Survey of the Old Testament

by John H. Walton

Overview

Students of the Old Testament may not know everything they need to know, but they do know there’s a lot they need to know! Whether studying for exams or delving into Old Testament Scripture, students need critical information at their fingertips. Instead, it’s usually scattered throughout textbooks, self-made crib sheets, and sticky-notes on their computer monitor. Now there’s a better way! The Zondervan Get an A! Study Guides to A Survey of the Old Testament is a handy, at-a-glance study aid ideal for last minute review, a quick overview of the textbook, or as an aid in Old Testament study. This set contains six information-packed sheets that are laminated and three-hole-punched, making them both durable and portable. The study guide is tied to A Survey of the Old Testament by Andrew Hill and John Walton.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310273189
Publisher:	Zondervan Academic
Publication date:	06/28/2007
Series:	Zondervan Get an A! Study GuidesSeries Series
Edition description:	Laminated sheet
Pages:	6
Product dimensions:	8.56(w) x 11.31(h) x 0.06(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John H. Walton (Ph D, Hebrew Union College) is professor emeritus of Old Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Old Testament Today, with Andrew E. Hill; volumes on Job and Genesis in the NIV Application Commentary series; the Lost World series; and Old Testament Theology for Christians. He was also coeditor, with Craig Keener, of the ECPA 2017 Bible of the Year winner, the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible.

Read an Excerpt

A Survey of the Old Testament

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By John H. Walton

Zondervan

Copyright © 2007 John H. Walton
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-27318-9

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Chapter One

I. BACKGROUND

A. Maps of Israel and Ancient Near East

B. Hebrew Language and Writing

Hebrew is a Semitic language and is related to many of the languages that were used in the ancient world. Unlike Akkadian cuneiform, it is alphabetic rather than syllabic (i.e., each sign is a letter rather than a syllable). It is written from right to left using only consonants. A system of marks above and below the consonants was developed during the first millennium AD to fill in vowels and thus preserve the pronunciation of what was at that time a dying language.

C. Ten Key Bridges to the Ancient Near East

* Enuma Elish-Babylonian praise hymn to their chief God, recounting his ascension to the head of the pantheon. Dates to about 1200 BC and contains an account of creation

* Gilgamesh-Epic from second millennium BC that records the exploits of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and his companion, Enkidu, and ultimately the king's search for immortality. Includes an account of a devastating flood that destroyed humanity

* Treaty/Covenant-Hittite treaties from second millennium BC and Assyrian treaties from first millennium that use a literary format similar to that which the Old Testament uses for the covenant

* Ugaritic Texts-Archive from 13th century BC that provides literary texts that would have been familiar to the Canaanites of the Judges period

* Sumerian Proverbs-Several collections of proverbial sayings that date back to a millennium before Solomon and often deal with topics similar to biblical Proverbs

* Egyptian Instructions-Wisdom literature offered as instruction from a father to his son to prepare him for life and often for rule

* Neo-Assyrian Royal Inscriptions-Record of the activities of the Assyrian kings that provides many details illuminating the Old Testament historical context

* Atrahasis Epic-Akkadian text from early in second millennium BC that has an account of creation, followed by population growth and then a flood that destroys the human race

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from A Survey of the Old Testament by John H. Walton Copyright © 2007 by John H. Walton. Excerpted by permission.
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