INTRO TO SACRED
Earlier or former
SCRIPTURES
WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
“The Bible” comes from the
Greek plural word ta.biblia
which means “the books”
“the book”; a name well-
chosen, since the Bible is a
collection of many individual
books. In spite of the great
diversity of writings that are
found in the Bible, written at a
different times, in different
places and in different literary
forms: poems, fiction, myth,
legend, parable, allegory,
gospels, letters, history, etc.,
the Bible manifests the unity of
a book, for it is in its entirety
“the Word of God”
“Sacred Scriptures” or “Holy
Scriptures” contain the
message of God under
inspiration and guidance of the
Holy Spirit
Two Parts
– the Old Testament
(OT)/First Testament (FT)
– New Testament (NT)
The Catholic Bible – O.T. (46),
N.T. (27) consists of 73 books
Protestant Bible – O.T. (39),
N.T. (27) consists of 66 books
In which languages was the
Bible originally written?
1. HEBREW. Most of the
so-called Old Testament (OT)
or First Testament (FT) was
originally written in Hebrew.
2. ARAMAIC Part of the
Old Testament was written in
Aramaic
3. GREEK. Part of the OT a.
was written in Greek: Dan 13- prophets
14, Esther in the Jerusalem
b. Later prophets
Bible, the mentioned sections
are written in italics. The 3) The Writings – Ketuvim
seven extra books in the
Catholic Bible were written in Hebrew Bible or Hebrew
Greek. Other books are: Tobit, Scriptures – TaNak
Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees,
Wisdom of Solomon and
Baruch. It is generally agreed O.T. is divided into 4 sections
that the entire New Testament
1. The Pentateuch
(NT) was written in Greek, but
it is also worth noting that 2. Historical Books
probably the first nucleus of
the gospel according to 3. Wisdom writings
Matthew was written in the 4. The Prophetic Books
Aramaic language 40 and 50
A.D. However, the Greek a. Major Prophets
version of these Gospel is the
b. Minor Prophets
one that is well known by
many people from the 1
century A.D.
THE CANON OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT (39 Books in
Hebrews/Protestant; 46 in
“testament” refers to God’s
Catholic Bible)
special relationship with His
people. PENTATEUCH
Berit (Heb) – alliance or (Torah)
covenant (unites God with his
people) – Genesis
– Exodus
O.T/F.T. – The book of – Leviticus
close/special alliance between – Numbers
God and Israel at Mount Sinai.
– Deuteronomy
N.T. – The book of the special
and definitive alliance of God
with humanity sealed at THE CANON OF THER OLD
Calvary through the blood of TESTAMENT
Jesus Christ our Lord”.
HISTORICAL BOOKS
“Deuteronomic History”
The O.T. Is composed of 39
books in the Protestant canon, – JOSHUA
24 in the Jewish canon and 46
– JUDGES
in the Catholic canon. The
Jewish canon is divided into 3 – 1&2 SAMUEL
sections
– 1 & 2 KINGS
1) Torah
2) Prophets – Nevi’im
THE CANON OF THE OLD
Two Groups TESTAMENT
“CHRONICLERS HISTORY” – JEREMIAH THE CATECHISM OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH, N° 101-
– 1 & 2 CHRONICLES – EZEKIEL DANIEL
141
– EZRA In Hebrew, Daniel is not a
VATICAN II, DEI VERBUM
prophet
– NEHEMIAH
– RUTH ESTER
******************
THE CANON OF THE OLD
– LAMENTATIONS
TESTAMENT a) What is the Bible?
Minor Prophets The English word “The Bible”
THE CANON OF THE OLD comes from the Greek plural
– HOSEA
TESTAMENT word – ta. bibli,a - ta biblia,
– NAHUM which means “the books; a
APOCRYPHA/ name well-chosen, since the
DEUTEROCANON – JOEL Bible is a collection of many
– JUDITH – AMOS individual books. In spite of the
great diversity of writings that
– TOBIT – HABAKKUK are found in the Bible, written
at different times, in different
– BARUCH – ZEPHANIAH
places and in different literary
– 1&2 MACCABEES – OBADIAH forms: poems, fiction, myth,
legend, parable, allegory,
Books that are underlined are – HAGGAI ZECHARIAH gospels, letters, history, etc.,
found only in Catholic Bibles the Bible manifests the unity of
– JONAH
a book, for it is in its entirety
– MALACHI “the Word of God”.
THE CANON OF THE OLD
– MICAH From the very beginning, the
TESTAMENT
church has believed that the
WISDOM WRITINGS “Sacred Scriptures” or “Holy
N.T. found only in Christian Scriptures” contain the
– JOB
Bibles i.e, Catholic, Orthodox message of God for all times
– PSALMS and Protestant – composed of and for each person, because
27 books: it is composed under the
– PROVERBS inspiration and guidance of the
1. The Gospel Holy Spirit, the agent of
– ECCLESIASTES
2. Acts of the Apostles salvation. The term “The
– SONG OF SONGS Scriptures” by which the Bible
3. The letters of St. Paul is also known, underlines the
4. The Pastoral letters written character of the Bible.
THE CANON OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT 5. The Catholic letters The Christian Bible is divided
in two parts, i.e., the Old
Apocrypha/Deuterocanonica 6. The Apocalypse or the Testament/First Testament and
Book of Revelation the New Testament. The word
Ecclesiasticus wisdom of
“testament” is used with a
Solomon
particular value in reference to
INTRODUCTION TO sacred books i.e. it refers to
SACRED SCRIPTURES God’s special relationship with
THE CANON OF THE OLD His people. In the Hebrew
TESTAMENT To read language, this same word
PROPHETS BOADT, L., Reading the Old (testament), normally rendered
Testament: An Introduction, as “berit” means also “alliance
Major Prophets or covenant”, that indicates in
New York 1984, 11-12.
a special way, the pact that
– ISAIAH
unites God with his people.
When we (Christians) talk of
the O.T. /F.T. therefore, we
mean, “The book of
close/special alliance between
God and Israel sealed at
Mount Sinai”. On the other
hand, when we talk of the
N.T., we mean, “The book of
the special and definitive
alliance of God with humanity
sealed at Calvary through the
blood of Jesus Christ our
Lord”. We are a people of the
New Covenant or the New
Testament.
The Old Testament, i.e., “the
book of the close alliance
between God and Israel
sealed at Mount Sinai” is
composed of thirty-nine books
in the Protestant canon,
twenty-four in the Jewish
canon and forty-six in the
Catholic canon.
The Jewish Canon is divided
into three sections: 1) Torah,
2) The Prophets – Nevi’im -
divided into two groups – the
earlier or former prophets and
the later prophets. The later
prophets are further divided
into two groups i.e., the Major
Prophets and the Minor
Prophets; 3) The Writings -
Ketuvim. By abbreviating the
names given to the three
sections as indicated above,
The Jewish Canon is generally
referred to as “TaNak”. In this
way, another way of saying,
“the Jewish Canon”, “the
Hebrew Bible” or Hebrew
Scriptures is, “TaNak”.
In the Christian Bibles
(Catholic, Orthodox and
Protestant), the O.T. is divided
into four sections: 1) The
Pentateuch, 2) Historical
Books, 3) Wisdom and Poetic
Books and 4) the Prophetic
Books. The section of the
Prophetic Books is divided into
two groups i.e. the Major
Prophets and the Minor
Prophets.
The New Testament that is
found only in Christian Bibles,
i.e., Catholic, Orthodox and
Protestant is composed of
twenty-seven books. It is
divided into the following
sections: 1) The Gospels, 2)
The Acts of the Apostles, 3)
The letters of Saint Paul, 4)
The Pastoral letters, 5) The
Catholic letters and 6) The
Apocalypse or the Book of
Revelation.
The Catholic Bible – O.T. (46)
and N.T. (27) - consists of 73
books while the Protestant
Bible – O.T. (39) and N.T. (27)
– consists of 66 books.
b) The Bible in the faith of the
Church
The Second Vatican Council
reminds us that, “the Church
has always venerated the
Sacred Scriptures in the same
way it has done with the Body
of Christ (DV, 21) and declares
that when the Sacred
Scripture is proclaimed in the
liturgy, the entire assembly in
prayer listens to it as the voice
of the Risen Lord (SC, 7). The
Christian community from its
origin up to date, has
considered the Sacred
Scripture, together with the
tradition of the church as a
supreme measure of faith (DV,
21), the point of encounter
with God and source of
strength that enables us to
witness to the faith with
unfailing coherence. In this
sense, transmitting the Bible
without changes, translating it
in accordance with the original
texts, is for the church a task
that cannot be relinquished
and a sign of fidelity to God.
A part from it being considered
from the point of view of faith,
the Bible is a precious book for
the entire humanity, a
patrimony of the spiritual and
cultural values. It is object of
increasing interest even under
the artistic profile, due to the
variety of literary genres, the
expressive vigor of the images
and the communicative
efficacy of language.
Down the centuries, the Bible
has been a great source from
which culture and art have
drawn. Figures, events,
symbols and biblical themes
have offered images for the
creation of the highest
expressions of paintings and
sculpture; they have been
transformed into music, have
given substance to literature
and have even stimulated
theological and philosophical
reflections.
In spite of all these, the
Bible is above all the book of
Christian faith, preserved with
great love and care by
believers and offered to all
people who are in search of
God. For believers, the Bible is
truly “The Word of God”. From
the very beginning, the church
has believed that the Sacred
Scripture contains the
message of God for all times
and for each person, because
it is composed under the
inspiration and guidance of the
Holy Spirit, the agent of
salvation. Even today, this
faith is professed by believers
and by the Christian
Community, especially during
liturgical celebrations, spiritual
discernment and ecclesial
decisions.
For the Christian faith,
the authors of the Bible are
both God and human beings.
God the principal author has
used human beings to
communicate through human
words His message. It is for
this reason that the Bible is
called the word of God in
human words.
As the Word of God in
human words, the books of
the Bible have to be read
taking into account the
different times, places and
languages in which they were
written. It is also necessary to
take into account the culture
and the situations or
circumstances in which the
writer was operating, as well
as the knowledge and way of
thinking and communicating
proper to his time.
