Posts by Old Testamentor

One problem that comes up in connection with in our study of the Old Testament is the problem of the Deuteronomists. Webster defines the word “Deuteronomist” as follows: “Any of the writers or editors of a Deuteronomic body of source material often distinguished in the earlier books of the Old Testament.” If that definition leaves you knowing no more than you did before you read it, you are not alone. First, note that the word comes from the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Pentateuch in the Old Testament. The word Deuteronomy actually means “Repetition of the Law.” The book of Deuteronomy primarily comprises three discourses supposedly given by Moses. The second discourse is in chapters 5 through 26. Chapters 5 through 11 contain the Ten Commandments and a practical explanation of them. Chapters 12 through 26 contain what is referred to at the Deuteronomic Code―a code of laws forming the basis of the entire book. It represents the law as interpreted by the 7th Century B.C.E historians, the Deuteronomists. When the temple was being renovated for reopening under the direction of King Josiah of Judah, about 621 B.C., a book of the law was discovered by the workers that became the basis of a great spiritual reawakening. Most scholars believe that the book found was likely the book of Deuteronomy and that the Deuteronomic Code now in that book was either revised extensively, or was actually written, by the historians of the time (those who are now called Deuteronomists) to suit their own interpretation of the law. Many people also believe that these Deuteronomists revised other parts of what is now our Old Testament. The popular theory is that what exists today in the books of Joshua through 2 Kings is mostly the result of Deuteronomic revisions. When you look carefully at the situation, it seems curious that the Old Testament contains no writings of some of the greatest prophets―prophets such as Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha. Many believe that the writings of these prophets were revised by the Deuteronomists to give us writings about them. There is also another Deuteronomic issue that relates to me and to my Old Testament stories in the book How Often Would I Have Gathered You. The issue is this: It is believed that in the original Old Testament writings, both Elohim and Jehovah were separately and distinctly identified. That being true, it is believed that the Deuteronomists obscured the distinction between the two in order to support their own beliefs. If this is true, the Deuteronomic revisions have a significant effect on my Old Testament stories. As I wrote my stories, I changed the Old Testament term “the LORD” (with “Lord” in small caps), as used by the King James translators to identify “Jehovah,” back to Jehovah in an attempt to clarify. Some of these changes, however, may in fact be―and likely are―incorrect. If the Deuteronomists are right, some should probably have been changed to Elohim, but it is impossible to tell. The scope of the work of the Deuteronomists, if in fact there really were Deuteronomists, is hard to discern, though scholars have studied it extensively. The scholarly study of the issue is intricate and complicated. It is not something that most of us who read the Old Testament for spiritual uplift want to worry about or get involved with. Considering all that the Old Testament has been through in the process of getting it to us, most of us are content to have it as it is, as good as it is. If we can get a little help with comprehension without becoming overly concerned about what the Deuteronomists changed and how they changed it, we still have a priceless treasure. For those interested in pursuing the study of the Deuteronomists further, I recommend a book by Thomas Römer entitled The So-Called Deuteronomistic History: A Sociological, Historical and Literary Introduction (London: T&T Clark), 2007 [ISBN 9780567032126].   The Old Testament: understand it, love it!   © 2013 Val D Greenwood—all rights...

There is much in the Old Testament that is difficult to understand, and because of the significant amount of repetition (especially the repetition of things that often seem unimportant or even irrelevant—such as the “begats,” the naming of the mighty men, and the division of the promised land among the tribes of Israel). There is also much that is tedious and much that seems strange. Sometimes the messages of the Old Testament seem irrelevant and remote from our times. Sometimes, in fact, it seems to us that all God wanted to do was punish His people, and punish them severely. There was indeed a lot of punishing going on—or so it seems. The extent of the punishment is put in a little better perspective when we realize that the Old Testament covers 4,000 years and that most authors tend to record those things that seem to be out of the ordinary—either because they are unusually good or unusually bad. Also, there are some things—especially some of the punishments—that just do not make sense to us. These things are there, and we have to deal with them in our minds one way or another. And sometimes that is not easy. We can get a better perspective, however, if we remember that what we are reading in the Old Testament is not giving us all the details about what happened. I believe that when the day arrives in the eternal worlds when you and I have access to all the facts surrounding what seem to be outlandish stories, our concerns about those events will be greatly diminished. It is safe to say, I believe, that the message of the Old Testament is not: “If you goof up you will be destroyed.” If the God of the New Testament is a loving God, as the record attests, then He was also a loving God in the Old Testament. He does not change, for, as he says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” (Malachi 3:6) Amidst all the carnage reported by those who kept the records, there are some marvelous themes that permeate the Old Testament canon. I would like to discuss four of the most significant themes. They are: The then-future coming and great redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. The great love of Jehovah for His people in spite of their sins and His willingness to forgive them if they turn to Him. The scattering of Israel (or Diaspora) The latter-day gathering of Israel from the four corners of the earth to the land of their inheritance and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. You might disagree with the sequence I have chosen, but all four of these messages are both relevant and prevalent in the Old Testament.   The then-future coming and great redemptive mission of Jesus Christ   I will not attempt to be exhaustive in my coverage of this subject, for there are many relevant scriptures. However, I want to use sufficient scriptures to properly illustrate the point. I shall first look at prophecies concerning the mission of Christ. Then I will point out some of the many events and persons in the Old Testament who were types and shadows of Christ. Prophecies of Christ’s coming: Moses: Perhaps the best-known Old Testament prophecy concerning the future mission of Jesus Christ was spoken by Moses and is found in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19. Because the children of Israel were afraid to come into Moses’ presence on Mt. Horeb (Sinai) Moses told them: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken,” Then the Lord, responding to Moses’ prophecy, said that He would… “raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee [i.e., Moses], and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Peter: In Acts 3:22 in the New Testament, the Apostle Peter—while preaching repentance unto the Jews for rejecting Jesus as their Savior—said: “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as...

