Old Testament Survey Series: The Books of History

by James E. Smith

Publisher:

College Press

, 1995

Overview

The focus of this volume is on the so-called historical books of the Old Testament. Though much biblical history is contained in the Pentateuch, the bulk of the history of Israel as a nation is contained in the twelve books beginning with Joshua. These books relate the history of God's interaction with his people from the time they entered Canaan about 1407 BC to the reforms instigated by Nehemiah about 432 BC. This survey proceeds from the general to the specific. The opening chapter is an overview of the twelve books as a collection. The collection is then subdivided into three parts according to the period of history which each relates. The first three books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth) are the pre-monarchy books. The three double books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles narrate the history of the monarchy. The last three (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther) cover the post-monarchy era. Each of the three parts has its own introductory chapter. The translation of Scripture is that of the author unless otherwise indicated. Sixty-two charts and seventeen maps combine to make this volume of the Old Testament Survey Series a valuable resource.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Second, he blamed Samuel: You (the pronoun is emphatic in the Hebrew)” (Page 279)

“Eli was the high priest of the nation as well as a Judge” (Page 247)

“godly woman through whom he would bring a great reformer into the world” (Page 248)

“Saul before him, is divided by the author into a ‘before and after’ pattern, with David’s great sin with Bathsheba being the watershed event (2 Sam 11). Before the sin David enjoyed God’s blessing (cf. 2 Sam 5:12). After the sin David was under a divine curse (cf. 2 Sam 12:11ff.” (Page 234)

“From Samuel’s point of view Saul’s reign was a disaster from the outset. God had punished his people for their premature and worldly-motivated request for a king by giving them exactly the kind of king they had requested.” (Page 234)

Product Details

• Title: The Books of History
• Author: James E. Smith
• Series: Old Testament Survey Series
• Publisher: College Press
• Print Publication Date: 1995
• Logos Release Date: 2001
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. Historical books › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. O.T. Historical books › History of Biblical events; Bible. O.T. Historical books › History of contemporary events; Bible. O.T. 1 Chronicles › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. 1 Kings › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. 1 Samuel › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. 2 Chronicles › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. 2 Kings › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. 2 Samuel › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Esther › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Ezra › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Joshua › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Judges › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Nehemiah › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Ruth › Commentaries
• Resource ID: LLS:29.2.4
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-08T01:43:10Z

About James E. Smith

Biblical scholar James E. Smith is chairman of the Division of Biblical Studies at Florida Christian College. He received his undergraduate and seminary training at Cincinnati Bible Seminary and earned a PhD at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Dr. Smith Has served congregations in Ohio and Kentucky. For 13 years he was professor of Old Testament at Cincinnati Bible Seminary.