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The Book of Priest Gennady Egorov is a general introduction to the study of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. It provides an overview of Old Testament history and the content of the law-positive, historical, teaching, and prophetic books of the Old Testament. The main emphasis is placed on their messianic content and reading from the point of view of the New Testament. The text uses a large number of patristic interpretations and liturgical texts. The book is supplied with an appendix, which contains fragments from the works of the holy fathers and Orthodox theologians, allowing you to get deeper into the topics of the course.

The proposed publication is intended primarily for students of the system of additional education. In addition, it will be useful for students studying in the direction or specialty of Theology, as well as for students of theological schools.

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Foreword

This study guide is an edited course of lectures given to students of "non-theological" faculties of PSTBI, and is an introduction to the study of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. The main purpose of the course is to prepare students for self-study of the Bible and, if possible, to instill a taste for this activity. In addition to a general review of the content of the Old Testament books, the lectures examine the basic concepts of isagogy and exegesis, give examples of patristic interpretations, and also clarify the soteriological and messianic significance of sacred history.

The limited volume of the lecture course does not allow considering in detail the content of the biblical books and the events of the Old Testament history. In this regard, based on the assumption that the general features of this story are familiar to students from the time of preparation for the entrance exams, attention is paid to the fundamental issues, the understanding of which is necessary to achieve the goal.

The words of the Savior are chosen as the epigraph of many modern manuals on this subject: “

Search the Scriptures, for you think you have eternal life through them, and they testify of me

» (John 5:39). His listeners were connoisseurs of Scripture, which means that the main meaning of this phrase is that the Old Testament testifies of Christ. It is this understanding of Scripture that underlies this course.

The second fundamental principle, which was constantly taken into account by the author in the preparation of lectures, is formulated in the 19th rule of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. It reads: “... if the word of Scripture is studied, then they do not explain it otherwise, except as they set out the luminaries and teachers of the Church in their writings, and by this they are more convinced than by compiling their own words, so that, with a lack of skill in this, they do not deviate from the proper. For, through the teaching of the above-mentioned fathers, people, receiving knowledge of the good and worthy of election, and of the unprofitable and worthy of disgust, correct their lives for the better, and do not suffer from the disease of ignorance, but, listening to the teaching, urge themselves to move away from evil, and, through the fear of threatening punishments, work out their salvation.”

One of the features of patristic exegesis is the idea of Holy Scripture as a whole, so the author saw it as his task to instill in listeners the ability to analyze this or that passage based on the context of the entire Bible, and not just a specific book or chapter.

Introduction

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov said that it is of great benefit for a person to read the entire Bible wisely at least once. So let's not neglect this advice of the Reverend. Unfortunately, experience shows that many modern Orthodox people consider reading the Old Testament for themselves a completely optional, useless matter and, in comparison with numerous pamphlets of pious content, they consider it a waste of time. Although theoretically, probably, each of you imagines that this is not so, and that from the Savior Himself, the apostles and holy Fathers, we have been given the commandment to study and delve into the Holy Scriptures. For you and me, Holy Scripture is, first of all, a testimony about Christ, a testimony about God, and if you and I try at least a little to keep the commandment of God: ""

and love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength

"(Deut. 6:5):

this is the first and greatest commandment

» (Matthew 22:37-38). And if at least a little we take this commandment into account, then, probably, Holy Scripture, as a book about the One Whom we have loved with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength, should be dearer to us than any other book. We also call Holy Scripture divine Revelation. This is what God was pleased to reveal to us about Himself, about His action in the world, about His relationship with man, therefore, from this point of view, of course, Holy Scripture is extremely important for us.

