Old Testament biblical texts and themes

Old Testament Bible Dictionary Project:

I Samuel

The book of 1 Samuel is largely considered as one of the historical books and Deutronomistic writings that attempt to display the history of Israelites as well as showing how the Laws of God were explained to the Israelites under the guidance of the prophets. It also highlights the life of Israelites in Canaan as they transitioned from the leadership of the judges to being ruled by Kings, indeed, it was Samuel who acted as the last Judge and it was him who anointed the first two Kings of Israel; Saul and David. A significant part of the book is also dedicated to the life of Samuel and Saul. Though the author(s) of this book is largely anonymous, some of the chapters therein are attributed to Samuel, Nathan and Gad (). The authorship of the book took place over a span of 100 years, between 1100 B.C. to 1000 B.C.

Saul

Saul was the first king of the kingdom of Israel and Judah who reigned between 1020 to 1000 B.C. He was the youngest son of Kish, a Benjamite, who was secretly anointed by Samuel as the king of Israel. It was a period when Israel had been humiliated by Philistines who defeated them in the battle of Shiloh and captured the Ark of the Covenant. Israel badly needed to be unified under one king lest they risked prolonged subjugation, Saul played this role. He successfully fought against Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Arameans, and Amalekites. He is also known to have drawn the Israelites closer together and more unified than ever. Saul however developed and ego and started offering sacrifices to God, a role that was to be played by Samuel. For this, Samuel rebuked him and Saul fell out with Samuel. Saul perpetually became paranoid and hated David to an extent of sending him into exile. Israel ran divided once more and the Philistines renewed their attacks against Israel, defeating them once more. Filled with shame, Saul killed himself by his own sword.

Egypt

The ancient Egypt was located in the Northeastern Africa with vast majority of the land lying along the lower sections of River Nile. It was the civilization of that region in the 3100-2686 B.C. when King Menes founded the capital of ancient Egypt at White Walls, later to be known as Memphis. It is this same landmass that is today known as Egypt. Egypt is known for its Biblical significance and archeological importance too. It is the land where the greater history of the Bible emanates from, with the Israelites being slaves, the land suffering ten plagues and the ultimate emancipation of the children of Israel to the promised land of Canaan. Egypt hosts hundreds of archeological sites with monuments, artifacts, objects and hieroglyphs that are still being deciphered to date. It is a land that has given birth to a discipline or study on its own; Egyptology, among the archeologists and the historians. There are several Biblical books that are closely linked to Egypt like Genesis, 1&2 Samuel, however, the book of Exodus is completely based in Egypt (A&E Television Networks, 2017).

New Testament Bible Dictionary Project:

Romans

This is one of the letters or epistles that Paul wrote and this was particularly directed to the Romans. It is unanimously agreed that it was written by Paul in an attempt to explain that salvation is only possible through the proclamation of the gospel of Christ. This letter was written in AD 57 when Paul was in the Greek city of Corinth. Romans is seen as the clearest demonstration of the Christian doctrines. It highlights the sinful nature of man, the justification of man by faith in Jesus Christ, after the justification it shows the redemption and salvation. He also clarified that once one is saved, his pursuit of God does not stop at that, but continues each day as we get sanctified each time we persist in following Him. In Romans, Paul offers the most logical and easy to understand approach to how one can be saved from the destruction of his own sins (Insight for Living Ministries, 2017).

Peter

Peter, who is also known as Simon Peter was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. He was born in Bethsaida around 1 BC and died A.D 67. His name was changed from Simon to Peter by Jesus to mean rock. He was a fisherman and also a good follower of John the Baptist. He is one of the very first disciples that Jesus called. Peter was one of the most outspoken disciples and steady followers of Christ in His ministry on earth. Peter once said that he would give himself unto death for Jesus, though when the time came he deserted Jesus. One of the significant things that Peter did was that he was the first to preach on the day of Pentecost. The book of Mark is closely associated to Peter, since Mark was not present in most of the outstanding events of Jesus like the transfiguration, it was Peter who told the accounts and mark wrote them down. Peter preached the gospel without fear after the death of Christ and ascending to heaven, later on he was crucified unto death t the age of 65 years (Wellman J., 2016).