Halley’s Bible Handbook – Read Now and Download Mobi

Do you need help understanding the Bible? Halley’s Bible Handbook with the New International Version makes the Bible’s wisdom and message accessible to you. Whether you’ve never read the Bible before or have read it many times, you’ll find insights here that can give you a firm grasp of God’s Word. You’ll develop an appreciation for the cultural, religious, and geographic settings in which the story of the Bible unfolds. You’ll see how its different themes fit together in a remarkable way. And you’ll see the heart of God and the person of Jesus Christ revealed from Genesis to Revelation. Written for both mind and heart, this completely revised, updated, and expanded 25th edition of Halley’s Bible Handbook retains Dr. Halley’s highly personal style. It features:

• All-new maps, photographs, and illustrations
• Contemporary design
• Bible references in easy-to-read, best-selling New International Version (NIV)
• Practical Bible reading programs
• Helpful tips for Bible study
• Fascinating archaeological information
• Easy-to-understand sections on how we got the Bible and on church history

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The Heart of the Bible

Bible Backgrounds

The Old Testament

The 400 Years Between the Testaments

The New Testament

After the New Testament

Reading and Studying the Bible

Prayers

Supplemental Materials

Henry H. Halley—A Memoir

Sources

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The 25th edition of Halley’s Bible Handbook represents a continuation of my great-grandfather’s ministry. Henry H. Halley dedicated his life to the spreading of God’s Word. His desire was for everyone to read, know, and love the Bible and to believe and accept its God-inspired message.

It is my heartfelt desire that this 25th edition of Halley’s Bible Handbook, now with Bible study tips, updated archaeological information, and new maps and pictures, continues to be a blessing to every reader.

I would like to express my deep love and appreciation for my grandmother, Julia Berry, who nurtured and supported Halley’s Bible Handbook for many years after the death of her father, Henry Halley. Her early work on this 25th edition provided us insight into her father’s ministry and became our guide as we completed the revisions.

Many thanks to all those who have supported and helped with this 25th edition, especially my mother, Julie Schneeberger; my husband, Gary Wicker; Dr. Stan Gundry, Ed and Ruth van der Maas, and Carl Rasmussen. We have seen many awesome examples of how the Lord has clearly worked through this team of people and others to complete this new edition of Halley’s Bible Handbook.

As always, this Handbook is, in the words of my great-grandfather, “dedicated to the proposition that Every Christian should be a Constant and Devoted Reader of the Bible; and that the primary business of the Church and Ministry is to lead, foster, and encourage their people in that habit.”

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The following pages are the heart and soul of Halley’s Bible Handbook.

Dr. Halley’s goal was not to write a book that would help people know more about the Bible. Dr. Halley’s passion was to get people and churches to read the Bible in order that they might meet and listen to the God of the Bible and come to love His Son, Jesus Christ.

The rest of this book is of little lasting value if Dr. Halley’s central convictions, stated so passionately and forcefully in this section, are ignored.

We urge you to take the time to read—and periodically reread—this section.

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This book is built on two central convictions:

1. The Bible is God’s Word.
2. Christ is the heart and center of the Bible.

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Apart from any theory of inspiration, or any theory of how the Bible books came to their present form, or how much the text may have suffered in transmission at the hands of editors and copyists; apart from the question of how much is to be interpreted literally and how much figuratively, or what is historical and what may be poetical—if we simply assume that the Bible is just what it appears to be and study its 66 books to know their contents, we will find a unity of thought that indicates that one Mind inspired the writing and compilation of the whole collection of books. We will find that it bears the stamp of its Author and that it is in a unique and distinctive sense the Word of God.

Many people hold the view that the Bible is a collection of ancient stories about people’s efforts to find God, a record of human experiences in their reaching for God that led to a gradually improving idea of God by building on the experiences of preceding generations. This means, of course, that the many, many passages in the Bible in which it is said that God spoke are merely using a figure of speech and that God did not really speak. Rather, people put their ideas into religious language that claimed to be the language of God, and in reality it was only what they themselves imagined God might say. This viewpoint reduces the Bible to the level of other books. It is made into a human book pretending to be divine, rather than a divine book.

We reject this view utterly, and with abhorrence! We believe that the Bible is not an account of human efforts to find God, but rather an account of God’s effort to reveal Himself to humanity. It is God’s own record of His dealings with people in His unfolding revelation of Himself to the human race. The Bible is the revealed will of the Creator of all of humanity, given to His creatures by the Creator Himself, for instruction and guidance along life’s paths.

There can be no question that the books of the Bible were composed by human authors; we don’t even know who some of these authors were. Nor do we know just how God directed these authors to write. But we believe and know that God did direct them and that these books therefore must be exactly what God wanted them to be.

There is a difference between the Bible and all other books. Authors may pray for God’s help and guidance, and God does help and guide them. There are many good books in the world that leave the unmistakable impression that God helped the authors to write them. But even the most saintly authors would hardly presume to claim for their books that God wrote them.

Yet that is what the Bible claims for itself and what the people of God through the millennia have learned and understood and claimed. God Himself superintended and directed the writing of the Bible books in such a way that what was written was the writing of God. The Bible is God’s Word in a sense in which no other book in the world is God’s Word.

Many statements in the Bible are expressed in ancient thought forms and ancient language forms. Today we would express these same ideas in a different form and in modern language rather than in the language of ancient times. But even so, the Bible contains precisely the things God wants mankind to know, in exactly the form in which He wants us to know them. And to the end of time, the “dear old Book” will remain the one and only answer to humanity’s quest for God.

• Everyone should love the Bible.
• Everyone should be a regular reader of the Bible.
• Everyone should strive to live by the Bible’s teachings.
• The Bible should have the central place in the life and work of every church and every pulpit.
• The pulpit’s one business is the simple teaching of God’s Word, expressing in the language of today the truths that are expressed in ancient thought and language forms in the Bible.

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The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

• The Old Testament is an account of a nation: Israel.
• The New Testament is an account of a man: Jesus, God’s Son.

The nation was founded and nurtured by God to bring the Man into the world. In Jesus, God Himself became a man to provide the means for the redemption of mankind. Jesus also gives humanity a concrete, definite, tangible idea of what kind of person to think of when we think of God: God is like Jesus. Jesus was God incarnate, God in human form.

His appearance on the earth is the central event of all history: the Old Testament sets the stage for it; the New Testament describes it.

Jesus the Christ (the Messiah) lived the most memorable, beautiful life ever known. He was born of a virgin and led a sinless life. As a man, Jesus was the kindest, tenderest, gentlest, most patient, most sympathetic man who ever lived. He loved people. He hated to see people in trouble. He loved to forgive. He loved to help. He did marvelous miracles to feed hungry people. For relief of the suffering He forgot to take food for Himself. Multitudes, weary, pain-ridden, and heartsick, came to Him and found healing and relief. It is said of Him, and of no other, that if all the deeds of kindness that He did were written down, the world could not contain the books.

That is the kind of man Jesus was.

That is the kind of person God is.

Then Jesus died on the cross to take away the sin of the world, to become the Redeemer and Savior of humanity.

He rose from the dead and is alive now—not merely a historical character but a living Person. This is the most important fact of history and the most vital force in the world today.

The whole Bible is built around this beautiful story of Christ and around His promise of life eternal to those who accept Him. The Bible was written only that people might believe, and understand, and know, and love, and follow Christ.

Christ, the center and heart of the Bible, the center and heart of history, is also the center and heart of our lives. Our eternal destiny is in His hand. Our acceptance or rejection of Him as our Lord and Savior determines for each of us eternal glory or eternal ruin—heaven or hell, one or the other.

The most important decision anyone is ever called on to make is to settle in one’s heart, once for all, the matter of one’s attitude toward Christ.

On that depends everything.

It is a glorious thing to be a Christian, the most exalted privilege of mankind. The Creator of all things wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us! To accept Christ as Savior, Lord, and Master, and to strive sincerely and devotedly to follow in the way of life He taught, is certainly and by far the most reasonable and most satisfactory way to live. It means peace, peace of mind, contentment of heart, forgiveness, happiness, hope, life abundant, life that shall never end.

How can anyone be so blind, or so dumb, as to go through life and face death without the Christian hope? Apart from Christ, what is there, what can there be, either for this world or the next, to make life worthwhile? We all have to die. Why try to laugh it off or try to deny it? It seems as if every human being would want to welcome Christ with open arms and consider it the proudest privilege of his or her life to wear the Christian name.

In the final analysis, the most marvelous thing in life is the consciousness, in the inner depths of our soul, that we live for Christ. And though our efforts be ever so feeble, we toil at our daily tasks in hope of being able to have done something to lay as an offering at His feet, in humble gratitude and adoration, when we meet Him face to face.

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Everybody should love the Bible. Everybody should read the Bible.

Everybody.

It is God’s Word. It holds the solution of life. It tells about the best Friend humanity ever had, the noblest, kindest, truest Man who ever walked on this earth.

It is the most beautiful story ever told. It is the best guide to human conduct ever known. It gives a meaning, a glow, a joy, a victory, a destiny, and a glory to life elsewhere unknown.

There is nothing in history, or in literature, that in any way compares with the simple record of the Man of Galilee, who spent His days and nights ministering to the suffering, teaching human kindness, dying for human sin, rising to life that shall never end, and promising eternal security and eternal happiness to all who will come to Him.

Most people, in their serious moods, must have some question in their minds as to how things are going to stack up when the end comes. Laugh it off and toss it aside as we may, that day will come. And then what?

Well, it is the Bible that has the answer. And an unmistakable answer it is. There is a God. There is a heaven. There is a hell. There is a Savior. There will be a day of judgment. Happy is the person who in this life makes his or her peace with the Christ of the Bible and gets ready for the final takeoff.

How can any thoughtful person keep his or her heart from warming up to Christ and to the book that tells about Him? Everybody ought to love the Bible. Everybody. Everybody.

Yet the widespread neglect of the Bible by churches and by church people is simply appalling. Oh, we talk about the Bible, and defend the Bible, and praise the Bible, and exalt the Bible. Yes indeed! But many church members seldom ever even look into a Bible—indeed, would be ashamed to be seen reading the Bible. And an alarming percentage of church leadership generally seems to be making no serious effort to get people to be Bible readers.

We are intelligent about everything else in the world. Why not be intelligent about our religion? We read newspapers, magazines, novels, and all kinds of books, and listen to the radio and watch television by the hour. Yet most of us do not even know the names of the Bible books. Shame on us! Worse still, the pulpit, which could easily remedy the situation, seems often not to care and generally does not emphasize personal Bible reading.

Individual, direct contact with God’s Word is the principal means of Christian growth. All the leaders in Christian history who displayed any kind of spiritual power have been devoted readers of the Bible.

The Bible is the book we live by. Bible reading is the means by which we learn, and keep fresh in our minds, the ideas that mold our lives. Our lives are the product of our thoughts. To live right, we need to think right. We must read the Bible frequently and regularly so that God’s thoughts may be frequently and regularly in our minds; so that His thoughts may become our thoughts; so that our ideas may become conformed to God’s ideas; so that we may be transformed into God’s own image and be made fit for eternal companionship with our Creator.

We may, indeed, absorb Christian truth, in some measure, by attending religious services, listening to sermons, Bible lessons, and testimonies, and by reading Christian literature.

But however good and helpful these things may be, they give us God’s truth secondhand, diluted through human channels and, to quite an extent, obscured by human ideas and traditions.

Such things cannot possibly take the place of reading for ourselves the Bible itself, and grounding our faith and hope and life directly in God’s Word, rather than in what people say about God’s Word.

God’s Word is the weapon of the Spirit of God for the redemption and perfection of the human soul. It is not enough to listen to others talk and teach and preach about the Bible. We need to keep ourselves, every one of us, in direct touch with God’s Word. It is the power of God in our hearts.

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Bible reading is a basic Christian habit.

We do not mean that we should worship the Bible as a fetish. But we do worship the God and the Savior the Bible tells us about. And because we love our God and our Savior, we love dearly and devotedly the book that is from Him and about Him.

Nor do we mean that the habit of Bible reading is in itself a virtue, for it is possible to read the Bible without applying its teachings to one’s own life. And there are those who read the Bible and yet are mean and crooked and un-Christian. But they are the exception.

As a rule, Bible reading, if done in the right spirit, is a habit out of which all Christian virtues grow—the most effective character-forming power known to mankind.

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Bible reading is an act of religious devotion. Our attitude toward the Bible is a pretty sure indication of our attitude toward Christ. If we love a person, we love to read about him or her, do we not? If we could only bring ourselves to think of our Bible reading as an act of devotion to Christ, we might be inclined to treat the matter less lightly.

It is a glorious thing to be a Christian. The most exalted privilege any mortal can have is to walk through life hand in hand with Christ as Savior and Guide. Or, to put it more correctly, to toddle along at His side and, though always stumbling, never letting go of His hand.

This personal relationship of each of us with Christ is one of the intimate things of life, and we do not talk much about it, probably because we often believe that we are so pitifully unworthy to wear His name. Why would the Creator of all things care about me? But deep down in our hearts, in our serious moods, we know that because of our weakness, our worldliness, our frivolity, our selfishness, and our sins, we need Him more than we love anything else in this world. He is our Father. And in our saner moments we know that we should not willingly offend or hurt Him for anything. Why would we intentionally hurt the One who loves us and whom we love? We are thoughtless.

The Bible is the book that tells about Christ and His immeasurable love for us. Is it possible to love Christ and at the same time be complacently indifferent to His Word? Is it possible? Each one of us has to make daily choices—to serve Him and not the world. The Bible teaches us how!

The Bible is also the best devotional book. Booklets and books of daily devotions, now published in such abundance, may have their place. But they are no substitute for the Bible. The Bible is God’s own word, and no other book can take its place. Every Christian, young and old, should be a faithful reader of the Bible.

George Mueller, who, in his orphanages in Bristol, England, did by prayer and trust one of the most remarkable things in Christian history, attributed his success, on the human side, to his love for the Bible. He said:

I believe that the one chief reason that I have been kept in happy useful service is that I have been a lover of Holy Scripture. It has been my habit to read the Bible through four times a year; in a prayerful spirit, to apply it to my heart, and practice what I find there. I have been for sixty-nine years a happy man.

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The Bible is a big book, in reality a library of books from the far distant past. And we need all the help we can get in trying to understand it. But even so, it is surprising how largely the Bible is self-interpretive when we know what is in it. There are difficulties aplenty in the Bible, even beyond the comprehension of the most erudite. But, for all that, the main teachings of the Bible are unmistakable, so plain that a child can understand the heart of the Bible. (At the end of this book you will find suggestions for books that are helpful in studying the Bible [see Basic Bible Study Tools]. But they should never take the place of the simple reading of the Bible with an open heart and mind.)

Accept the Bible just as it is, for exactly what it claims to be. Don’t worry about the theories of the critics. The ingenious efforts of modern criticism to undermine the historical reliability of the Bible will pass; the Bible itself will still stand as the light of the human race to the end of time. Pin your faith to the Bible. It is God’s Word. It will never let you down. For us human beings, it is the rock of ages. Trust its teachings, and be happy forever.

Read the Bible with an open mind. Don’t try to strait-jacket all its passages into the mold of a few pet doctrines. And don’t read into its passages ideas that are not there. But try to search out fairly and honestly the main teachings and lessons of each passage. Thus we will come to believe what we ought to believe; for the Bible is abundantly able to take care of itself if given a chance.

Read the Bible thoughtfully. In Bible reading, we need to watch ourselves very closely, lest our thoughts wander and our reading become perfunctory and meaningless. We must determine resolutely to keep our minds on what we are reading, to do our best to understand what we can and not to worry too much about what we don’t understand, and to be on the lookout for lessons for ourselves.

Keep a pencil at hand. It is a good thing, as we read, to mark passages we like and to go now and then through the pages and reread passages we have marked. In time a well-marked Bible will become very dear to us, as the day draws near for us to meet the Author.

Habitual, systematic reading of the Bible is what counts. Occasional or spasmodic reading does not mean much. Unless we have some sort of system to follow, and hold to it with resolute determination, the chances are that we will not read the Bible very much at all. Our inner life, like our body, needs its daily food.

A certain time each day, whatever reading plan we follow, should be set aside for it. Otherwise we are likely to neglect or forget to read the Bible. First thing in the morning is good if our work routine permits it. Or in the evening, at the close of the day’s work, we might find ourselves freer from the strain of hurry. Or perhaps both morning and evening. For some, a period in the middle of the day may be more suitable.

The particular time of day does not greatly matter. The important thing is that we choose a time that best fits in with our daily round of work, and that we try to stick with it and not be discouraged if now and then our routine is broken by things beyond our control.

On Sundays we might do a good part of our Bible reading, since it is the Lord’s day, set aside for the Lord’s work.

Memorize the names of the Bible books. Do this first. The Bible is composed of 66 books. Each of these books is about something. The starting point for any sort of intelligent conception of the Bible is, first of all, to know what those books are, the order in which they are arranged, and, in a general way, what each one is about. (See The Main Thought of Each Bible Book.)

Memorize favorite verses. Thoroughly memorize them and repeat them often to yourself—sometimes when you are alone, or in the night to help put yourself to sleep on the everlasting arms. These are the verses that we live on.

To run God’s thoughts through our mind often will make our mind grow to become more like God’s mind; and as our mind grows more like God’s mind, our whole life will be transformed into His image. It is one of the very best spiritual helps we can have.

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There are many different plans for Bible reading. Several plans are suggested later in this book (see Reading Through the Bible). One plan will appeal to one person, another plan to another person. The same person may, at different times, like different plans. The particular plan does not greatly matter. The essential thing is that we read the Bible with some degree of regularity.

Our plan of reading should cover the whole Bible with reasonable frequency. It is all God’s Word, all one story, a literary structure of profound and marvelous unity, centered around Christ. Christ is the heart and climax of the Bible. The whole Bible may very properly be called the story of Christ. The Old Testament paves the way for His coming. The four Gospels tell the story of His earthly life. The New Testament letters explain His teachings. And Revelation shows us His triumph.

A well-balanced plan of Bible reading, we think, might be something like this: for every time we read the Bible through, let us read the New Testament an extra time or two, with frequent rereading of favorite chapters in both Testaments.

Later in this book you will find several Bible reading plans (see Reading Through the Bible) as well as a section that explains the kinds of Bible study tools available to help you understand what you read, such as concordances, study Bibles, Bible dictionaries, and commentaries, and what each is used for (see Basic Bible Study Tools).

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“All Christian people ought to go to church each and every week, unless hindered by sickness, or necessary work, or some other necessity.”

In a consumer society such as ours, the first reaction is, Why? What do I get out of church?

That question misses the point.

We are not the purpose of the church—God is. Going to church should be an act of worship. Every Sunday belongs to Christ. If all Christians were to attend church every Sunday, our churches would overflow. It would mean power for the church. It would be a witness to the community—people who worship their Savior as a matter of love rather than convenience. The purpose of the church is to hold Christ before the people. The church was founded by Christ. Christ is the heart of the church, and its Lord. The church exists to bear witness to Christ. Christ Himself, not the church, is the transforming power in people’s lives. The mission of the church is to exalt Christ, so that He Himself may do His own blessed work in the hearts of people.

That method will never change. The invention of printing, which made Bibles and Christian literature cheap and abundant so that people may read for themselves about Christ, and the coming of radio and television, which allow us to sit at home and listen to or watch sermons and church services—these will never do away with the need for the church. It is God’s plan that His people, in every community, throughout the whole world, at this appointed time, meet together, in this public way, to thus publicly honor Christ.

However, all too often individuals use the church as a spiritual filling station. We run on empty all week and then expect the church to make up for what we do not do—spend time during the week reading and reflecting on God’s Word.

If we neglect the habit of reading the Bible, we go to church spiritually starved. We will look to the church to fill our empty souls. And we will be disappointed, because the church cannot, in one or two hours on Sunday morning, fill the void that we create by neglecting the Word of God.

Come to church prepared. Read your Bible beforehand. You will be blessed, and Christ will be exalted!

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Billy Graham: We have in our generation people who question if the Bible is the Word of God. From beginning to end, the Bible is God’s Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit. When I turn to the Bible, I know that I am reading truth. And I turn to it every day.^*

George Mueller of Bristol: The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts. I solemnly state this from the experience of fifty-four years. . . . I have read the Bible through one hundred times, and always with increasing delight. Each time it seems like a new book to me. Great has been the blessing from consecutive, diligent, daily study. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God.

D. L. Moody: I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, “Now faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since.

Abraham Lincoln: I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.

W. E. Gladstone: I have known ninety-five of the world’s great men in my time, and of these eighty-seven were followers of the Bible. The Bible is stamped with a specialty of origin, and an immeasurable distance separates it from all competitors.

George Washington: It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.

Daniel Webster: If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.

Thomas Carlyle: The Bible is the truest utterance that ever came by alphabetic letters from the soul of man, through which, as through a window divinely opened, all men can look into the stillness of eternity, and discern in glimpses their far-distant, long-forgotten home.

John Ruskin: Whatever merit there is in anything that I have written is simply due to the fact that when I was a child my mother daily read me a part of the Bible and daily made me learn a part of it by heart.

Charles A. Dana: The grand old Book still stands; and this old earth, the more its leaves are turned and pondered, the more it will sustain and illustrate the pages of the Sacred Word.

Thomas Huxley: The Bible has been the Magna Charta of the poor and oppressed. The human race is not in a position to dispense with it.

Patrick Henry: The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.

U. S. Grant: The Bible is the anchor of our liberties.

Horace Greeley: It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.

Andrew Jackson: That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests.

Robert E. Lee: In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.

Lord Tennyson: Bible reading is an education in itself.

John Quincy Adams: So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year.

Immanuel Kant: The existence of the Bible, as a book for the people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity.

Charles Dickens: The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.

Sir William Herschel: All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more strongly the truths contained in the Sacred Scriptures.

Sir Isaac Newton: There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history.

Goethe: Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in ever greater extent and depth, and the human mind widen itself as much as it desires; beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the gospels, it will not go.

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The Bible is a collection of 66 “books” that were written over a period of more than 1,500 years. In a typical printed Bible, the longest book (Psalms) takes up more than 100 pages, the shortest (2 John) less than a page.

More than 40 different people wrote the various books of the Bible. Some of them were rich, some were poor. Among them were kings, poets, prophets, musicians, philosophers, farmers, teachers, a priest, a statesman, a sheepherder, a tax collector, a physician, and a couple of fishermen. They wrote in palaces and in prisons, in great cities and in the wilderness, in times of terrible war and in times of peace and prosperity. They wrote stories, poems, histories, letters, proverbs, and prophecies.

The Bible is not a textbook or a book of abstract theology, to be analyzed, discussed, and understood only by highly educated theologians and experts. It is a book about real people and about the God who is real.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. Theologians and scholars have argued endlessly about the question how a book written by so many authors over so many centuries can possibly be inspired by God. But it is like sitting down at dinner and arguing about the recipe instead of tasting the food, enjoying it, and being nourished by it.

As “the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” so is the proof of the Bible in the reading—with open mind and open heart. Such a reading will show that the Bible is a divinely inspired, interwoven message from God (compare John 7:17).

Because it was written so long ago, there are things that we, in the 21st century, may find difficult to understand. But our heart and spirit can grasp what God’s heart and His Spirit tell us: that we are beloved by Him, now and forever.

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At first glance, the Bible is a collection of longer and shorter writings without any apparent organization except for the main division into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament takes up about three-fourths of the Bible, the New Testament about one-fourth. The book of Psalms is approximately in the middle of the Bible.

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The Old Testament was written before the time of Christ. It was written mostly in Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people, and the Old Testament continues to be the Bible of the Jewish people. In the very early days of the church, during the first decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Hebrew Bible was the only Bible Christians had. It was not until later, when the New Testament came into existence, that the Hebrew Bible was called “Old Testament.” The word “testament” here means “covenant” (a solemn agreement or contract that establishes a formal relationship with mutual obligations). The Hebrew Bible speaks of the covenant God made with Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people. The New Testament is about the new covenant that God made with all people through Jesus Christ.

Thus, the Old Testament looks forward to the coming of Jesus, the Messiah (or Christ), who will save us from our sins and establish God’s kingdom, founded on justice and mercy. The New Testament tells the story of Jesus and contains writings by His early followers.

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Each Testament

• Begins with a group of historical books and
• Ends with prophetic books (the New Testament has only one predominantly prophetic book, Revelation)

Between the historical and prophetic books are

• Poetic books (Old Testament) and
• Letters or epistles (New Testament)

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1. The Historical Books

The Old Testament has 17 historical books, arranged in chronological order. The Jewish people called (and call) the first five historical books the Torah (Hebrew for “law,” since these books contain the laws God gave to Moses). These five books are also called the Pentateuch (Greek for “five books”). The history covered in these books can be divided into six periods (see also the next section, “What the Bible Is About”).

2. The Poetic Books

Between the historical books and the prophetic books of the Old Testament are five poetic books that contain some of the most beautiful poetry ever written. Especially the book of Psalms, which expresses the full range of human emotions from depression to jubilant trust in God, has been a source of comfort and inspiration for Jews and Christians for three millennia.

3. The Prophetic Books

The Old Testament contains 17 prophetic books. The first five of these books are called the Major Prophets because they are much longer than the other 12, which are called the Minor Prophets. (Lamentations is a short book that is included with the Major Prophets because it was written by the prophet Jeremiah, who also wrote the book of Jeremiah, the second book of the Major Prophets.)

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1. The Historical Books

Between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament is a period of about 400 years. We know quite a bit about those “silent years” from other books that are not part of the Old Testament or New Testament (see The 400 Years Between The Testaments).

The New Testament contains five historical books: the four Gospels, which describe the life of Christ, and the book of Acts, which tells the story of the early church, mostly through the work of the apostle Paul.

2. The Letters, or Epistles

The New Testament contains 21 letters, or epistles. The first 13 of these were written by the apostle Paul; they are arranged by length, from the longest (Romans) to the shortest (Philemon). Others were written by the apostle John (three letters), Peter (two letters), and James and Jude (one letter each); there is uncertainty as to who wrote the letter to the Hebrews.

All the letters were written during the early decades of the church.

3. The Prophetic Book

The New Testament has only one prophetic book: Revelation. (The Greek word for revelation is apokalupsis, meaning an unveiling or uncovering. For this reason, the book of Revelation is also called the Apocalypse.)

OLD TESTAMENT
Historical Books		Poetic Books		Prophetic Books
Genesis		Job		Isaiah
Exodus		Psalms		Jeremiah
Leviticus		Proverbs		Lamentations
Numbers		Ecclesiastes		Ezekiel
Deuteronomy		Song of Songs		Daniel
Joshua				Hosea
Judges				Joel
Ruth				Amos
1 Samuel				Obadiah
2 Samuel				Jonah
1 Kings				Micah
2 Kings				Nahum
1 Chronicles				Habakkuk
2 Chronicles				Zephaniah
Ezra				Haggai
Nehemiah				Zechariah
Esther				Malachi

NEW TESTAMENT
Historical Books		Letters		Prophetic Books
Matthew		Romans		Revelation
Mark		1 Corinthians
Luke		2 Corinthians
John		Galatians
Acts		Ephesians
		Philippians
		Colossians
		1 Thessalonians
		2 Thessalonians
		1 Timothy
		2 Timothy
		Titus
		Philemon
		Hebrews
		James
		1 Peter
		2 Peter
		1 John
		2 John
		3 John
		Jude

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1 In The Beginning

Creation, Adam and Eve, Fall, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, Babel

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The first two chapters of the Bible describe how God created all things. The last thing He created was mankind, whom God created “male and female”—Adam and Eve. Creation was good and harmonious.		The first three chapters of Genesis set the stage for all that happens in the rest of the Bible. Adam and Eve’s sin separated humanity from God. As a result we also lost our God-given harmony within ourselves, with each other, and with the rest of creation. But God, who loves the human beings He created, promises that He will undo what Adam and Eve did in disobedience. He will restore harmony between humanity and Himself, between people, and in all of creation. God promises that a descendant of Adam and Eve will be the key—He will bring salvation, He will set things right between God and his creation.
But in the third chapter this harmony is destroyed. Adam and Eve are deceived by the serpent (Satan) and choose to disobey God. They do the one thing He had told them not to do: they eat from a forbidden tree because they want to be like God. It is a small act—with cosmic consequences.		Throughout the rest of the Bible, this is the story behind the story: God is at work setting things right. (In the New Testament we see that He has already accomplished this through Jesus.) “Regular” history—the kind found in history books—may seem chaotic, but the story behind the story tells us that all of history is moving to the point where God’s plan of salvation and redemption for the universe will be complete, when, as the last book in the Bible says,
Their disobedience (“the Fall”) brings disharmony and death into the world and the universe. Humanity is now separated, not only from one another and from creation, but from God. All history, and each life, now ends in death.		The dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:3–4).
The Fall is followed by a number of disastrous things:
Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden.
Cain and Abel: The sons of Adam and Eve. Cain kills Abel.
Noah and the Flood: Things get so bad that God decides to destroy the human race in a flood. Only Noah and his family and representative pairs of the animals survive in the ark.
The Tower of Babel: The people of the world want to build a city with a “tower that reaches to the heavens.” Like Adam and Eve, they want to be like God. But God intervenes and confuses the language of the world. From there, the Lord scatters them over the face of the whole earth. Ever since, people have spoken different languages.

2 The Time of the Patriarchs

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
God tells Abraham to go from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan. There they have a son, Isaac, even though Sarah, Abraham’s wife, is well beyond child-bearing age.		With God’s choice of Abraham begins the preparation of a nation through which the promised Redeemer will come. God promises Abraham that he will have innumerable descendants, who will possess the land of Canaan (Palestine) and through whom God will bless the entire world. These promises are part of the covenant (solemn agreement) that God makes with Abraham. These promises are fulfilled slowly but surely—even though Abraham sees very little of this fulfillment himself.
Isaac, his son Jacob, and Jacob’s 12 sons are known as the patriarchs of Israel, since the whole nation—the 12 tribes—descended from them. (“Israel” is the name God gave Jacob.)		Through Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph, God takes Abraham’s descendants to Egypt. There they end up suffering oppression and slavery. But their relative isolation also allows the nation to grow without the danger of being absorbed into the various Canaanite nations—which would undoubtedly have happened had they stayed in Canaan.
One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, ends up in Egypt, where he becomes second-in-command to the Pharaoh and saves the country from famine.
Joseph’s whole family then comes down to Egypt, where they live for some 400 years.

3 The Exodus from Egypt

Moses, Aaron, Red Sea, Mount Sinai

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
After 400 years, the Israelites have become so numerous that the Pharaoh gets worried that they may take over the country. He puts them to slave labor on his building projects.		God prepares Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt by using the Egyptian court to give Moses the education he would need for the enormous task ahead.
Moses is an Israelite who was raised at the court by Pharaoh’s daughter. God calls him to deliver the Israelites from their slavery and to take them back to Canaan, the land God had promised to their forefather Abraham. Aaron, Moses’ brother, goes with him to Pharaoh.		As God had done with Abraham, He now makes a covenant with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. As part of this covenant God gives this group of slaves who had never learned to function as a nation a body of laws to govern their daily lives once they settle in the Promised Land.
Pharaoh refuses to let the people go. God encourages him to change his mind by sending 10 horrible plagues. The last of the plagues allows the angel of death to kill all firstborn children, but God protects the Israelites by instructing them to put some lamb’s blood on their doorposts so the angel of death will pass over them. (This is the beginning of the Passover.) After this, Pharaoh agrees to let the people go. He later changes his mind and pursues the Israelites, but his entire army drowns in the Red Sea, after God creates a path and allows only the Israelites to cross.		Part of this covenant is the warning that disobedience will bring disaster, while obedience to the covenant by keeping God’s laws will bring blessing. Their survival and success depend entirely on whether or not they obey God. They learn the truth of this the hard way when their disobedience and lack of faith in the wilderness lead to a 40-year period of wandering before they finally are allowed to enter the Promised Land.
At Mount Sinai, God gives Israel His laws. Because they have no faith that God will help them conquer the land, the Israelites end up spending 40 years in the wilderness.

4 The Conquest and Settlement of Canaan

Joshua, the Judges (Deborah, Gideon, Samson)

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
Moses dies and Joshua takes over. He leads the Israelites into the Promised Land across the Jordan near Jericho. They conquer part of the land, and each of the 12 tribes is given a piece of it.		God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants will possess the land now begins to be fulfilled. At Ai they again receive a demonstration of the abject failure that is the result of ignoring God and His instructions.
But there is no central authority, and for several centuries the various tribes disobey and leave God. God then allows a foreign army to punish them, but when they cry out to God, He sends them a leader (called a Judge) to defeat the enemy. But soon the whole cycle starts over again. Among the Judges are Gideon and Samson.		As the land is conquered and settled, the seeds for future problems are sown. The Israelites fail to take all of the land, as God had commanded, and the remaining Canaanites will be a constant source of seduction away from God. This becomes very clear in the period of the Judges, when the various tribes are again and again in danger of completely forgetting the God who brought them out of Egypt.

5 The Monarchy and the Divided Kingdom

Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, two kingdoms: Israel and Judah

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
Finally the Israelites ask for a king. Samuel, the last Judge, first makes Saul king. Saul starts out well, but ends up committing suicide in battle.		The worship of God should have united the 12 tribes. Instead, the Israelites decide that they want a king so that they, too, can become a nation like the others around them. David establishes the kingdom that unites all the tribes. God now makes a covenant with David that from his dynasty will come the Great King who will personify God’s ideal king. This King will rule forever with justice and mercy. This covenant with David is the next step in the unfolding of God’s plan.
Then David becomes king and unites all the tribes into the kingdom of Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital. (This is around 1000 B.C.)		Sadly, the kingdom ends in failure. First it is divided into two smaller kingdoms. The northern kingdom rejected God from the very beginning and was overrun, and its people were deported after a couple of centuries. The southern kingdom—in spite of the fact that Jerusalem and the temple of God were there, and in spite of a number of God-fearing kings—also ended up rejecting God, which led to their deportation by the Babylonians.
David’s son Solomon succeeds him. He builds the temple in Jerusalem and is spectacularly wealthy.		But the family lineage of David continued, and God would keep the promise He made to David.
But after Solomon’s death, the northern 10 tribes secede and establish their own kingdom. This northern kingdom is now called “Israel”; the southern kingdom (with only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin) is called “Judah.” Jerusalem and the temple are in Judah.
The northern kingdom has a series of bad kings. It is finally destroyed in 722 B.C. by the Assyrians. The people are taken away and disappear forever in history.
The southern kingdom has some good kings and some bad kings. It is finally captured by the Babylonians, who destroy Jerusalem and the temple in 586 B.C. The people are taken to Babylonia.

6 The Babylonian Exile and the Return from Exile

Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
While the Jews (the people from Judah) are in Babylonia, the Babylonians are defeated by the Persians. The Persians allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem. The temple and the walls are rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah. (The return takes place in stages over a period of about a century.)		The Babylonian exile brought profound changes in the way the Jewish people saw themselves and their relationship with God. No longer could they blithely claim that God would never allow His temple to be destroyed or His people to be conquered by other nations. Much soul-searching took place: Had God deserted His people? Had God canceled His covenant with Abraham, with His people, and with David because they had not fulfilled their obligations under the covenant?
The story of Esther is a vignette from this period; Esther’s courage may have influenced the Persian king to support the return of the Jews to Jerusalem.		Yet the prophets had not only predicted the judgment of God on His people and the fall of Jerusalem—they had also said that, in spite of appearances, God had not abandoned His people. The terrible experience of the Exile brought about a focus on the promise that God would yet accomplish the ultimate fulfillment of all His promises by sending the Messiah.
[The five books of poetry and wisdom (Job through Song of Songs) and the 17 books of the prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) were written largely during the periods of the kingdom and of the exile and return (periods 5 and 6).]

The 400 Years Between the Testaments

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
Between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament there is a span of about 400 years. During this time many changes take place.		After the Babylonian exile, the Jews return to Jerusalem. Through four centuries of conflict, God prepares the world around Israel for the coming of the promised Redeemer. The Greek empires give the then-known world a common language, Greek, while later the Roman Empire provides a stable government and worldwide peace (the Pax Romana) as well as a remarkable road system. All of this allows the rapid spread of the Good News of Jesus—of God come to earth to reconcile the world with Himself.
The Romans rather than the Persians are now the great world power.
In the Babylonian exile, the synagogue becomes very important as the place where people come together for worship and the study of the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament).
For about 100 of the 400 years between the testaments, the Jews are independent again under the Maccabees.
Two groups that begin during this 400-year period are the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The teachings of Jesus are closest to those of the Pharisees, but the Pharisees end up being His staunchest opponents.
The group that is in charge of everyday matters in Palestine, including religious matters, is the Sanhedrin, which consists of Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers of the Law, and the high priest.
The central section of Palestine is Samaria. The Samaritans are partially related to the Jews and worship God, but on Mount Gerizim rather than in Jerusalem. The Jews avoid them at all costs.

7 The Life of Jesus

Jesus, John the Baptist, Crucifixion, Resurrection

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
The Old Testament, from Abraham to Malachi, covers about 2000 years of history—the New Testament only about 70 (and the first 25–30 of those only very briefly).		Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham and David. His death and resurrection will reunite God with His people. He is the one through whom the whole world will be blessed. He is the King from David’s house. But His kingdom is not based on external, worldly power. Rather, it is based on justice, mercy, humility, and the irresistible power of love. Jesus shows what God is like. He does not force submission, but asks for a response freely given: faith and trust in Him.
The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) all tell the story of Jesus’ life, but each with a somewhat different emphasis.		But the people of Israel cannot accept this radical revision of their expectations—they prefer a king who would restore Israel to political power. Jesus is crucified on the charge of blasphemy. But His death is a victory, the victory of love over the destructive power of sin. It is a victory because God raises Jesus from the dead. His resurrection shows that death is no longer the end, but rather a new beginning. Because of the Resurrection, we know that the truth we seek, and the healing of our guilt, our loneliness, and our isolation from God and one another, are found in Jesus.
Jesus’ virgin birth to Mary (ca. 4 B.C.—see sidebar How Could Jesus Have Been Born Five or Six Years “Before Christ”? in the chapter on The Life of Jesus) is told mostly in Luke. Only one story is recorded about His youth—His visit to the temple in Jerusalem when He was 12. We also know that He took up the trade of His earthly father, Joseph; He became a carpenter.		Jesus voluntarily gave up His life. His shed blood paid the price for our sins and thus opened the way for a new covenant—not only with Abraham, Israel, or David, but with all people everywhere who want to be God’s people. This new covenant does not require the keeping of laws and is not based on works, but is based on God’s grace alone. Eternal salvation is freely given by Him to those who believe and have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. God made His plan of redemption very simple and available to everyone!
Then, when Jesus is about 30, a prophet appears in the wilderness near the Jordan River, John the Baptist, who tells the people to repent and to show their repentance by being baptized. He also announces that someone greater than he will come who will “baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Jesus insists on also being baptized by John.		This was the ultimate purpose behind the earlier covenants—to establish a new covenant through the blood of Jesus.
After this, Jesus begins His own ministry of preaching that the kingdom of God is near. He heals many people and preaches in the synagogues. And He claims to be the fulfillment of what the prophets, including John the Baptist, had promised for centuries: the “anointed one” of God (Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek), who would establish God’s kingdom on earth.
The problem is that the leaders of the people (the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the teachers of the Law) see the miracles Jesus performs but cannot believe that Jesus really is who He claims He is: the Son of God. They think Jesus’ claim is blasphemy, and therefore, they say, He must be able to do miracles because He is in league with the devil. But many people believe in Jesus.
Jesus chooses 12 disciples (who will later be called apostles) to travel with Him and to be taught by Him. Peter (also called Simon Peter) is the leader among the Twelve. Peter, John, and James, John’s brother, form the inner circle among the disciples.
Jesus keeps teaching and doing miracles, but as it becomes clear that He is not going to establish God’s kingdom by throwing the Romans out of the country, many people quit following Him. They do not understand (and even the disciples don’t understand) that Jesus’ mission is not political but to set things right between God and humanity—that God’s kingdom must first be established in the hearts of those who follow Jesus.
In the end, the leaders decide to kill Jesus, but they want to do it in a way that will not upset the people and that also gives the appearance of being legal. (The events of the last week of Jesus’ life are described in detail in all four Gospels.) One of the disciples, Judas, betrays Jesus to the leaders. After trying in vain to find witnesses who can provide grounds for a death sentence, the leaders finally condemn Jesus to death because He claims to be God’s Son—which He had been saying all along. He is then crucified by the Romans.
But after three days the grave is empty—Jesus has risen from the dead! He appears to His disciples for a period of 40 days and then ascends to heaven.

8 The Early Church

Pentecost, Peter, Paul

The Story		The Story Behind the Story
The story of the early church begins soon after the Ascension, with the coming of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ disciples on the day of Pentecost. This gives them courage to preach and teach about Jesus even though the Jewish leaders are opposed to them and throw some of them into jail.		Jesus came first for the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites. But the Gospel of Jesus is for the whole world—it is the blessing promised 3000 years ago to Abraham. We see in the early church how God makes sure that the Good News of Jesus will be spread all over the world. God’s people are no longer merely an ethnic or political group. God’s people are all those who, regardless of race, gender, or talents, respond in faith to God’s proclamation that we are reconciled to Him through Jesus.
One of the fiercest opponents of the followers of Jesus is Saul of Tarsus. He belongs to the party of the Pharisees and genuinely believes that he is doing God’s work when he tries to wipe out the church.
Then, on the road to Damascus, he meets the resurrected Jesus and turns from a fierce opponent to an equally fierce follower of Jesus. He is henceforth known by his Roman name, Paul, and most of Acts is about Paul’s travels around the eastern part of the Roman Empire (known as his three “missionary journeys”) and his trip to Rome, where he is imprisoned.
A problem for the early church is getting used to the idea that the Gospel of Jesus is not just for the Jews but for all people. The apostle Peter has to be shown by God that it is okay to baptize non-Jews—even Romans (Acts 10). It takes a special meeting of the apostles in Jerusalem to decide that non-Jewish Christians do not have to become Jews (by physical circumcision) before they become Christians (Acts 15). The door to God’s kingdom is wide open—God is an equal-opportunity God!
The rest of the New Testament is mostly taken up with letters written by Paul (the first 13, Romans through Philemon) and others (Hebrews through Jude).
The final book is Revelation, which is a book of God’s final judgment on nonbelievers and the fulfillment of God’s promise to the church. In spite of outward appearances and Satan’s threats, God will win in the end, and His church—those who trust Him—will be with Him forever!

The following pages give a quick overview of where each period of biblical history is found in the Bible.

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(Some of the books have a principal thought; others are about a number of things.)

Genesis	Founding of the Hebrew Nation
Exodus	The Covenant with the Hebrew Nation
Leviticus	Laws of the Hebrew Nation
Numbers	Journey to the Promised Land
Deuteronomy	Laws of the Hebrew Nation
Joshua	The Conquest of Canaan
Judges	First 300 Years in the Land
Ruth	Beginning of the Messianic Family of David
1 Samuel	Organization of the Kingdom
2 Samuel	Reign of David
1 Kings	Division of the Kingdom
2 Kings	History of the Divided Kingdom
1 Chronicles	Reign of David
2 Chronicles	History of the Southern Kingdom
Ezra	Return from Captivity
Nehemiah	Rebuilding Jerusalem
Esther	Escape of Israel from Extermination
Job	Problem of Suffering
Psalms	National Hymnbook of Israel
Proverbs	Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiastes	Vanity of Earthly Life
Song of Songs	Glorification of Wedded Love
Isaiah	The Messianic Prophet
Jeremiah	A Last Effort to Save Jerusalem
Lamentations	A Dirge over the Desolation of Jerusalem
Ezekiel	“They Shall Know That I Am God”
Daniel	The Prophet at Babylon
Hosea	Apostasy of Israel
Joel	Prediction of the Holy Spirit Age
Amos	Ultimate Universal Rule of David
Obadiah	Destruction of Edom
Jonah	An Errand of Mercy to Nineveh
Micah	Bethlehem to Be Birthplace of the Messiah
Nahum	Destruction of Nineveh
Habakkuk	“The Just Shall Live by Faith”
Zephaniah	Coming of a “Pure Language”
Haggai	Rebuilding the Temple
Zechariah	Rebuilding the Temple
Malachi	Final Message to a Disobedient People
Matthew	Jesus the Messiah
Mark	Jesus the Wonderful
Luke	Jesus the Son of Man
John	Jesus the Son of God
Acts	Formation of the Church
Romans	Nature of Christ’s Work
1 Corinthians	Various Church Disorders
2 Corinthians	Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship
Galatians	By Grace, Not by Law
Ephesians	Unity of the Church
Philippians	A Missionary Epistle
Colossians	Deity of Jesus
1 Thessalonians	The Lord’s Second Coming
2 Thessalonians	The Lord’s Second Coming
1 Timothy	The Care of the Church in Ephesus
2 Timothy	Paul’s Final Word
Titus	The Churches of Crete
Philemon	Conversion of a Runaway Slave
Hebrews	Christ the Mediator of a New Covenant
James	Good Works
1 Peter	To a Persecuted Church
2 Peter	Prediction of Apostasy
1 John	Love
2 John	Caution Against False Teachers
3 John	Rejection of John’s Helpers
Jude	Imminent Apostasy
Revelation	Ultimate Triumph of Christ

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The Bible is full of people, places, and events—it tells of God’s concrete dealings with humanity and humanity’s relationship with God in the day-to-day situations and problems of real life.

While an understanding of the message of the Bible—the Gospel of God’s eternal love for His people—does not depend on our knowledge of the historical, geographical, and cultural background or setting of the Bible, such knowledge will often add a concrete dimension to our reading of the Scriptures that can help put the biblical message in sharper focus.

For example, in Genesis 23, Abraham’s wife Sarah has died, and Abraham needs a place to bury her. God had promised that the land of Canaan would belong to Abraham and his descendants, but at this point he doesn’t own even a square inch of it; he is still a nomad. Abraham approaches Ephron the Hittite, who owns the cave in which he wants to bury Sarah. The story reflects an established pattern of negotiating. Ephron seems to be very generous, but in reality he ends up selling the cave to Abraham for an exorbitant price. This was the only part of Canaan Abraham owned when he died, and he paid many times what this little piece of it was worth—yet Abraham continued to have faith in God’s promise that one day his descendants would own all of the land (see Hebrews 11:8–10).

Similarly, geography often plays a role in the Bible. When God called Abraham to go from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan, almost due west of Ur, Abraham ended up in Haran, almost as far north of Canaan as Ur was east of it (Genesis 12). The problem was not that Abraham had a poor sense of direction. Rather, it was impossible for Abraham to travel due west to Canaan, since between Ur and Canaan there was only desert. Abraham had to follow the River Euphrates, the one reliable source of water on a journey of some 600 miles as the crow flies, before heading south to Canaan. (See below for more on roads and travel during biblical times.)

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The setting of the Bible is what is today called the Middle East: modern Egypt, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. This same region is referred to as the Ancient Near East when we look at its history.

It is an area smaller than the United States, much of it desert. The earliest great civilizations prospered around the rivers in this region—the Egyptian Empire along the Nile River, the Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian Empires around the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, in what is now Iraq.

We sometimes have the mistaken notion that Abraham, with whom the story of God’s people begins, lived in rather primitive times. Nothing could be further from the truth—unless we assume that technology and urban sprawl are the hallmark of civilization. When God called Abraham (ca. 2000 B.C.),

• Egypt had already had a flourishing civilization for more than a millennium; the pyramids had been standing for almost five centuries.
• On the island of Crete, the great Minoan civilization had already prospered for more than five centuries.
• The region around the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers (also called Mesopotamia = “Between the Rivers”) was the scene of the great Sumerian civilization. Ur of the Chaldeans, where Abraham came from, was a thriving city on the Euphrates River.
• Great civilizations also flourished farther east, in the Indus Valley and in China.

It was not until after the end of the Old Testament (ca. 400 B.C.) that the center of power moved westward, away from the Ancient Near East, first to Greece and then to Rome.

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The maps: Empires show the six great empires of biblical times. (The exact boundaries fluctuated, and some of the boundaries were never clearly defined.)

As the six maps show, the first three empires were east and southeast of the Mediterranean Sea; the last three show a gradual shift toward the west, until with the Roman Empire the focus of power shifted from northern Africa and the Near East to Europe.

• Egyptian Empire. Became the home of Israel when the Patriarchs moved to Egypt at the end of Genesis; the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus, 400 years later.
• Assyrian Empire. Destroyed the northern kingdom, Israel, in 722 B.C. and deported its people. Its capital was Nineveh (which was spared after Jonah preached there).
• Babylonian Empire. Destroyed Jerusalem and the southern kingdom, Judah, in 586 B.C. and deported its people to Babylonia. Its capital was Babylon (where the prophet Daniel rose to prominence).
• Persian Empire. Destroyed the Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C. Its capitals were Persepolis and Susa (the latter providing the setting for the book of Esther). The first Persian ruler, Darius, allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem.
• Greek Empire. Founded by Alexander the Great around 330 B.C. After Alexander’s death, the empire was divided into four empires (see The 400 Years Between The Testaments). The legacy of the Greek Empire was not political but cultural: Hellenism (see Religious Changes in the chapter on The 400 Years Between the Testaments).
• Roman Empire. The empire that was in its glory days during the time of Christ and the early church (see The Early Church: Acts–Jude; for the Roman Empire after the time of Christ, see The First Centuries: From Pentecost to A.D. 313 in the chapter A Brief History of the Western Church).

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Our understanding of both the Old and the New Testament accounts can be enhanced by understanding the influence that roads and weather played in the course of biblical events.

In ancient times, the location of roads was determined to a large extent by the natural features of the landscape. Most roads through the rugged hill country of Judah generally followed the mountain ridges, since a more direct route would mean climbing in and out of many valleys and ravines.

Water—either too much or too little—was also a problem. Roads in valleys and low-lying areas could flood during the rainy season or become too muddy for use. Travel during the dry summer season was much easier than traveling on muddy, rain-soaked roads in the winter months. The spring and summer seasons were “the time when kings go off to war” (2 Samuel 11:1) because the roads were dry and the newly harvested grain was available to feed their troops.

Too little water, on the other hand, was an even more serious problem. When Abraham traveled from Ur to Canaan (see map: Abraham’s Journey from Ur to Shechem), he could not simply go west, which would have saved him hundreds of miles, since there were no sources of water in the Arabian Desert. Instead, he had to follow one of the major international trade routes that connected Mesopotamia with Egypt, Turkey, and Arabia. From Ur, these routes followed the great rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, and both went through Haran, almost 400 miles to the north of Canaan.

The Major International Routes

The “major international routes” were not unlike the transcontinental trails in the early American West, such as the Oregon Trail. Basic “road-building” operations included the removal of stones from the path, the clearing of trees and bushes, the maintaining of shallow fords in the river beds, and possibly the construction of trails along steep slopes. But these major routes generally followed relatively easy terrain and were never far from water sources.

These roads had to be recleared and releveled periodically, especially when an important personage such as a king was to travel on them. Thus it is not just poetic language, but rather a statement about actual road maintenance when we read, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low” (Luke 3:5)—that is, ruts or eroded low spots must be filled in, and bumps must be removed.

Living near an international highway brought economic benefits. These roads served as thoroughfares for itinerant tradesmen and merchants, for the conveyance of governmental and commercial messages, and for the transportation of scarce supplies, such as copper, iron, tin, gold, silver, incense, dyes, and pottery. (Bulkier items such as timber and stones were usually shipped on boats and rafts.) Those who controlled the roads—whether brigands or a more permanent central government—could derive considerable income from the traffic on these highways. The central government could collect tolls from passing caravans, sell food and lodging, and offer the services of military escorts that could be hired by the caravans to ensure their safe passage through “dangerous” territory.

On the other hand, these same roads were also used for military expeditions, which brought no economic benefit but only enormous risk in the case of hostile armies.

Those living along the international routes were also exposed to new intellectual, cultural, linguistic, and religious influences, and this inevitably led to a degree of assimilation. For example, the ease of travel in and out of Samaria helps to explain the openness of that area to non-Israelite religious and cultural influences.

The remoteness of the Hill Country of Judah and the relatively difficult access to Jerusalem made the southern kingdom less susceptible to foreign influences. This difference helps explain why the deportation of the northern kingdom happened some 130 years earlier than the deportation of the southern kingdom, Judah (see The Monarchy: David, Solomon and the Divided Kingdom: 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles).

Roads in Canaan

By the time Abraham arrived in the land of Canaan (ca. 2000 B.C.), the lines of communication within the country were already well established. Two international highways ran through the country, one along the coast (sometimes referred to as “the Way of the Sea”), the other east of the Jordan River (the Transjordanian highway). The western international highway probably played a role in the story of Joseph, who found his brothers near Dothan, was thrown into a cistern, and then was sold to Midianite merchants, who took him to Egypt (Genesis 37:12–28). Dothan was less than 15 miles from the western highway, and the cistern may have been even closer.

The map: Roads and Routes in Canaan shows many of the regional and local routes in Canaan. One of these is especially important for biblical studies: the interregional route that ran from Beersheba in the south to Shechem in the north—via Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Gibeah, Ramah, Bethel/Ai, and Shiloh. This route appears again and again in the biblical text. Some people call it “the Route of the Patriarchs” because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob traveled its length, while others refer to it as “the Ridge Route,” for in many places it runs along the ridge of the watershed of the Judean and Ephraim mountains. Even when it is not specifically mentioned, it often furnishes the backdrop for many events recorded in the Bible.

These streets in Pompey are exactly as they were in A.D. 79, when an eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried them under volcanic ash. These urban streets had sidewalks and pedestrian crossings: the large stones in the road are stepping stones, since the roads were also designed to carry off rainwater. The ruts show that the width of Roman carts had to be standardized to be able to pass between the stones.

Roman Roads

It was not until shortly before New Testament times that the Romans developed advanced road-building techniques, which included the preparation of the roadbed by leveling the ground and cutting rocks, the use of curbing to mark the edge of the roads, attention to drainage, and the laying of paving stones. The Roman Empire developed a system of roads that ultimately would stretch from Scotland to the Euphrates—some 53,000 miles in all. (The U.S. Interstate Highway System, by way of comparison, consists of approximately 30,000 miles of road.) It is probable that the construction of a rather well-developed road system had already begun in Syria and Judah in New Testament times.

Travel

Besides walking, early modes of transportation included donkeys, solid-wheeled carts, and chariots. Camels eventually began to be used to carry heavy loads, especially in caravans. Horses were used in the second and first millennia B.C. to draw chariots and to serve in cavalry units; during the Persian period (538–332 B.C.) and later, their use for everyday travel became more common. In New Testament times all these means of transportation were used, and the improvement of the road system increased the use of carts and chariots.

The Israelites never were a seafaring nation. The sea often is used as a symbolic representation of chaos and of the nations in opposition to God. Thus Jonah’s running away from God to the sea is more than just going west instead of east—it involves symbolically moving toward all that is in opposition to God. Yet God controls the sea and its inhabitants. And in Revelation 21:1, the statement “the sea is no more” may also mean that at last the rebellious nations no longer can trouble God’s creation.

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Much of biblical history took place in and around the land of Israel. Understanding the geography of this area provides valuable insight as one studies the biblical events that took place here. Israel is a country that is about the size of the state of New Jersey, with a total of 8,019 square miles of land.

The Four Major Zones

The city of Jerusalem, which is the capital of Israel and the center stage of biblical history, lies halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian or Eastern Desert. Squeezed between the sea and the desert—which are only 70 miles apart at the latitude of Jerusalem—are four “zones” that run north-south (see map: The Holy Land—Natural Regions):

1. The coastal plain, which at the latitude of Jerusalem is less than 12 miles wide.
2. The central mountain range, on which Jerusalem is situated at an elevation of approximately 2,500 feet, is about 36 miles wide.
3. The Rift Valley, through which the Jordan River runs. It is part of the Rift Valley system that extends for 3,700 miles from Africa to southern Turkey.
4. The Transjordanian mountains, which rise steeply on the eastern side of the Rift Valley and then slope gradually toward the Arabian Desert.

The Arabian or Eastern Desert stretches eastward some 450 miles, from the Transjordanian mountains to the Euphrates River.

The Seasons

In biblical times, Israel was primarily an agrarian country. It is sometimes difficult for people living in urban areas to realize how utterly dependent on the weather the Israelites were—not just the farmers, but the nation as a whole. When crops failed, famine followed. In desperation, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt for grain (see Genesis 42:1–3). And Elijah’s prayer that it would not rain (1 Kings 17:1; 18:41–46; 5:17–18) was more than a request for a few unpleasantly dry summers—it potentially meant famine and disaster.

The average amount of rainfall varies considerably in different parts of the country (Amos 4:6–8). In some years, parts of the country can go without rain for four or five consecutive weeks during the months of January and February, usually the rainiest months of the year. In those regions where the total annual average is only 12 to 16 inches, the growth of grain crops is by no means assured, for a variation of only 4 to 6 inches can spell disaster. In areas where average rainfall is high, farmers can sow and “reap a hundredfold” (Genesis 26:12) in “normal” years, but even there a series of drought years can be devastating and, in the past, could drive people from the land (Genesis 12:10).

The Israelites knew that it was Yahweh, the Lord, who had His eyes on the land continually, from the beginning of the year to its end, and that their obedience to His commandments would bring blessing, while disobedience would bring drought and disaster (Deuteronomy 11:8–17). But given the uncertainties about the amount and distribution of the rainfall, it is no wonder that some Israelites were drawn to participate in the worship of Baal, the Canaanite storm god, who was believed to bring fertility to the land.

Israel’s year is divided into two main seasons: the rainy season (mid-October through April) and the dry season (mid-June through mid-September), separated by transitional months.

The Dry Season—Summer (Mid-June to Mid-September)

In contrast to the ever-changing weather conditions in many parts of North America, conditions in Israel during the summer months are relatively stable. Warm days and cooler nights are the rule, and it almost never rains. In Jerusalem, for example, the average August daytime high temperature is 86º F (30º C), the nighttime average low is 64º F (18º C).

Summer days are relatively cloudless; in fact, Israel is one of the sunniest countries in the world. On a typical summer day, temperatures begin to climb immediately after sunrise. Within a short time a cooling sea breeze begins to blow in from the west. After passing through the coastal plain, it reaches Jerusalem in the mountains at about noon, and its cooling effect prevents the temperature from rising significantly during the afternoon hours. But the breeze usually does not reach Transjordan until mid-to-late afternoon, so temperatures there continue to climb through most of the day.

The summer months see grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, melons, and other crops ripening. The summer dew and deep root systems bring needed moisture to these crops. Most of the fruits are harvested in August and September. During the summer, shepherds move their flocks of sheep and goats westward, allowing them to feed on the stubble of the wheat and barley fields that were harvested in the spring. Because the soil is dry during the summer months, travel is fairly easy. In biblical times, caravans and armies moved easily through most parts of the country, the armies helping themselves to plentiful supplies of grain at the expense of the local population.

The First Transitional Season—(Mid-September to Mid-October)

The first transitional season, from mid-September to mid-October, marks the end of the stable, dry, summer conditions. It is the time of the fruit harvest, and farmers begin to look anxiously for the onset of the rainy season. In the fall, travel on the Mediterranean becomes dangerous (Acts 27:9) and remains so throughout the winter months.

The Rainy Season—Winter (Mid-October to April)

The rainy season, from mid-October through April, is characterized by occasional rain storms that roll in off the Mediterranean Sea, normally bringing three days of rain followed by several days of dry weather (although deviations from this norm are frequent). During January the mean daily temperature in Jerusalem is 50º F (10º C). Jerusalem receives snow only once or twice each year, but it rarely remains on the ground more than a day.

However, cold temperatures, combined with wind and rain, can make life uncomfortable in the hilly regions—a discomfort the people gladly bear because of the life-giving power of the rains. During a typical year a farmer plows his field and plants his grain crops after the “autumn rains” of October through December have softened the hard, sun-baked soil. The grain crops grow from December through February, when 75 percent of the rain falls, and continue to ripen during March and April as the rains begin to taper off. These “spring rains” are important for producing bumper crops.

Rain is so important that Hebrew has several words for it, each referring to a different part of the rainy season. Deuteronomy 11:14 reads, “Then I will send rain [Heb. matar; Dec.–Feb.] on your land in its season, both autumn [Heb. yoreh; Oct.–Dec.] and spring rains [Heb. malqosh; March–April], so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil” (see also Jeremiah 5:24; Hosea 6:3).

The Second Transitional Season—(May to Mid-June)

The second transitional season lasts from early May through mid-June. The temperatures gradually rise, and the season is punctuated by a series of hot, dry, dusty days during which the winds blow in from the eastern and southern deserts. On these days, which are called by the names of the winds hamsin, sirocco, or sharav, the temperature often rises 25º F (14º C) above normal, and the relative humidity can drop by as much as 40 percent. The hamsin wind conditions can be very debilitating to both humans and beasts, and they completely dry up the beautiful flowers and grasses that covered the landscape during the winter months (Isaiah 40:7–8). The positive effect of these winds, however, is that the hot, dry weather aids the ripening of the grains by “setting” them before the harvest. It is during this season that first the barley and then the wheat harvest takes place.

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Jerusalem holds a special place in the hearts and thoughts of Jews, Christians, and Moslems. It is mentioned some 800 times in the Bible, from Genesis 14:18 (“Salem”) to Revelation 21:10 (the New Jerusalem). Although today Jerusalem boasts a population of nearly half a million people, its origins were humble.

Location

The importance of Jerusalem is a bit surprising, given its location. It is not near one of the two major international highways (see map: Roads and Routes in Canaan), and the only road that passed by it was the north-south Ridge Route, and even that ran about a half mile west of the ancient core of the city.

Jerusalem lies in the Hill Country of Judea, at an elevation of 2,500 feet, which gave it the benefit of many natural defenses. The Dead Sea, the Rift Valley cliffs, the Wilderness of Judea, and the rugged hill country provided protection on the east, west, and south. It was somewhat easier to approach the city from the north or south, along the Ridge Route, but access to the Ridge Route from either the coast or the Rift Valley was difficult. Because of the easier approaches from the north and the northwest, invading armies have often assaulted Jerusalem from a northerly direction.

Thus, besides being removed from the main routes of commerce (and of military expeditions), Jerusalem enjoyed the security of its natural defenses. If Jerusalem was not a natural center of commerce because of its location, neither was it situated in the heart of an extraordinarily rich agricultural region. In fact, Jerusalem was perched right on the boundary between the desert and “the sown” (areas suitable for agriculture). Jerusalem itself receives ample supplies of winter rain (approximately 25 inches per year), as do the hills to the west, so that they are able to produce a variety of crops, but just over the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, lies the barren Judean Desert.

