Exploring the Old Testament

A Guide to the Historical Books

Philip E. Satterthwaite, J. Gordon McConville

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9780830868773
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

The historical books, from Joshua to Ezra and Nehemiah, form the narrative backbone of the Old Testament. Without them the Pentateuch would stop cold and the Prophets would hang in suspension. Even the Psalms and Wisdom literature would lose some of their luster for lack of a setting. Without these historical books the New Testament would be resolving an incomplete narrative, answering a question only half and hesitantly posed. For all these reasons and more, it is a tragic fact that many of us today cannot give a brief and coherent account of this story. We fear that books with names like Judges, Kings and Chronicles would bore us. But nothing could be further from the truth. For the story they tell is full of action and intrigue, tragedy and suspense, vivid characters and memorable events. They are the stuff of great art and literature, and they have inspired men and women to lives and deeds of uncommon faith and courage. Exploring these books is essential for a true education, whether religious or otherwise.In this guidebook, Philip E. Satterthwaite and J. Gordon McConville introduce us to the content and the context of these historical books. We view them within the setting of ancient history and history writing, and come to appreciate their literary artistry, their role within the Scriptures of Israel, and their lasting value as theological and ethical resources. Designed especially for students, Exploring the Old Testament, Volume 2: A Guide to the Historical Books overflows with interesting and helpful features that encourage avid exploration and the joy of learning.

Chapter 1

WHAT ARE THE HISTORIES? A SURVEY OF RECENT SCHOLARSHIP

OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORIES

As they now stand in the Bible, the Histories form the continuation of a narrative begun in the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch describes the creation of the world and the beginnings of human history, and then for most of its length focuses on YHWH the creator god’s dealings with the people of Israel. YHWH commits himself to Israel by covenant and gives them a calling, to bring blessing to the nations of the world. Deuteronomy, the last book of the Pentateuch, ends with Israel about to enter Canaan, the land which YHWH has promised to give them as their national territory. At this point the Histories begin.

Joshua describes Israel’s conquest of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership, and the division of Canaan and parts of Transjordan among the 12 tribes of Israel. The later chapters of Joshua imply that by the end of Joshua’s life the Israelites have not yet taken complete possession of Canaan.

In Judges the generation after Joshua fails to complete the conquest of Canaan. A lengthy period of religious unfaithfulness and political instability follows. Leaders (‘judges’) arise, but bring only temporary respite. The book ends with Israel still not in complete possession of the land.

Ruth is set in the period of the judges. Ruth, a Moabite woman, attaches herself to an Israelite family, bringing blessing to herself and others. She is an ancestor of David, future king of Israel.

Samuel is the last of Israel’s judges, but the books of Samuel, named after him, describe the beginnings of monarchy in Israel. The reign of Saul, Israel’s first king, ends in disaster. But David emerges as Saul’s successor and completes the conquest of Canaan by capturing Jerusalem. He defeats or forms alliances with surrounding nations and brings stability. During the later years of his reign he has to overcome a rebellion led by his son Absalom.

The books of Kings describe the reign of David’s son Solomon, who builds a temple for YHWH in Jerusalem. After his death his single kingdom divides into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The rest of Kings describes the gradual decline of both kingdoms. The writer attributes this to religious unfaithfulness. The Assyrians destroy the northern kingdom and take its survivors into exile. Some generations later, the Babylonians do the same to the southern kingdom. Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed.

The books of Chronicles selectively retell the narrative running through all the books already mentioned. The genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1—9 go back as far as Adam, that is, to the beginning of the Pentateuch, but for the most part Chronicles runs parallel to Samuel and Kings. There are, however, many omissions and additions compared to Samuel and Kings, and many differences of emphasis. The last verses of 2 Chronicles describe how the Persian king Cyrus, who had conquered Babylon, issued a decree permitting the survivors of the southern kingdom and their descendants to return from exile.

THE TEXT OF THE HISTORIES

Almost all English translations of the Histories are based on the Hebrew of what is conventionally called the Masoretic Text, or MT. (‘Masoretic’ comes from a Hebrew word meaning ‘tradition’: English synonyms for ‘Masoretic’ might be ‘Received’ or ‘Traditional’.) This text, the work of several generations of the Ben Asher family at Tiberias (in Palestine), reached its final form in the tenth century AD, but it is based on textual traditions going back many centuries before that. The standard modern edition of MT is Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS), produced from 1967 onwards by the German Bible Society at Stuttgart.

