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Introduction to the Old Testament
Dr. Hugh R. Page, Jr.
Satellite Theological Education Program
University of Notre Dame
Studying the Hebrew Bible—An Overview
I once heard an old Baptist minister use an interesting image to describe the interpretive
process. He said that it was a preacher’s job to explore Scripture very carefully so that he/she
could find a crack in it that could be pried open to permit access to the biblical world. Once that
crack had been pried apart, the preacher could climb inside, walk around, and see what could be
found that would be edifying and liberating for those in need of a prophetic word from the Lord.
I was struck by the power of this image and feel that it is an apt description of what a Bible
scholar should seek to do for those interested in learning how to read and interpret Scripture for
the purposes of catechesis, pastoral care, spiritual formation, lectio divina, and homiletics. We
should be explorers who make the initial forays into the unknown territory of the biblical text
and construct maps that indicate the routes that provide access to the theological truths embedded
in the text and the guideposts that will prevent those entering the Scriptural universe as pilgrims
on the journey of faith from losing their way.
That is the purpose of this series of lectures—to give you a simple and user-friendly
guide for an initial journey into the Hebrew Bible. It is hoped that with this guide in hand, your
pilgrimage will be further enriched and your own capacities as reader and interpreter of Holy
Scripture augmented. They are not intended to serve as the single authoritative source for
understanding the length and breadth of the Divine revelation contained therein. Instead, they are
one person of faith’s musings, reflections, prayers, and notes. They are offered as a gift to those
for whom the Bible is not just another book, but an icon of all that we should think, hope, and
dream as stewards of the wonderful vision articulated by the poets, prophets, priests, sages, and
pilgrims whose words are contained in its pages. It is a powerful image of all God intends for us
to become.
The options available to those interested in learning more about that part of the Bible
commonly called the Old Testament by Christians, TANAK (an acronym formed from the first
letters of the Hebrew words designating each portion of the canon – Torah (Law), Nevi’im
(Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings) – by members of the Jewish community, or either First
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Testament or Hebrew Bible by scholarly and other audiences are virtually limitless. There are
numerous introductory textbooks and topical surveys on the history, literature, and religion of
early Israel. Television specials appear each year dealing with biblical topics and countless
classes, public lectures, and other learning opportunities are offered by local Churches, Temples,
Synagogues, colleges, universities, and libraries across the country that offer the general public
the chance to gain insight into the Bible’s many mysteries. I encourage you to take advantage of
these resources.
Accentuating Spirituality
This course will differ in at least one substantial way from many of those just
mentioned—its theological focus. Our primary concern will be to look at the Hebrew Bible from
a perspective that views it as the Word of God and a foundation for Christian spirituality.
Needless to say, there is a shortage of neither definitions of spirituality nor of scholars who have
written about its history and scope. For the purposes of this class, my operational definition of
the term is straightforward. By spirituality I mean the lived implications of one’s faith
commitment—i.e., one’s self-definition and interaction with nature, society, and the cosmos in
light of one’s personal beliefs about what constitutes ultimate reality and the purpose of human
existence. As for Christian spirituality, I take this to be the lived implications of one’s
understanding of the obligations and responsibilities associated with being a disciple of the Risen
Christ. This introduction aims principally at making readily available the Divinely inspired
reflections on the universe and life’s perennial questions in the Hebrew Bible both to those who
wish to venture along the Emmaus Road and beyond as 21st century bearers of the Christian
Good News, and to those desirous of using it as one of many canonical texts that facilitate the
universal quest for knowledge of the Divine. The biblical authors provide us with a variety of
perspectives on this ultimate pilgrimage and allow us thereby to join and be transformed by it.
The Ancient Near East—Why Be Concerned?
The Hebrew Bible was not created in a cultural vacuum. Those who produced its books
were part of a larger cultural continuum that included a mélange of peoples in geographically
contiguous areas. A vast network of intellectual and economic exchange linked ancient Israel
with neighboring societies in Egypt, Anatolia, Syria-Palestine, Greece, the islands of the Aegean
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and Mediterranean, and Mesopotamia. Some basic familiarity with these folkways and mores of
these civilizations is useful because it can help us understand the intellectual world within which
the biblical writers conceived of their relationship with God.