Difficult as it is to imagine this today, during early periods the hills in and around the city were covered with trees. Beginning some 5000 years ago, large trees were cut down to provide timber for buildings and ships, while both larger and smaller trees were used to fuel the fires in lime and pottery kilns and to heat houses in the winter months. Areas that had been cleared could be used for agricultural purposes, and on the more level terrain—for example, the Valley of Rephaim to the southwest of Jerusalem—grain crops were planted (Isaiah 17:5).

Topography

Jerusalem is surrounded by hills that are higher than the hills on which the core of the ancient city was built. Roughly speaking, the ancient city can be visualized as sitting on a rise in the bottom of a large bowl, where the rim of the bowl is higher than the rise within it. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore” (Psalm 125:2).

Biblical Jerusalem was built on two parallel north-south ridges. The western ridge, which is the higher and broader of the two, is bounded on the west by the Hinnom Valley, which curves around and also runs along the south edge of the hill.

The narrower and lower eastern ridge is bounded on the east by the Kidron Valley. Both the Hinnom and the Kidron are mentioned in the Bible, but the valley between the eastern and western ridges is not. For lack of a better name, geographers often call it the Central Valley, or—following the lead of the Jewish historian Josephus—the Tyropoeon (“Cheesemakers”) Valley (War 5.4.1).

In many ways the western ridge is the more natural one to settle on, both because it has a relatively large surface area and thus can support more people, and because it is higher and seems to have better natural defenses (higher, steeper slopes) than the eastern ridge. In spite of this, it was the lower, cigar-shaped, southern portion of the eastern ridge that was settled first. The reason why the ancient core of Jerusalem developed on this insignificant, down-in-a-basin hill was that the only good-sized spring in the whole area—the Gihon Spring—was located alongside the eastern ridge in the Kidron Valley.

David Captures the City

The city was on the border between the territories of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, although it was technically inside Benjamin. During the period of the Judges, the city belonged to the Jebusites and was called Jebus (Judges 19:11–12). It was finally captured by King David, who attacked the city at its weakest point—its water supply. Since the spring of Gihon was outside the city, a tunnel or shaft had apparently been dug to the spring or a nearby pool to ensure a water supply in times of siege. Whether David’s commander Joab entered the city by climbing up the water shaft or by cutting off the water supply to the city isn’t clear—but Jebus surrendered (2 Samuel 5:6–8).

With the capture of Jerusalem, David accomplished several strategic goals. First, he removed a foreign enclave from a border area and thus removed a potential threat to the Israelite tribes.

Second, because of Jerusalem’s neutral location—neither in the heartland of Judah, like Hebron, David’s former capital, nor in the northern part of Israel—it was a capital acceptable to both David’s own tribe of Judah and to the tribes of the north who had recently acknowledged him as king.

Besides, by capturing Jerusalem himself, it became the personal property of David and his descendants that could not be claimed by his own or any other tribe—it became the royal seat of the Davidic dynasty. In addition, David brought the ark of the covenant from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem, thus establishing it as the major center of worship for all the Israelite tribes (2 Samuel 6:1–23; 1 Chronicles 13:1–14).

The city that David captured was small—approximately 15 acres (6 hectares) in size, with a population of 2000 to 2400. He evidently took up residence in the old Jebusite fortress called Zion, and from that point on, the fortress as well as the city as a whole could be called the “City of David’ ’ (e.g., 2 Samuel 5:7).

Jerusalem Under Solomon

Toward the end of his reign, David purchased the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, a site to the north of (and higher than) the ancient city core; this is the place where Solomon eventually built the temple (2 Samuel 24:18–25; 1 Chronicles 21:18–26). Soon after Solomon became king, David died and was buried in the City of David (1 Kings 2:10). Evidently a royal cemetery was established where many of his descendants, up through Hezekiah (d. 686 B.C.), were buried, but it has not been found.

In the fourth year of his reign (966 B.C.), Solomon began building the temple, a task that took seven years. The exact location of the temple is not known, although an old tradition and modern research places it in the immediate vicinity of the Moslem shrine called the Dome of the Rock, which now occupies the highest point of the temple area.

Under Solomon the city more than doubled in size, from about 15 acres to about 37 acres, with a population of about 4500 to 5000 people. Among the increased population were at least some of the foreign wives whom Solomon married. It was for them that Solomon built a number of pagan shrines “on a hill east of Jerusalem” (1 Kings 11:7–8)—probably on the southern portion of the Mount of Olives. The location of these shrines was such that they towered over both the City of David and the temple of the true and living God.

Jerusalem from Solomon to Its Destruction

With the secession of the north from the south after Solomon’s death (930 B.C.), Solomon’s successors ruled over a much smaller territory consisting of Judah and a portion of Benjamin. Jerusalem remained the seat of the government for the Davidic dynasty, and the Solomonic temple continued to be the focal point for the worship of the God of Israel.

During the period of the Divided Monarchy (930–722 B.C.), Jerusalem was attacked a number of times: by the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak during the reign of Rehoboam (925 B.C.; 1 Kings 14:22–28; 2 Chronicles 12:2–4), and by Hazael of Aram Damascus during the reign of Joash (ca. 813 B.C.; 2 Kings 12:17–18; 2 Chronicles 24: 17–24). In each case, lavish gifts, taken from the temple treasury, bought off the aggressors.

But in the days of Amaziah of Judah, King Joash of Israel attacked the city and “broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about six hundred feet long” (ca. 790 B.C.; 2 Chronicles 25:23).

We are also told that during the 8th century B.C., “Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall . . .” (2 Chronicles 26:9) as he strengthened the defenses of the city—perhaps in response to the growing Assyrian threat in the person of Tiglath-Pileser III. It seems very probable that during Uzziah’s reign (792–740 B.C.) and during the reign of his successors, Jerusalem expanded westward so as to include the southern portion of the western ridge. The large increase in the size of Jerusalem at this time was probably due to the fact that settlers from the northern kingdom moved south so as to avoid the Assyrian onslaught; they may have thought that Jerusalem would never be taken by a foreign power because the temple of the Lord was there, and that the Lord would never allow such an indignity to be perpetrated (Psalm 132:13–18).

Soon after the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 B.C., Hezekiah revolted against his Assyrian overlords (see article on Hezekiah, King of Judah in 2 Chronicles) and needed to strengthen Jerusalem’s defenses. Evidently it was during his reign that the suburb that had developed on the southern portion of the western ridge was enclosed by a new wall (Isaiah 22:10). The total area of the walled city had swelled to 150 acres (61 ha.) and boasted a population of about 25,000.

Since the major water supply of the city, the Gihon Spring, was at some distance from the newly enclosed suburb and thus was exposed to enemy attack, Hezekiah devised a plan to divert the water to a spot inside the city walls, closer to the western hill. He did this by digging an underground tunnel that followed a serpentine path to a point in the Central Valley, which, although it was outside of the old city wall of the City of David, was inside the newly constructed city wall on the western hill. This diversion of the spring water is mentioned not only in the Bible (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30), but also in a Hebrew inscription that was discovered at the southern end of the 1,750-foot tunnel (see ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Hezekiah’s Tunnel and the Siloam Inscription in 2 Chronicles).

In 701 B.C. Sennacherib of Assyria attacked. Although he sent some of his army and commanders to Jerusalem to demand its surrender—Sennacherib boasted that he had shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage—he had to retreat when, according to the biblical text, a large portion of his army was destroyed through divine intervention (1 Kings 19:35).

During the 8th and 7th centuries B.C., there were both good and bad rulers in Jerusalem. On the negative side were Ahaz and Manasseh, both of whom sacrificed children in the Valley of Ben Hinnom (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; cf. 2 Kings 23:10). It was during Ahaz’s reign that at least a portion of the temple area was remodeled and a new altar, based on a pagan pattern from Damascus, was built to replace the old one (2 Kings 16:10–18).

During this same period there were also two godly kings, Hezekiah and Josiah, who worked to undo the evil their predecessors had perpetrated by taking steps to cleanse and refurbish the temple. It was during such a rebuilding, in the days of Josiah (ca. 622 B.C.), that the Book of the Law was discovered, and in obedience to its commands, additional reforms were instituted (2 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 34). But because of the continuing sins of the people and their leaders, God’s judgment finally fell on Jerusalem. In 586 B.C. when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed both the city and the temple, most of the people were deported to Babylonia.

The Rebuilding of Jerusalem

Fifty years later, the first group of Jews—some 50,000—was allowed to return to Jerusalem. They rebuilt the sacrificial altar, but it was not until some 20 years later that the temple was rebuilt under Zerubbabel and completed in 516 B.C. (Ezra 6). This second temple was a much more modest structure than Solomon’s temple had been. A second return was led by Ezra in 458 B.C., but the city walls were not rebuilt until 445 B.C., under Nehemiah, almost a century after the first Jews returned from Babylon.

From the time of Nehemiah (445 B.C.) until the beginning of the 2nd century B.C., not too much is known about Jerusalem. The city remained under Persian control until 332 B.C., when Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East. After his death in 323 B.C. the Ptolemies of Egypt gained control of Palestine and Judah, and it is generally assumed that under their benign rule a priestly aristocracy governed from Jerusalem.

But early in the 2nd century B.C., the Seleucid king Antiochus III defeated the Ptolemies (198 B.C.), and the change in rule was welcomed by most of the Jewish population. With his support, repairs were made to the temple and a large pool—possibly the Pool of Bethesda—was constructed (Ecclesiasticus 50:1–3).

Antiochus IV (175–164 B.C.), however, tried to stamp out the Jewish religion. The temple in Jerusalem was desecrated, and a statute of the chief Greek god, Olympian Zeus, was set up in its precincts (168 B.C.). It addition, other Greek structures were erected in Jerusalem, including a gymnasium and a citadel. The citadel, called the Akra in Greek, was built on the eastern ridge just south of the temple area and was so tall that it towered over the temple area. Although Judas Maccabaeus’s forces were able to retake Jerusalem, to purify the temple (164 B.C.), and to reestablish sacrificial worship, the Seleucid garrison in the Akra remained a thorn in the side of the Jews until Judas’s brother Simon (142–135 B.C.) captured and demolished it—even leveling the hill upon which it had stood (Josephus, Antiq. 13.6.7 [215]).

At the end of the Hellenistic period the Hasmonean brothers Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II vied with each other for the office of high priest and control of the country. In the end, the Roman general Pompey intervened and marched on Jerusalem. After he set up camps to the southwest and northwest of the city, the city on the western ridge was handed over to him by the followers of Hyrcanus. However, the supporters of Aristobulus put up a defense on the eastern ridge. In response, Pompey erected a siege dike around the ridge and, after building assault ramps, attacked the temple area from the west, across the ruins of the bridge that had spanned the Central Valley, and also from the north.

The arrival of Pompey marked the beginning of the long period of control over Jerusalem by Rome and its Byzantine successor, which would last until the time of the Persian and Arab conquests (A.D. 614 and 639), save for brief periods during the first and second Jewish revolts.

Jerusalem Under Herod the Great

At the beginning of the period of Roman rule, Jerusalem experienced great expansion, construction, and beautification under the leadership of the Roman client-king Herod the Great (37–4 B.C.). One of his great achievements was the refurbishing of the temple and the Temple Mount. Although he was limited in what he could do to the temple building itself—the divine word and tradition dictated its basic dimensions—he spent more than a year and a half beautifying and refurbishing the structure.

He did not face similar restrictions when it came to the courts that surrounded the temple, and so he spent great sums on expanding these. He is said to have doubled the size of the platform area so that it reached its present size—which is almost twice the size of the city of Jerusalem captured by David some 1000 years earlier. Although no remnants of Herod’s temple have been found that can be identified as such with certainty, the huge platform on which its courts were built has survived. The area is now occupied by Moslem structures and is called the Haram esh-Sharif—the Noble Sanctuary.

In constructing this large platform, Herod made use of some existing walls, especially on the east, but he expanded the platform to the north, west, and south. Indeed, the western expansion was such that part of the Central Valley was filled in and covered over. Today some 26 courses of Herodian stones, founded on bedrock, are still standing. These stones are cut so precisely that no mortar was used in the construction of the wall. A typical stone weighs two to 10 tons, while the largest of the known stones measures 46 x 10 x 10 feet and weighs 415 tons! A portion of this is known as the “Western Wall” or “Wailing Wall.”

Along the upper perimeter of the huge temple platform Herod built or refurbished a number of covered colonnades. The most famous of these was the southern one, the “Royal Colonnade.” It consisted of 162 columns arranged in four rows, forming a long basilica-shaped building. The columns themselves were 27 feet (8 m.) high and 4.6 feet (1.4 m.) in diameter and were crowned with Corinthian capitals. Although nothing of the colonnade remains today, the appearance of its outer wall can be surmised from the pilaster-recessed design that is evident in the Herodian structure that encloses the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron as well as from architectural fragments found in recent excavations (see photo of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron).

To the south of the Temple Mount, large portions of the formal staircase that led up to the Huldah Gates have been discovered. The foundations of the gates are still visible in the southern wall of the Haram enclosure (the so-called double and triple gates). Although they are now closed, the underground passages that lead up to the top of the mount inside the wall are still preserved. In excavations along the southern portion of the western enclosure wall, portions of the north-south street, a city drain, and most interestingly, the piers that supported a platform and staircase that led south, from a gate in the southern section of the western wall of the Temple Mount into the Central Valley, have been found. A large, dressed stone has also been found, inscribed in Hebrew with the words “For the place of the trumpet blowing.” Evidently, this stone had fallen from its position on the southwest pinnacle of the Temple Mount, where it had marked the spot where the priest stood to blow the trumpet to announce to the citizens of Jerusalem the beginning of the Sabbath, New Moon, New Year, and other special days.

It took Herod almost 10 years to complete the major construction on the Temple Mount, but crews were still working on the project long after Herod’s death in 4 B.C., during Jesus’ lifetime (John 2:20; ca. A.D. 28), and even as late as A.D. 64—only six years before it was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70.

To the northwest of the temple Herod rebuilt the fortress that had stood there and named it the Antonia, after his friend Mark Antony. This fortress, situated on a rocky scarp, towered over the temple area and housed a garrison whose duty it was to monitor and control the crowds that gathered in the temple precincts. It is traditionally assumed that it was here that Jesus stood before Pilate on the day of His crucifixion, but it is more likely that Pilate was staying at the palace of Herod Antipas, and that that was where Jesus was interrogated, humiliated, and condemned. What is certain is that the apostle Paul was taken to the Antonia Fortress (“the barracks”) after being rescued from an angry mob by Roman soldiers (Acts 21:34).

(For the history of Jerusalem from the time of the New Testament until the present, see A Brief History of the Holy Land and the Jews Since the Time of Christ.)

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Until about the 18th century, knowledge of the past was limited. Where facts were missing, the imagination took over and filled the gaps.

Thus, in 1572 the Dutch artist Maerten van Heemskerck made a drawing of the ancient city of Babylon. It looked like a European city of his day, with a few exotic elements thrown in, such as the spiral steeple on the tower and the citizens’ lack of clothing. And he was not alone. Rembrandt’s paintings of biblical scenes show oddly Dutch interiors, while the great Italian painters of the Renaissance often use the Italian countryside as the backdrop for biblical paintings.

The Industrial Revolution brought with it the need to move large quantities of soil for the building of factory foundations, railways, and so forth. In the process, artifacts came to light that were clearly ancient, and people began to think about the past in more concrete terms.

A 16th-century view of the past: Van Heemskerck’s city of Babylon.

Egypt

In 1798, Napoleon staged an expedition to Egypt. He took with him a number of scholars to survey the antiquities of Egypt and to bring some of them to France. (The most visible reminder of this is the great obelisk on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, erected by Rameses II in 1250 B.C. in Luxor and moved to Paris in 1831.) The scholars with Napoleon saw the pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and the many temples and statues that were partially buried in the sand. They also saw the hieroglyphics that covered many of these monuments and realized that they were a written language, but no one had any idea what they meant. Thus these monuments were mute witnesses to ancient grandeur—and Egyptian history remained by and large a closed book.

Until the hieroglyphics of Egypt were deciphered, monuments such as this obelisk of Rameses II at Luxor were mute.

A relatively modest discovery provided the clue. In Rosetta, a town at the western edge of the Nile Delta, a piece of black granite was found, about 4 x 2 1/2 feet—somewhat smaller than a fully opened newspaper—that contained three inscriptions, one above the other. The bottom one was Greek, which was known and could be translated, but the top one was in Egyptian hieroglyphics and the middle one in Demotic, a simplified Egyptian script. The Greek text indicated that the stone contained a decree of Ptolemy V and was made around 200 B.C.

The Rosetta Stone, which proved to be the key to the deciphering of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Assuming that all three languages on the Rosetta Stone meant the same thing, one of the problems was that no one knew whether the hieroglyphs were ideographic (each sign representing an idea) or phonetic (each sign representing a sound). The breakthrough came with the realization that the name of Ptolemy V in the hieroglyphic text was surrounded by a cartouche, or frame (see photo below). In 1822, the French scholar Jean-François Champollion finally succeeded in deciphering the hieroglyphic inscriptions (it turned out that the hieroglyphics were partly ideographic, partly phonetic). His achievement was due in part to the fact that he had also studied Coptic, a language derived from Egyptian that is still in use today as the liturgical language of the Coptic church.

A cartouche with the name of Rameses II, who some believe to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.

Mesopotamia

Interest in the antiquities of Mesopotamia, where the Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires had flourished, began at about the same time. In 1811, Claude James Rich, an agent of the British East India Company who lived in Baghdad, 50 miles northeast of the site of ancient Babylon, became curious after seeing some inscribed bricks brought in by a fellow agent. Rich visited the site of Babylon. He stayed for 10 days, during which he located and charted the vast collection of mounds that had once been Babylon. With the help of inhabitants of the region he dug into the mounds and found a few tablets, which he carried back to Baghdad.

In 1820 he visited Mosul and spent four months sketching a plan of the mounds just across the river, which he suspected were the ruins of Nineveh. Here also he collected tablets and inscriptions that neither he nor anyone else could read.

The key to deciphering the Babylonian language turned out to be, as had been the case with Egyptian hieroglyphs, the discovery of an inscription in three languages. This time it was a massive inscription, chiseled some 400 feet above the ground into a vertical rock wall, 200 miles northeast of Babylon. The inscription had been made by order of King Darius Hyspastes of Persia in 516 B.C. (This was the same Darius under whom the temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt, as told in Ezra, and the Behistun inscription was made in the same year the temple was completed.) The inscription gave a long account, in Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian, of the conquests of Darius.

Sir Henry Rawlinson, the British consul-general in Baghdad, had some knowledge of Persian. With amazing perseverance he began copying the inscriptions in 1835. It involved a great deal of physical risk, but he continued his self-appointed task off and on until, in 1847, he finished his copying, with the help of ladders from below and swings from above—and especially the assistance of “a wild Kurdish boy,” whose name remains unknown. His efforts paid off: soon Rawlinson was able to decipher the Babylonian language.

Most cuneiform tablets contain only text. This tablet shows text above an Assyrian map and dates perhaps to the 9th century B.C.

Ancient Libraries

The key to the ancient Babylonian language had been found just in time for the vast treasures of ancient Babylonian literature that were discovered during that period. In 1842, Paul Emil Botta, the French consul at Mosul, began digging in the mounds near Mosul that had intrigued Rich so much, and in the following 10 years he laid bare the magnificent palace of Sargon at Khorsabad.

Sir Austen Henry Layard, an Englishman who is called the “father of Assyriology,” discovered in 1845–51, at Nineveh and Calah, ruins of the palaces of five Assyrian kings who are named in the Bible, and the great library of Ashur-banipal, which is estimated to have contained 100,000 volumes.

Thus it turned out that, contrary to what had been thought before, the ancient Near East was highly literate. Large libraries had been brought together that might contain royal archives, dictionaries, and other reference works, as well as books on law, religion, science, and literature.

Another one of the great collections of tablets that has been found is the library of Sargon (722–705 B.C.), which consists of 25,000 tablets, and the royal library of Ashurbanipal (662–626 B.C.), with 20,000 tablets. (Both of these libraries are now in the British Museum.) Other major finds were made at Nuzi (20,000 tablets from the 2nd millennium B.C.), at Nippur, 50 miles southeast of Babylon (some 50,000 tablets from the 4th and 5th centuries B.C.), and elsewhere.

Perhaps the greatest library of all antiquity was that of Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria and its library were founded by Alexander the Great a little before 300 B.C. The library collected books dealing with all areas of learning. It truly became a repository for all the knowledge of the ancient world. The books in the library were not clay tablets, but scrolls of papyrus or parchment.

The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) was made in Alexandria in the middle of the 3rd century B.C., probably in this library.

Sadly, the magnificent collection of books was destroyed when the Arabs, under Caliph Omar, conquered Egypt in 642. According to legend, Omar’s rationale for burning the library was quite simple: if the books agreed with the Koran, they were superfluous; if they disagreed, they were evil. (It may well be, however, that after three centuries of Christian control of Alexandria, not much was left of the collection, given the antagonism toward pagan learning in the early centuries of the church.)

Monasteries were also places where books were collected and preserved. Manuscripts of the Bible and other writings were copied in monasteries during the Middle Ages.

We will never know how many priceless manuscripts were lost or destroyed over the years—even in monasteries. One of the two earliest, most valuable, and most complete manuscripts of the Bible was discovered by accident in St. Catherine’s Monastery, in the shadow of Mount Sinai (hence the name of the manuscript, Codex Sinaiticus; see The Codex Sinaiticus in section 2, How the Text of the Bible was Preserved). It was waiting, with other manuscripts, to be used for fuel in a fireplace.

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It was not until some of the major ancient languages had been deciphered that it became possible to piece together when and how writing developed. This was not merely an academic issue. In the 19th century the view held (based on “scientific evidence”) that writing did not develop until after the time of Moses, so that the first five books of the Bible could not possibly have been written by Moses and that, in fact, the early portions of Scripture were essentially frauds.

But careful study of the evidence has shown that writing developed around 3150 B.C.—more than a millennium before Abraham and more than a millennium and a half before Moses!

Writing

The invention of writing was without question one of the most significant inventions in human history. It was the watershed between what we call prehistory and history—between the past we can know only from physical remains (monuments, implements, human remains, etc.) and the past we can also know to some extent through written texts. Without written texts to help us reconstruct the past, we are limited to conjecture and guesswork. (An indication of this is the frequency with which objects from preliterate societies are identified as “religious objects”—which often means that we don’t have a clue as to their significance.)

Writing was invented to meet the practical needs of an increasingly complex society. As trade grew, it became obvious that it was unsatisfactory to keep track of shipments, goods, and payments by means of counting-stones with symbols for objects or animals scratched in them. Thus, around 3100 B.C. the Sumerians in Mesopotamia came up with a system of hundreds of somewhat simplified pictograms (pictures that represent specific things) as well as signs for measures and numbers. These were pressed into clay tablets, which made it possible to maintain more or less permanent records.

A portion of a relief of Sennacherib’s attack on Lachish (2 Chronicles 32). Without an understanding of the cuneiform inscriptions, it would have been virtually impossible to identify this relief as representing a biblical event. (See also the article on Hezekiah, King of Judah in 2 Chronicles)

Once writing was in use, the relatively complex symbols became increasingly simplified (streamlining is not a modern invention) and ultimately became simple, abstract, and geometric forms. But the symbols still were cumbersome in that each word or each syllable required a separate symbol. (In English we use a few symbols for whole words—for example, @, #, $, %, &.)

The idea that it was possible to capture language by means of writing soon traveled along the trade routes to the east and west. The Elamites to the east adopted the new writing, and from there it traveled to India and then to China.

When the Egyptians learned of the art of writing, they—unlike the Assyrians and Babylonians, who adapted the earliest writing symbols—created their own symbols, the hieroglyphics.

The Alphabet

Next to the invention of writing itself, the most important development was the invention of phonetic symbols—the alphabet. No longer did each word or syllable require a separate symbol. Any word now could be expressed with somewhere between 20 and 30 symbols. The invention of alphabetic writing is usually credited to the Phoenicians, who lived north of Canaan, although we do not in fact know exactly where and when the oldest alphabet came into existence. But it was sometime around 1500 B.C. What is known is that all later alphabets were either derived from the Phoenician alphabet or created under the influence of its derivatives.

Hieroglyphics were an integral part of Egyptian art. These scenes show the soul of the deceased hovering over the body (top); the mummy being prepared (middle); the funeral procession (bottom).

The Phoenicians initially had no symbols for vowels (a, e, i, o, u), only for consonants. The Hebrew alphabet, which, like all alphabets, derives from the Phoenician, also only has signs for consonants. Later, when Hebrew ceased to be a living language, there was a need for vowels to be added to make sure that the text was read correctly. This was done in the period B.C. 500–1000 by Jewish scholars known as the Masoretes, who indicated vowels by means of small lines and dots placed in, under, and above the consonants. (Today Hebrew, once again a living language, is again written without vowels.)

The Hebrew text of the first words of Genesis, both without vowels and with the vowel “pointings” that were added during the Middle Ages.

(The downside of the alphabet is that any written text can only be understood by those who speak the specific language. The use of symbols for words or ideas makes it possible for a language such as Chinese to be read and understood by people who speak different dialects and cannot understand one another when they speak.)

The third major development, after writing and the alphabet, was the invention of printing, which revolutionized the world.

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It is difficult for us, inundated as we are with written words, to imagine what it must have been like to encounter writing for the first time. A person’s words could travel without that person—or even anyone who had heard him or her speak—being present. Magic indeed! It is not surprising that in mythology, writing is viewed as a gift from the gods. At first, writing was available only to an elite group in which priests figured prominently, since writing was a means of guarding and transmitting sacred knowledge. (Writing was also a way to preserve the knowledge of a ruler’s exploits and through selectivity a highly effective means of propaganda, since only victories were memorialized, while defeats were ignored or somehow cast in a positive light.)

There are numerous references in the Bible to the writing of books and to the places where they were deposited. As early as Exodus 17:14, after Israel’s defeat of Amalek, Moses was told, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered.” There is no indication where the scroll was deposited, but it is noteworthy that the next statement is that “Moses built an altar” (this took place before the building of the Tabernacle).

Similarly, soon after he received the Ten Commandments, “Moses . . . wrote down everything the Lord had said,” and again, his next act was the building of an altar (Exodus 24:4).

An Egyptian scribe. In ancient cultures, scribes (who specialized in reading and writing) were held in high esteem.

From the very beginning, the Israelites were a people of the Book. The words of God and the narrative of His actions on behalf of His people are preserved and read to the people: “[Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people” (Exodus 24:7).

The priests and Levites were the acknowledged keepers of these sacred volumes. At the end of the Ten Commandments we read, “After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord: ‘Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God’ ” (Deuteronomy 31:24–26).

In Deuteronomy we also read that when in the future Israel gets a king, and the king “takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees” (Deuteronomy 17:18).

When Israel got its first king, Saul, “Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord” (1 Samuel 10:25). This writing down and depositing it in the tabernacle was not simply a matter of keeping record but rather a solemn ceremony that put Saul under an obligation to God and the people. The scroll would serve as a witness against him before God if he failed to fulfill his royal office.

The first books of the Bible are variously referred to as the Book of the Covenant or the Book of the Law. During a period when Judah, the southern kingdom, ignored the Lord, the Book of the Law was actually lost for a period of time and then rediscovered by Hilkiah in the temple (2 Kings 18:18ff.; 23:2, 21; 2 Chronicles 34:14–15). And Jehoshaphat (872–848 B.C.) sent Levites out to teach in Judah: “They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people” (2 Chronicles 17:9).

Thus, the writings commanded by God were in some way identified with the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, the priests, and the Levites. This would seem to imply that there was a library in the temple in Jerusalem, but there is no direct statement in the Bible to support this. However, it is clear that there were collections of books in Israel. In addition to the Book of the Law there are references to other books: the Book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers 21:14), the Book of Jasher (Joshua 10:12–13), the Book of Nathan the Prophet and the Book of Gad the Seer (1 Chronicles 29:29), and the Chronicles of the Seers (2 Chronicles 33:19). These books, now all lost, must have been in existence and accessible, since they are referred to in the same way we would use “For further information, see. . . .”

The caves at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The jar and the scroll are replicas. The actual scrolls had to be unrolled with special methods, and most ended up in fragments that had to be pieced together.

In addition to these sources mentioned directly, there must have been collections of treaties, genealogies, business transactions, and the like. The first 11 chapters of 1 Chronicles, for example, required an extensive collection of genealogical records. Ecclesiastes 12:12 also indirectly supports the idea of collections of books: “Of making many books there is no end.”

The oldest library that has been preserved is the library at Qumran, about a mile west of the northwest corner of the Dead Sea, which contained the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. This collection of scrolls—some complete, some only fragmentary—consisted of several hundred manuscripts, about 100 of them biblical manuscripts. They were discovered by accident by a Bedouin in 1947. The library was put there by a Jewish sect with a monastery in the vicinity. The manuscripts date from the last century B.C. and the first century A.D. One of the manuscripts contained the book of Isaiah. It was about 1000 years older than the oldest copy that was known before 1947, and the two turned out to be virtually identical!

How We Got the Bible

For more information on how we got the Bible and how it was transmitted over the centuries, see How We Got the Bible.

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“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In quiet grandeur and simplicity it is stated, without argument, without explanation.

The first 11 chapters of Genesis are part of a much larger work: the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible, which according to tradition were written by Moses. He wrote these books for the people of Israel on their way to Canaan, the Promised Land.

Genesis 1–11 sets the stage and holds the key to our understanding of the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Within these few chapters, God reveals Himself to us—He is the Creator, our loving Father, the provider, and a just judge. God creates man in His own image, with a free will. Satan, the great deceiver, introduces sin into God’s perfect creation. God cannot tolerate sin. Because God is a just judge, there is consequence for sin. God has a plan to redeem man to Himself and put an end to Satan’s power forever.

God’s redemptive plan, which is introduced in Genesis 1–11, provides for us the backdrop of why God chose Noah and why He chooses Abraham. This is also why He will make Abraham a blessing to the world—God’s plan for the redemption of the world runs through Abraham and through the nation of Israel and leads us ultimately to Jesus Christ, our Savior.

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God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. . . . Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.”

Who Wrote Genesis?

Ancient Hebrew and Christian traditions say that Moses, guided by God, composed Genesis from ancient documents that were already in existence in his day. The book of Genesis ends about 300 years before Moses. Moses could have received this information only by direct revelation from God, or through such historical records as had been handed down from his forefathers.

How Genesis Is Organized

The book begins with the “Creation Hymn,” followed by 10 “accounts” (KJV, generations), which constitute the framework of Genesis. It seems that they were incorporated bodily by Moses, with such additions and explanations as he may have been guided by God to make. These 11 documents are as follows:

1. Creation Hymn (1:1–2:3).
2. The account of “the heavens and the earth when they were created” (2:4–4:26).
3. The account of Adam’s line (5:1–6:8).
4. The account of Noah (6:9–9:28).
5. The account of “Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons” (10:1–11:9).
6. The account of Shem (11:10–26).
7. The account of Terah (11:27–25:11).
8. The account of “Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.” (25:12–18).
9. The account of “Abraham’s son Isaac” (25:19–35:29).
10. The account of “Esau (that is, Edom)” (36:1–43).
11. The account of Jacob (37:2–50:26).

These 11 documents form the book of Genesis.

• The first six accounts cover the period from creation until about 2000 B.C. (Genesis 1–11).
• The last five accounts cover the life of Abraham and the three generations after him, from about 2000 B.C. until about 1800 B.C.

The book begins with the creation and the first humans in the Garden of Eden. It ends with Abraham’s descendants in Egypt.

Between the end of Genesis and the beginning of the next book, Exodus, is a gap of about 400 years.

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A poetic description, in measured, majestic movement, of the successive steps of creation, cast in the mold of the oft-recurring biblical number seven. In all literature, scientific or otherwise, there is no more sublime account of the origin of things.

Who wrote the “Creation Hymn”? Used by Moses, but written, no doubt, long before. Writing was in common use long before the days of Moses. Furthermore, some of God’s “commands, decrees, and laws” were in existence in the days of Abraham, 600 years before Moses (Genesis 26:5).

How did the writer know what happened before man appeared? No doubt God revealed the remote past, as later the distant future was made known to the prophets.

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Who knows, perhaps God Himself may have taught this hymn to Adam? And it may have been recited by word of mouth, around the family circle, or sung as a ritual in primitive worship (hymns constituted a large part of the very earliest forms of literature), generation after generation, until writing was invented; God Himself then guarded its transmission until finally it found its intended place as the opening statement in the divine Book of the Ages.

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Every child asks this question—and no one can answer it. There are some things beyond us. We cannot conceive of the beginning of time, nor the end of time, nor the boundaries of space. The world has been in existence always, or it was made out of nothing—one or the other. Yet we can conceive of neither.

This we do know: the highest of all things within reach of our thinking is personality, mind, intelligence. Where did it come from? Could the inanimate create intelligence? In faith we accept, as the ultimate in our thinking, a power higher than ourselves—God—in hope that someday, in the beyond, we shall understand the mysteries of existence.

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If the Bible is God’s Word, as we believe it is, and if God knew from the beginning that He was going to use the Bible as a main instrument in the redemption of humanity, why should it be difficult to believe that God Himself gave the germ and nucleus of that Word?

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Gen. 1:1 THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

“In the beginning” God created the universe. What follows, in the “seven days,” is a description of the forming of substance already created in preparation for the creation of Adam.

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Gen. 1:2–2:3 THE SEVEN DAYS

Whether the seven days were days of 24 hours, or long, successive periods, we do not know. The word “day” has variable meanings. In 1:5 it is used as a term for light. In 1:8 and 1:13 it seems to mean a day of 24 hours. In 1:14 and 1:16 it seems to refer to a 12-hour day. In 2:4 it seems to cover the whole period of creation. In passages such as Joel 3:18, Acts 2:20, and John 16:23, “that day” seems to mean the whole Christian era. In passages such as 2 Timothy 1:12 the expression seems to refer to the era beyond the Lord’s Second Coming. And in Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.”

Note that the six days form three pairs (days 1 and 4; 2 and 5; 3 and 6). In the first of each pair the realm is created that is later populated by the objects or beings that are created in the second.

Day 1:	Light and dark	Day 4:		Lights of day and night
Day 2:	Sea and sky	Day 5:		Creatures of water and air
Day 3:	Fertile earth	Day 6:		Creatures of the land; land animals; humans’ provision of food

in Genesis 1:2–2:3
1. Announcement	“and God said”
2. Command	“let there be,” “let [them] be gathered,” etc.
3. Report	“and it was so” —a descriptive phrase telling what God did —a word of naming or blessing
4. Evaluation	“it was good”
5. Temporal statement	“there was evening, and there was morning—the—day”

First Day: Light, 1:2–5

The heavens and the earth were created by God in the beginning—sometime in the dateless past. All was dark, empty, and formless until God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. We see that God’s creative power is manifested by simply speaking. His first creative word called forth light in the midst of darkness.

In John 1:1–2 we learn that the “Word” (Jesus) was in the beginning, and that the “Word” was with God and was God. John further tells us that “through him [the Word] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (1:3).

God did not just make a physical universe: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Whatever God makes is very good indeed, because the Word through which He created all things is the very essence of goodness, beauty, and light: “In him [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness” (John 1:4), now as it did at the very beginning of creation.

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While most Bible students believe that Genesis is an account of creation, some believe that Genesis gives us an account of both creation and re-creation. In the case of the latter, v. 1 tells of the original creation, while v. 2, “Now the earth was [became] formless and empty,” tells of a time subsequent to the initial creation when God re-created the heavens and the earth after they had become formless and void, perhaps due to some catastrophic event. The Hebrew word for “was” used here in the original text is translated “became” where it appears elsewhere in the Bible.

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Second Day: The Expanse, 1:6–8

The expanse (KJV, firmament), called “sky,” is the atmosphere, or layer of air between the water-covered earth and the clouds above, made possible by the cooling of the earth’s waters.

Third Day: Land and Vegetation, 1:9–13

Up to this point, the earth’s surface seems to have been entirely covered with water. God commanded the water to gather in one place that He called “seas.” We envision that the earth’s crust, as it became cooler and thicker, began to buckle, and islands and continents began to appear. There was as yet no rain, but dense mists watered the newly formed land, which was still warm by its own heat. A tropical climate was everywhere, and vegetation must have grown rapidly and in gigantic proportions.

Fourth Day: Sun, Moon, and Stars, 1:14–19

On the fourth day, God created the sun, moon, and stars. It is likely that seasons came when the earth’s surface ceased to receive heat primarily from within and became dependent on the sun’s heat.

In v.16 we learn that the “greater light” rules the day and the “lesser light” rules the night. These sources of light have three primary functions (vv. 17–18): they give light to the earth, they govern the day and night, and they separate light from darkness.

These passages are beautiful examples of how God has manifested His image, His divine characteristics, in all of His creation.

Fifth Day: Sea Animals and Birds, 1:20–25

By God’s blessing and with His command, “be fruitful and increase in number,” the sea creatures and birds filled the waters and increased on the earth.

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Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way, the galaxy to which our earth and solar system belong, contains over 30 billion suns. Many of these suns are immensely larger than our sun, which is a million and a half times larger than the earth. The Milky Way is shaped like a thin watch; its diameter from rim to rim is 200,000 light-years. (A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year at the rate of 186,00 miles per second.) There are at least 100,000 galaxies like the Milky Way, some of them millions of light-years apart. All this may be only a tiny speck in what is beyond in the seemingly infinite, endless reaches of space.

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Note the progression: inanimate things on the first and second days, plant life on the third day, and animal life on the fifth day

Sixth Day: Land Animals and Man, 1:24–31

The earth was at last ready for animals and, ultimately, man. God reveals that each living creature on the land is created “according to their kind.” This refutes the notion that all species of animals evolved from a single, common, primeval organism. It supports the scientific evidence that living creatures have adapted over time to their environment, while there is no convincing evidence that one species of animal has evolved into another.

God created Adam and Eve in His own image. God’s divine blessing and benediction for male and female together was to flourish and multiply so as to fill the earth and exercise rulership (stewardship) over all creation. God’s universal reign is reflected in the rulership that He commissions humanity to carry out over all earthly creation. In a sense, God has created the earth as man’s training camp, where He is preparing us for our eternal destiny where we will rule and reign with Christ over all the universe (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 3:21).

God saw everything that He had made, and it was “good” (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). But soon the picture darkened. God must have known beforehand that it would, and He must have regarded his whole work of the creation of humanity as but a step toward the glorious world that will yet emerge from it, as is told in the closing chapters of the book of Revelation.

It is interesting to note that God declared all that he had made on the sixth day “very good” perhaps to stress the relative significance of this day in comparison to the prior days.

Seventh Day: God Rested, 2:1–3

God did not rest in an absolute sense (John 5:17), but from this particular creative work. This was the basis of the Sabbath (Exodus 20:11). The “Sabbath rest” is also an image of heaven (Hebrews 4:4, 9).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Babylonian Creation Stories. Various epics of creation have been found in the ruins of Babylon, Nineveh, Nippur, and Ashur which are strikingly similar to the “Creation Hymn” of Genesis. These epics were written on clay tablets from before the time of Abraham.

These Babylonian and Assyrian (as well as the Egyptian) creation stories are all grossly polytheistic. They usually argue for the preeminence of one of the gods and often reflect conflict or war among the gods. The creation account in Genesis stands in stark contrast to these stories by its simplicity and clarity: “In the beginning God created. . . .”

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Passages such as Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9 show that the image of God in humans was not lost at the time of the Fall and that even those who are not part of the people of God possess it. The phrase “image of God” is not used frequently in Scripture, and its exact meaning is difficult to determine.

• Some have suggested that it may refer to some spiritual, mental, and/or psychological quality in humans, such as the ability to think, to feel emotions, or to choose (= free will).
• Others stress the context of Genesis 1:26–27, where the emphasis is on humans “ruling” over God’s creation. From the context it is possible to suggest that as God created, so those who are bestowed with His image are also to be “creators”; for example, the first humans were commanded to name the animals and to “be fruitful and multiply.”
• Finally, some stress the “relational” quality of the Triune Godhead that is hinted at in the phrases “let us” and “our image.” They suggest that just as there are relationships within the Godhead, so too humans have the ability to enter into relationship with God and with other humans, and that this is what the image is. (However, this characteristic of the Godhead is not fully revealed until much later—e.g., John 1:1–5.)

It may be that a correct understanding of the concept actually includes aspects of more than one of the above interpretations. A major point to be remembered is that we, as humans created in God’s image, are related to God in a special way that is not shared by other animal life. And as humans we need to remember that we all are bearers of that image—which, of course, should influence how we treat each other.

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There are points of similarity between the Babylonian and Assyrian creation stories and the Genesis account—for example, the sequence of the creative acts: expanse (firmament), dry land, celestial lights, humans. But the similarities do not prove dependence, although the simplicity of the Genesis account could argue for the Babylonian and Assyrian stories’ being corrupted traditions based on the simple, divine original.

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This is sometimes called the “second creation story.” It starts with a reference to the desolate condition of the earth (2:5–6), which corresponds to the early part of the third day in the first account (1:9–10), and then gives some details omitted from the first account. From there it proceeds with the story of the Fall. It is supplemental to, not in contradiction with, the first account.

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Who was the original author of this document? It carries the story down to the sixth generation of Cain’s descendants (4:17–22) and closes while Adam was still alive. (He lived to the eighth generation of Seth’s descendants, 5:4–25.) So everything in this account happened in Adam’s lifetime. If writing was not invented while Adam was yet alive, may it not be that Adam told these things over and over in his family circle, so that at least their substance took a sort of fixed form until writing was invented?

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Gen. 2:4–17 THE GARDEN OF EDEN

In chapter 1 the Creator is called “God” (Elohim), the “generic” name of the Supreme Being. Here it is “the Lord God” (Yahweh Elohim), His personal name. It is the first step in God’s revelation of Himself.

No rain, but “streams” (vv. 5–6). The translation “mist” (KJV, NASB) would seem preferable. It would mean that for a while, the earth was watered by heavy fogs, because the earth’s surface was so warm, and consequent vapors so dense, that cooling raindrops on the far outer fringes of the clouds would turn to vapor again before they reached the earth.

The tree of life (v. 9; 3:23) indicates that immortality is dependent on something outside ourselves. This tree will again be accessible to those who belong to Christ at the end (Revelation 2:7; 22:2, 14).

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (vv. 9, 17) was “good for food,” “pleasing to the eye,” and “desirable for gaining wisdom” (3:6). Whatever the exact nature of this tree—literal, figurative, or symbolic—the essence of Adam and Eve’s sin was this: they wanted to transfer control of their lives from God to themselves. God had, in substance, told them they could do anything they wanted to, except for that one thing. As long as they were in right relationship with God—in other words, as long as they recognized God as their creator and master—they experienced life as God had intended it to be, and they were truly the crown of God’s creation. They were completely satisfied with this life until Satan, in the form of a serpent, deceived them into thinking that if they were like God and knew what He knows, life would be even better. Once this seed of deception had been planted, they became dissatisfied. They wanted to “be like God.” They wanted to be their own master and sole master of God’s creation. Is that not the essence of human sin? From the beginning, God designed humans to live forever; the one condition was obedience to God. Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be deceived by the enemy and in turn disobeyed God. Then began the long, slow process of redemption, by a Savior through whom we may regain our lost estate.

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Gen. 2:18–25 THE CREATION OF WOMAN

It was already stated in 1:27 that man was created “male and female.” Here the way in which woman was created is more fully told. And here, at the start of the human race, is also found the divine origin and sanctity of marriage: one man, one woman, one flesh (v. 24).

Scripture represents marriage as an earthly counterpart to the relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25–32; Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9). The church is called the “bride” of Christ. Adam’s bride was made from his side, while he was asleep (vv. 21–22). This may be a primeval picture of the church, the bride of Christ, who receives its life from Him

Naked but without shame (v. 25). It may be that they were “clothed” in the ethereal light of God, as Jesus was when He was transfigured (Mark 9:3), and that that light vanished when sin entered—but it will one day again clothe the redeemed (Revelation 3:4; 21:23). Of all God’s creatures, as far as we know, humanity alone wears clothing, a badge of our sinful nature and a symbol of our need for God’s redemptive covering.

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The Garden of Eden was on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, at their junction with the Pishon and Gihon (2:10–14). The Pishon and Gihon have not been identified. The Euphrates and Tigris originate in the Caucasus mountain region of southwest Asia, flow southeastward, and empty into the Persian Gulf (see map). Two possible locations have been suggested, one near the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates, the other near the mouth of the Euphrates in ancient Babylonia (see map: The Garden of Eden).

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Gen. 3 THE FALL OF MAN

It was effected through the subtlety of the serpent. The serpent is represented as speaking itself. But later Scripture indicates that it was Satan speaking through the serpent (2 Corinthians 11:3, 14; Revelation 12:9; 20:2). He managed to get Adam and Eve to disobey their Creator. The dreadful work was done. And the pall of sin and pain and death fell on a world that God had made beautiful and had pronounced good.

Why Did God Make Humans So That They Could Sin?

Is there any other way He could have made them? Could there be a moral creature without the power to choose? Freedom is God’s gift to humanity: freedom to think, freedom of conscience—even freedom to disobey God.

In a train wreck, the engineer, who could have saved his life by jumping, stuck to his post and thereby saved the passengers, but lost his own life. They erected a monument, not to the train—it did only what its machinery forced it to do—but to the engineer, who, of his own volition, chose to give his life to save the passengers.

What virtue is there in obeying God if in our nature there is no inclination to do otherwise? But if, of our own choice, and against the steady urge of our nature, we obey God, we find our true humanity.

But Did Not God Foreknow That Man Would Sin?

Yes—and He foreknew the fearful consequences. He also foreknew the ultimate outcome. We suffer, and we wonder why God has made such a world. But one day, after all has come to its final destination, our suffering will be over, and our questions will cease, and with the redeemed of all ages we will join in never-ending hallelujahs of praise to God for creating us as He did, and for leading us on to life, joy, and glory in the endless ages of eternity (Revelation 19:1–8).

The Effect of Sin on Nature

Here, in the opening pages of the Bible, we have a primeval explanation of nature as it is today: on a mundane level, a common hatred of snakes (3:14–15); pain in childbirth (v. 15); and the earth’s spontaneous production of useless weeds, while food-bearing vegetation has to be cultivated (vv. 17–19). But there are also foreshadowings of Christ in the offspring of the woman (v. 15) and in sacrifice and atonement (4:4).

The offspring of the woman (v. 15). Here, immediately after the fall of man, is God’s prophecy that His creation of human beings would yet prove to be successful, through the “offspring of the woman.” This is the Bible’s first hint of a coming redeemer. The use of “he” (v. 15) shows that one person is meant. There has been only one descendant of Eve who was born of woman without the involvement of a man. Here, right at the start of the Bible story, is this first foreshadowing of Christ. And as the Bible story unfolds, there are other hints, pictures, and plain statements that become clearer and more abundant, so that, as we come to the end of the Old Testament, a fairly complete picture of Christ has been drawn. (See the chapter “The Messiah in the Old Testament.”)

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• Persian: Our first parents, innocent, virtuous, and happy, lived in a garden, where there was a tree of immortality, until an evil spirit in the form of a serpent appeared.
• Hindu: In the first age, people were free from evil and disease, they had everything they wished for, and lived long.
• Greek: The first people, in the golden age, were naked, free from evil and trouble, and enjoyed communion with the gods.
• Chinese: There was a happy age, when people had an abundance of food and were surrounded by peaceful animals.
• Mongolians and Tibetans: Traditions similar to the Chinese.
• Teutons: The primeval race enjoyed a life of perpetual festivity.

The original story of the Garden of Eden was, no doubt, told by Adam to Methuselah, and by Methuselah to Noah, and by Noah to his sons. In later cultures it became variously modified.

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The mother of all the living (v. 20). The atonement of Christ is based on the unity of the race in Adam. One man’s sin brought death. One man’s death brought redemption (Romans 5:12–19).

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Gen. 4 CAIN AND ABEL

Assuming that Adam and Eve were created full-grown, Cain, when he killed Abel, must have been about 129 years old; for Seth was born soon after (v. :25), at which time Adam was 130 (5:3).

Abel’s sacrifice (v. 4) was acceptable because his actions were righteous (1 John 3:12) and because it was offered in faith (Hebrews 11:4). It seems that God had instituted such sacrifice when sin came into the world. It is a sort of primeval picture of the atoning death of Christ.

Cain’s wife (v. 17) must have been his sister, for Eve was the “mother of all living” (3:20). Adam had unnamed sons and daughters (5:4); tradition says that he had 33 sons and 27 daughters.

Who was there for Cain to be afraid of? (v. 14). In the 130 years from Adam’s creation to Abel’s murder, a good many generations had been born, and the total population could have increased to many thousands.

The mark on Cain (v. 15). Whatever it was, the people must have understood what it meant.

Cain’s city (v. 17), somewhere east of Eden, was probably only a village of rude huts, with a wall for defense, to serve as a sort of headquarters for his outcast offspring.

In Cain’s family, polygamy soon followed murder (v. 19). God had ordained in the beginning that one man and one woman live together in marriage (2:24). But man soon managed otherwise.

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This is the third document of the book of Genesis (see How Genesis Is Organized in the chapter on Genesis 1–11). It carries the story to the 500th year of Noah’s life (5:32).

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Gen. 5 THE GENEALOGY FROM ADAM TO NOAH

The ages in this genealogy are extraordinarily long; for example: Adam, 930 years; Seth, 912 years; Methuselah, 969 years (the oldest person in the Bible); Noah, 950 years. The great age to which they lived is ordinarily explained on the theory that sin had only begun to have its malign influence on the human race.

When the numbers in this chapter are added together, there would appear to have been 1,656 years between the creation of Adam and the Flood. Some think that, because this genealogy and the one in chapter 11 each has 10 generations, they may be abbreviated (as is the case in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1).

Enoch, vv. 21–24

Enoch was the best of the first generations. In a society of unspeakable wickedness, he “walked with God.” Born 622 years after the creation of Adam, he was contemporary with Adam for 308 years. “God took him” when he was only 365 years old, 69 years before the birth of Noah.

The only other person to be taken up by God without having to die was Elijah (2 Kings 2). Enoch and Elijah may have been intended by God to be a kind of foreshadowing of the happy fate of the saints who will also be taken up alive when the Lord returns (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Methuselah, vv. 25–27

At 969 years, he was the oldest of the 10 men listed in chapter 5. He was the son of Enoch. His life overlapped that of Adam by 243 years and that of Shem by 98 years, thus forming a connecting link between the Garden of Eden and the post-Flood world. He died the year of the Flood.

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Gen. 6:1–8 PRE-FLOOD WICKEDNESS

The “sons of God” (v. 2) are thought to have been either fallen angels, to which there may be reference in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6, or leaders in Sethite families who intermarried with godless descendants of Cain. These abnormal marriages, whatever they were, filled the earth with corruption and violence.

Jesus regarded the Flood as a historical fact, and He likened the time of His coming again to the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37–39). What is going on in the world today makes us wonder if those days may be returning.

The 120 years in v. 3 may refer to the time left before the Flood or a reduced life span after the longevity of those mentioned in chapter 5.

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This is the fourth document in the book of Genesis (see How Genesis Is Organized in the chapter on Genesis 1–11). It contains the story of the Flood, as told, and perhaps recorded, by Noah, and handed on by Shem to Abraham.

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Gen. 6:9–18 NOAH AND THE ARK

The ark was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet high. It had three decks, divided into compartments, with a row of windows around the top. It must have been very similar in size and proportion to ocean ships of today. With man being situated on the banks of a great river, boat building was one of his earliest accomplishments. Cuneiform tablets indicate that at the dawn of history the inhabitants of Babylonia engaged in transport by river. If this is true, then boat building and river traffic may have been familiar to Noah from childhood.

According to the dimensions given in Genesis, the ark was for at least five millennia the largest ship ever built—until 1858, when the 669-foot-long Great Eastern was built.

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Gen. 6:19–7:5 THE ANIMALS

In 6:19–21 and 7:2 it is explained that seven pairs of clean animals, but only one pair of each of the others, were to be taken into the ark. Some have calculated that there was room in the ark for 7000 species of animals.

It was a gigantic task to build the ark, gather the animals, and store the necessary food. Noah and his three sons could not have done it alone. Being the grandson of Methuselah and great grandson of Enoch, Noah may, as the Babylonian tradition says, have been a city-king and may have employed thousands of men in the work. It was undoubtedly the subject of constant ridicule, but Noah persisted in faith (2 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 11:7).

Perhaps the ark is also a symbol of our salvation in Jesus. Noah, his family, and the animals all passed through the door of the ark (7:13). The door is a common symbol of Christ (Matthew 7:7; 2 Corinthians 2:12). Verse 16 states that “the Lord shut him in”—Noah and his family could not have saved themselves. We, like Noah, are saved by God’s grace. We merely must pass through the door.

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Traditions of a catastrophic flood are found in many ancient cultures:

• Egyptian tradition: The gods at one time purified the earth by a great flood, from which only a few shepherds escaped.
• Greek tradition: Deucalion warned that the gods were going to bring a flood upon the earth because of its great wickedness; he built an ark, which came to rest on Mount Parnassus. A dove was sent out twice.
• Hindu tradition: Manu, warned, built a ship in which he alone escaped from a deluge that destroyed all creatures.
• Chinese tradition: Fa-He, founder of Chinese civilization, is represented as having escaped from a flood—sent because man had rebelled against heaven—with his wife, three sons, and three daughters.
• English tradition: The Druids had a legend that the world had been re-peopled by a righteous patriarch who had been saved in a strong ship from a flood sent to destroy man for his wickedness.
• Polynesian tradition: Stories of a Flood from which eight escaped.
• Mexican tradition: One man and his wife and children were saved in a ship from a flood which overwhelmed the earth.
• Peruvian tradition: One man and one woman were saved in a box that floated on the flood waters.
• Native American tradition: Various legends, in which one, three, or eight persons were saved in a boat above the waters on a high mountain.
• Greenland tradition: The earth once tilted over, and all men were drowned, except one man and one woman, who re-peopled the earth.

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Gen. 7:6–8:19 THE FLOOD

“On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened” (7:11). The Euphrates Valley might almost be called the Isthmus of the Eastern Hemisphere, where the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean approach each other (as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans come close together at the Isthmus of Panama). The Armenian mountain country is almost like an island system, with the Caspian and Black seas on the north, the Mediterranean on the west, and the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean on the south. A cataclysmic subsidence of the region would cause the waters to pour in from these seas, as rain poured down from above.

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Gen. 8:20–9:17 THE RAINBOW

It may be that the Flood produced a clarified air that made the Rainbow clearly visible. And God designated it as the sign of His covenant with mankind that there would never be another Flood (9:8–17). The earth’s next destruction will be by fire (2 Peter 3:7).

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Gen. 9:18–28 NOAH’S PROPHECY

Noah curses Ham and blesses Shem and Japheth. This “curse on Ham” has often been used against people of non-white races, especially black people. It has been used to support the supposed superiority of the white race as well as a justification for slavery and all kinds of discrimination.

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• Noah went into the ark seven days before it began to rain (7:4, 10).
• It began to rain on the 17th day of the 2nd month of Noah’s 600th year (7:11). It rained for 40 days (7:12).
• The waters flooded the earth for 150 days (7:24; 8:3).
• The ark came to rest on the 17th day of the 7th month (8:4).
• Noah removed the ark’s covering on the 1st day of the 1st month of Noah’s 601st year (8:13).
• Noah and his family went out of the ark on the 27th day of the 2nd month (8:14–19).
• This means that they were in the ark for 1 year and 17 days (5 months floating, 7 months on the mountain).

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In recent years, several reports have been published claiming that the remains of Noah’s ark have been found, high up in the Ararat mountains. While it is tempting to accept these reports as supporting the historical truthfulness of the Bible, to date none of the reports has provided any concrete evidence (other than photographs that would not lead anyone to suspect that they showed the ark unless one were specifically looking for it). On the contrary: one thing these reports seem to have in common is that for one reason or another, any concrete evidence—such as a piece of wood from the ark—has regrettably disappeared or been lost. Until an incontrovertible case with evidence has been made that Noah’s ark has indeed been found, it remains lost.

The credibility of the Word of God is not helped by questionable “proofs” that lack factual integrity. The Word of God in its full integrity is its own best defense!

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But Noah speaks about Canaan (another name for Ham). For the Israelites, who received this book from Moses as they were on their way to the Promised Land—that is, Canaan—Noah’s prophecy was an encouragement: God, through Noah, had placed a curse on the Canaanites. The Israelites could therefore advance without fear, since God would give the Canaanites into their hands. This is underscored by the blessings on Shem and Japheth: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem!” and “May God extend . . .” (vv. 26–27). The Israelites, as descendants of Shem, could rely on God’s presence.

It is difficult to define the “Canaanites” as a specific racial group. Their language, like Hebrew, was Semitic, but their origins appear to have been diverse. They were unified by what can be spoken of as a Canaanite culture.

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The fifth document of Genesis (see How Genesis Is Organized in the chapter on Genesis 1–11), prepared, probably, by Shem and handed on to Abraham; Shem lived from 98 years before the Flood until 150 years after the birth of Abraham (11:10).

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Gen. 10 THE NATIONS DESCENDED FROM NOAH

Noah’s family disembarked from the ark on Mount Ararat, near the headwaters of the Euphrates. Then, it seems, they migrated back, 500 miles, to Babylonia, their pre-Flood home. Then, 100 years later (v. 25), they were scattered by the confusion of languages.

The descendants of Japheth (vv. 2–5) went northward, settled in regions around the Black and Caspian seas; and became progenitors of the Caucasian races of Europe and Asia.

The descendants of Ham (vv. 6–20) went southward. The names given seem to indicate south and central Arabia, Egypt, the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, and the east coast of Africa. Canaan, son of Ham, and his descendants settled, and gave their name to, the land which later became the homeland of the Jews.

The descendants of Shem (vv. 21–31; Shemites or Semites) included Jews, Assyrians, Syrians, and Elamites in the northern Euphrates Valley and its borders.

Nimrod (vv. 8–12) was the most outstanding leader in the 400 years between the Flood and Abraham. Grandson of Ham (v. 8) and born soon after the Flood, he may have lived through the whole period (judging from the ages mentioned in 11:10–16). He was a very enterprising man.

His fame as a “mighty hunter” (v. 9) meant that he was protector of the people at a time when wild animals were a continual menace. Early Babylonian seals represented a king in combat with a lion; this may be a tradition of Nimrod.

In his ambition to control the rapidly multiplying and spreading race, he seems to have been leader in the building of the Tower of Babel (v. 10; 11:9). And after the confusion of languages and the dispersion of the people, Nimrod seems later to have resumed work on Babylon. Then he built three nearby cities—Erech, Akkad, and Calneh—and consolidated them into one kingdom under his own rule. Babylonia was long known as “the Land of Nimrod.”

Still ambitious to control the ever-spreading race, Nimrod went 300 miles faurther north and founded Nineveh (though one version says it was Asshur) and three nearby cities: Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen. This constituted Nimrod’s northern kingdom. For many centuries afterward, these two cities, Babylon and Nineveh, founded by Nimrod, were the leading cities of the world.

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Gen. 11:1–9 THE TOWER OF BABEL

The confusion of languages occurred in the fourth generation after the Flood, about the time of the birth of Peleg (10:25), which was 101 years after the Flood and 326 years before the call of Abraham (10:26). It was God’s method of dispersing the race so that the kingdom man was creating would never exclude God’s kingdom.

As God scattered the people “over the face of the whole earth” after Babel, cultures developed and travel and commerce grew. One can imagine that the generations from Shem to Abram used caravanserai such as this one: an inn near an oasis in one of the desert areas of the Middle East. There is no roof for protection from the sparse rainfall, but there are walls to keep out wild animals and marauders.

For many years it was believed that the Tower of Babel looked like a Babylonian ziggurat, a type of stepped tower. But the ziggurats evolved from simpler religious structures, and the final form of the ziggurat did not appear in Mesopotamia until well into the third millennium B.C.—when there were already many different languages.

Whatever the exact historical event may have been like, the purpose behind the Tower of Babel was similar to that of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. The people wanted to build a migdal, a fortified city, with “a tower that reaches the heavens” (vv. 3–4)—that is, they wanted to be autonomous and grab divine power. They wanted to transcend their human limitations.

The significance of the Tower of Babel becomes clear when we look at it in contrast to the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), which is its counterpoint:

Genesis 11		Acts 2
Babel, the city built by people		Jerusalem, the city of God
The people reach for heaven		God the Spirit descends from heaven
Languages are confused; people no longer can understand each other		A single language is understood by all those present
The people are scattered		The people come from all over

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The sixth document in the book of Genesis (see How Genesis Is Organized in the chapter on Genesis 1–11). In 10:21–31, Shem’s descendants are named. Here the line is carried straight from Shem to Abraham, covering 10 generations (427 years). Shem himself may have recorded this entire genealogy, for his life spanned the entire period it covers.

According to these figures:

• It was 1,656 years from Adam to the Flood; 427 years from the Flood to Abraham.
• Adam’s life overlapped Methuselah’s by 243 years.
• Methuselah’s life overlapped Noah’s by 600 years, Shem’s by 98 years.
• There were 126 years between the death of Adam and the birth of Noah.
• Noah lived 350 years after the Flood; he died two years before birth of Abraham.
• Shem lived from 98 years before the Flood until 502 years after the Flood.
• Shem lived until 75 years after Abraham entered Canaan.
• Noah lived to see the 9th generation of his own descendants.
• In the righthand column, all but Peleg and Nahor were alive at the birth of Abraham.

		Age at son’s birth	Total age				Age at son’s birth	Total age
Adam		130	930		Arpachshad, born after Flood		2
Seth		105	912		Arpachshad		35	438
Enosh		90	905		Shelah		30	433
Kenan		70	910		Eber		34	464
Mahalalel		65	895		Peleg		30	239
Jared		162	962		Reu		32	239
Enoch		65	365		Serug		30	230
Methuselah		187	969		Nahor		29	148
Lamech		182	777		Terah		130	205
Noah, at Flood		600	950		Abraham entered Canaan		75
TOTAL		1,656			TOTAL		427

In a period of such longevity, the population increased very rapidly, although the ages became gradually shorter after the Flood.

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The stories of God’s dealings with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (the ancestors of the Israelite people who are also called the patriarchs of Israel) are recorded in Genesis 12–50. A major focus of these narratives is the multifaceted promise that God gave them and reiterated to them. This promise provides a significant framework for God’s continuing dealings with humanity (see The Call of Abraham in Genesis 12–50).

According to the plain reading of passages such as 1 Kings 6:1, Exodus 12:40, and others, Abraham would have entered the land of Canaan in 2091 B.C. at age 75—about midway through the archaeological period known as Middle Bronze I (2200–2000 B.C.). The thriving commercial center of Ur, located in southern Mesopotamia, that Abraham had left earlier is quite well-known due to the excavations of the site and to the thousands of cuneiform tablets that have been found at Ur and in its vicinity.

