To understand the writings included in the Old Testament, we must bear in mind that they are predominantly an expression of the religious life of the ancient Hebrew people. In this respect, they must be distinguished from writings that are primarily scientific or historical in the secular sense in which these terms are used. Modern scientists and historians have as their main objective an accurate description of the way in which events occur. Whether these events are related to some divine purpose or merely illustrate the sequence of their occurrence is not for historians to say; they neither deny nor affirm any divine activity. But this passive stance is not true of the Old Testament authors, who begin with the assumption of a divine being whose character and purpose are disclosed, at least to some extent, in the course of human events. With this assumption, they write for the specific purpose of pointing out the divine element as they see it illustrated in the historical process. In this respect, the real significance of their writings is to be understood, and to judge the value of the Old Testament account of events on the sole basis of either scientific or historical accuracy is a mistake. The individual books of the Old Testament were written with a different objective in mind, which does not mean that the narratives in the Old Testament have no historical value at all. They are recognized, even by secular historians, as one of the most reliable sources available for reconstructing the history of the Hebrew people. But as source materials, they must be evaluated in the same way as any other source material. The greatness of the writings lies in another area: in the disclosure, or revelation, of the divine element in history, along with the moral and religious lessons that are derived from it.
It has long been customary to regard the books of the Bible as the revealed word of God. Speaking of them in this way is justified provided that one understands the meaning of revelation. Important to remember in this connection is that revelation is always and necessarily a two-way process that involves both a giving and a receiving. We may appropriately think of the giving as the divine element and the receiving as the human element. However perfect the source of divine revelation may be, the human understanding of it is necessarily limited and subject to error, which is not to say that divine wisdom can never be imparted to human beings at all, but it does mean that the reception of this wisdom must take into account the limitations that belong to human understanding.
