302 Historical Books of the Old Testament

Level 3 Course

This course deals with the ‘Pre-exilic Historical Books’ of the Old Testament and we hope that by the end you will have a good knowledge of the contents and teaching (theology) of these books.

We also introduce biblical criticism: ways of dealing with problems that arise from the text itself: textual, literary and historical questions. We have no interest whatsoever in biblical criticism as a hobby for scholars; our aim is to be able to understand the Bible better. We shall find, however, that scholars can help us in this. Often they will challenge us to do some hard thinking.

Our third – and ultimately most important - concern is the question of how to interpret passages of Scripture for today. We hope you will see the value of the methods we have introduced as you apply them in Week 10 to the Book of Ruth.

This is a 10 Block course

 

Additional Resources

View or download a sample lesson from this course.

Sample Lesson

Historical Books of the Old Testament Contents

  • 1 Joshua 1-4. Textual Criticism

    2 Joshua 5-8. Historical and Literary Criticism

    3 Joshua 9-12. Form Criticism

    4 Joshua 22-24. Biblical Criticism. Survey

  • 1 Joshua in Context

    2 Joshua and Archaeology: Matching the Evidence

    3 How did the Israelites get to Canaan?

    4 Joshua: the Theological and Moral Problem

  • 1 Joshua and Hermeneutics: 1

    2 Joshua and Hermeneutics: 2

    3 Joshua: Choosing a Commentary

    4 The Theology of the Book of Joshua

  • 1 Judges 1-3 and 17-21. History in Judges

    2 Judges 4-9. Historical Background

    3 Judges 10-16. Revision and Practice

    4 The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

  • 1 Samuel and Kings. The Ark

    2 1 Samuel: Prophetic Traditions

    3 The History of the Rise of Saul

    4 1 Samuel 16-31. Wanted: David the Son of Jesse

  • 6: THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL

    1 A Survey of 2 Samuel 1-12. The Succession

    2 A Survey of 2 Samuel 13-20. Joab

    3 Samuel’s Appendix

    4 Parables in the Old Testament

  • 1 1 Kings 1-2: From David to Solomon

    2 Solomon’s Reign: Good Signs and Bad

    3 The Kingdom Splits: 1 Kings 12-22

    4 1 Kings 12-22: Kings and Prophets

  • 1 Kings of Judah. Supernatural Power

    2 Prophecy: True, False and Conditional

    3 Elijah and Elisha

    4 Survey of 2 Kings. Josiah’s Law Book

  • 1 Joshua to Kings: The Nations Around Israel

    2 Joshua to Kings: The History of Israel

    3 The Composition of Joshua to Kings

    4 The Theology of the Former Prophets

  • 1 Ruth: Content and Clarification 

    2 Ruth: Composition and Date

    3 Ruth’s Theology

    4 Listening to Ruth Today

TIMEFRAME

The course consists of 10 blocks, which can be studied across 20 weeks, fortnightly, but this can be adapted to local needs.

COURSE COST

£70, or like a cost of a coffee and a sandwich a week.

If you would like to discuss this course further, or if you would like to find a local study group, please contact us

Level 3 CourseMatt DohertyOld Testament