Many people in today’s world are skeptical of the Old Testament and want little to do with it because they believe that the vengeful and cruel Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, stands in sharp contrast to the God they read about in the New Testament. Most of these naysayers believe this only because either someone told them it was so or they read it somewhere—and not because they have actually read the Old Testament. And a scant few of these Old Testament deniers realize that Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, was our premortal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Certainly, there are examples in the Old Testament where Jehovah seems to punish disobedience much more harshly than the infractions seemed to deserve. A notable example is the case of Achan, a man from the tribe of Judah, who (along with his family and all that he owned) suffered the ultimate punishment because Achan took spoils from the city of Jericho contrary to Jehovah’s commandment. Achan’s punishment is described in Joshua 7:24–25: “And Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan… and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor… And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire…” Another example is found in 2 Samuel 24 (the same account is also in 1 Chronicles 21) that tells of  Israel being smitten with three days of pestilence, at the cost of 700,000 lives, for an infraction committed by King David that we do not even understand completely. And we could point to many other examples. I offer no explanations for any of these reported Old Testament events except to say that you and I do not understand everything—at least I don’t. But I cannot help feeling that something has been lost from the scriptural account of these incidents—they seem to be incomplete in some way that is critical to complete understanding. Thus, I truly believe that when the day comes, in the eternal worlds, when we know all the facts, we will understand these events differently than we do now. That having been said, I think it is also useful for us to look at the other side—at those cases where Jehovah’s love and His willingness to forgive are patently obvious but are seldom brought up in discussions of Jehovah’s attributes.  Old Testament examples of God’s love and His willingness to forgive Near the end of Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness, Moses explained to the people how much God loved them, how He had blessed them, and how He would continue to bless them if they would also love Him and keep His commandments: For thou art an holy people unto the Lord [Jehovah] thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:6–9). Does that not give us a marvelous insight into God’s love for his children? During the dark days after the kingdom of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians and Judah was gravely threatened by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, Jehovah, through His prophets, pleaded mightily with the people to repent so He might deliver them from oppression. Two such cases are found in the book of Ezekiel. In both cases, Jehovah instructed Ezekiel exactly what to tell the people. The first example says: Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore...

