Origin of Old and New Testament Books - Literature review Example

Origin of Old and New Testament Books Origin of Old and New Testament Books Introduction Religion and the beliefin God has been part of mankind since the days of creation. The Bible is the perfect example of how human beings relate to their God. This paper looks into the origin of both Old Testament and New Testament books. The knowledge of these important historical events is useful in understanding how religion works and the motivation behind the writing of the books. Origin of Prophesy According to Mcdonald (54), Old Testament books were written by prophets. Although the foreseers did not quote one another by name, they drew upon each another. As Mcdonald (32) notes, “The prophets spoke to Israel in time of crisis”. In particular, the prophets spoke about historical and moral crises. If there were no crises, there would have been little need for the prophets. The history of the Old Testament and Israel from the eighth to the fifth centuries can be told, even if it is roughly, in the works of the literary prophets. Three historical centers can be pointed out according to Merrill (15). The prophets received their inspiration from God as noted by Metzger (45). In addition, the prophets were viewed as messengers sent to deliver God’s messages to the world. Neo-Assyrian Period The first category of prophetic books falls under the neo-Assyrian period. The attention of these books is centered on the circumstances leading to and the conditions following the fall of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) in 722 B.C. The group of prophets engaged in the assessment of moral and theological reasons that led to the fall of Israel includes Amos, Hosea, Micah and Isaiah. These prophets saw the end of Israel and the event’s implications for Judah. Even though their insights varied, they expressed their insights in a sympathetic manner (Merrill 16). The critical nature of the Neo-Assyrian period involved the preservation of the prophetic oracles as sacred literature. Although Jonah was not preoccupied with the preservation of oracles as sacred literature, it can be said that the judgment he reluctantly saw submerged in Yahweh’s compassionate nature reemerged in the era of the Neo-Assyrian prophets (Merrill 13). Neo-Babylonian Era The second group of prophetic books in the Old Testament can be referred to as the Neo-Babylonian prophetic books. These prophets and their books focused on the circumstances and events succeeding the fall of the Southern Kingdom (Judah) in 586 B.C. The prophets spoke and criticized the rise of Chaldean-inspired Babylonian empire. The Neo-Babylonian prophets include Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nahum, and Obadiah (Bullock 14). These prophets contributed their distinctive insights to their contemporaries and delivered their message from the Lord to Judah (Bullock 14). The rise of idolatry in Israel was the main motivation behind the works of Neo-Babylonian prophets. In addition, this group of prophets, with irresistible compulsion, tried to coax Judah away from idolatry and announced the bad news of what would happen if Israel refused to honor the covenant. “Yet thankfully the news was not all bad, for the fall of Jerusalem, at a certain point as inevitable as Samaria’s fall, carried a message of hope that Judah would miraculously revive” (Bullock 15). 3rd Group of Prophets According to Bullock (15), the third collection of prophets built upon during the Persian period, after the exile. These prophets presented Yahweh’s messages on the afflictions of Babylonian conquest of the Persian Empire. With a new ruler, Judah’s fortunes, partly dwindled but was maintained by religious enthusiasts in the course of the long exile. King Cyrus’ decree in 538 B.C. marked the beginning of this era. The first hope of being delivered from bondage happened when Jehoiachin was released from prison after the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562 B.C. Prophets like Daniel, Joel, Zachariah, Haggai, and Malachi articulated the hope and implicated the changing conditions of the first hundred years of post exilic life in Judah. Old Testament Books Old Testament books are classified under Pentateuch, history books, poetry books, Major Prophets and Minor Prophets (McDonald 16). The Pentateuch refers to the first five books ascribed to Moses and includes Genesis, exodus, Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy (McDonald 13). The second division is historical with twelve of books being credited with authors generally unknown. More specifically, the authors are assumed to be former prophets based on the thought that the books were authored by people living before the 19th century and had had the prophetic gift or were prophets (Bullock 14). Poetry books consist of five books characterized by literature of a poetic philosophical nature. David and Solomon are the main authors of these books; some books were composed by lesser known or anonymous individuals. The fourth Old Testament division is known as the Major Prophets. These books are referred to as Major Prophets because they are lengthy and were written by well known prophets. These consist of five books; two of them were written by Jeremiah. Finally, there is a collection of twelve books known as the Minor Prophets, or, in Hebrew Bible “the Twelve”. These books are termed minor prophet because they are relatively short (Bullock 14). The historical period embraced by the Pentateuch is from the creation time (date unknown) to the beginning of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. In addition, the Pentateuch can be said to have began at the end of the fifteenth century B.C (McDonald 47). The historical books continue the history from ca. 1400 to ca. 420 B.C., the time of the composition of the Chronicles. No particular historical order is associated with the poetic books. However, the poetic books can be said to representing every age of Israel’s history from beginning to end. It would not be accurate to report that the poetic books were written during the reign of Solomon and David. David and Solomon only contributed to writing of half of the poetic books. The Major Prophets lived and engaged in their ministries between ca. 740 and 540 B.C. On the other hand, the Minor Prophets ministered from ca. 800 B.C. to 450 B.C. It is clear then that many of the prophets were contemporaries and in some instances were probably close friends (Bullock 15). Origin of New Testament Books Of all the literature of early Christianity the New Testament books are the most widely known today. However, before the New Testament books could be available to modern Christians, three events had to occur. First, some people had to decide what writings would be included. Secondly, these texts had to be passed down from ancient times to our day. Third, the texts had to be understood in respect to the original language. They were translated into understandable language. The process of deciding the writings to be used in the New Testament is known as “the formation of the canon” (Metzger 28). Writings of the First Century Among the earliest Christian writings were collections of sayings and stories about Jesus Christ. These stories did not come from Jesus, since Jesus himself left no written records. After the death of Jesus, disciples narrated stories about his life and passed on teachings attributed to him. These stories and sayings orally circulated and were later documented, eventually being incorporated in the gospels (Niswonger 64). Another form of Christian literature consisted of letters. These books were written by Christian missionaries who were travelling throughout the world establishing churches. On such missionary was the apostle Paul. As Paul established churches, he kept in touch with the people by writing letters, giving advice and instruction. The churches that received these letters regarded them highly and sent copies to other churches as well (Niswonger 64). By the end of the first century, a majority of the books that compose the New Testament had been written and were being collected and read in churches. Except for the book of Revelation, these writings make no explicit claims to the revelations from God. Paul writes with a sense of authority, but sometimes distinguishes his own opinions from what he considers commands of Jesus. New testament books are classified under gospel (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John), the Apostolus (acts of the apostles, thirteen epistles of Paul, the epistle of Jude, epistles of John, epistle of Peter, revelation of John, and James). These books were not written at once (Metzger 28). Conclusion Some complexities surrounding the origins and development of the Old Testament and the New Testament have been seen. However, it is clear that the books Christians believed appropriately identified their faith comprised of the literature selected for inclusion in the sacred collections of scriptures. The sacred collections continue to serve the church of God and the synagogue (Jews). The Old Testament and the New Testament also act as a reference point to the Christians when teaching or learning the Christian principles of living and faith. Works Cited Bullock, Hassel. An Introduction to Old Testament Prophetic Books. Moody Publishers. 2007. Print. Mcdonald, Martin. The Origin of The Bible; A Guide For The Perplexed. New York. Continuum International Publishing Group. 2011. Print. Merrill, Eugene. Historical Survey of the Old Testament. New York. Baker Academic. 1992. Print. Metzger, Bruce. The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. New York. Oxford University Press. 1997. Print. Niswonger, Richard. New Testament History. Zondervan Press. 1992. Print. Read More