THE BIBLE: The Old Testament (The Basics)

Genesis - Exodus - Leviticus - Numbers - Deuteronomy
Joshua - Judges - Ruth - 1 and 2 Samuel - 1 and 2 Kings
1 and 2 Chronicles - Ezra - Nehemiah - Esther

Job - Psalms - Proverbs - Ecclesiastes - Song of Solomon

Isaiah - Jeremiah - Lamentations - Ezekiel - Daniel
Hosea - Joel - Amos - Obadiah - Jonah - Micah - Nahum
Habakkuk - Zephaniah - Haggai - Zechariah - Malachi

 

The first seventeen Old Testament books (Genesis through Esther) can be referred to as narrative because they tell a continuous story of past events. The last seventeen Old Testament books (Isaiah through Malachi) are prophetic because they speak of present and future events. In between are five poetic books (Job through Song of Solomon), also referred to as wisdom literature.

Since five poetic books are sandwiched between seventeen books of narration and prophecy, the Old Testament can be viewed as a “poetry sandwich”.

The first five narrative books (Genesis through Deuteronomy) are also known as the Torah, the Law, or the Pentateuch. They relate events from Creation to the death of Moses. The final twelve narrative books (Joshua through Esther) are also called the History. They relate events from the death of Moses through Esther.

Likewise, the seventeen books of prophecy can be subdivided. The first five (Isaiah through Daniel) are called Major Prophets because they are the longest prophetic books. The last twelve (Hosea through Malachi) are called Minor Prophets because they are shorter in length. The terms “major” and “minor” thus reflect overall length rather than importance. Some of the Minor Prophets, though shorter in length, are as important as all the others.

 

 Questions

 

Fill in the blanks below:

 

1
The first seventeen Old Testament books (Genesis through Esther) are called ________ books because they tell a story about past events.

2
The last seventeen Old Testament books (Isaiah through Malachi) are called ________ books because they proclaim a message about current and future events.

3

The middle five Old Testament books (Job through Song of Solomon) are called ________ books because they relate a truth through meter and verse.

4

The Old Testament is basically a poetry ________ (17 books on each side with 5 books of poetry between).

5

The first five Old Testament narrative books (Genesis through Deuteronomy) are also known as the Pentateuch, the ________, or the Law. They tell the story from Creation to the death of ________.

6

The next twelve Old Testament narrative books are known as the ________. They tell the story from ________ through ________.

7

The first five Old Testament prophetic books (Isaiah through Daniel) are called the ________ Prophets because they are longer.

8

The next twelve Old Testament prophetic books (Hosea through Malachi) are called the ________ Prophets because they are shorter.

9

The terms “Major Prophet” and “Minor Prophet” thus reflect ________, not importance.

10

Who am I? I consist of 39 books. The first 17 are narrative (5 books of Law and 12 books of History). The last 17 are prophetic (5 Major Prophets and 12 Minor Prophets). My middle 5 books are poetic. I am the ________.

 

Answers
1. narrative     2. prophetic     3. poetic     4. sandwich    

5. Torah, Moses     6. History, Joshua, Esther     7. Major     8. Minor    

9. length     10. Old Testament