The Bible (from biblos, Greek for ‘book’) is the basis of two great religions, Judaism in the Old Testament and Christianity in the New Testament. In each case it brings together a group of documents to tell the story of the founders and early followers of the religion. In doing so it also explains their beliefs.
The conventional sources of historical evidence (archaeological remains, written documents) provide few traces of the Old Testament story and none at all of the events described in the New Testament. Yet in the Bible the early Jews and Christians provide an account of themselves which is unparalleled, among religious groups of those times, in its wealth of detail. The books of the Jewish Bible are believed to have been written over several centuries, beginning in the 10th century BC – by which time the Hebrews are settled in Canaan, or Palestine. But in many parts the scribes are writing down a much older oral tradition. It is thought that some of the events described may go back as far as the 18th century BC.
The holiest part of the Bible for Jews is the first five books, known as the Torah (‘instruction’ or ‘law’ in Hebrew). In non-Jewish sources these books are sometimes called the Pentateuch (‘five scrolls’ in Greek, from a translation done in Alexandria). Genesis, the first book of the Torah, begins with a resolutely monotheistic story of the creation and goes on to provide a series of myths which can be echoed in other religions – the fall of man into a state of sin through disobedience (Adam and Eve eating the apple), a great flood which sweeps away the whole of sinful mankind except for one small group of survivors (Noah and his family), and the emergence of different languages (God’s punishment for man’s presumption in building the mighty tower of Babel, which almost reaches to heaven).
With the entry of Abraham, Genesis reaches the story of the Bible’s own people, the Hebrews.Abraham’s people: 18th – 13th century BC
In Genesis Abraham is the patriarch of a nomadic tribe. The story has him moving through Mesopotamia (from Ur to Harran) and then down into Canaan – a land which, God promises, his descendants will inherit.
Many tribes move with their flocks among the settled cities of Mesopotamia and Phoenicia. No doubt several, from time to time, have charismatic leaders long remembered by their descendants. There is no reason to doubt that a figure such as Abraham exists, and scholars put his likely date at about 1800 BC. What makes him significant is the idea of his pact with God, by which God will help Abraham’s people in return for their fulfilling God’s law. This is the covenant at the heart of the story of the Hebrews. Abraham’s grandson is Jacob, whose story provides the origin of the tribal division of the Hebrews. When God renews the covenant with Jacob he gives him a new name, Israel. Jacob eventually has twelve sons, from each of whom a tribe descends – the twelve tribes of Israel.
In Genesis the sons of Jacob cause his family to move to Egypt – first by selling one of their number (Joseph) into slavery there, and then by moving south themselves in a time of famine. People called habiru feature in Egyptian records. They have been identified by some scholars with the Hebrews, but there is no firm evidence to prove the link.Moses and Exodus
In Exodus, the second book of the Torah, the religious identity of the Hebrew tribes is firmly established through the leadership and inspiration of Moses – as he brings them north towards Canaan, escaping from a state of slavery in Egypt.
It is to Moses that God reveals his name (from the burning bush), saying ‘I Am Who I Am’. This gives him a name written with four Hebrew letters, YHWH, meaning ‘He Who Is’. God’s name is later considered too holy to be spoken, but with its vowels added it is Yahweh. In Christian versions of the Old Testament it becomes written as Jehovah. God also reveals to Moses the ten commandments. If the Hebrews obey these laws, God will favour them as his chosen people and will bring them into the promised land of Canaan.
This pact is a renewal and development of the long-standing covenant between God and the Hebrews. It now becomes literally the centrepiece of the Hebrew religion. God, in Exodus, tells Moses to engrave the laws upon two tablets of stone and to place them in a wooden chest covered in pure gold. This chest is the ark of the covenant. As the most sacred object of the Hebrew cult, it will eventually be housed in the inner sanctuary of the temple at Jerusalem. In Exodus and the three remaining books of the Torah, the Hebrews are wandering in the Sinai desert under the leadership of Moses and of his elder brother Aaron, later seen as the prototype of the Hebrew priesthood. The third book, Leviticus, is priestly material – largely given over to listing the proper details of ritual and sacrifice. The fourth, Numbers, describes something of the social and political structure of the tribes on the slow journey north towards the promised land. Deuteronomy is an amplification of God’s law for his people.
