ys CAR Oey Nan 9) 1 ued bs Gas i) Ge OE Ee eaeaacea ie ebe ean Dc accaZONDERVAN™ A Survey of the Old Testament Copyright © 1991, 2000 by Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton Requests for information shovld be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 49530 Library of Congeess Cataloging in Publication Data Hill, Andrew E, Assurvey of the OM Testament / Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton pcm. Reved Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-310-22903.0(alk. paper) 1. Bible. O.T.—Inteoduetions. I. Walton, John HL, 1952~ Il. Title. BSTC. 2000 224.6" —deDt o9-020087 ‘This edition is printed on acid-free paper. Except as indicated otherwise in the captions all photos are taken from Neal Bierling and Joel Bierling, Zondervan Image Archives CD-ROM (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), All photos used by permission. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted), are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (North American Edition), Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, ‘ay the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprostucnt, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America ‘04 05 06/#DC/10 9CONTENTS Maps: 9 Photographs 10 Preface Acknowledgments 16 Using This Book 18 Approaching the Old Testament HW 19 Geo, of the Old Testament ADH 27 Part i: The Pentateuch 6, Deuteronomy JHW 131 Historical Overview of Old Testament Times HW 145 Part i: The Historical Rooks Lk ‘ : R «9 Joshua tw 9. Judges sw 192 LO. Ruth wy 204 11. 1-2 Samuel JHw 209 12. 1-2 Kings ABH 227 13..1=2 Chronicles ___arH _250 14, Ezra-Nehemiah AEH 267 15. Esther JHW 281 Archaeology and the Old Testament 289 Part Ii: The Postic Rooks 16, Hebrew Poetic and Wisdom Literature arn (307 17. Job JHW 32721. Song of Songs AEH. 373 Formation of the Old Testament Scriptures 383 Part IV: The Prophets 22, Introduction to Prophetic Literature HW 403 23. Isaiah JHW 418 24. Jeremiah JHW 425 25. Lamentations AEH 433 26. Ezekiel AEH 440 27. Daniel mW 452 28. Hosea 0G 29. Joel sHWw 473 30. Amos AEH 479 3L_Obadiah 2. A 32. Jonah JHW 495 33. Micah 7HW 503 34, Nahum JW 509 35 Habakdake 00S 36. Zephaniah JHW 521 37. Haggai AEH 526 38. Zechariah 2.0. 5 39. Malachi AEH 543 Part Vr Epilogno Appendix A: Critical Methodologies s7l Appendix B: The Composition of the Pentateuch 376 Timeline of Biblical History 586 Glossary 588 Mpdex i598The Holy Land—Natural Regions Roads and Routes in Canaan The Near East in the Late Bronze Age ‘Suggested Routes of the Exodus Wilderness Wanderings Four Empires: Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian The Conquest The Kingdoms of Saul, David, and Solomon ‘The Two Kingdoms—930-722 Bc. Assyrian Deportation Babylonian Deportation ‘The Three Returns 270 Nehemiah's Jerusalem a7 ‘The Nations of Isaiah 13-23 422 ‘The Nations of Ezekiel 25-32 445 Babylonian, Median, Persian Empires 457 ee ee“War panel” from Ur 149 A statue of Rameses Il of Egypt 154 ‘Anobelisk with a cartouche of Rameses J 1S The battle of Rameses IIL against the Sea Peoples 155 ‘The stela of Assyria with a winged solar disk 160 The Cyrus Cylinder 163 ‘Two views of Tel Hazor 180 ‘The Amon Gorge 190 ‘The Great Stone at Shechem 83 A gateway at Megiddo 197 ‘The oasis at En Gedi 218 Mount Gilboa and the Valley of Jezreel 242 ‘The Sennacherib Prism 258 ‘Two scenes af Sennacherih’s attack on Lachish 2657 tt 2 5 King Ashurbanipal fighting a lion 294 ‘Assyrian soldiers in a relief of Ashurbanipal 294 Caves at Qumran 297 Replicas of a Qumran scroll and jar 297 ‘The stela of Shalmaneser III of Assyria 298 The Babylonian Chronicles 300 ‘A Samarian watchtower 419 Two.wiews ofthe Judean desertAB BA BAR BASOR BibSac CAH? cBC CBQ DSB-OT EBC ETSMS EvBC FOTL HER HSM IB Icc IDB ISBE ITC JANES: JBL JBLMS JETS JSOT Anchor Bible Commentary Series Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 3d ed., ed. J. B. Pritchard (Princeton, 1969) Biblical Archaeologist Biblical Archaeological Review Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research Bibliotheca Sacra Cambridge Ancient History Series, 3d ed. 12 vols, ed. ‘Edwards et al. (Cambridge, 1981) Cambridge Bible Commentary Catholic Biblical Quarterly Daily Study Bible-Old Testament. Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. F. E. Gaebelein Evangelical Theological Society Monograph Series Everyman's Bible Commentary Forms of Old Testament Literature Series Hermencia Commentary Series ‘Harvard Semitic Monograph Series Harvard Theological Review Interpreter's Bible Interpreting Biblical Texts Series International Critical Commentary Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed., ed. G.W. Bromiley International Theological Commentary Journal of the Ancient Near East Society Journal of Biblical Literature Journal of Biblical Literature Monograph Series Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'Y STUDY THE Old Testament? This question has echoed Wee through the centuries of church history, ever since the new covenant of Jesus Christ made the old covenant obsolete (Heb. 8:13). The apostle Paul faced the question, and he responded that the Old Testament was written for the instruction and encouragement of the Christian church (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:10). We have found the study of the Old Testament a truly exciting enter- prise, and we desire to help you enjoy that same exhilaration of discovery and benefit from divine instruction. In Amos 3:8 the prophet proclaims, “The Sovereign LorD has spoken—who can but prophesy?" Exposed to the revelation of God, Amos felt compelled to respond. Although none of us has the privilege Amos had, to function as God's mouthpiece, our response to God's revelation of himself should be no less compelling. A proper understanding of the nature of the Old Testament helps us gain that fresh excitement and resolve our questions. In approaching the Old Testament as God's self-revelation, we seek to make the Word come alive. To achieve this we could not be content with literary “anatomy"—his- tory of scholarship and summary of content—as important as that is. We have attempted to go beyond that and capture the living spirit that makes these books more than good literature. ‘Too often survey books fill their pages with summaries of what the Bible says. Unfortunately this leads many to read the survey instead of the Bible itself. This book is intended to be read along with the Bible and not instead of it. We have focused on what the Scriptures intend to communicate. Why does the Old Testament say what it says? Why does it include what it includes? How are genealogies and laws, for example, part of God's self- revelation? As we begin to address these questions, we can become com- fortable poring through previously obscure, difficult, or neglected portions of the Old Testament to discover their meaning and value. Sometimes we may be surprised at what we find. We should also be encouraged when we occasionally meet the unexpected in Scripture—that is, when the Scriptures convince us of the truth of something that changes our minds or leads us down paths once hidden from view. If we acknowl- edge the authority of Scripture, we must be willing to submit to itby being open-minded about our opinions. God's Word is the final word.biblical writer's message and purpose. An examination of the key theolog- ical themes contained in each book brings perspective to its relationship to the Old Testament as a complete collection of books. In addition, because the old covenant finds its fulfillment in the new, pertinent theological rela- tionships between the Old and New Testaments receive attention in regard ‘to subjects such as the covenant, the presence of God, and Messiah. Further, this survey introduces the reader to a wide range of topics in Old Testament studies including hermeneutics (general and special), his- tory (Israelite and ancient Near Eastern), archacology, canon, geography, Old Testament theology (biblical and systematic), and basic methodolo- gies of higher criticism. These sections are scattered through the book and the appendices. A new feature in this edition is the glossary. Terms that appear in bold- face within a paragraph can by found in the glossary. Itis our sincere desire that this textbook will prove to be a readable and useful tool, providing basic but thorough coverage of Old Testament sur- yey and challenging the reader to a serious investigation and personal appropriation of God's truth as revealed in the Old Testament. Above all, we hope this text will bring a new vigor and excitement to the study of the Old Testament as readers learn to discover its story for themselves, under- stand it, and apply it to their lives, reclaiming it as a substantial part of God's revelation of himself to us. Like the psalmist, may we who study the great works of the Lord in the Old Testament truly leam to delight in them. (Ps. 111:2). Paerack Isme yet another opportunity to. credit some of those people who have contributed to the success of the project. I remain indebted to those former teachers whose example both nurtured biblical faith and encouraged scholarly achievement, especially Richard D. Patterson and the late Carl B. Hoch. Both John and | are deeply appreciative of those colleagues whose use of A Survey of the Old Testament has been responsible for generating eigh- teen printings of the first edition ‘We have consciously attempted to respond to those many helpful sug- gestions we have received over the years for making the second edition of the book an even more useful tool for introducing serious students to the literature, history, and theology of the Old Testament. We thank you for the input, and we trust we have listened well. Tam most grateful to Stanley Gundry and Jack Kuhatschek of the Zon- dervan Publishing House for making the publication of this second edition possible. Jim Ruark and the Zondervan editorial staff also deserve com- mendation for the many improvements in this edition of the textbook, To my co-author, colleague, and friend, John Walton, | still extend my apologies for having a surname that precedes “W" in the English alphabet. Seriously, ] found our collaboration on the second edition as stimulating as ‘our initial effort in writing the first edition. I continue to benefit both per- sonally and professionally from my association with John. Finally, 1 offer a word of appreciation to my wife, Teri, and the (now- grown) three Js in our lives—Jennifer, Jesse, and Jordan. As always, you remain my primary concern and greatest source of inspiration apart from the Scriptures themselves. May God's good Spirit continue to lead us all on level ground (Ps. 143:10)! Ts: PUBLICATION OF the second edition of this textbook affords Anprew E. Hitt There are many people to thank for a project such as this. The staff at Zon- dervan, particularly Jack Kuhatschek and Jim Ruark, have had an immeas- urable impact on the shape and quality of the book with their sensitive and discerning editorial work.