The Old Testament is confusing! What are these different books that make up the first half of the Bible? This episode will help you know how to read prophecy and Proverbs!
0:00 – INTRO
1:15 – WHAT IS THE OLD TESTAMENT? The Bible is a collection of 66 books. Old Testament: first 39 books.
2:00 – OVERVIEW OF THE OT: Written over 1000 years (c. 1400 BC-400 BC). 30 writers. In Hebrew (some Aramaic). Jesus & apostles referred to the OT as their “Scriptures.” Theme: God’s dealing with his chosen people & anticipation of the coming Messiah (Christ).
3:02 – WHAT IS GENRE? “Genre” is a kind of writing with a certain form and content. “What type of thing am I reading right now?”
4:25 – 6 GENRES IN THE OT:
- LAW
- NARRATIVE
- WISDOM
- POETRY
- PROPHECY
- APOCALYPTIC
4:42 – 1. LAW: gives instructions (Pentateuch: first 5 books)
5:34 – 2. NARRATIVE: stories (Genesis-Esther): tragedy, epic, romance, heroic, satire
8:04 – 3. WISDOM: teaches the meaning of life and how to live (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes): proverbial, speculative
9:46 – 4. POETRY: ancient Near Eastern poetry (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs)
11:05 – 5. PROPHECY: points to the future & how to live (Isaiah-Malachi). Jesus fulfilled God’s plan!
11:55 – 6. APOCALYPTIC: prophetic using symbols & imagery (Daniel 7)
12:51 – SO WHAT? To correctly interpret Scripture, you have to know the genre and not confuse them!
13:55 – WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP? READ PROVERBS
15:22 – THANK YOU & WRAP UP
