OT201 Old Testament Genres
Overview
Professor John Walton guides students through the types of literature in the Old Testament. Beginning with narrative and continuing through prophecy, apocalyptic literature, wisdom literature, and the Psalms, this course explains how to best read and understand the Old Testament. Students should walk away with a strong interpretive framework through which they can grapple with the Old Testament, and guides students into asking broader questions about the overall purpose of the Old Testament and God’s revelations throughout it.
Top Highlights
“So the authority of the text is not found in turning it into metaphor.” (source)
“We should think of the law as giving us a guide to holiness, because holiness has always been the intention of the law.” (source)
“Basically, the message of the book of Ecclesiastes, to begin with, is that it takes away from you all of these various quests for self-fulfillment. Instead of trying to give you an alternative way to formulate this quest for self-fulfillment, it wants to encourage you to abandon that quest entirely. It’s not just a matter that you have to change that which you are seeking to gain fulfillment and meaning in life. It’s rather that you should stop thinking about the quest to achieve meaning and fulfillment in life. In fact, that life is not about fulfillment and finding the meaning of life.” (source)
“The ot is God’s invitation to hear His story, to know Him, to want to know Him more deeply, and to enter into a growing relationship with Him, and we have to keep that in mind as we read each aspect of the ot.” (source)
“When we think about wisdom in the ancient world context, the word that should come to mind—and this is not necessarily intuitive for us—the word that should come to mind is ‘order.’ That is, for them wisdom reflects the ability to perceive order and to pursue order in every aspect of life. We’ll note that in Wisdom literature, creation is a common theme. The connection is that creation is the establishment of order. God has established order in the cosmos, He’s established order in society, He’s established order at every level of human existence, and perceiving that order and pursuing that order is what’s involved in the pursuit of wisdom. Wisdom and order go together.” (source)
- Title: OT201 Old Testament Genres
- Author: John H. Walton
- Series: Logos Mobile Education
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Print Publication Date: 2014
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Courseware
- Subjects: Bible. O.T. › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Education
- Resource ID: LLS:OT201WALTON
- Resource Type: Courseware Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T04:57:52Z
Dr. John H. Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, spent 20 years teaching at Moody Bible Institute.
In his college years, he developed a passion for archaeology and Bible history. Instead of training to be an archaeologist, though, he focused his attention on studies comparing the culture and literature of the Bible and the ancient Near East. He has never lost his fascination with this subject, but comparative studies only provide one of the means by which he tries to get people excited about the Old Testament. He’s saddened by how little exposure to and understanding of the Old Testament many Christians have, but he’s passionate in doing whatever he can to remedy this spiritual and theological loss.
For 25 years, Dr. Walton was active at South Park Church in Park Ridge, Illinois—teaching at every level, from adults through preschool. He’s driven by the desire to offer people a greater familiarity with God’s Word and a greater confidence in understanding God’s revelation of himself in its pages. Since moving to Wheaton, he has gotten involved in the same areas of ministry at Glen Ellyn Bible Church.
Whether in teaching or writing, he’s constantly challenged in his own life because the material he’s presenting stretches him as much as it stretches his students and readers. Whatever he’s writing or teaching also has a way of infiltrating his family. His wife, Kim, was trained as a biochemist, which made for interesting dinner conversations—especially when he was working on his Genesis commentary. His three kids have often gotten involved in the discussions, and he’s had fun responding to them and seeing his family grow together.