At the end of Deuteronomy Moses glimpses the land promised by God to Abraham, but dies before he can enter itThe Torah: 1000-400 BC
The five books of the Torah, made up of passages composed at various times from the reign of David onwards, are amalgamated and amplified by the priests in about 400 BC. They attribute all five books to Moses, inspired by God.
The underlying purpose of the priests is to reinforce the identity of the Jewish community after the return to Jerusalem. In this they succeed beyond all possible expectation. The Torah becomes, and remains today, the centre of Judaism. The most sacred part of a synagogue is the ark containing the Scrolls of the Law. Reading from them, in a cycle which completes the Torah each year, is the heart of the liturgy. After the five books of the Torah, the Old Testament consists of material which can be classed in three categories. There are historical books, continuing the story of the children of Israel; prophetic books, in which the prophets (in effect preachers) castigate the Israelites for their sins and warn them of the wrath of God to come; and poetic works, ranging from the devotional (Psalms) to the more literary (Song of Solomon).
In Jewish Bibles the warnings of the prophets are interspersed with the history, of which they are indeed an important part. In the Christian arrangement the prophets are kept to the end, after the poetic books.Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings: 11th – 8th century BC
The historical books of the Bible begin with two, Joshua and Judges, which describe the attempts of the Hebrews to enter the promised land. In spite of the resounding story about the walls of Jericho falling down when Joshua (the chosen successor of Moses) marches round them, the texts make it plain that the move into Canaan is a long and fiercely contested process – with the various tribes achieving their own small victories and glorying in their own local heroes.
The most famous of these heroes is Samson, a great slayer of the people who are the Hebrews’ main rivals for this land of milk and honey. They are The Philistines. The peak of the Israelite achievement is described in the two books of Samuel. These tell how the tribes of Israel finally unite against the Philistines. Samuel, a combination of priest, prophet, soldier and politician, anoints Saul as king and thus creates the Israelite monarchy.
Saul’s success is limited, and it is not until the throne has been usurped by David that the monarchy in Israel is secure. It then seems to go into a steady decline, from Solomon onwards (as described in Kings). Even so, David’s dynasty will rule for 400 years. And moral decline has certain attractions, as a theme, for the stern prophets.Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel: 8th – 6th century BC
The message of the prophets is a constant one. The threats facing Israel are the direct result of the failure of the people and of their rulers to live according to God’s commandments. The disasters, when they come, will be God’s punishment. But by the same token there is hope. The Israelites are, after all, his chosen people. If they repent and mend their ways, he will again protect them.
Among the three major prophets, Isaiah preaches in the 8th century when the threat is from Assyria; Jeremiah pronounces doom in the early 6th century, when the enemy is Babylon; and Ezekiel, in exile, comments a few years later on the same disasters, after Jerusalem has fallen to the Babylonians.A variable text: from the 5th century BC
After the return from Babylon the priests in Jerusalem are determined to establish a definitive text of the Bible. Scrolls are exhibited in the Temple forecourt, against which other manuscripts can be checked and corrected. Yet over the centuries the text becomes increasingly subject to change for a purely practical reason.
The original version shows only the consonants. To help in the study of the Torah, schools add vowels and accents to give assistance when reading aloud. This allows ample opportunity for variations to creep in. Masoretic text: 9th century AD
The problem is not finally resolved until a major effort in the 9th century AD by Jewish scholars in Jerusalem and in Baghdad (the successor city to Babylon) results at last in consensus. Their agreed Hebrew Bible becomes the standard for all subsequent manuscript copies, and thereafter for printed versions. As guardians of the biblical text these scholars are called Masoretes. The authorized version is known as the Masoretic text.
