holy Spirit does not…
• The words mean what they mean, or else we have nothing.
• We cannot say, “This is what the Scriptures teach…”, if someone can answer, “Oh, but that’s not what it means to me.”
• The Holy Spirit does not magically interpret the text for us. We need to read it, to think about it, even to study it, in its context.

III. Where Our Interpretive Method Gets Its Name:

The label, “historical-grammatical method,” gets its name from the fact that it means that, when we read the Bible, we pay attention to three main categories of features / information:

• The “history” = and,
• The “grammar” =

These are the two categories from which our method gets its name. The third major category of information we pay attention to is:

• The “context” =

Because we pay attention to these three main categories of information, some people have suggested that we call our interpretive method the “historical—grammatical—contextual” method.

This would be accurate, but it becomes a very long title. So that’s why our interpretive method it is usually simply called, “the historical-grammatical method” = HGM. It is not a “magic method” for interpreting the Bible; it is based on the way language works.

IV. The Six Basic Categories of Things We Pay Attention To:

When we the identify the specific features and details we are looking for within these three main categories, they break down into six basic categories, which come in three natural pairs of two:

Of these six basic categories, the first three (semantics, grammar, and genre) fall under the general label “grammatical” in the name “historical-grammatical method.”

The fourth and fifth (context, and the rest of the Bible), fall under the general category of “context.”

The sixth one (the historical & cultural setting), obviously falls under the general category of “historical.”

V. A Brief Description of these Six Basic Categories = Six Basic Features that We Look for When Reading & Interpreting the Bible

We will have handouts which elaborate on these six factors; here we are listing them briefly.

A. The Normal Function of Grammar & Language (“grammatical”)

1. Semantics = the meanings of the words.

   This is often self-evident (“donkey” means “donkey,” “tree” means “tree”). But when the NT uses a term such as sanctify, what does it mean? When the OT says that God will sometimes come against people for evil, and not for good (Amos 9:4), precisely what does that word “evil” mean?

2. The Grammar.

3. The Genre = the type of literature = type of writing style of the biblical passage.

   Recognizing the type of writing style of a Bible passage is vital to interpreting it correctly .

   In the Bible, there are main three types of literature, three main genre:

   1. Narrative & Prose

   2. Hebrew Poetry (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, & many/much of the prophets)

      Hebrew poetry communicates truth just as well as does narrative or epistle, but does it in a different style, in a different way. It is much more figurative and more emotive.

   3. Apocalyptic Prophecy. These are prophetic passages which contain striking visual images which are not merely figures of speech. Found mainly in Ezekiel, Daniel & Zechariah, & Revelation.

• Question: Do Christians interpret all of the Bible “literally” = “flatly literally”?
• Answer: No.

Rather, this is a better approach:

We interpret the Scriptures according to the normal use of language.

B. The Context

(from the local context to the larger biblical context)

1. The Local Context The immediate context of the passage (i.e., the paragraph and/or chapter it falls into)

   The overall structure of the book, especially, where the passage falls into that structure.

   This is very important in NT letters.

2. Information from the Rest of the Bible:

   From other related passages —

   • Passages which came earlier…
   • Or, other passages which add to or fill out the thought of text at hand.

   From paying attention to: where are we in the overall flow of the Bible.

C. Historical & Cultural Setting of a Book (“historical”)

1. The general historical & cultural setting of the book:

   1. The general historical setting: where are we in the larger flow of world history?

   2. What is the cultural setting? (Ancient near-east, paganism, Greco-Roman, etc.).

   3. The specific situation & occasion into which a book was written (esp.: OT Minor Prophets, and NT epistles).

_{Handout 08}

Primeval History

• Creation
• Fall
• Flood
• Tower Babel

Noahic Covenant

Patriarchs (~2100)

• Abraham
• Isaac (Remember Ishmael)
• Jacob = Israel (Twin Esau)
• 12 sons → 12 tribes
• Joseph & the entry into Egypt

Noahic Covenant ends
Abrahamic Covenant

Bondage in Egypt (~1876)

• 400 years in Egypt

Exodus & Sinai (1446)

Traditional date of the Exodus 1446.

• Moses
• 10 Plagues
• Exodus
• Law given at Mt. Sinai

Abrahamic Covenant ends
Sinai Covenant (with Israel)

40 Years Wandering in the Wilderness

• 12 Spies (Joshua & Caleb)
• Spy out the land for 40 days
• Disobedience at Kadesh-Barnea
• 40 Years Decreed
  • Punishment
  • Teenagers lived (19 and below)

Conquest (1400)

• Joshua
• Jericho

Judges (1000)

• Failure to drive out the Canaanites
  • God will no longer go out with their armies
• Samson - last judge
• Had no king everyone did according to their own eyes

United Monarchy (966)

• Saul
• David
• Solomon
• Temple

Davidic Covenant (with David & his Son)

Divided Kingdom (931)

• Kingdom splits after the death of Solomon
  • 10 Tribes in the North
  • Judah & Benjamin in the South

Judah Alone (722)

• Fall of Samaria
• 19 kings (all bad)
• Captive by the Assyrian Empire

New Covenant prophesied

Exile (587)

