Understanding

the
Old Testament
a narrative summary

by
David Nichols

2008
BookSurge Publishing
 PREFACE:
THE BIBLE IS A STORY
The Bible has been called “the world’s least-read best-seller.” In
a lifetime of studying and teaching the Bible, I’ve heard
countless people say they wish they knew what the Bible said.
Some say they were never taught the Bible. Others say they’ve
read the Bible for years, but still feel clueless about much of it.
The fact that the Bible is difficult to understand should not
surprise us. After all, it consists of 66 separate books chronicling
a period of over 2,000 years and reflecting the impact of
Sumerian, Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman and
other cultures. It is considerably longer than virtually any other
book people might consider reading, and it was originally written
in Hebrew and Greek, with Aramaic showing up in a few places.
No wonder people find the Bible hard to understand no matter
what method they use to read it.
• Some read the Bible sequentially, determined to make
it from beginning to end with a “through-the-Bible-in-
a-year” guide. By the end of January, such readers will
have read Genesis and the first part of Exodus only to
encounter instructions for building a Tabernacle. Next
comes Leviticus with details on burnt sacrifices and
lengthy descriptions of what is to be considered clean
and unclean. Only the most faithful are able to make it
through February.
• Some read the Bible thematically, aided by a Bible
study guide. There are many such books that follow a
common format: every topic has a number of
sentences, each with one or more missing words to be
filled in by looking up a verse of the Bible. Those who
write such studies make sure that students learn from
the Bible exactly what they are supposed to learn.
Little attention is paid to the context of the verse and
the student is rarely encouraged to struggle with the
text or reflect on what it might mean.
10 | UNDERSTANDING THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Some read the Bible mysteriously, hoping to tease out

hidden meanings from some rather obscure passages in
the writings of the prophets. The past two centuries
reveal multiple examples of people who thought they
could determine exactly how and when the world
would end. Although none of these speculations has
come to pass, there are still plenty of people who keep
trying to explain what comes next.
• Some read the Bible aggressively, looking for any
ammunition they can find to use against those who
disagree with them. The problem with this approach is
that the Bible can be used to prove all kinds of things.
The notorious atheist, Madelyn Murray O’Hair, told a
group of students at Harvard, “Don’t quote the Bible
thinking it proves your point because you can make the
Bible say anything you want.” She went on to give
some outrageous examples of what the Bible “proves.”
The portions of Scripture she used were taken out of
context, of course, but no more so than preachers
throughout history have done to justify slavery, male
superiority, capital punishment, war, racial prejudice,
and a host of other things. Interestingly, Ms. O’Hair
was so rude, crude and frequently obscene in her
remarks that one Harvard student was overheard
saying, “She sure makes it hard to be an atheist!”
• Some read the Bible devotionally, looking for verses
that are comforting or inspirational. This often works
well, but ignoring context can sometimes yield strange
results. Consider the example of the man who opened
the Bible randomly to find his ‘verse of the day,’ and
came to Matthew 27:5: “Judas went out and hanged
himself.” Deciding that wouldn’t do, he opened his
Bible again, this time to Luke 10:37: “Go, and do
likewise.” Figuring that the third time would be the
charm, he opened it once more and found John 13:27:
“What you are about to do, do quickly.”
 PREFACE | 11

The problem with all of these approaches is that they inevitably

miss the big picture by not understanding that the Bible is a
story. It isn’t a massive collection of propositional truths to be
studied, memorized, and brought out as needed. Neither is it a
compilation of secret writings that, if properly deciphered, reveal
the deep mysteries of God. The Bible tells the story of God
acting in the world to restore creation to its original purpose
after people had made a real mess of things. Reading the story
helps us understand who God is, who we are, and what our
relationship with God and each other is supposed to be.
This book tells the first part of that long story in summarized
form in order to grasp the big picture of the Old Testament. A
sequel to this book will do the same for the New Testament.
The chapters that follow describe how God called Abraham and
promised that his descendants would be a blessing for the entire
world. Following centuries in Egypt as slaves and decades of
wandering in the wilderness, the “children of Abraham” entered
the Promised Land. For the next 200 years they were a
disorganized collection of twelve tribes occasionally brought
together by a ruler who rallied them to defeat their enemies. The
tribes were united as a nation for less than 100 years under David
and Solomon. Civil war followed with the northern kingdom,
Israel, lasting 200 years before being conquered and dispersed by
the Assyrians. The people of the southern kingdom, Judah, were
taken into captivity by the Babylonians 130 years after that.
Following more than 50 years in exile, the next generation of
Jews was sent back to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple – tasks
that took another century to complete.
This is the point at which the Old Testament ends, but it is by no
means the end of the story. Many who read the Old Testament
and then the New Testament come away with the impression that
they are reading two different stories – one about a God of
wrath, and the other about a God of love. Such perceptions are
partly due to people being unaware of what took place during the
400 years that separate the Old and New Testaments. The
epilogue in this book covers that period of history in a way that
12 | UNDERSTANDING THE OLD TESTAMENT

