Yesterday, I didn't put a post on the blog. The reason is that I had come to a crossroads and needed to do some study and asking of opinions, to determine which book to go to next. Many scholars, when putting together a chronological Bible, put the biblical text in the order the books were written; while others, Nelson, for example, put the biblical text in the order of the actual events that are being written about.

Nelson says, "When presenting relative chronology, the passages of the Bible are ordered according to the history that is narrated in the passage, not according to the time of the book's writing. For instance, the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy narrate the events of Israel's departure from Egypt and the subsequent wilderness wanderings. In The Chronological Study Bible, these books appear in the historical context of the Exodus, although many scholars argue that parts of these books were written much later. Regardless of when these books were written, their narrative can be appreciated as marvelous literature telling a story set in the time of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt."

Nelson further explains, "Rearranging the biblical books chronologically is by no means easily accomplished, since Bible scholars differ on almost every important point of chronology. The rearrangement in the Nelson study Bible is based on two distinct chronological goals.

First, it provides a relative chronology, placing related events together without fixed dates. For instance, the prophet Amos spoke in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II, and so the history of Jeroboam II is read alongside the words of Amos that refer to Jeroboam's time.

Second, the Nelson chronological Bible provides an absolute chronology tied to historical information and fixed dates (or at least tentative dates). An absolute chronology enables readers to place the biblical history in the larger context of world history." I realize and Nelson points out "Of course, not all of the Old Testament consist of history writings. But even the parts of the Old Testament that are not history writing themselves usually appear in some historical context. The oracles, speeches, and poetry of the prophets are not history, but they are addressed to real people in real historical situations. They recall God's mighty acts of the historical past; they promise that God can and will act in history again. Books of wisdom and philosophy that do not speak of history at all, like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, are nevertheless identified with the historical context of King Solomon's court. Even the psalms, intended for regular repetition in public worship, often provide a historical background, such as Psalm 3, superscribed as "A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son"

Because I have chosen the Nelson "Chronological Study Bible" to blog through, and I like the fact that it is arranged according to actual historical events, I have decided to follow the text in the order he has chosen to rearrange it.
I will continue to put the text at the beginning of the blog each day so that you can follow along. Nelson is also quick to point out that the Chronological Study Bible uses every verse in the Bible as written (New King James version).

Remember, this journey is about studying the history. I believe that the historical, political, and cultural notes provided by Nelson are beneficial, possibley essential, to the study and understanding of ancient biblical history.
Please continue with me on the journey, we can learn a lot together.
We will pick up tomorrow in the book of Exodus, chapters 1-4.