To understand the Old Testament, it is necessary to have some familiarity with the history of the people who wrote it. Judaism is a historical religion, which means that the ideas associated with it were disclosed to the Hebrew people through the concrete events that occurred in that part of the world where they lived during the centuries in which the Old Testament was in the making. A detailed account of the entire history of the Hebrew people would go far beyond the scope of this present study; however, a brief outline of some of the major high points in that history will be sufficient for our purpose.
While it is true that the books of the Old Testament begin with an account of the creation of the world, we must bear in mind that the narratives dealing with such topics as the Creation, the Garden of Eden, the Fall, the Great Flood, and other events related in the Book of Genesis were never intended to be regarded as an accurate historical account of the entire world process. None of these accounts appeared in written form until after the Hebrews had settled in the land of Canaan, west of the Jordan River, which did not take place prior to the ninth century B.C. Obviously, the stories that one finds in the early chapters of the Book of Genesis, as well as those that have to do with the activities of the patriarchs, who were believed to have lived before the time of the Exodus from Egypt, were not written by eyewitnesses of the events that were recorded. Neither were they written by people who lived during the times about which they wrote. Not until after the men who eventually wrote the narratives had reflected on the events connected with the history of their people was any attempt made to record these events or to set forth their meanings. When this recording was done, the interpretations necessarily reflected the perspective from which they were written.
The beginnings of Hebrew history are obscure and cannot be known with certainty. It is generally believed that the people from whom the Old Testament eventually emerged came from a group of Semitic tribes known as the Habiru. These tribes inhabited the region referred to as the Fertile Crescent, a strip of land lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and stretching southward for some distance in the direction of Egypt and the Nile River. They are known to have moved about in this territory as early as 2000 B.C. Eventually, some of these tribes migrated to Egypt and lived there for some time, probably for three or four centuries. Apparently, they were initially welcomed by the Egyptians, for the Hebrew colony grew and prospered. But their numbers increased to the extent that the Egyptians became alarmed lest their own security become endangered. An Egyptian pharaoh, in order to protect his people against any further advances on the part of the Hebrews, inaugurated a program of harsh measures toward the newcomers, forcing them into a condition of servitude and slavery. This situation is referred to in the Old Testament as the period of Egyptian bondage. In connection with this period of oppression, we first learn of Moses and his role in bringing about the deliverance of his people. Under his guidance and leadership, the Hebrews were able to leave the land of Egypt—the Exodus—and journey to new territory, where they were to make their home.
The Exodus from the land of Egypt, usually dated as 1250 B.C., marked the turning point in the history of the Hebrew people and enabled them to become a separate nation. It was to this event that the great prophets and teachers of later generations always referred when they recounted the way in which their god—known to them as Yahweh—so graciously dealt with them. The Exodus was followed by a period of wandering in the wilderness, after which the various tribes now known as the Israelites established themselves in the land of Canaan. Those who had emerged from bondage in Egypt were then united with other tribes that had not been involved in the Egyptian oppression, and together they formed the nucleus from which the Hebrew state came into existence.
Although the literature that is now included in the Old Testament did not begin to appear until after the settlement in the land of Canaan, it was only natural that the history of the people should be projected back into the period that preceded the migration into Egypt, for a relatively large number of stories and legends had been handed down orally from one generation to another. Although there are good reasons for believing that these stories grew out of actual experiences, the narratives cannot be regarded as authentic history, nor can we place the same reliance on them as we do on the accounts of events that occurred after the settlement in Canaan. Accordingly, biblical scholars customarily refer to the period that preceded the migration to Egypt as the Age of the Patriarchs, or the prehistoric era of the Hebrew people.
After leaving Egypt, the Hebrews are said to have spent forty years wandering in the wilderness prior to their entrance into the land of Canaan. The number forty is generally understood to represent a relatively long period of time rather than an exact number of years. Although the settlement in Canaan is described in two widely differing accounts, we can be fairly certain that it required a considerable number of years before the new settlers obtained full possession of the land. During this time, the various tribes were organized into a confederacy, and judges were appointed to rule over the people. In theory at least, these judges were governed by Yahweh, who communicated directly with them. This theocratic government came to an end when the people demanded a king, and Saul was chosen to head the newly formed monarchy. He was succeeded by David, and after David, Solomon, who was the last ruler of the united kingdom. After Solomon’s death, the kingdom was divided. Ten tribes revolted and formed what came to be known as the northern kingdom, or the Israelite nation. Because the tribe of Ephraim was the largest and most influential of this ten-tribe group, the new unit of government was frequently referred to as the Ephraimite kingdom. The two tribes that did not revolt became the southern, or Judean, kingdom.
The two separate kingdoms existed until about the year 722 B.C., when the northern kingdom was overrun by the Assyrian empire. The people were taken into captivity, and their national existence came to an end. The southern kingdom continued until 586 B.C., when it was conquered by the Babylonians, and a large portion of the Hebrew people were forced to live in exile. The Babylonian exile lasted for more than a century but finally came to an end when permission was given to the Hebrews to return to their own land. The Hebrews rebuilt the city of Jerusalem, restored the Temple and its services, and organized their state along lines that had been laid down by the prophets and priests of the exile. But the restored state never enjoyed the peace and prosperity that was anticipated. Internal difficulties arose, the land was troubled with drought and pestilence, and the danger of attack from surrounding states never diminished.
The close of the Persian period and the death of Alexander the Great brought about a new set of circumstances most unfavorable to the Hebrews. Egypt and Syria were two rival powers, each struggling for supremacy over the other, and the Jewish nation became a buffer state between them. Toward the latter part of the second century B.C., the Maccabean wars, launched by Antiochus of Syria, brought extreme suffering to the Jews and threatened complete destruction of their state. Fortunately, the Jews were able to survive this crisis. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus and his successors, they were able to regain the land that was taken from them and once again become free and independent. However, this situation did not last very long, for the Roman government ultimately conquered the region.
Some of the more important events and accomplishments in these successive periods of Hebrew history may be summarized briefly as follows.
The Prehistoric Period
This period is recounted in the stories and legends preserved by the Hebrews as a vital part of their cultural heritage. Narratives concerning the Hebrew ancestors enabled later generations to establish continuity with the great traditions of the past. To what extent these stories record actual events that took place we have no way of knowing, nor does it matter a great deal. The important thing about them is the way in which the ideals of a later age are reflected in them. Because the historical period of Hebrew activities begins with the Exodus from Egypt, we can say only that the stories about what happened prior to the Exodus provide a record of what later generations believed to have taken place, although we do have good reasons for thinking that these accounts were originally based on actual events.