The land of Canaan that Abram entered with Sarah and his nephew Lot was not nearly as progressive. During this period people lived in tents in very small, unwalled settlements (most less than three acres in size). There is, in fact, in the archaeological record of Palestine a complete absence of walled cities during this time. Archaeologically, this period seems to be characterized by people living in tents and burying their dead in shaft-type tombs, in tumuli (artificial mounds), or under dolmens (two or more stones placed upright with a stone put horizontally on top). This fits well with the biblical portrayal of the Patriarchs as living in tents (mentioned 24 times in Genesis 12–50) and making a living by herding (sheep and goats are mentioned 24 times) and farming (sowing and reaping in 26:12).

At the time of Abraham’s death in 1991 B.C., the land of Canaan was moving into the Middle Bronze II period (2000–1550 B.C.). During this period large fortified cities were again built, although it is probable that the majority of the population continued to live in the countryside as herders and farmers. The Egyptian story of Sinuhe (which can be found in Ancient Near Eastern Texts 18–23) dates from about 1962 B.C. (during the days of Isaac); it describes Canaan as a land filled with figs, grapes, wine, honey, olives, fruit, barley, wheat, and cattle (compare Deuteronomy 8:8).

At the time of Jacob’s move to Egypt (1876 B.C.), that country was experiencing a time of stability during the 12th Dynasty. At a minimum it maintained commercial contacts with peoples in the eastern Mediterranean region as well as those to its south, in Nubia. Unfortunately, no extrabiblical records have been found as yet that refer to any of the people mentioned in this section of Scripture.

Mesopotamia, too, was experiencing a period of prosperity at this time (called the Old Babylonian period). It was during this time that the famous Hammurabi ruled, who is known especially for his laws, known as the Code of Hammurabi. In addition to written documents found in southern Mesopotamia, a huge cuneiform archive was discovered at Mari, located farther north on the Euphrates. The Mari tablets actually mention several of the more prominent city-states in Canaan: Hazor (175 acres in size) and Leshem (later known as Dan; Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:29). In addition, some of the personal names (though not the people themselves) found in the Mari tablets parallel names mentioned in the biblical text, and the political alliances, tribal background reflected in the tablets do help illustrate the general lifestyle of the people during this period.

A dolmen, used for burial, in the Golan Heights. Dolmens similar to this (standing stones capped by a horizontal stone) have also been found in Europe, especially in Britain and France.

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2091 B.C. Abram entered Canaan

2066 B.C. Isaac born

2006 B.C. Jacob born

1991 B.C. Abraham died

1886 B.C. Isaac died

1876 B.C. Jacob moved to Egypt

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(Periods in Palestinian history are named after materials used.)

People lived mostly in tents. There were no significant cities. The dead were placed in tombs, on dolmens (two or more vertical slabs of rock with a horizontal rock on top; see photo of a dolmen, used for burial), or in tumuli (artificial mounds).

Larger cities were established. Well-preserved city gates from this period have been found at Dan and Ashkelon. Palestine had international contacts with both Mesopotamia and Egypt.

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(Periods in Egyptian history are defined largely by the pharaonic dynasties.)

A time of instability in Egypt. Abraham visited Egypt during this period (Genesis 12:10–20).

A time of stability and prosperity in Egypt. Joseph and then Jacob and children moved to Egypt.

The oppression of Israel probably began during dynasties XV and XVI (the Hyksos dynasties; Exodus 1:8–9).

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The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. . . . Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

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The story of Abraham, recorded, probably, by Abraham and Isaac. The last verses of chapter 11 provide the genealogical link between Terah and Abraham, while the actual story of Abraham begins in chapter 12.

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Gen. 12:1–3 THE CALL OF ABRAHAM

Here begins the story of redemption. It had been hinted at in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Now, 400 years after the Flood, God calls Abraham to be the founder of a nation through which He would make the reclamation and redemption of mankind a reality.

God promised Abraham, a righteous man who believed in God, not in the idols of those around him, that his descendants would

1. Inherit the land of Canaan
2. Become a great nation
3. Be a blessing to all nations

This promise (12:2–3; 22:18) is the foundation for the rest of the Bible. God first called Abraham in Ur (Genesis 11:31; Acts 7:2–4), and again in Haran (12:1–4), Shechem (12:7), Bethel (13:14–17), and twice in Hebron (15:5, 18; 17:1–8). The promise was repeated to his son Isaac (26:3–4) and to his grandson Jacob (28:13–14; 35:11–12; 46:3–4). These same promises are also found later in God’s covenant with David (see on 2 Samuel 7).

It seems, from 11:26, 32; 12:4; and Acts 7:2–4, that Abraham was born when his father was 130 years old, and that he was not the firstborn, as may be inferred from 11:6. He was 75 when he entered Canaan, about 80 when he rescued Lot and met Melchizedek, 86 when Ishmael was born, 99 when Sodom was destroyed, 100 when Isaac was born, 137 when Sarah died, and 160 when Jacob was born. He died at 175, which was 115 years before Jacob’s migration to Egypt.

“I will make you into a great nation” (you will have numerous descendants)		Genesis 12:2; 13:16; 15:18; et al.
“I will bless you”		Genesis 12:2
“I will make your name great”		Genesis 12:2
“You will be a blessing”		Genesis 12:2
“I will bless those who bless you”		Genesis 12:2
“Whoever curses you I will curse”		Genesis 12:3
Divine blessing for Jews as well as Gentiles		Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 26:4 (see Galatians 3:16)
Your descendants will occupy Canaan		Genesis 15:18; 17:8
The promise is eternal		Genesis 13:15; 17:7–8, 13, 19; 48:4
Kings will descend from you		Genesis 17:6, 8
God will be Israel’s God forever		Genesis 17:7–8

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Gen. 12:4–9 ABRAHAM’S ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN

(See map: Abraham’s Journey from Ur to Shechem)

Haran, about 600 miles northwest of Ur and 400 miles northeast of Canaan, was Abraham’s first stopping place. He had set out from Ur in search of a land where he could build a nation free from idolatry, not knowing where he would end up (Hebrews 11:8). But Haran was already a well-settled region, with roads to Babylon, Assyria, Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt, along which caravans and armies constantly marched. So, after the death of his father, Terah, Abraham, under the call of God, moved on in search of a more sparsely settled land.

Shechem, Abraham’s first stopping place in Canaan, in the center of the land, was in a beautiful valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Here Abraham built an altar to God, but soon he moved on south in further exploration of the land.

Bethel, 20 miles south of Shechem and 10 miles north of Jerusalem, was Abraham’s next stopping place. It was one of the highest points in Canaan, with a magnificent view in every direction. Abraham was following the ridge of the mountain range, probably because the Jordan Valley on the east and the Coastal Plain on the west were already pretty well settled. In Bethel, too, he built an altar, as he did later at Hebron, and as he had done at Shechem, not only as an acknowledgement to God, but also as a statement of his faith to the people among whom he had come to live. He must have liked Bethel; for that is where he settled when he returned from Egypt, until he and Lot separated (chap. 13).

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Gen. 12:10–20 ABRAHAM IN EGYPT

As he traveled on south from Bethel, Abraham must have passed close to Jerusalem. Because of a famine, he went to Egypt, to stay there until the famine was over. He managed to get himself into trouble in Egypt. His wife Sarah was beautiful, and powerful rulers had a practice of confiscating beautiful women for themselves and killing their husbands. His cautious subterfuge of calling Sarah his “sister” was not exactly a lie. She was his half-sister (20:12). Marriages between near relatives was common in early ages until the growth of families offered wider selection.

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Gen. 13 ABRAHAM AND LOT SEPARATE

Lot was Abraham’s nephew. They had been together since they had left Ur many years before. But now their flocks and herds had become so extensive, and their herdsmen so quarrelsome over pasture lands, that it seemed best to separate. Abraham magnanimously gave Lot his choice of all the land. Lot foolishly chose the Plain of Sodom. Abraham chose Hebron, which was his home from then on.

When Abraham went to Egypt, the pyramids, including the famous pyramids at Gizah (bottom), were already almost half a millennium old.

Not all early attempts at pyramid building in the 26th century B.C. were successful. The earliest pyramid is the so-called step pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser (top), which was a stable structure. But the pyramid at Maidum, which was probably completed by Pharaoh Snofru of the 3rd Dynasty, was a different matter. The core was a large, eight-step pyramid. Around this core, fill was added to create a true pyramid, with an outer casing. Through a combination of design and construction problems, the outer part of the pyramid collapsed at some point, leaving the core surrounded by a mound of rubble.

The “bent” pyramid at Dashur (center) is the result of a design change after part of the pyramid had been built, perhaps occasioned by the collapse of the Maidum pyramid. The sides in the original design were apparently too steep.

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It is well known from Egyptian inscriptions and artwork that throughout Egypt’s history, “Asiatics” from Canaan entered Egypt for various reasons. From the days of the Patriarchs, dating from perhaps just a few years before Joseph entered Egypt (ca. 1891 B.C.), we have the painting on the wall of the tomb of Khum-hotep III that depicts 37 Asiatics entering Egypt for trading purposes. The colorful dress of both men and women are well represented. However, it is not necessary to draw the conclusion from this that the Patriarchs were merchant/traders, for Asiatics entered Egypt for many reasons, including getting food and water for their families and flocks.

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Gen. 14 ABRAHAM DEFEATS BABYLONIAN KINGS

Abraham wanted to rescue Lot and must have been something of a military genius. With 318 men of his own and some help from his neighbors, he sent these four kings running by means of a midnight surprise attack. Armies then were small, and “kings” were in effect tribal princes. Abraham was a sort of king, perhaps the head of a sizable clan.

A modern Bedouin tent, probably not unlike the tents Abraham lived in. The tent was (and in parts of the Near East still is) the most convenient and logical home for a nonsedentary people. It does not necessarily reflect a primitive lifestyle nor poverty and absence of luxury: Abraham was a wealthy man.

The kings mentioned in Genesis 14 are known only from the biblical text. (The attempted equation of biblical Amraphel with the Babylonian king Hammurabi is not very plausible.) It is known, from cuneiform documents found at Mari and elsewhere, that during the patriarchal period, various kings often made alliances in fighting against other kings—a situation that is reflected in Genesis 14.

Under the protective roof is what remains of the gate of the city of Dan of Abraham’s day. Abraham pursued the kings who had taken his nephew Lot captive “as far as Dan.” Little did Abraham know that some of his descendants (the northern kingdom) would later go “as far as Dan” to worship a golden calf there, rather than the true God (1 Kings 12:30).

Melchizedek, 14:18–20

The priest-king of Salem (Jerusalem). Hebrew tradition says that he was Shem, the son of Noah and survivor of the Flood, who was still alive—earth’s oldest living man. He was a priest, in the patriarchal age, of the whole race. If so, it is a hint that God had already chosen, right after the Flood, Jerusalem to be the scene of human redemption. Whoever he was, as both a priest and king, Melchizedek was a picture and “type” of Christ (Psalm 110; Hebrews 5–7). We do know that he conferred a blessing on Abraham and that Abraham’s response was to give him tithes, which was a tenth part of everything he possessed. Many Christians today follow Abraham’s example by offering their tithes to God through their churches and other ministries. Surely they, too, receive God’s blessings.

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Gen. 15–17 GOD’S PROMISES TO ABRAHAM RENEWED

God renewed His covenant with Abraham graphically through the ancient custom of passing between the pieces of sacrificed animals. This solemn action signified an oath between the parties of covenant that “May it be so done to me if I do not keep my oath and pledge.”

The promises include the prediction that before his descendants would actually live in Canaan, they would spend 400 years in a foreign land (15:13), meaning Egypt. In addition, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90, Isaac was promised. Their impatience with regard to God’s fulfillment of this promise prompted them to ask the assistance of their maidservant, Hagar. This was the custom of the day, to ensure the birth of a male heir. Thirteen years later, God reminded Abraham that he needed to keep his part of the covenant. Ultimately, God’s will and promise was manifested in the birth of Isaac. The name “Isaac” means “he laughs”—a name given by God quite possibly in response to Abraham and Sarah’s initial disbelief (17:17; 18:12).

God also instituted circumcision as the symbol of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants, a physical marking of Abraham’s male descendants as belonging to God’s nation.

It is interesting to note that the Arabs, who consider themselves descendants of Ishmael, are circumcised at the age of 13. To this people and to others, circumcision serves as a rite of passage from childhood to manhood.

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Gen. 18–19 SODOM AND GOMORRAH

These two cities were cesspools of evil. They were located not very far from Hebron, the home of Abraham, and from Jerusalem, the home of Melchizedek. It had been only 400 years since the Flood, almost within the memory of people then living. Yet they had forgotten the lesson of that cataclysmic destruction of the race. And God “rained down burning sulfur” on these two cities, to refresh men’s memories and to warn of the wrath of God that is in store for the wicked—and, perhaps, also to serve as a foreshadowing of earth’s final doom in a holocaust of fire (2 Peter 2:5–6; 3:7, 10; and Revelation 8:5, 7; 9:17–18; 16:8).

Jesus compared the time of His return to the days of Sodom (Luke 17:26–32) and to the days before the Flood. Both were periods of unspeakable wickedness. Today, with greed, brutality, crime, and racial and religious conflict rampant on a scale never before known in history, it does not require much imagination to see the end toward which we are heading, however much good men and statesmen may try to avert it. Unless there comes a worldwide movement of repentance, the day of doom may not be far off.

The sons born to Lot’s daughters (vv. 37–38) began the lineage of the Moabites and Ammonites, who became bitter enemies of Abraham’s descendants (1 Samuel 14:47; 2 Chronicles 20:1).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Sodom and Gomorrah. The exact locations of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (see Genesis 14) are not known. Scholars have usually looked for sites near the southern end of the Dead Sea, where the name “Zoar” was preserved into the Byzantine Period (4th–6th century A.D.). The Dead Sea lies at 1,300 feet below sea level—the lowest spot on earth. The surrounding area is a desolate landscape with numerous salt formations. In addition, black masses of bitumen float to the surface, and some have suggested that these factors, along with seismic activity, may have led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Although serious searches have been made, no certain identification has been confirmed. There do not appear to be any remains under the southern end of the Dead Sea—the level of which has been dropping in recent years—contrary to what some biblical students have suggested. Along the southeastern end of the Dead Sea there are five large antiquity sites which date to the Early Bronze Age (3150–2200 B.C.): Bab edh–Dhra, Numeira, Zoar, Feifa, and Khanazir. Several of these sites had massive fortifications, and Early Bronze burials in the region are said to number over 500,000 persons! On the surface of several of the sites is a spongy, black, charcoal-like substance that some have tried to relate to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. At the present time, although there are five sites, just as there are five cities mentioned in Genesis 14, it is difficult to maintain that these are the five “cities of the plain” mentioned in Genesis, since archaeologically they must be dated prior to the age of the Patriarchs on almost any dating scheme used.

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Gen. 20 SARAH AND ABIMELECH

Although Hebron was his main home, Abraham from time to time moved from place to place in search of pasture for his herds. In Gerar, a Philistine city some 40 miles west of Hebron near the seacoast, he had another experience like the one he had had with Pharaoh (12:10–20). Sarah must have been extremely beautiful to attract the attention of kings, especially considering her age. Isaac and Rebekah had a similar experience in Gerar with a later Philistine king also named Abimelech (chap. 26).

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Gen. 21 THE BIRTH OF ISAAC

Ishmael, at the time, was about 15 years old (vv. 5, 8; 16:16). The apostle Paul used the story of these two children as an allegory of the Mosaic and Christian covenants (the old and new covenants, Galatians 4:21–31).

Beersheba (vv. 30–31), where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived much of the time, was at the southernmost border of Canaan, some 20 miles southwest of Hebron and about 150 miles from Egypt. It was a place of “seven wells.” Wells in a semi-desert country like that were priceless possessions.

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Gen. 22 ABRAHAM OFFERS ISAAC

It was a test of Abraham’s faith. Note that God did not “tempt” him. God does not tempt (James 1:13), but rather tests us to confirm our faith (Exodus 20:20) or prove our commitment to Him (Deuteronomy 8:2). Satan, on the other hand, tempts us (1 Corinthians 7:5) in an attempt to make us fall and to pull us away from the will of God in our lives.

God had promised that Isaac would be the father of nations (17:16). Yet, here God commands that Isaac be killed before he had any children. Abraham had faith that God would provide an alternate sacrifice or bring Isaac back to life (Hebrews 11:19). We do not know how God made the command known to Abraham, but that it was the voice of God Abraham could not have doubted, for he certainly would not have set out to perform a task so cruel and revolting without being certain that God had commanded it. The idea originated with God, not with Abraham.

The offering of Isaac was a foreshadowing of the death of Christ. A father offering his only son (Isaac was the “only son” of the promise, 21:12). The son dead for three days (in Abraham’s mind, v. 4). A substitution. An actual sacrifice. And this took place on Mount Moriah, the very same place where 2000 years later God’s own Son was offered. Thus it was a foreshadowing, here at the birth of the Hebrew nation, of the grand event the nation was born to bring about.

Moriah

Although the exact location of Abraham’s attempt to sacrifice Isaac is not known, v. 2 says it was in “the region of Moriah.” The writer of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 3:1) indicates that it was at, or near, that same site where Solomon later built the first temple. Today a Moslem shrine, the Dome of the Rock, erected in A.D. 691, stands over the highest piece of bedrock in the area. It preserves the above traditions as well as the Moslem tradition that this is the spot from which Muhammed made his night journey to heaven.

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Gen. 23 SARAH’S DEATH

At Hebron, in the city gate, Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah to bury his wife, Sarah. Today, in the older part of Hebron, is a large structure called the Cave of Machpelah, a place sacred to Jews, Christians, and Moslems and currently inaccessible to all. The exterior of the structure is composed of large Herodian stones (37–4 B.C.), and inside that enclosure are the remains of a Byzantine/Crusader church, a mosque, and a synagogue. There are three pairs of cenotaphs (above-ground monuments): a pair for Abraham and Sarah; a pair for Isaac and Rebecca; and a pair for Jacob and Leah. The underground chambers have not been completely investigated, or reported on, but the visible stone work there also seems to be Herodian.

The exterior of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. According to tradition, it is built on the location of the Cave of Machpelah. The massive outside walls date back to Herod the Great and give us a clue as to how the outside walls of the temple area may originally have looked.

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Gen. 24 BETROTHAL OF ISAAC AND REBEKAH

Rebekah was Isaac’s second cousin. Abraham’s purpose in sending his chief servant (probably Eliezer of Damascus; see 15:2) back to his own people for a wife for Isaac was to keep his descendants free from idolatry. If Isaac had married a Canaanite girl, how different the whole history of Israel might have been. What a lesson for young people in the matter of choosing a mate!

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Gen. 25:1–11 ABRAHAM’S DEATH

Sarah had died at the age of 127, at which time Abraham was 137. He lived for 38 years after that, in which time he married Keturah. She bore him six sons, of whom came the Midianites. Five hundred years later, Moses would marry a Midianite woman (Exodus 2:16–21). On the whole, Abraham was the “greatest, purest, and most venerable of the patriarchs, revered by Jews, Mohammedans and Christians,” friend of God, father of the faithful. Generous, unselfish, yet fully human. A man of great character, with unbounded trust in God.

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The eighth document of Genesis (see How Genesis Is Organized in the chapter on Genesis 1–11). Ishmael was Abraham’s son by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant (chap. 16). The Ishmaelites made Arabia their home and became known generally as Arabians. Thus Abraham was the father of the present Arab world. Rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael has persisted through the centuries in the antagonism between Jews and Arabs.

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The ninth document of Genesis (see How Genesis Is Organized in the chapter on Genesis 1–11). It contains the story of Isaac and Jacob, handed down by Jacob to his sons.

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Gen. 25:19–34 BIRTH OF JACOB AND ESAU

Esau, the firstborn, was Isaac’s natural heir, who would inherit the promises God had made to Abraham. But God, knowing before they were born the qualities of the two men, chose Jacob to be transmitter of the precious heritage; He hinted at this to their mother (v. 23), and it was the background of Jacob’s deal with Esau (v. 31).

Jacob’s deal with Esau secured him the birthright that God all along intended him to have. Esau’s transfer of his birthright for a meal demonstrated that he was “godless” (Hebrews 12:16), since at the heart of the birthright were the covenant promises that Isaac had inherited from Abraham. The owner of the birthright, generally the firstborn, also received at least a double portion of the father’s wealth at the time the father’s death.

In the line of covenant promise, all Abraham’s sons were eliminated except Isaac. Of Isaac’s sons, Esau was eliminated and Jacob alone chosen. With Jacob the process of elimination stopped, and all Jacob’s descendants were included in the Chosen Nation.

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Gen. 26 ISAAC AMONG THE PHILISTINES

Not much is told of Isaac’s life beyond this incident of Abimelech and Rebekah and the argument over wells. Isaac had inherited the bulk of his father’s extensive flocks and herds; he was prosperous and peaceable, and his life was uneventful.

Note that the Patriarchs not only had sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys, but also lived a somewhat sedentary lifestyle, for “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him” (v. 12).

Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90. He was 37 when his mother died, 40 when he married, 60 when Jacob was born, 75 when Abraham died, 137(?) when Jacob fled, 157(?) when Jacob returned, and 167 when Joseph was sold. He died at 180, in the year Joseph became ruler of Egypt. Abraham lived 175 years; Isaac, 180; Jacob, 147; Joseph, 110.

The statement about God’s “requirements, commands, decrees, and laws” (v. 5) would seem to indicate that the beginnings of God’s written Word were already in existence in Abraham’s day.

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Gen. 27 JACOB GETS HIS FATHER’S BLESSING

Jacob had already bought the birthright from Esau (25:31–34). It was now necessary to get his father to validate the transfer by receiving the corresponding blessing. This he accomplished by deception. In evaluating the moral quality of Jacob’s act, a number of things need to be considered: (1) his mother put him up to it; (2) he wanted the birthright because it was the channel of God’s promise of blessing to the whole world; (3) with only his human understanding, he thought there was no other way to obtain it; (4) Esau cared nothing for it; (5) Jacob paid dearly for his fraud (see under chap. 29); (6) God Himself, laying the foundation of His plans for the world (Romans 9:10–13), made the choice before the boys were born (25:23).

Isaac’s predictions (vv. 29, 40). God must have put these words into Isaac’s mouth, for they did come true. Jacob’s descendants did gain a dominant position among the nations and in time produced Christ. Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, were subservient to Israel; in time they did throw off Israel’s yoke (2 Kings 8:20–22); and they have disappeared from history.

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Gen. 28 JACOB’S VISION AT BETHEL

The transfer of the birthright from Esau to Jacob had been validated by Isaac. It is now validated in heaven. God Himself assures Jacob that from now on he is to be the recognized bearer of the promises. The ladder is a hint that the promises will culminate in something that would bridge heaven and earth. Jesus said that He was that Ladder (John 1:51) and the only Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).

Jacob is thought to have been 77 years old at this time. He was 15 when Abraham died, 84 when he married, 90 when Joseph was born, 98 when he returned to Canaan, 120 when Isaac died, 130 when he went to Egypt, and 147 when he died.

His first 77 years were spent in Canaan, the next 20 in Haran, then 33 in Canaan, and the last 17 in Egypt.

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Gen. 29–30 JACOB’S SOJOURN IN HARAN

Haran was 400 miles northeast of Canaan. It was the place where Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, had been raised, and from which his grandfather Abraham had migrated many years before. Laban was Jacob’s uncle. Jacob was there 20 years. They were years of hardship and suffering. A wife whom he did not want was forced on him by deceit, just as he had gotten his father’s blessing by deceit. He had begun to reap what he had sown.

Jacob’s Family

Jacob had two wives and two concubines whom, except for one, he did not want but who were forced on him. Of these, 12 sons were born:

• Of Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun
• Of Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin
• Of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant: Gad, Asher
• Of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant: Dan, Naphtali

This polygamous family, with many shameful things to its discredit, was accepted by God, as a whole, to be the beginning of the Twelve Tribes that became the Messianic Nation, chosen by God to bring the Savior into the world. This shows that

• God uses human beings as they are to serve His purposes; He does, so to speak, the best He can with the material He has.
• It is no indication that everyone whom God thus uses will be eternally saved. One may be useful in serving God’s plans in this world and yet fail to qualify for the eternal world in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men for final disposition (Romans 2:12–16).
• The Bible writers were truthful. No other book narrates with such utter candor the weaknesses of its heroes and things so contrary to the ideals it aims to promote.

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Gen. 31–33 JACOB’S RETURN TO CANAAN

Jacob had left Canaan 20 years before, alone and empty-handed. (At this point, Isaac was still living; Abraham had been dead for about 100 years.) Now, he was returning, a tribal prince, rich in flocks, herds, and servants. God had kept His promise to Jacob (28:15). Laban’s parting words to Jacob (31:49) contain the beautiful Mizpah benediction, “The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another” (KJV).

Angels, on Jacob’s departure from Canaan, had wished him Godspeed (28:12). Now, on his return, angels welcome him home (32:1). Jacob was now entering his inheritance in the Promised Land of Canaan. God had been with him thus far. Jacob remembered that Esau had vowed to kill him (27:41), and he prayed for God’s continued protection.

Jacob sent a peace party ahead to his brother Esau with many gifts. The men returned with news that Esau was coming to meet Jacob. Jacob was still afraid. He felt he needed God more than ever (32:24–30).

That night God appeared to Jacob in the form of a man. Jacob had the upper hand in wresting with “the man” all night, but God showed Jacob that He was more powerful by disabling Jacob’s hip socket with His touch. Jacob refused to stop wrestling until “the man” blessed him. In this way Jacob finally acknowledged that he needed God’s blessing. As Jacob acknowledged God, so God acknowledged Jacob by changing his name to “Israel,” meaning “He struggles with God.”

After Jacob’s encounter with God, he saw Esau coming with his men. He soon realized that Esau came to him in peace. Their meeting was one of reconciliation. They separated again in peace, and Jacob entered Canaan.

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Gen. 34 DINAH AVENGED BY SIMEON AND LEVI

On his return, Shechem was Jacob’s first stopping place in Canaan. There he bought a parcel of ground and erected an altar to God, as if planning to make it his home, temporarily at least. But the bloody act of Simeon and Levi made him odious to his neighbors, and he soon moved on to Bethel.

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Gen. 35 GOD RENEWS THE COVENANT AT BETHEL

Bethel was the place where, 20 years before, in his flight from Canaan, Jacob had seen the heavenly ladder and God had made him heir to the Abrahamic promises. Now God reassures him that those promises shall be fulfilled. Jacob set up a stone pillar in recognition of the place where God had talked to him. Later, on their way to Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachel gave birth to Benjamin. She unfortunately died in childbirth. Jacob buried her and created a tomb.

Then Jacob moved on to Hebron, the home of Abraham and Isaac. Sometime after his arrival, Isaac died at the age of 180. Together Jacob and Esau buried their father in the family tomb.

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The 10th document composing Genesis (see How Genesis Is Organized in the chapter on Genesis 1–11). It contains a brief account of the origin of the Edomites.

Esau, in personal character, was profane and irreligious; he “despised” his birthright. Compared with Esau, Jacob was more fit to be the father of God’s Messianic Nation.

(On the Edomites and the land of Edom, see The Edomites in the chapter on Obadiah.)

The Amalekites (v. 12) were a branch of Esau’s descendants. They were a wandering tribe, centering mainly around Kadesh, in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, but roaming in wide circles, even into Judah and far to the east. They were the first to attack Israel upon their departure from Egypt, and they oppressed Israel during the period of the Judges.

Jobab (v. 34) is thought by some to have been the Job of the book of Job. Eliphaz and Teman (vv. 10–11) are named in the book of Job. This chapter may supply the setting for the book of Job.

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The 11th and final document composing Genesis contains the story of Joseph and Israel’s migration to Egypt. Joseph, probably more than any of the Patriarchs, was a type or symbol of the people of Israel, who struggled with God and men and yet, with God’s blessing, overcame all circumstances. Joseph was a source of blessing to all the nations (12:2–3). Through Joseph, Abraham’s family became a great nation in Egypt. This became the backdrop for the great exodus described in the next book of the Bible.

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Gen. 37 JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT

The richly ornamented robe (v. 3; KJV, coat of many colors) was a badge of favoritism, possibly indicating Jacob’s intention to make Joseph heir to the birthright.

Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, was natural heir to the birthright; but he was disqualified because of his illicit relationship with one of his father’s concubines (35:22; 49:3–4; 1 Chronicles 5:1–2). Simeon and Levi, second and third in line of succession (29:31–35), were passed over because of their crime at Shechem (34:25–30; 49:5–7). Judah, the fourth son, was next in line, and the family may have expected that the birthright would go to him.

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But Joseph, though Jacob’s 11th son, was Rachel’s firstborn. Rachel was Jacob’s best-loved wife, and Joseph was his favorite son (v. 3). So the robe looked suspicious. And Joseph’s dreams of his own ascendancy (vv. 5–10) aggravated the situation.

Thus Judah and Joseph appear to have been rivals for the birthright. This may explain Judah’s active part in selling Joseph into slavery (vv. 26–27). The rivalry between Judah and Joseph passed to their descendants. The tribes of Judah and Ephraim (Joseph’s son) were contenders for supremacy. Judah took the lead under David and Solomon. Then, under the leadership of Ephraim, the Ten Tribes seceded (1 Kings 12).

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Gen. 38 JUDAH’S CHILDREN

This chapter is probably inserted because Judah was progenitor of the Messiah, and it was in accord with the Old Testament purpose to preserve family registers all along the line of succession, even though they contained some things not very praiseworthy.

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Gen. 39 JOSEPH IMPRISONED

Joseph was of unblemished character, unusually handsome, with an exceptional gift for leadership and an ability to make the best of every unpleasant situation. He was born in Haran, 75 years after the death of Abraham, 30 years before the death of Isaac (when his father was about 90), and eight years before they returned to Canaan. At 17 he was sold into Egypt and spent 13 years in Potiphar’s house and in prison. At age 30 he became ruler of Egypt. He died at age 110.

Joseph gained the attention of Pharaoh by interpreting his dreams as an agent of God. Joseph made it clear that interpretations belong to God (40:8). Joseph’s interpretation was that God was going to bring to Egypt seven years of great abundance followed by seven years of famine. Through the dream, God gave Pharaoh, who did not know God, a warning and provided a plan of provision that would support the people through this time. Pharaoh recognized God’s favor on Joseph and put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

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Gen. 40–41 JOSEPH MADE RULER OF EGYPT

Joseph married a daughter of the priest of On. But although he had a heathen wife and ruled a heathen kingdom, he maintained his childhood faith in the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

These images from the Pharaonic Village in Cairo show the kind of life Joseph and his descendants may have lived in Goshen during the good years before a new pharaoh put the Israelites to forced labor on his building projects.

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Gen. 42–45 JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN

This has been called one of the most beautiful stories in all literature. The most touching incident in the story is when Judah, who many years before had been the ringleader in selling Joseph into slavery (37:26), now offers to become hostage for Benjamin (44:18–34).

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Gen. 46–47 JACOB AND HIS FAMILY SETTLE IN EGYPT

God had planned that Israel should be nurtured for a while in Egypt, which was the most advanced civilization of that day. As Jacob left Canaan, God gave him assurance that his descendants would return (46:3–4).

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Gen. 48–49 JACOB’S BLESSING AND PROPHECY

Jacob seems to have split the birthright, designating Judah as the channel of the messianic promise (49:10), yet pronouncing national prestige on Joseph’s son Ephraim (48:19–22; 49:22–26; 1 Chronicles 5:1–2).

Jacob’s prophecy about the Twelve Tribes parallels to a remarkable degree the subsequent history of the tribes. “Shiloh” (v. 10) is commonly taken to be a name for the Messiah. The tribe of Judah produced David, and David’s family produced Christ.

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Gen. 50 THE DEATHS OF JACOB AND JOSEPH

Jacob’s body was taken back to Hebron for burial. And Joseph exacted an oath of his brothers that when Israel returned to Canaan, they would carry his bones. This belief that Canaan would be their homeland was not forgotten; and 400 years later, when they set out for Canaan, the Israelites took Joseph’s bones along (Exodus 13:19).

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Egypt

Modern Egypt covers almost 400,000 square miles (just over a million square kilometers). But 96% of this area is desert, and 99% of the population lives on the 4% of the land that is usable, which stretches along the Nile River in a valley 2 to 20 miles wide, with an average width of about 10 miles, and 750 miles long. Only there where the Nile enters the Mediterranean Sea does this valley widen into a broad delta through which a number of branches from the Nile flow. The Delta, a triangle, is about 100 miles north and south, and about 150 miles east and west, from Port Said to Alexandria. It is the most fertile part of Egypt. The land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was the eastern part of the Delta.

The floor of the valley is covered with a black alluvial deposit of rich soil of unparalleled fertility, replenished each year by the overflow of the Nile, which rises an average of 25 feet once a year.

Surrounded and protected by the desert, one of the first great civilizations in history developed in this narrow Nile Valley, and nowhere else have the remains of an ancient civilization been so well preserved. The dry desert climate has preserved, for thousands of years, materials that would have perished long since in other climates, such as papyrus and leather.

The population of modern Egypt is about 50 million; in Old Testament times it was between 1 1/2 and 5 million.

When Was the Exodus?

There are two major views regarding the date of the Exodus from Egypt. The first, called the Early Date Theory is based on a literal reading of 1 Kings 6:1: “In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.”

Since Solomon began to rule in 970 B.C., the fourth year of his reign would be 966 B.C. The text says that the Exodus from Egypt took place 480 years before this; that gives 1446 B.C. as the approximate date of the Exodus. In this view, Moses would have grown up and lived for 40 years at the court of three very powerful kings of the 18th Dynasty, Thutmose I, II, and III. (For more details on the Egyptian kings and pharaohs, see the section Who Was the Pharaoh of the Exodus? in the chapter on The Exodus from Egypt: Exodus–Deuteronomy.) It is then possible—though not at all certain—that Hatshepsut was the Egyptian princess, mentioned in Exodus 2, who adopted Moses.

The internal chronology of the biblical text when set against Egyptian chronology would thus indicate that Moses fled Egypt during the long reign of the very powerful Thutmose III and returned—after tending Jethro’s sheep for 40 years—to the court of Amenhotep II, during whose reign he led Israel out of Egypt (ca. 1446 B.C.).

Those who hold to a Late Date Theory of the Exodus (around 1290 B.C.) point to Exodus 1:11: “So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.” They argue that the Rameses mentioned here must be named for one of the Rameses pharaohs of the 19th Dynasty—usually Rameses II.

Arguments and counterarguments are put forth by all sides, based on additional factors of biblical and Egyptian chronology as well as on the results of archaeological excavations in Israel and Jordan relating to the conquest of the land by the Israelites—ca. 1400 B.C. (early date) or ca. 1250 B.C. (late date). Sites such as Jericho, Ai, and Hazor figure prominently in the discussion, for they are said to have been burned and destroyed by the invading Israelites (see the book of Joshua).

All, however, are agreed that Israel was in the land by Merneptah’s fifth year (ca. 1231 B.C.): Israel is actually mentioned on a stela of Merneptah as already living in the land of Canaan.

The early date—though not without problems—fits the biblical as well as the extrabiblical data the best.

Who Was the Pharaoh of the Exodus?

According to the biblical data, Jacob and his family entered Egypt around 1876 B.C., which would have been during the reign of King Sesostris III of the 12th Dynasty. The kings of the 15th and 16th Dynasties were Hyksos, a Semitic line of conquerors from Asia, possibly kin to the Israelites, who had pressed in from Syria.

It is possible that the “new king, who did not know about Joseph” (Exodus 1:8), during whose rule the oppression began, was one of the kings of these Hyksos dynasties. As a member of a small ruling elite, the Hyksos king would have been afraid that his more numerous subjects would revolt (“the Israelites have become much too numerous for us,” Exodus 1:9). The Hyksos were driven out by King Ahmose of the 18th Dynasty, around 1570 B.C. It is possible that after the Hyksos were driven out, the oppression of the Israelites actually increased, since the Hyksos, like the Israelites, were Semites and their expulsion resulted in a general anti-Semitic reaction. Ahmose also made Palestine and Syria tributaries to Egypt.

Amenhotep I (1545 B.C.)

Thutmose I (1529 B.C.). Boasted that he ruled from the third cataract of the Nile to the Euphrates River about 700 miles to the northeast of Egypt. First royal rock-cut tomb.

Thutmose II (1517 B.C.). Hatshepsut, his half-sister and wife, was the real ruler.

Hatshepsut (1504 B.C.). Daughter of Thutmose I. Regent for Thutmose II and Thutmose III. The first great queen in history. A most remarkable woman, and one of Egypt’s greatest and most vigorous rulers. She had many of her statues represent her as a man. She extended the empire and built many monuments, such as the two great obelisks at Karnak and the great temple at Deir el Bahri, furnished with many statues of herself. Thutmose III hated her, and when she died, one of his first acts was to take her name off all monuments and destroy all her statues. Those at Bahri were broken to pieces, flung into a quarry, and covered by drifting sands.

Thutmose III (1504 B.C.). Queen Hatshepsut, his half-sister, was regent during the early years of his reign, and though he despised her, she completely dominated him. His sole rule began in 1482, in which year he made the first of 17 campaigns into the Levant (the region east of the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Egypt), taking control of the area. After her death, he ruled alone for 30 years. He was the greatest conqueror in Egyptian history. He subdued Ethiopia and ruled to the Euphrates, creating a great empire. He raided Palestine and Syria 17 times. He accumulated great wealth, engaged in vast building enterprises, and recorded his achievements in detail on walls and monuments. He is thought to have been one of the oppressors of Israel. If so, then the famous Queen Hatshepsut may have been the pharaoh’s daughter who rescued and brought up Moses.

Amenhotep II (1453 B.C.). Many scholars think he was the pharaoh of the Exodus. He maintained the empire founded by Thutmose III. Interestingly, he is not known for military campaigns late in his reign—perhaps because of the loss of his chariots and troops at the Red Sea?

Thutmose IV (1426 B.C.). The chariot in which he rode has been found. His mummy is now at Cairo.

Amenhotep III (1416 B.C.). Under him, the empire experienced its era of greatest splendor. He raided Canaan during the early years of his reign. He built vast temples. During his years, and those of his successor, Akhenaten, the cuneiform documents found at el–Amarna were written. His mummy is in Cairo.

Akhenaten (1380 B.C.). Under him, Egypt lost its Asiatic Empire. He attempted to establish monotheistic sun worship.

Tutankhamen. (1377 B.C.) Son-in-law of Akhenaten. He restored the old religion. He was one of the lesser rulers of Egypt, at the close of the most brilliant period of Egyptian history. He is famous now for the amazing riches and magnificence of his tomb, which was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922—the first tomb of a pharaoh to be discovered that had not been robbed. The inner coffin, which contains his mummy, is made of solid gold.

Rameses II (1304 B.C.) After several lesser rulers, Rameses II was one of the greatest of the pharaohs, though inferior to Thutmose III and Amenhotep III. He ruled for 67 years and was a great builder, a great self-promoter, and something of a plagiarist, claiming credit in some cases for accomplishments of his predecessors. He reestablished the empire from Ethiopia to the Euphrates and raided and pillaged Palestine repeatedly. He completed the great hall at Karnak and other vast works, including fortifications, canals, and temples, which were built by slaves taken in war or captives from the far south, along with the native working class, toiling in gangs in the quarry or brick fields, or dragging great stone blocks over soft earth. Some scholars consider him to be the pharaoh of the Exodus (the so-called Late Date Exodus; see the section When Was the Exodus? in the chapter on The Exodus from Egypt: Exodus–Deuteronomy).

Merneptah (1236 B.C.) On his stela he mentions having defeated Israel—“Israel is laid waste, his seed is not”—indicating that Israel was already in the land of Canaan.

What Route Did the Israelites Follow After the Exodus?

The books of Exodus and Numbers contain a considerable amount of geographical information in the narrative of the Exodus and the journey to the land of Canaan. But many of the places and regions mentioned remain unknown. The major reason for this is that the population of the desert-wilderness regions of the Sinai Peninsula, the Negev, and parts of southern Transjordan was nomadic. Without a continuity of a sedentary population, the preservation of ancient place names is almost impossible.

The other difficulty is that archaeologists have not discovered any remains that can be attributed to the Israelites in those regions through which they traveled. This, however, could be expected, for a nomadic people, living in tents and using animal skins instead of pottery for containers, would leave few permanent remains behind.

Thus scholars are divided on the location even of major landmarks such as the Red Sea and Mount Sinai. It has been noted that nine different proposals have been made for the location of the Red Sea or Reed Sea—including three lakes near the Mediterranean Sea, four lakes along the line of the present-day Suez Canal, and the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Elath. There are also 12 different candidates for Mount Sinai: five in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula, four in the north, one in the center, one in Midian (Saudi Arabia), and one in Edom (southern Transjordan).

In spite of these uncertainties, a few suggestions can be made:

1. After leaving Rameses (Tell el-Dab’a), the Israelites journeyed to Succoth (possibly Tell el-Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat). For fear of their becoming discouraged because of war, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines” (Exodus 13:17 NASB). “God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter” (Exodus 13:17 NIV). This well-known route from Sile to Gaza, across the northern Sinai Peninsula, was the one pharaohs Thutmose III and Amenhotep II had used so effectively on their frequent campaigns to Canaan, and it must have been well fortified by Egyptian troops. Thus a northern route for the Exodus seems excluded.
2. Since the Israelites were led “around by the desert road toward the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:18), it appears that they were heading southeast toward modern Suez. The location of Etham (“fort” in Egyptian), Migdol (“fort” in Semitic), Baal Zephon, and Pi Hahiroth are problematic. The suggestion that Hahiroth refers to the low ground between Jebel Geneife and the Bitter Lakes is plausible but not certain. Etham and Migdol could be any of a number of Egyptian forts located near the present-day Suez Canal.
3. On the next stage of their journey the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. Since the Hebrew text literally means “Reed Sea,” many scholars look for a location in the lake/marsh that used to exist in the region through which the Suez Canal now passes. The suggestion for a location near the junction of the Great and Little Bitter lakes is as plausible as any. According to 19th-century travelers, the water at that spot was not very deep, and they even mention that at times the depth of the water decreased when the wind shifted. According to the text, the “Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind” (Exodus 14:21).
4. The identification of Mount Sinai (Horeb) with Jebel Musa (“Mount Moses”) is based on Christian tradition dating back to the 4th century A.D., about 1,750 years after the event. There, during the Byzantine period (A.D. 324–640), the desert monastery of St. Catherine was established. Although the Greek Orthodox monks today like to point out the very site of the giving of the Law, the place where the golden calf was erected, the plain where the Israelites camped, the site of the burning bush, and so on, the suggested identification of Mount Sinai with Jebel Sin Bisher deserves careful attention. Its location agrees with some of the biblical data. For example, it is located approximately three days’ journey from Egypt (Exodus 3:18; 5:3; 8:27), at a desert junction where there are fair supplies of water; possibly the Amalekites fought with Israel for control of this junction and the water sources (Exodus 17). It is close to Egypt on the road that led directly from Midian to Egypt, and thus it would make a plausible location for the burning bush incident. Moses could have been bringing Jethro’s sheep along this road in order to use the water and pasture land found on the eastern edge of the Nile delta when the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush. This is said to have taken place near the mountain where he would later worship him (Exodus 3:1). Since it is reasonable to assume that Moses used the way of the wilderness on his return to Egypt, the meeting of Moses and Aaron at the “mountain of God” could well have been at this spot (Exodus 4:27).
5. The location of Marah, where the water was bitter (Exodus 15:23), and of Elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees (v. 27), depends on where one locates Mount Sinai. If Jebel Sin Bisher is accepted as Mount Sinai, then the identifications of Marah and Elim with Bir Mara (“bitter well” in Arabic) and Ayun Musa (“the spring of Moses”) are plausible. If the more traditional site of Sinai at Jebel Musa is maintained, then identifications of Marah and Elim with Ein Hawwara and Gharandal are also possible.

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According to the book of Genesis, Egypt was settled by the descendants of Ham (Genesis 10:6; Mizraim is an ancient name for Egypt). Abraham spent some time in Egypt (Genesis 12:10–20). So did Jacob (Genesis 46:1–47:12). Joseph was ruler of Egypt (Genesis 41:41–47). The Hebrew nation, in its childhood, was 400 years in Egypt. Moses was the adopted son of a queen of Egypt (Exodus 2:1–10), and, in his preparation to be Israel’s Lawgiver, he was instructed in all the wisdom and learning of Egypt. Jeremiah died in Egypt. From the Captivity until the time of Christ there was a considerable Jewish population in Egypt. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) was made in Egypt. Jesus spent part of His childhood in Egypt. Egypt became an important early center of Christianity.

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By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”

The title of this book comes from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. The word means “exit” or “departure.” Exodus is book two of the Pentateuch (see In the Beginning: Genesis 1–11 and The Old Testament Canon in the chapter How We Got the Bible). The traditional view held by most Bible scholars is that Moses wrote the bulk of the Pentateuch after Israel’s exodus from Egypt and during their 40 years of wandering in the desert.

Exodus gives us insight into God’s nature, and it also provides a foundational theology as to who God is, how He is to be worshiped, His laws, His covenant with Israel, and His overall plan of redemption. Through the Exodus, His Ten Commandments, and the laws given in the Book of the Covenant, we see God’s loving and just character and we obtain a greater understanding of the depth of His holiness.

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Ex. 1 ISRAEL IN EGYPT

A total of 430 years elapsed between Jacob’s migration to Egypt and the Exodus (12:40–41). Genesis ended with the death of Joseph, and Exodus begins 300 years later with the birth of Moses. During these centuries the Israelites had become very numerous (v. 7). At the time of the Exodus there were 600,000 men above age 20, besides women and children (Numbers 1:46), which would total about 3 million Israelites. For 70 persons to grow to this number in 430 years, they would have had to double about every 25 years, which is entirely possible. (The growth of the population in the United States in 400 years, from relatively few to more than a quarter billion, makes the statement about the growth of the Israelites credible—even allowing for the fact that the U.S. population grew in part because of immigration.)

After the death of Joseph, a change of dynasty made the Israelites a race of slaves. But the family records of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, no doubt, had been carried to Egypt, and through the long years of slavery the promise that Canaan would one day be their national home, and that they would be free, was steadfastly cherished.

Making sun-dried mudbricks. These bricks deteriorated over time. Baked mudbricks required more labor than other kinds, but lasted longer and were sometimes used for exterior walls.

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Ex. 2 MOSES

Exodus begins the story of Moses. His life and work are the subject matter of not only the book of Exodus, but also of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Moses stands out as one of the greatest—perhaps the greatest—man of the pre-Christian world. He took a race of slaves and, under inconceivably trying circumstances, molded them into a powerful nation that has altered the whole course of history.

Moses was a Levite—he was of the tribe of Levi (v. 1). The sister who engineered his rescue was Miriam (15:20). His father may have been Amram, his mother Jochebed (6:20), although they may have been more distant ancestors. And what a mother! She so thoroughly instilled the traditions of his people in him in childhood that all the splendor and temptations of the heathen palace never eradicated those early impressions. He had the finest education Egypt could offer, but it did not turn his head or cause him to lose his childhood faith.

His 40 Years in the Palace

Moses, as he grew to manhood, is thought to have been appointed to high office in the government of Egypt. Josephus says he commanded an army in the south. He must have attained considerable power, reputation, and skill; otherwise it is not likely that he would have undertaken so gigantic a task as the deliverance of Israel, which (according to Acts 7:25) he had in mind when he intervened in the Egyptian’s beating of a Hebrew slave (vv. 11–15). But though conscious of his power, he failed, because the people were not ready for his leadership—and neither was Moses himself.

His 40 Years in the Desert

These 40 years, in God’s providence, were part of Moses’ training. The loneliness and roughness of the wilderness developed sturdy qualities he could hardly have acquired in the softness of the palace. It familiarized him with the region in which he later led Israel for 40 years.

The center of Midian (v. 15), the country where Moses went, was on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Akaba, although the Midianites controlled the regions west of the gulf and to the north as well. In Moses’ day they controlled the rich pasture lands around Sinai.

Moses married a Midianite woman, Zipporah (v. 21), a daughter of Jethro (who is also called Reuel; 2:18; 3:1). Jethro, as priest of Midian, must have been a ruler. The Midianites were also descendants of Abraham, through Keturah (Genesis 25:2), and must have had traditions of Abraham’s God. Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (18:3–4).

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Ex. 3–4 THE BURNING BUSH

After a life of brooding over the sufferings of his people and the age-old promises of God, the call to deliver Israel came at last, directly from God, when Moses was 80 years old. But Moses was no longer self-confident, as he had been in his younger years. He was reluctant to go and made all kinds of excuses. But in the end he went, assured of divine help and armed with the power to work miracles.

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Ex. 5 MOSES’ FIRST DEMAND

Pharaoh was insolent. He ordered the supervisors to lay even heavier burdens on the Israelites; they were to make the same number of bricks as before, but now they also had to find their own straw (2:10–19). Moses soon lost favor with the Israelites, who were quick to blame him for the increased level of oppression. God continued to press Moses to again approach Pharaoh for their release and to tell the Israelites that He had not forgotten His covenant with them.

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Ex. 6 THE GENEALOGY OF MOSES

This is considered an abbreviated genealogy that mentions only the more prominent ancestors. According to this genealogy, Moses was the grandson of Kohath, yet in his day there were 8,600 Kohathites (Numbers 3:28). Thus there is uncertainty as to the exact translation of v. 20.

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Ex. 7 THE FIRST OF THE 10 PLAGUES

The waters of the Nile turned to blood. Pharaoh’s magicians (Jannes and Jambres, 2 Timothy 3:8) imitated the miracle on a small scale. Whatever the nature of the miracle, the fish died and people could not drink the water.

The Nile was a god to the Egyptians. Without the Nile, Egypt would be a lifeless desert.

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Ex. 8 PLAGUES OF FROGS, GNATS, AND FLIES

The frog represented Heqt, the Egyptian god of resurrection. At Moses’ command, frogs swarmed out of the Nile and filled houses. The magicians again imitated the miracle, but this time Pharaoh was convinced and promised to let Israel go. But he quickly changed his mind.

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The 10 plagues were aimed at the gods of Egypt and were designed to give proof of the power of the God of Israel over the gods of Egypt. Over and over it is repeated that by these miracles both Israel and Egyptians would come to “know that the Lord is God” (6:7; 7:5, 17; 8:22; 10:2; 14:4, 18). Later, in the desert, the manna and the quail were intended to show the same thing (16:6, 12).

Pharaoh’s heart was hardened on his own accord during the first five plagues. God hardened his heart during the other five. Without them, Israel never would have been delivered, and there would have been no Hebrew nation.

Plague		God(s)
1. Nile turned to blood	7:14–25	Khnum, the guardian of the Nile Hopi, the spirit of the Nile Osiris, the giver of life, whose bloodstream was the Nile
2. Frogs	8:1–15	Heqt, the god of resurrection, who also assisted women in childbirth and whose form was a frog
3. Gnats (mosquitoes)	8:16–19
4. Flies	8:20–32
5. Plague on cattle	9:1–7	Hathor, the mother goddess, whose form was a cow Apis, the bull god, who was the living personification of Ptah (the creator god) and the symbol of fertility
6. Boils	9:8–12	Imhotep, the god of medicine
7. Hail	9:13–35	Nut, the sky goddess Isis, the goddess of life Seth, the protector of crops
8. Locusts	10:1–20	Isis, the goddess of life Seth, the protector of crops
9. Darkness	10:21–29	Re, Aten, Atum, Horus all of whom were sun gods of sorts
10. Death of firstborn	11:1–12:36	Pharaoh, who was considered a god Osiris, the giver of life

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The third plague was gnats. Moses hit the dust, and it became gnats (mosquitoes) on both man and beast. The magicians tried to imitate this miracle, but failed—in fact, they were convinced that it was of God. They ceased their efforts to oppose Moses and advised Pharaoh to give in.

The fourth plague consisted of swarms of flies that covered the people and filled the houses of the Egyptians. But there were no flies on the Israelites.

Still Pharaoh hardened his heart (vv. 15, 32). God’s purpose was to make Pharaoh repent. But when a man sets himself against God, even God’s mercies result in further hardening.

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Ex. 9 PLAGUE ON LIVESTOCK; BOILS; HAIL

The plague on Egypt’s livestock was a terrible blow at Egyptian gods. The bull was a chief god. Again there is a distinction between Egyptians and Israelites: the Egyptians’ livestock died in vast numbers, but not one of those belonging to Israelites. “All” in v. 6 refers to the livestock of the Egyptians that were left in the fields. Moses gave them until the next day (v. 5) so that God-fearing Egyptians had time to move their livestock out of danger. Verses 19–21 refer to livestock that survived.

The boils, the sixth plague, came on both man and beast, and even on the magicians, from ashes which Moses sprinkled into the air.

Before the seventh plague came and hail fell, a merciful warning was again extended to God-fearing Egyptians to drive their cattle to cover. Again there is a distinction between Egyptians and Israelites: no hail fell in Goshen.

By this time the people of Egypt had become convinced (10:7). The sudden appearance and disappearance of the plagues, at the word of Moses, on such a vast scale, were accepted as evident miracles from God. But Pharaoh hesitated because of the immense economic impact the loss of his slave labor would have—Israelite labor had contributed greatly to Egypt’s rise to power.

It is not known how long a period the 10 plagues covered. Pharaoh, no doubt, would have killed Moses had he dared. But with each new plague, Moses’ prestige went up and up (11:3).

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Ex. 10 PLAGUES OF LOCUSTS, DARKNESS

Locusts were one of the worst of the plagues. They came in vast clouds and would eat every green thing. At night they would cover the ground in layers to a depth of four or five inches. When mashed, the smell would be unbearable. The mere threat of a locust plague caused Pharaoh’s officials to beg him to yield (v. 7).

“[The locusts] covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.” This description in Exodus 10:5 is not an exaggeration. A swarm of locusts can indeed darken the sun and strip an entire area of anything green in a very short time.

The plague of darkness was a direct blow at Ra, or Re, Egypt’s sun god. There was midnight darkness over Egypt for three days, but light where Israelites dwelt. Pharaoh yielded—but again changed his mind.

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Ex. 11–12 DEATH OF EGYPT’S FIRSTBORN

At last, the final and most devastating blow fell. Pharaoh yielded and Israel departed.

The Israelites “borrowed” jewelry and clothes from the Egyptians (12:35 KJV). The fact is that they “asked” (NASB, NIV)—these were not loans, but outright gifts in payment of debts for accumulated generations of slave labor. God Himself had commanded the people to ask for these gifts (3:21–22; 11:2–3), and the Egyptians were only too glad to comply, for they feared the God of Moses (12:33) and what He could do to them. A large part of Egypt’s wealth was thus transferred to Israel. Some of it was used in the construction of the tabernacle.

The Beginning of Passover

The lamb, the blood on the doorposts, the death of the firstborn, deliverance out of a hostile country, and the celebration of the Feast of Passover throughout Israel’s history—all were intended by God to be a grand historical picture of Christ the Passover Lamb and our deliverance, by His blood, from a hostile world and from the slavery of sin. Other Scriptures refer to Jesus as our sacrificial lamb:

• “A lamb without blemish or defect” (1Peter 1:19)
• “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29)
• “When he saw Jesus passing by, he said ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:36)
• “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
• “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain . . .” (Revelation 5:16)

Unleavened bread was to be eaten during the Passover Feast as a perpetual reminder of the haste with which the people left Egypt (12:34).

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Ex. 13 THE CONSECRATION OF THE FIRSTBORN

The Israelites’ firstborn were to be consecrated to God perpetually, as a reminder of the Israelites’ redemption by the death of Egypt’s firstborn. Jesus was consecrated to God in accordance with this law, since he was Mary’s firstborn son (Luke 2:7, 22–30).

The route to Canaan which the Israelites followed (v. 17) was not the direct route along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, since there were garrisons of Egyptian soldiers stationed along this route, which also went through the country of the Philistines. The most feasible route was the longer but safer way through the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula (see What Route Did the Israelites Follow After the Exodus? in the chapter on The Exodus from Egypt: Exodus–Deuteronomy).

The pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (vv. 21–22). As they left Egypt and had to travel through hostile territory, God took them under His own care, with this visible sign of His guidance and protection. It never left them until they reached the Promised Land, 40 years later (14:19, 24; 33:9, 10; 40:34–38; Numbers 9:15, 23; 10:11).

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Ex. 14 CROSSING THE RED SEA

The place where they crossed may have been near the location of the Bitter Lakes, now part of the Suez Canal. God used a “strong east wind” to dry up the sea (v. 21). The waters parted and formed a “wall of water” on either side (15:8; 14:22). This, as well as the timing of the waters’ return so that the Israelites were saved and the Egyptians destroyed, could have been done only by a direct miraculous act of God. It alarmed the neighboring nations (15:14–16).

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The “tongue” of the Gulf of Suez may have reached farther north in Moses’ day than it does today. The sea then would have flowed north into the depressions known today as the Bitter Lakes. If a steady wind (v. 21) pushed the shallow water north into the Bitter Lakes, it would have lowered the level of the water so that a land bridge would appear, which is not an uncommon phenomenon. The waters on the north and the south then were a “wall” or “defense.” There is no need to assume perpendicular heaps of water defying gravity—although there is no question that God could have done exactly that. The Egyptian pursuit implies that the enemy saw no more than a strange, but not completely unnatural phenomenon. They could not attack from either flank. They followed through the exposed sea mud and were caught and tangled by the returning tide (v. 25) following the relaxed pressure of the wind.

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Ex. 15 THE SONG OF MOSES

This song seems to prefigure the mightier works for which the redeemed will sing praises to God through endless ages of eternity. The deliverance out of Egypt under Moses was so similar to what the deliverance of the church out of the world at the time of the end will be, that one of the triumphant songs of the redeemed in the book of Revelation is called “the Song of Moses and the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3).

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Ex. 16 MANNA AND QUAIL

After one month of traveling, the hardships of desert life began to affect the Israelites’ dispositions. They began to complain, thinking about what they had in Egypt, rather than about what God would give them in the Promised Land (vv. 2–3).

Manna was a small round flake used for making bread. It tasted, it is said, like wafers made with honey (v. 31). It was either a direct creation or a natural product miraculously multiplied. It fell with the dew each night and looked like coriander seed. The manna was ground in mills or beat in mortars, then boiled in pots, and cakes were made of it. Each person was allowed an omer (about two quarts or two liters) daily. On the sixth day there was always enough to last over the Sabbath. The manna began one month after they left Egypt and was given daily throughout the 40 years in the wilderness until they crossed the Jordan. Then it ceased as suddenly as it began (Numbers 11:6–9; Joshua 5:12). Jesus regarded manna as a foreshadowing of Himself (John 6:31–58).

Quail (v. 13) are mentioned only twice: here and a year later, after Israel had left Mount Sinai (Numbers 11:31–34). The people had great herds of cattle (Exodus 12:38), which they could use only sparingly as food. In Egypt the Israelites had eaten mostly fish instead of red meat.

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Ex. 17 WATER FROM THE ROCK

Shortly before this, Moses had made the waters of Marah sweet (15:25). Here, in Rephidim, he produces water out of a rock. Later he performs a similar miracle at Meribah (Numbers 20:1–13); however, he performs it in a way not pleasing to God. God rebukes Moses and Aaron and states that they will never enter the Promised Land. The battle with Amalek (vv. 8–15) is the first attempt, outside of Egypt, to interfere with Israel’s march to Canaan. As a result, God commanded that the Amalekites be exterminated (v. 14; Deuteronomy 25:17–19).

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Also called Horeb. The Peninsula of Sinai is triangular in shape, situated between two arms of the Red Sea. The west shore is about 180 miles long; the east shore about 130; and the north border line about 150. The northern part of the peninsula is desert; the southern part is a “great cluster of rugged chaotic mountains.”

The region was probably named for Sin, the Babylonian moon god. It was early known for its mines of copper, iron, ochre, and precious stones. Long before the days of Abraham, the kings of the East had made a road around the north and west fringes of the Arabian Desert to the Sinai region.

There is some debate as to which mountain in the Sinai Peninsula is Mount Sinai. The two most likely possibilities are Ras es-Safsafeh and Jebel Musa, both of which are located on a granite ridge of about three miles. Ras es-Safsafeh (6,643 ft.) is on the northern edge, Jebel Musa (7,497 ft.) on the southern edge. Tradition and most modern scholars accept Jebel Musa as Mount Sinai; others prefer Ras es-Safsafeh because there is a considerable plain at the foot of the mountain where the Israelites could have camped (see Exodus 20:18). Another possible (though less likely) candidate is Jebel Sin Bisher, about 50 miles north-northwest of Jebel Musa (see The identification of Mount Sinai in the chapter on The Exodus from Egypt: Exodus–Deuteronomy).

At the foot of Jebel Musa is St. Catherine’s monastery, where Friedrich Tischendorf discovered the famous 4th-century manuscript of the Greek Bible known as the Codex Sinaiticus (see The Codex Sinaiticus in section 2, How the Text of the Bible was Preserved).

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For a people who had never known anything but the flat country of Goshen and the Nile delta, Mount Sinai itself must have been imposing indeed. And it is little wonder that the people were terrified when the Lord appeared:

“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him” (Exodus 19:16–19).

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Ex. 18 JETHRO’S ADVICE

Moses was inspired in a degree given to few men, yet it was through the counsel of this friendly Midianite prince, his father-in-law, that he came to a more efficient organization of the people. God uses human advice to help even the great!

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Ex. 19 GOD’S VOICE ON MOUNT SINAI

They were at Mount Sinai about 11 months (v. 1; Numbers 10:11). In a terrific thunderstorm, accompanied by earthquakes and supernatural trumpet blasts, and the mountain capped with terrifying flames, God spoke the Ten Commandments and gave the Law.

Five hundred years later, at this same mountain, the prophet Elijah was given a hint that God’s work would be accomplished, not by means of fire and earthquake, but by the still, small voice, the “gentle whisper” of God’s message (1 Kings 19:11–12).

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Ex. 20 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

These Commandments were afterward engraved on both sides of two tablets of stone, “inscribed by the finger of God.” “The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets” (31:18; 32:15–16). They were kept for centuries in the ark of the covenant (see The Most Holy Place in the chapter on Exodus). It is thought that they may have been destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (see Deportation of Judah by Babylon, 605 B.C. in the chapter on 2 Kings).

The Ten Commandments were the basis of Hebrew law. Four of them have to do with our attitude toward God; six, with our attitude toward fellow human beings. Jesus condensed them into two: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39; see Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18).

Reverence for God is the basis of the Ten Commandments. Jesus indicated that He considered it the most basic and essential quality in man’s approach to God and made it the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer: “Hallowed be your name.” It is surprising how many people, in their ordinary conversation, continually blaspheme the name of God and use it in such a light and trivial way. It is even more surprising how many preachers and Christians use God’s name with a facile familiarity that lacks any reverence or awe, as if they were God’s equals.

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Ex. 21–24 THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT

After the Ten Commandments, this was the first installment of the Law for the Hebrew nation. These laws were written in a book. Then the covenant that pledged to obey the Law was sealed with blood (24:4, 7–8).

