Key Themes of the Old Testament: A Survey of Major Theological Themes

368 Pages·2013·3.91 MB·english

by  David E. Graves

Key Themes
of the
Old Testament
A Survey of Major Theological Themes

David E. Graves, Ph.D.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible
(The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
All rights reserved.
Italics within Scripture quotations indicate emphasis added.

Key Themes of the Old Testament: A Survey of Major Theological Themes
Copyright © 2013 by David E. Graves
Published by David E. Graves, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Revision 1 – March 12, 2013, Rev. 2 – March 22, 2013; Rev. 3 – May 23,
2013; Rev. 4 – August 28, 2013; Rev. 5 – September 5, 2013; Rev. 6 – April
4, 2014; Rev 7 - 2014

Graves, David E.
Key Themes of the Old Testament: A Survey of Major Theological Themes /
David E. Graves.
Includes bibliographic references and indixes.
ISBN-13: 978–1478122692
ISBN-10: 1478122692
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form (i.e., electronic, scanning,
photocopy or recording) without the written permission of the publisher. The
only exception is brief excerpts for reviews.
Printed in the United States of America.
Interior Book Design: David E. Graves
Cover Design: David E. Graves
Left Oil lamp: David E. Graves
Middle Beersheba altar: © BiblePlaces.com: Photo by Todd Bolen
Right seal impression: David E. Graves
Bottom closeup of Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III © David E. Graves by
permission of the Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago.
Picture Acknowlegements
Photographs
Amman Museum, Jordan: Photo by David E. Graves: no. 17, 31, 32
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford: no. 36
BiblePlaces.com: Photo by Todd Bolen: no. 51, 55, 69, 72, 73, 78, 79, 90
The Trustees of the British Museum. Photo by David E. Graves: no. 27, 34,
40, 41, 55
David E. Graves: no. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29,
30, 33, 35, 38, 39, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 60, 61, 63, 64, 71, 75, 76, 77, 82,
86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 93
George M. Grena: no. 8
Glasgow Library, Special Collections: no. 12
Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago: Photo by David E. Graves:
no. 5, 9, 14, 20, 21, 26, 42, 44, 52, 57, 58, 65, 66, 94, 95, 96
Qumran Visitor Center: Photo by David E. Graves: no. 15
Clifford Wilson: no. 1, 43, 45, 59, 67, 68
Illustrations
David E. Graves: no. 70, 81
David Steeves: no. 37, 74, 80, 83
Ritmeyer Archaeological Design: no. 15, 19, 84, 85, 92
Charts
David E. Graves: all charts
Maps
David E. Graves: no. 1, 46, 47, 62
To
Dr. Steven Collins
for his friendship
and modeling the intrigue of exploration
and the privilege of digging at Tall el-Hammam
and the opportunity to excavate Livias
and to my
mother Hilda
and
wife Irina
for cultivating my curiosity
and partners in many travels.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book owes a great debt of gratitude to many
friends and family whose professionalism and passion
for the Bible and archaeology have contributed to its
completion. First among them is Ralph Richardson,
who taught this course in various forms to the
undergraduate students at Atlantic Baptist College and
later Crandall University for over 30 years. Dr.
Richardson initially assisted in assembling the Biblical
Themes course material which evolved over the next
ten years into its present form. He was not only my
teacher but invited me to teach the course “Themes of
the Bible” with him which is the basis upon which this
work is written.
Next, thanks is due to my daughter Jessica, who
began the tireless task of proof reading the original
manuscript. Another individual not to be forgotten is
Scott Stripling, a friend and colleague who dug with me
at Tall el-Hammam, Jordan for several seasons and who
kindly proof read parts of the initial script. And thanks
is also due to Glen Ruffle who performed the bulk of
the proof reading of the final manuscript. His eye to
detail and prompt attention to minor issues is much
appreciated.
I also wish to express my gratitude to Glasgow
Library, Special Collections, Ashmolean Museum,
University of Oxford, The Trustees of the British
Museum, Leen Ritmeyer, George Grena, David
Steeves, Todd Bolen, Bryant Wood, and the late
Clifford Wilson and others for their permission to use
their fine work in photographs, illustrations, and
images.
Lastly, I wish to express my thankfulness to my wife
Irina for her helpful comments, deep love, care, and
patience during the long hours of writing and editing
this work.
Sola Deo Gloria
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
Old Testament
New Testament
Apostolic Fathers
Apocrypha
OT Pseudephigrapha
Dead Sea Scrolls
Ancient Sources
Modern Sources
PREFACE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS
Prehistoric Period
Biblical Period
Classical Period
Islamic Period
Modern Period
INTRODUCTION
Neutrality Myth
Assumptions
Tolerance
An ad hominem argument
Valid Questions
CHAPTER ONE – HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH
BIBLE
Languages of the Bible
Date of Composition
Manuscripts
The Purpose of Bible Translation
Translation Theories
Different Bible Translations
Ancient Bible Translations
English Bible Translations
Paraphrases
Apocryphal Writings
Rabbinic Writings
Contemporary Writers
Division of the TaNaKH
STRUCTURE OF THE HEBREW BIBLE
Tanakh
STRUCTURE OF THE PROTESTANT BIBLE
Old Testament
New Testament
CHAPTER TWO – BIBLICAL REVELATION
Presuppositions
God Reveals Himself to Man
How Do We Know the Bible is the Word of God?
Keys to Understand the Bible
CHAPTER THREE – INSPIRATION
Unique Book
Unity and Diversity
Inspiration
The Veracity of Scripture
Authority
The Bible’s Self-Authentication
The Role of Archaeology
Sufficiency
Preservation
CHAPTER FOUR – TRANSMISSION OF THE
TEXT
Oral Tradition
Tasks of a Scribe
Canon
Formation of the OT Canon
Formation of the NT Canon
CHAPTER FIVE – CREATION CONTEXT
Trinitarian Creator
Fiat and Fulfillment
The Heavens Declare God’s Glory
Babylonian Creation Epics
Creatio Ex Nihilo
Literary Style
Days of Creation