The Old Testament is a collection of thirty-nine books about the history and religion from the folks of Israel. The authors of the books are unknown, and each publication possesses a distinctive tone, style, and message. Individually, they include stories, laws and regulations, and sayings that are intended to function as models of religious and ethical conduct. Together-through hundreds of heroes and complete events-they signify a unified narrative about God and his attempt to relate to humankind by relating to a about THE ENTIRE Old Testament particular group.

The Old Testament contains four main sections: the Pentateuch, the Ex – Prophets (or Historical Books), the Writings, as well as the Last mentioned Prophets. This study guide addresses books from your first three sections.

The Pentateuch

The Pentateuch comprises the first five books of the Old Testament. It depicts a series of beginnings-the start of the world, of humankind, and of God’s promise to the Israelites.

Genesis, the initial book, starts with God’s creation from the world. The perfect world falls into evil when humans disobey God, and the population divides into individual nations and languages. After many decades, God speaks to a guy named Abraham. God makes a guarantee, or covenant, with Abraham to make his descendants into a great country and to give them a great property. Abraham shows solid beliefs in God, and God seals his guarantee with a number of signs and exams. This unique covenant with God goes by on to Abraham’s boy, Isaac, also to his grandson, Jacob. Jointly, they represent the patriarchs, or fathers, of the Israelite people. Jacob’s twelve sons move to Egypt following the youngest sibling, Joseph, miraculously becomes a high formal in Egypt.

In the Book of Exodus, the descendants of Jacob’s children have become a huge people, but the Pharaoh of Egypt holds them in slavery. God chooses one guy, Moses, to rescue the Israelites. God transmits ten plagues to Egypt, and, with miraculous signs and miracles, Moses leads individuals out of Egypt and over the Crimson Sea. They go to Mount Sinai, where God shows up in a cloud of thunder within the mountain and affirms towards the Israelites the promise he designed to Abraham. God instructions them to worship just himself, and he gives them various honest and religious laws and regulations.

The books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy continue the explanation of God’s religious laws and his promises towards the people. The people must keep these laws to enter and enjoy the promised property, toward that they are proceeding. Despite God’s existence, the Israelites complain and disobey incessantly, inciting God’s wrath. They wander the wilderness for forty years in search of the promised property. These books continue the time of Moses’s renowned leadership and wonders, until his death at the end of Deuteronomy.

The Past Prophets

The Former Prophets, or the Historical Books, cover the annals from the Israelites from Moses’s death to the fall of the nation in 587 B.C. In the books of Joshua and Judges, the Israelites effectively conquer the property guaranteed to them by God, however they disobey God by worshipping the deities of the encompassing peoples. Neighboring nations invade and oppress the Israelites. God saves the folks of Israel by designating judges, or rulers, to business lead the people in warding off their enemies.

The two books of Samuel (First Samuel and Second Samuel) cover the rise of the uk of Israel. Israel’s spiritual head, Samuel, appoints a king called Saul. Saul disobeys God, nevertheless, and God chooses another guy, David, to be Israel’s king. King Saul efforts to destroy the young David, but fails. Saul’s death closes the first book. In the next book, David establishes the fantastic kingdom of Israel. He conquers Israel’s surrounding enemies and establishes Jerusalem as the religious and political center of Israel.

The books of Kings (called 1 Kings and 2 Kings) trace the decline of Israel’s success. God blesses David’s son, Solomon, with huge wisdom. As king, Solomon expands Israel into an empire and builds a great temple in Jerusalem. Solomon disobeys God by worshipping additional deities, and, at his loss of life, the kingdom splits into a north kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah. A host of evil kings leads the two kingdoms from worshipping God. Despite the attempts from the prophets Elijah and Elisha to halt Israel’s wrongdoing, both kingdoms fall to the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires. Jerusalem is definitely destroyed, as well as the people are sent into exile.

The Writings

The Writings are put after the historical books in the Christian Bible. Some of these are narratives within the time of Israel’s exile in various other nations and its eventual return to the homeland. The Book of Esther, for instance, tells the storyplot of an unassuming Jewish female who turns into the queen of Persia and boldly saves the Jewish people from genocide.

Many of the Writings are books of poetry and intelligence, among the most essential books in the Aged Testament. The Reserve of Job can be a lengthy dialogue looking into God’s justice and the problem of individual suffering. The Psalms are lyrical poems and hymns-many attributed to King David-that express humankind’s desiring God. The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes-similarly related to the smart Ruler Solomon-offer sayings and instructions about this is of lifestyle and moral behavior. Lastly, the Track of Solomon (also attributed to Solomon) can be an enchanting, lyric dialogue between a young female and her enthusiast.