Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber's Notes: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.

OUTLINE STUDIES

IN

THE OLD TESTAMENT

FOR

BIBLE TEACHERS

By

JESSE L. HURLBUT, D.D.

NEW YORK: EATON & MAINS
CINCINNATI: JENNINGS & GRAHAM

Copyright, 1905, by
EATON & MAINS

PREFATORY

THIS book has been prepared at the request of the New York State Sunday School Association, through its Normal Committee. The desire was expressed for a teacher-training course to include two years in the Bible: one year upon subjects contained in the Old Testament, taking the historical point of view, and presenting with the history the lands and the Israelite people, their institutions of worship; and a second year upon the New Testament, following the same plan.

Those who have studied "Revised Normal Lessons" and "Studies in Old Testament History" will find most of these "Outline Studies" familiar; for it has not been my purpose, as it was not the desire of the committee, to furnish a series of new lessons, but to have the subjects of Old Testament study brought together in one volume. Each subject, however, has been studied anew, and the results of recent knowledge, especially in the chronology, have been incorporated in this revision. At the request of the committee new lessons on "The Old Testament as Literature" and "How We Got Our Bible" have been added.

It is my earnest desire that through these studies the Bible may be better understood and more thoroughly taught by the Sunday school teachers of our land.

JESSE L. HURLBUT.

South Orange, New Jersey,
September, 1905.

CONTENTS

PAGE
PREFATORY 3
I. THE OLD TESTAMENT WORLD 7
II. OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 12
III. THE BEGINNINGS OF BIBLE HISTORY 21
IV. THE WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS 26
V. INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAELITE WORSHIP 33
VI. THE LAND OF PALESTINE 41
VII. THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 46
VIII. THE AGE OF THE HEROES 51
IX. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITE EMPIRE 57
X. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 63
XI. THE TEMPLE ON MOUNT MORIAH 69
XII. THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 75
XIII. THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH 81
XIV. THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH 84
XV. THE JEWISH PROVINCE 92
XVI. THE OLD TESTAMENT AS LITERATURE 99
XVII. HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE 104

Outline Studies in the Old Testament

FIRST STUDY

The Old Testament World

The Bible is primarily a book of history, and without some knowledge of its historical contents no one can rightly understand its revelation of divine truth. But in order to know the history contained in the Old Testament we must obtain a view of the lands in which that history was wrought. We therefore study first of all the =Old Testament World=.

I. =Location and Extent.= The history of the Old Testament was enacted upon a field less than half the area of the United States. It extended from the river Nile to the lands east of the Per'sian Gulf and from the northern part of the Red Sea to the southern part of the Cas'pi-an. The world of Old Testament history was thus 1,400 miles long from east to west and 900 miles wide from north to south, and it aggregated 1,110,000 square miles, exclusive of large bodies of water.

II. Let us begin the construction of the map by drawing upon its borders =Six Seas=, four of which are named in the Old Testament.

1. The =Cas'pi-an Sea=, of which only the southern portion appears in the northeastern corner of our map.

2. The =Per'sian Gulf=, south of the Cas'pi-an, on the southeast.

3. The =Red Sea=, on the southwest (Exod. 15. 4; Num. 33. 10; 1 Kings 9. 26).

4. The =Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an Sea=, on the central west. Note its names in Josh. 1. 4 and Deut. 34. 2.

5. The =Dead Sea=, north of the eastern arm of the Red Sea (Gen. 14. 3; Deut. 4. 49; Joel 2. 20; Ezek. 47. 18).

6. =Lake Chin'ne-reth= (ch pronounced as k), the name in the Old Testament for the Sea of Gal'i-lee (Num. 34. 11; Josh. 13. 27).

III. Next we indicate the =Mountain Ranges=, most of which, though important as boundaries, are not named in the Bible.

1. We find the nucleus of the mountain system in =Mount Ar'a-rat=, a range in the central north (Gen. 8. 4). From this great range three great rivers rise and four mountain chains branch forth.

2. The =Cas'pi-an Range= extends from Ar'a-rat eastward around the southern shore of the Cas'pi-an Sea.

3. The =Za'gros Range= extends from Ar'a-rat southeasterly to the Per'sian Gulf, which it follows on the eastern border.

4. The =Leb'a-non Range= extends from Ar'a-rat in a southwesterly direction toward the Red Sea. Mount Her'mon, the mountain region of Pal'es-tine, Mount Se'ir, on the south of the Dead Sea, and even Mount Si'nai, all belong to this chain (Deut. 3. 25; Josh. 13. 5; 1 Kings 5. 6).

