Companion to the Old Testament: For the Interpreter Within Each of Us

By Ted Leach

Beginners to Bible study will enjoy the simple language in this useful introduction to the Old Testament. Long-time students of the Bible who want more than a literal approach to scripture will find refreshing interpretations for some of the more difficult passages. The author respects the historical context of the ancient biblical stories and encourages the reader to make practical application to todays world. This book helps Christians understand how the Old Testament is community property shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is a constructive resource for interfaith discussion, particularly as people of different faiths (or no faith) seek to identify some shared principles of our common humanity. Abraham, revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims, can be a starting point for greater mutual understanding. The Jewish concept of Messiah can be a metaphor of hope for all people.

Footnotes are included for those who want to know more about a given topic. Questions for Reflection at the end of each chapter facilitate group discussion. A concise index is provided. The books introduction and ten chapters are suitable for a 10-12 week study.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449796341

Ted Leach

Ted Leach served for 40 years as a United Methodist pastor. He approaches the Bible with intellectual honesty, great respect and a deep love. He has the heart of a teacher who enjoys seeing the Bible “come alive” as readers interpret and apply scripture to their daily lives.

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

1   An Approach To The Bible

2   The Hebrew Bible

3   Seeds Of Faith

4   Freedom And Responsibility

5   The Land Of Canaan

6   Jerusalem

7   The Prophets

8   In The Shadow Of Empires

9   Judaism

10   Messianic Hope

For Further Reading

Endnotes

Description of Cover Image

The cover photo is the Dome of the Rock, which is part of a Muslim shrine known as the Haram ash Sharif. It sits on the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem, the ancient site of the Temple. The Dome of the Rock is near the Western Wall of the Temple built by Herod the Great. The Western Wall was part of the wall that surrounded the Temple Courtyard. This small area in Jerusalem is considered one of the holiest sites by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

INTRODUCTION

The word Bible comes from the Greek word biblia, which means books. The Bible is a faith community’s collection of sacred scripture. It is a book of many books. So, we sometimes speak of the books of the Bible. Scripture also is called the canon, from the Greek word kanon, a measuring rod or rule. In this sense, the canon, or something canonical, is authoritative.

The Christian Bible has two collections of writings, often called the Old Testament and the New Testament. Protestants recognize 39 books in the Old Testament, while Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians include additional writings in their Old Testament. These are known as deuterocanonical books. Deutero means secondary, or supplemental.

Protestants sometimes call the deuterocanonical books the Apocrypha (a name first given by the Jewish historian Josephus). These writings are included in Orthodox and Roman Catholic Bibles. Some Bibles, such as The New Oxford Annotated Bible, are sold with or without the Apocrypha.

The Protestant Old Testament contains the same material found in Jewish Bibles that are read in synagogues, although the material is arranged differently. The Jewish tradition refers to the twelve shorter prophetic books (known as "the minor prophets to many Christians) as one book, The Twelve. All Christian Bibles include 27 books" in the New Testament.

Generally, modern people expect the first part of a book to be an introduction followed by a story line, a developing plot or material arranged thematically or chronologically, with an ending or an epilogue. The first book of the Bible is Genesis, or beginnings. It opens with, In the beginning… .

The Bible is not history per se, but it is organized with a sense of story. Unknown editors arranged the material in an orderly way. It is a faith story told with reverence for God the Creator and with respect for the people of faith who have gone before. The Hebrew Bible, the Christian Old Testament, is a collection of the sacred memory of the Hebrew people. The Christian New Testament is a collection of the sacred memory of the early church.

From 1991 to 2005, I served on the staff of the Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church, in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2002, some members of the Trinity Sunday School Class asked me to offer a short-term Bible for Dummies class. We called it Bible for Beginners instead because these people were not dummies. They had thoughtful questions about scripture.

The people in this class were born prior to World War II. Most of them had been taught as children and youth that a literal interpretation of the Bible is the only proper way to approach the Bible. They went to college, entered the business world and/or raised families. Along with more education and a broader experience of the world came questions about what they had been taught about the Bible. Some of these people had never found a comfortable place to ask their questions about the Bible. Rather than risk appearing stupid or being viewed as disloyal to the Bible, they avoided wrestling with the Bible. Thus, some of them put the Bible on the shelf or on the coffee table. Late in life they dared to ask questions that opened new possibilities for how to interpret some of the more difficult texts of the Bible.

