Page 3 - Advanced OT Survey Revised

Advanced Old Testament Survey

Kennedy Daniel Banda, M.A.B.E. & Kris Bjorgen, Ed.D.

Chapter 1: Understanding the Bible and the Old Testament

Connect

If you are in a court of law in the US, before a witness shares what he has seen, he is asked to promise
that what he is about to share is the truth, the whole truth, so help his God. A Bible is placed in front of
him, and he must put one hand on the Bible and raise the other hand toward heaven, as a symbol that
He is not only swearing truthfulness before man, but before God. The Bible is used because it is
considered a book from God. It is called the Word of God. Since we cannot see God, we place our hand
on His book which symbolizes His presence in the courtroom. The judge wears a robe as a symbol of
God’s representative to bring justice in the case.
However, in today’s world, the Bible, while the most sold book in the world, is being challenged as being
God’s Word. Skeptics says it is a bunch of nice stories, but not authentic. The miracles it speaks about
never really happened. It is just a collection of fairy tales which perhaps encourage mankind to become
nicer to one another. Is that all the Bible is? Or is it really a divine book sent from God to give us hope
for eternity? Let’s find out…

Objectives

1. The student should be able to discuss the overall scope of the Bible.

2. The student should be able to explain how the Bible can be trusted despite some opposing
viewpoints.

3. The student should be able to discuss the pre-eminence of Christ in the Bible and the Old Testament.

4. The student should be able discuss how the Old and New Testaments connect.

What is the Bible and what is it about?
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The Bible is a collection of books that have been considered authoritative by the Christian church and
have been used to determine its beliefs and customs. In its entirety, the Bible consists of sixty-six books,
which were written by more than forty different authors. Jerome, the Latin vulgate translator called the
Bible, “bibliotheca divina”, which means divine library. All the Bible authors had a unique background.
For example, some were farmers like the minor prophet, Amos. Others included but not limited to
priests (Jeremiah and Ezekiel), a States man (Daniel), Fishermen (Peter and John), prophets (Isaiah and

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