The laws cover every aspect of daily life, from kindness toward widows and orphans to the death penalty for murder to hospitality toward strangers. Although many of the specific, individual laws no longer apply to us, the principles behind them most certainly do. Fairness, justice, and mercy are the foundation of Israel’s Law—which becomes very clear when we compare them with the laws of the nations around Israel.

Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk (23:19): A number of explanations have been suggested for this unusual command; it may be a warning against adopting a pagan, Canaanite ritual.

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Ex. 25–31 DIRECTIONS FOR THE TABERNACLE

God Himself gave the pattern in great detail (25:9). It is recorded twice: first in these chapters, where God explains how it is to be made; then in chapters 35–40, where the details are repeated to indicate that this is exactly how it had been built—according to God’s instructions. This repetition strikes us as redundant, but to the Hebrew ear it reflected the importance and solemnity of the building process. (See also Numbers 7, where the same list of gifts is repeated 12 times!)

The tabernacle was a “likeness” of something, a “copy and shadow” of heavenly things (Hebrews 8:5). It had special meaning to the Hebrew nation; yet it was a “pattern of things to come” (see Hebrews 9–10).

The tabernacle and, later, the temple, which was built by King Solomon based on the pattern of the tabernacle, were the center of Jewish national life. Of direct divine origin, the tabernacle was an immensely important representation of certain ideas God wished to impress on mankind, foreshadowing many teachings of the Christian faith.

(For a more detailed description of the tabernacle, see below under chapters 35–40.)

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Ex. 32–33 THE GOLDEN CALF

The bull, the principal god of Egypt called Apis, later also would become the god of the Ten Tribes (1 Kings 12:28). This pitiful apostasy, so soon after God had thundered from the mountain, “You shall have no other gods before me,” and after the marvelous miracles in Egypt, indicates the depths to which the Israelites had sunk in Egyptian idolatry. It was a crisis, calling for immediate discipline, and the punishment was swift and severe.

The wood used in the tabernacle was acacia. The acacia is the only tree that grows in desert regions and produces wood that can be used in building. Because of the dry and windy climate, the trees grow very slowly, and it takes many years for them to reach their maximum height of 16 to 25 feet. This makes acacia wood durable—it is harder than oak and not easily damaged by insects. Acacia wood has a beautiful orange-red color, which makes it eminently suitable for furniture and inlay work. In Egypt the wood was used in the making of sarcophagi.

Moses’ willingness to be “blotted out of God’s book” for the people’s sake shows the grandeur of his character (32:31–32).

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Ex. 34 MOSES AGAIN ON THE MOUNTAIN

The first time, Moses had been on the mountain for 40 days and nights (24:18). He now went back for another 40 days and nights (vv. 2, 28). The first time, he had received the two tablets and the specifications for the tabernacle. Now he went to receive two new tablets to replace the originals he had broken earlier (32:19).

Moses’ “face was radiant” (vv. 29, 35) because he had been in the presence of God. So Jesus’ face “did shine as the sun” when he was transfigured (Matthew 17:2).

Four-horned altar. This is a replica of an altar found at Beersheba. The symbolism of the horns is not clear. However, fugitives (except those guilty of intentional murder, 1 Kings 2:28–32) could find asylum by grasping the horns of the altar in an appeal to God’s mercy. Cutting off the horns of an altar made it useless for religious purposes (Amos 3:14).

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Ex. 35–40 THE TABERNACLE BUILT

The tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting, was a portable sanctuary that served as a place of worship for the Israelites from the time of the wilderness wanderings until the building of the temple by Solomon. It was where God dwelt with the Israelites. The actual structure was only 15 feet tall—less than the height of a two-story house. But in the desert it was the highest structure in the camp of the Israelites and rose above the sea of tents as the constant reminder of God’s presence at the center of the nation.

The Courtyard

The enclosure (“courtyard”) in which the tabernacle itself stood was 50 x 25 yards, or slightly less than one quarter the size of a football field (100 x 53.33 yards). The walls were made of brass posts with silver hooks, over which linen curtains were hung. The entrance, which was on the east, was 10 yards wide and had colorful curtains of blue and scarlet linen.

The bronze altar. The first thing one saw when entering the courtyard was a large bronze altar, the altar of burnt offering, where the animals (or portions of the animals) brought to the tabernacle by the Israelites were burnt. The altar was 7 1/2 feet square and 4 1/2 feet high. It was hollow, made of wood with brass overlay, and with grating inside, halfway up from the bottom. The wood was laid on top of the grate, and the animals on top of the wood. In the hollow area below the grate, ashes and other remains were collected, while it also provided access for oxygen from below to keep the fire burning.

The fire in the altar was to be kept burning day and night (Leviticus 6:9); it was kindled by fire from the Lord Himself (Leviticus 9:24). The smell associated with the tabernacle was not the sweet smell of incense, but the smell of fire and death—a continual reminder that human beings have no access to God except as sinners redeemed and set free by another’s death: in the Old Testament the death of animals, in the New Testament the death of Christ.

The bronze basin. The second item in the courtyard, closer to the tabernacle itself, was a bronze basin for washing. Aaron and all priests had to wash their hands and feet in the water before bringing a sacrifice to the altar and before entering the tabernacle. It symbolized cleansing from sin and may have foreshadowed Christian baptism. It represented the need for purification before approaching the Lord. New Testament Christians have been purified and cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus.

The Tabernacle

The tabernacle itself consisted of two rooms. The first room, the Holy Place, was 15 feet high and wide and 30 feet long. The second room, the Most Holy Place, was exactly half as large: it was a cube measuring 15 x 15 x 15 feet.

A tent covered the tabernacle, consisting of three layers of coverings. The first was made of goat’s hair cloth. Over it was a covering of red leather made of ram’s skins. The final covering was badger skin (or possibly seal or porpoise skin).

There was a clear progression in the arrangement of the courtyard and the tabernacle. Israelites could bring their sacrifices to the altar in the courtyard, but beyond the altar only the priests could go and enter the Holy Place (after washing their hands and feet). But no one could enter the Most Holy Place, the place of God’s Presence, except the high priest and only once a year, on the Great Day of Atonement (see article on The Annual Day of Atonement in the chapter on Leviticus).

The Holy Place

The first thing that must have struck the priests entering the Holy Place was how different it smelled. The acrid smells from the altar of burnt offering were left behind, and the sweet smell of incense filled this room.

The incense altar. The incense altar was small, only 3 feet high and 18 inches square. Incense was burned on the altar, morning and evening (30:8). Its smoke rising into the sky symbolized prayer—daily, regular prayer (see also Revelation 8:3–5).

The lampstand. There were no windows in the tabernacle, but the coverings may have let in some light, since the lampstand was to be lit at twilight and to be kept burning from evening until morning (27:21; 30:7–8). Made of pure gold, it was 5 feet high and 3 1/2 feet across the top. The shape of the lampstand, with its seven lamps, is still a common symbol in Judaism today: the menorah.

The lighted lamp symbolizes God’s Word (Psalms 105; 119; 2 Peter 1:19) or God’s guidance (2 Samuel 22:29; Psalm 18:28).

The lampstands of Solomon’s temple were patterned after this lampstand (which may actually have been used in the temple). They were no doubt among the treasures taken to Babylon and afterward returned (Ezekiel 1:7).

The lampstand in Herod’s temple, in Jesus’ day, may have been one of these lampstands. It was taken to Rome when the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and is represented on the Arch of Titus (see photo of The Arch of Titus). Tradition says that the lampstand was later “respectfully deposited in the Christian church at Jerusalem” in A.D. 533, but nothing further is known of it.

The table. Finally, there was a table, 27 inches high, 18 inches wide, and 3 feet long. On this table 12 loaves of bread were placed, one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. The loaves were replaced every week. They represented Israel’s gratitude for God’s provisions.

The Most Holy Place

The Most Holy Place was the place of the presence of God. It was separated from the Holy Place by what must have been a superbly beautiful curtain, in blue, purple, and scarlet, embroidered with cherubim.

Solomon’s temple, and later Herod’s temple, were patterned after the tabernacle, and the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place were still separated by a curtain, even though the structure itself was made of stone and wood. The curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom when Christ died (Matthew 27:51), signifying that, at that moment, the door to God’s presence was open to all.

Only one item stood in the Most Holy Place: the ark of the covenant. It was a chest made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. It measured 45 x 27 x 27 inches. The lid of the ark, made of solid gold, was called the “atonement cover” (KJV, mercy seat). At each end of the cover stood a cherub, made of one piece with the atonement cover. The cherubim faced each other, their wings spread out, and looked down toward the atonement cover. We can only speculate exactly how they may have looked.

Inside the ark were four items: the two stone tablets on which Moses had received the Ten Commandments, a pot of manna, and Aaron’ staff (Numbers 17:1–11). These were a continual reminder of what was most important: God’s covenant with His people (the two tablets), His gracious material provisions (the manna), and His provision of a way to Him through the priesthood, and specifically through the high priest (the staff; see also Hebrews 8).

The ark of the covenant was probably lost in the Babylonian captivity. In Revelation 11:19, John saw the ark “in the temple.” But that was in a vision, certainly not meaning that the actual, material ark was there; for in heaven there will be “no temple” (Revelation 21:22).

This overview of the tabernacle shows the tent of meeting inside the courtyard. The smoke of the sacrificial fire rose, and the cloud of the glory of God descended and filled the dwelling. In this way the presence of the Lord Most High was revealed to His people.

Constructed in accordance with the plans of God, the front part (the Holy Place) of this gold-covered structure was twice as long as the back part (the Holy of Holies).

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“I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.”

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

The title of this book comes from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. The word Leviticus means “about, or relating to, the Levites.”

The Levites are all those who belong to the tribe of Levi, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Because God spared the firstborn of Israel in the last plague that came over Egypt (Exodus 11:4–12:13), all firstborn sons and firstborn animals belonged to God. The animals were sacrificed while the men were redeemed. To be redeemed, the family paid a price to the priest instead of giving their firstborn over to the service of the temple. God appointed the Levites to take the place of the firstborn to serve God. One clan or family of the Levites, the family of Aaron, was set apart to be priests. The rest of the Levites were to be assistants to the priests. Their duties were the care of the tabernacle, and later the care of the temple; and to be teachers, scribes, musicians, officers, and judges. (See on 1 Chronicles 23.)

The tribe of Levi was the only tribe that did not get its own land after the Israelites conquered Canaan; instead, they received 48 cities, scattered throughout the country (Numbers 35:7; Joshua 21:19). Since they did not receive land, they could not support themselves; they were supported by the tithes of the rest of Israel.

The book of Leviticus contains the bulk of the system of laws under which the Hebrew nation lived, laws that were administered by the Levitical priesthood. These laws were given mostly at Mount Sinai, with additions, repetitions, and explanations throughout the desert wanderings.

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Lev. 1–7 VARIOUS KINDS OF OFFERINGS

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Sacrifice	OT References	Elements	Purpose
Burnt offering	Lev 1; 6:8–13; 8:18–21; 16:24	Bull, ram, or male bird (dove or young pigeon for the poor); wholly consumed; no defect	Voluntary act of worship; atonement for unintentional sin in general; expression of devotion, commitment and complete surrender to God
Grain offering	Lev 2; 6:14–23	Grain, fine flour, olive oil, incense, baked bread (cakes or wafers), salt; no yeast or honey; accompanied burnt offering and fellowship offering (along with drink offering)	Voluntary act of worship; recognition of God’s goodness and provisions; devotion to God
Fellowship offering	Lev 3; 7:11–34	Any animal without defect from herd or flock; variety of breads	Voluntary act of worship; thanksgiving and fellowship (included a communal meal)
Sin offering	Lev 4:1–5:13; 6:24–30; 8:14–17; 16:3–22	1. Young bull: for high priest and congregation 2. Male goat: for leader 3. Female goat or lamb: for common person 4. Dove or pigeon: for the poor 5. Tenth of an ephah of fine flour: for the very poor	Mandatory atonement for specific unintentional sin; confession of sin; forgiveness of sin; cleansing from defilement
Guilt offering	Lev 5:14–6:7; 7:1–6	Ram or lamb	Mandatory atonement for unintentional sin requiring restitution; cleansing from defilement; make restitution; pay 20% fine

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Lev. 8–9 THE CONSECRATION OF AARON

Before the time of Moses, sacrifices were offered by heads of families. But now that the nation is organized, a place is set apart for sacrifice, a ritual is prescribed, and a hereditary priesthood is created in a solemn ceremony. Aaron was to be high priest, and he was to be succeeded by his firstborn son. The priesthood was maintained by tithes (one-tenth of a family’s income, whether money, livestock, or produce) and parts of some sacrifices. They received 13 cities (Joshua 21:13–19).

The high priest’s garments. Every detail had been specified by God (Exodus 28). A robe of blue, with bells at the bottom.

The ephod, which was a sort of cape or sleeveless vestment, consisting of two pieces joined on the shoulders, that hung one at the front and one on the back of the high priest, with an onyx stone on each shoulder, each bearing six names of the tribes: made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen.

The breastplate, about 10 inches square, of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen, double, open at the top, fastened with gold chains to the Ephod, adorned with 12 precious stones, each stone bearing the name of a tribe. The breastplate contained the Urim and Thummim, which were used to learn the will of God; we don’t know exactly what they were, but they were used to cast lots.

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God placed the system of sacrifices at the very center and heart of Jewish national life. Whatever its immediate applications and implications may have been to the Jews, the unceasing sacrifice of animals and the never-ending glow of altar fires were without doubt designed by God to burn into the consciousness of the people of Israel a sense of their deep sinfulness. They were also, for more than a millennium, a picture that pointed forward to the coming sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The Levitical priesthood was divinely ordained to be the mediator between God and the Hebrew nation through the bringing of animal sacrifices. But those sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ. Animal sacrifices are no longer necessary. Christ Himself is our Great High Priest, the only Mediator between God and humanity, as Hebrews 8–10 makes very clear. Thus Christ is both our Sacrifice and our High Priest, our Mediator.

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Lev. 10 NADAB AND ABIHU

The swift and terrible punishment on Nadab and Abihu was a warning against highhanded treatment of God’s ordinances. It is also a warning to us and to church leaders not to distort the Gospel of Christ with all kinds of human additions and traditions.

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Lev. 11 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS

Before the Flood there was a distinction between clean and unclean animals (Genesis 7:2). Through Moses this distinction acquired the force of divine law. It was based partly on the wholesomeness of a particular kind of animal as food, and partly on religious considerations, designed to serve as one of the marks of separation of Israel from other nations. Jesus abrogated the distinction (Mark 7:19), making all meats clean (see also Acts 10:9–16).

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Lev. 12 PURIFICATION OF MOTHERS AFTER CHILDBIRTH

The uncleanness of mothers did not result from the birth but from the bleeding. There is no clear reason why the period of separation was 40 days if the baby was a boy, 80 days if it was a girl.

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Lev. 13–14 THE TEST FOR SKIN DISEASES

These regulations were for the purpose of controlling the spread of infectious skin diseases, of which the most loathsome and dreaded was leprosy. The word translated “leprosy” in the KJV has a range of meanings, including leprosy, skin disease, and even mildew. Primitive as this approach may seem to us, these simple measures undoubtedly saved many lives.

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Lev. 15 CEREMONIAL UNCLEANNESS

The elaborate system of specifications as to how a person could become ceremonially unclean and what had to be done about it was, it seems, designed to promote personal physical cleanliness (and thus help prevent illness) as well as a continual recognition of God’s involvement in all areas of life.

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This injunction (19:18) is one of the highlights of the Mosaic Law. It is the second great commandment Jesus quoted (Matthew 22:39; the first great commandment—Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind—is found in Deuteronomy 6:5). The law instructed the people to show great consideration to the poor. Wages were to be paid day by day. No interest was to be charged (“usury” in the KJV refers to interest of any kind). Loans and gifts were to be made to the needy. A portion of the harvest was to be left in the fields for the poor. All through the Old Testament, unceasing emphasis is placed on kindness to widows, orphans, and strangers. The weak and the poor are everyone’s responsibility.

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Lev. 16 THE ANNUAL DAY OF ATONEMENT

The annual Day of Atonement (still celebrated in Judaism today in modified form and known by its Hebrew name, Yom Kippur) fell on the 10th day of the seventh month (the month Tishri, see diagram of the Jewish Calendar). It was the most solemn day of the year. Each time, the removal of sin was only for one year (Hebrews 10:3), but it pointed forward to its eternal removal (Zechariah 3:4, 8–9; 13:1; Hebrews 10:14).

After the sacrificial goat had been offered, the high priest laid his hands on the head of the scapegoat, confessing over him the sins of the people. The goat was then sent away into the wilderness, bearing away with it the sins of the people. This ceremony was one of God’s historical foreshadowings of the coming atonement for human sin by the death of Christ.

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Lev. 17 THE MANNER OF SACRIFICE

The Law required the presentation of animals for sacrifice at the door of the tabernacle. The eating of blood was strictly forbidden (3:17; 7:26–27; 17:10–16; Genesis 9:4; Deuteronomy 12:16, 23–25), and still is (Acts 15:29). One reason is that blood is a symbol of life and as such must be treated with respect. To this day, in orthodox Judaism, any animal destined for human consumption must be slaughtered according to very strict regulations and under rabbinic supervision to ensure that all the blood has drained out of the meat. Only then can the meat be sold as kosher.

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Lev. 18 CANAANITE ABOMINATIONS

The reason that some of these things, such as incest, sodomy, and sexual relations with animals, are even mentioned is that they were common practice among Israel’s neighbors.

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Lev. 19–20 MISCELLANEOUS LAWS

These chapters contain a number of miscellaneous laws, ranging from the Sabbath, to sorcery, to kindness to strangers. The diversity of these laws shows that God is interested in all aspects of life. He did not give laws only to keep Israel from doing what was wrong, but also to tell Israel what it meant to live as the nation chosen by God and as people who loved God.

Concubinage, polygamy, divorce, and slavery were allowed but greatly restricted (19:20; Exodus 21:2–11; Deuteronomy 21:15; 24:1–4). Moses’ Law lifted marriage to a far higher level than existed in surrounding nations. Slavery was tempered by humane considerations; it never existed on a large scale among the Jews, nor with such cruelties as were prevalent in Egypt, Assyria, Greece, Rome, and other nations. An Israelite could not be a slave forever (see on Leviticus 25).

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Capital punishment was required for a number of offenses. (The ordinary form of capital punishment prescribed by Hebrew law was stoning.)

• Murder (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:12; Deuteronomy 19:11–13)
• Kidnapping (Exodus 21:16; Deuteronomy 24:7)
• Death by negligence (Exodus 21:28–29)
• Hitting or cursing a parent (Exodus 21:15–17; Leviticus 20:9; Deuteronomy 21:18–21)
• Idolatry (Leviticus 20:1–5; Deuteronomy 13; 17:2–5)
• Sorcery (Exodus 22:18)
• False prophecy (Deuteronomy 18:10–11, 20)
• Blasphemy (Leviticus 24:15–16)
• Profaning the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14)
• Adultery (Leviticus 21:10; Deuteronomy 22:22)
• Rape (Deuteronomy 22:23–27)
• Promiscuity (Deuteronomy 22:13–21)
• Sodomy (Leviticus 20:13)
• Bestiality (Leviticus 20:15–16)
• Incestuous marriages (Leviticus 20:11–12, 14)

The severity of the punishment was not arbitrary. These sins were not only offenses against God and fellow human beings—they undermined and weakened the social fabric and in the long run put the continued existence of the people of God—the nation of Israel—in jeopardy.

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Lev. 21–22 PRIESTS AND SACRIFICES

These chapters are an elaboration on the provisions of chapters 1–9. Priests must be without physical defect and may marry only a virgin. Sacrificial animals must also be without defect and at least eight days old.

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Lev. 23–24 FEASTS, LAWS CONCERNING THE TABERNACLE, BLASPHEMY

For a description of the feasts of Israel, see comments on Deuteronomy 16.

The lamp in the tabernacle was to burn perpetually. The bread placed before the Lord (KJV, showbread) was to be changed each Sabbath. Blasphemy was to be punished with death.

An eye for an eye (24:19–21). This legislation was not intended to give permission for revenge, but rather the opposite: it severely limited revenge or retaliation to what was just, instead of allowing a cycle of retaliation and counter-retaliation to spin out of control (see on Matthew 5:38 and Luke 6:27).

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Some of the laws in the Pentateuch are similar to the laws of Hammurabi (see The Time of the Patriarchs: Genesis 12–50), with which Moses no doubt was well-acquainted. And though Moses may have been influenced by his Egyptian training and by Babylonian tradition, yet over and over he repeats, “This is what the Lord says!” These laws were not dreamed up by Moses or by a legal think-tank, or arrived at democratically—they were given to Israel by God Himself.

Some of these laws may seem severe to us. But if we could transport ourselves back to Moses’ world and time, they probably would not seem severe enough. On the whole, the “Law of Moses,” in its insistence on personal morality and personal equality, and in its consideration for old and young, for slave and enemy, for animals and health and food, was far purer, more rational, humane, and democratic than anything else in ancient legislation.

Moses’ Law was designed by God as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24 KJV), since it showed that no one was able to fully keep the Law. And some of the provisions of the Law were accommodations, “because your hearts were hard” (Matthew 19:8).

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The land of Canaan was divided among the 12 tribes when the Israelites entered Canaan under Joshua (Joshua 13–21), and the land of each tribe was divided among the families. With certain exceptions, the land could not be sold in perpetuity out of the families.

Any sale of land amounted to a lease that expired in the Year of Jubilee, when it would be returned to the original family. This arrangement, if implemented, provided for social stability and prevented to a large extent the formation of a wealthy, landed upper class and a dispossessed underclass.

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Lev. 25 THE SABBATH YEAR AND THE YEAR OF JUBILEE

Every seventh year was a Sabbath year. The land was to lie fallow. No sowing, no reaping, no pruning of vineyards. Spontaneous produce was to be left for the poor and the temporary resident (KJV, sojourner). God promised enough in the sixth year to meet the needs of the seventh year. Debts of fellow Jews were to be canceled.

Every 50th year was a Year of Jubilee. It followed the seventh Sabbath Year, so that two years of rest would come together. It began on the Day of Atonement. All debts were canceled, slaves of Israelite origin were set free, and lands that had been sold were returned. (This was intended to ensure that a family’s land would remain in the family in perpetuity.) Jesus seemed to regard the Year of Jubilee as a sort of picture of the rest He came to proclaim for God’s people (Leviticus 25:10; Luke 4:19).

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Lev. 26 OBEDIENCE OR DISOBEDIENCE

This chapter of magnificent promises and frightful warnings is, like Deuteronomy 28, one of the great chapters of the Bible.

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Lev. 27 VOWS AND TITHES

Vows were a voluntary promise to God to perform some service or do something pleasing to Him in return for some hoped benefits. A vow had to be spoken to be binding (Deuteronomy 23:23). Israelites made special vows by promising or dedicating persons, animals, houses, family land, or land they had purchased to the service of the temple. In most cases, however, an equivalent value or price was paid to the priest for the person or thing being dedicated. When the price had been paid, the person or thing was said to have been redeemed.

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This idea of redemption is carried forward into the New Testament in Galatians 3:13, where Christ is said to have redeemed us “from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” In 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, Paul teaches the early Christians, “You are not your own; your were bought at a price.”

One-tenth of the produce of the land and of the increase of flocks and herds was to be given to God; this is called the tithe (Genesis 14:20; 28:22; Leviticus 27:30–32; Numbers 18:21–28; Deuteronomy 12:5–6, 11, 17–18; 14:23, 28–29; 26:12; the word tithe is derived from the Old English word for tenth).

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The number 7 played a significant symbolic role in the Mosaic Law.

• Every 7th day was a Sabbath.
• Every 7th year was a Sabbath year.
• Every 7th Sabbath year (7 x 7) was followed by a Year of Jubilee.
• Every 7th month was especially holy, with three feasts.
• There were 7 weeks between Passover and Pentecost.
• The Passover Feast lasted 7 days.
• The Feast of Tabernacles lasted 7 days.
• At the Passover, 14 lambs (twice 7) were offered daily.
• At the Feast of Tabernacles, 14 lambs (twice 7), and 70 bullocks were offered daily.
• At Pentecost, 7 lambs were offered.

(See sidebar The Number Seven in Revelation in the chapter on Revelation)

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Three tithes are mentioned in the Old Testament: the Levitical tithe, the festival tithe, and every third year the tithe for the poor. Some think there was only one tithe that was used partly for festivals and every third year partly for the poor. Others think that the festival tithe was taken out of the nine-tenths left after the Levitical tithe had been paid.

The tithe was in use long before the days of Moses. Abraham and Jacob paid tithes. Among the Jews the tithe was for the support of the Levites, who functioned both as civil officials and in religious service (see on 1 Chronicles 23).

God claimed as His own not only the tithes, but also the firstborn sons of all families (in place of whom He accepted the tribe of Levi), the firstborn of all flocks and herds, and firstfruits of the field. The firstfruits of the harvest were to be offered at Passover, and no part of the new crop could be used until this had been done (Leviticus 23:14). The first crop of a young orchard (the fourth year) was to be given to God in its entirety, and no fruit of the orchard could be used until this was done. The clear lesson is: Put God first in life.

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“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.

Numbers begins with the Lord organizing Israel into an army en route to establish God’s kingdom in the Promised Land. Throughout the journey we see the Israelites’ rebellion as well as God’s anger against their disobedience. But despite God’s judgment, He is faithful in bringing Israel into the land of promise. We see God’s grace renewed time and time again.

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Num. 1 THE CENSUS

This census, taken at Mount Sinai, showed 603,550 males above the age of 20, not including Levites (vv. 45–47). Another census, taken 38 years later, showed 601,730 males above 20 (see on chapter 26).

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Num. 2–4 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CAMP

Every detail was assigned with military precision. This was necessary in handling so vast a crowd of people. The tribes were arranged in specific locations around the tabernacle when they camped, and they also had a specific marching order when they traveled. The arrangement (see diagram that follows) allowed for an orderly transition from camping to traveling.

Judah and the eastern tribes led the march. The tabernacle was protected by the southern and western tribes to the south and north respectively, while the northern tribes brought up the rear.

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Num. 5–6 MISCELLANEOUS LAWS

What stands out in these chapters is the beautiful priestly blessing (6:24–26). The Hebrew word shalom does not mean quite the same as our word “peace.” It is not merely absence of war or conflict (although it includes that) or a peaceful feeling. Rather, it means wholeness, well-being, harmony.

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Num. 7–9 PREPARATION FOR THE JOURNEY

The offerings of the leaders of the 12 tribes (chap. 7) are all exactly the same. To us, repeating the same list 12 times seems redundant and boring, but to the Hebrew mind it emphasizes the solemnity and seriousness of the event. Also, each tribe, regardless of its size, gave the same gifts, so no tribe can later claim precedence.

For the presence of God in the cloud (9:15–25), see on Exodus 13:21.

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Num. 10–11 THEY SET FORWARD TO THE PROMISED LAND

The people stayed at Mount Sinai for one year. Then the cloud lifted. The silver trumpets sounded. Judah led the march. And they were on their way.

Within three days, at Taberah, they began to complain (10:33; 11:1–3). That was their specialty—they knew how to complain. God sent them quail, but He also sent a plague (see on Exodus 16).

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Num. 12 MIRIAM AND AARON OPPOSE MOSES

Before it was all over, poor Miriam wished she had never started the thing. Moses was “very humble” (v. 3). The KJV says he was “very meek.” What an admirable trait in one of the greatest men of the ages! Jesus, quoting Psalm 37:11, said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5; see 11:29).

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Num. 13–14 THE 12 SPIES SENT TO CANAAN

Moses planned to go directly from Mount Sinai to Canaan. He went straight to Kadesh, 150 miles north of Sinai and 50 miles south of Beersheba, the southern gateway to Canaan, intending to enter at once.

But the spies brought a discouraging report, and the people refused to go forward. In fact, they would have stoned Moses if it had not been for God’s miraculous intervention. This was the crucial point of the journey. Within sight of the Promised Land, they turned back. For them the opportunity never returned—God could no longer turn away from their continuous rebellion. Because of their disobedience to undertake the conquest of Canaan, this group forfeited their entrance into the Promised Land. They were condemned to live out their lives wandering in the desert. Only their children would experience the joy previously planned for them. Caleb and Joshua, the two spies who wanted to go forward, were the only ones of the 600,000 men over 20 who lived to enter Canaan.

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Num. 15–19 VARIOUS LAWS; KORAH

Korah, jealous of Moses, sought to usurp his leadership. Moses went straight to God, and God settled the matter in no time. The earth opened, and the rebels went down.

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Moses surely had a lot of troubles. No sooner was he out of Egypt than trouble began. The Amalekites attacked immediately, and a year later, at Kadesh, the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites, and Midianites all joined hands to block Israel’s path to Canaan.

And his own people, who had been delivered out of Egypt and sustained by marvelous miracles, grumbled and grumbled, and complained and complained, and rebelled and rebelled. They began complaining while still in Egypt. Then at the Red Sea. Then at Marah. Then in the Desert of Zin (KJV, Wilderness of Sin). Then again at Rephidim, at Taberah, at Hazeroth, and at Meribah. Now, at Kadesh, in sight of the Promised Land, they flatly refused to go farther, which must have almost broken Moses’ heart.

Besides all this, Moses had no end of trouble with his own trusted leaders. Aaron made the golden calf at Sinai. Miriam and Aaron tried to usurp his authority (chap. 12). Ten of the 12 spies led the people in their refusal to enter Canaan. The people were ready to stone Moses (14:10; Exodus 17:4).

And, last of all, Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land himself—the lifetime dream of his heart.

Except for the miraculous grace of God, we do not see how he could have borne up under it all. But when, on the banks of the Jordan River, God took him to see the “land that I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (32:11), Moses understood.

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Num. 20 FINAL START FOR CANAAN

There seems to be a gap of 38 years between chapters 19 and 20, covering the period between the first arrival at Kadesh (13:26) and the final departure from Kadesh for Canaan. In chapter 33 there is a list of encampments, 40 in all, from Egypt to the Plains of Moab. Of these, 18 were between Rithmah and Kadesh. We judge, from the expression “in Kadesh many days” (Deuteronomy 1:46) and the mention of these 18 encampments between the first and second arrivals at Kadesh, that Kadesh may have been a sort of general headquarters or home base, with the people traveling to these other encampments as God directed. They would remain for some time at one spot, with their flocks and herds on the surrounding hills and valleys, and then move on.

Moses’ sin, which cost him his entry into the Promised Land, appears to have been his failure to give God credit for the miracle of water out of the rock (10:12). It may also have been due to his failure to believe that a word alone could bring forth water. His striking of the rock twice with his staff showed a lack of trust in God and disrespect toward His holiness.

An oasis in the Sinai Desert. These small patches of green in the vast expanses of sand and rock indicate the presence of water—but not necessarily enough water for a large nation. When God gave the Israelites water from the rock, it was not merely a display of His power—it was a matter of survival for His people.

Miriam, Aaron, and Moses all died in the same year. Miriam died at Kadesh (20:1), Aaron at Mount Hor (20:28), and Moses on Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 32:50; 34:1, 5). Miriam was about 130 years old; Aaron, 123; and Moses, the youngest of the siblings, a mere 120.

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Num. 21 FROM KADESH TO THE JORDAN

Perhaps the coalition of Amalekites and Canaanites just to the north of Kadesh seemed too strong for Israel to attempt the direct route to Hebron. At any rate, God had other plans. They started eastward, to go up along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, through the territory of Edom. But the Edomites (the descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau, Genesis 25:30) refused permission.

Moses then turned south, down the Arabah, the desolate valley that extends from the Dead Sea south to the Red Sea, “a vast and dreadful desert,” for the long, circuitous, and hazardous route around Edom and Moab, and then north, along the borders of Arabia, to the Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho, just east of the north end of the Dead Sea. God commanded Moses not to do the Edomites, Moabites, or Ammonites harm, even though they tried to stop Israel.

The bronze snake (21:6–9) is a foreshadowing of the Gospel. As those who were bitten by the poisonous snakes looked to the bronze snake and were healed, so we, who have been wounded by sin, if we look to Jesus, will live (John 3:14).

The bronze snake was preserved, but at some point the Israelites turned it into an idol, called it Nehushtan, and began burning incense to it. It was destroyed by King Hezekiah 700 years after Moses made it (2 Kings 18:4).

The conquest of Gilead and Bashan (21:21–35). The Amorites, who had crossed to the east of the Jordan, attacked Israel. Moses had refrained from attacking any of the nations through whose country they marched. But now that the Amorites attacked, the Israelites fought back and took their country. Then Bashan attacked and was defeated as well. The region east of the Jordan now belonged to the Israelites.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Kadesh Barnea. Kadesh Barnea is located on the southwestern border of the land of Canaan. From there the Israelites sent spies into the land of Canaan, and after having been forbidden to enter the land because of disbelief, they evidently spent a good portion of the 38 years of their “wanderings” camped in the vicinity. Kadesh (Barnea) is usually identified with a series of good-sized springs located in the region of Ain Qudeirat and Ain Qudeis. This area is located about 50 miles southwest of Beersheba. Archaeological excavations have revealed the remains of a series of small fortresses from the 10th to 6th centuries B.C., but no actual physical remains from the time of the Israelite encampment there.

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Num. 22–25 BALAAM

Balaam’s prophecies were a remarkable prediction of Israel’s influential place in history through a “Star” that would arise out of Jacob (24:17). Though God used him to speak true prophecy, Balaam, for money, was the instigator of Israel’s shameful sin with Moabite and Midianite women, for which Balaam was slain and 24,000 Israelites perished (31:8, 16; 25:9). And Balaam’s name became a synonym for false teachers (2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11; Revelation 2:14).

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Only by the direct miraculous help of God. The miracles were so continuous and so stupendous that the clear intent of the record is to show that it could not have been done except by the hand of God. To those who find it difficult to believe these things, we answer that it is easier to believe them, exactly as they are recorded, than to believe the strange and fanciful theories invented to discredit them. The events in the wilderness are in accord with the entire Bible story. The numbers recorded may be a misreading of the text. Perhaps the “thousands” were “clan groups.” If so, it might be possible to drastically reduce the totals without doing injustice to the text.

The purpose of the wilderness miracles may have been

• To preserve the nation; in God’s plan the nation had been established to pave the way for a coming Messiah.
• To teach the nation, which had been nurtured in Egyptian idolatry, faith in the one, true God; and to give them concrete proof, which would be a reminder for all time to come that God can be trusted in all the circumstances of life.
• To impress the surrounding nations, particularly the Canaanites, with the fact that the movement of Israel toward Canaan was of God, and that it would be with God, rather than merely a group of people without much fighting experience, that they would have to reckon.

Aside from various accompanying miracles, the transplanting of a whole nation from one land to another, meanwhile maintaining it for 40 years in a desert, was in itself one of the most stupendous miracles of the ages.

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Num. 26 THE SECOND CENSUS

Wilderness life must have been hard. Of the more than 600,000 males above the age of 20 that were included in the first census (chap. 1), only two survived. The younger generation, hardened by the desert, were a different class of men from what their fathers had been as slaves freshly freed from a hard but predictable life, from the “flesh pots” (KJV; NIV “pots of meat,” Exodus 16:3) of Egypt.

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Num. 27–36 VARIOUS REGULATIONS AND EVENTS

For the feasts and offerings (chaps. 28–29), see Leviticus, and the article on Feasts in Deuteronomy.

For the settling of 2 1/2 tribes east of the Jordan (chap. 32) and directions for the division of the land (chap. 34), see on Joshua 13.

For the Levitical cities (chap. 35), see on Joshua 21.

For the Jewish calendar, see Jewish Calendar.

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While miracles are a conspicuous feature of the Bible, they are not abundant in all parts of the Bible. Miracles (not including prophecies and their fulfillment), are particularly noticeable in four periods, centuries apart:

• The period of the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan (Moses and Joshua)
• The period of struggle against idolatry (Elijah and Elisha)
• The period of the Babylonian captivity (Daniel)
• The period of Jesus and the Apostles

Aside from Jesus, it has never been given to any man to be the mediator of so many stupendous manifestations of divine power: the 10 plagues on Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the water that was made sweet at Marah, the provision of quail in the Desert of Zin and at Taberah, the manna that was supplied daily for 40 years, the Ten Commandments written on a stone with God’s finger, God’s talking face-to-face with Moses so that Moses’ face shone, to name but a few.

Moses could not have delivered Israel out of Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness for 40 years without the direct miraculous help of God. But this high privilege, as in the case of the apostle Paul, was accompanied by almost unbelievable suffering.

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Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

The eternal God is your refuge,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

The title of this book, Deuteronomy, comes from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Bible, and means “second law,” or “repetition of the law.” In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, many laws had been given to the Israelites. Now, at the border of Canaan, with the people ready to enter the land at last, these laws are rehearsed and expounded, in anticipation of—and with applications to—settled life in Canaan. The form is that of a formal treaty between God and His people (see sidebar Deuteronomy: A Treaty Between God and Israel in the chapter Deuteronomy).

Many parts of Deuteronomy can be read not only for their content, but also for the sheer eloquence and beauty of their language.

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Deut. 1–3 FROM SINAI TO THE JORDAN

A retrospective summary of Numbers 1–33. After one of the noblest and most heroic accomplishments of the ages, Moses’ final appeal to God to let him go over the Jordan was denied (3:23–28)—because God had something better for him, in a better world (see Hebrews 11:28–34, 39–40).

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Deut. 4–5 CLING TO GOD’S WORD

Earnest exhortations to observe God’s commandments, to teach them diligently to their children, and to shun idolatry—with the ever-recurring reminder that their safety and prosperity would depend on their loyalty and obedience to God.

The Ten Commandments (chap. 5) are also found in Exodus 20.

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The book of Deuteronomy is more than simply a restatement of the Law. It is, in fact, a formal treaty between God and the people of Israel.

The discovery in 1906–07 of some 10,000 tablets in the ancient Hittite capital Khattusa (Boghaz-koy in modern Turkey) provided examples of Hittite treaties that show that Deuteronomy has all the elements contained in Hittite treaties from the 2nd millennium B.C., largely in the same sequence, as the chart below shows.

Joshua 24 also follows the treaty format.

Order of Sections in Hittite Treaties	Description	Deut.	Joshua 24
Introduction of Speaker	Identifies the author and his right to proclaim the treaty	1:1–5	vv. 1–2
Historical Prologue	Survey of past relationship between parties	1:6–3:29	vv. 2–13
Stipulations	Listing of obligations	chaps. 4–26	vv. 14–25
Statement Concerning Document	Storage and instructions for public reading	27:2–3	v. 26
Witnesses	Usually identifies the gods who are called on to witness the oath	chaps. 31–32	vv. 22, 27
Curses and Blessings	How the deity will respond to adherence or violation of the treaty	chap. 28	v. 20

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Deut. 6 THE GREAT COMMANDMENT

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (v. 4): This is the beginning of the Jewish confession of faith (vv. 6–9), the Shema (Hebrew for “hear”).

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (v. 5). This is repeated over and over (10:12; 11:1, 13, 22) and was reemphasized by Jesus (Matthew 22:37) and given first place in His teaching.

The Israelites were not to rely only on public instruction to keep God’s ideas and the knowledge of Him alive among His people; they were to teach them diligently at home (6:6–9). Because books were few and scattered, the people were to write certain important parts of the Law on their doorposts, bind them on their arms and foreheads, and talk of them constantly. Although this command may have been intended as a figure of speech, it later gave rise to mezusas (small boxes with a piece of Scripture in them, attached to doorposts) and phylacteries (small containers with a piece of Scripture that are strapped to the arm and the forehead) that are worn to this day on certain occasions in orthodox Jewish circles.

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Deut. 7 CANAANITES AND IDOLS MUST BE DESTROYED

The Israelites were to destroy the Canaanites and all their idols. They should not make any agreements or covenants with them, nor should they intermarry with them. This sharp division was necessary in order to save Israel from idolatry and its abominations.

Behind these very strict commands stands God’s love for Israel, stated in some of the most beautiful verses in Scripture (7:6–11). It was not because Israel was better or more important than other nations—it was that God had chosen Israel simply because He loved them.

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Deut. 8 WONDERS OF THE WILDERNESS RECALLED

For 40 years God had humbled and tested them—and fed them with manna, while their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell (v. 4)—that they might learn to trust God and live by His Word (2–5).

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Deut. 9–10 ISRAEL’S PERSISTENT REBELLION

Three times over, Israel is reminded that God’s wondrous dealings with them were not because they were so righteous (9:4, 5, 6)—they had been a rebellious and stubborn people all the way.

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Deut. 11 BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE

This great chapter, like chapters 6 and 28, is an appeal for devotion to God’s Word and obedience to His commandments as the basis for national prosperity, with wonderful promises and ominous warnings.

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Deut. 12–15 VARIOUS ORDINANCES

All idols must be destroyed. Moses, reared in the hotbed of Egyptian idolatry and surrounded all his life by idol-worshiping peoples, never made any compromise with idolatry. And his repeated warnings came true: idolatry did turn out to be the ruin of the nation.

“Rejoice” is a favorite word in the Psalms and in the New Testament Epistles; note how often the word is used in Deuteronomy (12:7, 12, 18; 14:26; 16:11; 26:11; 32:43; 33:18).

Clean and unclean animals (14:1–21), see on Leviticus 11.

Tithes (14:22–29), see on Leviticus 27.

Sabbath year (15:1–11), see on Leviticus 25.

Slavery (15:12–18), see on Leviticus 19.

Firstfruits (15:19–23), see on Leviticus 27.

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Deut. 16 FEASTS

Three times a year all male Israelites were required to appear before God: at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Besides these three there were other feasts, chief among them the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This was the only day of the year the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place (KJV, Holy of Holies); see Leviticus 16.

Israel’s feasts were designed to keep God in the thought of the people and, on a practical level, to promote national unity. Later, when the northern ten tribes seceded and formed the northern kingdom (Israel), Jeroboam I realized that if his people continued to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they would have to go to Jerusalem in the southern kingdom (Judah) three times a year. Making a clean break with the southern kingdom was politically essential, which is why Jeroboam instituted a “new” national religion and set up pagan altars at Bethel and Dan in the south and north of his kingdom.

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• The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were kept in the spring and lasted seven days. They commemorated Israel’s deliverance in the Exodus from Egypt. Passover was celebrated at the beginning of the religious year.
• Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks, of Harvest, or of Firstfruits, was kept on the 50th day after the Passover and lasted one day.
• Tabernacles, also called the Feast of Ingathering, was kept five days after the Day of Atonement and lasted seven days.
• The Feast of Trumpets (later called Rosh Hashanah or New Year’s Day), on the 1st day of the 7th month, ushered in the civil year (see on Numbers 28).
• The Day of Atonement, see on Leviticus 16.

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Deut. 17 THE PREDICTION OF A KING

God here foretold that Israel would have a king, adding some instructions and some warnings (17:14–20). The monarchy would not come until several centuries later (see on 1 Samuel 8).

When in the days of Samuel the people asked for a king, Samuel told them that, in asking for a king, the people were rejecting God. This is not a contradiction. The fact that God foreknew does not mean that He approved—only that He foreknew what they would want and that He wanted to be consulted in their choice. In rejecting the form of government that God had given them—a theocracy (literally, “rule of God”; compare with democracy, “rule of the people”)—they were rejecting God. Note that the kings were to be lifelong readers of God’s Word (vv. 18–20). What a suggestion to present-day rulers! Note also that the kings began to do right away what God had said they should not do: multiply to themselves wives and horses and gold (16–17; 1 Kings 10:14–29; 11:1–13).

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Deut. 18 THE PROPHET LIKE MOSES

This prediction (18:15–19) may have a secondary reference to the prophetic order as a whole, that is, to the succession of prophets, such as Isaiah and Joel, whom God would raise up for emergencies in Israel’s history. But the language of this prediction unmistakably points to one specific individual: the Messiah. It is one of the most specific predictions of Christ in all of the Old Testament. Jesus Himself so understood it (John 5:46), as did Peter (Acts 3:22).

The Hebrew nation was founded by God as the medium through which one day all nations would be blessed. Here is an explicit statement that the system on which the Hebrew nation was now being organized—the one given through Moses, the Law—would not be the system by which Israel would bless all nations; the Law would be superseded by another system, given by another prophet, which would contain God’s message to all nations. Judaism was to be fulfilled in and superseded by the Gospel.

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Deut. 19 CITIES OF REFUGE

These cities provided sanctuary for those who had caused accidental death—they were safe from prosecution or revenge here. Moses had already set aside three such cities east of the Jordan: Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan (Deuteronomy 4:41–43). Later Joshua set aside three cities of refuge west of the Jordan: Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron. All six cities of refuge were Levitical cities and are included in the total of 48 cities given to the Levites (Numbers 35:6).

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Deut. 20 RULES OF WARFARE

Those who had built a new house, or had planted a new vineyard, or were engaged to be married, or were afraid or fainthearted were to be excused from military service. The Canaanites were to be destroyed—but food-bearing trees should be spared.

A nawami, or burial place, in the Sinai Desert. These structures date back to 3400–3150 B.C. and thus were already almost 2000 years old when the Israelites traveled through the region.

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Deut. 21–26 VARIOUS LAWS

These laws range from matters such as public atonement in the case of an unsolved murder (21:1–9), to a rebellious son (if he does not accept discipline he must be put to death, 21:18–21), to the requirement of building a parapet or rail around the flat roof of a house (22:8).

The variety of these laws and the large and small issues they cover show God’s concern for His people as well as His concern for social justice and the protection of the weak—even a bird sitting on eggs is protected by God (22:6–7).

We may well wonder whether the practical holiness reflected in God’s laws has been improved upon by our “enlightened” laws, more than three millennia later.

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Deut. 27 THE LAW TO BE RECORDED ON MOUNT EBAL

The law was to be recorded on large stones once Israel had crossed the Jordan. Joshua, who had been one of the two spies who wanted to enter Canaan 40 years before and who became Moses’ successor, did this (Joshua 8:30–32). In an age when books were scarce, it was a custom to record laws on stones and set them up in various cities, so the people could know them. This was done in Egypt and in Babylonia, for example, with the Code of Hammurabi (see The Time of the Patriarchs: Genesis 12–50). Moses commanded Israel to make this the very first thing they did on arrival in Canaan. The stones were to be covered with plaster on which the laws were to be written “very clearly” (v. 28).

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Deut. 28 THE GREAT PROPHECY ABOUT THE JEWS

Chapter 28 is the “curses and blessings” section of the treaty between God and Israel (see the chapter on Deuteronomy). Here the consequences of both obedience and disobedience to the “stipulations” of the covenant are presented. This chapter is the foundation for the message of the prophets, who would again and again remind Israel of their obligations to God (which as a nation they had willingly accepted) and the consequences of their disobedience. From this chapter flow both the prophecies of impending doom that permeate most of the prophetic writings, as well as the promise of restoration: if God’s people turn back to Him, God will honor His covenant and bless them. Verses 58–68 are a grim reflection of the realities of the last centuries: the dispersion of the Jews (the Diaspora), their wanderings, unceasing persecutions, their trembling of heart and pining of soul, even until the present time.

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Deut. 29–30 THE COVENANT AND FINAL WARNINGS

Moses’ last words, as he envisions the fearful consequences of disobedience and apostasy, are, “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction” (30:15). Serving God is the way of life; serving idols leads to certain death.

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Deut. 31 JOSHUA TO SUCCEED MOSES; MOSES WRITES THE LAW IN A BOOK

Forty years earlier, Moses had written God’s words in a book (Exodus 17:14; 24:4, 7). He had also kept a diary of his journeys (Numbers 33:2). Now his book was completed, and he handed it over to the priests and Levites, with instructions that it must be read periodically to the people.

The constant teaching of God’s written Word to the people is the safest and most effective way to guard against the corruption of their religion. When Israel gave heed to God’s Word, they prospered. When they neglected it, they suffered adversity.

Reading of God’s book brought about the great reformation under Josiah (2 Kings 23) and the renewal under Ezra (Nehemiah 8)—and the Reformation that began with Luther’s reading of the Word of God. The New Testament books were written to be read in the churches (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). God’s Word is the power of God in the human heart. Oh, that the present-day pulpit would somehow learn to keep itself in the background while putting God’s Word in the foreground!

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Mount Nebo is the highest peak of Mount Pisgah, eight miles east of the mouth of the Jordan. From its summit the hill countries of Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh could be seen. Later, somewhere in the vicinity, possibly on the plain or in the valleys below, the angels came down and took Elijah away to join Moses in glory (2 Kings 2:11).

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Deut. 32 THE SONG OF MOSES

After Moses had finished “writing the book,” he composed a song for the people to sing. He had celebrated their deliverance from Egypt with a song (Exodus 15), and he had written another one, which is known to us as the 90th Psalm. Popular songs are among the best means of writing ideas on people’s hearts—for good or for evil! Deborah and David poured out their souls to God in song (Judges 5; 2 Samuel 22). The church, from its inception until now, has used this same means to perpetuate and spread the truths for which it stands.

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Deut. 33 THE BLESSINGS OF MOSES

This chapter records the blessing Moses bestowed on each of the tribes, with predictions about each. This is similar to Jacob’s blessing his sons shortly before his death (Genesis 49).

The magnificent statue of Moses by Michelangelo, in St. Peter’s in Vincoli in Rome. In medieval and Renaissance art, Moses was often represented with horns on his head, due to a mistake in the Vulgate (Latin) translation of Exodus 34:29 (horns instead of was radiant).

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Deut. 34 DEATH OF MOSES

At age 120, his eye not weak nor his strength gone (v. 7), the old man climbed Mount Pisgah and, as he viewed the Promised Land, into which he longed to go, God gently lifted him into the better land. In a moment his soul had passed within the veil, and he was at home with God. God buried his body, no one knows where. His remains were removed beyond the reach of idolatry.

Here ends the first part of the Old Testament. These five books, which occupy one-fourth of the Old Testament and are almost as large as the entire New Testament, were all written by one man, Moses. What a man Moses must have been! How intimate with God! What a work he did! What a benefactor to mankind! Forty years in the palace of Pharaoh; 40 years a refugee in Midian; 40 years the leader of Israel in the desert. He delivered a nation of some 2 1/2 million people from servitude, transplanted them from one country to another, and organized for them a system of jurisprudence that has had a lasting impact on much of the world’s civilization.

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The conquest of the land of Canaan, under the leadership of Joshua, began around 1406 B.C. and probably lasted for some 10 to 15 years. These events are described in Joshua 1–12. Soon after the conquest, or even while it was still under way, territory was allotted to each of the Israelite tribes. This was the beginning of Israel’s settlement of the land of Canaan, the land that the Lord had promised to Abraham (and his descendants) some 500 years earlier (Genesis 12:1–3, etc.). The Lord was bringing them into the “mountain of your inheritance—the place . . . made for your dwelling, the sanctuary . . . your hands established” (Exodus 15:17). Here the Israelites would have a chance to live their lives in obedience to, and worship of, the true and living God. It was here that the Levites, who were to teach God’s Law to the people, were allotted 48 cities scattered throughout the land (Joshua 20; 1 Chronicles 6:39–66) so that their godly influence could permeate the people of God.

But the writers of the books of Joshua and Judges were well aware that not all of the Promised Land was under Israelite control (Joshua 13:1–6; Judges 3:1–3). As the tribes attempted to settle in their allotted territories, they encountered the opposition of peoples such as the Canaanites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines. But what was more serious was that in some instances Israel began to adopt the pagan religious practices of these peoples!

At times, the worship of Baal and Asherah became common among God’s people as they failed to respond with gratitude to God’s gracious dealings with them. In response to Israel’s sinful disobedience, God used the pagan nations to oppress His people—as instruments of His judgment. Israel would eventually respond in repentance, and then God sent them a deliverer, a “Judge” (there are 12 of them mentioned in Scripture), to deliver them. After each deliverance, Israel typically enjoyed a period of “rest”—freedom from oppression—but unfortunately, Israel (or portions of it) would relapse into sin and the cycle would begin again.

During the period of the Judges (ca. 1390–1050 B.C.), there was no king in Israel. Ideally, Israel was to be a “theocracy,” that is, a nation whose ruler was the Lord (Joshua 8:23). It appears that for much of the period of the Judges the tribes gathered for worship at Shiloh, some 20 miles north of Jerusalem, for there the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant were located.

In the period just before the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan, strong Egyptian kings such as Thutmose III and Amenhotep II had been active in Canaan. But the 400 cuneiform tablets found at El Amarna indicate that the time of the conquest and immediately thereafter (ca. 1400–1350 B.C.) was a period of more limited Egyptian influence in Canaan. Indeed, during the period of the Judges, groups of people from the Aegean area, known as the “Sea Peoples,” percolated into the regions along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, including the land of Canaan. Among them were the Philistines, who settled in southwest Canaan in the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. The military conflicts between the Philistines and Israel (under Samson and Samuel) would eventually push the Israelites toward kingship.

During the middle of the period of the Judges, Egyptian rulers such as Seti I, Rameses II, and others passed through Canaan on their way north, to do battle with the kingdoms of Mitanni and the Hittites. But since the Israelites did not interfere with these troop movements, and since the movements were generally in territory controlled by Canaanites and others—that is, not by the Israelites—no record of any battles between Egypt and Israel is found in the book of Judges. However, the Egyptian ruler Merneptah does say in one of his texts that “Israel is laid waste [and] his seed is not” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 378) as a result of a campaign in his fifth year (ca. 1231 B.C.).

Archaeologically, the era of the Judges (1390–1050 B.C.) is known as the Late Bronze II (1400–1200 B.C.) and Iron I (1200–1000 B.C.) ages. Generally, this seems to have been a time when the strong Canaanite city-states were declining in size and influence, while newcomers—such as the Israelites—were gaining a foothold in the hill country, establishing small farmsteads and settlements there. Throughout, and especially at the end of, this period, Israel’s near neighbors (especially the Ammonites to the east and the Philistines to the southwest) continued to grow stronger, so that the physical existence of God’s people hung in the balance. It would take personalities such as Saul, but especially David, to complete the conquest of the land that had begun under Joshua 400 years earlier.

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“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

The Man Joshua

Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim (Numbers 13:8). He had been a personal assistant of Moses throughout the 40 years of wilderness wandering. He went with Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:13). He was one of the 12 spies, and one of the two who wanted to go ahead and conquer the land in God’s strength (Numbers 13:8, 16). Josephus says that Joshua was 85 when he succeeded Moses. It is thought that it took about six years to subdue the Canaanites, and Joshua spent the rest of his life settling and governing the 12 tribes. Joshua was in charge of Israel for about 25 years. He died at age 110 and was buried in Timnath Serah, in Ephraim.

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Joshua was a great warrior who disciplined his forces and sent out spies—but he also prayed and trusted in God. He led his people into the Promised Land, and he may have been a prototype of his greater Successor, Jesus (the Greek form of Joshua), who is leading His own into the Promised Land of heaven.

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Josh. 1 THE BOOK

This is a grand chapter. Israel had a Book. It was only a fraction of what we now have in God’s Word, but oh how important! God’s solemn warning to Joshua, standing at the threshold of a gigantic task, was to be very careful to keep close to the words of that Book. Joshua listened and obeyed, and God honored him with phenomenal success. What a lesson for church leaders!

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Archaeologists have found that in Jericho, houses were indeed built between the inner and outer walls of the city (see ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Jericho in the chapter on Joshua).

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Josh. 2 THE TWO SPIES AND RAHAB

Rahab had heard of the miracles God had done on behalf of Israel, and she had become convinced that Israel’s God was the true God (2:10–11). And when she met the spies she decided, at the risk of her life, to cast her lot with Israel and the God of Israel. Rahab and her household were spared during the Israelite attack on Jericho. A scarlet cord tied in the window of her house indicated that the household was not to be harmed. The function of this red marker was similar to the purpose of the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts in Egypt when the firstborn of Egypt died but the firstborn of the Israelites were spared (Exodus 12:13, 22–23). She may not have been as bad as the word “prostitute” now implies. She lived among people without morals. Some priestesses of the Canaanite religion were temple prostitutes. Her profession was considered honorable by the people among whom she lived, and not disgraceful, as it now is among us.

Rahab married an Israelite named Salmon (Matthew 1:5). Caleb had a son named Salmon (1 Chronicles 2:51). It may have been the same Salmon. If so, then she married into a leading family of Israel. She became an ancestress of Boaz (Ruth 2–4), of David, and of Christ. She is named among the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11:31).

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Josh. 3 CROSSING THE JORDAN

When the ark of the Lord, the most sacred of the tabernacle furnishings signifying the Lord’s throne, stood at the water’s edge, the river “piled up in a great heap,” at Adam (3:16), 22 miles to the north. Below that, the water drained off and left the pebbly river bottom dry enough to walk on. The Levites then carried the ark into the passage ahead of the people of Israel. God was leading His people into the Promised Land!

At Adam, the Jordan flows through clay banks 40 feet high, which are subject to landslides. In 1927 an earthquake caused these banks to collapse, so that no water flowed past them for 21 hours. God may have used some such means to make the waters “stand” for Joshua. At any rate, it was a mighty miracle and terrified the already frightened Canaanites (5:1).

Jesus, 1,400 years later, was baptized in the same Jordan that Joshua and the Israelites crossed.

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Josh. 4 THE MEMORIAL STONES

There were two piles of memorial stones: one where the ark stood on the east bank of the river (4:9), the other on the west side, at Gilgal, where they stayed. The stones were placed there so that generations to come would not forget the enormous miracle that had happened there.

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Josh. 5 THE FIRST PASSOVER IN THE PROMISED LAND

At long last the Israelites were in the Promised Land, although they still had to capture it. On the fourth day after they crossed the Jordan, their first act was to keep the Passover (4:19; 5:10). The next day the manna ceased (5:12), ending 40 years of God’s special provision. They were now to receive provisions directly from the Promised Land. Then God sent the commander of His invisible army to encourage Joshua for the task ahead (5:13–15).

Jericho owes its existence to a perennial spring and an oasis; in Deuteronomy 34:3 it is called the “City of Palms.” It bills itself today, with some justification, as the “World’s Oldest City.” The oldest town on the site dates back to the 8th millennium B.C. It had a revetment wall with at least one tower with a built-in stairway.

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Josh. 6 THE FALL OF JERICHO

Jericho was taken by direct intervention of God, to inspire the Israelites with confidence at the beginning of their conquest of peoples more powerful than they. Led by the ark of the Lord, with trumpets blowing, they walked around the city seven days. Hovering above were the invisible hosts of the Lord (5:14), waiting for the appointed hour. And on the seventh day, at the blast of the trumpets, the walls fell.

In an amazing prophecy, a curse was pronounced on anyone who would attempt to rebuild the city (6:26; see on 1 Kings 16:34).

Jericho was roughly six miles from the Jordan; Gilgal, Joshua’s headquarters, was probably about halfway between. The wall of Jericho enclosed about 10 acres. It was a place where the people from the heavily populated surroundings could find refuge in case of an attack.

New Testament Jericho was about a mile south of the ruins of Old Testament Jericho. The modern village of Jericho is about a mile to the southeast.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Jericho. Jericho has been much excavated in the 20th century: by Warren, by Sellin and Watzinger, by Garstang, by Kenyon, and by an Italian team. What John Garstang thought were the walls destroyed by Joshua turned out to actually be the walls of a city that existed about 1000 years before Joshua. However, Kathleen Kenyon’s negativism about the correlation of the biblical and archaeological data is also not warranted. Bryant Wood, in his analysis of all of the data, has reasonably suggested the following. What the archaeologists call City IV was destroyed about 1400 B.C. This date agrees well with the internal chronology of the Bible, which would place the conquest of Joshua at about 1406 B.C. City IV was surrounded by an inner and an outer city wall. The outer wall was supported by a massive sloping stone structure (revetment wall). Between the two walls, houses from City IV have been found (note the position of Rahab’s house on the city wall; Joshua 2:15).

It seems that City IV was first destroyed by an earthquake and then by fire—burnt debris, in some places three or more feet thick, has been found at various locations on the tell. Among the debris were pottery, household utensils, and even carbonized grain—indicating that the destruction had taken place in the spring of the year, just after the harvest (2:6; 3:15; and note that Israel celebrated the Passover just before the conquest of Jericho, 5:10 and cf. 3:15). It also indicated that there had not been a long siege (large quantities of grain were found; the biblical texts say the city was taken within seven days, 6:15), and that the inhabitants did not have time to flee with their belongings before the destruction. In addition, carbon-14 (C₁₄) tests on the organic material place the destruction at about 1400 B.C. Even Egyptian scarabs (seals) found in tombs there do not name pharaohs who ruled after 1400 B.C.

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Josh. 7–8 THE FALL OF AI AND BETHEL

Right after the miraculous crossing of the Jordan and the miraculous fall of Jericho, Israel met with a dreadful defeat at Ai—because of one man’s disobedience. It was a terrible shock to Israel. It was a disciplinary lesson. God was with them, but He meant them to understand that He expected obedience.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Bethel and Ai. Archaeological evidence can be found to correlate the conquest of Jericho and Hazor with the biblical data of Joshua’s conquests. However, the conquest of Ai, described in Joshua 7–8, has not yet been illuminated by archaeological finds.

Biblical Ai is usually associated with et-Tell, because the topographical setting of et-Tell is close to that of Ai described in Scripture (east of Bethel, valleys and hills in the proper locations, etc.). However, extensive archaeological excavations at et-Tell have shown that it was not inhabited between about 2300 B.C. and 1100 B.C. This of course means that it could not have been conquered by Joshua around 1400 B.C.—for no one was living there then.

Attempts have been made to identify other tells in the area east of Bethel (which is usually identified with the village of Beitin) with biblical Ai, but to date a definitive identification has not yet been made. Recently a two-acre site called Khirbet el-Maqatir has been suggested as meeting the textual, geographical, and especially the archaeological requirements for Ai—it is east of Bethel, has a hill and valley to the north, etc., and it apparently has the remains of a small fortress from about 1400 B.C., the very time of Joshua’s conquest. But certainty about this suggested identification is not possible until the archaeological profile of the site has been completely substantiated.

Related to the question of the proper identification of Ai is the identification of its twin city—Bethel. The almost universally accepted identification of Bethel with the antiquity site in the Arab village of Beitin is based on topographical, historical, and limited archaeological evidence, but especially on the fact that the biblical name Bethel seems to be preserved in the name Beitin. However, a small minority of researchers have suggested that Bethel should really be identified with a large, archaeologically rich site called Ras et–Tahuneh, located in the Arab city of el–Birah, just east of Ramallah. Both et–Tell and Khirbet el–Makatir, the sites proposed for Ai, are east of a north-south line drawn through either Beitin or Ras et-Tahuneh—thus fulfilling the textual requirements of being east of Bethel—but only Khirbet el–Makatir has the archaeological remains dating to the days of Joshua.

