To help readers to grow in their understanding and appreciation of the 46 books of the Old Testament, I have written 140 articles at three levels – each level drawing one more fully into God’s word as revealed in the Old Testament.
The bishops at Vatican Council II affirm that the books of the Old Testament “give expression to a lively sense of God,… [his] sound wisdom about human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers and in them the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way. Christians should receive them with reverence” (Dei Verbum 15).
While the above statement is true, all of us who have read parts or all of the Old Testament know that this task can be quite a challenge. We may wonder:
- Is the Adam and Eve story in Genesis 1-2 to be taken literally?
- What is the purpose of those long genealogical lists? Did ancient people live for hundreds of years (Genesis 4)?
- What are we to make of difficult verses like: “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 4:21) —which would make God the author of evil?
- What relevance does a book like Leviticus (a whole book on worship rituals) have to our lives?
- Why did God order the leaders of Israel to slay whole villages of people—men, women and children (Joshua 6:8)?
- Why are most of the prophetic writings filled with “woes” and “denunciations”?
- How did the Song of Songs make it into the Canon of the Old Testament, a book which never mentions God and which contains many erotic images?
These are only a few of the questions or challenges facing the reader of the Old Testament.
To help readers to grow in their understanding and appreciation of the 46 books of the Old Testament, I have written 140 articles at three levels – each level drawing one more fully into God’s word as revealed in the Old Testament.
Level One: A series of short articles on each of the 46 books of the Old Testament that contains, a brief description of the book’s contents, division of chapters and suggested texts or passages to read.
Level Two: A series of 15 articles that gives a deeper introduction to the four main sections of the Hebrew Books of the Bible: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Prophetic Books and Wisdom Writings.
Level Three: A series of 80 articles that offers a commentary on each of the 46 books of the Old Testament. Some commentaries are more extensive than others. Here the reader can expect to receive some light on questions like those raised above and much more.