The Bible reading is
much more benefiting in as far
as the believer is conscious of
the objective that God has
given it. As a consequence,
the Second Vatican Council
declares that: “The books of
Scripture teach with certainty,
faithfully and without error the
truth that God wanted to be
put down in Sacred Scriptures
for our salvation” (DV, 11).
This is the only objective of
the entire Bible, i.e., the
salvation of humanity – of
each person. The Bible is a
gift that God offers to each
one of his sons and daughters
in order to lead each one of
them to Him.
An attentive and
meditated reading of the great
book of God becomes an
inexhaustible source of light
especially when it is done
within a community in prayer,
docile to the action of the Holy
Spirit. In such a religious
listening, the believer
receives, through the pages of
the Bible, the voice of God
that speaks and exhorts
him/her. A voice that is strong
and sweet at the same time,
that questions and consoles,
that is appealing and gives witness) into Aramaic said to
hope. “Is not my word like fire, be the language of Laban).
says the LORD, and like a
3. GREEK. Part of the
hammer that breaks a rock in
O.T. was written in Greek: Dan
pieces?”(Jer 3, 29). The Word
13 -14, Esther cf. African Bible
of the Lord is; “sweeter also
sections marked A-F. In the
than honey and drippings of
Jerusalem Bible, the
the honeycomb” (Ps 19, 10).
mentioned sections are written
“Indeed, the word of God is
in italics. Other books are:
living and active, sharper than
Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2
any two-edged sword, piercing
Maccabees, Wisdom of
until it divides soul from spirit,
Solomon and Baruch. It is
joints from marrow; it is able to
generally agreed that the
judge the thoughts and
entire New Testament (NT)
intentions of the heart”(Heb 4,
was written in Greek, but it is
12). The word of God is also
also worth noting that probably
the source of life and spiritual
the first nucleus of the gospel
fecundity, “For as the rain and
according to Mathew was
the snow come down from
written in the Aramaic
heaven, and do not return
language between 40 and 50
there until they have watered
A.D. However, the Greek
the earth, making it bring forth
version of these Gospel is the
and sprout, giving seed to the
one that is well known by
sower and bread to the eater,”
many people from the 1st
(Is 55, 10). The Word of God
century A.D.
is the secure guide in a
journey of history and life that
is often obscure and
uncertain: “Your word is a Note: Most of us read the
lamp to my feet and a light to Bible in translation. What are
my path” (Ps 119, 105). the best English translations? I
would recommend for
c) In which languages was the precision: (1) REVISED
Bible originally written? STANDARD VERSION and (2)
NEW REVISED STANDARD
1. HEBREW. Most of the
VERSION. Also good and very
so-called Old Testament (OT)
useful, especially for their
or First Testament (FT) was
notes are: (1) the AFRICAN
originally written in Hebrew.
BIBLE and (2) the
2. ARAMAIC. Part of the JERUSALEM BIBLE and the
FT was written in Aramaic: Ezr NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE.
4, 8-6, 18 and 7, 12-26 Note: You can also use any
(documents from the other STUDY EDITIONS of
Achaemenid period the Bible. Do not use for your
concerning the restoration of study the popular and pastoral
the temple in Jerusalem), Dan editions of the Bible.
2, 4 -7, 28 (five Oriental
historical tales involving Jews
and an apocalyptic vision), d) The division of the Bible in
Jer.10, 11 (a stray Aramaic chapters and verses
sentence in a Hebrew context
denouncing idolatry), Gen 31,
47 (two words – Jegar– In order to facilitate the
Sahadutha, translating a location of a biblical passage,
Hebrew toponym - each book of the Bible has
Galeed/Gilead (The heap of been divided in chapters and
each chapter in verses. This
division was not in the original
text of the Bible. The division
of the Bible in chapters, a
work attributed to Etienne
Langton, can be traced back
to year 1230 with the Latin
Bible of the University of Paris.
Later, the division of chapters
in verses was established by
Robert Estienne in Geneva
between 1527 and 1555.
These divisions generally
follow the meaning of the Text
(Gen 1 finishes in Gen 2, 4a).
These divisions are intended
to help find a quick reference
of one passage or another in
the Bible. Following this
division, all the people who
refer to the Bible can be sure
that they are referring to the
same verses as the others, i.e.
Gen 1, 1 is just THAT VERSE
and NONE ELSE!
It is however worth
noting that the Psalms are not
numbered in the same way in
all Bibles. This is pointed out
in the following scheme;
THE HEBREW BIBLE
(MASORETIC TEXT - MT)
THE GREEK BIBLE
(SEPTUAGINT – LXX)
1-8
9-10
11-113
114-115
116
117-146
147
148-150
1-8
9 Sam 11). We may ask: What is
10-112
113
114-115
116-145
146-147
148-150
e) Difficulties in reading the
Bible
As we read the Bible, we are
faced with two main
difficulties:
a. There are strange
images e.g. God’s anger or
wrath is presented in terms,
which are strange to us. Ps
18, 8 - Smoke went up from
his nostrils, and devouring fire
from his mouth; glowing coals
flamed forth from him. Fear is
presented also in a strange
way. Ps 22, 14 - My heart is
like wax; it is melted within my
breast. A period of time is also
expressed in a strange way in
the vision of the woman and
the dragon in Rv. 12, 15 – she
was to be looked after for a
time, two times and half a
time. This is to say, three and
a half years. The modern
reader finds it difficult to
understand this. We have to
face the fact that the Bible
developed and was written in
a cultural environment very
different from our own and had
its own linguistic expressions.
What to do with this difficulty?
If we really want to reach the
meaning of God’s word for us,
we have to study the culture in
which the Bible was written
and even the geography, so as
to properly understand its
message.
b. In the Bible we find
scandalous stories. All of us
remember the adultery of
David with Bath-Sheba and
the murder of her husband (2
the point that such a story is
God’s word? It looks like a
dirty novel. The answer lies in
the interpretation of faith,
which the author makes at the
end of the chapters. After
narrating David’s perfect
murder, he writes: But the
thing that David had done
displeased the LORD (2Sam
11, 27). From that point
onward, God intervenes to
judge the situation and to put
things right. Any passage of
the Bible must be seen from 2
points of view: (a) human and
(b) faith.
Note: Each text of the Bible is
an answer of faith to a
concrete problem or situation.
It is therefore important to read
and interpret each text
according to its context. Doing
so will help us understand and
appreciate the message of
each text of the Bible and as
such, be able to apply it to
different situations of our life.
PENTATEUCH
1. What is Pentateuch
2. The Authorship of
Pentateuch
3. The Book Genesis
4. The Creation Story in
Genesis
5. The Book of Exodus
6. The Key Themes and
Concepts in Exodus
7. The Book of Leviticus
8. The Levitical Offerings/
Festival in Leviticus
9. The Book of Numbers
10. The Important Themes
in Numbers
11. The Book of
Deuteronomy
12. The Contemporary
Relevance of the
Message of
Pentateuch
INTRODUCTION
The Pentateuch refers to the
first five books of the Bible. It
occupies a very important
place in Judaism and even
Christianity. The Pentateuch
remains a principal text that
served as a source of Israelite
history, especially her early
history. In this course we shall
introduce you to the books
classified as the Pentateuch
and the reasons they were so
classified. It is hoped that this
would lay the foundation for
the subsequent examination of
the Pentateuch and all that
relates to it. In this unit, you
will understand why the
Pentateuch remains a
principal reference point in
Israelite history.
WHAT IS PENTATEUCH
The word ‘Pentateuch’ is from
the Greek word ‘pentatikos’
which means five volumes.
When used in relation to the
Old Testament, it means the
first five books. Origen, one of
the early church fathers, was
the first to use the term
‘Pentateuch’ in reference to
these books. Among the Jews
it is called Torah, which some
translated to mean ‘Law’.
Torah, however could mean,
principle, instruction or
guideline. In essence
therefore, the ancient
Israelites see the Pentateuch
as a guiding principle for their
socio-religious activities. That
is why we said the Pentateuch
occupies a unique place in the
life of the people.
Books Classified as
Pentateuch
The books classified as the
Pentateuch are the following:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy. In
the Hebrew bible, (you should
remember that the Pentateuch
was originally written in
Hebrew language, the
language spoken by the
ancient Israelites) the first
word of each book of the
Pentateuch is the title. For
example, Genesis is called
“Bereshith” which means “in
the beginning”. Exodus is
called “Shemoth” which
means, “these are the names”.
Leviticus is called “wayigra”
which means ‘and he called”.
Numbers is called “Bemidber”
which means ‘in the
wilderness’. The books of
Deuteronomy is called
“Devarim” meaning ‘words”.
The English names for the
books of Pentateuch were
derived from the Septuagint
(LXX). The English titles
therefore have Greek
background.
Pentateuch in Israelite
History
The historical framework of the
Pentateuch consists of the
formation of Israel, from the
call of Abraham to the death of
Moses. It spans a period of
over 600 years that is from
about 1900 BC to about 1250
BC. However it may be difficult
to determine the precise dates
the events recorded in the
Pentateuch happened. The
difficult part that cannot be
easily dated is the early stage
of the Israelite history,
especially what is referred to
as the patriarchal history (i.e.
the history of the early
ancestors of Israel).
The Pentateuch can be
divided into two main sub-
divisions. The first is about the
story of the Patriarchs –
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and
Joseph (Gen. 12-50) and the
second section relates the
story of Moses and the
formation of the nation of
Israel (Exodus –
Deuteronomy). Gen. 1-11
however serves as prologue to
the Pentateuch; it connects
the whole of humanity to
God's purpose to be fulfilled
through Israel.
Authorship of the
Pentateuch
The issue of who actually
wrote the Pentateuch is a
serious one in the field of Old
Testament studies. The
problem is compounded
because Pentateuch is
anonymously written. In other
words, nowhere do these five
books explicitly or 26 implicitly
indicate the author. However,
until the rise of modern Biblical
criticism, the Jews and the
Christians had always taken at
face value the claim that the
Pentateuch was written by the
historic Moses of 15th Century
B.C. This position that Moses
was the author of the
Pentateuch has been variously
and seriously challenged. This
for example, has led to the
formation of the popular
documentary hypothesis about
the composition of the
Pentateuch.