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“Canaan” was one of the ancient names for the land of Israel (see Numbers 34:1–12 for its specific boundaries), and its inhabitants were often called “Canaanites” during the second millennium B.C. In a more restricted sense the Bible places the Canaanites on the coastlands, in the valleys, and in the Jordan Valley. “Amorite” is also a term which can be used to refer to the ancient inhabitants of Israel, but in a more special sense it can refer to a group of people who live in the Hill Country—on either side of the Rift Valley. Sihon, who lived in Heshbon, east of the Dead Sea, is called the “king of the Amorites” (Numbers 21:26).

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Since time and again archaeological discoveries have demonstrated the trustworthiness of the biblical text, it seems best to await further discoveries to help answer the puzzling question as to the proper identification of biblical Ai.

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Josh. 8:30–35 THE LAW RECORDED AT MOUNT EBAL

Moses had commanded that this be done (see on Deuteronomy 27). Shechem, in the center of the land, was between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, in a valley of surpassing beauty. Here, 600 years before, Abraham had erected his first altar in the land. And here Joshua, in solemn ceremony, read the Book of the Law to the people.

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Josh. 9–10 THE BATTLE IN WHICH THE SUN STOOD STILL

Gibeon, about six miles northwest of Jerusalem, was one of the land’s greatest cities (10:2). The Gibeonites, frightened after the fall of Jericho and Ai, made haste to enslave themselves to Israel. This enraged the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, and the five of them marched against Gibeon. Then Joshua, honoring his ill-advised commitment to the people of Gibeon, came to their rescue. This led to the famous battle of Gibeon, Beth Horon, and westward, where the sun stood still for a whole day. Exactly what happened or how, we do not know. Some people claim to have calculated that the calendar lost a day around that time. At any rate, in some way or other, daylight was miraculously prolonged so that Joshua’s victory might be complete.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Lachish and Debir. Lachish and Debir are named among cities whose inhabitants were defeated by Joshua (10:32, 39).

Lachish. Archaeological excavations at Tell ed-Duweir have suggested that at the time of the conquest, Lachish was an important but unfortified Canaanite city. Its lack of a defensive wall may have led to its speedy conquest. The Bible does not actually describe its conquest and destruction in the same terms as it does that of Jericho, Ai, and Hazor.

Debir (Kiriath Sepher). The older identification of Debir with Tell Beit Mirsim is no longer accepted, for according to Joshua 15:49, Debir is to be located in the Hill Country of Judah, not in the lowlands. Consequently, Debir is now identified with Khirbet Rabud (8 1/2 miles south-southwest of Hebron—in the Hill Country of Judah), which has produced evidence of being inhabited and conquered at the time of Israel’s entrance into Canaan (ca. 1400 B.C.).

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Josh. 11 THE KINGS OF THE NORTH DEFEATED

In the battle of Beth Horon, where the sun stood still, Joshua had broken the power of the kings of the South. Now his victory over the kings of the North, at Merom, gave him control of the whole land. Joshua’s strategy was to separate the north from the south of Canaan by capturing the center first, after which he could more easily subdue both parts.

The Israelites fought hard, yet it was God who gave them the land by means of three stupendous miracles: the crossing of the Jordan, the fall of Jericho, and the standing still of the sun.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Hazor. Joshua “burned up Hazor itself” (11:11). Archaeological excavations have found the ashes of this fire, with pottery evidence that it had occurred about 1400 B.C.

Also: an Amarna Tablet, written to Pharaoh, 1380 B.C., by the Egyptian envoy in north Palestine, says, “Let my lord the king recall what Hazor and its king have already had to endure.” The only ruler in Canaan who is called a “king” in the nearly 400 Amarna Tablets, is the ruler of Hazor. Note also that in the Bible Hazor was called “the head of all these kingdoms” (Joshua 11:10).

This view from the mound of what once was Hazor, with Israeli soldiers approaching, could be the same perspective from which the king of Hazor watched Joshua and the Israelites approach.

Thus, Joshua’s conquest of Palestine is attested by great layers of ashes, bearing marks of Joshua’s time, in Jericho, Debir, and Hazor, exactly confirming biblical statements.

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Josh. 12 LIST OF DESTROYED KINGS

Thirty-one kings are named. Generally speaking, the whole land was conquered (10:40; 11:23; 21:43). However, small groups of Canaanites remained (13:2–7; 15:63; 23:4; Judges 1:2, 21, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35) who, after Joshua’s death, made trouble for Israel. Also, the land of the Philistines, Sidon, and the Lebanon region were still unconquered.

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Josh. 13–22 THE DIVISION OF THE LAND

The map: Tribal Territories shows the approximate location of the land that was assigned to each of the 12 tribes of Israel. There were six cities of refuge (chap. 20; see on Deuteronomy 19), and 48 cities for the Levites, including 13 for the priests (21:19, 14). The altar by the Jordan (chap. 22) was intended as a token of national unity for a nation divided by a great river.

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Josh. 23–24 JOSHUA’S FAREWELL ADDRESS

Joshua had received from Moses the written Law of God (1:8). He now added his own book to it (24:26). Joshua made good use of written documents, or “books,” as Moses had done (see on Deuteronomy 31). He had the land surveyed with “a book” (18:9). He read to the people the “book” of Moses (8:34). And at Mount Ebal he “wrote on stones” a copy of the Law (8:32).

The main burden of Joshua’s final speech was against idolatry. Canaanite idolatry was such an aesthetic combination of religion and free indulgence of carnal desires that only persons of exceptional strength of character could withstand its allurements.

At Shechem, Joshua and the Israelites renewed their commitment to God’s covenant with Israel. Joshua set up a great stone as a witness. This stone, at the site of ancient Shechem, is like the one Joshua erected, although it is most likely not the original one.

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“But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

    But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

The Period of the Judges

The Hebrew nation, after the death of Joshua, had no strong central government. They were a confederacy of 12 independent tribes, with no unifying element except their God. The form of government in the days of the Judges is spoken of as a “theocracy,” that is, God Himself was supposed to be the direct ruler of the nation. But the people did not take their God very seriously—they were continually falling into idolatry. Being more or less in a state of anarchy, harassed at times by civil war among themselves, and surrounded by enemies who made attempt after attempt to exterminate them, the Hebrew nation was very slow in its national development. The Israelites did not become a great nation until they were organized into a kingdom in the days of Samuel and David.

The exact duration of the period of the Judges is uncertain. When we add all the years of the oppressions, of the individual Judges, and of the periods of rest, they add up to 410 years (see chart below). But some of these figures may overlap. Jephthah, who lived near the end of the period, spoke of it as 300 years (11:26). It is thought to have been, in round numbers, about 300 years, roughly from about 1400 until 1100 B.C. The entire period from the Exodus to King Solomon, which includes also the 40-year period of travel through the wilderness as well as the eras of Eli, Samuel, Saul, and David, is given as 480 years in 1 Kings 6:1.

There were also oppressions by Sidonians and Maonites (10:12).

Oppressor(s)	Years of Oppression	Judge		Years of Rest
Mesopotamians	8	Othniel, of Debir in Judah		40
Moabites
Ammonites	18	Ehud, of Benjamin		80
Amalekites
Philistines		Shamgar
Canaanites	20	Deborah, of Ephraim; Barak, of Naphtali		40
Midianites
Amalekites	7	Gideon, of Manasseh		40
		Abimelech (usurper), of Manasseh		3
		Tola, of Issachar		23
		Jair, of Gilead, in E Manasseh		22
Ammonites	18	Jephthah, of Gilead, in E Manasseh		6
		Ibzan, of Bethlehem, in Judah(?)		7
		Elon, of Zebulun		10
		Abdon, of Ephraim		8
Philistines	40	Samson, of Dan		20
TOTAL	111			299

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Judg. 1 CANAANITES THAT WERE LEFT IN THE LAND

Joshua had destroyed the Canaanites in some sections of the land and had kept others in subjection (Joshua 10:40, 43; 11:23; 13:2–7; 21:43–45; 23:4; 24:18). After his death, there remained considerable numbers of Canaanites (Judges 1:28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35).

God had commanded Israel to utterly destroy or drive out the Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7:2–4). Had Israel fully obeyed this command, they would have saved themselves a lot of trouble.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Iron in Palestine. The Bible states that the reason Israel could not drive out the Canaanites and Philistines is that they had iron, while Israel did not (1:19; 4:3; Joshua 17:16–18; 1 Samuel 13:19–22). Only after Saul and David broke the power of the Philistines did iron come into use in Israel (2 Samuel 12:31; 1 Chronicles 22:3; 29:7).

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Othniel, Deborah and Barak, and Gideon are each said to have judged Israel for 40 years; Ehud was judge for twice 40 years. Later, Eli judged for 40 years. And Saul, David, and Solomon each reigned 40 years. “Forty years” seems to have been a round number denoting a generation or completion. Similarly,“40 days” is used as a round number to indicate completion or fullness. Note how often 40 is used throughout the Bible:

• During the Flood it rained 40 days
• Moses fled at age 40, was in Midian for 40 years, and was on Mount Sinai for 40 days
• Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years
• The spies spent 40 days in Canaan
• Elijah fasted 40 days
• Nineveh was given 40 days’ respite (Jonah 3)
• Jesus fasted 40 days (Matthew 4:1–11) and was on earth for 40 days after the Resurrection

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Although iron objects begin to appear in Palestine at about the time of the arrival of the Philistines, it wasn’t until the 11th century that they became more common. Broken spears, hoes, etc., were not discarded, but were typically melted down and the metal recast.

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Judg. 2 APOSTASY AFTER THE DEATH OF JOSHUA

As the hardy, wilderness-bred generation, who under the powerful leadership of Joshua had conquered the land, died off, the new generation found itself settled in a land of plenty and soon lapsed into the easy-going ways of their idolatrous neighbors.

The Refrain Running Through the Book

The refrain of the book is, “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (KJV), or as the NIV puts it, “Everyone did as he saw fit” (17:6; 21:25). They were again and again falling away from God into the worship of idols. When they did this, God delivered Israel into the hands of foreign oppressors. Then, when Israel in their suffering and distress turned back and cried to God, God had pity on Israel and raised up Judges, who saved Israel from their enemies. As long as the Judge lived, the people served God. But soon after the Judge died, the people would leave God and go back to their old ways.

Invariably, when they served God, they prospered, but when they served idols, they suffered. Israel’s troubles were due directly to their disobedience. They did not keep themselves from worshiping idols. They did not exterminate the inhabitants of the land as they had been commanded. And thus, from time to time, the struggle for mastery was renewed.

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Judg. 3 OTHNIEL, EHUD, SHAMGAR

Othniel, of Debir, south of Hebron, saved Israel from the Mesopotamians, who invaded from the northeast.

Ehud saved Israel from Moabites, Ammonites, and Amalekites. The story of how he used his left-handedness to kill Eglon, king of Moab, is told in graphic detail.

The Moabites were descendants of Lot. They occupied the tableland east of the Dead Sea. Their god, Chemosh, was worshiped by human sacrifice. They had repeated wars with Israel.

Gezer was one of the cities the Israelites failed to take in their conquest of Canaan. This is the “high place” of Gezer, where idols were worshiped. The city was finally captured in Solomon’s time by the pharaoh of Egypt, who set it on fire, killed its inhabitants, and gave it as a wedding gift to Solomon, who rebuilt Gezer (1 Kings 9:16-17).

The Ammonites were also descendants of Lot. Their territory was next to Moab, beginning about 30 miles east of the Jordan. Their god, called Molech, was worshiped by the burning of little children.

Moab and Ammon, the ancestors of these two nations, were the product of an incestuous relationship (Genesis 19:30–38).

The Amalekites were descendants of Esau. They were a nomadic tribe, centered mainly in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula but roaming in wide circles, even into Judah and far to the east. They were the first to attack Israel after their departure from Egypt. Moses authorized their extinction (Exodus 17:8–16). They have disappeared from history.

Shamgar, of whom little is told, saved Israel from the Philistines.

The Philistines were descendants of Ham. They occupied the Coastal Plain between modern Tel Aviv and Gaza, and they again oppressed Israel in Samson’s day.

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Judg. 4–5 DEBORAH AND BARAK

Deborah and Barak saved Israel from the Canaanites, who had been subdued by Joshua but had become powerful again. With their chariots made of iron they had a major advantage over Israel. Deborah is the only female Judge. Her faith and courage put Barak’s to shame.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Kings of Hazor. Again, the king of Hazor led the northern Canaanite rulers into battle against the Israelites. Jabin seems to have been a “dynastic name” used by some of the rulers of Hazor, for not only are there at least two Jabins of Hazor in the Bible, but the name has also been found on a cuneiform tablet discovered at Hazor itself. There is archaeological evidence that Hazor was destroyed about 1200 B.C., which chronologically fits well with the story of Deborah and Barak.

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Judg. 6–8 GIDEON

For seven years, Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabians (6:3; 8:24) had swarmed into the land, in such numbers that the Israelites sought refuge in caves and made hidden pits for their grain (6:2–4, 11). Gideon, with the direct help of God and an army of 300 men armed with torches hidden in pitchers, gave them such a terrific beating that they came no more.

This was the second time the Amalekites invaded Israel (see under chapter 3).

The Midianites were nomadic descendants of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:1–6). Their main center was in Arabia, just east of the Red Sea, but they roamed far and wide. Moses had lived among them for 40 years and married one of them (Exodus 2:15–21). Gradually they were absorbed into the Arabians.

The Arabians were descendants of Ishmael (Genesis 16). Arabia was the great peninsula (1,500 miles north and south, 800 east and west) that is today Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It was an elevated tableland, 150 times the size of Palestine, that sloped north to the Syrian desert. It was sparsely inhabited by wandering tribes.

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Judg. 9 ABIMELECH

Abimelech was the son of a wonderful father, but he himself was a brutal man. This is a typical story of the eternal struggle of gangsters for power.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Abimelech’s Destruction of Shechem. With money from the temple of Baal (v. 4), he hired men to murder his brothers, and “he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it” (v. 45). The scattering of salt symbolized the utter destruction of the city and its infertility in perpetuity (Deuteronomy 29:23; Psalm 107:34).

H. Thiersch identified a mound (Tell Balatah) near the modern city of Nablus as ancient Shechem. This 15-acre mound contains more than 20 strata. Remains of a massive tower, dating to the period of the conquest and the Judges was discovered. The last stratum when the tower was used suffered a significant destruction around 1100 B.C., about the time of Abimelech.

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Judg. 10–12 TOLA, JAIR, JEPHTHAH, IBZAN, ELON, ABDON

Tola and Jair are both mentioned as Judges.

Jephthah was of Mizpah, in Gilead, the land of the prophet Elijah, in eastern Manasseh.

The Ammonites, whose power had been broken by Ehud, one of the earlier Judges, had again become strong and were plundering Israel. God gave Jephthah a great victory over the Ammonites and delivered Israel. The pitiful thing in the story of Jephthah is the sacrifice of his daughter, the result of a rash vow.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon are mentioned as Judges.

In Gaza, Samson walked off with the gates to the city (Judges 16:3). This was a remarkable feat, since he didn’t bother to open the gates but took them “bar and all.” The “poles” Samson took out were the hinges—vertical poles that fit into stone sockets, like this socket (at center of photo) from Ashkelon, another city of the Philistines.

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Judg. 13–16 SAMSON

Samson, of the tribe of Dan, on the Philistine border, was before his birth appointed by God to deliver Israel from the Philistines. God endowed him with superhuman strength, and, under God, his exploits were amazing. But he also knew weakness and tragedy.

Samson is the last of the Judges mentioned in the book of Judges. Soon afterward followed the organization of the kingdom under Samuel, Saul, and David.

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Judg. 17–18 THE MIGRATION OF THE DANITES

The Danites had been assigned a territory that included the Philistine plain, which they had not been able to take, and since they were cramped for room, part of the tribe, with a stolen god, migrated far to the north and settled near the headwaters of the Jordan.

A relief from the mortuary temple of Rameses III at Medinet Habu, across the Nile from Thebes, Luxor, and Karnak. The relief shows a number of captives, including one Philistine (far right) who can be recognized by his characteristic headdress.

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Judg. 19–21 THE BENJAMITE DEED OF SHAME

A narrative of savage justice for a crime unspeakably horrible, as a result of which the tribe of Benjamin was almost wiped out.

Heroes of Faith

Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson are included among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:32. In spite of things in their lives about which we wonder, they had faith in God.

Miracles in the Book of Judges

God directly and miraculously intervened during the time of the Judges, especially in the stories of Gideon and Samson. An angel appeared to Gideon, God gave a sign by means of dew on an animal skin, and Gideon defeated the Midianites with 300 men. An angel appeared to Samson’s parents; he was born of a barren mother, and he had superhuman strength.

All this shows that God, in His mercy, still had His eye on His people, even though they had sunk to the lowest depths.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Arrival of the Philistines. There is extensive evidence for the arrival of the Philistines during the period of the Judges. Typical pottery forms, temples, and other artifacts have been found at their cities of Ashdod, Ekron, and Timnah. A 1200 B.C. destruction level at Hazor has been found. Canaanite temples and deities have been discovered at Hazor and elsewhere. These are all finds that help illuminate the biblical text.

Why Is Such a Book in the Bible?

It is simple history. God had founded a nation for the purpose of paving the way for the coming of a Redeemer for the human race. God was determined to maintain that nation. And in spite of its idolatry and its wickedness, God did maintain it. If it hadn’t been for such leaders as the Judges (as fallibly human as they were), and if God had not miraculously intervened in times of crisis, Israel would have been exterminated.

This stele of Pharaoh Merneptah (1224-1214 B.C.) contains the first known reference to Israel outside the Bible: “Carried off is Ashkelon; seized upon is Gezer; Yanoam is made as that which does not exist; Israel is laid waste, his seed is not.” There is no record in the Bible of Merneptah’s campaign against Israel, but it must have taken place during the period of the Judges. The stele is black granite, 7 1/2 feet high.

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“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.”

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife . . . and she gave birth to a son.

And they named him Obed. . . . He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

This lovely story of a lovely woman follows, like calm after a storm, the turbulent scenes of Judges. It is a delightful and charming picture of domestic life in a time of anarchy and trouble.

A thousand years before, Abraham had been called by God to found a nation for the purpose of one day bringing a Savior to mankind. In this small book of Ruth we have the founding of the family within that nation into which the Savior would be born. Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David. From here on, the Old Testament centers mainly around the family of David. And the New Testament begins with a genealogy that begins with Abraham and ends, via Boaz and Ruth, and via David, with Jesus, “who is called Christ,” the Messiah (Matthew 1:1–16).

The central theme of the book of Ruth is redemption. The Hebrew word for redemption occurs 23 times in the book of Ruth. Ruth may be considered a “type” of the Christian church, while Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer, is a type of Christ who is our Redeemer.

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Ruth 1 THE STAY IN MOAB

A family from Bethlehem—Elimelech and Naomi and their two sons—went to live in Moab because there was a famine in Israel. The Moabites were descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:37) and thus distantly related to the Jews. But they were idolaters; their god, Chemosh, was worshiped with child sacrifices. The two sons married Moabite girls. Ten years later, after the father and both sons had died, Ruth, the widow of one of the sons, in a burst of devotion of superb beauty (1:16–17), returned with Naomi to Bethlehem.

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Ruth 2–4 RUTH AND BOAZ

In strict adherence to Hebrew law, Boaz invites an unnamed kinsman-redeemer who has first rights to redeem Naomi’s land. The unnamed kinsman-redeemer declines his rights to redeem the land when Boaz reminds him that if he buys the land, he must also inherit the former landowner’s widow, Naomi, and her widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth. Boaz, the next eligible kinsman-redeemer, then purchases the land and also acquires Ruth for marriage. Boaz declares this redemption in the midst of 10 witnesses so that there is no question regarding the integrity of his actions.

In ancient cities, the gate served the same purpose as the forum did later in Roman cities and public squares did in European cities. Here people met, the king held audience, and business was transacted. It was a more leisurely time: Boaz waited until the person he needed to deal with showed up. In later times, when cities were fortified, the gate also became a key part of the city’s defense. This gate at Megiddo shows rooms on both sides where defenders could hide.

The genealogy in 4:17–22 may actually be the main reason why the book of Ruth was written. It shows that Ruth and Boaz had a son, Obed, whose son was Jesse, whose son was David.

Boaz was a descendant of Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho (Joshua 2:1; Matthew 1:5; see on Joshua 2). Thus David’s great-grandmother, Ruth, was a Moabitess, and his great-grandfather, Boaz, was part Canaanite. The chosen family within the Chosen Nation thus has Canaanite and Moabite blood in its veins.

It is fitting that from this bloodline would come the Messiah for all nations. Rahab and Ruth became part of God’s promises and His plan, not by birth but by their faith in, and their practical commitment to, God and His people—the same way in which people from all nations still can share in God’s eternal promises.

It was in a field near Bethlehem that Ruth gleaned. Hundreds of years later, also in a field near Bethlehem, angels announced the birth of Ruth’s descendant, Jesus, to startled shepherds.

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The term monarchy refers to the time when God’s people were ruled by earthly kings (and in one instance a queen, Athaliah). The united monarchy designates the time when both the northern and southern groupings of tribes were united under one king. The term usually refers to the days of David and Solomon but sometimes is used to include Saul’s kingship, which was just prior to David’s. At the death of Solomon (930 B.C.) the kingdom split into two parts: the southern (including Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon) and the northern (the remaining tribes). This period is known as the divided monarchy.

The transition from the period of the Judges (during which God raised up and empowered specific persons for specific purposes) to that of a “theocratic monarchy” (in which a king was to reign over Israel as God’s representative) is described in 1 Samuel. The identities of the inspired authors of the books of Samuel and Kings are unknown, and although early, perhaps partial, editions of these books no doubt existed, both books seem to be dealing with questions that Jews may have been asking during the Babylonian exile (586–538 B.C.). These exiles had recently witnessed and experienced the downfall of the Davidic monarchy (586 B.C.); the capture and burning of Jerusalem and the temple; the ravaging of their families, friends, and neighbors; and their own deportation from the land. The totality of these recent experiences stood in stark contrast to the glorious (eternal!) promises that God had made to their ancestors (for example, Genesis 12:1–4; 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 132).

Period	Date	Major Biblical Passages
Saul	1050–1010 B.C.	1 Samuel 9–31; 1 Chronicles 8 and 10
David	1010–970 B.C.	1 Samuel 16–2 Samuel–1 Kings 2; 1 Chronicles 11–29
Solomon	970–931 B.C.	1 Kings 1–11; 2 Chronicles 1–9
Divided kingdom	931-722 B.C.	1 Kings 12–2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 10–28 Israel taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.
Judah alone	722–586 B.C	2 Kings 18–25; 2 Chronicles 29–36 Judah taken into captivity by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

First Samuel seems to be answering the exiles’ question, How did we get a dynastic kingship in the first place? In it, the author describes Samuel’s role in anointing Saul and eventually David, tracing the latter’s rise to power in contrast to Saul’s tragic end.

Second Samuel seems to deal with the question, Who was this David, the first king in his dynasty, and what was so special about him? In other words, why should we be so concerned about the fate of his dynasty? The answer, of course, is that God, through His prophets Samuel and Nathan, had selected David and his successors to be the ones through whom He would rule His people (2 Samuel 7)—they would be “theocratic monarchs.” Connected to this choice/promise were the related promises that God would “dwell” in Jerusalem, specifically in the temple, and that from there He would rule over, protect, bless, communicate with, forgive, and provide for His people.

The exiles’ question was, Why did this disaster happen to us? The answer given in the books of Samuel and Kings is: you, your ancestors, and your rulers, in spite of God’s call to repentance and reform, have chosen, in general, the path of disloyalty to God and of disobedience to the stipulations of the “Torah” (= teaching) of the Living God. This disloyalty was evident even as the kingship was being established, it was evident even in the life of the so-called ideal ruler David, and it continued to be evident in the lives of David’s successors and the people they governed. Because of disloyalty and disobedience, the covenant curses (see Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28) had fallen upon God’s people.

The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles cover much the same period of Israel’s history, although they trace Israel’s beginnings back to Adam. Even though the “chronicler” makes use of material from Samuel and Kings, the perspective in these books is a bit different. Most importantly, the message of Chronicles was addressed to people who were living in the post-exilic period (that is, some time after the first return, under the leadership of Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel, had taken place in 538 B.C.; see The Babylonian Exile and the Return from Exile: Ezra–Esther). Even though many of the people receiving this message were living in the Promised Land, even in Jerusalem, and were worshiping God at the rebuilt temple, they were well aware that this was not the glorious restoration that previously had been promised by their prophets. Indeed, they were living under the dominating rule of a foreign power (the Persians), there was no reigning Davidic king, the “glory of God” had not returned to the rebuilt temple, and life in the land was not the sought-for “rest” that had been promised. Their question seems to have been, Is there any future for us, for God’s people?

	North (Israel)	South (Judah)
Capitals	Shechem	Jerusalem
	Penuel
	Tirzah
	Samaria
Number of kings	19	19 and one queen
Dynasties	9	1 (Davidic)
Rulers assassinated or suicide	8	4 (plus 2 killed by non-Judeans)
Worship centers	Bethel	Jerusalem
	Dan	(plus others)
	Samaria
	(plus others)
Destruction of the kingdoms	722 B.C. by the Assyrians	586 B.C. by the Babylonians
Major enemies at various times	Southern (Judean) kingdom	Northern (Israelite) kingdom
		Egypt (including Ethiopia)
	Philistia	Philistia
		Ammonites
	Arameans (Damascus)	Arameans (Damascus)
	Edomites	Edomites
		Moabites
	Assyrians	Assyrians
		Egyptians
		Babylonians

The chronicler’s answer is yes. He emphasizes that the chief legacy of the Davidic dynasty was actually the temple and its service (via the Levitical priesthood). In the chronicler’s presentation of Israel’s history, emphasis is placed on David as the one making preparations for building the temple, on Solomon as the temple builder, and on God-fearing rulers such as Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah who instigated and led religious reforms.

So, in spite of the fact that conditions were not yet all that had been promised, the small and struggling Judean community had a great history and heritage, and they were being encouraged to follow in the more positive footsteps of previous godly rulers and generations as they awaited God’s fuller restoration of the land, the temple, and the ideal Davidic ruler—the Anointed One, the Messiah.

Thus historical books such as Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles should be read, not as mere political, economic, military, or ethnic history, but as a “re-presentation” of Israel’s history (almost like an extended sermon) that addressed, in the first instance, the readers/hearers of the exilic and post-exilic periods.

If you read only one chapter in the books of Samuel, Kings, or Chronicles, be sure to read 2 Samuel 9!

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“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.”

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

In the Hebrew Old Testament, 1 and 2 Samuel are one book called Samuel. The translators of the Septuagint divided this writing into two books called the “First and Second Books of the Kingdoms.”

First Samuel begins with the background and birth of Samuel. He began his preparation for ministry and leadership as a small boy serving Eli. Eventually Samuel’s influence as a prophet, priest, and Judge extended throughout the nation. Samuel anointed both Saul and David as kings, marking the transition from the period of the Judges to the monarchy.

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The entire history of the kingdom of Israel is told in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. The books of Chronicles tell the same story.

In broad outline,

• 1–2 Samuel = 1 Chronicles
• 1–2 Kings = 2 Chronicles (both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles begin with Solomon)

The main differences are that

• 1 Chronicles begins with a lengthy genealogy—beginning with Adam—but it omits the stories of Samuel and Saul (except for Saul’s suicide);
• 2 Chronicles omits entirely the history of the northern kingdom.

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Author

The author of the book of Samuel is unknown. While Samuel is the subject of the book, it is unlikely that he actually wrote this book, since his death is recorded in 1 Samuel 25:1. Whoever wrote these books used the Book of Jashar as a source (2 Samuel 1:18) and may also have had access to other sources from this period, such as the Annals of King David (1 Chronicles 27:24) and the records of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29).

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The Four Towns of Samuel’s Judicial and Priestly Circuit

• Ramah, about five miles north of Jerusalem, was his birthplace, judicial residence, and place of burial (1:19; 7:17; 25:1).
• Bethel, about seven miles north of Ramah, was Samuel’s northern office. It was one of the four highest points in the land (the others are Mount Ebal, Hebron, and Mizpah). The view over the land from Bethel is magnificent. Here, 800 years before, Jacob had seen the heavenly ladder (Genesis 28:10–20).
• Mizpah, 2 1/2 miles northwest of Ramah, was an important gathering place for the tribes of Israel during the days of Samuel (1 Samuel 7:5–7; 10:17).
• Gilgal, about 10 miles east of Ramah, near Jericho, was the place where the Israelites camped after crossing the Jordan under Joshua and where Joshua had placed a memorial (Joshua 4:19–24). It continued as a worship center during the days of Samuel and Saul.

Other Towns

• Gibeah (Tell-el-Ful), about two miles south of Ramah, was Saul’s capital.
• Gibeon, 2 1/2 miles west of Ramah, was where Saul grew up, and the “High Place of Gibeon” (1 Samuel 13:3) was located only one mile southwest of Gibeon, at Nebi Samwil. This was an important worship site for the tribes of Israel; later the tabernacle was placed here (2 Chronicles 1:5).
• Bethlehem, David’s birthplace and later the birthplace of Jesus, was 11 miles south of Ramah.
• Shiloh, about 15 miles north of Ramah, was where the tabernacle stood from the time of Joshua to Samuel and where Samuel ministered as a child at the tabernacle.
• Kiriath Jearim, where the ark of the covenant was kept after its return from the Philistines, was about nine miles southwest of Ramah.
• Jerusalem, about five miles south of Ramah, was still in the hands of the Jebusites in Samuel’s day. It was later captured by David.

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1 Sam. 1:1–2:11 BIRTH OF SAMUEL

Samuel was of the tribe of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:33–38). His mother, Hannah, was a marvelous example of motherhood; her son turned out to be one of the noblest and purest characters in history.

Shiloh (1:3).

• Joshua set up the tabernacle in Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). Every year Israel went to Shiloh to bring sacrifices (1 Samuel 1:3).
• David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:15) about 1000 B.C.
• Jeremiah (7:12–15), about 600 B.C., refers to Shiloh as being in ruins. The implication of these passages is that Shiloh was an important city during the period from Joshua to Samuel, and that sometime before 600 B.C. it was destroyed, deserted, and ceased to exist.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Shiloh. Danish, and later Israeli, excavations at Shiloh have found that it was a worship center from 1650 B.C. During the Canaanite occupation it was surrounded by a massive wall, which in places is preserved to a height of 25 feet. Excavations demonstrate that it was a worship center when occupied by the Israelites as well. Some have speculated that the tabernacle was set up on several rock-cut terraces on the north side of the tell. The site was destroyed in 1050 B.C., probably by the Philistines.

Ruins of Shiloh. Immediately after the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, the tabernacle was set up in Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). It apparently remained there until the days of Samuel. The tabernacle itself may have been replaced by a more permanent structure during that time (1 Samuel 3:3, “temple”; 1 Samuel 3:15, “doors”).

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1 Sam. 2:12–36 CHANGE IN THE PRIESTHOOD ANNOUNCED

Hannah’s prophetic prayers in 2:31–35 seem to have application to Samuel, who succeeded Eli as Judge and also as acting priest (7:9; 9:11–14); but they also have reference to a priesthood that shall last forever (2:35).

They were fulfilled when Solomon displaced Abiathar of Eli’s family with Zadok of another line (1 Kings 2:27; 1 Chronicles 24:3, 6). But their ultimate fulfillment is in the eternal priesthood of Christ. In chapters 8–10, we are told how Samuel initiated a change in the form of government, from government by Judges to a kingdom. Under the kingdom, the offices of king and priest were kept separate.

Here in verse 35 an eternal priesthood is promised, and in 2 Samuel 7:16 David is promised an eternal throne. The eternal priesthood and the eternal throne looked forward to the Messiah, in whom they merged—Christ became man’s eternal Priest and eternal King. The temporary merging of the offices of Judge and priest in the person of Samuel, during the period of transition from Judges to kingdom, seems to have been a sort of historical foreshadowing of the final fusing of the two offices in Christ. In addition, Samuel was recognized as a prophet (1 Samuel 3:20), which is the third office that Christ combined in Himself (see Deuteronomy 18:15, “a prophet like me”): King (Judge), Priest, and Prophet.

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The word “prophet” occurs occasionally before the time of Samuel, as in Genesis 20:7 and Exodus 7:1. But Samuel appears to have been the founder of a regular order of prophets, with schools first at Ramah (1 Samuel 19:20) and later at Bethel, Jericho, and Gilgal (2 Kings 2:3, 5; 4:38).

The priesthood had become quite degenerate, and when Samuel organized the kingdom, he initiated, it seems, these schools as a sort of moral check on both priests and kings.

These prophets functioned for a period of some 300 years before the prophets who wrote the last 17 books of the Old Testament. The early prophets are called “oral prophets,” to distinguish them from the writing or literary prophets who wrote the books.

The leading oral prophets with whom we are familiar are Samuel, the organizer of the kingdom; Nathan, an adviser to David; Ahijah, an adviser to Jeroboam; and Elijah and Elisha, who led the grand fight against Baalism.

For more on the prophets, see the chapter on The Prophets: Isaiah–Malachi.

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1 Sam. 3 SAMUEL’S PROPHETIC CALL

Samuel was a prophet (3:20). He served as a priest, offering sacrifices (7:9). And he judged Israel (7:15–17). His circuit included Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, with his main office at Ramah. He was the last Judge, the first prophet, and the founder of the monarchy. His main mission was the organization of the kingdom.

The form of government under the Judges had been a failure (see introductory note to the book of Judges). So God raised up Samuel to unify the nation under a king. (See below on chapters 8–10.)

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1 Sam. 4–7 THE ARK IS CAPTURED BY THE PHILISTINES

The ark, after its capture by the Philistines, was never taken back to Shiloh, and Shiloh ceased to be a place of importance. The ark remained in Philistine cities for seven months, during which time the Philistines suffered great plagues. So great were the plagues that the Philistines pleaded to Israel to take back the ark—which they gleefully did! It was taken to Beth Shemesh and then to Kiriath Jearim, where it remained for 20 years (7:2). Later it was taken to Jerusalem by David, who built a tent for it (2 Samuel 6:12; 2 Chronicles 1:4). It stayed in that tent until Solomon built the temple. Nothing is known of the history of the ark after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians some 450 years later.

The tabernacle, after the ark was gone from Shiloh, was apparently moved to Nob (21:1; Mark 2:26) and then to Gibeon (1 Chronicles 21:29) until Solomon put it in the temple (1 Kings 8:4).

After the return of the ark from the Philistines, Samuel, with the aid of God, administered a terrific defeat to the Philistines at the place where they had captured the ark (4:1; 7:12).

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1 Sam. 8–10 ORGANIZATION OF THE KINGDOM

Up to this time the form of government had been the theocracy (see Judges). In a predatory world that only recognized the law of the jungle, a nation needed to be fairly strong in order to survive. So God, accommodating Himself to human ways, permitted His nation to unify, as other nations did, under a king. The first king, Saul, was a failure. But the second king, David, was a magnificent success.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Saul’s House in Gibeah. “Saul also went to his home in Gibeah” (10:26). William F. Albright (1922–23) found in Gibeah, in the stratum of 1050 B.C., the ruins of the small fortress Saul had built.

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1 Sam. 11–15 SAUL AS KING

Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost been annihilated in the days of the Judges, and of the city of Gibeah, where the horrible story had started (see Judges 19–21).

Tall, handsome, and humble, Saul began his reign with a brilliant victory over the Ammonites. Any misgivings about the new kingdom disappeared.

Then followed Samuel’s warning, to nation and king, not to forget God, a warning confirmed by a miraculous thunderstorm (chap. 12).

Saul’s first mistake (chap. 13). His successes rapidly went to his head. Humility gave place to pride. He offered sacrifices, which was the exclusive function of priests. This was the first sign of Saul’s growing sense of self-importance.

Saul’s second mistake (chap. 14). His silly order for the army to abstain from food, and his senseless death sentence for Jonathan, showed the people what a fool they had for a king.

Saul’s third mistake (chap. 15). This time Saul deliberately disobeyed God. For this he heard Samuel’s ominous pronouncement, “Because you have rejected God, God has rejected you from being king.”

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1 Sam. 16 DAVID SECRETLY ANOINTED TO BE KING

The anointing could not have been done openly, for then Saul would have killed David. Its purpose was to give David a chance to train himself for the office. God took David under His care (v. 13).

David was short of stature, of fair complexion and handsome, of immense physical strength and great personal attractiveness, a man of war, prudent in speech, very brave, musical, and religious.

His fame as a musician brought him to the notice of King Saul, who did not at the time know that David had been anointed to be his successor. David became Saul’s armor-bearer. This brought David into close association with the king and his counselors, so that unknowingly Saul helped train David for his future responsibilities as king.

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1 Sam. 17 DAVID AND GOLIATH

It seems that David’s first residence at the court was only temporary and that he returned to Bethlehem. Some years passed, and the boy David had so changed in appearance that Saul did not recognize him (vv. 55–58).

Socoh, where Goliath was encamped, was some 14 miles west of Bethlehem. Goliath was about nine feet tall. His armor weighed about 120 pounds, and his spearhead alone about 15 pounds. David’s offer to take on Goliath with only a staff and a sling was an act of unheard-of bravery and amazing trust in God. His victory thrilled the nation. He became the king’s son-in-law, commander of the armies, and the nation’s popular hero.

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1 Sam. 18–20 SAUL’S JEALOUSY OF DAVID

David’s popularity turned Saul against him. Saul tried to kill him, but David fled and for years was a fugitive in the mountains and in the wilderness.

Jonathan’s friendship for David (chap. 20). Jonathan was heir to the throne. His brilliant victory over the Philistines (chap. 14) and his nobility of character were good evidence that he would have made a worthy king. But he had found out that God had ordained David to be king, and his graceful self-effacement in giving up his succession to the throne and his unselfish devotion to David, whom he could have hated as a rival, form one of the noblest stories of friendship in history. Jonathan initiated a covenant with David, symbolized by the giving of robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt. This act reflected Jonathan’s recognition that David would take Jonathan’s place as Saul’s successor.

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1 Sam. 21–27 DAVID A FUGITIVE FROM SAUL

David escaped to the Philistines, feigning insanity. Sensing danger, he fled first to the cave of Adullam in west Judah, then to Moab, then back to south Judah, where he stayed in Keilah, Ziph, and Maon. He had accumulated 600 followers. Saul was in hot pursuit, but David always escaped. A number of the Psalms were composed by David during this period (Psalms 18, 52, 54, 57, 59).

At En-gedi, Saul was trapped. But David refused to come to the throne by murder, no matter how justified it might seem, and spared Saul’s life. Again, at Ziph, Saul acknowledged being a fool—but kept on being one.

Samuel died, and all Israel came together and mourned him. He was buried in Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1).

At Maon, David met Abigail, a woman whom God provided as a pattern of good behavior in an unfortunate marriage. She eventually became David’s wife. David finally found refuge among the Philistines again and stayed there until the death of Saul.

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1 Sam. 28–31 THE DEATH OF SAUL

The Philistines invaded the land and encamped at Mount Gilboa. One of the Philistine princes had wanted David and his men to go along with them. But the other princes did not trust David. So David remained behind and with his 600 men guarded the south against the Amalekites.

In the meantime, Saul was thoroughly frightened and sought, through a witch at Endor, an interview with the spirit of Samuel. The straightforward simplicity of the narrative seems to imply that the spirit of Samuel did actually appear. However, there is difference of opinion as to whether the apparition was real or fraudulent. At any rate, Saul committed suicide in the battle. He had reigned 40 years (Acts 13:21).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Fate of Saul’s Head and Armor. It is stated in 31:10 that “they put [Saul’s] armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths” in Beth Shan, and in 1 Chronicles 10:10 it is said that they “hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.”

Beth Shan (Beisan) is just east of Mount Gilboa, at the junction of the Jezreel and Jordan valleys. The University Museum of Pennsylvania (1921–33) uncovered, in an 11th-century B.C. stratum at Beth Shan, the ruins of twin temples, which may have been the very buildings in which Saul’s armor and head were fastened; at least, it is proof that there were such temples in Beth Shan in Saul’s day.

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“When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. . . .

“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”

The second book of Samuel continues the history of God’s establishment of the kingdom of Israel. It begins with David becoming king over Judah and eventually over all of Israel. It tells of David’s 40-year reign, including his wars; his capture of Jerusalem and the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem; God’s promise of an everlasting kingdom; his sin with Bathsheba; and the loss of his sons. The book ends with David reflecting on his life in what is perhaps his last poetic testimony.

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2 Sam. 1–6 DAVID BECOMES KING OVER ALL OF ISRAEL

It is helpful to read 2 Samuel 1–6 and 1 Chronicles 11–16 together, since this clearly shows the difference in focus between, on the one hand, the books of Samuel and Kings, and on the other, the books of Chronicles. (For a description of these differences, see the sidebar below.)

Both 2 Samuel 1–6 and 1 Chronicles 11–13 cover the period from the death of Saul up to God’s promise to David. But 2 Samuel 1–6 describes at some length the war between the house of Saul and the house of David and the intrigues it involved, while 1 Chronicles 11–16 skips the war with the house of Saul and goes into detail about David’s mighty men and warriors. Chronicles also pays more attention to the ark of the covenant: it describes the return of the ark from the Philistines who had captured it (chap. 13), an event that is ignored in 2 Samuel, and it devotes two chapters (15–16) to the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem, which is covered in a single chapter (6) in 2 Samuel.

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The entire history of the kingdom of Israel is told in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. The books of Chronicles tell the same story.

In broad outline,

• 1–2 Samuel = 1 Chronicles
• 1–2 Kings = 2 Chronicles (both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles begin with Solomon)

The main differences are that

• 1 Chronicles begins with a lengthy genealogy—beginning with Adam—but it omits the stories of Samuel and Saul (except for Saul’s suicide);
• 2 Chronicles omits entirely the history of the northern kingdom.

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 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Gihon Spring and Ancient Water System. The one natural water source for the city of Jerusalem is the Gihon Spring, situated down in the Kidron Valley. The ancient core of Jerusalem developed just to the west of this spring, on a defensible hill. It is because of this spring that the city of Jerusalem was built here.

The tunnels, shafts, and towers close to this spring have been carefully studied by scholars since the 19th century. It appears that the pre-Israelite population built massive towers to guard the water sources, and they also enlarged natural tunnels and shafts that led from inside the city to the spring. In this way they were able to draw water from the spring during times of siege without ever having to go outside of the city walls. It is probable that Joab led David’s troops through this tunnel system and thus captured the city from the Jebusites: “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies” (2 Samuel 5:8; compare also 1 Chronicles 11:4–9).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Millo. In her excavations of the old ancient core of the City of David, Kathleen Kenyon and, after her, Yigal Shiloh discovered that Jerusalem had been built on a series of ascending terraces. These terraces were constructed by building a retaining wall, and filling (Heb. millo) in behind it. Then houses and other structures were built on the fill (millo). One of the duties of a good king, from the time of David onward, was to build up “the area around it [i.e., the City of David], from the supporting terraces [Heb. millo] inward” (2 Samuel 5:9).

This water shaft at Gibeon goes down some 33 feet and leads to a tunnel 40 feet long. At the end is a water chamber that may be the pool of Gibeon referred to in 2 Samuel 2:12. After the fall of Jericho, the Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a treaty with them (Joshua 9–10). It was when Joshua defended Gibeon from the Amorites that the sun stood still over the city.

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2 Sam. 7 GOD PROMISES DAVID AN ETERNAL THRONE

The Old Testament is the story of God’s dealings with the Hebrew nation for the purpose of one day blessing all nations.

As the story unfolds, it is explained that the way the Hebrew nation would bless all nations is through the family of David. It is further explained that the family of David would bless the world through a great King who would one day be born into the family, a King who would live forever and establish a kingdom of endless duration.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The David Inscription at Dan. Until recently, no mention of “David” had been found in any extrabiblical text dating to the Old Testament period. Now fragments of a carved stone victory stele have been found at Dan—one of the northernmost towns in Israel. Beautifully inscribed, the stele describes in Aramaic the victory of the king of Aram (Damascus) over the kings of Israel and Judah. Among the lines is a mentioning of “the house of David”—a clear reference to the Davidic dynasty, some 150 to 200 years after David had died.

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2 Sam. 8–10 DAVID’S VICTORIES

After Saul’s death, David had been made king over Judah. Seven years later he was made king over all of Israel. He was 30 when he became king. He reigned over Judah alone for 7 1/2 years, and over all of Israel for 33 years, a total of 40 years (5:3–5). He died at age 70.

Soon after becoming king over all Israel, David made Jerusalem his capital. Situated in an impregnable position, with valleys on three sides, and with the tradition of Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:18; Salem is thought to be the ancient name for Jerusalem—compare Psalm 76:2), David decided to make it his nation’s capital. He took it, brought in the ark of God, and planned the temple (chaps. 5–7), which his son Solomon would build.

David was very successful in his wars. He completely subdued the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Edomites, Ammonites, Amalekites, and all neighboring nations. “The Lord gave David victory wherever he went” (8:6).

David took an insignificant nation and in a few years built it into a mighty kingdom. In the southwest, the Egyptian world empire had declined. In the east, in Mesopotamia, the Assyrian and Babylonian world empires had not yet arisen. And here, on the highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia, the kingdom of Israel under David became almost overnight, not a world empire, but perhaps the single most powerful kingdom on earth at the time.

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Thus the promise of an eternal king who was to come from David’s family was repeated over and over—to David himself, to Solomon, and again and again in the Psalms and by the prophets Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah, over a period of some 500 years.

When the time came, the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth, to Mary, who was of the family of David, and he said:

“Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:30–33).

In this Child the promises to and about David found their fulfillment.

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2 Sam. 11–12 DAVID AND BATHSHEBA

This was the blackest spot in David’s life: adultery and instigation to murder to cover up the adultery. His remorse made him a broken man. God forgave him but pronounced a fearful sentence: “The sword will never depart from your house” (12:10)—and it never did. David reaped exactly what he had sown, and even more—a long, hard, and bitter harvest. His daughter Tamar was raped by her brother Amnon, who in turn was murdered by their brother Absalom. Absalom led a rebellion against his father David and was killed in the struggle. David’s wives were violated in public, as he had secretly violated the wife of Uriah. Thus David’s glorious reign was clouded by unceasing troubles. What a lesson for those who think they can sin, and sin, and sin, and get away with it!

And yet—this was the man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). David’s reactions showed him to be just that. Some of the Psalms (for example, 32 and 51) were born of this bitter experience.

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2 Sam. 13–21 DAVID’S TROUBLES

Absalom probably knew that Solomon was to be David’s successor as king, hence this effort to steal the throne from his father David. Judging by the space given to the account of Absalom, it must have been one of the most troublesome things in David’s reign. It involved the defection of some of David’s advisers and utterly broke his heart. But Absalom was finally killed, and David was restored to his throne. (For a note on the gateway mentioned in 18:33, see Ruth and Boaz in the chapter on Ruth.)

Then followed Sheba’s rebellion (chap. 20). Absalom’s attempted usurpation probably weakened David’s hold on the people. So Sheba tried his hand at it, but soon was crushed. Then the Philistines grew bold again (chap. 21), but again David was victorious.

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2 Sam. 22 DAVID’S SONG OF PRAISE

Here, as in many psalms, David exhibits his unfailing trust in God and his unbounded gratitude to God for His constant care.

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2 Sam. 23 DAVID’S LAST WORDS

This is David’s last psalm. It shows what David’s mind was focused on at the close of his glorious but troubled life: the justice of his reign as king, his creation of the Psalms, his devotion to God’s Word, and God’s covenant with him that promised an eternal dynasty.

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2 Sam. 24 THE PEOPLE NUMBERED

It is difficult to see just why the taking of a national census was a sin. God Himself had ordered such a census both at the beginning and at the end of the 40 years of wilderness wanderings (Numbers 1:2; 26:2). In this case, David’s decision to count the people may indicate that he who had so consistently, all his life, relied implicitly on God was beginning to rely on the greatness of his kingdom. The census was Satan’s idea (1 Chronicles 21:1). Satan may have considered it an opportunity to move David away from his trust in God to trust in himself. At any rate, God regarded the act as a sin to be punished.

The census showed a population of about a million and a half fighting men, exclusive of Levi and Benjamin (1 Chronicles 21:5), which would mean a total population of probably about 6 to 8 million.

In punishment, God sent the plague. The Angel of the Lord, who brought the plague, was stopped by God at a place near Jerusalem, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David bought the threshing floor from Araunah, so that it became the royal property of the House of David. David built an altar on it (v. 25) and later Solomon built the temple there (2 Chronicles 3:1).

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All in all, David was a grand character. He did some things that were very wrong, but he was a most remarkable man, especially when viewed in the light of his time and in comparison with other oriental rulers. He was, heart and soul, devoted to God and the ways of God. In a world of idolatry and in a nation that was continually falling away into idolatry, David stood like a rock for God. In every circumstance of life he went directly to God, in prayer, in thanks, in repentance, or in praise. His two great accomplishments were the kingdom and the Psalms.

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Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

Parallel stories should be read in both 1 Kings and in 2 Chronicles, since they often include different details and even events.

In the Hebrew Old Testament, 1 and 2 Kings are one book. The translators of the Septuagint divided it into two books. First Kings opens with the Hebrew nation in its glory. Second Kings closes with the nation in ruin. Together they cover a period of about 400 years, approximately 970–586 B.C. Except for a few high spots, the story that begins full of promise with the golden age of Hebrew history soon turns into a sad story of division and decay and ends with the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the citizens of what was left of David and Solomon’s once mighty kingdom.

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The entire history of the kingdom of Israel is told in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. The books of Chronicles tell the same story.

In broad outline,

• 1–2 Samuel = 1 Chronicles
• 1–2 Kings = 2 Chronicles (both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles begin with Solomon)

The main differences are that

• 1 Chronicles begins with a lengthy genealogy—beginning with Adam—but it omits the stories of Samuel and Saul (except for Saul’s suicide);
• 2 Chronicles omits entirely the history of the northern kingdom.

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Author

The author of the books of Kings is not known. A Jewish tradition says that it was Jeremiah. Whoever the author was, he makes frequent reference to state annals and other historical records that existed in his day, such as the Book of the Acts of Solomon, the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (1 Kings 11:41; 14:19, 29; 15:7, 23, 31; 16:5, 14, 27, etc.). It appears that there was an abundance of written records to which the author had access, guided, of course, by the Spirit of God.

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1 Kings 1–2 SOLOMON BECOMES KING

Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:1–12:24). Though not in line for the succession, he was chosen by David, and approved by God, to be David’s successor (1:30; 1 Chronicles 22:9–10).

Adonijah, David’s fourth son, it seems, was heir expectant to the throne (2:15, 22; 2 Samuel 3:3–4), for the three eldest sons (Amnon, Absalom, and probably Chiliab) were dead. So while David was on his deathbed, and before Solomon was formally anointed king, Adonijah plotted to seize the kingdom. But the plot was thwarted by Nathan the prophet. Solomon was generous in his treatment of Adonijah. But Adonijah persisted in his effort to steal the throne, and it was not long until he also was executed (1 Kings 1:1–2:25).

King David was buried in the City of David (the ancient core of Jerusalem just south of the temple), as were all kings of Judah through Ahaz. The largest opening may be the tomb of David. Not much can be seen, since the site was quarried extensively during the Roman period.

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1 Kings 3 SOLOMON CHOOSES WISDOM

This event took place at Gibeon (3:4), where at the time the tabernacle and the bronze altar were located (1 Chronicles 21:29), about six miles northwest of Jerusalem. The ark had been brought to Jerusalem by David (3:15; 2 Samuel 6:1–16). God told Solomon to ask whatever he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern his people. That pleased God, and God richly rewarded him (vv. 10–12)—a marvelous picture of true greatness and youthful piety!

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1 Kings 4 SOLOMON’S POWER, WEALTH, AND WISDOM

Solomon had inherited the throne of the most powerful kingdom then in existence. It was an era of peace and prosperity. Solomon had vast business enterprises and was famous for his literary attainments. He wrote 3000 proverbs, more than 1000 songs, and scientific works on botany and zoology (vv. 32–33). He wrote Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs (also called the Song of Solomon), as well as most of the book of Proverbs.

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1 Kings 5–8 SOLOMON BUILDS THE TEMPLE

Solomon began building the temple in the fourth year of his reign. He built it according to specific design instructions that God had given to his father, David. The temple was finished in roughly seven years.

(See on 2 Chronicles 2–7.)

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1 Kings 9–10 THE SPLENDOR OF SOLOMON’S KINGDOM

These two chapters are an expansion of chapter 4. Solomon devoted himself to commerce and gigantic public works. He made a deal with the king of Tyre that allowed him to use his navy on the Mediterranean. He had a navy at Ezion Geber, on the Gulf of Aqaba, and controlled the trade route south through Edom to the coasts of Arabia, India, and Africa. He built his empire by peaceful commerce.

The era of David and Solomon was the golden age of Hebrew history. David was a warrior; Solomon was a builder. David made the kingdom; Solomon built the temple. In the world outside Israel, this was the age of Homer, the beginning of Greek history. Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon were weak. Israel was the most powerful kingdom in all the Ancient Near East, Jerusalem one of the most magnificent cities, and the temple one of the most splendid buildings. People came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom and see his glory. The famous Queen of Sheba exclaimed, “Not even half was told me (10:7).”

Solomon’s annual income and his supply of gold were enormous: he made large shields of gold and small shields of gold, all the vessels of his palace were made of gold, his throne was ivory overlaid with gold. Gold was as common in Jerusalem as stones (10:10–22; 2 Chronicles 1:15). Within five years after Solomon’s death, Shishak, king of Egypt, came and took all this gold away (14:25–26; 2 Chronicles 12:2, 9–11).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Water System at Megiddo. Although not mentioned frequently in Scripture, this city sat astride one of the great trade routes of antiquity. When the Egyptian king Thutmose III conquered the city (ca. 1482 B.C.), he said that the “capture of Megiddo, was like the capture of a thousand towns”—so great was its importance. At Megiddo, a gate, wall, palaces, and storerooms from the time of Solomon have been discovered. During the days of wicked Ahab, a vertical shaft, 120 feet deep, was cut on the west side of the mound, and a 215-foot horizontal tunnel was then cut in order to bring water from outside the city to inside its walls, in order to provide its residents with water during times of siege. Throughout history the armies of the world have attempted to control this strategic spot, and so it has become the symbol for the great final battle (Revelation 16:16), the “Battle of Armageddon” (Heb. Har [mount] Megiddo).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Fate of Solomon’s Gold. Records show that Shishak and his son Osorkon gave over 383 tons of precious metal to the Egyptian deities. Perhaps some of this was the very same gold Shishak had taken from Solomon’s son Rehoboam.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Solomon’s Stables. The author speaks of Solomon’s horses and chariots in 10:26, 28. Megiddo, along with Gezer and Hazor, is named as one of the cities Solomon fortified and where he possibly housed his chariots and horses (9:15, 19).

The remains of the city of Megiddo. (Note the partial tell that has not yet been excavated.) Solomon had the walls of the city built with forced labor. Later, King Josiah battled Pharaoh Neco of Egypt in the plain of Megiddo and was killed (2 Chronicles 35:22). Here in the plain of Megiddo the great battle of the End, the battle of Armageddon (Har Megiddo) will be fought (Revelation 16:16).

The Oriental Institute uncovered structures at Megiddo that may be Solomon’s stables (although some archaeologists believe that the structures may have been used as storerooms; and some would actually date them to the time of Ahab rather than Solomon). (See also ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Shiloh in 1 Samuel.)

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Solomon’s Navy at Ezion Geber. Solomon built a navy in Ezion Geber (9:26). This was for his trade with Arabia, India, and the east coast of Africa. Ezion Geber was located at the north end of the Gulf of Akaba, on the Red Sea, although its exact location is not certain. Some have suggested Tell el–Kheleifeh (excavated by Nelson Glueck), while others suggest identifying it with the island anchorage called Jezirat Faraun, nine miles southwest of the northern tip of the Red Sea.

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1 Kings 11 SOLOMON’S WIVES AND APOSTASY

Solomon’s glorious reign was clouded by a grand mistake: his marriage to women from other nations, who brought their idols with them. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines (11:3), which would seem to make this wise man of the ages, in this respect at least, just a plain common fool. Many of these women were daughters of gentile princes, whom he married for the sake of political alliance. For them, he who had built God’s temple built heathen altars alongside it. Thus idolatry, which David had been so zealous to suppress, was reestablished in the palace. This brought to a close the glorious era ushered in by David and started the nation on its road to ruin. The besotted apostasy of Solomon’s old age is one of the most pitiful spectacles in the Bible. Perhaps the account of it was intended by God to be an example of what luxury and ceaseless rounds of pleasure will do to even the best of men.

The high place at Dan, where King Jeroboam placed one of the golden calves. (The other one was near the southern border, close to Jerusalem, in Bethel.)

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1 Kings 12 THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM

The kingdom had lasted 120 years: 40 years under Saul (Acts 13:21), 40 years under David (2 Samuel 5:4), and 40 years under Solomon (1 Kings 11:42). After Solomon’s death the kingdom was divided. Ten tribes formed the northern kingdom and took the name “Israel” with them. The two remaining tribes, Judah and Benjamin, formed the southern kingdom, called “Judah.”

The northern kingdom lasted a little over 200 years. It was destroyed by Assyria in 722 B.C. The 10 tribes were deported and disappeared from history. The southern kingdom lasted a little over 300 years. It was destroyed by Babylon shortly after about 586 B.C.

The secession of the 10 tribes was of God (11:11, 31; 12:15), both as punishment for apostasy of Solomon and as a lesson to Judah.

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1 Kings 13–14 JEROBOAM, KING OF ISRAEL (931–910 B.C.)

Jeroboam, encouraged by the prophet Ahijah and promised the throne of the Ten Tribes and a lasting dynasty if only he would walk in God’s ways, led a revolt against Solomon. Solomon tried to kill him, so he fled to the court of Shishak, the king of Egypt.

After Solomon’s death, Jeroboam returned and established the Ten Tribes as an independent kingdom. But he disregarded Ahijah’s warning and instituted calf worship. God sent Ahijah to Jeroboam again, this time to tell him that Israel would be rooted up out of the land and scattered in the country beyond the Euphrates (14:10, 15). This amazing prophecy, which called Josiah by name 300 years before he was born (13:2), was fulfilled (2 Kings 23:15–18).

After the division of the kingdom, there was long, continued war between Israel and Judah.

1 Kings 14:21–31 REHOBOAM, KING OF JUDAH (931–913 B.C.) (See on 2 Chronicles 10.)

1 Kings 15:1–8 ABIJAH, KING OF JUDAH (931–911 B.C.) (See on 2 Chronicles 13.)

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Jeroboam, the founder of the northern kingdom, in order to keep the two kingdoms separate, adopted calf worship as the state religion of his newly formed kingdom. The worship of God had become identified with Judah, Jerusalem, and the family of David. The calf came to stand as a symbol of Israel’s independence of Judah. Jeroboam established calf worship so firmly in the northern kingdom that it was not swept away until the fall of the kingdom. His two main religious centers were Bethel in the south and Dan in the northern part of the kingdom.

There was always a tendency for the Israelites to join in the worship of the Canaanite deity Baal. His worship was actively promoted by Jezebel, but actively opposed by the prophets Elijah and Elisha and by King Jehu. Baal and other pagan deities were also intermittently worshiped by the Judeans.

Every one of the 19 kings of the northern kingdom followed the worship of the golden calf. Some of them also served Baal. But not one ever attempted to bring the people back to God.

Judah in principle worshiped God, although most of the kings of Judah served idols and walked in the evil ways of the kings of Israel. Some of Judah’s kings served God, and at times there were great reformations in Judah. But on the whole, in spite of repeated warnings, Judah sank lower and lower in the horrible practices of Baal worship and other Canaanite religions, until it was too late and Judah was overrun by the Babylonians.

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Kings of Israel				Kings of Judah
Jeroboam		933–911		Rehoboam		933–916
Nadab		911–910		Abijah		915–913
Baasha		910–887		Asa		912–872
Elah		887–886
Zimri		886
Omri		886–875
Ahab		875–854		Jehoshaphat		874–850
Ahaziah		855–854		Jehoram		850–843
Joram		854–843		Ahaziah		843
Jehu		843–816		Athaliah		843–837
Jehoahaz		820–804		Joash		843–803
Joash		806–790		Amaziah		803–775
Jeroboam II		790–749		Uzziah		787–735
Zechariah		748		Jotham		749–734
Shallum		748
Menahem		748–738
Pekahiah		738–736		Ahaz		741–726
Pekah		748–730
Hoshea		730–721		Hezekiah		726–697
				Manasseh		697–642
				Amon		641–640
				Josiah		639–608
				Jehoahaz		608
				Jehoiakim		608–597
				Jehoiachin		597
				Zedekiah		597–586

1 Kings 15:9–24 ASA, KING OF JUDAH (911–870 B.C.) (See on 2 Chronicles 14.)

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1 Kings 15:25–32 NADAB, KING OF ISRAEL (910–909 B.C.)

Nadab was the son of Jeroboam. He walked in the sins of his father, and he reigned for only two years before he was assassinated by Baasha, who killed Jeroboam’s entire family.

The Northern Kingdom, Israel, 933–721 B.C.
First	50 years:	Harassed by Judah and Syria
Next	40 years:	Quite prosperous under Omri’s dynasty
Next	40 years:	Brought very low under Jehu and Jehoahaz
Next	50 years:	Reached its greatest extent under Jeroboam II
Last	30 years:	Anarchy, ruin, and captivity
The Southern Kingdom, Judah, 931–586 B.C.
First	80 years:	Quite prosperous, growing in power
Next	70 years:	Considerable disaster; introduction of Baalism
Next	50 years:	Reached its greatest extent under Uzziah
Next	15 years:	Began to pay tribute to Assyria under Ahaz
Next	30 years:	Regained independence under Hezekiah
Last	100 years:	Mostly a vassal of Assyria
Relations Between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms
First	80 years:	Continuous war between them
Second	80 years:	Peace between them
Last	50 years:	Intermittent war, to the end

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1 Kings 15:33–16:7 BAASHA, KING OF ISRAEL (909–886 B.C.)

After capturing the throne by violence, Baasha reigned 24 years. He walked in the sins of Jeroboam. He warred with Judah, which made an appeal to Assyria to attack him.

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1 Kings 16:8–14 ELAH, KING OF ISRAEL (886–885 B.C.)

Elah, the son of Baasha, reigned two years. Given to debauchery, he was assassinated while he was drunk, by Zimri, who killed his entire family.

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1 Kings 16:15–20 ZIMRI, KING OF ISRAEL (885 B.C.)

Zimri reigned all of seven days. He was a military officer whose only accomplishment was the extermination of the short-lived Baasha dynasty. He committed suicide by setting his palace on fire.

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1 Kings 16:21–28 OMRI, KING OF ISRAEL (885–874 B.C.)

