Old Testament and Stages of the Bible

By 367, the New Testament canon consisted of

Scribes wrote about the early kings such as King Saul and King David.

Includes Pentateuch , historical, wisdom, and prophetic books.

This is why many of the Old Testament books are compilations, works of multiple authors.

Process that explains why books, such as Psalms & Proverbs are collections of wisdom.

This stage clarifies why some books have repetitions.

Scripture initially existed in the minds of the Chosen People.

God inspired multiple authors to share Salvation History

For centuries, people shared laws, told stories, sang songs, to preserve history.

Scribes first wrote oral traditions about the creation and Israel's history.

Nonliterate people depended greatly on their memories.

The first part of the Bible

Stories and traditions told from the experiences the people had with God and with each other.

Represents the Chosen People's faith experience over 900 years.

Some of the prophets wrote their own books

The prophets' disciples were often the ones to collect and record their teachings.

The process of collecting, combining, and improving the texts.

Contains 46 books.

Before the written form, people preserved history by doing all of the following, except

Centers on the covenants God made with his Chosen People.

Before the actual physical writing took place

This stage was due to most people had no access to writing instruments and few could read.

Story of a military leader who led the Israelitest into Egypt was Joshua

Many of the biblical traditions were in story form becuse it was easier to remember stories.

Development of Bible following Oral tradition.

King Solomon's monarch would have been wealthy enough to employ scribes who did the actual work.

Original language was Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic

Describes the covenants God had with the Jewish people

The Chosen People told stories of their heritage in order to preserve them.

Consists of groupings of related books.

Developed in three stages

The last of the completed Old Testament books dates to around 100 BC

Began during the reign of King Solomon, around 950 BC

Salvation History prior to coming of Jesus Christ