Meanwhile the Hebrew Bible becomes the first body of sacred scripture to be translated – in the form of the Septuagint, for the Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria. And it acquires a new and influential identity as the Old Testament, prefacing the New Testament of the Christians.
Commentary
In modern usage, the words ‘prophecy’ and ‘prophet’ are usually concerned with foretelling events. A prophet is a person who predicts (for example, a weather prophet). This was not the chief usage of the words in Old Testament times. Prophecy basically meant making known the will of God. A prophet was a spokesperson for God.
This definition of a prophet was well illustrated in the case of Aaron, who was Moses’ prophet. He was Moses’ spokesman. Moses was leader of the nation, but Aaron was the one who announced Moses’ directions to Israel (Exod 4:10-16; 7:1-2). In the same way a prophet of God announced God’s will to the people (1 Kings 22:7-8; Jer 1:7,9; Ezek 3:4,27; Amos 3:7).
The true prophet could be appointed only by God (Jer 1:5,9; Ezek 2:3-7; Amos 7:15), and was therefore known as a man of God (1 Sam 2:27; 9:6; 1 Kings 13:1-2), a messenger of God (Hag 1:13), or a servant of God (2 Kings 17:23; Jer 7:25). Sometimes he was called a seer (meaning ‘one who sees’), because he may have seen God’s message in a vision (1 Sam 9:9,18-19; Zech 1:7-8).
The prophetical books
A clear indication of the Israelites’ view of prophecy is seen in the way they arranged the books of the Old Testament. They divided their Bible into three portions, which they called the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. The Law consisted of the five books of Moses. The Prophets consisted of the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the twelve so-called Minor Prophets). The Writings consisted of the miscellaneous other books.
From the composition of the Former Prophets group we see that the books that we call historical the Israelites called prophetical. The reason for this is that these books were written from the prophetic viewpoint (most of Israel’s historians were prophets; cf. 1 Chron 29:29; 2 Chron 9:29; 12:15), showing how God was working out his purposes in the lives of his people. In summary it might be said that in the Former Prophets God revealed himself in the history of the nation Israel, while in the Latter Prophets he revealed himself through the words of his spokesmen.
Because the Israelites had this understanding of prophecy, they excluded Chronicles from the Former Prophets and Daniel from the Latter Prophets. Chronicles was written from the priestly viewpoint rather than the prophetic. Daniel was written in the apocalyptic style rather than the prophetic. (In the type of literature known as apocalyptic, the revelations were based on dreams and visions, where weird animals, mysterious numbers and unnatural events were used symbolically to warn or encourage God’s people.)
Professional prophets
The prophets whose writings have been collected in the Bible (commonly referred to as the writing prophets) date from the eighth century BC, but prophets had been active in Israel long before the time of these men. As preachers and spiritual guides, they brought God’s message to his people (Judg 4:4; 1 Sam 3:20; 2 Sam 7:2).
In the time of Samuel there were many enthusiastic young prophets, but they were often guilty of uncontrolled behaviour that gave prophets a poor reputation (1 Sam 10:5,9-12; 19:20-24; cf. 2 Kings 9:11; cf. Amos 7:14). In an effort to redirect this religious enthusiasm for Israel’s spiritual benefit, Samuel established a school of prophets at Ramah. This was followed by additional schools in other towns (1 Sam 19:18-20; 2 Kings 2:3,5; 4:38).
When Israel’s religion was under threat because of the Baal worship introduced by Jezebel, the prophets Elijah and Elisha found many genuine followers of God in these schools. These young men (the ‘sons of the prophets’) maintained the worship of God in a nation that had largely sold itself to Baal
(2 Kings 2:1-7,15; 4:38; 6:1).