Omri was chosen king by acclamation and reigned 12 years. He was more evil than all the kings of Israel before him. Yet he gained such prominence that for a long time after his death, Israel was still known as the land of Omri. He made Samaria his capital (Tirzah, some 10 miles east of Samaria, had been the northern capital until then; 14:17; 15:33).

The destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. is still visible in the remains of the palace of Omri and Ahab in Samaria.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Omri.

• The Moabite Stone (850 B.C.) mentions Omri, king of Israel.
• An inscription of Adad-nirari III (810–782 B.C.) mentions the land of Israel as “Omri.”
• The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (858–824 B.C.) speaks of tribute from Jehu, successor to Omri.
• In 16:24 it is said that Omri built Samaria. A Harvard University expedition found in the ruins of Samaria the foundations of Omri’s palace, evidence that he established a new capital there.

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1 Kings 16:29–22:40 AHAB, KING OF ISRAEL (874–853 B.C.)

Ahab reigned for 22 years. He was the most wicked of all the kings of Israel. He married Jezebel, a princess from Sidon, who was an imperious, unscrupulous, vindictive, determined, devilish woman—a demon incarnate. She built a temple for Baal in Samaria, maintained 850 prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth, killed God’s prophets, and abolished the worship of the Lord (18:13, 19). Her name is later used for prophetesses who sought to seduce the church to commit spiritual adultery (Revelation 2:20).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Ahab. Although the biblical writers were not fond of the wicked Ahab, archaeologists have found extensive remains (palaces, storerooms, fortresses, etc.) at sites such as Dan, Hazor, Megiddo, Jezreel, Samaria, and elsewhere. Indeed, he was so powerful that in a battle against the powerful Assyrian monarch Shalmaneser III at Qarqar (853 B.C.), he supplied more chariots (2000) than any of the other allied forces.

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Six chapters are given to Ahab’s reign, while most of the kings of Israel are covered in only part of one chapter. The reason is that the story of Ahab is largely the story of Elijah. Elijah was God’s answer to Ahab and Jezebel. God sent Elijah to eradicate Baalism, a cruel religion.

Elijah’s rare, sudden, and brief appearances, his undaunted courage and fiery zeal, the brilliance of his triumphs, the pathos of his despondency, the glory of his departure, and the calm beauty of his reappearance with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 3–4; Mark 9:4; Luke 9:30–33) make him one of the grandest characters Israel ever produced.

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1 Kings 17–18 THE DROUGHT

God gave Elijah power to shut the heavens for 3 1/2 years so it did not rain. During this time Elijah was fed by ravens in the Kerith Ravine and by the widow of Sarepta, whose jar of flour and jug of oil did not run out.

Elijah’s venture of faith on Mount Carmel was magnificent. God must have revealed to Elijah, some way or other, that he would send the fire and rain. But it all made no impression on Jezebel.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Baal Worship. The Canaanites, and eventually many Israelites and Judeans, worshiped the storm god Baal—the one who brought fertility to the land. In addition, they worshiped the sex goddess Asherah. Numerous fertility figurines have been found in archaeological excavations in Israel. From some of the texts found at Ugarit (a city in Syria) we know that Canaanite worship could include ritual dancing and the cutting and slashing of one’s body—which is exactly what the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah did on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:25–29).

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1 Kings 19 THE STILL SMALL VOICE

Utterly discouraged, Elijah fled to Mount Horeb, where he asked God to let him die (19:4). Elijah’s ministry had been a ministry of miracles, fire, and the sword. He had caused a severe drought, had been sustained by ravens and by a jar of flour and jug of oil that never ran out, had raised the dead, had called down fire from heaven, had slain the prophets of Baal with the sword, and had brought rain to the land.

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And God taught him a wonderful lesson: God was not in the wind, or in the earthquake, or in the fire, but in “a still small voice” (vv. 11–12 KJV; NIV, “a gentle whisper”). It seems as if God was telling Elijah that while force and spectacular demonstrations of power are sometimes necessary, yet God’s real work in the world is not accomplished by such methods.

Many centuries later, Elijah appeared again, on the Mount of Transfiguration, talking with Christ and Moses about the work that now at last was being introduced into the world, namely, the transforming of human lives into the image of God by the gentle whisper of Christ speaking in the hearts of men.

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1 Kings 20–22 AHAB’S DEATH

Ahab closed his reign with a brutal crime against Naboth. He was slain in war with Syria—the end of a contemptible character.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Shalmaneser and Ahab. An inscription of Shalmaneser III (858–824 B.C.) mentions Ahab: “I destroyed . . . 2000 chariots and 10,000 men of Ahab king of Israel.”

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Ahab’s “Ivory House.” “The palace he built and inlaid with ivory” (22:39). The Harvard University Expedition to Samaria found remains of Ahab’s palace. Scattered about on the floors and in the courtyards were hundreds of exquisitely carved ivory fragments. Many contained Phoenician and/or Egyptian motifs. They probably had been used as inlays in the palace furniture of the Israelite kings—compare the “beds inlaid with ivory” in Amos 6:4.

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1 Kings 22:41–50 JEHOSHAPHAT, KING OF JUDAH (872–848 B.C.) (See on 2 Chronicles 17.)

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1 Kings 22:51–53 AHAZIAH, KING OF ISRAEL (853–852 B.C.) (See on 2 Kings 1.)

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“This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.”

Parallel stories should be read in both 2 Kings and in 2 Chronicles, since they often include different details and even events.

The books 1 and 2 Kings were originally one book. First Kings tells the story of the kingdom, beginning with Solomon, through the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s death, and the first 80 years after the division of the kingdom. Second Kings continues the parallel accounts of the two kingdoms, Judah and Israel.

The story of the northern kingdom, Israel, continues for another 130 years or so, until the Assyrians come, destroy the kingdom, and deport the people of Israel, who, as an identifiable group, disappear forever into the mists of history.

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The entire history of the kingdom of Israel is told in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. The books of Chronicles tell the same story.

In broad outline,

• 1–2 Samuel = 1 Chronicles
• 1–2 Kings = 2 Chronicles (both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles begin with Solomon)

The main differences are that

• 1 Chronicles begins with a lengthy genealogy—beginning with Adam—but it omits the stories of Samuel and Saul (except for Saul’s suicide);
• 2 Chronicles omits entirely the history of the northern kingdom.

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The story of the southern kingdom, Judah, continues for another 130 years after the fall of Israel, until the kingdom of Judah is overrun by the Babylonians, Jerusalem is destroyed, and the people of Judah are taken to Babylonia in what is known as the Babylonian captivity, from which some would return about 50 years later to rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra, Nehemiah).

The second book of Kings covers the last 12 kings of the northern kingdom and the last 16 kings of the southern kingdom (see under 1 Kings 12)—a period of about 250 years, approximately 850–586 B.C.

Elijah and Elisha were prophets sent by God in an effort to save the northern kingdom. Their combined ministry lasted about 75 years in the middle period of the northern kingdom, about 875–800 B.C., through the reigns of six kings: Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash.

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2 Kings 1 AHAZIAH, KING OF ISRAEL (853–852 B.C.)

The account of his reign starts back in 1 Kings 22:51. He was coregent with his father, Ahab, and wicked like him. He reigned for two years. We have here another of Elijah’s fire miracles (vv. 9–14).

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2 Kings 2 ELIJAH TAKEN UP IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE

Elijah was a native of Gilead, in the land of Jephthah. A child of the wild loneliness of mountain ravines, he wore a mantel of sheep skin or coarse camel hair, with his own thick, long hair hanging down his back. His mission was to drive Baalism out of Israel. His ministry may have lasted about 25 years, through the reigns of the wicked Ahab and Ahaziah. He had some hard and rough and very disagreeable work to do.

He thought he had failed. And though intimate with God in a measure that has been given to few people, he was utterly human, like us: he asked God to take his life. But God did not think he had failed. When his work was done, God sent a deputation of angelic chariots to take Elijah away in triumph to heaven.

Elijah had recently been on Mount Horeb, where Moses had given the Law. Now, conscious that the time of his departure had come, he headed straight for the land of Moses’ burial, Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1), as if he wanted to be with Moses in death.

Elijah had been a prophet of fire. He had called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, and he had called down fire to destroy the officers of Ahaziah. Now he is borne away to heaven in a chariot of fire. Only one other, Enoch, was taken to God without having to pass through the experience of death (Genesis 5:24). Possibly the experience of these two men may have been intended by God to be a sort of dim foreshadowing of the Rapture of the church, in that glad day when angel chariots shall sweep in and swing low to gather us up to welcome the returning Savior.

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Elijah, instructed by God, had anointed Elisha to be his successor (1 Kings 19:16–21) and had taken him on as his apprentice. As Elijah went away to heaven, his mantle fell on Elisha, and Elisha began immediately to work miracles, as Elijah had done.

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The waters of the Jordan were divided for Elisha, as just before they had divided for Elijah (2:8, 14). The spring at Jericho was healed (2:21). Forty-two boys at Bethel were torn by bears (2:24). God, not Elisha, sent the bears. Bethel was a seat of Baal worship. The boys apparently were taunting Elisha’s God.

God had hinted to Elijah that fire and sword were not the methods by which God’s real work would be accomplished (1 Kings 19:12). Nevertheless, fire and sword continued to be used—Baalism could understand no other language. Elisha anointed Jehu to exterminate official Baalism (1 Kings 19:16–17; 2 Kings 9:1–10). And Jehu did so, with a vengeance (chaps. 9–10).

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2 Kings 3–9 JEHORAM (JORAM), KING OF ISRAEL (852–841 B.C.)

Jehoram reigned 12 years and was killed by Jehu (9:24). During his reign, the king of Moab, who had paid tribute to Ahab, rebelled (3:4–6).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Moabite Stone. Chapter 3 is an account of Jehoram’s effort to subdue Moab again. Mesha, king of Moab (2 Kings 3:4), made his own record of this rebellion. It was found in 1868 at Dibon, in Moab, 20 miles east of the Dead Sea, by F. A. Klein, a German missionary. It is a black basalt stone, 3 feet high, 2 feet wide, 14 inches thick, with an inscription of Mesha. It is known as the Moabite Stone. While the Berlin Museum was negotiating for it, the Clermont-Ganneau of Jerusalem tried to make a paper squeeze (a papier-mâché impression) of it—and was partially successful.

The next year Arabs, by lighting a fire around it and pouring cold water over it, broke it in pieces to spite the Ottoman governor. Later the French secured the pieces, and by putting them together—along with pieces of the paper squeeze—saved the inscription. It is now in the Louvre Museum.

This is part of the text written on the Moabite Stone (Chemosh is the god of Moab):

I [am] Mesha, son of Chemosh, king of Moab . . . my father had reigned over Moab thirty years and I reigned after my father. . . .
    As for Omri, king of Israel, he humbled Moab many years, for Chemosh was angry at his land [Moab]. And his [Omri’s] son followed him and he also said, “I will humble Moab.” In my time he spoke [thus], but I have triumphed over him and over his house, while Israel has perished forever.

He then describes the capture of the cities of Medeba, Ataroth, Nebo, and Jahaz. This is what he says about the fall of Nebo:

And Chemosh said to me, “Go, take Nebo from Israel!” So I went by night and fought against it from the break of dawn until noon, taking it and slaying all, seven thousand men, boys, women, girls, and maid-servants, for I had devoted them to destruction for [the god] Ashtar-Chemosh.

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2 Kings 4–7 ELISHA’S MIRACLES

Elisha had begun his ministry with miracles, as told in chapter 2. Miracle upon miracle follows. A widow’s oil supply is increased. The Shunammite’s son is raised from the dead. A poisonous stew is made edible. Loaves of bread are multiplied. Naaman’s leprosy is healed. An ax head is made to float. Samaria is delivered by Elisha’s invisible chariots. The Syrians are routed by horses and chariots of God (7:6). Nearly all that is recorded of Elisha is about his miracles. Most of Elisha’s miracles were acts of kindness and mercy.

Jesus understood Elisha’s healing of Naaman as prefiguring that He Himself would also be sent to other nations (Luke 4:25–27).

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2 Kings 8:1–15 ELISHA ANOINTS HAZAEL

Elisha anointed Hazael to succeed Ben-Hadad as king of Syria—a prophet of Israel anointed a foreign king to punish the prophet’s own nation. God had instructed that this be done (1 Kings 19:15) as punishment on Israel for their frightful sins (10:32–33).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Ben-Hadad and Hazael. How Hazael became king of Syria is told in 2 Kings 8:7–15. An account is also found in an inscription of Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria, who says: “I defeated Hadadezer [i.e., Ben-Hadad] of Damascus. I stretched upon the ground 20,000 of his strong warriors . . . the remnants of his troops I pushed into the Orontes river; Hadadezer (himself) perished. Hazael, a commoner [lit., son of nobody] seized the throne.”

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Elisha began his ministry in the reign of Jehoram (3:1, 11), probably about 850 B.C., and continued through the reigns of Jehu and Jehoahaz. He died in the reign of Joash (13:14–20), about 800 B.C.

He was a farm boy, of Abel Meholah in the upper Jordan valley (1 Kings 9:16, 19). He received his prophetic training from Elijah (1 Kings 19:21; 2 Kings 3:11). He and Elijah were very different. Elijah was like the tempest and earthquake; Elisha, like the “still small voice,” the “gentle whisper.” Elijah was flint-like; Elisha, gentle, gracious, diplomatic. Elijah was a man of the wilderness, with a cloak of camel’s hair; Elisha lived in cities and dressed like other people. Yet Elijah’s mantle fell on Elisha (1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 2:13).

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There are seven resurrections in the Bible. These seven do not include the resurrection of Jesus, the capstone of them all, accomplished without human instrumentality, nor the strange incident of Elisha’s bones (2 Kings 13:21).

• Elijah: the widow’s son (1 Kings 17)
• Elisha: the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 4)
• Jesus: Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5)
• Jesus: the son of the widow from Nain (Luke 7)
• Jesus: Lazarus (John 11)
• Peter: Dorcas (Acts 9)
• Paul: Eutychus (Acts 20)

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Elisha’s Miracles

Elisha’s miracles are recorded in chapters 2 and 4–7. Among them was one of the Bible’s seven recorded resurrections.

Elisha’s Seminary Work

Samuel, it seems from 1 Samuel 19:20, had started a school of prophets at Ramah. Elisha had such schools at Bethel, Jericho, Gilgal, and other places (2 Kings 2:3, 5; 4:38; 6:1). Beside these, he appears to have resided at Carmel, Shunem, Dothan, and Samaria (2 Kings 2:25; 4:10, 25; 6:13, 32). He must have been a sort of pastor-prophet-teacher, as well as an adviser to the king. His advice was always acted on. He did not approve of all that the kings did, but in times of crisis he came to their rescue.

Elisha, in the northern kingdom, may have been contemporary with the prophet Joel in the southern kingdom. He may have been a teacher of Jonah and Amos, who were boys at the time.

Elijah and Elisha, in their personal lives and public work, seem to have been a prototype-in-action of John the Baptist and Jesus. John is called Elijah (Matthew 11:14), and Jesus’ ministry of kindness was an extensive expansion of Elisha’s ministry of the same nature. They illustrate the fact that men of utterly different personality may work together for the same ends.

2 Kings 8:16–24 JORAM, KING OF JUDAH

(See on 2 Chronicles 21.)

2 Kings 8:25–29 AHAZIAH, KING OF JUDAH

(See on 2 Chronicles 22.)

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2 Kings 9–10 JEHU, KING OF ISRAEL (841–814 B.C.)

Jehu reigned for 28 years. He was an officer of Ahab’s bodyguard and was anointed by a prophet to be king, to eliminate the house of Ahab, and to eradicate Baalism. He proceeded immediately and furiously to do the bloody work for which Jehu was well fitted. He was intrepid, relentless, pitiless. Perhaps no one else could have done it. He killed Joram, the king of Israel; Jezebel; Ahaziah, the king of Judah (who was Ahab’s son-in-law); Ahab’s 70 sons; the brothers of Ahaziah; all the friends and partisans of Ahab’s house; all the priests of Baal, and all the worshipers of Baal; and he destroyed the temple and pillars of Baal. Sadly, even though Jehu eradicated Baal worship, he made no effort to keep the Law of God but did what King Jeroboam had done—practiced calf worship (see sidebar The Religion of the Northern Kingdom in 1 Kings).

If we wonder at God’s use of an agent like Jehu, we must remember that Baalism was unspeakably vile. God sometimes uses people and nations who are far from what they ought to be to execute His judgments on the wicked.

This relief from the stele of Shalmaneser III (also known as the Black Obelisk) shows Jehu bowing down. The winged disk above Jehu represents the god Assur; the star represents the goddess Ishtar.

While Jehu was occupied with his bloody revolution in Israel, Hazael, the king of Syria (who had been anointed by Elisha; 8:1–15) took away Gilead and Bashan, Israel’s territory east of the Jordan (10:32–33). Jehu also had his troubles with Assyria, whose power was rising with ominous rapidity.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Jehu and Shalmaneser’s Black Obelisk. At Calah, near Nineveh, Sir Austen Henry Layard found in 1846 a block of black stone in the ruins of the palace of Shalmaneser, seven feet high, covered with reliefs and inscriptions that depicted his exploits. It is called the Black Obelisk and is now in the British Museum (see photo).

In the second line from the top is a figure kneeling at the feet of the king, and above it this inscription: “The tribute of Jehu, son [successor] of Omri. I received from him silver, gold, a golden saplu-bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king. . . .”

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Jezebel. Jezebel “painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window” (9:30). At archaeological excavations throughout Israel, small boxes, vials, and containers—made of ivory, stone, pottery, and glass—have been found. Some of these were used for the preparation of cosmetics. Substances such as kohl were used for black; turquoise for green; and ochre for red.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Megiddo. In the extensive excavations at Megiddo, several palaces, storerooms (or stables), a city gate, city wall, and a large underground water system from the days of Ahab have been found.

Megiddo gave its name to the area where the armies opposing God’s people will assemble and the great and final battle of the ages will be waged: Armageddon (Har Megiddo, Mountain of Megiddo; Revelation 16:16). Megiddo was situated on the south side of the Jezreel Valley, 10 miles southwest of Nazareth, at the entrance to a pass across the Carmel mountain range, on the main highway between Asia and Africa. It thus held a key position between the Euphrates and the Nile and was the meeting place of armies from the East and from the West. Thutmose III, who made Egypt a world empire, said, “Megiddo is worth a thousand cities.”

It was at Megiddo in World War I that General Edmund Henry Allenby (1918) broke the power of the Turkish army. It is said that more blood has been shed around this hill than any other spot on earth.

2 Kings 11 ATHALIAH, QUEEN OF JUDAH

(See on 2 Chronicles 22.)

2 Kings 12 JEHOASH, KING OF JUDAH (See on 2 Chronicles 24.)

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2 Kings 13:1–9 JEHOAHAZ, KING OF ISRAEL (814–798 B.C.)

Jehoahaz reigned for 17 years. Under him Israel was brought very low by the Syrians.

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2 Kings 13:10–25 JEHOASH (JOASH), KING OF ISRAEL (798–782 B.C.)

Jehoash reigned for 16 years. He warred with Syria and retook the cities his father had lost. He also warred with Judah and plundered Jerusalem.

The water tunnel at Megiddo, which dates probably from the time of King Ahab (9th century B.C.). The shaft is located inside the city walls, ensuring access in case of a siege; it goes down some 115 feet and then extends for another 175 feet.

2 Kings 14:1–22 AMAZIAH, KING OF JUDAH

(See on 2 Chronicles 25.)

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2 Kings 14:23–29 JEROBOAM II, KING OF ISRAEL (793–753 B.C.)

Jeroboam II, who reigned for 41 years, continued the wars of his father Joash against Syria and, with the help of the prophet Jonah (v. 25), brought the northern kingdom to its greatest extent. The idolatry and abominable social conditions of Jeroboam’s reign were challenged by the ministry of the prophets Amos and Hosea.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: A Seal of Jeroboam’s Servant. In 1904, in the layer of ruins belonging to Jeroboam’s time, a beautiful jasper seal was found at Megiddo, bearing the inscription “Belonging to Shema, Servant [i.e., official] of Jeroboam.” It was later lost in Istanbul.

2 Kings 15:1–7 AZARIAH, KING OF JUDAH

(See on 2 Chronicles 26.)

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2 Kings 15:8–12 ZECHARIAH, KING OF ISRAEL (753–752 B.C.)

Zechariah reigned for only six months before he was assassinated.

This piece of pottery (called an ostracon) is probably a receipt from the days of Jeroboam II. It reads, “In the 10th year, from Azzah [a town] to Gaddiyau [a person], a jar of fine oil.” Pottery shards were used to record transactions and as “note paper.” In Greece, ostraca were used in voting. If a person was voted out of the community, he was “ostracized.”

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2 Kings 15:13–15 SHALLUM, KING OF ISRAEL (752 B.C.)

Shallum, who had assassinated Zechariah, was himself assassinated by Menahem after a reign of one month.

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2 Kings 15:16–22 MENAHEM, KING OF ISRAEL (752–742 B.C.)

Menahem reigned for 10 years, a cold-blooded and brutal king.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Menahem. Menahem paid tribute to Pul (= Tiglath-pileser III), king of Assyria (vv. 19–20). One of Pul’s inscriptions says, “I received tribute from . . . of Menahem of Samaria.” Pul’s inscriptions also mention Pekah and Hoshea of Israel (see below).

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2 Kings 15:23–26 PEKAHIAH, KING OF ISRAEL (742–740 B.C.)

Pekiah reigned for two years before he, like Zechariah and Shallum, was assassinated.

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2 Kings 15:27–31 PEKAH, KING OF ISRAEL (752–732 B.C.)

Pekah reigned for 20 years. A powerful military officer, who may have been coregent with Menahem and Pekahiah, Pekah attacked Judah in alliance with Syria. Judah appealed to Assyria for help. The king of Assyria came and conquered both Israel and Syria, taking away the inhabitants of north and east Israel. This was the so-called Galilee captivity (734 B.C.). Of the northern kingdom, only Samaria was left. This story is told in more detail in 2 Chronicles and Isaiah 7.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Deportation. The beginning of the deportation of the northern kingdom by Tiglath-pileser III (v. 29) is recorded in Tiglath-pileser’s inscription: “The people of the land of Omri [i.e., Israel] I deported to Assyria, with their property.”

2 Kings 15:32–38 JOTHAM, KING OF JUDAH (750–732 B.C.)

(See on 2 Chronicles 27.)

2 Kings 16 AHAZ, KING OF JUDAH (735–716 B.C.)

(See on 2 Chronicles 28.)

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2 Kings 17 HOSHEA, THE LAST KING OF ISRAEL (730–722 B.C.)

Hoshea reigned for nine years. He paid tribute to the king of Assyria, but made a secret alliance with the king of Egypt. Then came the Assyrians and administered the final death-blow to the northern kingdom. Samaria fell, and its people followed the rest of Israel into captivity. The prophets at that time were Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. The northern kingdom had lasted about 200 years. Every one of its 19 kings had walked in the sins of Jeroboam, its founder. God had sent prophet after prophet and judgment after judgment in an effort to turn the nation back from its sins. But in vain. Israel insisted on worshiping its idols. There was no remedy, and God removed Israel from the land.

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 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Hoshea. Hoshea killed Pekah and reigned in his stead (15:30). Hoshea brought tribute to the king of Assyria (17:3).

An inscription of Tiglath-pileser III says, “Israel [lit., Omri-land] . . . all its inhabitants [and] their possessions I led to Assyria. They overthrew their king Pekah and I placed Hoshea as king over them. I received from them 10 talents of gold and 1000 talents of silver as their tribute and brought them to Assyria.”

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Captivity of Israel. Second Kings says, “The king of Assyria . . . marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. . . . [He] captured Samaria and deported the Israelites. . . . The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon . . . and settled them in the towns of Samaria” (17:5–6, 24).

An inscription of Sargon (see map: Assyrian Deportation, and the article The Advancing Assyrians in Isaiah) says, “In my first year I captured Samaria. I took captive 27,290 people. People of other lands, who never paid tribute, I settled in Samaria.”

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The Assyrian Empire destroyed the kingdom of Israel. In recent years, annals of Assyrian kings have been found in which they recorded their exploits. In these annals, the names of 10 Hebrew kings occur: Omri, Ahab, Jehu, Menahem, Pekah, Hoshea, Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. Many statements are found in these records that illuminate biblical statements.

The capital of Assyria was the great city of Nineveh (see the article on Nineveh’s Utter Ruin in Nahum).

It was Assyria’s policy to deport conquered peoples to other lands, which would destroy their sense of nationalism and make them easier to control.

The Assyrians were great warriors. Most nations then were robber nations, and the Assyrians seem to have been about the worst of them all. They built their empire on the loot of other peoples. They practiced incredible cruelty.

Assyria was founded before 2000 B.C. by colonists from Babylon, and for many centuries was subject to, or in conflict with, Babylon. Around 1300 B.C. Shalmaneser I threw off the yoke of Babylon and ruled the whole Euphrates valley. Then Assyria declined. Tiglath-pileser I (1115–1076) made Assyria again a great kingdom, but another period of decline followed—until the brilliant epoch of 300 years in which Assyria was a world empire, under the following kings, many of whom play a role in the Bible (names in bold):

• Assur-nasir-pal II (884–858 B.C.). He was warlike and cruel. Welded Assyria into the best fighting machine of the ancient world.
• Shalmaneser III (858–824). First Assyrian king to come in conflict with Israel. Ahab fought him. Jehu paid him tribute.
• Period of decline under Shamsi-adad V (824–810), Adad-nirari III (810–782), Shalmaneser IV (782–773), Assur-dan III (773–754), Assur-nirari V (754–745).
• Tiglath-pileser III (745–727). Pul was his personal name. He carried northern Israel into captivity (734 B.C.) (See under Isaiah 7.)
• Shalmaneser V (727–722). He besieged Samaria and died in the siege.
• Sargon II (721–705). He completed the destruction of Samaria and the deportation of Israel. (Sargon I was a Babylonian king who lived 2000 years earlier.)
• Sennacherib (704–681). Most famous of the Assyrian kings. He was defeated by an angel of the Lord. He burned Babylon. (See under 2 Chronicles 32.)
• Esarhaddon (681–669). He rebuilt Babylon and conquered Egypt. One of the greatest of the Assyrian kings.
• Assur-banipal (669–633), (or Osnapper, Ezra 4:10 KJV). Destroyed Thebes (in Egypt). Collected a great library. Powerful, cruel, literary.
• The end of the Assyrian Empire under Assur-etil-ilani, Sin-sar-iskun, and Ashur-uballit (633–608). Beset by Scythians, Medes, and Babylonians, the brutal empire fell.

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2 Kings 18–25 THE LAST EIGHT KINGS OF JUDAH, HEZEKIAH TO ZEDEKIAH (716–586 B.C.)

For notes on these kings, see on 2 Chronicles 29–36.

These four reliefs show the pride and cruelty of the Assyrians as well as their considerable artistic talents.

Ashurbanipal calmly confronting a wounded lion, emphasizing his power and courage (top).

Assyrian archers carrying the heads of their enemies in triumph (bottom).

Assyrian archers presenting the heads of their enemies (perhaps along with other gifts). They took “head count” very literally (top).

A magnificent image of a mortally wounded lion (bottom).

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2 Kings 25 ZEDEKIAH (597–586 B.C.), Last King of Judah

The captivity of Judah was accomplished in four phases.

• In 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, defeated Jehoiakim and took temple treasures as well as the sons of prominent families, including Daniel, to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:6–7; Daniel 1:1–3).
• In 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar came again and took the rest of the treasures, as well as King Jehoiachin and 10,000 of the princes, officers, and prominent citizens, to Babylon (2 Kings 24:14–16). Among those taken captive was the prophet Ezekiel.
• In 586 B.C. the Babylonians came again. They burned Jerusalem, tore down its walls, put out the eyes of King Zedekiah, and carried him in chains to Babylon, with 832 captives. All that was left in the land was a remnant of the poorest class of people (2 Kings 25:8–12; Jeremiah 52:28–30).

  It took the Babylonians a year and a half to subdue Jerusalem. They besieged it in the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah, and the city fell in the fourth month of the eleventh year of his reign. A month later the city was burned.

  Thus Nebuchadnezzar was 20 years in the process of destroying Jerusalem. He could have done it at first, had he wanted to. But he only wanted tribute. Daniel, whom he took to Babylon at the beginning of the 20 years, soon became Nebuchadnezzar’s friend and adviser and may have had a restraining influence on him. In the end, it was Judah’s persistence in making an alliance with Egypt that forced Nebuchadnezzar to wipe Jerusalem off the map.

• In 581 B.C., five years after the burning of Jerusalem, the Babylonians came again and took 745 more captives (Jeremiah 52:30), even after a considerable group, including Jeremiah, had fled to Egypt (Jeremiah 43). The fall of Jerusalem was accompanied by the ministry of three great prophets, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

The captivity of Judah by Babylon had been predicted 100 years before by Isaiah and Micah (Isaiah 39:6; Micah 4:10). Now that it was accomplished, Jeremiah predicted that it would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11–12).

This was the end of David’s earthly kingdom. It had lasted 400 years. It revived, in a spiritual sense, with the arrival of Christ, and will be consummated in glory at His return.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar burned the cities of Lachish and Jerusalem (25:9; Jeremiah 34:7); massive destruction levels have been found at both cities. At Lachish a broken piece of pottery with writing on it speaks of the cities of Lachish and Azekah—just as Jeremiah 34:7 does. In Jerusalem, massive destruction by the Babylonians has been found by Shiloh’s excavations in the old City of David and by Nahum Avigad (a defensive tower, ash, and arrowheads) in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

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• Assyria took Israel away in captivity (734–722 B.C.).
• Babylon took Judah away in captivity (605–586 B.C.).
• Assyria occupied the northern part of the Euphrates-Tigris valley.
• Babylon occupied the southern part of the Euphrates-Tigris valley.
• Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire.
• Babylon was the capital of the Babylonian Empire.
• Nineveh and Babylon were 300 miles apart (see map: Babylonian Deportation).

The Old Babylonian Empire (2000–1600 B.C.)

• Around 2000 B.C. Babylon became the dominating power of the world.
• This was the era of the great lawgiver Hammurabi (ca. 1800 B.C.; see The Time of the Patriarchs: Genesis 12–50).
• Then followed 1000 years of intermittent struggle, followed by 250 years of Assyrian supremacy (884–605 B.C.; see Assyria in the chapter on 2 Kings).

The New Babylonian Empire (625–539 B.C.)

The New Babylonian, or Neo-Babylonian Empire, broke the power of Assyria and, in its westward sweep, destroyed Judah and conquered Egypt. Its kings were as follows:

• Nabopolassar (625–605 B.C.) threw off the yoke of Assyria in 625 B.C. and established the independence of Babylon. With the aid of Cyaxares the Mede, he conquered and destroyed Nineveh (612 B.C.). Nabopolassar’s son Nebuchadnezzar became commander of his father’s armies, and in 605 B.C. became coregent with his father.
• Nebuchadnezzar (605–562 B.C.), the greatest of all Babylonian kings, was one of the mightiest monarchs of all time. He reigned for 45 years. The Babylonian Empire was largely his achievement. He extended the power of Babylon over most of the then-known world and beautified the city of Babylon almost beyond imagination (see sidebar The City of Babylon in the chapter on Daniel).

  He was the one who carried the Jews into captivity, including Daniel and Ezekiel. He took a great liking to Daniel and made him one of his chief advisers. And Daniel’s influence, no doubt, must have eased the lot of Jewish captives. (See further about Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, in the sidebars The Babylonian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar in the chapter on Daniel.)

• Under Nebuchadnezzar’s successors the Babylonian Empire began to decline: Evil-Merodach (562–560 B.C.), Neriglissar (559–556 B.C.), Labashi-Marduk (556 B.C.), and Nabonidus (556–539 B.C.).
• Nabonidus’s son, Belshazzar, was coregent with him during the last few years of his reign and thus the second-most powerful person in Babylon. This is why he could only offer Daniel the third-highest position as a reward for interpreting the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:7; for the story of the handwriting on the wall and the fall of Babylon, see sidebar Belshazzar in the chapter on Daniel).
• The city of Babylon, and with it the Babylonian Empire, fell to the Medes and Persians. Supremacy passed to Persia in 539 B.C. and would last until Persia was in turn conquered by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.

The Babylonian Empire lasted 70 years. The 70 years of Judah’s exile coincided exactly with the 70 years during which Babylon ruled the world. The year in which Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon (539 B.C.) was the same year in which he authorized the return of the Jews to their own land.

Babylon, oppressor of God’s Old Testament people, appears again in the book of Revelation as the embodiment of the forces of evil that oppose God (Revelation 17).

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“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.”

Parallel stories should be read in both 1 Chronicles and in 1–2 Samuel, since they often include different details and even events.

Author

The four books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah were originally one book or series of books. According to Jewish tradition, Ezra was the author.

The author thus had access to journals, diaries, and public records that have been lost. He also had access to previous Old Testament books. Guided by God, he transcribed that which suited the purpose of his own writing. So, in this part of the Old Testament, 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles, we have a double narrative.

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The entire history of the kingdom of Israel is told in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. The books of Chronicles tell the same story.

In broad outline,

• 1–2 Samuel = 1 Chronicles
• 1–2 Kings = 2 Chronicles (both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles begin with Solomon)

The main differences are that

• 1 Chronicles begins with a lengthy genealogy—beginning with Adam—but it omits the stories of Samuel and Saul (except for Saul’s suicide);
• 2 Chronicles omits entirely the history of the northern kingdom.

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Significance of the Double Narrative

Believing, as we do, that the whole Bible is the Word of God, designed for universal use, we wonder if God had some purpose other than Ezra’s immediate need in resettling the land in going over this part of the sacred story twice.

Repetition means importance. At least, it is a caution not to neglect this part of the Bible. Even though we think of the books of Kings and Chronicles as rather dry reading, they contain the story of God’s dealings with His people. And in reading them we may find some of the finest jewels of Scripture.

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1 Chron. 1–9 THE GENEALOGIES

The immediate purpose of these genealogies seems to be the resettling of the land in accordance with the public records. Those who had returned from the Babylonian captivity were entitled to the lands formerly held by their own families. In the Old Testament land had been apportioned to families and could not be sold in perpetuity out of the family (see on Leviticus 25).

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Frequent reference is made to other histories, annals, and official archives:

• The annals of King David (1 Chronicles 27:24)
• The records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet, and the records of Gad the seer (1 Chronicles 29:29)
• The records of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the visions of Iddo the seer (2 Chronicles 9:29)
• The records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer (2 Chronicles 12:15)
• The annotations of the prophet Iddo (2 Chronicles 13:22)
• The annals of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel (2 Chronicles 20:34)
• The annotations on the book of the kings (2 Chronicles 24:27)
• The other events of Uzziah’s reign are recorded by Isaiah (2 Chronicles 26:22)
• The vision of the prophet Isaiah (2 Chronicles 32:32)
• The book of the kings of Judah and Israel (2 Chronicles 32:32)
• The records of the seers (2 Chronicles 33:19)

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In the same way, the priesthood was hereditary. A priest was to be succeeded by his son. This was the law of the land.

This is also true of the royal line of David. The most important and precious of all promises was that the world’s Savior would come from David’s family. The central interest of these genealogies is their tracing of David’s family line. (See The Monarchy: David, Solomon, and the Divided Kingdom: 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles.)

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Most of the genealogies are incomplete, with many breaks in the lists. But the main line is there. They were probably compiled from many records that had been written on tablets, papyrus, or vellum and partly copied from preceding Old Testament books.

These nine chapters of genealogies represent the generation-to-generation flow of all preceding biblical history. They need not be read for devotional purposes as often as some other parts of Scripture. But these and similar genealogies are the skeleton framework of the Old Testament, the thing that binds the whole Bible together and gives it unity, and that takes it out of the realm of legend and into the pages of real history.

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1 Chron. 10–12 DAVID MADE KING (1010–970 B.C.)

The book of 2 Samuel and the book of 1 Chronicles, except for the genealogies, are both devoted entirely to the reign of David. But 1 Chronicles pays special attention to the organization of the temple services. Written after the return from captivity, 1 Chronicles, we might say, is a sort of historical sermon, based on 2 Samuel and designed to encourage the returned exiles in the work of restoring temple worship to its proper place in their national life.

In 2 Samuel 2–4 we are told how David was made king over Judah after the death of Saul and reigned for 7 1/2 years from his capital at Hebron. During this time there was war with Saul’s son Ish-bosheth. After Ish-bosheth’s death, David was made king over all Israel.

David’s first act as king over all Israel was to capture Jerusalem and make it the capital of the nation, as is told more fully in 2 Samuel 5. Jerusalem was more centrally located and virtually impregnable, on a mountain with valleys on the east, west, and south sides. During the 400 years from Joshua to David, Israel had been unable to take it, so the Jebusites were still there (Joshua 15:63; 2 Samuel 5:6–10; 1 Chronicles 11:4–5). Jerusalem became the City of David in a very literal sense: it was his personal property.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Watercourse. This watercourse (Heb. sinnor; 2 Samuel 5:8), by which Joab and David’s men gained entrance to Jerusalem, was discovered in 1998 by Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron. It consists of a large pool, which collected water from the Gihon Spring and was guarded by two massive towers. An underground secret passageway led from inside the city to a point where water could be drawn from the pool—so that the residents of the city did not have to go outside the city wall to draw water.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: David’s Jerusalem. In the 1980s, a rounded “stepped–stone” structure, five stories high, was discovered. It apparently supported an old Jebusite citadel (maybe called “Zion”) which was captured by David. David’s city made use of the massive city wall that the Canaanites had built about 1800 B.C. The city captured by David was about 15 acres in size and housed about 2000 people.

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1 Chron. 13–16 THE ARK BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM

The ark had been captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:11). It remained with them for seven months (1 Samuel 6:1) before it was sent back by the Philistines to Israel in order to stop the plagues that had accompanied its capture and possession. It then stayed at Kiriath Jearim, some 8 1/2 miles northwest of Jerusalem, for 20 years (1 Samuel 7:2). David, after establishing Jerusalem as the national capital, called all Israel together to bring the ark to Jerusalem in a grand ceremonial procession.

But the unfortunate Uzzah incident interrupted the procession (13:10). Uzzah’s death for his impulsive gesture to save the ark (13:9) seems severe to us. However, only Levites were to carry the ark (15:2, 13), and Uzzah’s act was in direct violation of the Law (Numbers 4:15). His death was a warning to be careful.

After three months at the house of Obed-Edom (13:14), who was a Levite (15:17–18, 21, 24), the ark was brought into Jerusalem amid great rejoicing and placed in a tent that David had made for it (15:1). The original tabernacle was at Gibeon, six miles northwest of Jerusalem (21:29).

David’s polygamy (14:3) was against the law of God. But it was the custom of ancient kings, one of the signs of prestige and royalty, which the people seemed to expect of their rulers—a custom toward which, in Old Testament times, God seemed lenient. However, David reaped a harvest of family troubles (see on 2 Samuel 13).

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1 Chron. 17 DAVID’S PLAN TO BUILD THE TEMPLE

Building the temple was David’s idea. God was satisfied with a tent (vv. 4–6), but God gave in, although He would not allow David to build the temple because he had been a man of war and had shed much blood (22:8; 28:3). The task of building the temple was assigned to David’s son and successor, Solomon (17:11–14; 28:6).

1 Chron. 18–20 DAVID’S VICTORIES (See on 2 Samuel 8.)

1 Chron. 21 THE PEOPLE NUMBERED (See on 2 Samuel 24.)

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1 Chron. 22 DAVID’S PREPARATIONS FOR THE TEMPLE

Though forbidden to actually build the temple, David laid the plans for it and devoted a large part of his reign to collecting vast amounts of gold and silver and all kinds of building material, estimated to have amounted not to millions but to several billion dollars in today’s market. It was to be “of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations” (22:5). It was to be the crowning glory of the kingdom. David’s charge to Solomon and the leaders of Israel is expanded in chapter 28.

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1 Chron. 23 DUTIES OF THE LEVITES

Now that the temple was to be permanently located in Jerusalem, there would be no more need to carry the tabernacle (v. 26), so the work of the Levites was restructured. Some of them were to oversee the work of the temple (v. 4); some were to be doorkeepers (v. 5); others, musicians (v. 5; 15:16); and there was to be a choir of 4000 Levites. Some Levites were to be officers and judges over Israel, away from the temple, while others handled the affairs of the king (23:4; 26:29, 32). Thus it certainly looks as if the Levites’ duties involved the service of God as well as a significant role in the civil government.

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1 Chron. 24–25 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES

The priests were divided into 24 divisions for service in the sanctuary. They were the officials of the sanctuary and officials of God (v. 5) and were in charge of the sacrifices. Their business in reality ceased with the coming of Christ. Ironically, it was Levite priests who engineered the crucifixion of Christ (Matthew 27:1, 6, 20, 41).

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The Levites were further organized, some to serve as gatekeepers in the temple, others to take charge of the temple treasury, and some especially as musicians, whose business did not cease with the coming of Christ but rather took on new meaning. David was a great musician. With all his soul, he delighted in making the heavens ring with songs of praise to God (15:27–28; 16:41–42). The musicians included some of the sons of Asaph; the headings of Psalm 50 and 73–83 indicate that they are psalms of Asaph.

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1 Chron. 27 MILITARY, CIVIL, AND COURT LEADERS

David also arranged for the appointment of army commanders, tribal officers, and overseers of the royal household. The latter was, in oriental fashion, very extensive, with orchards, vineyards, herds, workers—everything to ensure that the king’s needs were well supplied.

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1 Chron. 28–29 DAVID’S FINAL WORD AND PRAYER

David’s final words and his last prayer concern the temple. That is what his heart was on, as his soul took its flight to the house not made with hands. The man after God’s own heart had served his generation nobly. And what a joy it must have been when he met Him who later bore the name “Son of David”!

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“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Parallel stories should be read in both 2 Chronicles and in 1–2 Kings, since they often include different details and even events.

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2 Chron. 1–9 THE TEMPLE AND THE GLORY OF SOLOMON’S REIGN (970–931 B.C.)

(See also on 1 Kings 1–11.) For 400 years, Israel had only had a tent, the tabernacle, as the house of God among them, and God, it seems, had been satisfied (2 Samuel 7:5–7). Yet, when it appeared expedient that they have a temple, God wanted to have a say as to the kind of building it should be. He gave David plans for it in his own handwriting (1 Chronicles 28:19; Exodus 25:9); it would be magnificent, and it would be famous throughout the world (1 Chronicles 22:5).

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The entire history of the kingdom of Israel is told in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. The books of Chronicles tell the same story, often with different details.

In broad outline,

• 1–2 Samuel = 1 Chronicles
• 1–2 Kings = 2 Chronicles (both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles begin with Solomon)

The main differences are that

• 1 Chronicles begins with a lengthy genealogy—beginning with Adam—but it omits the stories of Samuel and Saul (except for Saul’s suicide);
• 2 Chronicles omits entirely the history of the northern kingdom.

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David had wanted to build the temple, but he was not allowed to because he was a man of war (1 Chronicles 22:8). God helped David in his wars, but He did not think that a man of war should build His house. Otherwise, conquered nations might feel bitter toward Israel’s God, and God’s purpose was to win, through His nation, other nations to Himself.

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The Tabernacle. The house of God in Israel for 400 years was only a tent. Most of the time it stood at Shiloh. (See on Exodus 25–40.)

Solomon’s Temple. Its glory was short-lived. It was plundered within five years after Solomon’s death and was destroyed by Babylonians 340 years later, in 586 B.C.

Zerubbabel’s Temple. Also known as the Second Temple. Built after the return from captivity, it stood for 500 years. (See under Ezra and Nehemiah.)

Herod’s Temple. This was the temple to which Christ came. It was an expansion of Zerubbabel’s temple. Built by Herod the Great, it was a truly magnificent building of marble and gold, surrounded by courts and porticos. It was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. (See under John 2:13.)

Christ’s Body. Jesus called His body a temple (John 2:19–21). In Him God lived among men. Jesus said that earthly temples were not necessary to the worship of God (John 4:20–24).

The Church, collectively, is a temple of God, God’s dwelling-place in the world (1 Corinthians 3:16–19; there is no biblical basis for calling a church building a “temple”).

Each Individual Christian is a temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19), of which the grandeur of Solomon’s temple may have been a type.

Ezekiel’s Temple (Ezekiel 40–43) was not an actual temple, but a vision of a future, ideal, restored temple.

The Temple in Heaven. The tabernacle was a pattern of something in heaven (Hebrews 9:11, 24). John saw a temple (Revelation 11:19). Later, God and the Lamb had become the temple (Revelation 21:22).

(Synagogues do not belong in this list. They came into existence during the Babylonian captivity and were not temples but houses of teaching and worship in any community that had a sufficiently large Jewish population. See Religious Institutions in the the chapter The 400 Years Between the Testaments.)

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The temple was built of great stones, cedar beams, and boards, overlaid inside with gold (1 Kings 6:14–22; 7:9–12). The gold and silver and other materials used in building the temple (1 Chronicles 22:14–16; 29:2–9) came to some 370 tons (340 metric tons), making it, without doubt, the most costly and resplendent building on earth at the time. The pomp and grandeur of the temple may have served a purpose, but its gold became an object of greed to other kings.

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2 Chron. 10–12 REHOBOAM, KING OF JUDAH (931–913 B.C.)

(Rehoboam’s story is also told in 1 Kings 12–14.) A son of Solomon, he reigned for 17 years. Under his reign, the magnificent kingdom of Solomon took a plunge from its pinnacle of glory. Ten of the 12 tribes seceded from his kingdom to form the northern kingdom, Israel. And Shishak, the king of Egypt, plundered Jerusalem (12:2–9).

Rehoboam built fortresses in the Negev to protect his access to the Red Sea. These small fortresses, perhaps 150 feet in diameter, were often built in sight of each other. But they were not enough to keep Shishak of Egypt at bay.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Shishak’s Invasion of Judah. Shishak’s own record of this campaign is inscribed on the south wall of the great Temple of Amon at Karnak, in which he is depicted as presenting 150 “cities” of Palestine to his god Amon.

A fragment of a monument he set up in Megiddo has been found.

Although Shishak received tribute from Rehoboam of Jerusalem, the cities he conquered indicate that he was active north of Jerusalem, in Israel, and south of Jerusalem, in the Negev.

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2 Chron. 13 ABIJAH (ABIJAM), KING OF JUDAH (913–911 B.C.)

(Told also in 1 Kings 15:1–8.) Abijah reigned only three years. He was wicked like his father. But in his battle with Jeroboam, king of Israel, he relied on the Lord and won, recovering some of the cities of the northern kingdom.

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2 Chron. 14–16 ASA, KING OF JUDAH (911–870 B.C.)

(Told also in 1 Kings 15:9–24.) Asa reigned for 41 years. His long reign overlapped the reigns of seven kings of the northern kingdom, Israel. He was a good king, serving the Lord with great zeal. A wave of reform swept the land. He broke down the foreign altars, high places, pillars or sacred stones, sun-images, and the Asherah poles. He even removed his mother as queen because she worshiped an idol. Under Asa, the kingdom of Judah was very prosperous.

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2 Chron. 17–20 JEHOSHAPHAT, KING OF JUDAH (872–848 B.C.)

(Told also in 1 Kings 22:41–50.) He reigned for 25 years. He followed in the footsteps of his father and sought the Lord in all things. He inaugurated a system of public instruction by sending priests and Levites with the Book of the Law on regular circuits, to teach the people. He established courts of justice throughout the land. He maintained a vast army and became so powerful that he intimidated his neighbors, including the Philistines. Even when he made an unwise alliance with King Ahab of Israel, God still protected him (18:30–32).

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2 Chron. 21 JEHORAM (JORAM), KING OF JUDAH (853–841 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 8:16–24.) Jehoram reigned eight years. Son of a good father and grandfather, he was ruined by his marriage to a wicked woman, Athaliah, a daughter of the infamous Jezebel (1 Kings 18:4, 13; 19:1–2; 21; 2 Kings 9). Under his reign Jerusalem was plundered by Arabs and the Philistines. He died, unmourned, of a horrible intestinal disease, perhaps an extreme form of dysentery, and was not even buried with royal honor: “He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings” (21:20).

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2 Chron. 22:1–9 AHAZIAH (JEHOAHAZ), KING OF JUDAH (841 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 8:25–29.) Ahaziah reigned for only one year. He was the son of Athaliah and the grandson of Jezebel. He was very wicked and was killed by Jehu (2 Kings 9:14–29).

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2 Chron. 22:10–23:21 ATHALIAH, QUEEN OF JUDAH (841–835 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 11.) Athaliah reigned for six years. She was a daughter of the infamous Jezebel, and devilish like her mother. She had married Jehoram, the king of Judah, and ruined him. She was the mother of Judah’s next king, Ahaziah, who was as evil as she. Thus, she was queen for eight years and queen mother for one year, in addition to the six years she ruled in her own right—15 years in all. Fanatically devoted to Baalism, she massacred her own grandchildren.

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2 Chron. 24 JOASH (JEHOASH), KING OF JUDAH (835–796 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 12.) Joash reigned 40 years (which probably include Athaliah’s six years). Joash was a grandson of Athaliah. While Athaliah was murdering the royal house, Joash, the son of Ahaziah, was taken away as a baby and hidden in the temple for six years. When Joash was seven years old, his uncle, Jehoiada the high priest, engineered the removal of Athaliah and placed Joash on the throne. Jehoiada was the real ruler as long as he lived. Under his tutorship, Joash cleared the land of Baalism, repaired the temple, which Athaliah had broken into and desecrated, and restored the worship of God.

Joash did what was right as long as Jehoiada was alive. But after Jehoiada’s death, the prominent leaders of Judah, who had known the licentious worship of Ashtoreth, convinced him to set up the idols again. Joash even ordered Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada who had placed him on the throne, to be stoned to death. Within a year after Zechariah’s death, the Syrians came, plundered Jerusalem, and killed the leaders who had persuaded Joash. Joash himself was assassinated in his bed as revenge for the execution of Zechariah. He was buried without royal honor.

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2 Chron. 25 AMAZIAH, KING OF JUDAH (796–767 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 14:1–22.) Amaziah reigned for 29 years. Amaziah did right, yet ended up worshiping the gods of the Edomites. He lost a war with Israel, and Jerusalem was plundered by Israel’s king. He was assassinated.

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2 Chron. 26 UZZIAH (AZARIAH), KING OF JUDAH (792–740 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 15:1–7.) Uzziah reigned for 52 years, part of which may have been as coregent with his father, Amaziah. He did what was right and set himself to seek God. As long as he sought God, God made him to prosper. He had a huge army, with remarkably sophisticated equipment (vv. 13–15). He was victorious over the Philistines, Arabs, and Ammonites. Under Uzziah, the kingdom of Judah reached its greatest extent since the secession of the Ten Tribes in 931 B.C. But he became arrogant, and God afflicted him with leprosy.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Uzziah. Because Uzziah was a leper, he was not buried in the tombs of the kings of Judah but “in a field for burial that belonged to the kings” (2 Chronicles 26:23). Evidently his bones were eventually reburied, for E. L. Sukenik discovered, in 1931, in a Russian monastery on the Mount of Olives, a limestone plaque, 14 by 13 inches, from the Second Temple Period, written in Hebrew script, which says, “Hither were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Not to be opened!” But the actual remains of the king were not discovered.

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2 Chron. 27 JOTHAM, KING OF JUDAH (750–732 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 15:32–38.) Jotham reigned for 16 years, mostly as coregent with his father. He became mighty because he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Uzziah had done. Uzziah’s leprosy undoubtedly served as a warning to Jotham.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Jotham. A seal has been found in the excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh inscribed: “Belonging to Jotham.”

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2 Chron. 28 AHAZ, KING OF JUDAH (735–716 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 16.) Ahaz reigned for 16 years. Part of this time he seems to have been coregent with his father—but he was utterly different: a wicked young king who set himself against the policies of his forefathers. He reintroduced Baal worship and revived Molech worship—he even burnt his own sons in the fire. But it helped him not. Syria and Israel attacked him from the north, the Edomites from the east, and the Philistines from the west. Judah paid a very high price for Ahaz’s sins.

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2 Chron. 29–32 HEZEKIAH, KING OF JUDAH (716–687 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 18–20.) Hezekiah reigned for 29 years. He inherited a disorganized realm and a heavy burden of tribute to Assyria, but he began his reign with a great reformation. He destroyed the idols Ahaz had set up, reopened and cleansed the temple, and restored the worship of God. He trusted in God, and God was with him. He prospered and gained independence from Assyria. The prophet Isaiah was his trusted adviser.

In Hezekiah’s 14th year, Sennacherib invaded Judah. He sent a taunting message to Hezekiah—not in Aramaic, the language of commerce and diplomacy, but in Hebrew, so that all the people could understand it (2 Kings 18:17–37). Hezekiah paid him tribute.

During a visit of envoys from Babylon, Hezekiah foolishly showed them the wealth of Jerusalem and the temple (2 Kings 20:12–15), perhaps in hopes of establishing an alliance with the Babylonians against the Assyrians.

Sennacherib again invaded Judah (701 B.C.). Hezekiah strengthened the wall of Jerusalem, built the water tunnel, and made great military preparations. Then followed the great deliverance by the Angel of the Lord (2 Kings 19:35). This victory brought Hezekiah great prestige and power.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Ivory Pomegranate. A tiny ivory pomegranate from the days of the Judean king Hezekiah (late 8th century B.C.) surfaced in the antiquities market. It was probably once the head on the top of a scepter used by Israelite priests in the First Temple in Jerusalem. It is inscribed in ancient Hebrew characters and reads: “Holy to the priests, belonging to the T[emple of Yahwe]h” (the words in brackets are restored).

This portion of Sennacherib’s relief shows his attack on Lachish. The defend-ers are throwing burning torches down on the siege towers and the ladders used to scale the walls. The rest of the relief shows the attackers pouring water on the leather covers of the siege towers to keep them from catching fire.

The six-sided prism of baked clay on which Senncherib details his exploits. The prism is only 15 inches tall.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Hezekiah’s Wall. Hezekiah repaired and built the walls of Jerusalem (32:5; Isaiah 22:10). Professor Nahum Avigad found over 200 feet of a wall dating to the 8th century B.C. (Hezekiah’s century), which was 23 feet thick and in places was preserved to a height of over 10 feet. (See also on Isaiah 22:10.)

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Hezekiah’s Tunnel and the Siloam Inscription. The tunnel by which Hezekiah brought water into the city (32:3–4; 2 Kings 20:20) has been found. The Gihon Spring was situated at the east foot of Ophel Hill (see map: Expansion of Jerusalem Under Hezekiah), just outside the wall. Hezekiah’s workmen cut a tunnel through solid rock, under the hill, that runs 1,700 feet southwest from the spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the wall, thus diverting the water of the spring from its natural flow into the Brook Kidron. The tunnel is an average height of about six feet and an average width of 2 1/2 feet. Its drop is seven feet. At its southern exit the Siloam Inscription was found.

The Siloam Inscription was discovered in 1880 by some schoolboys at the south end of the tunnel. This five-line inscription, written in Hebrew, was carelessly cut from the rock, sent to Istanbul, and now resides in a museum. This inscription describes the construction of the tunnel:

“The tunnel was driven through. And this was the way in which it was cut through: While [the stonecutters were lifting up their pick], each man toward his fellow (i.e., from opposite ends), and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellow. . . . And when the tunnel was driven through, the stonecutters hewed the rock, each man toward his fellow, axe against axe. And the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the heads of the stonecutters was 100 cubits.”

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Sennacherib’s Invasion of Judah. In his invasion of Judah (32:1), Sennacherib took fortified cities of Judah (2 Kings 18:13), laid siege to Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:17), but returned without taking Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:35–36). Sennacherib’s own account of this invasion has been found on a clay prism he himself had made. One copy of it is now in the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago. Sennacherib says in part:

“As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke. I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the countless small villages in their vicinity, and conquered [them]. . . . I drove out of them 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting and considered [them] booty. Hezekiah himself I made prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage. I surrounded him with earthwork in order to molest those who were leaving his city’s gate. . . . Thus I reduced his country, but I still increased his tribute.”

While no Assyrian king would ever record a defeat such as Sennacherib’s army suffered before the walls of Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:35–36), it is significant that he did not claim to have taken Jerusalem. It is indeed a most remarkable confirmation of biblical history.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Tribute Hezekiah Sent to Sennacherib. The inscription of Sennacherib relates to the account in 2 Kings 18:14–16 and says: “Hezekiah himself, whom the terror-inspiring splendor of my lordship had overwhelmed and whose . . . troops had deserted him, did send to me, later, to Nineveh, my lordly city, together with 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, . . . In order to deliver the tribute and to do obeisance as a slave he sent his [personal] messenger.”

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Lachish. Lachish is among the cities named which suffered at the hands of Sennacherib (32:9). At Lachish there is a huge burn level dated to the destruction of Sennacherib in 701 B.C. On the walls of Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh, uncovered by Sir Austen Henry Layard, a long sculptured relief of his encampment at Lachish bore this inscription: “Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, sat upon [his] throne and passed in review the booty taken from Lachish.”

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Sennacherib’s Assassination. Concerning Sennacherib’s assassination (32:21; 2 Kings 19:36–37), an Assyrian inscription says: “On the 20th day of Tebet, Sennacherib was killed by his sons in revolt. On the 18th day of Sivan, Esarhaddon, his son, ascended the throne.”

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2 Chron. 33:1–20 MANASSEH, KING OF JUDAH (697–642 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 21:1–18.) Manasseh was the wickedest of all of Judah’s kings and had the longest reign—55 years. He rebuilt the idols his father Hezekiah had destroyed and reestablished Baal worship. He burnt his own children in the fire. He filled Jerusalem with blood. Tradition says that he had the prophet Isaiah sawn in half.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Manasseh. An inscription of King Esarhaddon of Assyria (681–668 B.C.) says, “During my march [to Egypt] 22 kings from the seashore, the islands, and the mainland, servants who belong to me, brought heavy gifts to me and kissed my feet.” A related inscription lists these 22 kings, among whom is Manasseh, king of Judah.

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2 Chron. 33:21–25 AMON, KING OF JUDAH (643–641 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 21:19–25.) Amon reigned for two years and was wicked.

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2 Chron. 34–35 JOSIAH, KING OF JUDAH (641–609 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 22–23.) Josiah became king when he was eight years old and reigned for 31 years. When he was 16, he began to seek after the God of David, and he began his reforms when he was 20. The finding of the Book of the Law, when Josiah was 26, gave great impetus to his reforms—the most thoroughgoing reformation Judah had known yet. But the people were at heart idolaters; the long and wicked reign of Manasseh had just about obliterated God from their thinking. Josiah’s reforms delayed, but could not avert, the fast approaching doom of Judah.

Pharaoh’s march against Carchemish (35:20–24) gave a final blow to the sinking Assyrian Empire. Josiah, as a vassal of Assyria, considered it his duty to attack the Pharaoh. He did so at Megiddo and was killed.

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2 Chron. 36:1–4 JEHOAHAZ (JOAHAZ), KING OF JUDAH (609 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 23:30–34.) After reigning all of three months, Jehoahaz was deposed by Pharaoh and taken to Egypt, where he died.

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2 Chron. 36:5–8 JEHOIAKIM, KING OF JUDAH (609–598 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 23:34–24:7.) Jehoiakim was placed on the throne by Pharaoh and reigned 11 years. After three years he was subdued by Babylon (Daniel 1:1) and served the king of Babylon for three years. Then he revolted. The king of Babylon came and bound him in chains to carry him to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:6). But he died, or was killed, before he could leave the city, and he received “the burial of a donkey—dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 22:19; 36:30). He was conceited, hard-hearted, and wicked, the exact opposite of his father Josiah. He repeatedly tried to kill the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:21; 36:26).

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2 Chron. 36:8–10 JEHOIACHIN (JECONIAH), KING OF JUDAH (598–597 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 24:6–17.) Jehoiachin reigned for three months before he was taken to Babylon, where he lived at least 37 years (2 Kings 24:15; 25:27).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Jehoiachin. A number of storage jar handles bearing the seal impression “Belonging to Eliakim, steward of Jehoiachin” have been found in excavations at Tell Beit Mirsim, Beth Shemesh, and Ramat Rahel.

Jehoiachin was released from prison in Babylon and given a regular allowance of rations by the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25:27–30). Cuneiform ration tablets found at Babylon also indicate that Jehoiachin and his relatives received rations from the Babylonian monarch.

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2 Chron. 36 ZEDEKIAH, KING OF JUDAH (597–586 B.C.)

(Told also in 2 Kings 24–25). Zedekiah was placed on the throne by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and reigned for 11 years. He was a weak king. In his fourth year he visited Babylon, but later rebelled against it. Then Nebuchadnezzar came, destroyed Jerusalem, took Zedekiah, put out his eyes, and carried him in chains to Babylon, where he died in prison (Jeremiah 52:11).

The people of Judah were taken to Babylonia, in what is known as the Babylonian captivity or the Babylonian exile.

This was the apparent end of David’s kingdom. (See further under 2 Kings 25.) After the kingdom of Judah came to an end, Gedaliah was made governor of the region (2 Kings 25:22; see on Jeremiah 40).

Some of the people who were left behind when most of Judah was deported to Babylon fled to Egypt, along with the prophet Jeremiah (2 Kings 25:26; see on Jeremiah 42).

Unlike the northern kingdom, which was deported to Assyria and disappeared from the scene, Judah survived its Babylonian captivity. The proclamation of Cyrus almost 50 years later would initiate the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple (v. 22; see on Ezra 1).

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Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

The three books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, which cover about 100 years (538–432 B.C.), form the closing section of Old Testament history. They tell the story of the Jews’ return from Babylon, of the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem, and of the reestablishment of the Jews’ national life in their homeland.

The last three of the Old Testament prophets—Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—lived and worked during this same period of return and restoration.

The Exile (586–538 B.C.)

With the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 B.C., the people of God entered a new phase of their history. The period from 586 to 538 B.C. is called the “Exilic period,” or the “Babylonian exile,” or the “Babylonian captivity.” By “exile” it is meant that a large number of Israelites and Judeans now were living outside of the Promised Land—in “foreign countries.”

The deportations of Israelites had actually begun during the time of the Assyrian attacks on, and eventual conquest of, Israel in 733 and 722 B.C. (See Deportation of Israel by Assyria in 2 Kings and the chapter on Ezekiel.) After the battle of Carchemish (on the west bank of the Euphrates, on the modern border between Syria and Turkey) in 609 B.C., the Babylonians replaced the Assyrians as the world power. God used them as His instrument of judgment as they deported Judeans in 605, 597, 586, and 582 B.C. In addition, it is probable that a good number of Israelites and Judeans emigrated of their own accord to Syria, Egypt, or even Asia Minor (Turkey) in order to avoid the onslaught of the Assyrians and Babylonians—thus beginning their “exile” from the land of promise.

