In my last post I wrote about how the Bible is reliable and how we got the Bible. I also wrote about some important terms to learn. This post I will write about the Old Testament. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, and some of the books were written in Aramaic. There are no known autographs of any books of the Old Testament, but there are Hebrew manuscripts that are still in existence. The Dead Sea Scrolls date from 200 B.C. - 70 A.D., and contain the entire book of Isaiah and potions of every other Old Testament book but Esther. The Geniza Fragments, which are portions of the Old Testament in Hebrew and Aramaic discovered in 1947 in an old synagogue in Cairo, Egypt which date back from about 400 A.D. The Ben Asher Manuscripts. Five or six of this family made copies of the Old Testament using the Masoretic Hebrew text, from 750-950 A.D. The Aleppo Codex contains the complete Old Testament and is dated around 950 A.D. Over one quarter of this Codex was destroyed in anti Jewish riots in 1947. Codex Leningradensis is the complete Old Testament in Hebrew copied by the last member of the Ben Asher family in A.D. 1008. In 400 B.C. the Old Testament started to be translated into Aramaic. This is called the Aramaic Targums. The Jewish people began speaking Aramaic from the time of their captivity in Babylon so this translation helped them. They were able to understand the Old Testament in the language that they most commonly spoke. In 250 B.C. the Old Testament was translated into Greek. This translation is known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint was often used by the New Testament writers when they quoted from the Old Testament. Jesus often quoted the Old Testament to explain and defend His ministry. Jesus used the phrases it is written 92 times, and that it might be fulfilled 33 times. One of my favorite things about the Old Testament is that Jesus is in the Old Testament. Jesus is the key personality in the Bible, He is the One God promised in the Old Testament and the One He provided in the New Testament. Jesus is foreseen in the prophecies and Jesus Himself said in Luke 24:44, Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. In five different occasions Jesus claimed to be the theme of the Old Testament Scriptures. (Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:17, Luke 24:44, John 5:39, and Hebrews 10:7) The Old Testament deals essentially with the relationship with God and the Nation of Israel. We see Gods creation, God establishing a covenant relationship with Israel, we see Israels history, their victories as well as their defeats. We also get a very intimate look at Gods relationship with Israel and His passion for Israel to obey Him and worship Him. In the end of the Old Testament we see the Prophets telling Israel to repent from its idolatry and unfaithfulness and to return to the relationship with God they were supposed to have. Unfortunately they dont turn back and the Old Testament begins with creation, but ends with the threat of a curse. (the Law) There are at least 10 major events in the Old Testament. 1. The call of Abraham 2. The promise of the Patriarchs 3. The Exodus from Egypt 4. the Law given to Moses 5. The conquest of the Land by Joshua 6. the problems of the Judges 7. The rise and fall of Kings 8. the Babylonian Captivity 9. the return of the exiles 10. the anticipation of the Messiah. This is just a small glimpse at some of the wonderful events and people in the Old Testament, and the Apostle Paul tells us that the Old Testament is not complete without the fulfillment of its promises in the New Testament, The Law is our school master to bring us to Christ. (Galatians 3:24) In the Old Testament Christ is predicted, in the New Testament Christ is central. I urge you to take the time to read and study the Old Testament. I was lucky enough to take an Old Testament class this summer for school and I learned so much that I never realized about the Old Testament.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 22:50:02 +0000
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