Arguments for Mosaic
Authorship of the
Pentateuch
1. There are internal
evidences that support
the fact that the
Pentateuch must have
been written by Moses.
For example in several
instances Moses was
commanded to write
what he heard and
saw. For example,
Exodus 17:14 “And
Jehovah said unto
Moses, write this for a
memorial in a book”
and “… and Moses
wrote all the words of
Jehovah…” (Exodus
24:4).
 2. References were made this hypothesis. The centralization of thecult
in other Old Testament German spelling of and reformation of
books that Moses was “Yahweh” is “Jahweh”, Israel’s religion.
the author of the that is how the latter J
Pentateuch (see Jos. was used to describe P – The priestly source can be
1:8; Ex. 20:25, 1 Kings the author and the traced to a priestly narrator
2:3). narrative. who supplemented the JE
3. Some of the artifacts narrative with ritual and cultic
and inscriptions E- the author of this materials. These materials are
discovered today by source is probably from found primarily in the cultic
archaeologists attested the Northern tribes of legislation in Exodus 2531, 35-
to the fact that writing Israel (remember that 40, and in the laws of
was in existence even Israel broke into two sacrifices, festivals and ritual
before the time of during the reign of purity found throughout
Mases. Rehoboam, the Leviticus. The development of
4. The New Testament Northern kingdom the priestly code was borne
acknowledges Mosaic composed of 10 tribes out of the concern to make
authorship of the were called Israel, Israelite religion unique. When
Pentateuch. while the Southern the people were taken into
5. The Pentateuch has tribes 2 in number exile, the priests assumed
internal evidence of were called Judah). leadership. This led to
being written by an The writers of this emphasis on rituals and cultic
eyewitness of the source represent the legislation.
exodus: perspectives of the
a.He knows details, like how Northern tribes, who
many wells and trees were at never fully united with
Elim, and the exact the southern tribes. THE BOOK OF GENESIS
appearance and taste of This source is called The Book of Genesis is the
manna (Ex. 15:22). ‘Elohistic’ because the first among the books
b.The author uses old names name of God used is classified as Pentateuch. It is
and example from Egypt to Elohim. The writer also generally regarded as a
explain things in Pentateuch believed that the name prologue to the whole Bible.
(Gen. 13:10, 23:2, Num. predates the name The English title of the book
13:22) c. He uses a greater Yahweh later revealed ‘Genesis’ and its root in the
percentage of Egyptian words to Moses. However, Greek word that means,
than elsewhere in the Old after 32 the fall of the “beginning”. This title came
Testament. Northern kingdom in into the English translation
722B.C a redactor through the Septuagint (the
(check for redaction Greek translation of the Old
criticism in unit 2) from Testament). Genesis is a book
the southern kingdom of “beginnings”. In the book we
A Brief Description of the harmonized J and E. have the story of the beginning
Sources of the world, the beginning of
Y or J – the author of D – This source family, marriage, human
this source is called basically relate to the government, sin and the
“Yahwist” because he composition of ancestors of Israel among
preferred the name Deuteronomy. It can be others. This therefore makes
Yahweh as God’s traced to the book of the book an important one,
personal name. The law found by the especially among the Jews
reason why J is used prophetess Huldah (II and the Christians. In this unit
to designate this Kings 22). The main we will examine the literary
source is because the goal of the document genres available in Genesis
Germans were the was to serve as the and also see other similar
leading exponents of framework for the literature in the ancient Near
this hypothesis. The reforms of Josiah. It set East. We shall also discuss
German were the out with the goal and the theology and Message of
leading exponents of agenda of Genesis.

THE CREATION ACCOUNT
OF GENESIS
The Genesis account
of creation in Chapter 1
and 2 consist of a
general account of the
creation of the heaven
and the earth, followed
by a detail description
of the creation of Man.
It should be
underscored here that
the Genesis accounts
of creation have
several things in
common with other
cosmogonies. These
are: Pre- existent deity.
Creation by divine
command. Human
beings as the ultimate
of God’s creation and
formed the dust of the
earth. The point of
departure of the
Genesis account of
creation from other
creation accounts is
that God is distinct
from creation. He is
also above all aspect
of creation and not
subject to natural
elements like some
gods in the creation
stories in some
cultures.
Based on misunderstanding of
the first two verses of Genesis
1, some have propounded
what is called the gap theory.
This is a story that says that
after God created the world, it
reverted into chaos. After the
destruction of the chaotic
mass, a new world was
created. However, a careful
reading of this text reveals that
Gen. 1:2 is dependent on both
verses 1 and 3. In other
words, these verses refer to a
single world not multiple.
The creation account in
Genesis can be understood
in two ways:
As a symbolic description of
transcendental reality. 43
As a creative description of a
chronological sequence of
events.
Moreover, creation activities
by God were carried out in six
days.
Day 1 Separation of light from
darkness
Day 2 Separation of waters
above from waters below Day
3 Separation of land and sea
Day 4 Light in the firmament
i.e. separation of night and
day; Sun for the day and
Moon for the night.
Day 5 Living creatures in the
water and birds of the sea
Day 6 Creation of animals
including Man.
The Importance of the
Seventh Day
The importance of the seventh
day is clearly evident in the
fact that the seventh day is
unending for there is absence
of morning and evening. The
day therefore reveals that
eternal rest is the goal of
creation. The seventh day is
the foundation of Sabbath,
which was subsequently
instituted in the religion of
Israel. The Sabbath was later
to serve as a constant
reminder to the Israelites that
the goal of 44 creation the
eternal rest instituted by God.
Three important things
happened on the seventh
day:
1. God rested on the
seventh day, that is
after the heaven and
the earth and the host
of them were finished.
2. God blessed it.
3. God hallowed it
The Creation of Humanity
The creation of man is totally
different from other aspect of
creations. For other creatures,
God simply command and
then it was so. But with the
creation of Man (Gen. 1:26-27)
we have a statement that
shows the self-deliberation of
God. Gen. 1:26 is a statement
of intension of what God
wanted to do with Man.
Man is created in the image of
God and after His likeness.
The two words “image” and
“likeness” reinforces each
other, because there is no
conjunction in between them!
The two words express the
same idea. For humanity to be
created in the image of God is
figurative, because God does
not have human form.
Therefore, for Man to be
created in the image of God
means he shares in the
communicable attributes of
God, that is, attributes of God
that can be shared. These
include wisdom, love, justice,
holiness and righteousness
among others. This sharing of
some divine attributes, made it
possible for man to
communicate with God. Man is
able to have fellowship and
communicate with Him. Man
also has freedom to choose.
The creation of Man in
God's image is for a
purpose. Man is created in
God’s image to:
1. Have dominion over all
other creatures (see
Gen. 1:25:28). Man is
to rule and be in
control over all other
creation.
2. Represent God, as the
representative God,
mankind is the king
over the earth.
The Fall of Humanity
(Genesis 3)
The entrance of the serpent
into Eden brought discord into
the God’s creation; which had
hitherto been harmonious and
good. Satan appeared in a
form of serpent that was
subtler than any other
creatures. He tricked Eve, to
eat the fruit by asking
questions (Gen. 3:1). Both
Adam and Eve ate the fruit
and their disobedience
marked the fall of humanity.
The effects and consequences
of the fall of humanity are
evident in the subsequent
narratives ending with Gen.
11:1-9. The fall, the account of
Cain and Abel, the episodes of
the sons of God (6:1-4) and
the flood, as well as the Babel
narratives, all have common
elements. Each of them deals
with some divine
confrontation, which attracts
an appropriate punishment,
some amelioration of that
punishment, and then the
imposition of punishment.
The Call of Abraham
Genesis 12 reveals the faith of
Abraham. It teaches that faith
obeys God. At the time of his
call, he was middle-aged,
prosperous, settled and
thoroughly pagan. The call of
Abraham was to establish a
new nation. Israel would learn
that by this, her very existence
was God’s work through a
man, who responded by faith
and left for Canaan.
THE BOOK OF EXODUS
The book of Exodus focuses
on two most important events:
the Israelite deliverance from
slavery in Egypt through God’s
mighty act of salvation at the
sea of Reeds (1:1-18; 26), and
the establishment of his
lordship through the covenant
of Mt. Sinai (19:1-40:38).
“Exodus” often is used in a
broad sense for the whole
complex of events from
deliverance to entry into the
Promised Land (cf. 3:7-70). As
such, it forms the high point of
Old Testament redemptive
history, as the means through
which God constituted Israel
as his vehicle for the
redemption of all humanity.
The Call of Moses
Moses was called and
commissioned at Horeb
(probably Sinai), the place
where he will later receive the
law. It was here God gave a
fresh revelation of Himself as
the all-sufficient God. It was on
the strength of this revelation
that he was able to confront
Pharaoh.
The Importance of the call of
Moses can be seen in the fact
that, ‘call’ became an essential
element if one is to
successfully operate as a
prophet. In the extant Israelite
prophetic tradition, the call
narrative was built into the text
in order to validate the
genuineness of the call of a
prophet. See for example,
Isaiah 6; Jeremiah 1:1-12 and
Ezekiel 1:1-10. The call of
Moses therefore became
paradigmatic in the
subsequent history of Israelite
prophetism
The Revelation of the Divine
name ‘Yahweh’
Moses is generally believed to
be the father of Israelite
monotheism. This conclusion
is perhaps based on the fact
that the name Yahweh was
revealed to him at the time of
his call on Mount Horeb.
However, whether or not
Yahweh was worshipped
before, Moses especially
among non-Israelites remains
a serious contention among
Old Testament scholars in
recent times. This argument
arose because there is
evidences that point to the fact
that Yahweh might have been
worshipped outside Israel,
before Moses.
Various traditions in the
Pentateuch however reflect
differing views on the origins
of Yahwism, which are not
easily reconcilable. According
to the Yahwist tradition (J), the
worship of Yahweh can be
traced to the cradle of
humanity: To Seth also a Son
was born, and he called his
name Enoch. At that time men
began to call upon the name
of Yahweh (Gen. 4:26).
