Summary of Old Testament and New Testament books with genre analysis

Religion -- Books of the Old and New Testaments

The Bible contains many types of genres, themes, events and characters illustrating the seeds of Christianity in the Old Testament and the Old Testament's fulfillment by Jesus and the young Christian Church of the New Testament. Using the genres of epic and simple narratives, law, prophecy, wisdom, pastoral letters and apocalyptic expression, both Testaments show the struggle of ordinary people trying to understand God and build their relationships with Him. Beginning with the Old Testament, how their understanding of God grew from that of a tribal god to the universal, loving God.

Old Testament

Exodus

The book of Exodus is written in the basic epic narrative genre. The book and flows from Genesis into the designation of Israelites as God's people and His salvation of His people from earthly powers. The key themes/purposes/personalities/issues of Exodus are: describing signs and wonders, including the Plagues, which Moses used to free his people from earthly powers; God's choice of Moses and the designation of Moses as the mediator of God's word, worship/service of God; and delivery of God's chosen people, the Israelites, out of bondage. The major events in Exodus are: Moses' designation as the mediator of God's word; the signs and wonders, including the plagues, and delivery of the Israelites out of Egypt. The major personalities are Yahweh, Moses, Aaron, the Pharaoh and the Israelites. The major issues are: the designation of the Israelites as God's chosen people; God's presence for his people, the Israelites; the power of God, which is superior to Egypt's earthly power; worship of God; and service to God (Gatiss, 2005; Harbin, 2005, pp. 124-133).

Deuteronomy

"Deuteronomy" means "second law." Its basic genre is Law and it was supposedly written by Moses, himself. Deuteronomy presents the key themes/purposes/personalities/issues of: the transfer of leadership from Moses to the new leader, Joshua; land, inheritance and rest for the people of God, the Israelites; Moses' two addresses, which are essentially farewells, to the Israelites; God completely overcoming and defeating His enemies; God's refusal to compromise with idolatry in any form; the importance of the Israelites' faithfulness to the covenant between God and his people; an extended list of God's blessings for the obedience of the Israelites and curses for disobedience and a host of other acts of which God disapproves; the predicted failure; the death of Moses; the next generations, including the next leader -- Joshua. The major personalities in Deuteronomy are: God, Joshua, the king, the prophet, the Israelites as God's people, and idolaters (Copp, 2012; Harbin, 2005, pp. 6, 16).

Amos

The book of Amos is written in the basic genre of prophecy. Amos indicates how the theology of the Israelites is evolving. He makes a significant advance over other Old Testament prophets in that he is the first to talk about a God who is universal rather than just a tribal God. The key themes/purposes/personalities/issues addressed in Amos are: Amos' five visions from God, which reveal God's purposes; God as universal the judge of every nation; God's demands for moral purity and justice instead of mere rituals and sacrifices that the people have come to rely on too heavily in organized religion; denunciation of the wealthy person's hypocrisy in obeying the letter of the Law but oppressing the poor; prophecies against Israel for obeying the letter of the law but being unjust and impure; God's judgment and condemnation of seven other nations in the geographic area; restoration of the just, pure people of God (Web Quest Direct, n.d.; Harbin, 2005, p. 235).

Hosea

The book of Hosea is written in the basic genre of Prophecy. In this book, which is written in almost a gentle type of poetry at times, the key themes/purposes/personalities/issues use Hosea's life to mirror God's relationship with his people, the Israelites: Hosea's love and compassion for his wife mirror God's love and compassion for Israel; Hosea's marriage and children mirror God's relationship with Israel; the unfaithfulness of Hosea's wife mirror the unfaithfulness of Israel in its relationship with God; the repentance of Hosea's wife mirrors the repentance of Israel; Hosea's forgiveness mirrors God's forgiveness of Israel and His renewed relationship with His people, which restores their good fortune. Hosea stresses the importance of true faith, which is in the heart rather than in ritual, saying, "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). The theme of faith being steadfast love is a basic theme of Hosea and other Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah (Web Quest Direct, n.d.; Harbin, 2005, p. 238).

Proverbs

The book of Proverbs is written in the basic genre of wisdom. The key themes/purposes/personalities/issues all revolve around Wisdom, both as a characteristic and as a person: Proverbs gives the origin and definition of wisdom; it also exhorts the Israelites to seek wisdom and avoid being like the wicked people who despise wisdom; the book also describes the rewards for being just; it also lists some of the punishments for being wicked; it gives praise for the desirability of Wisdom; it recounts how God's wisdom has been shown in the history of the Israelites by retelling the story of God's choice of the Israelites and delivery from the hands of the Egyptians; it also recounts the foolishness and uselessness of idolatry; in connection with idolatry's foolishness and uselessness, Proverbs reiterates all the plagues that God rained down on Egypt and Egypt's helplessness in the face of those plagues, despite Egypt's many false gods (Pope, 2012; Harbin, 2005, p. 247).