This book addresses some common and recurring questions from Bible study groups like this one that took the Bible seriously enough to ask their most honest questions. In many ways, what follows is an attempt to capture the spirit and enjoyment of those discussions.

Many people are intimidated by the Bible because of its length, the vast span of time covered in the Bible and by the gap between the cultures of biblical times and our own cultures. I offer a way to approach the Bible and some different possibilities for interpreting the Bible. The study of scripture can be a fun, enlightening and life-changing adventure.

It has been a privilege to work with these sacred texts for over four decades. I have benefited from the wisdom of many people in a variety of Bible studies as we explored the meaning of scripture. This book is my thank you to those who have sought to find meaning for their lives in these sacred texts.

Four seminary professors at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology were especially helpful in shaping my appreciation of the Bible (1973-1976). Leander Keck taught me how to take the Bible seriously, how to respect the texts, and how to study scripture with a sense of adventure. Theodore Runyon taught me how to think theologically and how to practice the art of theology, which is to love God with your mind. William Mallard taught me how to enjoy the dynamic and fascinating characters of the biblical stories and church history, and how to have fun teaching. Don Saliers taught me how to be attentive to God’s presence in the encounter that can flow from these holy texts, how to hear God’s Word speak through these words, and how scripture can represent both voice and ear in the sacred dialogue of prayer.

In seminary, I studied New Testament Greek for a year because I wanted to know exactly what the New Testament writers said. At first I was frustrated, but then liberated, when I realized that the rich Greek language is subject to many translations and interpretations. The same principle of multiple possibilities is true for Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament. Many English translations are available to the modern reader. The biblical quotes that begin each chapter of this book represent a variety of translations. Unless otherwise noted, biblical quotes in the text of this book are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, 1989, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

I am grateful to family, friends, colleagues and parishioners for their companionship on life’s journey and for their encouragement to write these pages. My wife Cathey always encourages me to write. My son Robert always challenges me to think.

The original version of this book was published in 2004 as A Companion to the Hebrew Bible. Vanderbilt Professor A.J. Levine, an Orthodox Jew, asked, "Why didn’t you call it A Companion to the Old Testament?" This version follows her suggestion. A small portion of this material also appeared in How Does the Bible Shape My Faith? A Study of Biblical Interpretation and Faith Development, part of the FaithQuestions Series, by Abingdon Press, 2006. (See Stumbling Blocks, pp. 71-72, and How Does the Bible Give Us Hope, pp. 98-100.)

I appreciate the work of several able proofreaders: Lee Borden, Anita Bosley, Jim DuBard, Joe Elmore, Barbara Lee and Frances Moore. I appreciate the encouragement of the Trinity Sunday School class at VHUMC and especially the prodding of Charles Richards and Malcolm Miller to keep writing.

This revised manuscript benefits from my experiences as pastor of First United Methodist Church, Jackson, Tennessee (2005-2010) and my work since 2010 with the United Methodist Foundation of North Alabama and Resource Ministry Partners. My gratitude is extended to those parishioners and colleagues.

1

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice

is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house;

yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice

is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

The rains came down, the streams rose,

and the winds blew and beat against that house,

and it fell with a great crash."

—Matthew 7.24-27 (NRSV)[1]

AN APPROACH TO THE BIBLE

Jesus was a Jewish rabbi, or teacher. He learned the art of storytelling from rabbis and others in his native Galilee. The story above is from a part of Matthew that is known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.[2] Jesus also was a carpenter, a trade that worked with both wood and stone. As an apprentice with his father Joseph and later on his own, Jesus would have worked in many small Galilean villages. He would have learned stories that were unique to each village’s memory, as well as each village’s oral version of the Jewish scriptures. (Think of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, pouring milk for the villagers of Anetevka while he told his version of the biblical stories!)