The tradition of the Elohist (E),
on the other hand associates
the revelation of the divine
name with the experience of
Moses at the burning bush.
The Priestly tradition (P)
confirms this understanding of
a Mosaic background for the
declaration of the divine name.
We can vouchsafe the fact
that Moses popularized the
worship of Yahweh among the
Israelites in Egypt. The
Israelites in Egypt might have
lost a personal knowledge of
God of their ancestors, while
in bondage in Egypt, because
they were influenced socially,
religiously, and politically. At
that time they perhaps knew
God only as Elohim, a generic
name for God in the ancient
Near East. The personal
knowledge of God as Lord
(Yahweh) was restored
through the revelation to
Moses at Horeb.
You will recall that we had
earlier discussed that it was in
response to the Israelites
plight in Egypt that God
revealed Himself to Moses as
“Yahweh”, a four Hebrew letter
consonantal word – popularly
known as Tetragrammaton
(YHWH). The phonetical value
of this name is however lost.
No one can determine the
precise pronunciation of the
name.
All we do know is that Moses
received a fresh revelation
about the nature and ability to
this God, Yahweh. This
impelled him to lead the
Israelite out of bondage in
Egypt.
Theology/Message of
Exodus
The theology and message of
the book of Exodus revolves
around the deliverance of the
people of Israel from bondage
in Egypt. The book therefore
laid the foundation for the
theology of God’s revelation of
his person, works, redemption
law and worship in the entire
Bible. The institution of the
priesthood and the prophetic
ministry in Israel are also
given elaborate treatment in
the book.
In the deliverance of Israel
from bondage in Egypt, God
reveals himself afresh to
Moses, the chosen leader of
the people (Ex. 3:14). God
revealed Himself as who is
ever-living, self-sustaining and
dependable. This revelation of
the personality of God gave
the needed impetus to Moses
to deliverer the Israelites from
the grip of Pharaoh the king of
Egypt.
The redemption of Israel of
from bondage in Egypt
became a reference point for
future salvation and
deliverance of the people. The
Passover event (Ex. 12)
further gives insight into the
redemption acts of God. This
perhaps prompted the
Christians to believe that the
death of Christ for the
redemption of humanity was
indeed foreshadowed in the
Passover event, in the book of
Exodus.
Exodus also gives direction on
the expected conduct from the
individual, and all that made
up the society. The basis for
biblical ethics and morality
was also established in the
giving of the Ten
Commandments and other
ordinances in the book of
Exodus. The goal of God for
humanity is a peaceful and
harmonious society. This is
however, achievable if the
relationship between humanity
and God and fellow human is
cordial. The principles that can
enhance right relationship
between humanity and God
and humanity and fellow
human were enunciated in the
different laws,
commandments, and
ordinances in the book of
Exodus.
The Book of Exodus
concludes with an elaborate
discussion of the significance,
meaning and purpose of
worship. The construction of
the Tabernacle cost a lot in
terms of money, time, energy
and material, yet in its
significance and function it
pointed to the chief end of
human beings: to glorify God
and to enjoy Him forever.
The Book of Leviticus
The name Leviticus comes
from the Septuagint the Greek
translation of the Hebrew
Scripture. Leviticus is not an
account of historical event like
Genesis and Exodus, but it is
called the book of law. Since
the Tabernacle has been
erected, it was necessary that
the correct manner in which to
approach God should be
enunciated. The priests were
to understand not only the
principles of sacrifice, and
Tabernacle rituals, but also
dietary principle, treatment of
diseases, observance of feast
and times fixed for them.
Priesthood in Leviticus
The priests occupied important
place in the cultic history of
Israel. Some scholars however
believe that the Israelites had
priests in their wanderings in
the wilderness is a backward
projection of the second
Temple (516 B.C) into the
Time of Moses.
Though the origin of
priesthood in ancient Israel is
difficult to determine, however
the contributions and activities
of the priests are well known.
The book of Leviticus has
itemized five main functions of
the priests in ancient Israel.
These are:
1. Cultic functions: the
priests officiated and
administered sacrificial rites in
the Tabernacle. Sacrifice is an
important element of religions
(see Exodus 9).
2. Oracular functions: the
priest in ancient Israel was
consulted in order to derive
hidden information from God.
The priests often used the
Urim and the Thummim in
order to inquire from the Lord
vital hidden information (see
Lev. 8:8; Ex. 28:30). However,
no one can say precisely how
they priests made use of the
Urim and Thummim.
3. Therapeutic functions:
Lev. 13-15 prescribes some
medical role for the priests.
They are to determine the type
of disease and also confirm
the healing of a victim of such
disease. They are also to
enforce the sanitary laws in
order to prevent the spread of
disease.
4. Instructional and
Judicial functions: the priests
were also expected to guide
the people on the paths of
truth and justice. Besides, they
settle disputes among the
people in the Tabernacle.
5. Administration
functions: the priests were
also expected to manage the
business of the Tabernacle,
this involved accounting,
assessing the value of
Donations in various forms
and maintaining the
Tabernacles (See Lev. 22).
Sacrificial Offerings in
Leviticus
Burnt Offering (Lev. 1:1-17; 1-
13) It was the commonest of
all the sacrifices. It was
performed every morning and
evening and more frequently
on holy days. The Burnt
sacrifice was to be a male
lamb without blemish, and it
was to be made voluntary. The
blood of the animal is
sprinkled against the altar on
all sides at the entrance to the
Tent of meeting (Lev. 1:15).
The blood becomes the
means of atonement. The
surrendering of an innocent
life to death becomes a
medium of expiation. The total
burning of the sacrificial
animal represents a total
giving of one’s sacrifice to
God. It also represents the
total surrendering of the
worshipper.
Peace Offering (Lev. 3:7, 7:28-
36) The peace offering was an
optimal sacrifice. It presents a
beautiful picture of
reconciliation, making possible
communion with God. Unlike
other offerings, the one
making the peace offering was
allowed to take part of the
animal. Some part of the
animal was burnt, some eaten
by the priest and the rest
eaten by the worshipper. It
was a festive meal eaten in or
over the sanctuary. The peace
offering was one re-
establishing fellowship
between the offerer and God
and or it could also be a
thank-offering.
The Cereal or Grain offering
(Lev. 2:6, 6:14-26) The meal
offering was a gift by the
worshipper to God. It followed
the burnt offering, that is, after
God had granted forgiveness
of sins, through burnt offering,
the worshipper responded by
giving to God, some of the
produce of his farm in meal
offering.
Sin offering made atonement
for the sinful nature of
humanity. It was the first
offering in the approach to
God. Varieties of animals
(male or female) were used. It
depends on how rich the
worshipper was and the
degree of his sin. The most
distinctive feature of this
offering is the sprinkling of the
blood on the altar or the veil.
Having sprinkled some blood
upon the altar, the rest of the
blood was poured out at the
foot of the altar of burnt
offering.
Guilt Offering (Lev. 5:14-26,
6:7, 7:1-7) This is also known
as trespass or reparation
offering. It was an offering that
emphasized guilt and
restitution for sins. Only a ram
or a male lamb could be
offered as trespass offering
(Lev. 5:14ff, 14:12ff). This
choice of animal is the clear
distinction between the sin
and trespass or guilt offering.
The ram brought by the
worshipper must be
unblemished just like in burnt
offering. The blood was thrown
against the altar. The fat and
entails of the ram were burned
on the altar.
Feasts and Festivals in
Leviticus
Passover and the feast of
Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:1-
8) – These two feasts,
combining pastoral and
agricultural elements, were
observed together to
commemorate Israel’s
departure from Egypt (see Ex.
11-12).
The Feast of Weeks (Harvest)
(Lev. 23:15-21) It was
celebrated 50 days after the
beginning of Passover. It was
essentially an agricultural
celebration at which the first
fruits of the harvest were
offered to God.
The Feast of Ingathering
(Tabernacle) (Lev. 23:23-43) –
This is a festival that comes up
at the end of the fruit harvest.
While celebrating the feast of
ingathering, the people lived in
the wilderness for seven days
in shelter made of branches.
Sabbath – The observation of
the Sabbath was connected
with the completion of God’s
work of creation (Ex. 20:11),
the deliverance from Egypt
(Deut 5:15), and humanities’
simple need for rest and
refreshment (Ex. 23:13). After
the exile, the Sabbath rules
were elaborated and strictly
enforced (Neh. 13:15-22) and
their observance became one
of the outstanding features of
Judaism.
Sabbatical Year – On every
seventh year the land lay
fallow (Lev. 25:1-7) and every
fiftieth year was a Jubilee year
(Lev. 25:8-34) when debts
were forgiven and Israelite
slaves were freed.
Day of Atonement – (Lev.
16:1-34; 23:26-32) On the
tenth day of the seventh
month there was a special
annual ceremony of
confession and atonement for
sin. It was a day of national
confession and mourning. T
The Importance of the feasts
and Festivals
The different feasts and
festivals were instituted in
ancient Israel for specific
purposes. Their significance
can therefore be deduced
from their purposes. The
feasts and festivals were
conceived as an avenue to
remember what the Lord has
done for the people. For
example, in the celebration of
the Passover and feast of the
Unleavened bread the people
remembered the salvific acts
of Yahweh. This therefore
encourages them to further
acknowledge Him as the only
one capable of giving total
deliverance.
Theology and Message of
Leviticus
Leviticus is the book that
insists on keeping the body as
well as the soul holy. It
teaches that the redeemed
one must be holy, because
their redeemer is holy (Lev.
11:44-45; 19:2, 20:7, 26). The
book places much emphasis
upon personal and ceremonial
holiness. The word ‘holy’ and
derivatives occurs in the book
about 131 times. The word
clean and its derivatives occur
about 186 times.
The book of Leviticus
advocates a holistic purity.
God requires that the
Israelites present themselves
open and holy in all aspects of
their lives. Sin in any aspect of
the body equally affects the
other.
THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
The book of Numbers is also
one of the books classified as
Pentateuch. The book derived
its name from the Septuagint
(the Greek translation of the
Old Testament). Among the
ancient Jews, two titles are
used in reference to the book.
These titles are drawn from
the book’s opening verse.
Some called the book “in the
wilderness”, which is part of
1:1 describing its historical
context. While others
preferred a title focusing on its
theological content, from the
book as opening word (1:1);
“and he (the Lord) spoke”.
This sums up what the Lord
spoke and did for the Israelites
in the wilderness.
Number 1-10 God’s
Presence with Israel
The first section (Num 1-4)
opens with a census where
the people are numbered, this
is where the book gets its
name. The section continues
with laws about how the tribe
of Israel where to be arranged
in their camp.
The tabernacle was at the
centerby the priests and
Levites, aand then the twelve
tribes were neatly arranged
with Judah at the head. This is
all an elaborate symbol of how
God’s holy presence was at
the center of their existence as
a people.
Number 10-19 Rebellion in
the wilderness
Once the people leave Mt.
Sinai in Number chapter 10,
things go terribly wrong. Every
story to follow begins with a
moment of Israelite
insurrection the people
complain or rebel or grumble.
1. “and the people complained
about their hardships” (11:1).
“And the rabble among them
had greedy desires…and said
“Who will give us meat to eat?”
(11:4).
2. “Mirriam and Aaron spoke
against Moses” (12:1).
3. “And all the community
raised their voice…and
grumbled against Moses and
Aaron” (14:1-2).
4. “And Korah…with Nathan
and Abiram…with two hundred
and fifty leaders of the
community…rose up against
Moses” (16:1-3).
5. “And the entire community
grumbled against Moses and
Aaron” (16:41).
6. “And the people quarreled
with Moses” (20:3).
7. “And the people spoke
against God and Moses”
(21:5).
God’s Mercy on Israel
God tells Moses to speak to a
rock and bring out water for
the people, but Mose rebels
and oversteps his bouds
(20:10). He hits the rock twice
and says, “You rebels, must
we bring you water out of this
rock?”.
The Israelites rebel yet again
(Num 21), and God brings a
strange judgment upon them,
venomous snakes to bite the
people. From here, the people
head into the plains of Moab
(Num 22-36). The first main
part of this section focuses on
the strange figure of Balaam.
The King of Moab is disturbed
by this huge group of people
traveling through his land, so
he hires a sorcerer named
Balaam to curse Isreal. But
Balaam finds that he can’t
curse them. Three times he
tries, yet he can utter only
blessings on Israel. Balaam
fails to curse Israel, and then
God gives him a vision of a
future Israelite King who will
one day bring God’s justice to
the nations, recalling Jacob’s
promise to Judah in Genesis
49.
The story of Numbers is also
insightful for our
understanding of the fact that
the prophetic ministry is not
limited to Israel alone. It is a
story in the Old Testament that
shows that God speaks to
people in other nations as he
uses the ancient Israelite
prophets to speak to the
Israelites. However, when God
uses a person as his
mouthpiece such a person is
expected to exhibit utmost
character of integrity and
responsibility. These
characters were however
lacking in Balaam. He
sacrificed his divine
endowments on the altar of
pecuniary gains. He was
rebuked by God for his
detestable activities; however
he persisted and even led the
Israelites into idolatry (Num.
31:16). He later paid a fatal
price for his greed. (31:8). This
a lesson for us that divine
endowments and charismatic
gifts are to be exercised with
utmost care and responsibility.
Census in the book of
Numbers
Census, which is the
enumeration or counting of
people for administrative or
military purposes, is a
common phenomenon in the
ancient Near East. In the book
of Numbers, we are
introduced to the subject that
gives the book its title: census.
The Census we have in the
book of Numbers just like the
other ancient Near Eastern
cultures served three basic
functions. These are:
To know the level of
manpower, especially
available for military
purposes
Since the book of
Numbers was written in the
context of Israelite trying to
possess the Promised Land it
is expedient that they know
the number of men capable of
prosecuting the holy war.
To determine taxable
purposes
Even in the wilderness
some resources are needed to
run the machinery of
government in place. It would
therefore not be out of place to
know the number of taxable
adults (see Ex. 30:11-16).
To apportion task for people
in the community
For any society to
progress holisticallyd ivision of
labor is a necessity. In the
wilderness the Israelites had
to perform different task to
keep the community going. In
view of this it is necessary to
know the number of skilled
and unskilled professionals
available (Num. 3:4). The first
census was conducted in the
second year after the exodus
(Num. 1: 1). In this census the
first generation of Israelite
from the age of twenty and
above were enumerated. This
was perhaps done to identify
the capacity and the
manpower available for war.
The second census, which is
to also identify the number of
males of fighting age, came in
the fortieth year after the
exodus. It was to determine
the number of survivors
among the second generation
of the postexodus Israelites
(Num. 20: 1, 22-29, 33:38).
The Literary Genres In the
book of Numbers
The richness of the book of
Numbers can perhaps be
accounted for in the light of
the fact that it is made of
different literary genres.
Scholars of the book over the
years have identified a number
of genres in the book with
examples: narrative (4:1-3),
poetry (21:17-18), prophesy
(24:3-9), victory song (21, 27-
30), prayer (12:13) Blessing
(6:24-26), lampoon (22:22-35),
diplomatic letter (21:14-19),
civil law (27:1-11), cultic law
(15:7-21), census list (26:1-51)
and Temple archives (7:10-
88).
The Theology/Message of
Numbers
The theology of Numbers
revolves around the
expression of the “wrath of
God on the disobedient. The
book of Numbers therefore set
out to inspire faith and
obedience in the subsequent
descendants of the Israelites
that had the wilderness
experience. After the
deliverance of these Israelites
from Egypt, they rebelled
against God through their
disbelief in his power to deliver
them. The price of their
rebellion is the destruction of
that generation in the
wilderness. The wrath of God
was not only displayed on his
chosen people, it was equally
extended on the enemy
nations of Egypt and Canaan.
Even Moses, the chosen
leader of the people was not
spared from God’s wrath
because of disobedience.
The holiness of God Is also an
important motif that runs
through the book of Numbers.
The different narratives and
laws in the book combine to
demonstrate that Yahweh is
holy. He therefore will not want
his glory and allegiance to be
shared with other gods (25:1-
11). Yahweh could be
approached with reverence;
the people are therefore
expected to be clean not only
outwardly but also inwardly
whenever they approached
Him. The Tabernacle, the
system of priests and Levites,
the sacrifices and other ritual
observances all served to
preserve Yahweh’s holiness.
The triumph of good over the
forces of evil is also aptly
demonstrated in the book of
Numbers. This is especially
true considering the story of
Balaam. Balaam was a well-
known figure, with some
supernatural endowments. He
thought Yahweh was like any
other deity he could easily
manipulate by his magical
arts. But the encounter he had
with the Lord changed his
perspective. Instead of cursing
Israel as he has been paid to
do by Balak, King of Moab, he
rather blessed Israel and
rained curses on the
Moabites. It is the blessing of
the Lord on Israel that makes
the difference.
THE BOOK OF
DEUTERONOMY
Introduction
In the previous unit, we have
concluded our study of the
book of Numbers by looking at
some major themes recorded
therein. In this unit we shall
examine the arguments raised
concerning the composition of
Deuteronomy. We would also
look into the message and
theology of the book vis-à-vis
its influence on the
subsequent history of Israel.
Deuteronomy is the last of the
book that made up the
Pentateuch. The book does
not give second law as the
name suggests, but rather
provides an important an
important summary of the
wilderness period and
organization of the legal
material. Some scholars have
opined that Deuteronomy
should not be grouped along
with the other four books of
the Pentateuch, because its
contents reflect more of the
monarchical era and not the
time of Moses.
Composition of the book of
Deuteronomy
For many centuries, the book
of Deuteronomy is regarded
as one of those authored by
Moses. However, from the
time of Enlightenment, which
marked the birth of critical
scholarship, this position has
been seriously questioned.
You will recall that in unit 4,
where we discussed the
documentary hypothesis of the
Pentateuch, De Wette a
German scholar said the
document found in the Temple
in 622 BC during Josiah’s
reformation (2kgs.22) was
behind the composition of our
present Deuteronomy. The
people involved in the
reformation later composed
Deuteronomy based on the
document found in the Temple,
where words were put into the
Mouth of Moses, in order to
address the different problems
confronting the nation.
Moreover, the fact that
Deuteronomy also the
espoused centralization of the
worship of Yahweh is also one
of the reasons put forward to
deny the Mosaic authorship of
the book. Since the Israelites
had not settled in the land of
Canaan at the time of Moses,
it would be difficult for him to
suggest centralization of
worship. Centralization of
worship must have been a
later development in the
history of Israel when they
were facing the challenges
posed by the varied worship of
Yahweh at different centers.
The Influence of Deuteronomy
on the Subsequent History of
Israel In the opinion of some
scholars the theology of
Deuteronomy resonates in the
subsequent records of Israelite
history. The central theology of
the book of Deuteronomy is
that adherence to the
commandments of God
enhances peace and
prosperity, while a breach of
those commandments often
results in catastrophe for the
nation (Deut. 27-28).
Subsequently, the people of
Israel and their leaders were
judged in the light of this
principle.
In the book of Judges, the
people of Israel suffered
untold hardship in the hand of
their Canaanite neighbours.
The reason according to the
writer of the book is that they
neglect the commandments of
the Lord as listed and
expounded by Moses in the
book of Deuteronomy and
other sections of the
Pentateuch. Whenever the
Israelites followed after other
gods the Lord delivered them
to the hand of their enemies.
But when they realized their
faults and make the necessary
amends the Lord raised for
them a leader who would
break the yoke of oppression
cast on them. This is a
recurring pattern in the book of
Judges; this perhaps
reinforces the Deuteronomic
theology earlier enunciated
The other books that give
account of the failure
monarchical era and the
dispersion to exile in Babylon
in 587 BC also linked these
events to the failure of the
Kings and their subject to live
by the Deuteronomic codes.