The Hebrew of MT is sometimes difficult, and it is generally accepted that the traditions on which it is based have at points been affected by textual corruption during earlier stages of transmission. The discipline of Old Testament textual criticism attempts to address this issue. Old Testament textual critics study the many Hebrew manuscripts of MT and also other textual traditions relating to the Old Testament. These other traditions include ancient translations based on earlier forms of the Hebrew text, such as the Septuagint (Greek), the Targums (Aramaic), the Peshitta (Syriac) and the Vulgate (Latin). Since 1947 the biblical manuscripts from Qumran (Hebrew) have entered the discussion. The Qumran manuscripts include some whose text is almost identical to MT, and others which represent divergent textual traditions.

Most English translations, though based on MT, include in their base text non-MT readings suggested by the ancient translations, or attested in the biblical manuscripts from Qumran. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the translation regularly quoted in this book, follows this approach.

We recommend that you use more than one English translation for detailed study of the Histories, for two reasons. First, the translators responsible for the different English translations quite often assess the textual evidence (MT, Qumran, ancient versions) differently. At these points the translations differ because they are based on different views regarding the earliest form of the text. Second, even in passages where the text is not in doubt different translations bring out different nuances of the Hebrew. No one English translation is equally successful at capturing everything in the original. A good version to read alongside NRSV is the New International Version (NIV).

Because of space limitations we have not commented on textual questions relating to the Histories except in the case of Esther. For discussion of textual issues you should consult the commentaries and also the suggestions for further reading at the end of this chapter.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah, named after two leaders in the post-exilic period, take Cyrus’ decree as their starting-point. They describe the return of successive groups from Babylon to the former territory of Judah, the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, and the regulation of the restored community in Judah on the basis of the law of Moses.

Esther is set in Persia in the post-exilic period. It also describes what happened to descendants of the former citizens of Judah, but focuses on those Jews (the term begins to be used in Nehemiah and Esther) who did not return there. It relates how Esther and Mordecai, two Jews who became involved in the doings of the Persian royal court, managed to avert a threat to Jews throughout the Persian empire.

The above summary follows the order of English Bibles, according to which the Histories are placed after the Pentateuch and arranged chronologically. Hebrew editions of the Old Testament follow a different order. (See here, ‘The Histories as part of a larger story’.) In treating Joshua—Judges—Samuel—Kings separately from the other Histories (Ruth included) this textbook follows the lead of the Hebrew Bible.

SOME QUESTIONS

The above summary of the Histories may already have raised in your mind issues which need to be explored. The rest of this chapter will describe different approaches scholars have followed in their attempts to understand and interpret the Histories. These approaches may be formulated as a series of questions.

One set of questions focuses on the historical context in which the Histories originated, that is, on the ancient Near East in the second and first millennia BC. What is known of the history of this region in general? Are there other texts originating from the ancient Near East with which the Histories may be compared, and which help us to understand the Histories better?

Another set of questions concerns particular literary features of the Histories (e.g. the frequent use of repetition) which can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Can we identify the narrative techniques used by the writers? Do the Histories have a distinctive literary artistry? How should we understand the processes of their composition?

A further set of questions concerns the status of the Histories as historical documents. What kind of history of Israel do they offer? How do they compare to other historical texts from the ancient Near East? How reliable is their account of Israel’s history when set in the light of these other texts and when compa...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Short Title page
• Other Books in this Series
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Key to panels
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 - What are the Histories? A survey of recent scholarship
• Chapter 2 - The Ancient Near East, 1550–63 bc
• Chapter 3 - Joshua
• Chapter 4 - Judges
• Chapter 5 - 1 and 2 Samuel
• Chapter 6 - 1 and 2 Kings
• Chapter 7 - Joshua—Kings and theories of Deuteronomistic historiography
• Chapter 8 - Ruth
• Chapter 9 - Esther
• Chapter 10 - Ezra and Nehemiah
• Chapter 11 - 1 and 2 Chronicles
• Index
• About the Author
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press
• Copyright Page