These deportees must have been asking themselves a number of questions. Given that God promised the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham forever—how is it that the land is now controlled by pagans, while we, God’s people, have been deported from it? If God chose the Davidic dynasty to rule forever (2 Samuel 7)—why is there now no reigning Davidic king (Psalm 89)? How can God allow the place He Himself chose for His presence to dwell (Psalms 132, 137)—Jerusalem and God’s temple—to be in ruins and under foreign control? The answer, of course, was that the continual sinning of the leaders and of the people of Israel and Judah had led to God’s judgment upon them: the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28 (especially vv. 32–37) and Leviticus 26 (vv. 33–39) had fallen upon them. (See sidebar Deuteronomy: A Treaty Between God and Israel in the chapter on Deuteronomy.)

It was during this time of questioning and exile that the book of Kings (our 1 and 2 Kings) was written to show the people how their disobedience and that of their ancestors during the past 400 years had led to the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple and to the sorry state of the Davidic dynasty. God’s people had not repented, in spite of the insistent and persistent call of God’s prophets—such as Elijah and Elisha—to do so.

Returns from Exile (538, 458, and 444 B.C.)

But God had also promised that, after judgment, restoration would follow. And in 539 B.C. (after the Persians had replaced the Babylonians as the world-dominating power) the Persian king Cyrus issued a decree that any Jews who wished to do so could return to Judah and rebuild their temple.

There were actually three returns from Babylonia, as recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. After the first return, under Zerubbabel, the temple was rebuilt. After the second return, under Ezra, and the third return, under Nehemiah, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. The events of the book of Esther fall between the first and second returns (between Ezra 6 and 7).

The three returns:

538 B.C.	Zerubbabel
	With 42,360 Jews, 7,337 servants, 200 singers, 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, 6,720 donkeys, and 5,400 gold and silver vessels
	The temple is rebuilt under Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the priest (Ezra 3–6) The prophets Haggai and Zechariah
458 B.C.	Ezra
	With 1,754 males, 100 talents of gold, 750 talents of silver. It is not stated whether women and children also went. It takes four months.
444 B.C.	Nehemiah
	Nehemiah, as governor, goes with an armed escort to rebuild and fortify Jerusalem, at government expense
	The walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt under Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest (Ezra 7–10; Nehemiah) The prophet Malachi

The “Post-exilic” Period (538–ca. 400 B.C.)

The decree of Cyrus, the return led by Sheshbazzar in 538 B.C., and the completion of the rebuilding of the temple in 516 B.C. “technically” meant that the Babylonian exile was over. Thus, the period from 538 B.C. until ca. 400 B.C., when the prophetic voice ceased with the last of Israel’s prophets, is called the “post-exilic period.” The truth, of course, is that the majority of Jews living outside the Promised Land did not return to Judah, for very large Jewish communities flourished not only in Babylonia, but also in Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor.

On the international scene, Persia ruled the area from the Indus River in the east to the western shores of Asia Minor on the Aegean Sea. During Persian rule there were many new cultural developments: coinage came into more widespread use, the legal system developed, and a postal road from Susa (near ancient Babylon) to Sardis (near the Aegean coast), ca. 1,700 miles in length, aided long-distance communication. The fortunes of Jews living outside of Judea varied. Usually life in “exile” (later more commonly called “diaspora”) was not too bad—as evidenced by the Murashu documents, which provide details about Jewish trading—but on occasion Jews were persecuted—as recorded in the book of Esther and in the extrabiblical Aramaic documents found at Elephantine in southern Egypt.

Many Jews, both in and out of the land of Judah, adopted the Aramaic language (Ezra 4:8–6:18; 7:12–26; and Daniel 2:4–7:28 are written in Aramaic). It may have been that the institution of the synagogue has its origins in this period—for how and where do you worship God when you don’t live in Judah or Jerusalem? (The Jews who lived in Elephantine had actually built a temple there during the 5th century B.C.!) It is evident that these scattered Jewish communities had their own leadership—note the elders mentioned in Ezekiel (8:1; 14:1; 20:1)—and some of them maintained close contact with the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem: Aramaic correspondence from the 5th century B.C. has been found from Elephantine in southern Egypt, addressed to Jews in Jerusalem.

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The policy of the Assyrian and Babylonian kings had been to deport conquered peoples and scatter them in other lands. The policy of the Persian kings was exactly the opposite: they repatriated those peoples, that is, they sent them back to their own lands.

The Persian kings were more humane than either the Assyrian or the Babylonian kings. One of the first acts of the first Persian king, Cyrus, a singularly noble and just monarch, was to authorize the return of the Jews to their own land.

Five Persian kings played a role in the history of Judah:

• Cyrus (539–530 B.C.) conquered Babylon (539 B.C.) and made Persia a world empire. He permitted the Jews to return to their homeland, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (see sidebar A Summary of Isaiah’s Predictions in the chapter Isaiah).
• Cambyses (530–522 B.C.) is thought to have been the Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra 4:7, 11, 23, who stopped work on the temple.
• Darius I (522–486 B.C.) authorized completion of the temple (Ezra 6).
• Xerxes (Ahasuerus) (485–464 B.C.) is famous for his wars with Greece. Esther became his wife (see the chapter on Esther), Mordecai his prime minister.
• Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) (464–423 B.C.) was very favorably disposed toward the Jews. He authorized Nehemiah, his cupbearer, to rebuild Jerusalem.

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There is not much written material to help illuminate the life of those who remained in the land during the exilic period. However, a recent archaeological discovery at Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem seems to indicate a degree of prosperity for at least some of those who were left behind in the land by the Babylonians. But it must be remembered that Jerusalem and the surrounding cities had been devastated by the Babylonians, and that living conditions for most of those still living in the land must have been less than ideal.

As the post-exilic period got under way and the temple and then the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in 516 and 444 B.C. respectively, the fragile Judean community was harassed by the Samaritans to the north, the Ammonites to the east, the Arabs to the south, and the Ashdodites to the west. It also seems reasonable to assume that at this time, when Judah was vulnerable, their age-old enemy the Edomites moved into the Hill Country of Judah, into the Hebron area.

The temple, its priesthood, and its service were certainly focal points for the reconstituted Jewish community. It was during this time that the book of Chronicles was written, emphasizing that these institutions were an important legacy bequeathed to the post-exilic community. Israel’s history was retold with this in mind as the writer of Chronicles stressed the community’s connection to the past—even tracing genealogies back to Abraham and Adam! The writer also emphasized the biblical principle that obedience typically leads to blessing while disobedience leads to disaster; that Israel, as God’s people, was a unity; and that the activities of godly kings were divinely approved. All of this was to encourage the fledgling community to remain united and faithful to God.

It was to this community that persons such as Zerubbabel, Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi ministered, trying to assure them that God had not abandoned them. However, they seemed to be aware of the fact that although the exile had technically “ended,” God’s presence had not yet returned to the temple, nor had He delivered His people as completely as He had promised (compare Isaiah 40–66 and Jeremiah 31). Even though they were aware that the actual return fell short of the return promised by the prophets, they, as God’s people, were being called upon to remain faithful to Him—to await the climactic deliverance from exile that was still to come.

The End of the Persian Empire

Almost a century after the time of Artaxerxes I (the king who had allowed Nehemiah to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls), the last Persian king, Darius III, was defeated by Alexander the Great of Macedonia in the famous battle of Arbela, near the site of Nineveh, in 331 B.C. The end of the Persian Empire marked the beginning of the rise of Greece. For the first time in history, the center of world power shifted from Asia to Europe. Later it would shift even farther west, to Rome and the greatest empire the world had yet seen—the Roman Empire—of which the Jews and their country were a part at the time of the New Testament. (For a summary of the fascinating 400-year history from the time of Nehemiah to the time of Christ, see The 400 Years Between the Testaments.)

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“Now I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you. . . . Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and of his sons?”

According to persistent Jewish tradition, Ezra was author of the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah; the four books then were originally one work (see Author in 1 Chronicles; some think that Nehemiah himself may have written the book of Nehemiah).

Ezra was a priest, the great-grandson of Hilkiah the priest, who, 160 years earlier, had directed King Josiah’s reformation (Ezra 1:1; 2 Kings 22:8), and a most worthy descendant of his famous ancestor. He went from Babylon to Jerusalem in 457 B.C., 80 years after the Jews had first returned under Zerubbabel, and 13 years before Nehemiah came.

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Ezra 1 THE PROCLAMATION OF CYRUS

The last two verses of 2 Chronicles are the same as the first two of Ezra, probably because Chronicles and Ezra were originally one book. This proclamation, permitting the Jews to return to Jerusalem, was issued shortly after Daniel had read the handwriting on the wall, in which it was declared that Babylon would fall to Persia—which happened that same night (Daniel 5:25–31).

Daniel probably showed to Cyrus the prophecies that were thus fulfilled (Jeremiah 25:11–12; 29:10) as well as the prophecies of Isaiah, who 200 years before had called Cyrus by name, stating that under him the Jews would return and rebuild Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:26–28; 45:1, 13). No wonder Cyrus had a high regard for the Jews’ God (v. 3).

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Ezra 2 THE REGISTER OF THOSE WHO RETURNED

According to verses 64–65, a total of 42,360 Jews returned, plus servants. However, when the numbers in the list are added together, the total falls about 11,000 short of this number. This surplus of 11,000 is thought to have been composed of exiles from tribes other than Judah. Ephraim and Manasseh are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 9:3. Israel is named in Ezra 10:25. The term “all Israel” is used of those who returned, and 12 bulls and 12 he-goats, representing the 12 tribes, were sacrificed (2:70; 6:17; 8:35). This would make it appear as if the returning exiles of Judah, in their homeward journey, gathered in some from other tribes. It helps us to understand how, in New Testament times, Jews were still spoken of as the Twelve Tribes (Luke 22:30; Acts 26:7; James 1:1).

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Ezra 3 THE FOUNDATION OF THE TEMPLE IS LAID

In the seventh month of the first year of their return the Israelites built the altar and kept the Feast of Tabernacles, in joyous thanksgiving to God. In the second month of the following year, when the foundation of the temple was laid, they made the heavens ring with their shouts of praise and thanksgiving. But the older men, who had seen the first temple, wept aloud, so insignificant would the new temple be compared with Solomon’s temple.

The stele of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria in the British Museum.

Zerubbabel (v. 2), the governor (Haggai 1:1), was a grandson of King Jehoiachin, who had been deported to Babylon (1 Chronicles 3:17–19). He was the one who would have been king, had there been a kingdom. With fine courtesy, Cyrus appointed him to be governor of Judah.

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Ezra 4 THE WORK IS STOPPED

As work on the temple and wall (v. 16) progressed, the peoples to whom the Jews’ land had been given, and their neighbors, began to object, and through intimidation and intrigue they succeeded in stopping the work for 15 years, until the reign of Darius I.

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Ezra 5–6 THE TEMPLE COMPLETED

Darius I was friendly toward the Jews, and in his second year (520 B.C.), 16 years after the Jews had been allowed to go home, work on the temple was resumed with the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Shortly thereafter came the decree from Darius for the temple to be completed, with an order to draw on the royal treasury for the needed funds. Within four years it was completed and dedicated amid great rejoicing.

The famous Behistun inscription, which supplied the key to the ancient Babylonian language (see Mesopotamia in the chapter Writing, Books, and the Bible), was made by this same Darius.

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Ezra 7–8 EZRA’S JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM

Between chapters 6 and 7 is a gap of about 60 years. The temple was completed in 515 B.C., and Ezra came to Jerusalem in 458 B.C., in the reign of Artaxerxes I, who was Queen Esther’s stepson. Ezra the priest went to teach Judah the Law of God, to beautify the temple, and to restore the temple service.

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Ezra 9–10 MIXED MARRIAGES

When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, he found a situation that made him heartsick. The people, priests, Levites, and leaders had freely intermarried with their idolatrous neighbors—a thing that God had again and again forbidden the Jews to do. In fact, it was the very thing that had led the Jews into idolatry before, which had been the cause of their captivity. God had sent prophet after prophet, and judgment after judgment, and at last had resorted to the captivity, almost wiping the nation out of existence.

Now a little remnant had come home—and they are again up to their old tricks of intermarrying with idolatrous peoples. Ezra’s measures to rid them of their non-Jewish wives may seem severe to us, but it was effective.

Ezra helped in further reforms, as noted in the book of Nehemiah. Tradition makes him the originator of synagogue worship and president of the Great Synagogue.

The Great Synagogue was a council, consisting of 120 members, said to have been organized by Nehemiah in about 410 B.C., with Ezra as president. Its purpose was the rebuilding of the religious life of the returned captives. It is thought to have governed the returned Jews until about 275 B.C. and to have played an important role in gathering, grouping, and restoring the canonical books of the Old Testament.

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When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

When Nehemiah went to Jerusalem in 444 B.C., Ezra had been there for 14 years. But Ezra was a priest, teaching religion to the people. Nehemiah came as civil governor, with authority from the king of Persia to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and to make it once again a fortified city. By then, the Jews had been home nearly 100 years, but they had made little progress beyond rebuilding the temple—and a very insignificant temple at that—because whenever they would start work on the walls, their more powerful neighbors would either intimidate them into stopping or through intrigue get orders from the Persian court for the work to stop.

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Neh. 1–2 NEHEMIAH’S JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM

Parts of the book are in the first person; they are direct quotations from Nehemiah’s official reports.

Nehemiah was a man of prayer, patriotism, action, courage, and perseverance. His first impulse always was to pray (1:4; 2:4; 4:4, 9; 6:9, 14). He spent four months in prayer before he made his request to the king (1:1; 2:1).

Nehemiah was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes (1:11; 2:1), a trusted and important official. Artaxerxes I was king of Persia (464–423 B.C.), son of Xerxes, and thus the stepson of Queen Esther, the Jewess.

Esther became queen of Persia about 60 years after the Jews had returned to Jerusalem. This must have given the Jews great prestige at the Persian court. Esther most probably was still alive, and an influential personage in the palace, when both Ezra and Nehemiah went to Jerusalem. Our guess is that we have Esther to thank for Artaxerxes’ kindly feeling toward the Jews and his interest in having Jerusalem rebuilt.

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Neh. 3 THE GATES REPAIRED

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Nehemiah’s Jerusalem. Remains of the “Broad Wall” (3:8), the “Valley Gate” (3:13), the “Pool of Siloam” (3:15), and the “Water Gate” (2:14) have been found in the course of archaeological excavations in Jerusalem. The city that Nehemiah fortified was actually slightly smaller than the one the Babylonians had destroyed. In fact, it was smaller than Solomon’s Jerusalem—perhaps 35 acres in size. Nehemiah’s Jerusalem was completely limited to portions of the eastern hill, where the original City of David had stood.

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Neh. 4–6 THE WALL BUILT

Old-time enemies of the Jews, who were now in possession of the land—Moabites, Ammonites, Ashdodites, Arabians, and the recently imported Samaritans—craftily and bitterly opposed the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. They mobilized their armies and marched against Jerusalem. But Nehemiah, with faith in God, skillfully armed and arranged his men and went straight ahead with the work, day and night. And in spite of all obstacles, the wall was finished in 52 days. Almost a century and a half after its destruction in 586 B.C., Jerusalem was once again a fortified city.

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Neh. 7–8 PUBLIC READING OF THE BOOK OF LAW

After the wall was built, Nehemiah and Ezra gathered the people together to organize their national life. Chapter 7 is about the same as Ezra 2: it gives the list of those who had returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel nearly a century before. There were certain genealogical matters that had to be attended to.

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Then, for seven days, every day from early morning till midday, Ezra and his helpers opened the Book of the Law, read from the Law of God, and provided explanations so that the people understood what they heard. This public reading and exposition of God’s Book brought a great wave of repentance among the people, a great revival, and a solemn covenant to keep the Law, as recorded in chapters 9–10.

It should be noted that it was the finding of the Book of the Law that brought about Josiah’s great reformation (2 Kings 22). It was Martin Luther’s finding of a Bible that led to the Reformation and brought religious liberty to our modern world. The weakness of many present-day churches is their neglect of the very Bible they profess to follow—the great need of today’s pulpit is simple expository preaching.

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Neh. 9–12 COVENANT. DEDICATION OF THE WALL

In deep penitence and great earnestness, the people made a covenant: “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.” They bound themselves to walk in God’s Law (9:38; 10:29). The wall was dedicated, and one-tenth of the population was brought into the city to live, and its government and temple services were organized.

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Neh. 13 NEHEMIAH’S FINAL REFORMS

The last recorded acts of Nehemiah involve reforms concerning tithes, the Sabbath, and marriages between Jews and non-Jews. Nehemiah was governor of Judah for at least 12 years (5:14). Josephus says that he lived to a great age and governed Judah for the rest of his life.

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“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

In the canon, this book comes after the book of Nehemiah, but the events it describes took place about 30 years before Nehemiah.

• The first group of Jews returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. Twenty years later the temple was completed (Ezra 1–6).
• The story of Esther takes place about 40 years after the temple was rebuilt. She became queen of Persia in 478 B.C. and saved the Jews from being massacred in 473 B.C.
• Fifteen years after Queen Esther saved the Jews, Ezra went to Jerusalem (458 B.C.), and 13 years after that Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.

It seems that Esther made possible the work of Nehemiah. Her marriage to the king must have given Jews great prestige. It is impossible to guess what might have happened to the Hebrew nation had there been no Esther. Except for her, Jerusalem might never have been rebuilt, and there might have been a different story to tell to all future ages.

This book of Esther is not just a story with a moral. It is about a very important historical event: the Hebrew nation’s deliverance from annihilation in the days following the Babylonian captivity. If the Hebrew nation had been wiped out of existence 500 years before it brought Christ into the world, it would have made all the difference in the world: no Hebrew nation, no Messiah; no Messiah, a lost world. This beautiful Jewish girl of long ago, though she herself may not have known it, yet played her part in paving the way for the coming of the world’s Savior.

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Est. 1 QUEEN VASHTI DEPOSED

Ahasuerus was another name for Xerxes, who ruled Persia from 486 to 464 B.C., one of the most illustrious monarchs of the ancient world. The great feast described in this chapter, as has been learned from Persian inscriptions, was held in preparation for his famous expedition against Greece, in which he fought the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis (480 B.C.). It seems that he deposed Vashti in 483 B.C., before he left, and married Esther in 478 B.C., after he returned from his expedition against Greece (1:3; 2:16).

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Palace at Susa. Shushan, or Susa, 200 miles east of Babylon, was the winter residence of Persian kings. Its site was identified by W. K. Loftus (1852), who found an inscription of Artaxerxes II (404–359 B.C.): “My ancestor Darius built this palace in former times. In the reign of my grandfather [Artaxerxes I] it was burned. I have restored it.”

This palace was the residence of Darius, who authorized the rebuilding of the temple; of Xerxes, Esther’s husband, and of Artaxerxes I, who authorized Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem. Susa was the place where Daniel had his vision (Daniel 8). The remains of Susa are scattered over 100 acres, and the site, beginning in 1851, has been excavated (except during the two World Wars) for more than 100 years! From these excavations, it is evident that the author of Esther was familiar with the city. The royal palace itself was almost 2 1/2 acres in size, with a whole series of courtyards, audience hall, residences, and auxiliary rooms.

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Est. 2 ESTHER BECOMES QUEEN

Ahasuerus (Xerxes) died 13 years later. Esther, no doubt, lived far into the reign of her stepson, Artaxerxes. As queen-mother she may have been a person of influence in Persia in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

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Est. 3–7 HAMAN’S DECREE

The decree was a call to kill all the Jews in all the provinces (3:12–13). This was in the king’s 12th year (3:7), after Esther had been queen for five years. Her lament, “I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days,” may indicate that the novelty of Esther had worn off, and Esther took a great risk in inviting the king to the banquet.

But the king came, and when the king saw Esther again, his reaction shows that she still pleased him (5:3), even though she had been his wife for five years.

The outcome was that Haman was hanged, and his place was given to Mordecai, Esther’s cousin.

The name of God is not mentioned in the book, perhaps because it may have been copied from Persian records. Yet God’s providential care of His people is nowhere more evident.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Mordecai. A person named Marduka, whose name was found on a cuneiform tablet from Borsippa in southern Iraq, was evidently a minister at the Persian court in Susa and may actually have been the biblical Mordecai.

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Est. 8–9 DELIVERANCE. THE FEAST OF PURIM

Since a decree issued by a Persian king could not be changed (8:8; Daniel 6:15), the decree for the Jews’ massacre could not be reversed. But Esther did persuade the king to make another decree that authorized the Jews to resist and slay all who would attack them, which they did. Thus Esther saved the Jewish race from annihilation. This was the origin of the Feast of Purim, which Jews still observe. Esther was not only beautiful, but wise. We admire her for her patriotism and bravery and tact.

This story shows us that God’s favor can cause civil law to be reversed. It also shows how God uses His faithful servants to influence and direct ungodly authority. What a comfort this is in a world that has so many ungodly leaders. We must pray for the godly civil servants so that God’s plan can be done through them as it was with Esther.

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Est. 10 MORDECAI’S GREATNESS

Mordecai became more and more powerful; he was second in rank after the king of Persia (9:4; 10:3). His acts of power and his greatness were written in detail in the official records of the kings of Media and Persia. This was in the reign of Xerxes, the mighty monarch of the Persian Empire. Xerxes’ prime minister was a Jew; his favorite wife was a Jewess—Mordecai and Esther, the brains and heart of the palace! This paved the way for the work of Ezra and Nehemiah. Like Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon, so here God used Mordecai and Esther in Persia.

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Poetry and wisdom literature in the Old Testament are closely related. Wisdom literature is generally poetic in form, but the reverse is not true: not all Old Testament poetry is wisdom literature.

Five Old Testament books are clearly poetic: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. (In the Hebrew Bible these books are not grouped together as they were in the Septuagint and are in our Bibles.) Of these five books, four are wisdom (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs), while the book of Psalms is not.

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As much as one-third of the Old Testament may be poetry. The reason for the vagueness of this statement is that it is sometimes difficult to determine where Hebrew prose ends and Hebrew poetry begins.

A few books of the Old Testament are essentially without poetry: Leviticus, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, and Malachi—but even in these books an occasional poetic form slips in.

And some books are not poetic but contain well-defined poems, such as Genesis 49; Exodus 15; Deuteronomy 33; and Judges 5.

Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry

English poetry usually rhymes. Hebrew poetry does not. Instead, Hebrew poetry has two primary characteristics that can be easily recognized, even in an English translation: imagery and parallelism.

Figurative Language and Images

• Perhaps the best-known example is “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1; a metaphor).
• Another example is “I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God” (Psalm 52:8; a simile).
• There is exaggeration for effect: “With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall” (Psalm 18:29; hyperbole).
• Hebrew poetry also often speaks of inanimate things as if they were alive: “Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy” (Psalm 98:8; personification).

Parallelism

Parallelism involves a relationship of thought between two or more lines. It can be looked at as a “rhythm of thought.” For example,

• “The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:6; the second line states the opposite of the first).
• “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him” (Psalm 103:11; the first line is a simile, the second line its literal meaning; emblematic parallelism).
• “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture” (Psalm 37:3; the second line completes the thought of the first line; synthetic or climactic parallelism).
• “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1; both lines express the same thought in different words; synonymous parallelism).

Other Characteristics

• Hebrew poetry also uses refrains, for example in Psalms 42–43, where the refrain is found three times: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
• Sometimes the same statement is made both at the beginning and at the end of a poem, for example in Psalm 118, which begins and ends with the words “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
• Finally, there is the use of acrostic patterns, in which the first line of a psalm or poem (for example, in the book of Lamentations) begins with the first letter of the alphabet, the second line or strophe with the second letter of the alphabet, and so on. An example is Psalm 119; in many Bibles the Hebrew letter that begins each strophe is printed (Aleph, Beth, etc.).

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The Hebrew word for wisdom has a much broader meaning than the English word “wisdom.” It includes, for example, skill in the making of things, which is akin to our idea of craftsmanship (Exodus 31:3; Jeremiah 9:17).

Wisdom in Hebrew encompasses the willingness and ability to rightly perceive, and to be rightly related to, the created world in all its aspects. God has made the world a certain way, and wisdom means living in accordance with that basic structure of the universe.

Wisdom literature is poetic in form but practical in content. It does not try to communicate factual or abstract knowledge but rather to teach practical skill in living. Wisdom literature, therefore, is the Old Testament’s “instruction manual for life.”

Jeremiah 18:18 shows how important wisdom was considered to be. It is mentioned alongside the Law and the Prophets: “For the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets.”

The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, the Song of Songs, and some of the psalms, such as Psalms 1 and 119, are traditionally considered wisdom literature.

• Job is wisdom because it deals with the central issue of faith and suffering.
• Ecclesiastes is wisdom because it warns against cynicism and points the reader toward simple faith in God.
• The Song of Songs is wisdom because it describes the intimacy of human marital love.

In the New Testament, the letter of James is reminiscent of Old Testament wisdom literature.

Kinds of Wisdom Statements

Some of the more significant types of wisdom statements are

• Aphorisms. This is what we usually think of as a “proverb”: a short, pithy saying that has general validity, such as our “A stitch in time saves nine.” Much of the book of Proverbs, beginning with chapter 10, consists of aphorisms.
• Instruction. These are longer, stylized discussions about wisdom, such as Proverbs 1:8–9:18.
• “Better” sayings. Better is A with B than C with D. For example, “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice” (Proverbs 16:8).
• Disputation (verbal controversy). The best example is the book of Job.

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“Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

“I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I will see God.”

Job is the first of the so-called poetic or wisdom books, a group of five books that also includes Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. It is a magnificent book that deals with the problem of suffering: if God is good and just, why do people suffer?

The Scene of the Book

The land of Uz (1:1) is thought to have been along the border between Palestine and Arabia, extending from Edom north and east toward the Euphrates River, skirting the caravan route between Babylon and Egypt.

Job

In a postscript to the book of Job, the Septuagint, following ancient tradition, identified Job with Jobab, the second king of Edom (Genesis 36:33). Names and places mentioned in the book seem to give it a setting among the descendants of Esau (see under chapter 2). The book has the atmosphere of very primitive times and seems to have its setting among the early tribes descended from Abraham, along the northern border of Arabia, roughly contemporaneous with Israel’s stay in Egypt.

Author of the Book

Nothing is known about the author of the book. Ancient Jewish tradition ascribed the book to Moses. We could speculate that while Moses was in the wilderness of Midian (Exodus 2:15), which bordered on the country of the Edomites, he could have heard the story of Job from Job’s descendants. Since Job was a descendant of Abraham, Moses could naturally recognize him as being within the circle of God’s revelation. Modern critics assign a much later date to the book of Job, but in the end it is the content of the book that is important, not our speculative guesses about its origins.

Nature of the Book

Job may be called a historical poem, that is, a poem based on an event that actually took place. Job was a great and well-known man in his part of the world. All at once, in a single day, he was crushed by a number of overwhelming calamities. His vast herds of camels were stolen, and those who guarded the camels were killed by a band of Chaldean robbers. At the same time, his herds of oxen were stolen, and those who took care of them were killed by a band of Sabean robbers, and his 7000 sheep and their attending servants were killed by a thunderstorm. To top it all off, his 10 children were all killed by a cyclone, and Job himself came down with a most hideous and painful disease.

Job’s fate became known far and wide, and for months Job was the topic of public conversation everywhere (7:3). The book contains some of the things that Job, his friends, and God said or wrote.

Subject of the Book

The book of Job deals with the problem of human suffering. Since very early times, people have been troubled by the awful inequalities and injustices of life: how could a good God make a world like this, where there is so much suffering? The truth is that God made a good and perfect world (Genesis 1:31). He created man and woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden, where they were in perfect relationship with Him—every need was met and they were greatly blessed. Unfortunately, they listened to Satan’s deceiving message: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Adam and Eve’s disobedience separated them and all mankind from the good and perfect world that God made for His people. Because of their sin, all people are born into a world of suffering.

Fortunately, God had a plan to reunite Himself with man and woman so that mankind may once again be free from suffering. God sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins. Through His death and resurrection, mankind has the opportunity to regain its right relationship with God and ultimately to live an eternal life free from suffering.

Job had very little knowledge of God. Most of God’s Word had not been written yet. Job, with the “help” of his friends, is trying to interpret his suffering without “knowledge” of God (38:1; 42:1–3). Spending time with his friends trying to determine the cause of this suffering does not benefit Job—rather, it prolongs his suffering. Eventually Job stops talking and listens to God. Job receives “knowledge,” or revelation, of God as the omnipotent Creator. With this revelation, Job acknowledges that God can do all things (42:2). He is now able to focus on the awe-inspiring reality of God instead of on his own suffering. Job repents, and God delivers him from his suffering. God then instructs Job to pray an intercessory prayer for his friends. Job is obedient to God and prays for his friends. After Job’s prayer, God restores Job to prosperity. God actually doubles Job’s fortune and blesses the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.

In the end, Job’s battle with Satan is over and God restores Job. God does not allow us to suffer without reason. At times the cause of the suffering may be hidden from our understanding in the mystery of God’s divine purpose (see Isaiah 55:8–9). But we must trust in Him and always turn to Him, even in times of suffering. What a powerful witness it is to the world for Christians to not be full of anger and resentment toward God when suffering! We know that He is a God who loves us and does only what is right.

The Structure of the Book

Apart from the introduction (chaps. 1–2) and the conclusion or epilogue (42:7–17), the book of Job consists of speeches by Job, by his friends, and finally by God Himself.

Job’s three friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—take turns trying to explain to Job why he is suffering, and Job answers each in turn. They go for three rounds (chaps. 4–14; 15–21; 22–26). In the first two rounds, all three friends speak up; in the third round only Eliphaz and Bildad speak, while Zophar remains silent—he has given up on Job.

Job then makes a long speech in which he calls for vindication, since he feels that his suffering is unjust (chaps. 29–31). After this a fourth friend, Elihu, speaks up and cautions Job against blaming God (chaps. 32–37). Finally, God Himself addresses Job in some of the most majestic chapters of the Bible (chaps. 38–42:6). Job repents, and God blesses Job even more than before.

Job, His Friends, and the Problem of Suffering

In reading through the book of Job, we must remember that Job never knew why he was suffering—nor what the final outcome would be. The first two chapters of Job explain to us why it happened and make it clear that the reason for his suffering was not punishment for sin, but rather a test of Job’s faith that God was confident Job would pass. But while we as readers of Job know this, Job himself did not.

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Job 1–2 PROLOGUE—JOB TESTED

The book opens with an account of Job, a desert prince—or what was in those days called a king—who had immense wealth and influence and was famous for his integrity, his piety, and his benevolence: a good man, who suffered fearful reverses that came so suddenly and overwhelmingly that it stunned all of those who heard about it.

Satan accused Job of having ulterior motives for being a good man—of being mercenary. Then God permitted Satan to test his accusation. Job stood the test and in the end was blessed more than ever.

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Job’s disease (2:7) is thought to have been a form of leprosy, perhaps complicated by elephantiasis, one of the most horrible and painful diseases known in the oriental world.

Job’s Friends

Three friends come to comfort Job in his suffering. For seven days and nights they do fine: they simply sit with Job. “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (2:13).

• Eliphaz the Temanite (2:11) was a descendant of Esau (Genesis 36:11), an Edomite.
• Bildad the Shuhite was a descendant of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:2).
• Zophar the Naamathite was of unknown origin or locality. All three were probably nomad princes.
• A fourth friend, who does not enter the picture until after the other three have quit speaking, is Elihu the Buzite (32:2), a descendant of Abraham’s brother Nahor (Genesis 22:21).

In the conversations that follow, Job speaks nine times; Eliphaz, three times; Bildad, three times; Zophar, twice; Elihu, once; and God, in a majestic finale, once.

All three friends try to explain that there is—has to be—a connection between Job’s present suffering and his past life. They are looking for a logical, cause-and-effect relationship. Their arguments can all be reduced to this:

Before his friends come, Job refuses to blame God: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (1:21); and, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (2:10).

But the more Job defends himself against the logic of his friends, the more he adopts their approach and builds his own argument:

But Job never quite draws that final conclusion; rather, it is,

The three friends each base their accusations on different arguments.

• Eliphaz appeals to experience and observation: “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it” (4:7–8).
• Bildad appeals to tradition: “Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?” (8:8–10).
• Zophar arrogantly speaks as if he knows exactly what God thinks—he appeals to his own view of God: ”Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin” (11:5–6). Ironically, when God finally does speak, it is not to condemn Job, but to condemn Zophar and his friends (42:7–9).

The final answer Job receives is not philosophical or logical. It is a majestic presentation by God Himself of who He is (38:1–42:6)—the only satisfactory answer to the problem of human suffering. It does not answer the questions our logical mind comes up with, but it will satisfy our heart: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (19:25–26).

The grand lesson of the book as a whole is that Job, through his suffering, in the end comes to see God in His majesty and greatness as he had never seen Him before. That is the true reward. The fact that Job is also abundantly rewarded with greater prosperity and blessedness than he had at first is almost an afterthought (42:12–16).

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Job 3 JOB’S COMPLAINT

Job wishes he had never been born and longs for death.

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Job 4–14 THE FIRST CYCLE OF SPEECHES

Chapters 4–5. Eliphaz speaks. He advises Job to turn to God (5:8) and suggests that if Job would only repent, his troubles would disappear (5:17–27).

Chapters 6–7. Job’s reply. Job is disappointed in his friends. He longs for sympathy, not stinging reproof (6:14–30). He seems dazed. He knows full well that he is not a wicked man, yet his body is “clothed with worms” (7:5). He just cannot understand: even if he has sinned, it surely was not so serious as to deserve such terrible punishment. He prays that he may die (6:9).

Chapter 8. Bildad speaks. He insists that God is just and that Job’s troubles must be evidence of his wickedness—if he will only turn to God, all will be well again.

Chapters 9–10. Job’s reply. Job insists that he is not guilty (10:7) and that God sends misfortune on the blameless as well as the wicked (9:22). He complains bitterly and wishes again that he had never been born (10:18–22).

Chapter 11. Zophar speaks. He brutally and arrogantly tells Job that his punishment is less than he deserves (v. 6), and he insists that if Job will put away his sin, his sufferings will pass and be forgotten, and security, prosperity, and happiness will return (13–19).

Chapters 12–14. Job’s reply. He grows sarcastic at their cutting words: “Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?” (12:2–3). They’re simply stating (and restating) conventional wisdom, but it doesn’t apply here!

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Job says he wants to “speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you!” (13:3–4). He tells them in no uncertain terms that he wants them to shut up: “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom” (13:5; v. 13).

Job asks God to speak and to tell him what it is he has done wrong (13:20–23).

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Job 15–21 THE SECOND CYCLE OF SPEECHES

Chapter 15. Eliphaz’s second speech. The argument becomes heated. His sarcasm becomes bitter (vv. 2–13). Job’s eyes flash (v. 12).

Chapters 16–17. Job’s reply. If you were in my place, I could shake my head at you and “make fine speeches against you.” The difference is that “my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief” (16:4–5). Only those who have suffered can truly enter into the suffering of others—as Christ can understand and enter into our suffering. Job is desperate: “Who can see any hope for me?” (17:15).

Chapter 18. Bildad’s second speech. In a fit of anger, he cries to Job, Why do you “tear yourself to pieces in your anger?” (v. 4). And assuming Job’s wickedness, he tries to frighten Job into repentance by depicting the awful doom of the wicked.

Chapter 19. Job’s reply. His friends abhor him (v. 19); his wife is a stranger to him (v. 17); children despise him (v. 18); he begs for some compassion from his friends: “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?” (v. 21).

Then, suddenly, out of the depths of despair, as the sunlight breaks through a rift in the clouds, Job bursts forth into one of the most sublime expressions of faith ever uttered: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (vv. 25–27).

Chapter 20. Zophar’s second speech. Zophar is offended by Job’s words. Assuming Job’s wickedness, he sets out to portray the deplorable fate in store for the wicked.

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Chapter 21. Job’s reply. Job agrees that the wicked suffer in the end—but in the meantime they seem to be doing rather well. They grow old and increase in power, and their homes are safe and free from fear (vv. 7–9). The prosperity of the wicked undermines the friends’ argument—there seems to be no necessary connection between suffering and wickedness! (v. 34). Suffering seems to be a tool that Satan uses to deceive the righteous. The wicked are already lost souls—why would Satan waste any time on them? Their self-centered lifestyle will likely keep them in Satan’s camp without any extra effort on his part.

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Job 22–26 THE THIRD CYCLE OF SPEECHES

Chapter 22. Eliphaz’s third speech. He bears down harder and harder on Job’s wickedness, claiming especially that Job has mistreated the poor.

Chapters 23–24. Job’s reply. He again protests his blamelessness. “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (23:12). This shows that Job does not base his claim to blamelessness on his own feelings, but rather measures himself against what God Himself has said—which makes it all the more difficult to understand why God does not give Job some kind of explanation.

Chapter 25. Bildad’s third speech. It is a very short speech. They have reached a stalemate. Neither side wants to give in, and the debate simply fizzles. Zophar doesn’t even bother to speak again.

Chapter 26–27. Job’s reply. Job states his dilemma as bluntly as he can. On the one hand, “I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity” (27:5). On the other hand, “the fate God allots to the wicked” (27:13) is annihilation—they will be no more, and all they possess will go to others. Job’s argument and the friends’ argument, side by side, without resolution.

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Job 28 AN INTERLUDE ON WISDOM

Chapter 28 interrupts not only the flow but also the tone of Job’s argument. This chapter is very much like the book of Proverbs—a discussion of the question where wisdom may be found.

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Job 29–31 JOB’S CALL FOR VINDICATION

The tone of these chapters is different from that in earlier chapters. Job no longer is in the heat of the argument. He seems deflated and sounds sad rather than angry. But he continues to call for vindication.

He contrasts his past prosperity, happiness, honor, respect, kindness, and usefulness (chap. 29) with his present sufferings (chap. 30). Then he wearily asks that if he had done any of the things his three friends accused him of, God might tell him what it was (chap. 31). And with that more or less resigned speech, Job finally runs out of things to say—which is when he can begin to listen to God.

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Job 32–37 ELIHU’S SPEECH

Job had silenced the three friends. Elihu was angry at them because they falsely accused Job. And he was angry with Job because as the argument wore on, Job increasingly was intent on justifying himself rather than God. Now it was Elihu’s turn to tell them a thing or two.

Elihu correctly points out that Job is coming very close to accusing God of being unjust. Elihu paves the way for God’s speech to Job. And in the end, God is angry with the first three friends, but not with Elihu.

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Job 38–41 GOD SPEAKS

These are some of the most awe-inspiring chapters in the Bible. God speaks to Job, but not with answers to the questions Job had been hurling at Him. Rather, God turns it around: He does the questioning and asks Job to answer Him. God shows and reminds Job of His power and majesty—of who He is. And He asks Job if he is anything compared to God’s greatness.

Job is speechless and admits that he has no answer (40:4–5). God continues—until in the end Job repents. Job, the man who thought he knew God, now says, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (42:5–6). Through his suffering, Job goes from a limited understanding of God to a life-changing experience of the greatness, majesty, and power of God—but also an experience of God’s love, since God gives Job a personal answer to a very real and difficult question. But it is an answer that comes only after Job runs out of words, so that he can listen.

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Job 42:7–17 EPILOGUE—JOB RESTORED

After Job repents, God instructs him to pray for his friends. After Job prays, God makes him prosperous again and gives him twice as much as he had before his suffering (42:10). Job had come through his trials magnificently, and God blessed his old age with generous rewards (42:12–17).

Job’s obedience in praying for his friends marks a turning point in his life. His experience seems to call us to pray for those who cause us to suffer.

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Authorship of the Psalms

In the titles or superscriptions of the Psalms, 73 psalms are ascribed to David, 12 to Asaph, 11 to the sons of Korah, two to Solomon (72, 127), one to Moses (90), and one to Ethan (89); 50 of the psalms are anonymous.

Some of the anonymous psalms may have been written by the author of the preceding psalm so that one title applies to both psalms. David, no doubt, was author of some of the anonymous psalms.

But the titles are not a certain indication of authorship, since “of,” “to,” and “for” are the same preposition in Hebrew. A psalm “of” David may have been one that he himself wrote, or it may have been written “for” David or dedicated “to” David.

However, the titles are very ancient, and the most natural assumption is that they indicate authorship. Some modern critics have made a desperate effort to read David out of the picture. But there is every reason to accept, and no substantial reason to question, that the book of Psalms is largely the work of David. The New Testament recognizes it as such.

Thus we speak of the Psalms as the psalms of David, because he was the principal writer or compiler. (Similarly, we refer to the book of Proverbs as the proverbs of Solomon, even though not all of them were written by him.) It is generally accepted that a few psalms were in existence before David’s time and formed the nucleus of a hymnal for worship. This was greatly enlarged by David, added onto from generation to generation, and brought to completion, it is thought, in its present form by Ezra.

David was a warrior of great bravery, a military genius, and a brilliant statesman who led his nation to its pinnacle of power. He was also a poet and a musician, and he loved God with all his heart.

David’s creation of the Psalms was in reality a far grander accomplishment than his creation of the kingdom. The book of Psalms is one of the noblest monuments of the ages and has outlasted David’s original kingdom by more than two millennia.

In the Psalms the real character of David is portrayed. And in the Psalms God’s people generally see a pretty fair picture of themselves, of their struggles, their sins, their sorrows, their aspirations, their joys, their failures, and their victories.

David has earned the undying gratitude of millions upon millions of God’s redeemed people for the Psalms.

Jesus was very fond of the Psalms. He said that many things in the Psalms referred to Him (Luke 24:44). So thoroughly did they become a part of Him that in His dying agonies on the cross He quoted from them (22:1; Matthew 27:46; 31:5; Luke 23:46).

Of the 283 quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament, 116 (more than 40 percent) are from the Psalms.

Classification of the Psalms

From very ancient times, the Psalms have been divided into five books. This division is already found in the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint, perhaps in imitation of the five books of the Pentateuch. Within these five books of psalms there are some further subgroups.

The Psalms Were Written to Be Sung

The Bible is full of singing—singing as an act of worship, singing as an expression of gratitude, even singing to express sorrow and lament.

• At the dawn of creation “the morning stars sang together, and all the angels of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7).
• Moses sang and taught the people to sing (Exodus 15; Deuteronomy 32).
• Israel sang on the journey to the Promised Land (Numbers 21:17).
• Deborah and Barak sang praise to God (Judges 5).
• David sang with all his heart (Psalm 104:33).
• Hezekiah’s singers sang the words of David (2 Chronicles 29:28–30).
• Two choirs sang when the walls of Jerusalem were finished (Nehemiah 12:42).
• Jesus and the disciples sang at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30).
• Paul and Silas sang in prison (Acts 16:25).
• In heaven, 10,000 times 10,000 angels sing, and the whole redeemed creation joins in the chorus (Revelation 5:11–13). In heaven everybody will sing—and will never tire of singing.

		Smaller Groups of Psalms	Notes
Book I	Psalms 1–41	[no groups]
Book II	Psalms 42–72	Psalms of Sons of Korah, 42–49 Miktam Psalms, 56–60	Miktam is probably a musical or literary term
Book III	Psalms 73–89	Psalms of Asaph, 73–83
Book IV	Psalms 90–106	[no groups]
Book V	Psalms 107–150	Hallel Psalms, 113–118 Songs of Degrees, 120–134 Psalms of Thanksgiving, 135–139 Psalms for Protection, 140–143	Hallel = praise Pilgrim songs praise the Lord
		Hallelujah Psalms, 146–150	Hallelujah = praise the Lord

Liturgical and Musical Notations in the Psalms

The meaning of a number of Hebrew terms used in the titles of the Psalms is not clear, for example, miktam (Psalms 16, 56–60) and maskil (Psalm 32 and others). These terms are very ancient and predate the Septuagint.

The word selah occurs 71 times in the Psalms; it is found at intervals in some Psalms as well as at the end. It may be a musical marker, but its meaning is not clear.

Leading Ideas in the Psalms

Trust is the foremost idea in the book, repeated over and over. Whatever the occasion, joyous or terrifying, it drove David straight to God. Whatever his weaknesses, David literally lived in God.

Praise was always on his lips. David was always asking God for something and always thanking Him with his whole soul for the answers to his prayers.

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The Israelites had stringed instruments (harp and lyre), wind instruments (flute, pipe, horn, trumpet), and instruments to be beaten (tambourine and cymbal). David had an orchestra of 4000, for which he made the instruments (1 Chronicles 23:5).

• Harp: The harp seems to have been a vertical, angular instrument, larger in size, louder, and lower in pitch than the lyre.
• Lyre: It is generally accepted that the lyre was a ten-stringed, rectangular zither.
• Flute: The flute, or shepherd’s pipe, was made of reeds and was used both for entertainment and for calming the sheep.
• Pipe: The pipe (chalil) was a double-reed instrument and is the biblical equivalent of the modern oboe.
• Horn: A horn, or shofar, was originally a ram’s horn without a mouthpiece. It was used chiefly as a signal instrument in both religious and secular ceremonies.
• Trumpet: Jewish historian Josephus has described the trumpet as a straight tube, “a little less than a cubit long,” its mouthpiece wide and its body expanding into a bell-like ending.
• Tambourine: The tambourine was a small drum made of a wooden hoop and probably two skins, without any jingling contrivance such as the modern tambourine has.
• Cymbal: The only permanent percussive instrument in the temple orchestra was the cymbal. In Psalm 150 two types of cymbals are mentioned. The larger clashing cymbals were played with two hands. The resounding cymbals were much smaller and were played with one hand—the cymbals being attached to the thumb and the middle finger.

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Rejoice is another favorite word. David’s unceasing troubles could never dim his joy in God. Over and over he cries, “Sing,” or “Shout for joy.” Psalms is a book of devotion to God.

Unfailing love (KJV, mercy) occurs hundreds of times. David often spoke of the justice, righteousness, and anger of God, but God’s unfailing love was what he always returned to.

Messianic Psalms

Many psalms, written 1000 years before Christ, contain statements that are wholly inapplicable to any person in history other than Christ. These are called messianic psalms. (The Greek word Christ is the same as the Hebrew Messiah.) Some references to David seem to point forward to the coming great King in David’s family. Besides passages that are clearly messianic, there are many expressions that seem to be veiled foreshadowings of the Messiah.

The most clearly messianic psalms are

	Psalm 2:		The deity and universal reign of the Messiah
	Psalm 8:		Through the Messiah, humanity is to rule creation
	Psalm 16:		His resurrection from the dead
	Psalm 22:		His suffering
	Psalm 45:		His royal bride (the church) and his eternal throne
	Psalm 69:		His suffering
	Psalm 72:		The glory and eternity of His reign
	Psalm 89:		God’s oath that Messiah’s throne will be without end
	Psalm 110:		Eternal King and Priest
	Psalm 118:		His rejection by His nation’s leaders
	Psalm 132:		Eternal heir to David’s throne

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• “You are my Son; today I have become your Father” (2:7; Acts 13:33).
• “You put everything under his feet” (8:6; Hebrews 2:6–10).
• “Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay” (16:10; Acts 2:27).
• “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (22:1; Matthew 27:46).
• “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him” (22:8; Matthew 27:43).
• “They have pierced my hands and my feet” (22:16; John 20:25).
• “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing” (22:18; John 19:24).
• “Here I am, I have come . . . to do your will, O my God” (40:7–8; Hebrews 10:7).
• “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (41:9; John 13:18).
• “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever” (45:6; Hebrews 1:8).
• “Zeal for your house consumes me” (69:9; John 2:17).
• “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst” (69:21; Matthew 27:34, 48).
• “May another take his place of leadership” (109:8; Acts 1:20).
• “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’ ” (110:1; Matthew 22:44).
• “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek’ ” (110:4; Hebrews 7:17).
• “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone” (118:22; Matthew 21:42).
• “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (118:26; Matthew 21:9).

See further under 2 Samuel 7 and Matthew 2:22.

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Ps. 1 DELIGHT IN GOD’S WORD

The book of Psalms opens with an exaltation of God’s Word. If David so loved the few writings that then constituted God’s Word, how much more should we love that same Word, which has now been brought to completion. (Other psalms of the Word are Psalm 19 and Psalm 119.)

Blessed are those who derive their understanding of life from God’s Word rather than from their worldly neighbors. Happiness and prosperity are theirs; not so the wicked. Over and over the godly and the wicked are contrasted.

Note, too, that the book of Psalms begins with a blessing or beatitude, like the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–12). Its first word is “Blessed.”

Some of David’s “Beatitudes” in the Psalms:

• “Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord” (1:1–2).
• “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (2:12).
• “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven” (32:1).
• “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (33:12).
• “Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” (34:8).
• “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak” (41:1).
• “Blessed are those who dwell in your house” (84:4).
• “Blessed are those whose strength is in you” (84:5).
• “Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord” (94:12).
• “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord” (112:1).
• “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (119:2).

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Ps. 2 A HYMN OF THE COMING MESSIAH

This is the first of the messianic psalms (see Messianic Psalms in the chapter Psalms). It speaks of His deity (v. 7) and His universal reign (v. 8).

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Ps. 3 DAVID’S TRUST IN GOD

Written at the time of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 15). A most remarkable example of peaceful trust at a very trying time. David could sleep because “the Lord sustains me.”

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Ps. 4 AN EVENING PRAYER

Another hymn of trust, as David prepared to sleep, so to speak, at the bosom of God. It speaks of trust in God (v. 5), gladness of heart (v. 7), peace of mind (v. 8), communion with God in our bedtime meditations (v. 4), confidence that God is watching (v. 8).

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Ps. 5 A MORNING PRAYER

Beset by treacherous enemies, David prays and shouts for joy, confident that God will protect him. David must have had many enemies. He refers to them again and again. Many of the most magnificent psalms came out of David’s troubles.

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Ps. 6 THE CRY OF A BROKEN HEART

In time of sickness, bitter grief, tears, humiliation, shame, and reproach by enemies, perhaps on account of David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). This is the first of the penitential psalms (see on Psalm 32).

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Ps. 7 ANOTHER PRAYER FOR PROTECTION

In grave danger, David protests his own righteousness (see on Psalm 32). Cush, in the title, possibly may have been one of Saul’s officers in pursuit of David (see on Psalm 54).

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Ps. 8 MAN THE CROWN OF CREATION

Worldwide praise will be brought about under the Messiah, in the day of His triumphant reign (Hebrews 2:6–9). Jesus quoted verse 2 as referring to an incident in His own life (Matthew 21:16).

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Ps. 9 THANKS FOR VICTORIES

Victories over enemies, national and individual. God sits as King forever. Let the nations realize that they are only human, only creatures. Praise and trust God.

This psalm, together with Psalm 10, forms an acrostic: the initial letters of successive verses follow the order of the Hebrew alphabet. It may have been used as an aid to memory. Other acrostic psalms are Psalms 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145.

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Ps. 10 DAVID’S PRAYER FOR HELP

Prayer for help in the face of wickedness, oppression, and robbery, apparently within his own realm. Wickedness troubled David greatly, especially defiance of God. To David, as to other Bible writers, there are just two kinds of people: the righteous and the wicked—though many try to be both.

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Pss. 11–13 PREVALENCE OF WICKEDNESS

The wicked walk on every side. David is overwhelmed by his wicked enemies, almost to the point of death. But he nevertheless trusts in God and sings for joy. Psalms such as these seem to belong to the period when David was hiding from Saul (1 Samuel 18–26).

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Ps. 14 UNIVERSAL SINFULNESS

This psalm is almost the same as Psalm 53. It is quoted in Romans 3:10–12. Unbelievers are here called fools: widespread wickedness shows what fools people are. For as sure as there is a God, there will be a day of reckoning, a day of judgment for the wicked. But living among the wicked are God’s people, for whom Judgment Day will be a day of joy.

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Ps. 15 TRUE CITIZENS OF ZION

The true citizens of Zion are righteous, truthful, just, and honest. Thomas Jefferson called this psalm “the picture of a true gentleman.”

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Ps. 16 RESURRECTION OF THE MESSIAH

David appears to be speaking of himself, yet words about the coming Davidic King find their way into David’s mouth (v. 10) and are quoted in the New Testament as a prediction of Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:27). Verses 8 and 11 are especially magnificent.

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Ps. 17 A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION

Overwhelmed by enemies, David looks to God. He proclaims his own innocence and trusts in God. Surrounded by people who love this world, David set his heart on the world beyond (vv. 14–15).

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Ps. 18 DAVID’S HYMN OF THANKSGIVING

David wrote this psalm after years of running from Saul, when he had become king and had the kingdom firmly established. He attributed it all to God, his Strength, Rock, Fortress, Deliverer, Support, Refuge, Shield, Horn, Stronghold. One of the best psalms.

Head of nations (vv. 43–45) was only partially true of David; it looked forward beyond the time of David to the throne of David’s greater descendent, Christ, the Messiah. This psalm is repeated in 2 Samuel 22.

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Ps. 19 NATURE AND THE WORD

The wonder and glory of creation, and the perfection and power of God’s Word. The God of nature is made known to humanity through His written Word. These thoughts about God’s Word are greatly expanded in Psalm 119. The closing prayer (vv. 13–14) is one of the best prayers in the whole Bible. God’s Word is perfect, sure, true; it gives joy and is sweeter than honey.

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Ps. 20 A SONG OF TRUST

This would appear to be a battle hymn, sung while setting up the military banners, with a prayer for victory as David entered battle. His trust was not in chariots and horses (v. 7), but in the Lord.

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Ps. 21 THANKS FOR VICTORY

Victory after the battle which had been prayed for in Psalm 20. It refers to David, but it seems also to contain a messianic hint in its reference to the eternal nature of the King’s reign (v. 4).

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Ps. 22 A PSALM OF THE CRUCIFIXION

This is a cry of anguish from David. But, though written 1000 years before the days of Jesus, it is so vivid a description of the crucifixion of Jesus that one would almost think that the writer was personally present at the cross: Jesus’ dying words (v. 1), the sneers of His enemies (vv. 7–8), His hands and feet pierced (v. 16), His garments divided (v. 18). Some of these statements are not applicable to David, nor to any known event in history except the crucifixion of Jesus.

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Ps. 23 THE SHEPHERD PSALM

One of the best-loved chapters in the Old Testament. David may have composed this psalm while he was yet a shepherd boy, watching his father’s flocks on the very same field where, 1000 years later, the angel choir announced the birth of Jesus.

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Ps. 24 THE KING’S ARRIVAL IN ZION

This psalm may have been written when the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:12–15). Maybe we will sing it on that great day when the King of glory comes again.

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Ps. 25 PRAYER OF A SIN-OPPRESSED SOUL

David had periods of depression, brought on by his sins and troubles. There are many petitions here that we would do well to make our own. Read this psalm often.

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Ps. 26 DAVID PROTESTS HIS INTEGRITY

This psalm is very different from the preceding one; David speaks positively and forcefully about his own integrity. (See on Psalm 32.)

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Ps. 27 DEVOTION TO GOD’S HOUSE

God was the strength of David’s life. David trusted God fearlessly. He loved to sing, and to pray, and to wait on the Lord.

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Ps. 28 A PRAYER

A prayer, with thanksgiving for its being answered. David was without hope, except for God. He depended on Him and rejoiced in Him.

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Ps. 29 THE VOICE OF GOD

The voice of God in the thunderstorm, sometimes frightening. The image is suggestive of the terrifying, cataclysmic events at the end of the world.

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Ps. 30 DEDICATION OF DAVID’S PALACE

Written after David had conquered Jerusalem and made it his capital (2 Samuel 5:11; 7:2). David had often been near death, but God brought him through. He would sing and praise God forever.

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Ps. 31 A SONG OF TRUST

David, in constant danger, trouble, grief, or humiliation, always implicitly trusted in God. Jesus quoted His dying words from this psalm (v. 5; Luke 23:46).

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Ps. 32 A PSALM OF PENITENCE

This psalm was occasioned, no doubt, by David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12). He can find no words to express his shame and humiliation. Yet this is the same David who repeatedly avowed his righteousness (Psalms 7:3, 8; 17:1–5; 18:20–24; 26:1–14).

How can we reconcile these paradoxical features of David’s life? (1) It is possible that the statements about his righteousness were made before David made this dreadful mistake. (2) In most things David was righteous. (3) Most important, there is a vast difference between a sin of weakness and willful, habitual sin. A good person may sin and yet be a good person. David’s remorse showed that was true in his case. That is quite different from wicked people who purposely, willfully, and habitually flout all the laws of decency. (See on 2 Samuel 11.)

Augustine is said to have had this psalm written on the wall in front of his bed, where it was always in view, reading it incessantly, weeping as he read.

Other penitential psalms are Psalms 6, 25, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143.

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Ps. 33 A PSALM OF JOY AND PRAISE

David speaks of a “new song” (v. 3; the same words are found in Psalm 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9). There are old songs that will never grow old; but to God’s people, as they travel along life’s road, there are again and again new deliverances and new joys that put new meaning into old songs, all of which will be taken up into the great new outbursts of joy at the dawn of heaven’s glories (Revelation 5:9; 14:3).

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Ps. 34 DAVID’S THANKS FOR DELIVERANCE

In every trouble David went straight to God in prayer, and after every deliverance he went instantly to God in thanks and praise. What a glorious thing to thus live in God. How that must please God. Someone has said, “Thank God for the starlight, and He will give you the moonlight; thank Him for the moonlight, and He will give you the sunlight; thank Him for the sunlight, and by and by He will take you where He Himself is the Light.”

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Ps. 35 A CURSING PSALM

In this psalm David calls on God to act, to help him against his enemies. But God is silent and seems far away (vv. 22–23). What makes it even more difficult for David is that those who seek to kill him are his enemies without cause: they hate him without reason (v. 19). This was not an isolated experience (see Psalms 38:19; 69:4; 109:3; 119:78, 86, 161; and Lamentations 3:52). Jesus applied the same thought to Himself in John 15:25: “But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ ”

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Pss. 36–37 TRUST IN GOD

Psalm 36. The wickedness of people contrasted with the mercy and faithfulness of God.

Psalm 37. This is one of the best-loved psalms. David, always puzzled by the fact that wickedness seems to prevail, here states his philosophy as to how to live among wicked people: do good, trust God, don’t worry.

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Ps. 38 A PSALM OF BITTER ANGUISH

This is one of the penitential psalms (see on Psalm 32). It seems that David was suffering from a loathsome disease, caused by his sin, which led even his closest friends and nearest relatives to stay away from him. His enemies, by contrast, had multiplied and become very bold. It shows how the “man after God’s own heart” sometimes went to the depths in sorrow and humiliation for his sin.

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Ps. 39 THE FRAILTY AND VANITY OF LIFE

Jeduthun (also mentioned in the titles of Psalms 62 and 77) was one of David’s three music leaders; the other two were Asaph and Heman (1 Chronicles 16:37–42). He was also the king’s seer, according to 2 Chronicles 35:15.

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Ps. 40 PRAISE FOR A GREAT DELIVERANCE

The Law of God was in his heart (v. 8), yet David was utterly crushed by his sins (v. 12). The last part of this psalm is the same as Psalm 70. This psalm would seem to contain a messianic reference (vv. 7–8; see Hebrews 10:5–7).

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Ps. 41 A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE

This psalm is thought to belong to the time when David’s son Absalom tried to usurp the throne (2 Samuel 15) at a time when David’s sickness (vv. 3–8) created an opportunity for the plot to mature. The close friend (v. 9) must have been Ahithophel, the Old Testament Judas (2 Samuel 15:12; John 13:18).

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There are seven psalms in which the psalmist hurls God’s curses on his enemies, in no uncertain terms (Psalms 6; 35; 59; 69; 83; 109; 137). For example,

These psalms are also called the imprecatory psalms because the psalmist showers imprecations (curses) on his enemies. Fourteen other psalms include an imprecatory prayer (for example, 3:7; 5:10; 7:14–16). The expression of hatred and the desire for vindication are also found in the prayers of Jeremiah (11:18–20; 15:15–18; 17:18; 18:19–23; 20:11–12) and Nehemiah (6:14; 13:29).

What are we to do with these psalms that seem to squarely contradict Jesus’ command to love our enemies (Luke 6:27–28)? Some people simply write them off. They feel that the Old Testament preaches law and vengeance, whereas the New Testament teaches love for God and neighbor. Therefore these psalms have no place in the Christian life.

But they forget that Jesus took the two great commandments (“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and . . . soul and . . . mind . . . and . . . your neighbor as yourself,” Matthew 22:37–39) directly from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). And His command to love our enemies is also found in the Old Testament:

“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice. . . . If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink” (Proverbs 24:17; 25:21).

And “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24) is not, as is often assumed, a legalization of vengeance. Rather, it limits those who have been wronged to the recovery of actual damages rather than punitive damages. It is a humane law, designed to prevent an ever-escalating spiral of revenge.

The Old Testament already contains the key teachings of Jesus—and the New Testament clearly does not teach only “sweetness and light.” Jesus condemned Korazin and Capernaum (Matthew 11:21–24) and severely criticized the leaders and the unbelief of the Jews (Matthew 7:23 [compare with Psalm 6:8]; Mark 11:14; 12:9). The apostles also had very strong words for heretics and evildoers (1 Corinthians 5:5; Galatians 1:8–9; 5:12; 2 Timothy 4:14 [compare with Psalm 62:12]; 2 Peter 2; 2 John 7–11; Jude 3–16).

The fact is that in both the Old and the New Testament we find the requirement to love as well as the requirement to hate evil.

What bothers us about the imprecatory psalms is their concreteness. “God hates sin but loves the sinner” was as true in the Old Testament as it is now. But in the Old Testament, sin and evil are not viewed as abstractions; rather, they exist in their concrete manifestations—real actions by real people.

In the Old Testament, God’s people, the nation of Israel, is a concrete reality. The nation lives in a specific place, the Promised Land. The temple is an actual place where God is present. And above all, the God of Israel is known through His concrete acts in history, foremost among them the Exodus from Egypt. And just as God’s presence is known through His concrete acts in history, so evil is known through its concrete manifestations.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask, “Deliver us from the evil one” (or, “from evil”). The psalmists make the same request, but in more concrete form: deliver us from evil by delivering us from the evil ones. In the New Testament, evil and sin oppose the coming of God’s kingdom. In the Old Testament, evil and sin oppose the kingdom of God’s people, Israel. But in both cases, sin and evil are an assault on God Himself by opposing that which is dearest to His heart.

The imprecatory psalms are a constant reminder that evil is not an abstraction but a stark, everyday reality. They remind us that God hates evil, not in the abstract, but in people’s actions or failure to act—whether these are actions of unbelievers or of God’s own people. (Note how often the psalmists cry out for forgiveness for their own sins!)

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Pss. 42–43 THIRST FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD

These two psalms form one poem, describing the desire for God’s house on the part of someone in exile in the Hermon region, east of the Jordan (42:6), among ungodly and hostile people.

The Sons of Korah, mentioned in the titles of Psalms 42–49, 84, 85, 87, and 88, were a family of Levites, organized by David into a musical guild (1 Chronicles 6:31–48; 9:19, 22, 33).