In addition to obtaining familiarity with the history and significant cultural achievements
of the major civilizations of the ancient Near East, it is equally important to have some grasp of
their worldview. Our knowledge of the biblical world view has advanced in recent years, largely
due to comparative work done by anthropologists on peasant societies in southern Europe,
northern Africa, and several near Eastern countries. The net result has been the construction of a
model of Mediterranean Personhood that has been superimposed onto the biblical world. This
has enabled scholars better to comprehend the cultural clues encoded in the Hebrew Bible and to
gain a clear picture of the inner workings of the social world of the ancient Near East. Such an
understanding is an invaluable in making sense of the Bible and in appreciating how the JudeoChristian theological tradition develops over time.
The Biblical World—A Cultural Sketch
Several scholars have noted that those who populated the ancient Mediterranean basin
were quite different from us, particularly in terms of their basic conceptions about the world. For
example, Victor Matthews and Donald Benjamin suggest, in their book The Social World of
Ancient Israel, that modern readers keep nine maxims about the biblical world in mind. They are
as follows:
•
It was an ancient world
•
It was an Eastern rather than a Western world—a different mode of reasoning and
cognitive activity was operational; e.g., thinking was graphic rather than abstract,
reasoning was circular rather than linear, and the God/gods was/were seen as
administrative deities who established order out of the chaos of creation rather than as
magicians who created out of nothingness)
•
It was changeless—change was perceived as dangerous
•
It was agricultural—human life and natural life are coordinated, farming and herding are
used as metaphors and analogies for living, the world of animals and plants can be used
to understand human relationships; it is lens, mirror, and archetypal universe)
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•
Resources were viewed as limited and non-renewable—everything was rationed; in order
to receive, someone else had to give; in order to obtain someone had either to take or
obtain by other means that which was already the property of others
•
It was world in which persons saw themselves as members of households—it was dyadic;
people understood themselves to be members of groups rather than autonomous
individuals
•
Age was considered a blessing—with age came wisdom and experience
•
Story was the predominant genre of literature—un-interpreted facts were not as important
as the artistic, impressionistic, interpretive description of events that conveys a sense of
what the events mean ultimately
•
There was no compartmentalization of religion when contrasted to other aspects of daily
life—the arts and sciences were matters of faith
At this point, it is worth thinking about the implications of these assertions.
The first is that when one reads the Bible, one needs to recognize it as both familiar and
mysterious. On the one hand, the Bible is the single most influential text in the Western
intellectual tradition, it has had a profound impact on the way we think about ourselves and on
the social world, political institutions, and value systems we have created. Thus, it is a book that
we know well. On the other hand, it is a work that reflects a cultural ethos in many respects
quite unlike our own where individualism, free market capitalism, and other mainstays of
American life are clearly not the norm. It is agrarian, family centered, resource conscious, and
pre-industrial. In this regard, the Bible is, in spite of its familiarity, unknown territory for the
spiritual pilgrim. Its sacred landscape must be traversed with care. One must be willing to allow
its authors to speak clearly to us, on their own terms, rather than forcing their ideas to be filtered
through a 21st century ideological sieve that removes their uniqueness.
The second is that we would do well to adopt an approach to reading the text that is
relational. In other words, we need to think of the Bible as a book with which we have a bond,
not unlike that which ties us to family members and friends. Such a bond demands of us respect,
love, and a willingness to make and honor a long-term commitment to the deep, rich, and
expansive relationship.
The third is that we need to be appreciative of the Bible’s several modalities for
conveying essential truths about God, humanity, and life’s perennial questions. There are those
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who view the Bible almost exclusively as a sacred textbook whose focus is largely on matters
related to history and morals. There are some who treat it simply as a work of literature. There
are others who see it simply as a cultural artifact from remote antiquity whose constituent books
open a window onto the world of ancient Judaism and Christianity. My sense is that all of these
are true, and more. Rather than selecting a limiting metaphor for the biblical text, I choose to see
it as an anthology consisting of multiple perspectives that amount to a choir of descanting
theological voices. As such, it is an icon of what its readers should be—a many voiced
community of seekers who gather to recount, worship, contemplate, celebrate, and seek
communion with the One who created all that exists and declared it good.
The fourth is that spiritually oriented engagement of Scripture requires a certain number
of interpretive tools that make it possible for us to read it in ways that are responsible and
facilitate the appropriation of its theological riches in ways that are life giving and affirming.
