Old Testament Overview – Out of the Whirlwind

God, having of old spoken to the fathers by the prophets, in many places and in many ways, at the end of these days spoke to us in a Son.
[Hebrews 1:1-2, Hart]

We live in an age of facts, science, technology. Does that dusty old Bible on the shelf still have any relevance? Is it just a collection of myths from thousands of years ago written by sinful men? Or is it God’s Holy Word, an instruction manual for life, written by the Creator and meant to be taken literally by all people throughout all of history regardless of cultural and individual contexts?

If we overemphasize God’s role in the final product, what do we do when we find historical or scientific inaccuracies, or verses that appear to contradict one another? How do we justify statements that seem to condone, or actually endorse, acts of violence–rape, murder, even genocide?

But if we remove God completely, what’s left? And how do we account for all those fulfilled prophecies that seem to evince a source beyond space and time?

“If YHWH does not build the house, its builders have labored at it in vain” (Psalm 127:1, LSV). But if the builders use cardboard for wood and seashells for hammers, has YHWH labored in vain? Even the greatest architects are at the mercy of the materials and laborers that give flesh to their inspired vision.

God has inspired men and women for thousands of years, but the words they leave behind have always been their words, written from their historical contexts, to their particular audiences. Men and women are fallible. Human language is fallible. But these are the laborers and the tools that were chosen to build the house of the infallible God.

This is true even of the apostles who actually knew the risen Lord. How much more must this be true of the ancient Israelites who, aided by God’s Spirit, emerged from civilizations we now consider barbaric?

Gospel Truth

Most Christians understand that along with the many similarities among the four Gospels, there are differences as well. Mark wrote his Gospel for Christians in Rome who were experiencing persecution. Matthew wrote to persuade readers in Syro-Palestine that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Luke, a Greek physician, explained that his purpose was “to write an orderly account [of the things that have been accomplished among us] … that you may have certainty concerning things you have been taught” (Acts 1:1-4, ESV). The author of John’s Gospel also specified his purpose: “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31 ESV).

Now, imagine these four sources had been merged into one continuous account. A Christian named Tatian actually did this for Syriac-speaking Christians in the second-century. What if the Church as a whole had preferred this version over the four individual accounts? We would be sitting here today with the “Diatessaron” in our Bibles instead of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We would be forced to rely on scholars to recreate to the best of their ability the original source material so we could understand why Matthew is sometimes referred to as Levi, and why there are differing accounts of Jesus’s famous sermon on the mount, … or the plain, … or the plain on the side of a mount.

As we approach the Old Testament, we need to understand that it is a tapestry of different theological accounts of YHWH’s work among His covenant people. Recognizing the specific historical circumstances behind the text and the unique viewpoints of the various authors is the only way we can accurately apply these Scriptures to our own lives. Here I will try to illuminate the context in which the historical books of the Hebrew Bible were written.

El, Elohim, YHWH, Adonai

Prior to the time of Moses, Israel’s ancestors typically referred to God as El (accompanied by a defining attribute or the place where He had been encountered–El Shaddai, for example) or Elohim (a plural term that could refer to multiple divine beings, one majestic God, or–Christians may suggest–both: one Triune God). “El” was the ancient father of the Canaanite pantheon, similar to Kronos in Greek mythology. When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush as YHWH (which is probably a causative form of the verb “to be,” highlighting His role as Creator), worship of storm gods like Ba’al and Zeus was displacing worship of the old gods. This may explain the storm imagery that often accompanies manifestations of YHWH. There was little that actually distinguished the religion of Abraham’s descendants from other Semitic Mesopotamians and Canaanites until YHWH gave them His Torah (instruction). [For more on this topic, check out Frank Moore Cross’s book Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic. It’s not an easy read but it’s fascinating for nerds like me.]

While it was probably pronounced “YAH-weh,” the name was considered too holy to be spoken, so Israelites would say Adonai (“Lord”) instead. When vowels were added to the Hebrew text, instead of marking the vowels for Yahweh, the vowels for Adonai were written as a reminder to read “Adonai.” This is the origin of “Jehovah” (YaHoWaH). In your modern translations, when you see LORD written with all capital letters, it means the Hebrew word being translated was the “Tetragrammaton,” YHWH. You will not find this in translations from the Septuagint, however, because the Greek text had already translated YHWH as Kyrios (“Lord”).