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Ps. 44 A CRY OF DESPAIR

A cry of despair in a time of national disaster, when their army, it seems, had been overwhelmingly defeated.

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Ps. 45 WEDDING SONG OF A KING

The psalmist shifts from speaking to the king to addressing God, who sits on an eternal throne. This psalm may, in part, have reference to David or Solomon. But some of its statements are wholly inapplicable to either, or to any other human sovereign. It surely seems to be a song of the Messiah, anticipating the marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7).

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Ps. 46 ZION’S BATTLE SONG

This psalm is the basis for Luther’s famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” the song of the Reformation.

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Pss. 47–48 GOD REIGNS

God is King. Zion is the city of God. This God is our God forever. God is on the throne—let the earth rejoice!

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Pss. 49–50 THE VANITY OF RICHES

God is the owner of the earth and everything in and on it. In giving to God we merely return that which is His own. These psalms, which speak of the vanity of life, since death comes to all, are similar to Psalm 39.

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Ps. 51 PRAYER FOR MERCY

A penitential psalm (see on Psalm 32), written in the aftermath of David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12). “Create in me a pure heart” (v. 10) is a prayer we all would do well to pray constantly.

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Ps. 52 DAVID’S TRUST IN GOD

David’s trust in God is contrasted with the wicked boastfulness of his enemy Doeg (1 Samuel 21:7; 22:9). David is confident that he will be delivered.

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Ps. 53 UNIVERSAL SINFULNESS OF MEN

This psalm is similar to Psalm 14. It is quoted in Romans 3:10–12. The meaning of the terms mahalath and maskil in the title is not known, although they are most likely musical or literary terms.

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Ps. 54 DAVID’S CRY TO GOD

Written when the Ziphites told Saul where David was hiding (1 Samuel 26). Other psalms composed while David was on the run from Saul are Psalm 7(?), 34, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 63(?), and 142.

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Ps. 55 BETRAYED BY FRIENDS

Like Psalm 41, this seems to belong to the time of Absalom’s rebellion and to refer specifically to Ahithophel (vv. 12–14; 2 Samuel 15:12–13). It is a preview of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. David trusts in God.

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Ps. 56 PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE

Like Psalm 34, a prayer for deliverance from the Philistines (1 Samuel 21:10–15). David used his own resources to the limit, even faking insanity. Yet he prayed and trusted in God for the result. Psalm 34 is his song of thanks for his escape.

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Ps. 57 DAVID’S PRAYER

David’s prayer in the cave of Adullam, while hiding from Saul (1 Samuel 22:1; 24:1; 26:1). His heart was fixed on trusting God (v. 7).

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Ps. 58 DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED

The day of retribution is sure. David complained much about the prevalence of wickedness. And he repeated over and over that evil does not pay—in the long run. It is still so.

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Ps. 59 ANOTHER OF DAVID’S PRAYERS

David’s prayer when Saul sent soldiers to entrap David at home (1 Samuel 19:10–17). But again David trusted in God. Another golden poem.

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Ps. 60 A PSALM OF DISCOURAGEMENT

Written at a time when the war with the Syrians and Edomites (2 Samuel 8:3–14) was not going well. Other psalms in time of national reverses are Psalm 44, 74, 79, and 108. David’s prayer was answered (2 Samuel 8:14).

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Ps. 61 A HYMN OF CONFIDENCE

Prayed while David apparently was away from home on some distant expedition (v. 2), or possibly at the time of Absalom’s rebellion.

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Ps. 62 A POEM OF IMPASSIONED DEVOTION

Devotion to God and unwavering trust in Him. David had a lot of trouble but never failed to trust in God.

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Ps. 63 A HYMN OF THE WILDERNESS

David’s thirst for God. It seems to belong to the period when David was in the wilderness of Engedi (1 Samuel 24), fleeing from Absalom, but confident of restoration.

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Ps. 64 PRAYER FOR PROTECTION

Prayer for protection from plots of secret enemies. David is confident that through God he will triumph.

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Ps. 65 A SONG OF THE SEA AND THE HARVEST

God crowns the year with goodness. The earth shouts for joy with its abundant crops.

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Ps. 66 A SONG OF NATIONAL THANKSGIVING

Praise God, fear God, sing, rejoice—God keeps His eye on the nations.

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Ps. 67 A MISSIONARY PSALM

In anticipation of the Good News of the Gospel encircling the earth. Let the nations sing for joy!

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Ps. 68 A BATTLE MARCH

The battle march of God’s victorious armies. This psalm has been the favorite of many in times of persecution.

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Ps. 69 A PSALM OF SUFFERING

Like Psalm 22, this psalm provides glimpses of the suffering Messiah. It is quoted in the New Testament (vv. 4, 9, 21–22, 25; John 2:17; 15:25; 19:28–30; Acts 1:20; Romans 11:9; 15:3).

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Ps. 70 AN URGENT CRY FOR HELP

God never failed David. The believer’s joy in God in a time of persecution. About the same as the latter part of Psalm 40.

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Ps. 71 A PSALM OF OLD AGE

A retrospective on a life of trust, beset by troubles and enemies all the way, but with his joy in God undimmed.

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Ps. 72 THE GLORY AND GRANDEUR OF MESSIAH’S REIGN

This is one of Solomon’s psalms (the other one is Psalm 127). Solomon’s kingdom was at the pinnacle of its glory. We may think that this psalm was, in part, a description of his own peaceful and glorious reign. But some of its statements, and its general tenor, can allude only to the kingdom of One greater than Solomon. (See further Poetic Books (Job–Song of Songs) in the chapter The Messiah in the Old Testament: Foreshadowings and Predictions of the Coming Messiah.)

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Ps. 73 PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED

The solution to the problem of the prosperity of wicked people is this: consider their final end. This is one of Asaph’s psalms (the others are 50, 74–83). Asaph was David’s song leader (1 Chronicles 15:16–20; 16:5). Hezekiah’s choirs sang Asaph’s psalms (2 Chronicles 29:30).

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Ps. 74 NATIONAL DISASTER

Jerusalem was in ruins (vv. 3, 6–7). This psalm may refer either to the time of Shishak’s invasion (1 Kings 14:25) or to the Babylonian captivity.

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Ps. 75 GOD IS JUDGE

The certain destruction of the wicked and the certain triumph of the righteous on the day when the earth shall be dissolved.

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Ps. 76 THANKS FOR A GREAT VICTORY

This psalm seems to refer to the destruction of Sennacherib’s army by the Angel of God at Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:35).

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Pss. 77–78 HISTORICAL PSALMS

A review of God’s marvelous works in His dealings with Israel. The contrast between God’s mighty works and Israel’s habitual unfaithfulness and disobedience.

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Pss. 79–80 NATIONAL DISASTER

Like Psalm 74, these psalms belong to a time of great disaster, such as the invasion of Shishak (1 Kings 4:25), or the fall of the northern kingdom, or the Babylonian captivity.

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Pss. 81–82 ISRAEL’S WAYWARDNESS

The cause of Israel’s troubles lies in their turning their back on God. If they had only listened to God, things would have been different. Unjust judges must share in the blame, since they have forgotten their responsibility to the supreme Judge.

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Ps. 83 A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION

Prayer for protection from a conspiracy of federated nations: Edomites, Arabians, Moabites, Ammonites, Amalekites, Philistines, and others.

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Ps. 84 GOD’S HOUSE

The blessedness of devotion to God’s house. “Better is one day in your courts [the temple courts] than a thousand elsewhere” (v. 10). Nearness to God is what matters—also for the church.

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Pss. 85–86 THANKSGIVING AND A CRY FOR MERCY

Thanksgiving for return from captivity, and a prayer for the restoration of the land and for a better future. It is also a prayer for mercy: even though the psalmist is godly, yet he is in need of forgiveness.

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Ps. 87 ZION

God’s love for Zion. What is said here of Zion more truly applies to the church. Our birth in Zion (our birth into God’s people) is recorded in heaven (v. 6).

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Ps. 88 A LIFELONG SUFFERER

Prayer of a shut-in suffering from a prolonged and terrible disease. One of the saddest of the psalms.

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Ps. 89 GOD’S OATH

God’s solemn promise that David’s throne will be forever. A magnificent psalm. Ethan, in the title, was one of David’s song leaders (1 Chronicles 15:17).

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Ps. 90 THE ETERNITY OF GOD

The eternity of God and the shortness of human life. Since this is a psalm of Moses, who lived 400 years before David, it may have been the first psalm to be written. Moses wrote other songs (Exodus 15; Deuteronomy 32). Rabbinic tradition assigns the 10 psalms that follow, 91–100, also to Moses.

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Ps. 91 A HYMN OF TRUST

One of the best-loved psalms. Magnificent! Amazing promises of security to those who trust God. Read it often.

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Ps. 92 A SABBATH HYMN OF PRAISE

This hymn seems to look back to the Sabbath (the seventh day) of Creation, and forward to the age of the eternal Sabbath. The wicked will perish, the godly flourish.

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Pss. 93–94 THE MAJESTY OF GOD

God’s majesty and the destruction of the wicked. The power, holiness, and eternity of God’s throne. From everlasting, God reigns forevermore. Wickedness is prevalent in this world, but in the end, God’s justice prevails: the doom of the wicked is certain. This is one of the most frequent themes of Scripture.

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Pss. 95–97 THE REIGN OF GOD

Continuing the idea of Psalm 93, these are called “theocratic psalms” because they relate to the sovereignty and rule of God (theocracy = “rule by God”; compare democracy, “rule by the people”), with hints of the kingly reign of the coming Messiah.

Psalm 95. Sing! Rejoice! God is King; let us kneel before Him. We are His people; let us listen to His voice. Verses 7–11 are quoted in Hebrews 3:7–11 as words of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 96. Sing! Be joyful. Be thankful. Praise God. It will be a day of triumph for God’s people when He comes to judge the world. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice. The Day of Judgment is on the way.

Psalm 97. The Lord comes. The earth is moved. A coronation anthem that refers, possibly, to both the first and the second comings of Christ.

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Ps. 98 A SONG OF JUBILANT JOY

Since this is a new song (v. 1), it may be one of those sung in heaven (Revelation 5:9–14). (See also under Psalm 33.)

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Pss. 99–100 GOD REIGNS—WORSHIP HIM

Psalm 99. God reigns. God is holy, let the nations tremble. God loves justice and righteousness. He answers prayer.

Psalm 100. Praise God. His love endures forever, and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Ps. 101 A PSALM FOR RULERS

This may have been written when David ascended the throne. It states the principles on which he would base his reign.

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Ps. 102 A PRAYER OF PENITENCE

Written in a time of terrible affliction, humiliation, and reproach (see on Psalm 32). The eternity of God (vv. 25–27) is quoted in Hebrews 1:10–12 as applying to Christ.

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Ps. 103 A PSALM OF GOD’S MERCY

Thought to have been written in David’s old age, this psalm summarizes God’s dealings with him. One of the best-loved psalms.

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Ps. 104 A NATURE PSALM

God the Creator and caretaker of all the world. This psalm reminds us of Jesus’ words, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” (Matthew 10:29).

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Pss. 105–106 TWO HISTORICAL PSALMS

A poetic summary of Israel’s history that focuses especially on their miraculous delivery out of Egypt.

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Pss. 107–109 GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE AND JUSTICE

Psalm 107. The wonders of God’s love in His dealings with His people and in His management of the works of nature.

Psalm 108. This seems to be one of David’s battle songs. It is almost identical with parts of Psalms 57 and 60.

Psalm 109. Vengeance on God’s adversaries. One of the cursing psalms (see on Psalm 35). In the New Testament, verse 8 is applied to Judas, who betrayed Jesus.

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Ps. 110 THE ETERNAL REIGN OF THE COMING KING

This psalm cannot refer to any person in history except Christ; yet it was written 1000 years before Christ (vv. 1, 4). Quoted in the New Testament as referring to Christ (Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:34; Hebrews 1:13; 5:6).

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Pss. 111–112 SONGS OF PRAISE

Psalm 111. The majesty, honor, righteousness, unfailing love, justice, faithfulness, truth, holiness, and eternity of God.

Psalm 112. The blessedness of those who fear God and are righteous, merciful, gracious, and kind to the poor, who love the ways and Word of God, and whose heart is fixed on God. Everlasting blessedness is theirs.

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Pss. 113–118 THE HALLEL PSALMS

“Hallel” means praise. The Hallel psalms were sung in families on the night of the Passover: Psalms 113 and 114 at the beginning of the meal, Psalms 115–118 at the close of the meal. They must have been the hymns that Jesus and His disciples sang at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30).

Psalm 113. A song of praise. Begins and ends with “Hallelujah,” which means “praise God.”

Psalm 114. A song of the Exodus, recalling the wonders and miracles of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt and the beginning of the Passover feast. The earth, sea, rivers, mountains, and hills trembled at God’s presence.

Psalm 115. The Lord is the only God. Blessed are His people, they who trust in Him and not in the gods of the nations. Idols are no smarter than they who make them. Our God is God—where are the gods of the nations? Our God will bless us, and we will bless His name forevermore.

Psalm 116. A song of gratitude to God for deliverance from death and temptation, and for repeated answers to prayer. One of the best psalms.

Psalm 117. A summons to the nations to accept the Lord. Quoted as such in Romans 15:11. This is the middle chapter in the Bible—and the shortest. Yet it contains the essence of the Psalms.

Psalm 118. This was the farewell hymn Jesus sang with His disciples as He left the Passover on His way to Gethsemane and Calvary (Matthew 26:30). It embodied a prediction of His rejection (vv. 22, 26; Matthew 21:9, 42).

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Ps. 119 THE GLORIES OF GOD’S WORD

With 176 verses, this is the longest chapter in the Bible. Every verse mentions the Word of God under one or another of these names: law, statutes, righteous laws, decrees, commands, precepts, word, ways (KJV, also testimony, ordinances), except vv. 90, 121, 122, 132.

It is an acrostic, or alphabetic, psalm. Its has 22 stanzas, each beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in sequence. What is more, each stanza has eight lines, and each of the eight lines in a stanza begins with the same letter (see on Psalm 9).

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Pss. 120–134 SONGS OF ASCENTS

Also called songs of degrees, or pilgrim songs. Believed to have been designed to be sung a capella by pilgrims traveling up to the religious feasts at Jerusalem. The roads that led to Jerusalem from all directions went literally uphill (see Topography in the chapter The Setting of the Bible), hence “going up to Jerusalem” and songs of “ascent.” Or they may have been sung going up the 15 steps to the men’s court in the temple.

Psalm 120. A prayer for protection by one who lived among deceitful and treacherous people, far away from Zion.

Psalm 121. Pilgrims may have sung this hymn as they first caught sight of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem.

Psalm 122. This may have been what the pilgrims sang as they neared the temple gate within the city walls.

Psalm 123. And this may have been sung inside the temple courts as the pilgrims lifted their eyes to God in prayer for His mercy.

Psalm 124. A hymn of thanksgiving and praise for repeated national deliverance in times of fearful danger.

Psalm 125. A hymn of trust. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so God is round about His people.

Psalm 126. A song of thanksgiving for return from captivity. The people felt as if they were dreaming. (See Psalm 137.)

Psalm 127. This seems like a combination of two poems, one about temple building, the other about family building. This is one of Solomon’s two psalms (the other is Psalm 72).

Psalm 128. A wedding song. A continuation of the second half of Psalm 127. Godly families are the basis of national prosperity.

Psalm 129. Israel’s prayer for the overthrow of her enemies, who, generation after generation, had harassed her.

Psalm 130. Keeping our eyes on God. A cry for mercy. This is one of the penitential psalms. (See on Psalm 32.)

Psalm 131. A psalm of humble, childlike trust in God. The psalmist’s soul is stilled and quieted, as a child with his mother.

Psalm 132. A poetic restatement of God’s unbreakable promise to David of an eternal dynasty.

Psalms 133–134. A psalm of brotherly love and of life forevermore, and a psalm about those Levites who “work the night shift” in the temple.

The snow-capped peak of Mount Hermon. Moisture in any form is a blessing in a dry climate: “It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore” (Psalm 133:3).

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Pss. 135–139 PSALMS OF THANKSGIVING

Psalm 135. A song of praise for God’s wonderful works in nature and in history.

Psalm 136. This seems to be an expansion of Psalm 135, about God’s mighty works of creation and His dealings with Israel, arranged for antiphonal singing. “His love endures forever” occurs in every verse. It is called a Hallel (praise) psalm, was sung at the opening of the Passover, and was a favorite temple song (1 Chronicles 16:41; 2 Chronicles 7:3; 20:21; Ezra 3:11).

Psalm 137. A psalm of the captivity, sung by exiles in a foreign land longing for home. They expect sure retribution for those who took them captive. This is not a psalm of thanksgiving, but its counterpart, Psalm 126, written after they got back from Babylon, is full of gratitude.

Psalm 138. A song of thanksgiving, apparently on the occasion of some notable answer to prayer.

Psalm 139. God’s universal presence and infinite knowledge. He knows our every thought, word, and act—nothing is hidden from Him. The closing sentence is one of the most needed prayers in the whole Bible.

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Pss. 140–143 PRAYERS FOR PROTECTION

Psalm 140. David had many enemies—who drove him ever closer to God. The ultimate destruction of the wicked.

Psalm 141. Another one of David’s prayers for protection against being driven to sin.

Psalm 142. One of David’s prayers in early life, while hiding in a cave from Saul (1 Samuel 22:1; 24:3).

Psalm 143. David’s penitent cry for help and guidance, possibly when he was being pursued by Absalom (2 Samuel 17, 18).

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Pss. 144–145 SONGS OF PRAISE

Psalm 144. One of David’s battle songs. His army may have chanted hymns such as this as they moved into battle.

Psalm 145. David may have had his army sing a hymn such as this after a battle, in gratitude for victory.

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Pss. 146–150 HALLELUJAH PSALMS

These last five psalms are called Hallelujah psalms, since each begins and ends with “Hallelujah,” which means “praise the Lord.” The word also appears often in other psalms.

The grand outburst of Hallelujahs with which the book of Psalms comes to a climactic close is carried over to the end of the Bible itself and is echoed in the heavenly choirs of the redeemed (Revelation 19:1, 3–4, 6).

Psalm 146. God reigns. As long as I live I will praise God.

Psalm 147. Let all creation praise God. Sing unto God with thanksgiving. Let Israel and Zion praise God.

Psalm 148. Let the angels praise God. Let the sun, moon, and stars praise God. Let the heavens shout, “Hallelujah!”

Psalm 149. Let the saints praise God. Let them sing for joy. Let Zion rejoice. Hallelujah!

Psalm 150. Hallelujah! Praise God with trumpet and harp. Let everything that has breath praise God. Hallelujah!

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“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Like the book of Psalms and the Pentateuch, this book is divided into five parts: the way of Wisdom, by Solomon (chaps. 1–9); the main collection of the proverbs of Solomon (chaps. 10–24); Hezekiah’s collection of Solomon’s proverbs (chaps. 25–29); the words of Agur (chap. 30); the words of King Lemuel (chap. 31).

Thus, most of the proverbs are ascribed to Solomon. Solomon appears to be to the book of Proverbs what David is to the book of Psalms: the main author. The difference is that Psalms is a book of devotion, while Proverbs is a book of practical ethics.

Solomon

As a young man, Solomon had a consuming passion for knowledge and wisdom (1 Kings 3:9–12). He became the literary prodigy of the world of his day. His intellectual attainments were the wonder of the age. Kings came from the ends of the earth to hear him. He lectured on botany and zoology. He was a scientist, a political ruler, a businessman with vast enterprises, a poet, moralist, and preacher. (See on 1 Kings 4 and 9.)

What Is a Proverb?

A proverb is a brief, popular statement that expresses a general truth (“A stitch in time saves nine”). Most of the book consists of unconnected proverbs. But the Hebrew word for “proverb” can also include longer, connected exhortations, such as chapter 2. Most of the proverbs in the book of Proverbs express a contrast (“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails,” 19:21) or a statement with an elaboration or consequence (“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise,” 19:20). Many proverbs use figurative language (“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones,” 16:24).

Proverbs are designed primarily for teaching, especially the young—compact, practical statements that stick in the mind. They cover a wide range of subjects: wisdom, righteousness, fear of God, knowledge, morality, chastity, diligence, self-control, trust in God, proper use of riches, consideration for the poor, control of the tongue, kindness toward enemies, choice of companions, training of children, honesty, idleness, laziness, justice, helpfulness, cheerfulness, common sense, and more.

Proverbs and Experience

This book aims to inculcate virtues that the Bible insists on throughout. Over and over and over, in all the Bible, God has supplied us with a great abundance of instruction as to how He wants us to live, so that there can be no excuse for our missing the mark.

The teachings of this book of Proverbs are not expressed with the words “This is what the Lord says,” as in the Law of Moses, where the same things are taught as a direct command of God. Rather, they are given as coming out of the experience of a man who tried out and tested just about everything that people are involved in. Moses had said, “These things are the commandments of God.” Solomon here says, “Experience shows that God has commanded us those things that are best for us—the essence of human wisdom lies in keeping God’s commandments.” Proverbs are like an owner’s manual for life. An owner’s manual explains what needs to be done to avoid serious problems, but it does not guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong.

God, in the long record of His revelation of Himself and His will, resorted, it seems, to every possible method to convince us—not only by commandment and by precept, but also by example—that God’s commandments are worth living by.

Solomon’s fame was a sounding board that carried his voice to the ends of the earth and made him an example to all the world of the wisdom of God’s ideas.

This book of Proverbs has been called one of the best guidebooks to success that a young person can follow.

There is also an incidental element of humor in the book of Proverbs, especially in the images some of the proverbs evoke: “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue” (17:28). “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife” (21:9). There is also a delightful description of the effects of too much alcohol (23:31–35).

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Prov. 1–9 THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON (BOOK 1)

Chapter 1. The Object of the Book. To promote wisdom, discipline, understanding, righteousness, justice, equity, prudence, knowledge, discretion, learning, guidance (vv. 2–7). What splendid words! Wisdom (found 41 times in the book) is more than knowledge and insight; it includes skill in living a morally sound life. It can also include skill at a craft (in Exodus 31:3, for example, “skill” is the same word as “wisdom”).

The starting point is the fear of God (v. 7); next, paying attention to parental instruction (vv. 8–9) and avoiding bad companions (vv. 10–19). Wisdom cries aloud her warnings, but if these warnings are ignored, the consequences are dire indeed (vv. 20–33).

Chapter 2. Wisdom must be sought wholeheartedly. The place to find it is God’s Word (v. 6). Then follows a warning against the adulteress (KJV, strange woman), a warning that is often repeated. While wisdom is personified in Proverbs as a pure and morally beautiful woman, the adulteress is the opposite of wisdom—she is folly personified.

Chapter 3. A superb and beautiful chapter: kindness, truth, long life, peace, trust in God, honoring God with our material possessions, prosperity, security, happiness, blessedness.

Chapter 4. Wisdom is “the principal thing”—it is supreme (NIV). Therefore, get wisdom! The path of the righteous grows brighter and brighter, while the path of the wicked will grow darker and darker.

Chapter 5. Marital joy and loyalty. A warning against unchaste love. Solomon had many women, but advised against it. He seemed to think the one-wife arrangement better (vv. 18–19). Chapters 5–7 speak about loose women. Judging from the space Solomon devotes to them, there must have been a good many such women then (Ecclesiastes 7:28). In the background is always the imagery of God-given wisdom that leads to moral living (personified in the wife of one’s youth) and the pursuit of folly that leads to disaster (personified in the adulteress).

Chapter 6. Warnings against questionable business obligations, laziness, cunning hypocrisy, haughtiness, lying, trouble-making, disregard of parents, illegitimate love.

Chapter 7. Warning against the adulteress whose husband is away from home. Again, an indirect warning against folly and the betrayal of wisdom.

Chapters 8–9. Wisdom, personified as a woman, inviting everyone to share in the bounty of her banquet, in contrast to lustful women who call out to the simple, “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” (9:13–18).

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Prov. 10–24 THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON (BOOK 2)

Chapter 10. Terse contrasts between wise men and fools, righteous and wicked, diligent and lazy, rich and poor.

Chapter 11. Dishonest business practices (KJV, a false balance; NIV, dishonest scales) are an abomination to God. A beautiful woman without discretion is like a jewel in a swine’s snout. A generous person will prosper.

Chapter 12. A worthy woman is the glory of her husband. Lying lips are an abomination to God. The diligent will receive precious blessings. No harm befalls the righteous.

Plowing: “From the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest” (Proverbs 14:4), but “a sluggard does not plow in season, so at harvest he looks but finds nothing” (20:4).

Chapter 13. He who guards his mouth guards his life. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. The way of the transgressor is hard. Walk with wise men, and you will be wise.

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Chapter 14. He who has a short temper will do foolish things. He who is slow to anger is a person of great understanding. Fear of God is a fountain of life. Tranquility of heart gives life to the body. He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker.

Chapter 15. A soft answer turns away anger. A gentle tongue is a tree of life. The prayer of the upright is God’s delight. A wise son brings joy to his father.

Chapter 16. People make plans, but God directs their steps. Pride comes before destruction. Gray hair is a crown of splendor—it is attained in a life of righteousness.

Chapter 17. To have a fool for a son brings grief. A cheerful heart is a good medicine. Even a fool, when he keeps his mouth shut, is considered wise.

Chapter 18. A fool’s mouth is his destruction. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Before honor goes humility. He who finds a wife finds a good thing.

Chapter 19. A prudent wife is from God. He who has pity on the poor lends to God—God will repay him. Many are the plans in people’s hearts, but God’s purpose prevails.

Chapter 20. Wine is a mocker. It is an honor for a man to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. Lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel. Diverse weights and dishonest scales are an abomination to God.

Chapter 21. It is better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. Whoever shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will not be heard when he cries out. Whoever guards his tongue keeps his soul from trouble. The horse is prepared for battle, but the victory is of God.

Chapter 22. A good name is to be preferred over great riches. Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. A generous man will be blessed. See a man skilled in his work? He shall serve before kings.

Chapter 23. Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Listen to your father and mother; let them rejoice in you when they are old. Do not withhold discipline from a child. Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. A rather humorous description of the effects of too much drink (vv. 29–35).

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Chapter 24. In a multitude of counselors is safety. I went by the field of a lazy person; it was overgrown with thorns. An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. A little sleep, a little slumber, and poverty will come on you like a bandit.

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Prov. 25–29 THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON (BOOK 3)

This group of Solomon’s proverbs (chaps. 25–29) is here said to have been copied by men of King Hezekiah (25:1). Hezekiah lived more than 200 years after Solomon. Solomon’s manuscript may have been worn out, and a basic item in Hezekiah’s reform movement was a renewed interest in God’s Word (2 Kings 18).

Chapter 25. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in baskets of silver. If your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him something to drink; and God will reward you (see Luke 6:35).

Chapter 26. See a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope for a fool than for him. A lying tongue hates those whom it has wounded.

Coneys, one of four creatures described in Proverbs 30:24–28 as “small, yet . . . extremely wise.”

Chapter 27. Do not boast about tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth (see Matthew 6:34). More proverbs about fools.

Chapters 28–29. He who hides his eyes from the poor shall have many a curse. A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man keeps it back and stills it. Further dissertations on fools.

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Prov. 30 THE WORDS OF AGUR

It is not known who Agur was—perhaps a friend of Solomon. Solomon liked his proverbs so well that he thought it worthwhile to include them in his own book.

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Prov. 31 THE SAYINGS OF KING LEMUEL

A mother’s counsel to a king. Lemuel may have been another name for Solomon. If so, then Bathsheba was the mother who taught him this beautiful poem.

Few mothers have raised finer boys. As a young man, Solomon’s character was as splendid as any in history. In his old age, however, he did depart from what he had been taught—contrary to his own proverb (22:6). The chapter is about mothers rather than kings.

The book of Proverbs ends with a superb acrostic poem in praise of the wife of noble character: “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.”

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Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

Solomon, the author of this book, was in his day the most famous and most powerful king in the world, noted for his wisdom, riches, and literary attainments (see on 1 Kings 4 and 9).

Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything Is Meaningless

This is the theme of the book. It also embodies an attempt to give a philosophic answer as to how best to live in a world where everything appears to be meaningless. The book contains many things of superb beauty and transcendent wisdom. But it is radically different from the Psalms: its predominant mood is one of unutterable melancholy.

David, Solomon’s father, in his long and hard struggle to build the kingdom, was forever shouting, “Rejoice,” “Shout for joy,” “Sing,” “Praise God.” Solomon, sitting in peaceful security on the throne David had built, with honor, splendor, power, and living in almost fabled luxury, was the one man in all the world whom people would have thought to be happy. Yet his unceasing refrain was, “Everything is meaningless.” And the book, a product of Solomon’s old age, leaves us with the distinct impression that Solomon was not a happy man. The word “meaningless” occurs 37 times!

Eternity

Eternity (3:11) is a more correct translation than “world” (KJV) and may suggest the key thought of the book: “Eternity in people’s hearts.” In the inmost depths of our nature we have a longing for things eternal. But back then, God had not yet revealed very much about things eternal.

In various places in the Old Testament there are hints and glimpses of the future life, and Solomon seems to have had some vague ideas about it. But it was Christ who brought life and immortality to light (2 Timothy 1:10). Christ, by His resurrection from the dead, gave the world a concrete demonstration of the certainty of life beyond the grave. And Solomon, who lived almost 1000 years before Christ, could not possibly have the same feeling of sureness about the life beyond that Christ later gave the world.

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But Solomon saw earthly life at its best. Not a whim but he was able to gratify it. He seems to have made it his chief business in life to see how good a time he could have. And this book, the result of Solomon’s experience, has running through it a note of unspeakable pathos: All is “vanity and vexation of spirit” (KJV) or, as we would say, All is meaningless and a chasing after wind (NIV).

How Can Such a Book Be God’s Word?

God stands behind the writing of this book. Not all of Solomon’s ideas were God’s ideas (see note on 1 Kings 11). But the general, self-evident lessons of the book are from God. God gave Solomon wisdom and unparalleled opportunity to observe and explore every avenue of earthly life. And after much research and experiment, Solomon concluded that on the whole, humanity found little solid happiness in life, and in his own heart he found an unutterable yearning for something beyond himself. Thus the book, in a way, is humanity’s cry for a Savior.

The misnamed Colossae of Memnon—they are actually statues of Pharaoh Amenophis III of Egypt—stand forlornly in the plain, guarding nothing. The temple that once stood behind them is long gone: an apt illustration of the ultimate meaninglessness of power and glory.

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With the coming of Christ, the cry was answered. The vanity of life disappeared. Life is no longer meaningless but full of joy and peace. Jesus never used the word “meaningless.” But He talked much of His joy, even under the shadow of the Cross. “Joy” is one of the key words of the New Testament. In Christ, humanity found the desire of the ages: life—full, abundant, joyous, glorious life.

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Eccl. 1–4 ALL IS VANITY

In a world where everything passes away and fails to satisfy, Solomon set himself to answer the question, What is the solution to the problem of life in such a world? The world is one of unending monotony. Solomon felt the meaninglessness of life and the emptiness and uselessness of his own vast works. Even wisdom, which Solomon sought so diligently and prized so highly, was disappointing. The pursuits and pleasures of humanity in general seemed to him to be merely a chasing after wind. And it was all made worse by the wickedness and cruelties of men.

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Eccl. 5–10 MISCELLANEOUS PROVERBS

Solomon’s favorite form of literature was proverbs. In these chapters he intersperses proverbs with various observations relating to the general theme of the book. In 7:27–28 there may be an oblique reference to Solomon’s experience with his 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:1–11). One would guess, from 7:26–28, that he had had some difficulty in holding the faithless women of his court in line.

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Eccl. 11–12 SOLOMON’S ANSWER

Solomon’s answer to his question, What is it that we can do in a world where all is meaningless? is scattered throughout the book and is summed up at the close: eat, drink, rejoice, do good, live joyfully with your wife, do with full commitment what your hands find to do, and above all, fear God, keeping your eyes on the day of final judgment. With all his complaints about the nature of creation, Solomon had no doubt as to the existence and justice of the Creator. God is mentioned at least 40 times in this book—more frequently than vanity or meaningless/meaninglessness!

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The Song of Songs is a love song, set in blossoming springtime, full of metaphors and a profusion of oriental imagery that shows Solomon’s fondness for nature, gardens, meadows, vineyards, orchards, and flocks (1 Kings 4:33).

It is called the Song of Songs, possibly indicating that Solomon considered it the most marvelous of the 1,005 songs he wrote (1 Kings 4:32). Some think that it was written to celebrate marriage to his favorite wife.

A Poem

Scholars familiar with the structure of Hebrew poetry consider this book to be a superb composition. (On Hebrew poetry, see Poetry in the chapter on Poetry and Wisdom: Job–Song of Songs.) But its sudden transitions from one speaker to another, and from place to place, with no explanation of its shifting scenes and actors, makes it difficult to follow. In Hebrew the change of speakers is indicated by gender; in some Bibles, by extra space.

The Speakers

It seems clear that the speakers are

• The bride, called the Shulammite (6:13)
• The king
• A chorus of palace women called “daughters of Jerusalem”

Solomon’s harem at this point was still relatively small—only 60 wives and 80 concubines, with innumerable virgins on the waiting list (6:8). Later it grew to include 700 wives and 300 concubines (see note on 1 Kings 11:3).

The Bride

A common opinion, and probably the best, is that the Shulammite was Abishag of Shunem, the most beautiful woman in all the land, who attended David in his last days (1 Kings 1:1–4) and who, no doubt, became Solomon’s wife, for her marriage to another might have endangered his throne (1 Kings 2:17, 22).

Interpretations

On the face of it, the poem is a song of praise to the joys of married life. Its essence is to be found in its tender and devoted expressions of the intimate delights of married love. Even if it is no more than that, it is worthy of a place in God’s Word, for marriage was ordained of God (Genesis 2:24). And human happiness and welfare depend to a very large extent on proper mutual attitudes in the intimate relationship of married life.

However, both Jews and Christians have seen deeper meanings in this poem. Jews read it at Passover as an allegory referring to the Exodus, when God took Israel to Himself as His bride. His love for Israel then is here exemplified in the spontaneous love of a great king for a humble young woman. In the Old Testament, Israel is called God’s wife (Jeremiah 3:1; Ezekiel 16, 23).

Christians have usually regarded it as a song of Christ and the church. In the New Testament the church is called the bride of Christ (Matthew 9:15; 25:1; John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23; Revelation 19:7; 21:2; 22:17). In this view, human marriage is a counterpart to and foretaste of the relationship between Christ and His church.

How could a man with a harem of 1000 women have a love for any one of them that would be fit to be a portrayal of Christ’s love for the church? A number of Old Testament saints were polygamists. Even though God’s Law was against it from the beginning, as Christ so plainly stated, in Old Testament times God nevertheless seems to have accommodated Himself, in measure, to prevailing customs. Kings generally had many wives. It was one of the prerogatives and status symbols of royalty. And Solomon’s devotion to this lovely girl seems to be genuine and unmistakable. Also, he was a king in the family that was to produce the Messiah. And it seems not unfitting that his marriage should, in a sense, prefigure the Messiah’s eternal marriage to His bride. The joys of this song, we think, will find their zenith in the hallelujahs of the Lamb’s marriage supper (Revelation 19:6–9).

An Outline of the Poem

It is not always easy to see who is speaking. The outline below is consistent with the content of the book, but other outlines are also possible. (It helps to mark in the Bible which verses belong to which of the three speakers, so that the poem can be read through in its entirety without interruptions.)

The King	The Bride (the Shulammite)	Chorus of Palace Women
Chapter 1: The bride expresses her love for the king, and the king for his bride.
	1:2-4a
		1:4b (“we rejoice . . .”)
	1:4c-7 (“How right . . .” )
		1:8
1:9–11
	1:12–14
1:15
	1:16
1:17
Chapters 2–3: The bride thinks about the king both day and night.
	2:1
2:2
	2:3–13
2:14–15
	2:16–3:11
Chapter 4: The king also cannot keep from thinking about his bride, who invites him into her garden of marital delights.
4:1–15
	4:16
Chapter 5: The bride remembers the delight of their union, and she is almost overwhelmed by her love for the king.
5:1a
		5:1b
		(“Eat, O friends . . .”)
	5:2–8
		5:9
	5:10–16
Chapter 6:1–7:9a: The king’s response to the bride’s expression of her love; the bride’s contentment.
		6:1
	6:2–3
6:4–9
		6:10
6:11–12
		6:13a
6:13b–7:9a (“Why would you gaze . . .”)
Chapter 7:9b–8:14: The bride’s frustration that social custom and the king’s official duties limit the time she can spend with him. The final expression of love and commitment.
	7:9b–8:4 “May the wine . . .”)
		8:5a
	8:5b–7 (“Under the tree . . .”)
	8:10–12
8:13
	8:14

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Originally, the term “prophet” was applied to individuals who provided significant military and judicial leadership—for example, Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15) and Deborah (Judges 4:4). It was also used of persons who had ecstatic experiences of contact with God (Numbers 11:24–29; 1 Samuel 19:20–24; 2 Kings 3:15) and of individuals who were protected by God in some special way (Abraham, Genesis 20:7; see also Psalm 105:15).

During the monarchy, prophets became advisers to the kings (1 Samuel 22:5; Isaiah 37:1–4; Jeremiah 37:16–17). There were at times many prophets: in the days of Ahab there were 400 (1 Kings 22:6).

The important early prophets (Samuel, Elijah, Elisha) did not leave behind any writings that have been preserved. They advised the king, and if necessary opposed him (Elijah and Ahab!), but it is the later, writing prophets who stand out most clearly as the voice of God in the face of the people’s disobedience. They address not only the king but also the nation as a whole.

The prophets of Israel were individuals called by God to bring the people back to God. The office of prophet was not hereditary like that of priest or king. Prophets were chosen from many different walks of life, and the call was not an invitation but a divine appointment (see Amos 7:15).

The Prophets and the Covenant

The prophets were not merely preachers. They were the voice of the covenants God made with Abraham (Genesis 12, 15), with Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24), and with David (2 Samuel 7).

These covenants were in effect treaties, with mutual obligations and with a clear statement of what would happen if the people kept the stipulations of the covenant and what would happen if they ignored them. Deuteronomy 28 outlines the curses and blessings that will result from disobedience and obedience. (Deuteronomy follows the format of Hittite treaties; see Deuteronomy.)

Thus, when the prophets warn of the disasters that will befall Israel or Judah because of their disobedience, they are saying that the covenant warnings given hundreds of years before are about to be fulfilled. In the same way, since the covenant also specifies blessing as the reward for obedience, the prophets can promise blessing if the people turn back to God. The future is thus “contingent” on the people’s response to the message of the prophets—until a point of no return is reached.

But even then, the prophets can promise future blessing. God made the covenant because He loved Israel. That is why God will be faithful to the covenant, even if Israel is not—in fact, He will go beyond the terms of the covenant and replace it with a new covenant. This covenant will be written on people’s hearts rather than on stone tablets (see the magnificent promises in Jeremiah 30–31, especially 31:31–37).

The prophets are thus the spiritual conscience of the nation. They are appointed to remind kings, priests, and people of their obligations to God and people.

There were many prophets in Israel who never wrote or whose writings have not been preserved. There also appears to have been an order of prophets, with its own schools (see sidebar Prophets in the chapter on 1 Samuel). The prophets whose writings we still have (and the two great prophets about whom we read in the books of Kings and Chronicles, Elijah and Elisha) were very conscious of speaking in the name of the Lord. The constantly reiterated, solemn introduction to their message is, “This is what the Lord says” or “The word of the Lord came to me.”

The false prophets, of which there were apparently many, remembered the promises of blessing in the covenant and reassured the people that God would never allow His temple and Jerusalem, His city, or Israel, His people, to be destroyed. They conveniently forgot that the covenant also spelled out the curse that disobedience would bring on the people and the land. They also forgot that, not religious rituals, but the love of God for His people and of His people for Him were the foundation of the covenant. Religious rituals were significant only if they were the expression of an inner attitude. God can get along very well without a temple and sacrifices—but in His love He greatly desires the love of His people.

When the prophets spoke up for justice and advocated concern for the poor, they did not say these things because they had come to a more enlightened vision than their contemporaries. Rather, they appealed to the ancient covenant, of which justice and social concern were an essential part: for example, concern for widows and orphans, for the poor, and for foreigners, as well as the provisions of the Year of Jubilee, which (if kept) would make it impossible for any family to descend permanently into landless poverty.

The Prophets of Israel and Judah

The chart Prophets shows that the early prophets and the earliest writing prophets addressed Israel (the northern kingdom), which ceased to exist in 722 B.C. when the Assyrians destroyed Samaria. Beginning with Isaiah, the prophets addressed Judah, the southern kingdom.

(Note that the dates are approximate; especially the dates of Obadiah and Joel are uncertain.)

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(For a summary of Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah, see sidebar A Summary of Isaiah’s Predictions in the chapter on Isaiah.)

Isaiah is called the messianic prophet because he was so thoroughly imbued with the idea that his nation was to be a nation through whom one day a great and wonderful blessing would come from God to all nations: the Messiah, sent from God, who would bring peace, justice, and healing to the whole world. He was continually focused on the day when that great and wonderful work would be done.

The New Testament says that Isaiah “saw the glory of Christ, and spoke of him” (John 12:41).

The Man Isaiah

Isaiah was a prophet of the southern kingdom, Judah, at the time the northern kingdom, Israel, had already been destroyed by the Assyrians.

Isaiah lived during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. God called him in the year of Uzziah’s death, but he may have received some of his visions earlier (see on 6:1). According to Jewish tradition, Isaiah was executed by King Manasseh. We may tentatively place his active ministry at about 740–700 B.C.

Rabbinic tradition has it that Isaiah’s father, Amoz (not the same as Amos the prophet), was a brother of King Amaziah. This would make Isaiah a first cousin of King Uzziah and a grandson of King Joash, and thus of royal blood, a man of the palace.

Isaiah wrote other books, which have not been preserved to us: a Life of Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:22) and a Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah (2 Chronicles 32:32). He is quoted in the New Testament more than any other prophet. What a mind he had! In some of his rhapsodies he reaches heights unequaled even by Shakespeare, Milton, or Homer.

An unsubstantiated Jewish tradition (The Ascension of Isaiah) claims that Isaiah was sawed in half during the reign of King Manasseh of Judah. Hebrews 11:37 (“they were sawed in two”) may refer to Isaiah’s death.

The Assyrian Background of Isaiah’s Ministry

The Assyrian Empire had been expanding for 150 years before the days of Isaiah. As early as 840 B.C., Israel, under King Jehu, had begun to pay tribute to Assyria. While Isaiah was still a young man (734 B.C.), Assyria took away the population of the northern part of Israel. Thirteen years later (721 B.C.), Samaria fell, and the rest of Israel was forced into exile. Then, a few years later, Sennacherib of Assyria came into Judah, destroyed 46 walled cities, and took 200,000 captives with him. Finally, in 701 B.C., when Isaiah was an old man, the Assyrians were stopped before the walls of Jerusalem by an angel of God (2 Chronicles 32:21). Thus Isaiah’s whole life was spent under the shadow of the threat of Assyria, and he himself witnessed the ruin of his entire nation at their hands, except Jerusalem.

 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: The Isaiah Scroll. All original copies of Bible books, as far as is known, have been lost. Our Bible is made from copies of copies. Until the invention of printing in A.D. 1454, these copies were made by hand.

Old Testament books were written in Hebrew (and a few sections in Aramaic). New Testament books were written in Greek. The oldest known, extant, complete Bible manuscripts date from the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. They are in Greek, containing, for the Old Testament, the Septuagint, which was a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament made in the 3rd century B.C. (See Languages and Writings in the New Testament Era in the chapter The 400 Years Between the Testaments, and The Old Testament Canon in the chapter How We Got the Bible.)

The oldest known existing Hebrew manuscripts of Old Testament books were made about A.D. 900. These contain what is called the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Old Testament, from which our English translations of Old Testament books have been made. The Masoretic Text comes from a comparison of all available manuscripts, copied from previous copies by many different lines of scribes. In these manuscripts there is so little variation that Hebrew scholars are in general agreement that our present Bible text is essentially the same as that in the original books themselves.

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Then, in 1947, at Ain Fashkha, about seven miles south of Jericho and one mile west of the Dead Sea, some wandering Arab Bedouins, carrying goods from the Jordan Valley to Bethlehem and searching for a lost goat in a wadi (stream or river bed) that empties into the Dead Sea, came upon a partially collapsed cave, in which they found a number of crushed jars from which ends of scrolls protruded. The Bedouins pulled out the scrolls, took them along, and passed them on to St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Convent in Jerusalem, who turned them over to the American Schools of Oriental Research. These and other scrolls that were later found in that same vicinity, Qumran, are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

One of these scrolls was identified as the book of Isaiah, written 2000 years ago—1000 years older than any known manuscript of any Hebrew Old Testament book. It is a scroll, written in ancient Hebrew script on parchment, about 24 feet long, made up of sheets of about 10 by 15 inches, sewn together. It was made in the 2nd century B.C.

This and the other scrolls had originally been carefully sealed in earthenware jars. Evidently they were part of a Jewish library that had been hidden in this isolated cave in time of danger, perhaps during the Roman conquest of Judea.

Bible scholars have concluded that the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah are essentially the same as the book of Isaiah in our Bible—a voice from 2000 years ago confirming the integrity of our Bible. In all, 22 copies of the book of Isaiah have been found at Qumran, though not all are complete.

The Grand Achievement of Isaiah’s Life

Isaiah’s greatest achievement was the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians. It was through his prayer, and by his advice to King Hezekiah, and by the direct miraculous intervention of God, that the dreaded Assyrian army was sent home in disarray from before the walls of Jerusalem. (See chapters 36–37.) Sennacherib, king of Assyria, lived 20 years after this, but he never again marched against Jerusalem.

Uzziah	792–740 B.C.	A good king with a long and successful reign
Jotham	750–732	A good king; mostly coregent with Uzziah
Ahaz	735–716	Very wicked (see under 2 Chronicles 28)
Hezekiah	716–687	A good king (see under 2 Chronicles 29)
Manasseh	697–643	Very wicked (see under 2 Chronicles 33)

Jeroboam II	793–753 B.C.	A long, prosperous, but idolatrous reign
Zechariah	753–752	Assassinated
Shallum	752	Assassinated
Menahem	752–742	Extremely brutal
Pekahiah	742–740	Assassinated by Pekah
Pekah	752–732	Under Pekah the northern part of Israel was taken into captivity (734 B.C.)
Hoshea	732–722	The last king of Israel; Samaria fell in 721 B.C.

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Isa. 1 THE APPALLING WICKEDNESS OF JUDAH

This frightful indictment seems to belong to the middle period of Hezekiah’s reign, after the fall of the northern kingdom, when the Assyrians had invaded Judah and had carried away a large part of its population, so that Jerusalem alone was left (vv. 7–9). Hezekiah’s reforms had barely scratched the surface of the rotten life of the people. The dreaded Assyrian tornado was drawing ever closer and closer.

But it made no difference. The diseased nation, instead of cleansing itself, only paid more meticulous attention to the camouflage of devotion to religious services. Isaiah’s scathing denunciation of their hypocritical religiosity (vv. 10–17) reminds us of Jesus’ merciless condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23). The point is that making a show of religiosity is of no avail for “Sodom” (v. 10). Only genuine repentance and obedience would save them (vv. 16–23). Then Isaiah turns from this sickening picture to the day of Zion’s purification and redemption, when the wicked will be left to burn like a dried-up oak tree (vv. 24–31).

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Isa. 2–4 A PRE-VISION OF THE CHRISTIAN AGE

These three chapters seem to be an expansion of the closing thought of chapter 1. They deal with the future glory of Zion in contrast to God’s judgment on the wicked. The allusion to idols and foreign customs (2:6–9) may locate this vision in the reign of Ahaz. The peace described may also prophesy conditions in the New Jerusalem after Christ’s return, when the wicked have been judged (Revelation 21).

Zion will be the center of world civilization in an era of universal and endless peace (2:2–4). This passage of magnificent optimism was uttered at a time when Jerusalem was a veritable cesspool of filth. Whatever, whenever, wherever that happy age is to be, it will be the inheritance of God’s people, with the wicked left out. (See further under 11:6–9.)

Coming judgment for idol worshipers (2:5–22). Suffering and exile lie ahead for Judah (3:1–15)—even for the fashionable ladies of Jerusalem (3:16–26). Their experience will be like that of the ladies of luxury in Samaria, described in Amos 4:1–3.

Seven women to one man (4:1), because the men will have been killed in war.

The coming “Branch” (4:2–6). This is Isaiah’s first mention of the future Messiah. “The Branch” would be a new shoot coming out of the stump of the fallen family tree of David (11:1; 53:2; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). He would be the one to purge the filth from Zion and make her a blessing to the world.

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Isa. 5 A SONG OF THE VINEYARD

A sort of funeral dirge. After centuries of most extraordinary care, God’s vineyard—His nation—turns out to be fruitless and disappointing, so it is now to be abandoned. Jesus’ parable of the vineyard (Matthew 21:33–45) seems to be an echo of this parable. The sins Isaiah denounces here especially are greed, injustice, and drunkenness. The vast estates of the rich, accumulated by robbery of the poor, soon would become wasteland.

A bath (v. 10) is six gallons (22 liters), a homer is six bushels, and an ephah is only one-tenth of a homer. The harvest does not even recover the investment in seed.

Draw sin along (v. 18) as if sin and wickedness were their most prized possessions; they scoff at the idea that God would punish them.

Distant nations (vv. 25–30): the mighty nations are like docile dogs to God—He whistles and they come—the Assyrians in Isaiah’s own time; the Babylonians who, 100 years later, destroyed Jerusalem; and the Romans, who in A.D. 70 struck the death-blow to Jewish national existence.

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Isa. 6 ISAIAH’S CALL

There is difference of opinion as to whether this vision came before the visions of the first five chapters. The dates mentioned in the book are in chronological sequence (6:1; 7:1; 14:28; 20:1; 36:1). This indicates that the book follows a general chronological order, but not necessarily in all particulars. Isaiah, in later life, probably rearranged visions he had written down at various times of his long ministry, guided in part by the sequence of thoughts, so that some chapters may antedate preceding chapters.

Also, opinion varies as to whether this was Isaiah’s original call or a summons to a special mission. The statement in 1:1 indicated that some of his ministry was in the days of Uzziah, while this call came in the year of Uzziah’s death. This may imply that he had already done some earlier preaching and that this call was God’s authorization for Isaiah’s ministry in the future.

The particular task to which Isaiah was called seems, on the face of it, to have been the bringing about of the final hardening of the nation so as to ensure its destruction (vv. 9–10). But God’s purpose, of course, was not to harden the nation but rather to bring it to repentance in order to save it from destruction. This is clearly illustrated in the case of Jonah, whose announcement of the destruction of Nineveh caused the city to repent. Isaiah’s whole ministry—with its marvelous visions and climaxed by one of the most stupendous miracles of the ages—was, so to speak, God’s frantic waving of a red flag to halt the nation in its mad sweep toward the precipice of destruction. But when a nation sets itself against God, even His wondrous mercy results only in further hardening.

For how long? (v. 11): how long shall this hardening process go on? The answer is bleak: until the land is ruined and the people are gone (vv. 11–12).

Tenth (v. 13): a remnant will be left, but it will in its turn also be destroyed. This was uttered in 735 B.C. Within a year, the northern portion of Israel was taken away by the Assyrians. Within 14 years, all the rest of the northern kingdom had fallen (721 B.C.), and Judah (roughly a “tenth”) alone was left. Another 100 years, and Judah was also destroyed (586 B.C.).

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Isa. 7 THE CHILD “IMMANUEL”

The occasion of this prophecy was the invasion of Judah by the kings of Syria and Israel. They first attacked Judah separately (2 Chronicles 28:5–6), then together (2 Kings 16:5). Their object was to replace Ahaz with another king (v. 6). Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:7). The king of Assyria responded with an invasion of Syria and the northern part of Israel and took their populations with them into exile in 734 B.C. (2 Kings 15:29; 16:9).

In the early part of this Syro-Israelite attack on Jerusalem, Isaiah assured Ahaz that the attack would fail, Syria and Israel destroyed, and Judah saved. The 65 years (v. 8) is thought to cover the period from the first deportation of Israel (734 B.C.) to the settlement of foreigners in the land by Esarhaddon around 670 B.C. (2 Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:2).

The virgin and her son Immanuel (vv. 10–16). This is spoken of as a “sign” intended to give the skeptical Ahaz assurance of speedy deliverance. A “sign” is a miracle that is performed to provide evidence for the truth. The virgin is not named, but the reference is to something very unusual that is not further explained but that would happen in the immediate future in David’s family (Ahaz’s own household). It is a case of blending pictures that are on the near and the far horizons, as is so frequent in the prophets.

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The royal character of the child is indicated in 8:8; the context identifies him with the child called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” in 9:6–7, who can be no other than the future Messiah. It is so quoted in Matthew 1:23. Thus, as Isaiah is talking to Ahaz of signs in his own family—the house of David—God projects before his mind an image of a greater sign yet to occur in David’s family: the virgin birth of the greater Son of David Himself.

Judah to be devastated by Assyria (vv. 17–25)—the same Assyria that was helping Judah against Israel and Syria. It happened within Isaiah’s lifetime; Jerusalem alone remained.

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Isa. 8 “MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ”

Three children are mentioned in connection with the invasion of Judah by Syria and Israel: one in the family of David, Immanuel (7:13–14), and two in Isaiah’s own family: Shear-Jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1–4).

Shear-Jashub means “a remnant shall return.” Isaiah, foreseeing the Babylonian captivity of Judah 100 years before it came to pass, envisions a rescued remnant and gives his son this name of promise. That remnant and its glorious future are the main theme of Isaiah’s book.

Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil”—that is, Syria and Israel will soon be destroyed. Thus naming his child for the idea of swift deliverance is Isaiah’s way of emphasizing what he had already predicted in 7:4, 7, 16. And it promptly happened. Then the victorious Assyrians swept on into Judah (v. 8) and were stopped by direct intervention of God (37:36).

Thus the names of Isaiah’s sons reflect the heart of his daily preaching: present deliverance, coming exile or captivity, future glory.

The distress and gloom of the exile (vv. 9–22). Isaiah is told to write his prophecy and to preserve it for reference in the day of its fulfillment (v. 16).

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Isa. 9 THE WONDERFUL CHILD

The setting for this sublime vision was the fall of Israel, which Isaiah had just predicted in chapters 7–8. Zebulun and Naphtali (v. 1), the Galilee region, was the first region to fall to the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29). But that same region would one day have the proud honor of giving to the world the Redeemer of humanity, the King of the ages. In 2:2–4 Isaiah sees Zion’s future universal reign; in 4:2–6 he sees the King Himself (John 12:41); in 7:14 His virgin birth is predicted; and here, in 9:6–7, Isaiah speaks in measured, majestic words of His deity and the eternal nature of His throne.

Samaria’s persistent impenitence (9:8–10:4). Following his habit of suddenly shifting back and forth between his own time and the future, Isaiah abruptly turns his eyes toward Samaria. Many of the inhabitants of the Galilee region were carried away in 734 B.C., but Samaria held out until 721 B.C. These lines seem to belong to the 13 years in between, when the people who were left still persevered in their defiance of both God and the Assyrians. It is a poem of four stanzas, warning Samaria of what was in store for them.

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Isa. 10:5–34 THE ADVANCING ASSYRIANS

This was written after the fall of Samaria (v. 11), in defiance of the boastful Assyrians as they marched on into Judah, up to the very gates of Jerusalem. The cities named in vv. 28–32 were just north of Jerusalem. God had used the Assyrians to punish Israel, but here He cautions them against overestimating their power (v. 15) and promises them a humiliating defeat (v. 26), like the defeat of the Midianites by Gideon (Judges 7:19–25) and that of the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Exodus 14). Sargon, one year after he had destroyed Samaria, turned southward, invaded Judah (720 B.C.), took a number of Philistine cities, and defeated the Egyptian army. In 713 B.C. Sargon’s army again invaded Judah, Philistia, Edom, and Moab, and in 701 B.C. a vast army of Assyrians came again into the land—at which time God made good His promise and dealt the Assyrians such a sudden and violent blow that they never marched against Jerusalem again (37:36).

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Isa. 11–12 THE “BRANCH” AND HIS KINGDOM

These chapters are an expansion of 2:2–4; 4:2–6; 7:14; 9:1–7. Here Isaiah again suddenly turns his eyes to the far future, after predicting the overthrow of the Assyrian army, and gives us one of the most glorious pictures of the world to come in all of Scripture. A world without war, ruled by a righteous and benevolent King of Davidic descent, consisting of the redeemed of all nations together with the restored remnant of Judah. Whether this will ever be in our world of flesh and blood or in an era “beyond the veil,” we do not know. But that it is to be is as sure as the morning. The subject is continued again in 25:6. Chapter 12 is a song of praise for the day of triumph, which God put in Isaiah’s mouth, one of the songs in the hymnbook of heaven, which we will all sing when we get there, when all discordant elements shall have disappeared.

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Isa. 13:1–14:27 THE FALL OF BABYLON

In Isaiah’s time, Assyria was the dominant power of the world, while Babylon was under the control of Assyria. Babylon rose to become the dominant world power in 605 B.C. and fell to the Medes and Persians in 539 B.C. Thus Isaiah sang of the fall of Babylon 100 years before its rise. Modern critics, therefore, claim that these cannot be the words of Isaiah but must be those of some later prophet, spoken after the fact. However, it is specifically stated that they are Isaiah’s words (13:1).

The splendor to which Babylon rose 100 years after Isaiah’s day, to become the Queen City of the pre-Christian world, “the glory of kingdoms” (13:19), “the city of gold” (14:4), is here as clearly envisioned as if Isaiah had been there. But the burden of the prophecy is the fall of Babylon, pictured in such detail that it awes us into profound wonderment. The Medes, who in Isaiah’s day were an almost unknown people, are named as the destroyers of Babylon (13:17–19).

The gist of the prophecy is this: Babylon shall supersede Assyria (14:25), and Media shall supersede Babylon (13:17), and Babylon shall pass away forever (13:19–22; 14:22–23). (For fulfillment of this astonishing prediction, see under 2 Kings 25.)

The point of special interest was that the fall of Babylon would mean the release of the captives or exiles (14:1–4). Within one year after the fall of Babylon, Cyrus, the Medo-Persian king, issued a decree that allowed the Jews to return to their homeland (Ezra 1:1).

A hundred years after Isaiah, when Babylon had risen to power and was demolishing Jerusalem, Jeremiah would take up Isaiah’s cry for vengeance (see Jeremiah 50–51).

Babylon, as oppressor of the Jews, was the counterpart and pattern of a New Testament power that will enslave the people of the earth (Revelation 17–19).

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Isa. 14:28–32 PHILISTIA

The snake (v. 29) probably means Tiglath-pileser, who had taken certain Philistine cities and who had died just a year ahead of Ahaz (v. 28). The more poisonous viper and the “darting, venomous serpent” were Sargon and Sennacherib, who completed the desolation of Philistia. Envoys (v. 32) probably were Philistine ambassadors asking Jerusalem for help against the Assyrians. (Other denunciations of the Philistines are found in Jeremiah 47; Amos 1:6–8; Zephaniah 2:4–7; Zechariah 9:5–7.)

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Isa. 15–16 MOAB

Moab was a rolling plateau of rich pasturelands lying east of the Dead Sea. The Moabites were descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:37), and thus a nation related to the Jews. This was one of Isaiah’s earlier predictions, now reiterated with a time limit of three years (16:14). The cities named were pillaged by Tiglath-pileser III in 732 B.C., by Sargon II in 713 B.C., and by Sennacherib in 701 B.C. It is not indicated to which of these three Isaiah refers. But Isaiah advises the Moabites that it would be to their advantage to renew their allegiance to the house of David (16:1–5); at the mention of the house of David an image of the future Messiah comes into his vision (v. 5). In the family tree of David there was a Moabitess: Ruth (Ruth 4:17–22). (For other prophecies about Moab, see Jeremiah 48; Amos 2:1–3; Zephaniah 2:8–11.)

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Isa. 17 DAMASCUS

A continuation of the thought of chapter 7, probably written at about the same time, during the Syro-Israelite attack on Judah (734 B.C.), and fulfilled shortly thereafter in the invasions of Tiglath-pileser and Sargon. It is directed also against Israel (vv. 3–4) because they were in alliance with Damascus.

Look to their Maker (v. 7): the remnant left in the northern kingdom returned to Jehovah, as indicated in 2 Chronicles 34:9. Isaiah closes with a vision of the overthrow of the Assyrians, following their victory over Syria and Israel (vv. 12–14; especially v. 14, which seems a definite reference to 37:36).

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Isa. 18 CUSH

Cush (KJV, Ethiopia) was southern Egypt, whose powerful king at that time ruled over all of Egypt. This is not a prophecy of doom, but seems rather to refer to the excitement and call to arms among the Cushites at the advance of Sennacherib’s army into Judah, whose fall would leave open the gateway for the Assyrian march on into Egypt (vv. 1–3). The miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem (vv. 4–6; 37:36) is the cause for Cush’s message of gratitude for the destruction of the Assyrian army (v. 7; see 2 Chronicles 32:23).

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Isa. 19 EGYPT

A period of anarchy and internal conflict (vv. 1–4). This actually began at about the time of Isaiah’s death. The cruel master (v. 4) is the Assyrian king Esarhaddon, who shortly after Isaiah’s death subdued Egypt (670 B.C.).

The decline and disintegration of Egypt is predicted (vv. 5–17). This all came to pass (see Jeremiah 46; Ezekiel 29).

Egypt and Assyria will accept the religion of Judah (vv. 18–25). After the Babylonian exile, many Jews remained in the Euphrates valley, and great numbers of them settled in Egypt. Alexandria, the second-leading city of the world in Jesus’ day, had a significant Jewish population. The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament was made there. “City of Destruction” is probably a reference to Heliopolis, the city of the sun god (the Hebrew words for “sun” and “destruction” are almost identical). It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (see Jeremiah 43:12–13).

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Isa. 20 EGYPT AND CUSH

Isaiah’s warning of their defeat and captivity is intended to discourage Judah from looking to Egypt for aid against Assyria. This was 711 B.C. The prediction was fulfilled 11 years later. Sennacherib’s annals for 701 B.C. say: “I fought with the kings of Egypt, accomplished their overthrow, and captured alive charioteers and sons of the king.” Esarhaddon further ruined Egypt (see under 19:1–4).

Sargon (v. 1): this was the only known mention of Sargon’s name until archaeological excavations of the 19th century revealed him as one of the greatest of the Assyrian kings.

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Isa. 21 BABYLON, EDOM, ARABIA

Babylon (vv. 1–10), surrounded by a vast system of dikes and canals, was like a city in the sea. This is a graphic announcement of its fall. The mention of Elam and Media (v. 2) point to Babylon’s capture by Cyrus (539 B.C.; see further under chapters 13–14).