Bible: OT

One God, a sinful imago dei, and a sublime solution.

This is the main page for the Old Testament (New Testament here).

Contents:

  • Philology in Five

  • Reading Tips

  • Five Sentence Intro to Bible: OT

  • Special Section: Structure of Torah/Pentateuch

  • Checklists for Reading Genesis and Exodus

  • Final Exam for Bible: OT

The Seven: As a Reminder

  1. Bible: OT (Genesis, Exodus) & NT (Matthew, John, James)

  2. Homer: Iliad and Odyssey

  3. Plato: Apology and Crito

  4. Aristotle: Ethics and Politics

  5. Founders: Locke’s Second and American documents

  6. Totalitarians: We and 1984

  7. Tolkien: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings

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Philology in Five

The basic questions:

  1. Language: What language is it written in?

  2. Structure: How is the text organized?

  3. Theology: What is its view of God?

  4. Anthropology: What is its view of human beings?

  5. Ethics: How ought I therefore to live?

Review the Main Philology Page

Practical Tips

  1. Finish what you start.

  2. Takes notes elsewhere.

  3. Read the books yourself.

  4. Just keep going.

  5. Come back.

Review the Main Tips Page

Bible OT: Five Sentence Intro

  1. The main character of the Bible, OT and NT, is God.

  2. The Bible makes it clear that this is not just any parochial God, but the God of all that is (witness: Genesis’ “In the beginning…”).

  3. This God, eternal and free and creative and relational and possessing an ethical discernment (witness: Genesis’ “good” and “very good,” Exodus’ revelation on Sinai, etc.), creates human beings in his image — note: every single human being carries the divine image prior to and regardless of any personal virtue and vice — calling us to be co-creators with him and garden-keepers for him of his life-giving world, and instructing us to obey his commands.

  4. We do not always obey God (= sin), which separates us from God, from each other, and even from our very selves , and, as Genesis and Exodus amply attest, we not only ignore and outright detest God, but we also murder, rape, and steal from each other.

  5. So God, caring for all humans as well as the life-giving world he called into existence with a word, chose one set of people to represent his ethical expectations and to carry his message of freedom and virtue to the world — and this choosing by God of Abraham’s people, not due to their own inherent excellence, but simply due to God’s choice, to work his benevolence for all that is.

Special Section: Structure of the Torah/Pentateuch

The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah or the Pentateuch. Those books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In Odyssey U we read the first two of these five books, Genesis and Exodus.

Even though we only read Genesis and Exodus it is helpful to know the fuller structure of the Torah. So I provide us with a structural analysis here. I give us two outlines: one very basic and one a bit more detailed.

Torah: Very Basic Outline

  1. Genesis 1—11: Creation to Noah, Noah to Abraham

  2. Genesis 12—50: Patriarchal history

  3. Exodus 1—18: Liberation from Egypt

  4. Exodus 19—40 and all Leviticus: Revelation at Mount Sinai

  5. Deuteronomy: Farewell addresses of Moses, Moses’ death

Torah: More Detailed Outline by Book

  1. Genesis

    • 1—11: Primeval History

      • 1—6: Creation to Noah

      • 6—11: Noah to Abraham

    • 12—50 Ancestral History

      • 12—25: Abraham and Sarah

      • 26—36: Jacob and Esau

      • 37—50: Joseph and his brothers

  2. Exodus

    • 1—18: Out of Egypt

    • 18—40: Wilderness and at Sinai

  3. Leviticus

    • 1—27 (entire book): At Sinai

      • 1—7: sacrifice

      • 8—10: dedicate tabernacle

      • 11—16: ritual purity

      • 17—26: holiness code

      • 17: Addendum: vows, dedications, tithes

  4. Numbers

    • 1—25: Census 1

    • 26—36: Census 2

  5. Deuteronomy

    • 1—4:43: First Discourse of Moses

    • 4:44—28: Second Discourse of Moses

    • 29—30: Third Discourse of Moses

    • 31—34: Death of Moses

How to Read Genesis and Exodus: Checklists

Genesis

Keep your Philology in Five framework and notebook next to you.

  1. ___ Read Gen. 1:1-31—2:1—3

  2. ___ Read Gen. 1—2

  3. ___Read Gen. 3—11

  4. ___ Read Gen. 12—25

  5. ___ Read Gen. 26—36

  6. ___ Read Gen. 37—50

  7. ___ Give a first go at filling out your Philology in Five for Genesis

Exodus

Keep your Philology in Five framework and notebook next to you.

  1. ___ Read Ex. 1—2

  2. ___ Read Ex. 3:1—7:7

  3. ___ Read Ex. 7:7—10:29, 11:1—13:16

  4. ___ Read Ex. 13:17—15:21, 15:22—18:27

  5. ___ Read Ex. 19

  6. ___ Read Ex. 20—24

  7. ___ Read Ex. 25—31

  8. ___ Read Ex. 32—34

  9. ___ Read Ex. 35—40

  10. ___ Do some philological analysis of Exodus using our Philology in Five framework

Final Exam: Bible OT

Answer: Why should a would-be tyrant of the American people hope to ban Genesis and Exodus, or at least pray that you do not take it seriously as a citizen of a free republic?

Parameters:

  • Typed, single spaced

  • 11 point font

  • 1 inch margins

  • Name and title in heading not body

  • 2 page minimum, 3 page maximum

Target: A successful exam will:

  1. America: Clearly articulate the relevant theological, anthropological, and ethical ideas on which the American republic is founded as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

  2. Tyrant: Define a tyrant with respect to the above American ideals.

  3. Text: Now help readers see why someone who aspires to exert tyrannical power over the American people would hope to ban the Old Testament as represented by Genesis and Exodus.

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