The writing and dating of the Old Testament hooks
In the community life of
Israel, as in Africa, oral traditions were important to the carrying on of
beliefs and teaching from one generation to another. Some of the Old Testament
material, such as the stories of the Patriarchs, the ancestors of Israel, had a
long oral tradition before it was committed to writing. Other material, such as
the words of many of the prophets, was put down in writing while it was still
fresh in the minds of those who heard the prophet speak. We shall now look at
different groups of books and individual books, and we shall begin with the
books named after the prophets and see how they were written.