Old Testament Survey

Description
Curriculum
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Description:

This course is designed to be a “survey” of the Old Testament. While doing so, it will serve as an introduction to the Bible, its history, the various versions, and the basic principles to follow when interpreting it. Special emphasis will be placed on the Pentateuch and the other early historical books of the Old Testament, particularly with regard to Israel’s history from Abraham through the exile and the return. The Old Testament Messianic Prophecies will be highlighted as well.

Objectives:

That the student might realize the importance of Genesis 1-11 in understanding what is taking place in our world today;
That the student might develop a “thirst” for the Old Testament, for ancient world history that correlates to the times and Theology of the Old Testament, and evidence of that thirst by engaging in continued personal study of the Old Testament;
That the student might seek to develop him/herself in Old Testament study by finding the Bible relationship to the Lutheran Confessions and to other theological and devotional writings;
That the student might learn to be able to apply the Old Testament Scriptures, particularly the Psalms to his/her own daily life and work;
That the student might learn to be able to apply the Old Testament Scriptures to the lives of others, and be able to utilize the Old Testament and its concepts in the process of teaching and evangelizing others.

Goals: Students will –

be exposed to and be encouraged to remember the location of important and well-known passages from the Old Testament (particularly Messianic prophesies),
have a working knowledge of the chief personages appearing on the pages of the Old Testament,
recognize principal cities and provinces of the Holy Land and the ancient world and be able to located them on a map,
Outline every book of the Old Testament and understand the general flow of Old Testament history (particularly the Messianic “thread”),
grasp the names of the books of the Old Testament in their order. Will know the five major divisions of the Old Testament and be able to place the books into their proper division and will be learn/understand the principal thought of each of the books.
have a basic understanding of the 4000 +/- years of OT history with the ability to place the major events on an overall timeline related to the secular history of that era.

Note:
Course Participants will be given a Pre-test during the first session and a Post-test during the final session to establish the extent of learning and understanding gained during the Seminars. These tests will be vital; however, they will not be used in the final grade for the course. 5. Texts and Materials: The student will need the following –

Purchase Old Testament Survey (second edition) aka “OTS”
Order ASAP for reading assignments
Authors: Lasor, Hubbard, Bush
Publisher: Wm B. Eerdmans
ISBN: 978-0-8028-3788-2
Purchase Halley’s Bible Handbook, Author: Henry H. Halley, Deluxe Edition,” Publisher: Zondervan, ISBN-13: 978-0-310-25994-7
Note: There is now a LCMS alternative text book on the Old Testament. It could be an important addition to your professional library. It was written by Andrew E. Steinmann and is available from Wipf and Stock Publishers of Eugene, Oregon. The ISBN number is 1-59752-553-7 with the title: Called to Be God’s People – An Introduction to the Old Testament.

Access to:

CPH’s new The Lutheran Study Bible (ESV), 2009 Missouri Synod is using this as its unofficial version or
Access to Concordia Self Study Bible (NIV)
Access to the Holy Bible (NIV or English Standard)
Ability to access Internet OT and NT Bible land maps or have a good hard copy resource such as Hammond’s Atlas of the Bible Lands (another good atlas you may wish substitute for it)
Internet access to Paul E. Kretzmann’s Commentary at www.kretzmannproject.org

Pre-Course Self Assessment