Old Testament

Although the Old Testament presents many historical, literary and theological challenges, addressing these from an historical perspective can bring new insights.

Historical books

Pentateuch

The Documentary Hypothesis provides the best opportunities for historical study of the first five books of the Bible, despite the difficulties it appears to place in the way some Christians. If we are open to a new way of looking at this Hypothesis, most of those difficulties will be seen to disappear.

Akkadian source

J Source

E Source

P Source

Deuteronomy

Historicity of Joseph

Ezra – Final Editor

Pre-Abrahamic stories

The pre-Abrahamic stories in Genesis can best be understood as myths, not as history, and were understood as such by their original authors. We should not be afraid of approaching this matter in this way.

Creation in Genesis

Atrakhasis and Noah

Joshua and the conquest of Canaan

Judges – early rulers in Israel

A literary culture

The invention of a written Hebrew script, around the time of King David (ca. 1000 BC), led to the flowering of Israelite culture. Once the old stories were written down, new forms of expression could be developed, such as found in the psalms and in the wisdom literature that flourished under King Solomon.

Psalms as history

Solomon’s wisdom