The Holy Bible is a fascinating book. Written over a 1500-year span by more than 40 authors from many walks of life in different places, at different times, in different moods, on three continents, and in three languages.
In Lesson 1, we had a brief survey of the patriarchal narratives in Genesis and Exodus. In this lesson, we will continue to discuss the remaining three books, namely Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
The books Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther are called Historical Books. We will survey the history of Israel under four historical periods.
Samuel was born when the Philistines were oppressing Israel. Eli was priest and leader at that time. His sons Hophni and Phinehas were corrupt and immoral. Therefore the Lord made Samuel the leader of Israel after Eli.
Cyrus, king of Persia captured Babylon in 538 BC. He changed the policy of the Babylonians who exiled their captives and allowed them to return to their homeland. Zerubbabel led the first return of the Jews.
The five books categorized as the Poetical Books in the Old Testament are the Book of Job, Psalms, the Book of Proverbs, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.
Three Hebrew terms define what the designation 'prophet' means. The word 'hozeh' and 'roeh' mean - to see, gaze, or look at, and the word 'nabi' means - to call.
This section describes the ministries of the prophets during the Babylonian domination. It may help to review the introduction from the previous lesson.