5. The =Tau'rus Range=, from Ar'a-rat westward, following the northern shore of the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an.

IV. The =Rivers=, for the most part, follow the lines of the mountain ranges.

1. The =A-rax'es=, from Ar'a-rat eastward into the Cas'pi-an Sea, may be taken as the northern boundary of the Old Testament world.

2. The =Ti'gris=, called in the Bible _Hid'de-kel_, flows from Ar'a-rat, on the southwestern slope of the Za'gros mountains, in a southeasterly direction into the Per'sian Gulf (Gen. 2. 14; Dan. 10. 4).

3. The =Eu-phra'tes=, the great river of the Bible world, rises on the northern slope of Ar'a-rat, flows westward to the Tau'rus, then southward, following Leb'a-non, then southeasterly through the great plain, and finally unites with the Ti'gris (Gen. 2. 14; 15. 18; Josh. 1. 4; 24. 2).

4. The =Jor'dan= flows between two parallel chains of the Leb'a-non range southward into the Dead Sea (Gen. 13. 10; Num. 22. 1; Judg. 8. 4).

5. The =Nile=, in Af'ri-ca, flows northward into the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an Sea (Gen. 41. 1; Exod. 2. 2).

V. The Old Testament world has three =Natural Divisions=, somewhat analogous to those of the United States.

1. The =Eastern Slope=, from the Za'gros mountains eastward to the great desert.

2. The =Central Plain=, between the Za'gros and Leb'a-non mountains, the larger portion a desert.

3. The =Western Slope=, between Leb'a-non and the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an Sea.

VI. We arrange the =Lands= according to the natural divisions, giving locations, and not boundaries, as these changed in every age.

1. On the eastern slope lie:

1.) =Ar-me'ni-a= (Rev. Ver., "Ar'a-rat"), between
Mount Ar'a-rat and the Cas'pi-an Sea (2 Kings 19. 37).

2.) =Me'di-a=, south of the Cas'pi-an Sea (2 Kings 17.
6; Isa. 21. 2).

3.) =Per'sia=, south of Me'di-a and north of the
Per'sian Gulf (Ezra 1. 1; Dan. 5. 28).

2. In the central plain we find:

(_a_) Between Mount Za'gros and the river Ti'gris:

4.) =As-syr'i-a=, on the north (2 Kings 15. 19; 17. 3).

5.) =E'lam=, on the south (Gen. 10. 22; 14. 1).

(_b_) Between the rivers Ti'gris and Eu-phra'tes:

6.) =Mes-o-po-ta'mi-a=, on the north (Gen. 24. 10;
Deut. 23. 4).

7.) =Chal-de'a=, on the south (Jer. 51. 24; Ezra 5.
12).

(_c_) Between the river Eu-phra'tes and the Leb'a-non
range:

8.) The great desert of =A-ra'bi-a= (2 Chron. 17. 11;
26. 7).

3. On the western slope we find:

9.) =Syr'i-a=, extending from the Eu-phra'tes to
Pal'es-tine (2 Sam. 8. 6; 1 Kings 22. 1).

10.) =Phoe-ni'cia=, a narrow strip between Mount
Leb'a-non and the sea, north of Pal'es-tine.

11.) =Pal'es-tine=, "the Holy Land," south of Syr'i-a
and north of the Si-na-it'ic wilderness. Note its
ancient name in Gen. 12. 5.

12.) The =Wilderness=, a desert south of Pal'es-tine,
between the two arms of the Red Sea (Exod. 13. 18;
Deut. 1. 19).

13.) =E'gypt=, on the northeast corner of Af'ri-ca
(Gen. 12. 10; 37. 28).

VII. In these lands out of many =Places= we name and locate only the most important.

1. =E'den=, the original home of the human race,
probably at the junction of the Ti'gris and
Eu-phra'tes (Gen. 2. 8).

2. =Shu'shan=, or Su'sa, the capital of the Per'sian
empire, in the province of E'lam (Esth. 1. 2).