In Matthew 7.24-27, this carpenter-turned-rabbi offers a saying that is a bit more than a proverb but not quite a parable. It is a simple lesson about life. An experienced carpenter would have encountered many types of building projects or repair jobs. Surely he had seen houses that were built on solid foundations, as well as those that were constructed hastily on less than solid foundations. He could have cited examples and named names. Thus, perhaps, this teaching may have been literally true! But, to focus on exactly who had built wisely and who had built foolishly would be to miss the point of the story. These words of Jesus make a point about the way we live. It is a teaching about the foundation we choose for our lives. These words invite us to reflect on our values, our priorities, about how we choose to invest our time, money and energy. You can apply this principle to family relationships, the workplace, the social order, as well as your devotional life, personal ethics, physical exercise and a host of other life issues.

With these words of Jesus in mind, reflect for a moment about your approach to Bible study. Some of us expect the Bible to fit into our agenda rather than allowing our agendas to be shaped by the biblical texts. We may look to the Bible for justification for our attitudes, prejudices, politics and lifestyles, rather than submitting our lives to the authority of the biblical message.[3] We may see the Bible as an answer book for the questions we have about life rather than a book that asks us questions about the way we are living our lives. Has your approach to the Bible, the way you have gone about studying the Bible or relating to the Bible, provided a solid spiritual foundation for you, or has it created a foundation that is more sandy than solid?

The way you approach the Bible will, to a large extent, determine what you get out of the Bible. What you get out of the Bible will, to some degree, shape your attitude toward life, relationships and mortality. The purpose of this book is to enhance your reading of the Bible, and to offer an approach to the Bible that may help you discover and enjoy the Bible’s abundant resources for living, relating and dying.

When you approach a modern automotive vehicle, you have certain expectations. These would include how to enter the vehicle (via a key or a keyless entry system) and how to start or crank the vehicle (the archaic term crank refers to an earlier era when one actually cranked the motor). You have certain assumptions about various components the vehicle will have, which might include an air conditioner, a restraint system with a seat belt and shoulder harness, a radio (perhaps with satellite reception), a global positioning system to help navigate the vehicle, as well as indicators regarding the engine’s temperature, revolutions per minute and the inside and outside temperature.

It would be unrealistic and unfair for you to approach a 1951 Buick with the same expectations. That model required you to put the ignition switch in the on position and then press the gas pedal to start the engine. There were no seat belts. The global positioning system was a map in the glove box. Heaters (but not oil filters!) usually were installed in the factory by 1951, but the air conditioning system included side vent windows you could open, ventilator knobs on the dashboard, and windows that could be rolled down. Likewise, we sometimes approach the Bible with unrealistic and unfair expectations of the biblical text.

Step 1: Respect the Texts

The first step in approaching the Bible is to respect the texts. This means an immediate and ongoing recognition that these are ancient stories and sayings. We approach them as sacred texts, or scripture. Thus, we affirm their validity for helping us live life today. There is within us an implicit belief that these ancient texts are contemporary in some sense. This accounts for the mysterious way we find the Bible to be eternally relevant to our life issues. Yet, the texts’ amazing relevance does not diminish their antiquity.

We approach the Bible knowing that we are modern people who view reality through 21st Century lenses. We view life differently from the way our grandparents did. We view life differently from the way people did 500 years ago, or 1,000 years ago, or 3,000 years ago. Our grandchildren will view life differently from the way we do, too! Just as in some cultures you take off your shoes to enter a house, when we engage in serious Bible study, we occasionally will find ourselves intentionally taking off our 21st Century lenses so we can more clearly see the biblical texts in their original context and setting. This is a matter of respect, of trying to understand what the original writers were trying to say and what the original hearers or readers would have heard or read.

Step 2: Recognize Our Historical Bias

The second step in approaching the Bible is to come to a conscious understanding of our attitude toward history. At this point, you may ask, How many steps is he going to name before we actually start reading the Bible? Be patient. You would not want the builder of your house to take short cuts when digging and laying the foundation!