Any King who lived by these
codes and keeps the
commandments of the Lord is
often portrayed as successful.
But a King that encourages
idolatry, in spite of his military
and political achievements is
often portrayed as a failure.
This perhaps was responsible
for the labeling of the books
from Joshua to II Chronicles
as Deuteronomistic history,
because they were written
from the perspective of the
theology and the basic socio-
religious principles highlighted
in Deuteronomy.
Conclusion
In this unit, you have learned
that some objections were
raised concerning Mosaic
composition of the book of
Deuteronomy, but we said the
form of the book followed the
Hittite treaty of the mid-second
millennium which points to the
fact that the book must have
been written in the time of
Moses. We also examined the
message and theology of the
book of Deuteronomy and also
explore its influence on the
subsequent history of Israel.
Summary
The fact that Moses was the
author of the book of
Deuteronomy was contested
on the grounds that the
document found in the Temple
during the Josiah’s reformation
of 622 BC was behind the
composition of our present
Pentateuch. Also the
command given by Moses that
the worship of Yahweh should
be centralized, was seen as a
backward projection of a later
development in Israelite
history. It has however been
argued that Moses adopted
the Hittite treaty composition
of the mid-second millennium
this therefore places the
composition of the book in the
time of Moses. On the other
hand the fact that the book of
Deuteronomy has been edited
cannot be ruled out. This is
evident in the record of the
obituary of Moses in chapter
34 of the book.
THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS
The book of Leviticus
is the third book of the Bible
and its set right after the
exodus of the Israelites
from the slavery when God
brought them to the foot of
Mount Sinai and invited
Israel invited Israel into
covenant relationship. Now
they had quickly rebelled
and broken the covenant.
And God had wanted for his
glorious presence to come
and live right in the midst of
Israel in the form of this
Tabernacle, but Israel’s sin
has damaged the
relationship. So, at the end
of the previous book,
Exodus, Moses as Israel’s
representative could not
even enter God’s presence
in the tent. The Book of
Leviticus opens by
reminding us of his
fundamental problem. It
says the Lord called to
Moses from the tent. So,
the question is, “How can
Israel in their sin and
selfishness be reconciled to
this holy God?” That’s what
this book is all about, how
God is graciously providing
a way for sinful, corrupt
people to live second and
explore this really important
idea that God is holy
presence. Let us explore
this really important idea
that God is holy. It’s
fundamental to
understanding this book.
The word holy means
simply to be set apart or
unique. And in the bible,
God is set apart from all
other things because of his
unique role as the creator of
all, as the author of life
itself. And so if God is holy,
then the space around God
is also holy. It’s full of his
goodness and his unjust
and sinful, wants to live in
God’s holy presence, they
too need to become holy.
Their sin has to be dealt
with. Thus the book of
Leviticus It explores the
three main ways that God
helps Israel to live in his
presence. The outer
sections are descriptions of
the rituals Israel was to
practice in God’s holy
presence. The next
intersections focus on the
role of Israel’s priests as
mediators between God
and Israel and inside of that
are two matching sections
that focus on Israel’s purity.
And then right here at the
center of the book there’s a
key ritual, the Day of
Atonement, that brings the
whole book together. The
book includes with a short
section where Moses calls
on Israel to be faithful to this
covenant. The first section
explores the five main types
of Rituals sacrifices that
Israel was to perform. Two
of these were ways that, in
Israel. Three of other more
sacrifices were different
ways of saying sorry to
God. They offer up the
lifeblood of an animal while
confessing their sin has
created more evil and death
in God’s good world. But
instead of destroying this
person, God of course
wants to forgive them. And
so this animal symbolically
dies in their place and
atones, which means it
covers for their sin. And so
through these rituals the
Israelites were constantly
being reminded of God’s
grace but also of his justice
and the seriousness of their
evil and its consequences.
The second set of rituals
lays out the seven annual
feasts of Israel. And each
of these retold a different
part of the story about how
God redeemed them from
slavery in Egypt and
brought them through the
wildrness on their way to
the promised land. And by
celebrating these feasts
regularly, Israel would
redeem who they were and
who God was to them. Now
the sections about Israel’s
priests: Aaron and his sons
first ordained to enter into
God’s presence on behalf of
Israel and then this
matching section we find
the qualifications for being a
priest. The priests were
called to highest level of
moral integrity and ritual
holiness because they
represented the people
before God but then also
represented God to the
people. Now we find out
why the priests holiness
matter so much. Back here
in this first section, right
after the family of Aaron
was ordained, two of his
sons was right into God’s
presence and violate the
rules. And so they are
consumed by God’s
holiness on the spot. It’s a
reminder of the paradox of
living in God’s holy
presence because it’s pure
goodness, but it becomes
dangerous to those who
rebel and insult God’s
holiness. And so it’s
important that Israe’s priest
become holy, which is what
the next intersections are all
about, chapter 11 through
15 are about the ritual purity
required of all the Israelites
and chapters 18-20 are
about the moral purity of the
people. Here’s what
underneath all of this purity
and impurity language.
Because God is holy, and
he’s set apart, the Israelites
need to be in a state of
holiness themselves. When
they enter into his
presence, this was called
being clean or pure. God’s
presence was off limits to
anybody who was not in a
holy state. And this was
called being unclean or
impure, by contact with
reproductive body fluids, by
having skin disease, by
touching mold or fungus, or
by touching a dead body.
For the Israelites, all of
these were associated with
mortality, with the loss of
life. Which gets us to the
core symbol of all these
ideas. You become impure
when you’re contaminated
by touching death. And
death is the opposite of
God’s holiness because
God’s essence is life. (Now
this is really key: simply
being impure was not sinful
or wrong. Touching these
kinds of things was a
normal part of everyday life
and impurity was temporary
state). The last way of
being impure was eating
certain animals. There
have been lots of theories
about why certain animals
were considered impure
and off-limits. (altogether
these work as an elaborate
set of cultural symbols that
remind Israel that God’s
holiness was to effect all
areas of their lives.
The Day of atonement
description of one of Israel’s
annual feasts. Not every
Israelite’s sin and rebellion
would covered through the
individual sacrifices and so
once a year the high priest
would take two goats. One
of these would become a
purification offering and
atone for the sins of the
people. And the other was
called the scapegoat. The
priest would confess the
sins of Israel and
symbolically place them on
this goat and then it would
be cast out into the
wilderness. Again, a very
powerful image of God’s
desire to remove sin and its
consequences from his
people so that God can live
with them in peace.
Conclusion:
The Book of Leviticus
concludes with Moses
calling Israel to be faithful to
all of the terms of the
covenant and he describes
the blessings of peace and
abundance that will result if
Israel obeys all of these
laws. He also warns them
that if they are unfaithful
and dishonor God’s
holiness, it will result in
disaster and ultimately exile
from the land promised
Abraham.
THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
The Book of Numbers
begins as the people of
Israel end their one-year
stay at Mount Sinai and
head into the wilderness on
their way to the land God
promised to Abraham. The
book’s story line designed
according to the stages of
their journey. The first
begins at Mt. Sinai (1-10),
then continues as they set
out and travel to wilderness
of Paran (10-19). From
there, they journey towards
the plain of Moab (20-36),
right across from the
promised land.
Numbers 1-10: GOD’S
PRESENCE WITH ISRAEL
The first section (Num 1-4)
opens with a census where
the people are numbered,
this is where the books gets
its name. The section
continues with laws about
how the tribes of Israel were
to be arranged in their
camp. The Tabernacle was
at the center, surrounded by
the priests and Levites, and
then the twelve tribes were
neatly arranged with Judah
at the head. This is all an
elaborate symbol of how
God’s holy presence was at
the center of their existence
as a people.
This is followed by a series
of laws that further develop
the ritual purity laws found
in Leviticus. If God’s
presence in their midst,
every effort should be made
to make the camp pure, a
place that welcome God’s
holiness.
Numbers 10-19:
REBELLION IN THE
WILDERNESS
In chapter 10, the cloud of
God’s presence lifts from
the Tabernacle and guides
Israel away from Sinai into
the wilderness.
Immediately things go
terribly wrong. In chapter
11, the people complain
about hunger and long to go
back to Egypt. And then in
chapter 12, Moses’ own
brother and sister oppose
and badmouth him in front
of all the people. Things
are not off to a good start.
The next section of the
Book of Numbers begins as
the people arrive in the
desert of Paran, about
halfway to the promised
land. God tells Moses to
send out twelve spies, one
for each tribe, to investigate
the land (13-14). When
they return, ten of them say
that there is no chance
Israel can survive because
the Canaanites will
annihilate them. And even
though two spies, Caleb
and Joshua, say God can
save them, the people are
whipped up into a fearful
rage and start planning a
mutiny to appoint a new
leader and go back to
Egypt.
God is understandably
angry, and Moses
intercedes once again and
calls upon God to be faithful
to his promises to Abraham.
God agrees, but not at the
expense of justice. He
gives the Israelites what
they want, to not enter the
land, and sentences that
generation to wander in the
wilderness for forty years
until they die. Only their
children will get to enter the
land.
In the next story, a whole
group of Levite begins a
rebellion, challenging to
Moses and Aaron S Israel’s
leaders.
Numbers 20-36: GOD’S
MERCY ON ISRAEL
As they leave the region of
Paran, things do not
improve for the Israelites.
They complain about their
thirst and ask why Moses
ever brought them to Egypt.
God tells Moses to speak to
a rock and bring out water
for the people, but Moses
rebels and over-steps his
bounds (20:10). He hits the
rock twice and says, You
rebels, must we bring you
water out of this rock?”
Moses dishonors God by
putting himself in God’s
place, receiving the same
fate as the wilderness
generation, he’ll die in the
desert and never enter the
promised land.
The Israelites rebel yet
again, and God brings a
strange judgment upon
them, venomous snakes to
bite the people. Moses yet
again intercedes for the
people, and God tells
Moses to make a bronze
snake and lift it up on a pole
so that whoever looks at it
will be healed of the poison.
It’s a strange symbol that
speaks to the challenge of
God’s covenant
faithfulness. He’s right to
bring his justice on the
people’s evil and sin, but
even his judgment is
transformed into a source of
life for those who look to
him for healing.