By the time of the writing prophets about two hundred years later, many of those who passed through the schools of the prophets were more concerned with being religious professionals than with spiritually feeding God’s people. Few of the writing prophets appear to have been professionals. Their emphasis was
that the true prophet had been called by God, not that he had received professional training (Jer 1:4-8; Amos 7:14-15).
True and false prophets
Religion was an important part of Israelite life, and people often consulted prophets about their affairs. Consequently, prophets often lived and functioned near Israel’s public places of worship (1 Sam 9:11-12; 10:5; 1 Kings 13:1-2; 18:30; Jer 35:4; Amos 7:12-13). Some of them were advisers to kings and officials, for through them God could give directions when leaders had to make important decisions (2 Sam 7:1-3; 24:11-12; 1 Kings 22:6-8; 2 Kings 19:1-7; Jer 38:14-17).
Because the prophets received their income from the people to whom they ministered, many of them gave in to the temptation to prophesy the sorts of things that they knew their hearers wanted to hear. This guaranteed good rewards and stability in their jobs, but it brought condemnation from genuine believers. Because of this dishonesty and greed, they were known as false prophets (1 Kings 22:13-18; Jer 6:13-14; 23:16-17; Micah 2:11; 3:5-7,11; Zeph 3:4).
Although they were called prophets, these men were not God’s spokesmen. They were appointed by themselves, not by God. They spoke according to their own selfish desires, not according to the mind of God (Jer 14:14; 23:21-22; Ezek 13:1-3,17). Instead of rebuking the people for their sin, they maintained their popularity by assuring the people that God was pleased with them. Actually, the nation was heading for judgment, and the corruption of the prophets was one reason for that judgment (Jer 23:11-17; Ezek 13:8-16,22).
The test of a prophet, whether he was true or false, was not whether his predictions came true (for even the predictions of a false prophet might come true). The test was whether he led people in the ways of God (Deut 13:1-5; Jer 23:21-22,29-32; Hosea 9:7-8). Clearly, if a prophet made a bold assertion that his prediction would come true and it did not, he was a false prophet (Deut 18:22).
True prophets were concerned chiefly not with foretelling events, but with leading the people to repentance and faith (Micah 3:8; 7:18; Zeph 2:1-3). They often opposed formal religious practices, not because the practices themselves were wrong, but because the people carried them out in the wrong spirit. Religious exercises were of value only if the people were godly in their attitudes and behaviour. They were no substitute for morality. People had to be humble before God and righteous in their dealings with their fellows if God was to accept their outward expressions of worship (Isa 1:12-17; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8).
Current events and future hopes
Since the prophet’s main purpose was to bring God’s message to the people of his time, prediction was not an essential part of the message. However, it often played a part, because the God who is concerned about the present is the God who controls the future.
Therefore, as the prophets urged people to turn from their sins and obey God, they often spoke of events that would follow the people’s obedience or disobedience. The prediction was not just to satisfy curiosity about the future, but had an important moral purpose. It taught people how they should act now (Isa 1:18-20; Hosea 11:1-11; 14:1-7).
In relation to this it should be noted that predictions were usually conditional, even when the prophet did not mention the conditions in his prophecy. For example, a prediction of good may not have been fulfilled if the people were disobedient. A prediction of disaster may not have been fulfilled if the people repented (Jer 18:7-10; 26:17-19; Jonah 3:4,10).
Like all the godly in Israel, the prophets looked forward to that great day when God would punish evil, destroy all enemies, cleanse the earth and establish his righteousness in the world (Isa 24:17-23; 32:1-4). The one who would rule in this golden age was known as the Messiah, meaning ‘the anointed one’ (cf. Ps 2:1-7). (In Old Testament times kings, priests, and sometimes prophets were appointed to their positions by the ceremony of anointing. Holy oil was poured over the head of the person as a sign that he now had the right, and the responsibility, to perform the duties required by his position; cf. Exod 28:41; 1 Sam 10:1; 1 Kings 1:39; 19:16.)