Our approach to the scriptures is shaped, to some degree, by our understanding of history. We tend to think historically, and we apply this way of thinking, probably unconsciously, to our reading of the Bible. It will help us avoid a great deal of confusion and frustration in Bible study if we will take the time to consciously reflect on our attitude toward history before engaging in a Bible study.

Modern readers of the Bible sometimes have difficulty with these texts because we tend to approach these stories with the expectation that the ancient writers had the same worldview we share. For example, we project onto the writers and the text a presumption that the events were recorded with precision for the purpose of writing history per se. Human fascination with the accuracy of historical details is a fairly recent phenomenon. The ancient writers did not have our understanding of what an historical documentary should be.

Modern people have the illusion that what we read in newspapers, magazines or via the Internet is an accurate, literal, word-for-word, play-by-play record of events as they unfolded. Anyone who has ever been quoted by a news reporter quickly realizes that news reporting is at best an approximation of what actually was said or done. Modern writers, with all the technological resources now available, sometimes have difficulty getting the story right. We history-conscious people put a high priority on historical accuracy, yet we often fail to create objective, accurate historical accounts. In spite of the fact that our modern historical record is often subjective and sometimes illusory, we unfairly expect the biblical writers to share our priority for objective history. And, we expect the biblical writers to have a higher standard of historical accuracy than we can maintain ourselves, even though they had far fewer technological resources at their disposal!

As we go through the biblical story, we will not view it as history, although there is much history in the Bible and biblical faith is built on the sacred memory of historical events. The primary intent of the biblical writers was not to write history as we know it. Their purpose was to affirm that God has been, is, and will be active in human history. The Bible is not just memory. It is not just history. The Bible is sacred memory. It is sacred history.

This is a good place to tell a story. A Disciple Bible Study[4] class was discussing the material from the creation stories in Genesis in Session Two, The Creating God. Zan Holmes, the narrator of the videotape that accompanied the session said that the creation story in Genesis 1 is a resounding liturgical poem, and the creation story in Genesis 2 (Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) is a story that was told around ancient campfires for many centuries. We discussed how the Genesis 1 story interfaces with scientific theories about the creation of the universe and the development of life on earth. One of the participants in the study said of Genesis 1, "You mean that’s just poetry? I said, Thank you. You’ve just demonstrated our modern prejudice that scientific truth is truer than poetic truth! The biblical people, who were more tuned to poetry than science or history, might have asked someone espousing a literal interpretation of Genesis 1, You mean that’s just science? Or, You mean that’s just history?" If we read Genesis 1 (or any other biblical text) as just science, or just history, we may rob the story of its poetic meaning and theological power!

The same issue arises each year in sixth grade Confirmation Classes. The young people read Genesis 1 and ask: Where are the dinosaurs? The response I have found most helpful is to simply say that we let the scientists try to figure out scientific truth, which basically asks how questions, such as how the universe was created or how plant and animal life developed. The Bible, on the other hand, is primarily focused on why questions: why planet earth was created, why creation is good or why life on earth is a sacred gift from God. In one of our Confirmation Class discussions, a young girl asked a question that comes up each year: Who created God? A young boy sitting next to her said, "That’s a how question!" Everyone laughed. I was relieved that the point had been made, and even more relieved that I did not have to try to answer that question!

As an act of respect toward these ancient texts, we have reflected a bit about our attitude toward history, and how it differs from the attitude of ancient people (who did not look at the world through our rational, scientific, historical, post-Renaissance, post-Enlightenment lenses). We have begun, at least, to affirm that a modern worldview is not better than the worldview of a biblical writer, just different.

Step 3: Understand the Historical Context of the Biblical Stories

The third step may seem like a contradiction with Step 2, but it is actually a paradox. The third step is to gain some historical insight about the biblical people so we can better understand and appreciate the context of the biblical stories. History is certainly a worthwhile, and indeed, vital tool. The historical method of Bible study recognizes the importance of archaeology and the insights it can offer about the way ancient people lived. Recent advancements in the process of identifying and dating archaeological artifacts have greatly enriched our biblical knowledge.

