This page contains outlines for all of the class discussions, the text of any assigned readings by Palmer, and additional online resources related to the topic of most class discussions. Clicking on any blue or red text will take you to the resource it names.

A Quick Overview of the Contents of the Bible

Genesis is a book of beginnings. It relates stories about creation, the beginnings of God's interaction and humanity, and the beginnings of God's relationship with Abraham and his descendants through a special promise.

The title "Exodus" means "departure." The first 19 chapters of the book of Exodus tell a story in which God leads the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt. The rest of the book tells of God making a covenant with those same people and giving them laws to guide their lives. 

Taking its name from the priestly tribe of Levi, the book of Leviticus is a collection of laws concerned mainly with rituals. 

The title of the book of Numbers comes from two censuses taken during a period of forty years of wandering in the wilderness before the Hebrew people entered Canaan. This title, though, does not give an immediate grasp of the contents of the book. The book tells of the wanderings of the Hebrew people who left slavery in Egypt (chapters 1- 25) and of the next generation after all of them except for Moses and two faithful spies (Caleb and Joshua) had died (chapters 26-36). 

The book of Deuteronomy tells of Moses giving three farewell speeches before he died. In these speeches he reviews the laws that God had given in the wilderness, applying them more closely to the new setting of life in Canaan which was about to come. These speeches can be viewed as a second Law, a deutero-nomy.

The book of Joshua tells a story in which Joshua, the successor to Moses, leads the armies of Israel in their conquest of the land of Canaan--the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. After the conquest Joshua divides the land among the tribes of Israel. 

Judges tells of a repeating cycle of religious unfaithfulness, divine punishment, and a transitory return to faithfulness in the early years of the people's life in the promised land. They abandon their God to worship the gods of the Canaanites, and God allows them to be oppressed by their Canaanite neighbors. Then God sends a "judge" to lead them and deliver them from their enemies. After returning to the worship of their own God, they soon become unfaithful again and the cycle begins again. 

Samuel was the prophet, priest, and judge who led the Hebrew people in the time of transition from a loose confederation of tribes to monarchy. First Samuel begins with his story and tells of the choice of Saul as the first King of Israel. Saul's rule is troubled, though, and Samuel anoints David to succeed him. 

Second Samuel tells of David's rule beginning with a period of strong, unified government, but then David commits adultery and murder--clear violations of the covenant. Both David's family and the nation suffer as a result of this violation. 

First Kings begins with stories about Solomon's reign over Israel. When Solomon died the nation split. The northern tribes kept the name "Israel" while the south, where Jerusalem was located, came to be known as "Judah." First Kings tells the story of the early years of both kingdoms. 

The story begun in First Kings continues in Second Kings, which tells the story of the fall of the northern nation, Israel, to the Assyrian Empire in 721 BCE, then continues by telling the story of Judah until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.  These events are presented as God's judgment upon the people because of their lack of faithfulness to the covenant.

 
The prophet Isaiah warned of God's judgment on the nations. The book which bears his name also promises that God will send a future king like David, and speaks of a coming time of comfort and peace. 

As Babylonian presure on Judah inclreased in the 500s BCE, Jeremiah spoke of God's coming judgment. Warning the king not to resist the Babylonians, Jeremiah's message focusses on the destruction to come. Still, he also expresses hope for a new covenant with God which will not be broken. 

Also dating from in the 500s BCE, Ezekiel's message was delivered to the Judean people exiled to Babylon. The stories, parables, and prophetic actions the book relates address the topics of judgment, hope and restoration. 

Living Israel (the Northern Nation) in the 700s BCE, Hosea married a prostitute and used her unfaithfulness to illustrate Israel's "adultery" against God. Hosea's own faithfulness toward his wife is used to illustrate God's faithful love toward Israel. 

Joel interpreted a locust plague in Judah as God's judgment against the nation and urged the people to repent. 

Amos was a Judean prophet who went north to Israel and preached judgment against the rich people there during a time of prosperity in the late 700s BCE. He called on them to practice economic justice toward the poor and oppressed. 

Obadiah pronounced judgment on Edom for its role in aiding the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 500s BCE. 

The book of Jonah presents the story of a prophet who did not want to preach to the people of Ninevah, one of the capitals of the Assyrian Empire. When he finally relented and delivered God's message of judgment, the people repented and Jonah became angry because God decided not to punish them. 

Micah delivered words of both judgment and mercy to Judah in the 700s BCE. His brief summary of what God requires (6.8) is one of the most quoted texts in the Hebrew Bible. 

Shortly before Ninevah, capital of the Assyrian Empire fell (612 BCE), Nahum rejoiced that God was bringing down the once powerful people because of their cruelty in war. 

Written shortly before the Babylonians conquered Judah, the book of Habakkuk questions God's fairness, but then asserts that the righteous person must have faith in God's justice. 

After beginning by announcing the Lord's judgment on Judah and its neighbors, Zephaniah changes tone in chapter three to announce that the judgment has been removed. This change may reflect the religious shift that came in Judah with Josiah's reform. 

After the Judean people returned from exile in Babylon, Haggai urged them to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. 

Like Haggai, Zechariah urged the people to rebuild the Temple. The book also contains later prophecies from the time after the rebuilding was complete. 

Malachi criticized the religous apathy of people living in Judah after the return from exile in Babylon.

Matthew's Gospel argues that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Hebrew Scriptures. He is presented as a great teacher of Torah who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Matthew tells Jesus' story from his birth to the resurrection, including more of his teachings than any other gospel. 

Mark's Gospel is the shortest of the four canonical gospels. The story begins with the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness and emphasizes Jesus' miracles and his suffering. Presenting Jesus' work as decisive and urgent Mark wrote to strengthen the faith of a persecuted community of believers. 

Luke's Gospel, the longest of the four, emphasizes Jesus' involvement with the poor, the unclean, women, and others excluded from power in the ancient world. Jesus makes salvation (healing) available for all people. He is presented as a Savior, a healer of both the body and the spirit. The Holy Spirit plays a strong role in Luke's Gospel as the force driving Jesus' ministry. Prayer is also emphasized as the means of communication between God and the faithful. Luke states that he has written "so that you may know the truth" concerning Jesus' story.

The Gospel of John has very little overlap with the others. The first half of John's story of Jesus is organized around seven signs (miracles) that point to Jesus as the Son of God, and the last half has a strong focus on the crucifixion as Jesus' moment of glory. The reflective style of this gospel is quite different from the other three. The author states that he has written to encourage faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.