Many people today view the Old Testament with a great deal of skepticism. Some believe that parts of the Old Testament are deeply flawed and fall far short of the truth. There are also many who reject the Bible in its entirety—both Old and New Testament—because they do not believe in God. Some others believe that many of the Bible’s stories are myths that have been preserved to teach us gospel principles, but that the stories of the Old Testament have little basis in fact. Most of us also know people who believe the Old Testament may have some truth in it, but that it is not relevant to our times because, as they say, everything in the Old Testament message was superseded by the New Testament. Many believe that even the Ten Commandments are out of date—that today they can, at best, be considered as “ten suggestions.” Another point of view relates to the fact that we have the Bible today courtesy of the Jews, a people known for their ancient myths, many of which were nothing more than legends, superstitions, and folklore. The Talmud, for example, which includes many strange and unusual accounts, was developed from centuries of Jewish oral tradition and written to help the people understand the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh). The Tanakh consists of three parts: the law (or the Torah), the prophets (Nebiim), and the writings (Kethubim). Some so-called authorities believe that the Talmud was just an extension of the writings in the Tanakh and that the Old Testament writings, especially the early chapters of Genesis, are the true beginning of Jewish mythology. And certainly there are other variations of belief on this issue. There are many reasons why people neglect the Old Testament. On the other hand, many other people believe the Bible is perfect and infallible. They claim that God’s hand so carefully shepherded the writing, preservation, compilation, translation, and transmission of the scriptural text that every word must be considered as the absolute word of God. The Latter-day Saints take the position that the Bible is the word of God “as far as it is translated correctly” (Article of Faith 1:8). The word “translated,” as used here, seems to mean much more than rendering the text from one language to another, but rather the whole process that brought the Bible from its ancient originators down to us. As one looks carefully at various Bible translations, it is apparent that there are errors in the text, as well as some significant differences between the various translations. There are also contradictions when the same story is told by two (or three) different Biblical authors. One example of an error is in 2 Samuel 21:8. Here it is clear, from the known facts, that King Saul’s second daughter Michal was named when it should have been her elder sister Merib. The scripture mentions the five sons of Michal “whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai.” The error in this verse becomes obvious when we consider that Michal had no children and it was Merib who was married to Adriel. Many other examples of errors could be cited. Another significant point is that the Old Testament has to do with the not-so-ancient Hebrew language texts from which all modern translations have been made. In the First Century AD, when the scriptural canon was finally set, there were no Hebrew texts in existence—only the Greek Septuagint texts. Sensing the significance of this problem, scholars in the Third Century took the Greek Septuagint Bible, which was created five centuries earlier, and translated it back into Hebrew. And, as if the problems of translating were not enough, consider also that the Hebrew language of the Third Century AD was very different from the Hebrew language of the Third Century BC. It is truly amazing—perhaps nothing short of a miracle—that there are not many more problems than there are. God surely had a hand in this. Another important thing to consider is that many Old Testament stories are told with the use of symbolism, a practice well known in the prophecies. An excellent example of this is the story of the Creation. The Creation story is a true story. God did indeed create the earth and all the things on its face. He also created mankind in His own image and likeness from the dust (i.e., the elements) of the earth. There is no doubt about the actuality of the Creation, but the Biblical account tells the story with the use of symbolism. God, apparently, has not seen fit, or has not found it to our advantage, to share with...

You will recall the Apostle Paul’s statement that the Law of Moses was a “schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” (see Galatians 3:24). That is a great description of the law. It was given to the children of Israel to help them understand the reality of Christ’s future coming and atonement and to prepare their hearts for those events. Virtually every facet of the law pointed them to Christ. Jacob, the Book of Mormon prophet, stated the matter plainly when he said, “Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end has the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.” One problem you and I face as we read the Old Testament is that we have trouble seeing past the words and the complicated procedures, which seem to have little relevance in the modern world, to the richly symbolic message of Christ that is contained therein. But, whether we see it or not, the message is there. To illustrate this point, let’s discuss just one small facet of the law of Moses—that part which relates to the cleansing of lepers, keeping in mind that the same vistas can also be opened up in other parts of the law—for, truly, “all things” do indeed testify of him. The ritualistic instructions relating to the cleansing of lepers under the Law of Moses are found in Leviticus chapter 14. In that chapter, Jehovah explains to Moses in some detail how the leper, whose plague has been healed, must proceed to gain readmittance into the congregation of Israel. As you read the requirements of this procedure, think of the healing of this physical ailment as if it were the healing of a spiritual ailment (we call it sin) and the workings of the Atonement of Christ become apparent in that process. My discussion of these points is based on two separate explanations of this process. One of these explanations is found in a chapter written by Gerald R. Lund (chapter 2, “Old Testament Types and Symbols”) in a book by Neal A. Lambert entitled Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft and BYU Religious Studies Center, 1979). The other is in a book entitled Gospel Symbolism by the late Joseph Fielding McConkie (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft Publishers, 1985). Let’s look at the scriptures themselves, a few verses at a time, analyzing them as we go. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying 2. This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest. 3. And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of the leprosy be healed in the leper; The leprosy itself, the loathsome disease in the infected person, represents sin and corruption. It causes the sinner to be separated from the fellowship of the rest of Israel. The healing process actually begins as the one who has sinned recognizes his sin and stops the plague. At this point, he recognizes that he is in need of the healing power available through priesthood authority. It can do for him what he cannot do for himself. To begin the healing process, he seeks that priesthood authority in order to be cleansed from his sin. 4. Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet [woolen thread], and hyssop: 5. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running [or fresh] water: 6. As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet [woolen thread], and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running [or fresh] water. 7. And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. 8. And he that is cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. Both of these birds  represent the leper (or the repentant sinner), and two birds are needed because of the two...