3. =Bab'y-lon=, the capital of Chal-de'a, on the
Eu-phra'tes (Gen. 10. 10; 2 Kings 25. 1).

4. =Nin'e-veh=, the capital of As-syr'i-a, on the
Ti'gris (Gen. 10. 11; Jonah 3. 3).

5. =Ha'ran=, a home of A'bra-ham, in Mes-o-po-ta'mi-a
(Gen. 11. 31).

6. =Da-mas'cus=, the capital of Syr'i-a, in the
southern part of that province (Gen. 15. 2).

7. =Tyre=, the commercial metropolis of Phoe-ni'cia
(Ezek. 27. 3).

8. =Je-ru'sa-lem=, the capital of Pal'es-tine (Judg.
1. 8).

9. =Mem'phis=, the early capital of E'gypt, on the
Nile (Hos. 9. 6).

Other names of places might be given indefinitely, but it is desirable not to require the student to burden his memory with lists of names, and therefore the most important only are given.

Hints to the Teacher

Have a good blackboard for the map drawing, and see
that each scholar is supplied with a tablet or pad of
paper.

1. Let the teacher first draw on the board in presence
of the class the boundaries of the _Seas_, and require
the class to draw them also on tablet or pad, holding
the pad so that its longest side will be from right to
left. Inspect each pupil's design, and see that it is
fairly correct, but do not seek for finished drawing.
A rough sketch is all that should be desired.

2. Next draw the lines representing _Mountain Ranges_,
and require the class to do the same. Review the names
of the Seas, and also of the Mountain Ranges.

3. Place on the board the lines representing the
_Rivers_, and let the pupils do the same, and review
Seas, Mountains, and Rivers.

4. Show the three Natural Divisions; indicate on the
map the _Lands_ in the order given, and let the pupils
do the same. See that the pupils know the name and
location of each Land, and review Seas, Mountains,
Rivers, and Lands.

5. Indicate on the blackboard the _Places_ named in
the lesson, and have the pupils also locate and name
them. Review Seas, Mountains, Rivers, Lands, and
Places.

6. Let the pupils redraw the map at home from copy,
and at the next session of the class call upon five
pupils to go in turn to the board--the first to draw
the Seas, and then receive criticism from the class,
the second the Mountains, the third the Rivers, the
fourth the Lands, and the fifth the Places.

7. If another review could be given it would be an
excellent plan to call for the reading of the Bible
references in the lesson, and require a student to
name and locate on the blackboard the Sea or Mountain
or River or Land or Place named in the reference. It
will abundantly reward the teacher to occupy three or
four sessions of the class on this map and its
reviews.

8. Let the pupils read all the facts of the lesson
from the hints given in the following Blackboard
Outline and answer all the Review Questions.

Blackboard Outline

I. =Loc. Ex.= N.--P. G. R. S.--Cas. 1,400. 900. 1,110,000.
II. =Se.= Cas. Per. G. R. S. Med. S. D. S. L. Ch.
III. =Mtn. Ran.= Ar. Cas. Zag. Leb. Tau.
IV. =Riv.= Ar. Tig. Eup. Jor. Ni.
V. =Nat. Div.= Ea. Sl. Cen. Pl. Wes. Sl.
VI. =La.= 1. Ar. Me. Per. 2. Ass. El. Mes. Chal. Ar. 3. Syr.
Phoe. Pal. Wil. Eg.
VII. =Pla.= Ed. Sh. Bab. Nin. Har. Dam. Ty. Jer. Mem.

Review Questions

How large was the Old Testament world? Between what
bodies of water was it located? What were its
dimensions? Name its six important bodies of water.
Locate each of these bodies of water. Name and
describe its mountain ranges. Name and locate its five
important rivers. State and describe its three natural
divisions. Name and locate the lands of the eastern
slope. Name and locate the lands of the central plain.
Name and locate the lands of the western slope. Name
its nine important places. Locate each of the nine
places.

SECOND STUDY

Old Testament History

The divine revelation which the Bible contains is given in the form of a history. God revealed his plan of saving men not in a system of doctrine, but in the record of his dealings with the world at large, and especially with one people. To understand this revelation it is necessary for us to view the great stream of history contained in the Bible. Our study on this subject will include the principal events from the creation of man, at a date unknown, to the birth of Christ.[1]