Some of these consist of attitudes or disciplines of the mind such as openness, flexibility,
patience, and persistence. Others are made up of paradigms for biblical criticism such as source
criticism, form criticism, redaction criticism, and others. These critical resources make it possible
for us to read the Bible in ways that open us to the workings of grace and deepen our
appreciation of the text, its truths, and our relationship with it. I will say more about some of
these modalities later. For now, two specific examples will suffice as examples of how certain
modern interpretive tools can enrich our reading of the Bible.
New Testament scholar Bruce Malina, uses a cross-cultural model to highlight the ways
in which Mediterannean conceptions of personhood have shaped the portrayals of characters we
encounter in the Bible. His oft-cited and highly readable article “Biblical (Mediterranean)
Characters—A Guide for U.S. Consumers” gives a fascinating overview of this approach and
shows how our modern American conceptions of personal identity differ markedly from those
operative in the ancient biblical world. Anthropologist Mary Douglas, by contrast, has devoted
much time and energy to the study of the ways which people feel themselves to be embedded in
groups and/or in one-to-one relationships in ancient and modern cultures. She has posited that
these attitudes have a bearing on regulations governing the care of the body as well as on
regulations concerning food preparation and consumption. She explores these themes and their
implications for biblical interpretation in two of her more well known work—Purity and Danger
and Body Symbols.
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Larger Theological Implications
If these authors are correct, we have a great deal to think about when it comes to
understanding the Bible and the growth of theology in both the Jewish and Christian traditions.
On a pragmatic level, one wonders how much of the model of Mediterranean Personhood infuses
our understanding of "family values" in the contemporary American world. One has to wonder
about the message of certain biblical books regarding this dominant worldview—i.e., were they
supportive of it or did they challenge it? One also has to think about the "fallout" in today's
world. If this is the dominant social "ethos" of the Bible, how are we best able to be responsible
stewards of this tradition in the 21st century? Perhaps the first step in addressing this issue is to
be more aware of the kinds of stories that one finds in the ancient Near Eastern world within
which Scripture was written.
Understanding Ancient Folklore
What is folklore? Anthropologists Carol and Melvin Ember define it as "all the lore
(myths, legends, folktales, ballads, riddles, proverbs, and superstitions) of a culture" (see their
Anthropology, 7th ed., p. 496). I would extend this definition and add that folklore consists of
all of the stories, poetry, art, and music created by members of a society, within which are
encoded their values, ideals, and dreams. This term should not be seen as pejorative. Folklore is
a malleable medium particularly well suited to convey ideas about God, humanity, morality, and
the universe. All cultures, past and present, have produced it. To speak of the Bible as Israel’s
repository of folklore is not to devalue it. It is to recognize it as a rich and diverse anthology
containing myths, historical accounts, songs, and other masterpieces that reflect ancient Israel’s
collective wisdom on the mysterious and grace filled world in which we live.
Reading Folklore
What should one look for when reading folklore? How can one read the Bible—an
inspired text—as folklore in a way that allows us to acknowledge it as both sacred and
authoritative? This is not as difficult or problematic as it might seem. By acknowledging that the
Holy Spirit works through human agents and that biblical authors conveyed Divine truth by
using the culturally specific stories and other media available to them, one can use the tools of
the anthropologist, sociologist, literary critic, and archeologist to understand the cultural world of
the Bible, the symbols encountered in its books, and the values found therein. One can read
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prayerfully while paying attention to the type of passage being read (e.g., myth, epic, hymn,
proverb, etc.) as well as to how the passage is put together or structured. It it is a narrative or
story, one can look carefully at things such as plot, symbolic universe (i.e., the environment in
which the story takes place), character development, and key themes. This last feature is
particularly fascinating because of what cross-cultural research has uncovered about folklore
worldwide.
For example, a cross-cultural examination of global themes discernible in folklore
conducted many years ago by Clyde Kluckhohn found that the following five themes recur in
folktales of all societies.
•
•
•
•
•
Catastrophe (usually through flood)
Slaying of Monsters
Incest
Sibling Rivalry (usually between brothers)
Castration (sometimes actual but more often symbolic)
Reading the Bible, particularly the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, with an eye toward the
presence of these themes promises to tell us much about how biblical writers appropriated and
used these themes to convey important truths about their understanding of the mysteries of
creation and salvation.