shows the connection between the two. Without that essential

information, much of what we see in the New Testament makes
little sense.
It is a bit like watching a movie: miss the first half and you’ll
struggle to understand the rest. The Old Testament provides the
context for what Jesus says and does. Understanding the Old
Testament may not be easy, but it is important.
This book is a narrative summary written from the perspective of
the Old Testament era and the centuries that followed until the
birth of Jesus. Passages later understood to be about Jesus are not
interpreted as such here. For instance, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53
powerfully capture the suffering of Jesus, but no one before
Jesus understood these passages to speak of a Messiah.
I am tempted to say this book is only a summary of the Bible
with no interpretation added, but such a claim would be naïve.
Every time we quote the Bible our subjectivity comes through, if
only by the choice of which passages we choose to quote and
which we choose to ignore. My understanding of what the Bible
says has given shape to and been shaped by my spiritual journey.
My childhood was spent in a conservative American Baptist
church where I memorized many Bible verses, but understood
few. During high school, I drifted from whatever faith I might
have had earlier, but came back to faith at Harvard University
through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ and Inter-
Varsity Christian Fellowship. After college, I went to Northern
Baptist Theological Seminary where I fought hard to defend an
evangelical faith that I barely understood against what I thought
were the godless attacks of critical authors we were required to
read. Even though years of teaching and preaching have allowed
me to study the Bible intensively, I feel that I’m only beginning
to grasp much of the Bible’s message. I’ve had a lot to learn, and
a lot to unlearn. I still do.
I have sought to stay close to the biblical text in this book, and
have done little to show the relevance of what the Old Testament
says to contemporary life. Such a task is beyond the scope of this
 PREFACE | 13

book and is the responsibility of each reader. Questions at the

end of each chapter, however, are provided to assist readers in
connecting the story of the Bible to the story of our world today.
Readers may find it particularly rewarding to find others who
would read this book and discuss the questions. A boxed 1
number refers to a related question at the end of the
chapter.
With the exception of a few transitional sentences added here
and there for continuity, everything in the chapters that follow is
based on the Bible. I had originally thought to footnote each
sentence to show its source, but decided this would be too
cumbersome for the reader. Therefore each paragraph is
footnoted to show the passages from which it originates.
Although the nature of this book does not lend itself to citing
other writings, I have certainly been influenced by the various
authors of the New Interpreters’ Bible.1 I am also particularly
indebted to N. T. Wright for The New Testament and the People
of God,2 which has given me an appreciation of how Jews in the
first century would have understood the Hebrew Scriptures.
In terms of the miraculous events described throughout the Old
Testament narrative, it is my hope that skeptical readers will
withhold judgment on whether such things are possible, and
simply let the story unfold. Avoiding disputes about the six days
of creation, Jonah being swallowed by a whale or Elisha’s
floating axe might make it easier for you to grasp the story of the
Bible as a whole. It may even allow the story of the Bible to
grasp you – a possibility that could alter your perspective on the
nature of miracles.
My intention in writing this book is that those who read it will be
more likely to read the Bible – and more likely to understand

1
New Interpreter’s Bible; Leander A. Keck, editor (Nashville, TN:
Abingdon Press, 1994)
2
The New Testament and the People of God: Christian Origins and the
Question of God; N. T. Wright (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg
Fortress Publishers, 1992)
14 | UNDERSTANDING THE OLD TESTAMENT

what they read. My prayer is that this will happen in the pages
that follow.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments you
have regarding Understanding the Old Testament: A Narrative
Summary. My website is:
www.utotbook.com