Historical Origin of Israel

The Exodus event (and subsequent wilderness wandering) is simultaneously the revelation of God as YHWH and the birth of His people. YHWH commissions Moses to free His people from their bondage and lead them to Canaan. Theories abound as to how this “mixed multitude” of former slaves came to settle in the Promised Land and grow into a nation. The Biblical text itself offers different, seemingly conflicting, accounts. During the period of the Judges, loosely confederated “tribes” appear to function independently, linked only by their common devotion to YHWH who is worshiped in shrines throughout the land (most prominently the central shrine of Shiloh). By the time the historical evidence offers any degree of certainty, Israel has become a kingdom, united for about a century under Saul, David, and Solomon.

The Jahwist

In 922 BC, following the death of Solomon, the northern tribes secede. For the next two centuries, we have two kingdoms. In the southern kingdom of Judah, ancient traditions going all the way back to creation are channeled into one epic story. This account is labeled “Jahwist” (spelled with a “J” by the German scholars who first theorized the “Documentary Hypothesis”). It is the only source that refers to God as YHWH prior to Moses’s encounter with the burning bush. The Jahwist is not afraid to depict God in anthropomorphic terms: fashioning Adam from the dust of the ground, breathing life into his nostrils, planting a garden, taking strolls, smelling Noah’s sacrifice, wrestling with Jacob. This YHWH is an immanent God, intimately personal with His creation. There is a definite southern bias evident in the attention given to Esau (Edom bordered the southern kingdom); Judah (ancestor of David); Caleb (a Judahite); the ark of the covenant and its eventual resting place of Jerusalem; and the line of Aaron as the only legitimate priesthood.

The Elohist

In the northern kingdom of Israel, the “Elohist” (perhaps a Levite from Shiloh) gathers the ancient traditions of the northern tribes. Here, Joseph and his son Ephraim are the favored descendants of Jacob; Aaron is consistently denigrated (casting shade upon the later Aaronid priesthood); and Moses’s legendary successor is Joshua (an Ephramite) who is–amazingly enough–completely absent from the J account.

“Old Epic” & Priestly Tradition

In 722 BC, the northern kingdom falls to Assyria and its people are dispersed throughout the Middle East. Many flee to Judah, bringing their legends with them. The Jahwist and Elohist accounts are then combined by a Redactor (“RJE”) into what’s sometimes referred to as the “Old Epic.”

Shortly hereafter, around the time of the reforms of King Hezekiah (715-686 BC), Jerusalem priests boasting descent from Aaron create an alternative account. These Priestly authors are obsessed with lists, genealogies, numbers, and the Tabernacle as the exclusive acceptable location for performing sacrifices. Their God is majestic, transcendent, and only approachable through the proper channels.

Deuteronomistic Historians

Between 640 and 610 BC, King Josiah’s religious advisers (possibly influenced by Jeremiah) fear that the approaching threat of Assyria is a consequence of the people’s spiritual infidelity to YHWH. They “find” a book of the law (probably an early version of Deuteronomy) which inspires Josiah to hold a covenantal renewal ceremony and to institute reforms throughout the kingdom. If the P source sanctions the priestly perspective, D may be thought of as representing the prophetic point of view. Moses calls upon the people to love YHWH with all their heart, soul, and strength. Obedience would bring blessings; disobedience would summon God’s wrath. But such chastening would be a refiner’s fire, intended to restore the people to a blessed relationship with YHWH: a fitting message for a nation facing destruction. “Deuteronomistic Historians” would go on to revise Deuteronomy and include it as an introduction to their “Deuteronomistic History” which includes the books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel & Kings (Kingdoms in the Greek text).

Final Priestly Redaction

In 597 BC, the Babylonian Empire conquers Judah and takes King Jehoiachin, prophet/priest Ezekiel, and others into exile. The remaining elites are exiled in 586 BC where they remain until the Persian Empire conquers Babylon and allows exiles to return beginning in 538 BC. Over the next hundred years or so, the Temple and the city walls are rebuilt. No longer a kingdom, however, the same family of priests that had produced the P source and the book of Ezekiel assume leadership over the people. They gather all available sources, edit the Pentateuch into its final form, and add the books of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah.

[Many of these details are taken from Richard Elliott Friedman’s The Bible with Sources Revealed, available in Kindle and Paperback].

If you found any of this interesting, please share it with a friend.

DIY Source Criticism

If these sources are interesting to you, one way to follow along with them would be to highlight Yahwist passages in Yellow, Elohist passages in Emerald Green, and RJE (Redactor of J and E) passages in Red (if you have a way to do something like that with the Bible you’re using). The rest of Genesis through Numbers is going to be mostly Priestly, whether from the original priestly source in the early 7th century BC or a later priestly editor (perhaps as late as the end of the 5th century BC). Deuteronomy is going to be almost entirely from the Deuteronomistic Historians (in three stages). I’ll note the exceptions when we get there.