Languages of Human Expression
I think it is also helpful to think of folklore and its constituent genres such as myth, epic,
and the like as languages in which men and women express their longings and attempt to make
sense of the world. There are, of course, many such languages that can be used in this way—each
with its own rules, logic, and grammar. For example, mathematics, science, music, athletics, and
theological discourse are distinct languages. It could be argued that the ideas that are expressed
in these languages are interchangeable, if one knows how to translate ideas from one language to
another. This is particularly true, in my opinion, of theological concepts, which can be conveyed
in any of these and any of these can convey theological concepts. Thus, by paying attention to
the many ways in which human beings attempt to make sense of the world and chart its spiritual
topography, one equips oneself to be a more astute reader and interpreter of Scripture—i.e., one
who can “read, mark, and inwardly digest” its riches and apply them in ways consistent with the
love expressed therein.
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Near Eastern Religious Environment
In addition to providing material that can be compared and contrasted to that found in the Bible,
the myths, legends, and stories of ancient Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt provide an "artistic
and theological window" through which to view the dreams and aspirations of the peoples of the Fertile
Crescent. Often, our conceptions of these cultures are conditioned by that of the biblical writers.
However, when one allows their texts and artifacts to speak for themselves, a somewhat different picture
can be seen. From the standpoint of Christian theology—particularly in the Catholic tradition—this is
absolutely vital because it allows one to consider how the nature of God was perceived and construed in
cultural settings other than our own and to appreciate the myriad dynamic forces that influence discourse
about God in different contexts.
As far as themes are concerned, it is useful to think of their folklore—and all folklore for that
matter—as an impressionistic and artistic map that provides essential ontological, teleological,
cosmological, anthropological, and theological information. In sum, it conveys essential truths about
being, meaning, the universe, humanity, and the divine.
In thinking about the historical and theological environment of the ancient Near East, and its
impact on the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity, it is helpful to remember a few basic maxims.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The first is that the predominant religious model in the region was polytheistic. In other words,
there was recognition that the universe was inhabited by thousands of deities.
The second is that in some areas, particularly large urban areas, centralized governmental and
religious authority could lead to a situation in which one of several gods would assume greater
prominence than others. This god would, as a result, be seen as the head of a local pantheon.
The third is that the religious ecology of a polytheistic culture is rather different from that of a
monotheistic one. It tends to be client based. It thrives on religious tolerance, dynamism, and
syncretization. It is theologically and ideologically diverse.
The fourth is that polytheism offers a ready outlet for the religious yearnings of societies that are
socially complex and ethnically diverse.
The fifth is that in terms of social life, polytheistic cultures allow for the development and
maintenance of a large corps of religious professionals (priests, shamans, etc.).
The sixth is that monotheism seems gradually to have supplanted polytheism in Israel for at least
four of the following reasons:
1. an impetus toward the rejection of ancient Near Eastern social values;
2. the persuasiveness, power, and theological genius of certain priestly and prophetic voices in
Israel; and
3. the political patronage of kings such as Josiah; and
4. a series of successful theological compromises that permitted the assertion of Yahweh's
ontological distinctiveness from and supremacy over other non-human forces in the cosmos.
The seventh is that there is possibly a monistic trajectory in a few ancient Near Eastern sources
that suggests that all gods are a manifestation of a single divine entity or essence. This, however,
requires further investigation.
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Back to the Bible
As I said earlier, the Bible is a collection of smaller books that are themselves made up of
even smaller units of literature. Some of the smaller units were originally oral, some written. The
smaller units, the individual books, and larger collections of those books have been edited many
times. The editors, their settings, and agenda are difficult to put a finger on.
Development of Israelite Literature
The following is my speculative timeline for the major developmental phases in the
writing of the Hebrew Bible.
1300—1000 BCE
Israel's earliest poetic and narrative traditions begin to take shape; as part of group cohesion (e.g.,
familial, tribal, etc.), older traditions are brought together and blended and newer ones
reinforcing the interests of the emergent groups are generated
1000—587 BCE
Processes outlined above continue on a larger scale as monarchy is formed; modified; and
eventually dissolved; During this period, the monarchy and other powerful special interest
groups (e.g., priests, prophets, various ideologues, etc.) preserved and generated traditions (oral
and written) that they considered central to their world view
587—200 BCE
Processes outlined above continue; special interests who enjoy the support of Judah's suzerains
(Babylon, Persia, and Greece) bring together and edit Torah, Prophetic Books, and some books
in the Writings; Translations of various biblical books into Greek
150 BCE—90 CE
Processes outlined above continue; emerging sense of canon developing; contents of Torah and
Prophets fixed (?); most writings fixed
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Canonical Foci in the Hebrew Bible
What is clear is that the final product—sometimes called the canonical form—of the
Hebrew Bible contains certain dominant themes. Some of these include the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Covenant
Freedom From Political and Social Oppression
Sin
Redemption
The Goodness of Creation
The Ineffability of God
The Indomitable Power of Love
These themes are very important in both Jewish and Christian theology.