The preachers of the Old Testament pictured the Messiah as a king, a conqueror and a saviour. They lived in the expectation that a king of the dynasty of David would reign in a worldwide kingdom of peace
and righteousness (Isa 9:6-7; 11:1-5; 32:1; Jer 23:5; Zech 6:12-13). But they spoke also of a prophetic figure whom they pictured as a servant, a sufferer and a victim (Deut 18:15,18; Isa 52:13-14; 53:4-7; Zech 12:10). What they did not see was that both pictures applied to the same person. The Messiah who finally came was both a king and a servant, both a conqueror and a sufferer, both a saviour and a victim (cf. 1 Peter 1:10-12).
Another point that the prophets did not see was that this person would fulfil God’s purposes for humankind not all at once, but through two separate entrances into the world. The New Testament makes it clear that the promised Messiah was Jesus Christ (Matt 11:2-6; 22:41-45; Luke 1:32-33; 24:19,25-26; Rev 5:5). The Messiah’s first coming began with Jesus’ birth and ended with his death, resurrection and ascension. At his second coming he will judge the world and lead his people into the era of the new heavens and the new earth (Heb 1:5-9; 9:27-28; Rev 19:11-16; 21:1-4).
Problems concerning time
This apparent inconsistency in relation to time is typical of all prophetic prediction. Within the one prediction there may be some parts fulfilled within the prophet’s lifetime, other parts fulfilled within a hundred years or so, and other parts still not yet fulfilled (e.g. Joel 2:24-32; Hag 2:20-23).
The reason for this is that the prophet sees things from God’s point of view, and God does not live in the sort of time system that operates in the world of our experience (Jer 23:22; Ezek 8:1-3; 11:24). The prophet sees and knows in a way that is different from that of the ordinary person. It is as if he steps out of the world of time into the world of eternity, where time as we know it does not exist (2 Peter 3:8; Rev 1:8).
Consequently, the prophet may speak of events in language of the future, the present, or the past tense (e.g. Isa 9:6-7; 53:1-9; Jer 51:52-57). In the course of history as ordinary people see it, events may be separated from one another by hundreds or even thousands of years, but in the message of the prophet they may not be separated at all. They may be mentioned together as if they happened almost at the same time (e.g. Isa 53:1-12; 61:1-9; Ezek 34:20-24; Mal 2:17-3:4).
The language of prophecy
Early prophets such as Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah and Elisha have left little or no record of their prophecies. But the biblical accounts of their ministries show that they sometimes passed on their messages by means of stories and actions (2 Sam 12:1-7; 1 Kings 11:29-31). In later times prophets frequently wrote down their messages as well as, or instead of, speaking them (Isa 30:8; Jer 29:1,25; 30:2; 36:1-4). Some also acted them (Isa 20:1-6; Jer 19:1-3; Ezek 5:1-12).
Of the prophecies that have been written down, most are in the form of poetry. The reason for this is probably that poetry is better able to express a person’s deeper thoughts and feelings. It is also easier to memorize than prose, and this would help people in remembering and passing on the message (Isa 55:6-9; Joel 1:2-4; Amos 3:1-8).
Hebrew poetry has no rhyme or metre as in English poetry. Its style and rhythm come largely from its arrangement of words and sentences. The most common form is that in which the first line of a verse contains the main thought, and the following line (or lines) then adds weight to this thought either by repeating it in a slightly different form (Isa 30:3; 32:3), by stating its opposite (Nahum 1:6-7; Hab 2:4), or by adding some further explanation or contrast (Isa 55:2-3; Jer 9:4-6; Hosea 8:7).
When reading the poetry of the prophets, we should be concerned not so much with the meaning of each separate phrase or line, as with the meaning of the verse (or verses) as a unit. We should also remember that poets create vivid word pictures and use exaggerated language to express their thoughts. They do not expect us always to interpret their words literally (Isa 40:12; Amos 9:13; Micah 4:4).