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ‘The audio-visual department at Moody Bible Institute has aided in the design and production of some of the charts. My family has exercised patience throughout the process. To my wife, Kim, who read most of the manuscript, and to our three Js—Jonathan, Joshua, and Jill—I owe a debt of gratitude. Thanks especially to my father, Harvey Walton, and my son Jon, who both read the first edition meticus lously and made many helpful suggestions for making it more readable. Finally, this book is for students, but it could never have come about without the stimulating input of my students over the years. Many of the ideas that make this book unique are the product of the classroom “labo- ratory." ] therefore want to thank the many students who have challenged. me, have asked hard questions, have offered their thoughts and ideas, and have motivated me to communicate in more effective ways, JOHN H. WALTON ‘The authors and publishers acknowledge with gratitude those who have provided the charts, maps, and photographs. The sources for charts are identified where these items appear. The maps have been created by Jane Haradine of Grand Rapids, Michigan. With the exceptions noted in cap- tions, the photographs are from the collection of Neal Bierling and Joel Bierling, as contained in the Zondervan Image Archives CD-ROM (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999). The timelines are provided by Carta, Jerusalern; they were originally published in the Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible (1989), of which Carl G, Rasmussen is the author, and were adapted for this edition by Laura Blost and Rob Monacelli. The composition was per- formed by Nancy Wilson. The copy editor was Laura Weller. The super- vising editor was Jim Ruark.The authors offer the following suggestions to teachers using this survey. 1 ah ‘The course need not be structured according to the order of chap- ters in this book. We have treated the biblical books in canonical order, but other sequences (e.g,, chronological) are alternatives. Additionally, there are a number of chapters on various topics inter- spersed throughout the book. The teacher should evaluate which of those chapters are essential to initiate the course and intersperse the others where they fit best or use them as outside reading or as reading for extra credit. It is an inherent strength in a course when the educational objec- tives of the teacher correspond to the authors’ objectives for the textbook. For teachers who desire to correlate their course objec- tives to the book’s objectives, we recommend the following: A. Be able to articulate the purpose and message of each book of the Old Testament. B. Be familiar with the major events and people of the Old ‘Testament. C. Be able to communicate the “big picture” of the Old Testament and relate the parts to the whole. D. Be able to discuss the major theological themes of the Old Testament. E. Be able to explain the significance of the Old Testament or any of its parts for a contemporary believer. Be able to address the foundational significance of the Old “Testament for the understanding of the New Testament. = We recommend that the Bible be assigned reading alongside this textbook, because the survey does not simply restate the content of the biblical books.ArrRoaciinG THE OLD TESTAMENT right for the execution of God's plan. In that sense, creation is simply the introduction to history. God's sovereignty is initially assured by the fact that he created. While this cannot help but deny any claim to sovereignty by other deities, its intention is not to provide polemic against the pagan polytheism of the day. Rather than taking a negative approach that denounces and refutes other deities, the Old Testament takes the positive approach of telling what the one true God is like and what he has done. ‘As history begins, it will be observed that the Old Testament is con- cerned with political or social aspects of history only in a secondary way. ‘The primary interest of this history is how God has revealed himself to people in the past. One reflection of this can be found in the names of God that permeate the pages of Scripture. These names portray him as a God who is holy, almighty, most high, and the one who has caused every- thing to be. Yet he is also a God who hears, sees, and provides. The habit- ual rebellion and feeblemindedness of humankind shows him by contrast a God of patience and grace. Just as creation flows into history, so history flows into prophecy. God's plan was initiated in the beginning, was worked out through history, and will continue until all is accomplished. By seeing God's plan worked out in the past (the Pentateuch and the historical books) and projected into the future (prophetic literature), we can begin to appreciate the unfath- omable wisdom of God, who is worthy of praise and worship (Psalms and wisdom literature). The Old Testament, then, should be viewed as a pres- entation of God's attributes in action. We can know who God is and what he is like by hearing what he has done and intends to do. Once we know who he is and what he is like, the appropriate responses are worship, com- mitment, and service. The Covenant At the core of this self-revelation, delineating the plan of God, is the covenant. Even the English designation “Old Testament” indicates that the covenant is the core concept of this collection of books (testament = covenant). Through the covenant God both reveals what he is like and obliges himself to a particular course of action. His loyalty (Heb. hesed } to the covenant frequently leads him to acts of grace and mercy, but justice is also built into the covenant to ensure accountability by his people. Since the covenant is the instrument used by God to effect self-revela- tion, the Old Testament often appears to be the history of the covenant, or of aspects of it, more than a history of Israel. So Genesis 12~50 is a his- tory of the establishment of the Abrahamic covenant. Exodus~Deuteron- omy is a history of the establishment of the Mosaic covenant at Sinai. Joshua is a record of God's faithfulness to the covenant, while Judges is a record of Israel's unfaithfulness to the covenant. The books of Samuel and 2iA Survey or rie Oup Testament 22 Kings are a history of the covenant of kingship (the Davidic covenant), It is the covenant as God's plan that is more in focus than the people who are involved generation after generation, Several different approaches to the Old Testament are distinguished from one another by the way each understands the covenant idea and the relationship of the covenants to one another. Are there many different covenants that independently govern periods of history, or are there just one or two governing covenants that have other subcovenants to offer expansion and explanation? Is there a single unconditional covenant that contains conditional covenants within it, or is the whole a conditional covenant? These are the questions that, answered different ways by different schol- ars, define the thealogical controversies about the Old Testament, its rela- tionship to the New Testament, and its relevance to us today. The answers given to these questions, however, do not alter the picture of God that the covenant offers. Only the shape of theology is at stake in this issue, not the nature of God as he is revealed in the Old Testament. Even if one is inclined to draw distinct, separating lines between the covenants, the organic unity of the covenants must not be overlooked. tis this latter characteristic that helps us to see the plan of God as a consistent, unified entity. In this view, the covenant with Abraham estab- lished Isracl as the “revelatory” people of God—the people through whom he would reveal himself to the world. The law that is given on Sinai is a major part of the revelation that the covenant was established to provide. At the same time, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Joshua contain covenant renewals that reinforce the agreement. The Davidic covenant brings to ful- fillment some of the initial promises of God to Abraham («.g., that kings would come from him) and at the same time expands the agreement to include a dynastic line. The prophets speak of future covenants (cf. Isa. 61:8; Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 16:60-63; 34:25-30; 37:19-28; Hos. 2:18-20), and these generally relate to the eventual fulfillment of aspects of the pre- vious covenants that had been unrealized because of the failures of the Iseaclites. Each covenant will be discussed more fully in the appropriate places in this survey. At this point it is important for us to recognize the centrality and the organic unity of the covenants in the Old Testament as they relate to God's plan and his self-revelation. Authority While it is not improper to study the Bible from a literary perspective and to appreciate it as great literature, we cannot stop there. If the Bible is to be recognized as God’s self-revelation, it must be viewed as represent ing more than the opinion of godly people. In other words, if God is notAPPROAGHING THE OLD TESTAMENT understood. to be the source of the Old Testament, it cannot serve as a seff- revelation. If God is the source of the Old Testament, it can be understood as possessing authority. We study Scripture because we expect to get an authoritative word from God, not the subjective opinions of people, how- ever valuable or true the latter may be. Authority is what makes the Old Testament more than just fine literature. The New Testament therefore refers to the Old Testament as being God-breathed, or “inspired.” Inspira- tion is that quality that designates the source as God and guarantees that the resulting written product has authority (2’Tim. 3:16). It stands to reason, then, that if we look to the Bible for suthoritative revelation from God, the authority must be vested in what it intends to ‘communicate, not in what the reader wants to hear. This is another way in which the Bible is different from other literature. When we read a novel or a poem, the power of the literature can be measured by its ability to ‘evoke a response from the reader and blend that together with the ideas of the writer to create and recreate new “meanings” each time it is read. In this way a poem could mean one thing to one reader and strike an entirely different chord in another reader. Although this dynamic can be an out- come of the application process in reading the Old Testament (see below), the fact that the written Word has authority while the reader's response does not should wam against intermingling them. The result is that we can- not be content learning our own lessons from Scripture, as valuable as they may be. We must strive to discover what the author intends to communi- cate, for that is where authority is vested. What are the implications of the authority the text possesses? The first is that we accept what it says as truth. If God never made a covenant with Abraham or never spake to Moses on Sinai; if the conquest is just an imag- inary polemic for Israel to defend its territorial expansionism; if the Davidie covenant is nothing more than a political ploy by the Davidites to pro- claim divine justification for their dynasty, then it is not God's self-revela- tion but is simple propaganda and has no relevance to us at all. If there is any sense in which this is God's word, it must be taken as truthful. ‘A second implication is that we need to respond. If the Bible is truly God's authoritative self-revelation, we cannot afford to ignore or neglect him. He expects not only worship, but obedience, justice, loyalty, faithful- ness, holiness, righteousness, and love. In short, he wants us to be like him— that is one of the reasons he reveals what he is like. How to Study the Old Testament If we are to respond to the Old Testament, we must know how to inter- pret it so we know how to respond, Much of the spiritual truth of the Old ‘Testament is evident even through a superficial reading of the text. In- depth study can yield even greater results but is accompanied by greater 23A Sunvey or tur Oxo Testament Aspects of Bible Interpretation Procedures of Interpretation 24 difficulties as well. Various principles and methodologies that serve as guides for exegesis and interpretation can only be introduced here but may provide an introduction for the student. One of the main principles of biblical interpretation has already heen mentioned: The Bible must be allowed to speak for itself. This is difficult to attain because every interpreter has presuppositions, that is, preformed ideas about what the Bible is, what it says, and how it fits together. These assumptions can shape the interpretation of the text and can slant or dis- tort the interpretation. Presuppositions are often subconscious. When they are not subconscious, they are sometimes considered nonnegotiable. Proper interpretation does not require readers to throw away all prestsppositions, but it does insist that readers recognize the presuppositions they hold, con- stantly reevaluate them for validity, and subordinate them to the text of Scripture, ‘The object of this principle is to prevent interpreters from manipulat- ing the text to suit their own agendas. If the text is to speak with author- ity, it must enjoy a certain amount of autonomy from the interpreter. In literary circles today there continues to be much discussion about the focus of the interpreter's attention. Traditionally the author and his background and intention (either explicit or inferred) had served as the key to interpretation. More recently literary crities have concluded that the impossibility of achieving any confident identification of what the author intended demands that meaning is the result of the impact of the text (an entity isolated from and independent of its author) on the indi- vidual reader. As we have said, however, if the Bible is to be considered uniquely authoritative, it cannot always be treated as just another piece of literature. If the biblical text is accepted as authoritative, the intention of the author (human and divine) must remain the focus of the interpreter's attention, One result of this commitment is that the interpreter should not be searching for hidden meanings or mystical symbolism. Another is that the author's message ought not to be ignored or neglected in favor of how the interpreter wants to use the text (a common practice in Bible study groups and sermons). But how do we try to determine the intention of the author? First, the genre of the literature must be determined. In our contemporary litera- ture, biography will be read differently from mystery, and drama differ- ently from limerick. The type of literature affects how that writing will be approached and interpreted. This applies equally to the Old Testament. Prophecy is a different genre from proverbial literature. To begin with, then, the interpreter must identify the genre of what he or she is trying to interpret and discover as much as possible about that genre. This latter endeavor is approached through a wide variety of critical methodologies {see appendix to this book).