Jewish and Christian Canons
The shape of the canon in Jewish tradition differs slightly from that in both Catholic and
Protestant traditions—the most obvious difference being the inclusion in the Christian canon of
the books produced by early Christians that we know as the New Testament. The other important
difference is in terms of the choice and arrangement of books that constitute what Christians
know as the Old or First Testament. The threefold division of the Jewish canon into Torah
(Law), Neviim (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings) says something important about how the
community perceived this literature in terms of its sacred quality, formation, and usage—i.e., as
an anthology of sacred texts in which is found God’s self-disclosure. The Catholic and Protestant
canons arrange the books in the Old/First Testament in a sequence roughly equivalent to that of
the Greek translation of the Bible—the Septuagint (often abbreviated as “LXX”)—and this
arrangement (into History and Poetry) places an emphasis on the Bible as a record of salvation
history.
Approaches to Reading
Over the years a vast assortment of approaches to reading and interpreting the Bible has been
developed. Some are particularly well suited to those for whom biblical reading is a spiritual
discipline. The following list notes their names, procedures, and distinctive strengths.
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Interpretive Approaches
Lectio Divina: Reading strategy aimed at the enhancement of spirituality; a meditative discipline
Historical Criticism: Discerns authorship, context, and historical veracity of biblical texts; good for
understanding the historical background of the Bible’s books
Source Criticism: Determines constituent (usually written) sources of biblical books; ideal for
understanding the various components of each of the Bible’s constituent books
Form Criticism: Identifies genres of biblical books and their components; also studies Sitz im Leben of
genres; ideal for understanding the relationship between literary form and social reality
Rhetorical Criticism: Extension of form criticism that looks at artifice of individual texts—markers of
"genius"; good for helping readers to appreciate the artistry of prose and poetry in the Bible
Redaction Criticism: Studies editorial history of biblical texts; helps readers appreciate the ways in which
editors have shaped the final form of the books in the biblical canon
Sociological Criticism: Uses sociological methods to study the Bible; helps readers to understand social
norms and patterns of behavior in the biblical world
Anthropological Criticism: Uses anthropological methods to study the Bible; helps readers compare and
contrast ancient Israelite culture with other cultures in the ancient and modern world
Ethnological Criticism: Examines the artistic use of cultural information in biblical texts; good for
helping readers see how authors use background information about a culture to entertain and instruct
Autobiographical Criticism: Uses personal history as interpretive "lens"; enables readers to use their
personal stories as a resource for interpreting the Bible
Feminist Criticism: Uses the unique experiences of women as the foundation of the interpretive process;
good for highlighting the experiences of women in the ancient and modern world
Womanist Criticism: Employs experiences and challenges of women in Africa and the African Diaspora
as the foundation of the interpretive process
Ideological Criticism: Looks at the ideologies "encoded" in biblical texts; good to enable readers to “read
between the lines” and detect ideas subtly woven into the fabric of the text
Virtual History: A "what if" approach used to construct alternative views of past events and their
implications; useful in helping one to ponder possible outcomes and theological implications of changes
in past and present events
Structuralist Criticism: Biblical content is treated as reflection of human subconscious and its attempt to
reconcile polarities; helps readers consider the relationship between the structure of the human subconscious and the stories we create
Postmodern Criticism: Approaches that stress relativity of textual meaning; helps to reinforce the great
variety that obtains in the ways that readers treat the Bible and the multiplicity of interpretive possibilities
presented by each biblical book
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Hermeneutical Sensitivities
The aforementioned information makes clear a final important point—that responsible
Bible reading requires that we have: a basic understanding of what the Bible is (e.g., its origin,
authority, & essential character); an understanding of the various methods that can be used to
interpret it; and an awareness of the history and theological presuppositions of the community in
which one reads it.
Closing Thoughts
The Bible is an extraordinary anthology, the reading of which forces us to consider the
truths being communicated through its pages and to look carefully for those wonderful signs of
God’s handiwork in our own lives and the world in which we live. Biblical Reading and
responsible Christian living are prayerful disciplines best undertaken together. The tools that
empower us to read and interpret in sacred reading can be usefully employed in the practice of
holy living.
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