• Fall of Jerusalem
• 1st Temple Destroyed
• Captive by the Babylonian Empire

Post-Exilic Period (516)

• Return from exile in Babylon
• 2nd Temple (Re-)Built
  • 500 years before Herod by Ezra / Nehemiah
  • Herod add to it
• PEP (They are under the PErsia empire)

Covenants

Key Events

Supplemental Dates

_{Handout 09}

1-4

The creation, the fall of mankind into sin & judgment; Noah & the flood; the tower of Babel

5 The Abrahamic Covenant

The call of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac & Jacob/Israel). God gives them three main promises:

• He will make them into… great nation
• He will give them… a land
• He will… blessing to all nations BTAN

These promises are also called the Abrahamic Covenant Gen 12, 15, 17, 22

In the New Testament, important chapters for the Abrahamic covenant are: Romans 4 & Galatians 3-4

6

Joseph, and the entry of the patriarchs into Egypt. They spend 400 years there. Over time, they are oppressed more and more by the Egyptians, until they cry out to God.

7 → 1446 BC

The exodus: God’s delivers Israel from Egypt via the 10 plagues & the Red Sea. 1446 BC.

8

The nation of Israel arrives at Mt. Sinai.

There they have a monumental encounter with God through Moses.

• They receive the 10 Commandments and the rest of the Law. 😀 (613 laws)
• They build the golden calf (Exod 32). ☹️
• They build the ark of the covenant and the Tabernacle. 😀

9 The Sinai Covenant

In particular at Mt Sinai, Israel enters into a special relationship with God, namely, the ‘Sinai covenant’ (Exod 19-24).

The main dynamic of the Sinai Covenant is this: (Exod 19, Lev 26, Deut 7, Deut 28)

• If → Israel will… honors God & obey the Law
• then, God will… bless them
• But if → Israel dishonors Yahweh, breaks the laws of the Sinai covenant, and if they worship other gods, then… judge them & kick them out of the land

So note carefully: Conditional offer

10

After the 12 spies spy out the land from Kadesh-Barnea, Israel decides not to enter the land.

Their subsequent punishment is 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, while the entire unbelieving generation dies off. Num 13 & 14; 26:6-65; then later Deut 1 & 2; Josh 5:5-7. See also Psalm 95:8-11

11

After the 40 years are completed, they enter the land under Joshua. Israel is generally faithful to God at this time. Joshua, esp. chs. 1-2, 7, 11 , 22-24.

12

But not long after Joshua dies, Israel becomes unfaithful to God, and even begins to worship idols and other gods. This is the time of the Judges. The book of Judges repeats the refrain,

And again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

There is a downward cycle in the book of Judges (see Judges ch. 2). // Israel cries out for a king.

13

Saul becomes Israel’s first king. But he disobey God, and loses his kingship. He persecutes David for no good reason. Saul is eventually rejected by God.

14

David becomes king; he wins many victories. He brings the ark to Jerusalem. ±1OOO BC.

15 The Davidic Covenant

God promises David that a son of his (“God’s anointed”) will reign on the throne forever; David’s son will be God’s Son. 2 Sam 7; 2 Chron 17; Ps 2, Ps 89, Ps 1 10, Ps 132.

16

David’s personal failures: His adultery with Bathsheba and effective murder of Uriah the Hittite. David’s own son Absalom (a handsome but godless young man) rebels of against him. David is succeeded by his son Solomon.

17

Solomon builds the temple; the ark of the covenant is brought to reside there. 966/960 BC.

18 → 931 BC

Solomon dies, and the kingdom divides into two kingdoms

• Northern-kingdom ‘Israel’ (NKI, 10 tribes), whose capital Samaria is and,
• Judah (2 tribes), whose capital is Jerusalem 1 Kgs 11 & 12.

19

Jeroboam (1st king of NKI) sets up centers of worship at Bethel & Dan (“The sin of Jeroboam”). ☹️ // Shortly after this time is when…

20 → 722 BC

As the result of scorning God, worshipping other gods and breaking the Sinai covenant, Samaria was laid waste by the Assyrians. Most of the northern 10 tribes were scattered into Assyria’s empire, and Gentiles were imported into the region of Samaria. 2 Kings 17. 722 BC.

21

The prophet Jeremiah announces a ‘new covenant’ , which will come in the future (Jer 31). Its two main dynamics are:

1. Write my laws in their hearts
2. Full and final forgiveness of sins

22 → 587 BC

As the result of scorning God, worshipping other gods and breaking the Sinai covenant, Jerusalem is laid waste by the Babylonians, the temple is destroyed, and the nation is dragged off into exile to Babylon (587 BC). 2 Kings 25, 36; Jer 39 & 52; Ezek 20-23, 33. 587 BC.

23

The Jews return from exile (announced in 2 Chronicles 36, and in Ezra ch. 1), after 70 years.

24 → 516 BC

They rebuild the temple. Ezra 1-6. The 2nd Temple is completed in 516 BC.

25

They later rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1-6).

The people are back in the land, and there is no more idolatry. The promises to Abraham and the promise of a son of David, the Messiah, remain. But the mood is not positive, and the people are not as faithful to God as could be hoped (Neh 10-13; see similarly Haggai & Malachi). That is where the Old Testament ends.