Old Testament Heroes – Introduction

Class Date: May 18, 2022

The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is not just one book , but a library of books that can be viewed as subsections. The first section is called “The Torah”. Translated, this word includes “law” and “wisdom”. The first five books are all part of the Torah. Then there are the historical writings. This includes Joshua and the settling of the Promised Land, and continues with books that chronicle the entire history of ancient Israel including the post exilic period. Then we have a group of books referred to as the Writings. This includes Psalms (Israel’s worship book) and wisdom literature such as Job and Proverbs. Finally there are the prophets, both major and minor.

This study will look at one minor prophet (Jonah), one major prophet (Daniel), one of the most important historical figures (David), and a short story from among the writings about a fascinating woman who saved her people from annihilation (Esther). These four characters represent the different sections of the Hebrew Bible and the message of each one is important to understanding God.

For Christians, the Hebrew Bible is not “old”, it is incomplete. As Christians, we believe that the message of the New Testament is meant to be understood as the fulfillment of what is referred to by Jews as “The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings”. There are four covenants in the Hebrew Bible. These include the one made through Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. Christians believe that God established a new covenant with humanity through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God’s revelation in Jesus Christ can help us understand what each of these previous covenants mean. The Hebrew Bible cannot be understood as having been fulfilled apart from Christ, who though his death and resurrection, overcame and nullified the power of sin, evil, and death.