Actually, our entire course will be based on this first commandment, and if I manage to instill in you a little love for reading the Holy Scriptures, I will be very happy and will consider my goal achieved. To inspire you, I want to read you some of the writings of the Holy Fathers. Saint Chrysostom in one of his sermons tells his listeners about how much attention they pay to mastering some secular crafts, taking care of their home, household, and then says: “Tell me, if you ask one of you who are present here, who can read one psalm or any passage from the Holy Scriptures? Of course, no one, and not only is it bad, but the fact that, not caring for the spiritual, you are faster than fire for satanic deeds: if anyone decides to visit you about the devil's songs, about voluptuous melodies, you will find that many know them for sure and speak with great pleasure. And how are they justified if you begin to accuse them? I, they say, am not a monk, but I have a wife and children, I take care of the house, and all the harm comes from this, that you consider the reading of the Holy Scriptures decent for monks alone, while you yourself have much more need for it. He who lives in the world and receives new ulcers every day needs medicine especially for that, therefore, reading the Scriptures is much worse than not reading it - such a thought is a satanic suggestion. Do you not hear what Paul said, that all these things are written for our instruction.” Then he says the following: “when you talk about worship, if you don’t even have time to read the Scriptures at home, then why don’t you listen to him during worship? Listen and be horrified: the deacon stands on behalf of everyone and, exclaiming loudly, says: “Let us listen” - and this is repeated. This voice that he utters is the general voice of the Church, but no one listens. After him, the reader begins: "Reading the prophecies of Isaiah" - and again no one listens, although the prophecy contains an inhuman teaching. Then he speaks aloud to everyone: "This says the Lord" - and also no one listens, but what do I say: something terrible and terrible is read further, but at the same time no one listens. And what do people say against it? "Always, - they say, - the same thing is read" - but this is what especially ruins you. If you knew all this, then all the more you should not have neglected. For the same thing always happens in spectacles, but you do not know satiety in them. What same thing do you dare to talk about when you do not even know the names of the prophets? Aren't you ashamed to say that you don't listen because you always read the same thing, when you don't even know the names of the writers you read, although you always listen to the same thing, because you yourself said that the same thing is read. If I said this to your condemnation, then you would have to turn to another justification, and not one that serves to your own condemnation.

In the lives of the saints we come across such a fact that some saints, being absolutely illiterate and never having studied anywhere, acquired the height of their feat that they knew the Scriptures by heart and always quoted it to the point. Let us recall, for example, the life of St. Mary of Egypt; from the Egyptian hermits - the Monk Patermufiy, the Monk Horus, about whom it is said that they received knowledge of the Holy Scriptures in a supernatural way. This is also a possible way.

* * *

Foreword

This textbook is an edited course of lectures on the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, intended for students and listeners of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University, and is an introduction to the study of the Holy Scriptures. The main purpose of the course is to prepare students for self-study of the Bible and, if possible, to inculcate a taste for this activity. In addition to a general review of the content of the Old Testament books, the lectures examine data from isagogy and exegesis, give examples of patristic interpretations, and also clarify the soteriological and messianic significance of sacred history.

The limited volume of the lecture course does not allow considering in detail the content of the biblical books and the events of the Old Testament history. Because students in this course already have a basic understanding of Old Testament history, attention is focused on the fundamental issues that need to be understood in order to achieve this goal. At the same time, to facilitate the perception of educational material, quite voluminous quotations from the Holy Scriptures are included in the text of the abstract.

In the process of presenting the material at lectures, the author, as far as possible, tried to draw the attention of the listeners to three inseparably interconnected semantic layers of Scripture. First of all, this is a theological meaning - a revelation about God and His dispensation. Then the edifying meaning - the rules of relationships between people, the moral law. And finally, the mystical meaning, affecting the inner life of the soul.

The words of the Savior are chosen as an epigraph for many modern manuals on this subject: “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; but they testify of me."(John 5:39). His listeners were connoisseurs of the Scriptures, which means that the main meaning of this phrase is that the Old Testament bears witness to Christ. As part of the course, an attempt was made to demonstrate to students the inseparable unity of the Old and New Testaments, the Christocentricity of all Divine Scripture and, finally, its enduring significance and relevance.

Another fundamental principle, which was constantly taken into account by the author in the preparation of lectures, is formulated in the 19th canon of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. It reads: “... if the word of Scripture is studied, then they do not explain it otherwise, except as they set out the luminaries and teachers of the Church in their writings, and by this they are more convinced than by compiling their own words, so that, with a lack of skill in this, not to deviate from the proper. For, through the teaching of the above-mentioned fathers, people, receiving knowledge of the good and worthy of election, and of the unprofitable and worthy of disgust, correct their lives for the better, and do not suffer from the disease of ignorance, but, listening to the teaching, urge themselves to move away from evil, and, through the fear of threatening punishments, work out their salvation.”

One of the features of patristic exegesis is the idea of Holy Scripture as a whole, so it is very important to instill in students the ability to analyze this or that passage based on the context of the entire Bible, and not just a particular book or chapter.

Introduction

Do not neglect, friend, the meticulous hearing of the Divine Scriptures. This is the devil's cunning, which does not allow us to see the treasure, so that we do not acquire wealth. “Hearing Divine thoughts brings nothing,” says the enemy, so as not to see him the deeds resulting from this hearing.