From here, the people head
into the plains of Moab (22-
36). The first part of this
section focuses on the
strange figure of Balaam.
THE BOOK OF
DEUTERONOMY
The Book of Deuteronomy
is the fifth book in the Bible
and the final book of the
Torah. After the Exodus
from Egypt, Israel was at
Mount Sinai for one year
entering into a covenant
with their God. And then
they had the disastrous and
trip through the wilderness
and the exodus generation
disqualified themselves
from entering into the land
promised to Abraham. And
so Deuteronomy begins
with Moses standing in front
of this new generation
explaining the Torah and its
from here that the design
and purpose of the book
unfolds. Deuteronomy is
series of speeches from
Moses where his calling the
next generation of Israel, to
be faithful to the covenant
with their God. At the
center of the book is a
collection of laws, which are
the terms of the covenant
between God and Israel.
Some of the laws are new,
but many are repeated from
the laws given earlier at Mt.
Sinai, and that’s actually
where this book gets its
name, from the Greek word
“deuteronomion” which
means “a second law”.
Now surrounding this laws
are outer sections of Moses’
speech. Each of these are
broken up into two parts
themselves. Moses first of
all summarizes the story so
far, and he highlights how
rebellious the previous
generation was in contrast
with God’s constant grace
and provision in the
wilderness and God did
bring his justice on them,
but he did not abandon his
covenant promises. After
this comes a series of very
passionate sermons where
Moses calls on this new
generation to be more
faithful than their parents
were to the covenant. He
reminds them the Ten
Commandments and then
the centerpiece of the
section is the famous line
called the Shema. Moses
says: “Listen Israel, the
Lord is our God, the Lord
alone, and you shall love
the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all of your
soul, and with all of your
might”. This become a very
important daily prayer in
Judaism and it brings all of
the themes of the book
together. So the word
“listen”, or “shema in
Hebrew, it means much
more than just to hear, its
meaning includes
responding to what you
hear, or in English we would
say obey. And the word
“love” in Hebrew also
means much more than just
an emotion or feeling, its
about a decision of
wholehearted devotion to
God that involves your will,
and your emotions, and
your heart. Now, for Israel
their obedience and
devotion to God served a
much larger purpose.
Obedience to the laws is
going to make Israel a
unique people among the
nations, just like God said at
Mt. Sinai. They’ll become a
Kingdom of priests, and
Moses now says how Israel
has the chance by following
the laws to show the whole
world the wisdom and the
justice. Of God. The other
key idea in the Shema is
that Israel was called to
obey and to be devoted to
the Lord alone, or literally in
Hebrew it says ”the Lord is
one”. In context, In context,
the point is that the Lord is
the one God Israel is to
worship and to obey.
Israel’s about to go into the
land of Canaan, where
people worship idols gods
that represent all different
aspects of creation: the sun,
the weather, or sex and war.
And in Moses’ view
worshipping these God
degrades humans and
destroys co munities, but
worshipping the God of
Israel, who’s the Creator
and redeemer that will lead
to life and blessing. And so
we come to the large
collection of laws at the
center of the book and
they’re roughly arranged by
topic, so the opening
section is about Israel’s
worship of their God. They
were to have one central
temple where one God
would be worshipped and
also God was to be
worshipped in the Israel’s
care for its poor. So for
example, all Israelites were
to set aside one tent of their
annual income to be given
to the temple, but another
tent was to be set aside
every three years and given
to the poor. And these are
the kinds of laws that put
Israel on the outing edge of
justice in comparison to
their ancient neighbors, and
it was all bound up with
their worship of God. The
next section outlines the
character qualities of
Israel’s leaders so the
elders, the priests, the
Kings, these were all placed
under the authority of the
covenant laws with God
said that he would enforce
by sending prophets to
keep the leaders
accountable. So in contrast
to Israel’s neighbors where
Kings were thought of as
divine and a law in and of
themselves Israel’s leaders
were subordinate to the law
and the prophets.
Following this is a large
section of laws about
Israel’s civil life, so rules
about marriage, and family,
and business, and also
about social justice, about
their legal system and how
it was to protect widows,
and orphans, and
immigrants. And then these
are concluded by more laws
about worship. After Moses
goes through all the laws,
he issues a final challenge
tat Israel should listen to
and love their God. He first
issues a warning, if Israel
listen to and obeys their
God everything’s gonna go
great, lots of divine
blessing, but if they don’t
listen and rebel…famine,
plague, devastation, and
ultimately exile from the
land.
And then Moses forces a
decision; he says: “Today I
set before you all life or
death, blessing or curse,
goodness or evil, so choose
life by loving the Lord your
God and listening to him”.
But then Moses says this,
he says, “I know that after I
die you’re going to rebel
and turn away from God
and end up in exile”. Which
is kind of downer, but then
again, he’s been with these
people for decades and it
becomes clear that his
hopes are not very high.
But all is not lost, Moses
says one day when Isarel is
sitting in exile, at any point
Moses says they can turn
back to their God who will,
in his words, “circumcise
your heart so that you may
love him, with all your heart
and soul and live”. Moses
ends his speech with a
poem of warning, into a
mountain and he hides.
And so the plot tensions of
the biblical story are in
place but left totally
unresolved. So, when is
the descendant of the
woman going to come in
defeat evil? Or how God
going to rescue the whole
world and bless all nations
through this family? And
how can God’s holiness be
reconciled with people who
are continually rebellious?
And how is God going to
transform the hearts of his
people? ...So that’s the
book of Deuteronomy is all
about.
Aspects of the Old
Testament thought I: God -
His many Names
______________________
______________________
_____________________
To read
FISCHER, J.A., “God”, in
Collegeville Pastoral
Dictionary of Biblical
Theology, Collegeville MN
1996, 383-386.
MCKENZIE, J.L., “Aspects
of Old Testament Thought”,
in New Jerome Biblical
Commentary, Bangalore
1999, 1284-1315 (77:1-
178). (NJBC - Specific
sections only)
______________________
______________________
___
“Give thanks to the LORD
(YHWH), call on his
name...” (Ps 105, 1a)
1) Introduction
The name indicates a
specific reality, which has
been experienced. The F.T.
records a great variety of
experiences of God and is
all geared to understand
this reality, who is God.
Therefore we find very
many names, which
underline various aspects of
the experience of God.
In the Bible there are many
different names given to the
One True God. The most
frequently used names are
YHWH, usually rendered as
Yahweh (ca. 6,800 times);
Elohim (ca. 2,600 times);
Adonai (ca. 439 times); and
El (ca. 238 times). Most of
the other names are
combinations of these
names like El Shaddai, El
Eloah, and Yahweh Elohim.
Other most commonly used
name for God in the
Hebrew Bible is Ha-Shem
(meaning “the name” which
is used in the modern
Jewish Masoretic Text
translations of the TaNaK)
and Jehovah (used in
Protestant translations).
Both are names for God
that only date back to the
Middle Ages and are not
found in the ancient texts of
Sacred Scripture.
2) ADONAI: The word
adon, in Hebrew, is
translated “lord.” God’s
name as Adonai is a form of
the word “adon” with an “ai”
ending. Adonai is used
about 439 times in the Bible
and can be translated either
as “Lord” or as “my Lord”.
Biblical scholars and
linguists, however, cannot
agree as to the meaning of
the “ai” suffix that has been
added to the Hebrew word
for “lord” (adon). Some
scholars have suggested it
indicates a plural of
majesty. In most English
translations this word is
rendered as “Lord” with the
first letter capitalized and
the other letters lower case.
Those translations that
have the word “Lord” in all
capital letters, “LORD”, are
instead indicating God’s
covenant name YHWH
(usually rendered
“Yahweh”). The use of all
capital letters denotes the
difference between the use
of Adonai and Yahweh.
(Only the New Revised
Standard Version
translation confuses the
issue by rendering Adonai
as both “Lord” and “LORD”).
3) EL and ELOHIM: The
word El is used for God
about 238 times while
Elohim is used about 2,600
times. In the Bible Elohim
has two distinct meanings.
First it is a plural form (-im
and -ot are the standard
Hebrew plural endings) of
the word “god” in the
Hebrew and the Canaanite
languages which is
rendered “el” in the singular
(when the word “el” is used
for the One True God it is
always capitalized = “El”).
An example of the first
meaning used in the plural
form can be found in Dt 5, 7
“You shall have not other
false gods [elohim] before
me.” But the most
common use of Elohim is its
second distinct meaning
when it is used as a
personal name for God or
when referring to God as
the true God among false
gods. Thus it is used in
Gen 1, 1 “In the beginning
Elohim created the heavens
and the earth…”, and also
in Jos 24, 19 “You cannot
worship Yahweh for He is a
holy god [elohim]...” There
is no explanation why the
plural form is used for the
One True God (as it is in
Gen 1, 1). However,
scholars from the times of
the Fathers of the Church
have suggested that the
plural form suggests the
mystery of the Trinity which
was hidden in the Old
Testament to be revealed in
the New.
4) YHWH: The four Hebrew
consonants that comprise
YHWH are given in
Scripture as God’s holy
Covenant name, and it is
this form of His name that is
the most frequently used in
the Bible (about 6,800
times). These four Hebrew
characters, YHWH = yod,
he, vav (v in Hebrew can
also be rendered w in
English), and he have been
called the “tetragrammaton”
or “tetragram”, meaning “the
four letter word.” Biblical
scholars do not know how
YHWH was originally
pronounced because its
original pronunciation,
which was part of the
sacred Oral Tradition of the
Jews, was lost when the
Temple in Jerusalem was
destroyed in 70AD.
Throughout history God’s
Old Covenant people
treated God’s name with
great reverence, declaring it
too holy to be spoken aloud.
Speaking God’s Covenant
name was restricted to the
priests worshipping in God’s
Temple in Jerusalem, and
so with the destruction of
the Temple His holy
Covenant name was no
longer spoken and the
correct pronunciation of the
name was lost. The
rendering of YHWH as
“Yahweh” is a modern
conjecture (first suggested
in the 16th century by
Biblical scholar Gilbert
Genebrard, professor of
Hebrew at the College
Royal in Paris) but which
has been accepted by
Biblical scholars today as
the most likely rendering.
