A friend of mine asked me to help him understand the Old Testament. He’s reading it, but he wanted a framework for thinking about its individual parts, the 39 books that make up the Old Testament. Here are two different perspectives on the big picture of the Old Testament.
The first is a framework for thinking about its construction–how we got the books that we got. The second is a framework for thinking about its meaning or spiritual significance. In each successive age, God revealed new things about His plan for the world.
Construction of the Old Testament
- The first major period of construction of the Old Testament was in the lifetime of Moses. He described how Israel became a nation and gave them a constitution for the religious and political life of the divinely chosen nation. You find this material in Genesis-Joshua.
- The second major period was the establishment of the Monarchy under David and Solomon. David built the temple to replace the portable tent for God’s worship. He then wrote and compiled songs for temple worship. We call these “psalms,” a word that really just means “songs.” Solomon wrote a significant amount of what is called the wisdom literature, applying God’s wisdom to all of life. You can read the history of this period in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel and the first part of 1 Kings. The wisdom literature of Solomon is found in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.