Historical documents (such as the Dead Sea Scrolls) and archaeological findings throughout the Mediterranean region and the Near East and Middle East have helped us gain a better understanding of life during biblical times.[5]

Archaeology is a vital tool, but it is not, of course, the final word about the meaning of a biblical text. While we greatly value the insights gained through archaeology, we recognize that these insights are continually refined as archaeologists discover new artifacts. We gain truth from what is discovered under the sand, but we recognize that there are many artifacts, and many insights, yet to be discovered! Even after the last biblical-era pottery shard is uncovered from the earth, and even after every ancient scroll is read, the task of interpreting and finding meaning in the biblical texts will have just begun!

Step 4: Receive the Bible as Community Property

Steps 1-3 involve respecting the text by seeking to hear—insofar as it is possible, on its own terms, with its own integrity, in its original context, as best we can determine—what the original writers meant and what the original audience understood. Step 4 is the recognition that these texts have been, and are, sacred to a wide range of people. Therefore, they have been, and are, interpreted in many different ways. Jews, Christians and Muslims may draw different meanings from the same passage. There also is diversity of interpretation among Jews, among Christians, and among Muslims! The Bible is community property. This may be frustrating to those who seek uniformity of belief and interpretation, but it may be exhilarating to those who enjoy variety and the adventure of exploration.

The Bible is a book of sacred memory. The Hebrew Bible (the Protestant Old Testament) is a collection of the sacred stories of the Hebrew people. The Christian New Testament is a collection of the sacred stories of the early followers of Jesus. The first followers of Jesus were, like Jesus himself, Jewish.

Jews today still read the Hebrew Bible as their sacred texts. During the time of Jesus, there were two major Jewish religious groups, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees believed only the Torah should be considered sacred scripture while the Pharisees included a broader collection of writings. The position of the Pharisees came to be normative for Jews.[6]

Modern Christians include the Hebrew Bible as their first testament or covenant. Christians vary in both the importance they place in the Old Testament and in the methods they use to interpret it. Some Christians see it as a prelude to their second testament, the Greek writings of the early church that came to be called the New Testament. Some Christians place the writings of the Hebrew Bible on equal footing with the New Testament. Some Christians are befuddled by the content of the Old Testament and therefore, unfortunately, tend to ignore it.

Modern Muslims also have a stake in the stories in the Hebrew Bible. The Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632 CE) knew some of the sacred stories of both Jews and Christians. Visions that were recited by Muhammad and (most likely) written by his companions form the Koran, the sacred scripture of Islam.[7] The Koran contains references to the Hebrew Bible and to the Christian New Testament that can be beginning points for conversation among Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Step 5: Find Personal Meaning in the Biblical Texts

The preceding pages describe four steps in approaching the Bible. All four of these are somewhat objective or analytical. A fifth step in approaching the Bible is to ask, How does this text relate to my life? Or, How do I personally respond to this text?

We do not come to the study of the Bible alone. Many people have studied these texts through the ages. Some of their insights have been preserved for us. This rich treasury is sometimes called the tradition of the faith. We can consult it for inspiration. Today, there are countless other people studying these texts. We can learn from each other. So, whether we are a preacher, a teacher or an individual reader of the Bible, we never come to the task alone.

When the faith community worships, it gathers around the scriptures, which are read, sung, dramatized, danced and/or preached. In the world of biblical proclamation, or preaching, there are usually two phases to the art of crafting a sermon. The first phase is simple Bible study, reading the text to determine the context, the big idea(s), the main point(s), and the timeless truths expressed in the text. This is sometimes called exegesis, or getting the message out of the text. The second phase is sometimes called exposition, which means conveying the message to the listeners in words, music or actions they can understand by using stories and illustrations that are relevant to their lives.

This fifth step may involve daily quiet time of simple meditation on the texts. Many people have been enriched by the practice of keeping a spiritual journal, or writing their reflections after spending some time reading the texts. Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-550 CE) developed a rhythm of prayer that involved listening, meditating and then speaking our concerns to God.[8] Part of our listening to God is hearing or reading the scripture. Part of our meditation is to ruminate on the text (as a cow chews the cud). Our prayerful utterance may be silent or spoken words, words written in a journal, or expression through movement, music or art, or our service in the world.

People of faith also have found it helpful to be part of covenant