You will find this rendering
in the Catholic New
Jerusalem Bible translation.
In other translations,
following what became the
Jewish custom, YHWH is
rendered as LORD (for
example in the Catholic
Revised Standard and New
American Bible translations
as well as in most
Protestant Bible
translations). This became
a custom from the time of
the 3rd century BC when
the ancient Jewish scholars
translated the Hebrew Bible
(Old Testament) into the
Greek translation known as
the Septuagint. They
replaced the Sacred Name
YHWH with “ho Kyrios” or
“the Lord.” In the modern
Jewish TaNaK YHWH is
rendered as Hashem (or
ha-Shem, meaning in
Hebrew, “the name”) or as
Adoshem, which is a
contraction of Adonai and
ha-Shem.
But what does the
tetragrammaton YHWH
mean? Biblical scholars
have been arguing about
the meaning of YHWH for
centuries. Since biblical
names generally have a
discernible meaning,
scholars have believed that
YHWH can be reasonably
translated. Based on
etymology and context most
scholars have agreed that
YHWH is an archaic form of
the verb “to be” (in Hebrew
hawah) and should be
translated “I am who I am or
I will be who I will be.” This
meaning contextually fits
the passages in Ex 3, 13-
15a: “Moses then said to
God [Elohim], ‘Look, if I go
to the Israelites and say to
me, “What is his name?”
what am I to tell them?’
God [Elohim] said to Moses,
‘I am [YHWH] he who is.’
And he said, ‘This is what
you are to say to the
Israelites I am [YHWH] has
sent me to you…’” Which
agrees with Ex 3, 6 “I am
the God of your
ancestors…” and Jesus’ I
AM statements in the fourth
Gospel i.e. “In all truth I tell
you, before Abraham ever
was, I AM.” (Jn 8, 58).
5) JEHOVAH: The Biblical
reference to God as Yehova
(Jehova) spelled out with
Hebrew characters first
appeared in the Middle
Ages (c. 800AD). At that
time Jewish scholars (called
the Masoretes) translated
the Greek translation, of the
(Old Testament) Bible back
into Hebrew and added
vowel points to the Hebrew
language (which had
originally only been written
with consonants). Since that
time, Hebrew Bible
manuscripts have inserted
the vowels from Adonai
within the tetragrammaton,
YHWH, as a reminder that
readers should say “Adonai”
instead of the sacred name
which “must not be spoken.”
The pronunciation of
“Jehovah” was unknown
until 1520 AD, when a
biblical scholar named
Galatians introduced it. This
pronunciation was
contested by other scholars
as being against
grammatical and historical
propriety. However, when
Protestant scholars began
their vernacular translations
(into their common
languages) of the Old
Testament using the Jewish
Masoretic translations, they
also mixed the four
consonants of YHWH
(JHWH in German) with the
vowels of Adonai in the
mistaken belief that this was
the correct pronunciation of
the Sacred Name and from
then on YHWH appeared in
Protestant Biblical texts as
“Jehovah”. This rendering
is most frequently used in
the King James Version
translations as in, “Let them
be put to shame, and
perish: That men may know
that thou, whose name
alone is Jehovah, art the
most high over all the earth”
(Ps 83, 18). Modern
scholars do not recognize
this form as a legitimate
name for the Hebrew God
and dismiss it as a
misreading or
mispronunciation.
6) OTHER NAMES OF
GOD: The following is the
list of some of the above
mentioned names of God
and more others found in
Sacred Scripture as well as
their meanings and some of
the passages in which they
are found:
• Elohim = “God”
(plural) as in the Creator,
Gen 1, 1“In the beginning
God (Elohim) created the
heaven and the earth.”
• El Elyon = “God
(singular) Most High”, Gen
14, 18-20 “And Melchizedek
king of Salem brought out
bread and wine; now he
was a priest of (El Elyon)
God the Most High. And He
blessed him and said,
'‘blessed be Abram of God
Most High, possessor of
heaven and earth; and
blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your
enemies into your hand."
• El Roi = “God Who
Sees”, Gen 16, 13-14 “Then
she called the name of the
LORD who spoke to her,
‘You are a (El Roi) God who
sees’; for she said, ‘Have I
even remained alive here
after seeing Him?’
Therefore the well was
called Beer-lahai-roi (well of
the living one who sees
me.”
• El Shaddai = “God
Almighty” or “God the All-
Sufficient One”; the
etymology is so ancient that
Biblical scholars do not
agree on the meaning of
this name. Gen 17, 1-2 “I
AM El Shaddai. Live in my
presence, be perfect, and I
shall grant a covenant
between myself and you,
and make you very
numerous. And Abram
bowed to the ground.”
• Yahweh = found in
Scripture as the consonants
YHWH, known as the
“tetragramaton” is God’s
holy Covenant name. The
letters form a word or
words from the verb “to be”
and most scholars translate
it as “I AM who I AM or I will
be who I will be”, or “the
Self-Existent One”: Ex 3,
13-14, “Moses said to God,
‘Look, if I go to the Israelites
and say to them, The God
of your ancestors has sent
me to you, and they say to
me, ‘What is His name?’
what am I to tell them?’
God said to Moses, ‘I AM
He who is. Tell them that I
AM who I am sent you.”
(Yahweh)
• Adonai = “Lord”, Ex
4, 10-12 “Then Moses said
to the LORD, ‘Please Lord, I
have never been eloquent,
neither recently nor in time
past, nor since you have
spoken to your servant; for
I am slow of speech and
slow of tongue. And the
LORD said to him, ‘Who
has made men’s mouth?
Or who make him dumb or
deaf, or seeing or blind? Is
it not I, the LORD?’” note:
LORD, all in capital letters
is a substitution out of
reverence for God’s
covenant name “Yahweh”.
• Yahweh-jireh = 31, 12 “And Yahweh spoke
“Yahweh will provide” or “I
AM will provide”. Gen 22,
11-14 “But the angel of the
LORD called to him from
heaven and said, ‘Abraham,
Abraham!’ And he said,
‘Here I am.’ And he said,
‘Do not stretch out your
hand against the lad, and
do nothing to him; for now I
know that you fear God,
since you have not withheld
your son, your only son,
form Me.’ Then Abraham
raised his eyes and looked,
and behind him he saw a
ram caught up in the thicket
by his horns; and Abraham
went and took the ram, and
offered him up for a burnt
offering in the place of his
son. And Abraham called
the name of that place
(Yahweh jireh) The LORD
WILL provide, as it is said to
this day: On the Mountain
Yahweh provides.”
• Yahweh-rapha = glory?
“Yahweh who heals”, Ex 15,
26 “If you will give earnest
heed to the voice of Yahweh
your God and do what He
regards as right, if you pay
attention to His
commandments and keep
all His laws, I shall never
inflict on you any of the
diseases that I inflicted on
the Egyptians, for I am
Yahweh your Healer
(Yahweh rapha).”
• Yahweh–nissi = •
“Yahweh My Banner”, Ex
17, 16 (after winning a
battle with God’s
assistance) “Moses built an
altar, and named it
(Yahweh-nissi) Yahweh is
My Banner…”
• Yahweh-
mekoddishkem = “Yahweh
Who Sanctifies You”, Ex
to Moses, saying, ‘But as
for you, speak to the sons
of Israel, saying, “You shall
surely observe My
Sabbaths; for this is a sign
between Me and you
throughout your
generations, that you may
know that I am (Yahweh-
mekoddishkem)Yahweh
who sanctifies you…”
• Yahweh-shalom =
“Yahweh is Peace”, Jgs 6,
22-24 “He said, ‘Alas, my
Lord, Yahweh! Now I have
seen the Angel of Yahweh
face to face ‘Yahweh
answered, ‘Peace be with
you; have no fear; you will
not die.’ Gideon built an
altar there to Yahweh and
called it (Yahweh-shalom)
Yahweh is peace.”
• Yahweh-sabaoth =
“Yahweh of Hosts”, Ps 22,
10 “Who is He, this king of
(Yahweh-saboath)
Yahweh of Hosts, He is the
king of glory.” Ps 46, 7
“Yahweh-sabaoth is with us;
the God of Jacob is our
stronghold.” Note: the
“hosts” are the army of
angels who serve God.
• Yahweh-raah =
“Yahweh Shepherd”, Ps 23,
1 “(Yahweh royi) The LORD
is my shepherd; I shall not
want.”
Yahweh-tsidkenu =
“Yahweh Our Justice”, Jer
23, 5-6 “Look, the days are
coming, Yahweh declares,
when I shall rise an upright
Branch for David; He will
reign as king and be wise,
doing what is just and
upright in the country. In his
days Judah will triumph and
Israel live in safety, and this
is the name He will be
called (Yahweh-tsidkenu)
Yahweh-our-saving-justice.”
• The God of our
father/s - This is the most
common expression used to
refer to God in Genesis (cf
Gen 26, 24; 31, 53; 46, 1-3;
49, 25). It is taken up again
in Ex 3, 6. He was the type
of God not attached to any
sanctuary, who revealed
himself to the ancestors of a
group, and who
accompanied and protected
the group that was faithful
to him.
7) SOME OTHER USEFUL
REFERENCES
1. The Jewish Book of
Why, Alfred J. Kolatch,
Jonathan David Publishers,
Inc. 1995
2. Bible Review (August
2003): “Why God has so
Many Names” by Bernhard
Lang (Old Testament and
religious studies, University
of St. Andrews, Scotland &
Professor of Catholic
Theology, University of
Paderborn, Germany).
3. Dictionary of the
Bible, John L McKenzie,
editor (Simon & Schuster,
1995).
4. Vincent’s Word
Studies in the New
Testament vol II, Martin R.
Vincent, D.D., Union
Theological Seminary,
(Hendrickson Publishers).
5. The Brown-Driver-
Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, R. Brown, S.
Driver, and C. Briggs,
(Hendrickson Publishers,
2002).