Rev. Isidore Pelusiot

On the necessity and benefits of studying the Holy Scriptures. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov said that it is of great benefit for a person to read the entire Bible wisely at least once. So let's not neglect this advice of the Reverend. Unfortunately, experience shows that many modern Orthodox people consider reading the Old Testament for themselves a completely optional, useless matter and, in comparison with numerous pamphlets of pious content, they consider it a waste of time. Although theoretically, probably, each of you imagines that this is not so and that from the Savior Himself, the apostles and holy fathers, we have been given the commandment to study and delve into the Holy Scriptures. It is for you and me, first of all, a testimony about Christ, a testimony about God. And if we try even a little to keep the commandment of God: “And love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”(Deut. 6:5); "This is the first and greatest commandment"(Matthew 22:37-38), then, probably, Holy Scripture as a book about Him Whom we have loved with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength, should be dearer to us than any other book. We also call Holy Scripture Divine Revelation, because it contains what God was pleased to reveal to us about Himself, about His action in the world, about His relationship with man, therefore, from this point of view, of course, the Word of God is extraordinarily important for us.

Actually, our entire course will be based on this first commandment, and if I manage to instill in you a little love for reading the Bible, I will be very happy and consider my goal achieved. To inspire you, I want to read you some of the writings of the Holy Fathers. Saint John Chrysostom in one of his sermons tells his listeners about how much attention they pay to mastering some secular crafts, taking care of their home, household, and then says: “Tell me, if you ask one of you who are present here who can read one psalm or any passage of scripture? Of course, no one, and not only is it bad, but the fact that, not caring about the spiritual, you are faster than fire for satanic deeds: if anyone decides to visit you about the devil's songs, about voluptuous tunes, you will find that many know them for sure and speak with great pleasure. And how are they justified if you begin to accuse them? I, they say, am not a monk, but I have a wife and children, I take care of the house, and all the harm comes from this, that you consider the reading of the Holy Scriptures decent for monks alone, while you yourself have much more need for this. He who lives in the world and receives new ulcers every day, for this especially needs healing, therefore, reading the Scriptures is much worse than not reading it - such a thought is a satanic suggestion. Do you not hear what Paul said, that all these things are written for our instruction.” Then he says the following: “When you talk about worship, if you don’t even have time to read the Scriptures at home, then why don’t you listen to him during worship? Listen and be horrified: the deacon stands on behalf of everyone and, exclaiming loudly, says: “Let us listen” - and this is repeated. This voice that he utters is the general voice of the Church, but no one listens. After him, the reader begins: "Reading the prophecies of Isaiah" - and again no one listens, although the prophecy contains an inhuman teaching. Then he speaks aloud to everyone: “This says the Lord” - and also no one listens, but what do I say: something terrible and terrible is read further, but at the same time no one listens. And what do people say against it? “Always,” they say, “the same thing is read,” but this is what especially destroys you. If you knew all this, then all the more you should not have neglected. For the same thing always happens in spectacles, but you do not know satiety in them. What same thing do you dare to talk about when you do not even know the names of the prophets? Aren't you ashamed to say that you don't listen because you always read the same thing, when you don't even know the names of the writers you read, although you always listen to the same thing, because you yourself said that the same thing is read. If I said this to your condemnation, then you would have to turn to another justification, and not to one that serves to your own condemnation. “Let us not, beloved, neglect our salvation - all this is written for us for our teaching, but in them the ends of the age have reached. Great protection from sins is the reading of Scripture, and ignorance of Scripture is a great rapid, a deep abyss; it is a great ruin for salvation to know nothing of the divine laws. This ignorance gave rise to heresies, it introduced a depraved life, it turned everything upside down, for it is impossible that one who constantly diligently reads Scripture should be left without fruit. These are the convincing and powerful words in which St. John Chrysostom addressed his listeners more than 1,500 years ago. But since then, unfortunately, we have not made much progress.

In the lives of the saints we come across such a fact that some saints, being absolutely illiterate and never having studied anywhere, acquired the height of their feat that they knew the Scriptures by heart and always quoted it to the point. Let us recall, for example, the Life of St. Mary of Egypt; from the Egyptian hermits - the Monk Patermuth, the Monk Horus, about whom it is said that they received knowledge of the Holy Scriptures in a supernatural way. This is also a possible way.

St. John Chrysostom gives an explanation of it in his conversations on the Gospel of Matthew: “Indeed, we should not have the need for the help of Scripture, but we should lead a life so pure that instead of books the grace of the Spirit would serve our souls and that, as those written with ink, so our hearts were written with the Spirit, but since we rejected such grace, we will use at least the second way.

The same saint, objecting to the words of his listeners that they sometimes read the Scriptures, but cannot understand anything in it, says the following: “Let us not, please, neglect the reading of the Scriptures, but whether we understand what is contained in it or we do not understand, In any case, we will contact him as often as possible. Constant exercise in reading imprints what we read indelibly in our memory, and often what we could not understand while reading today, we suddenly understand when we start reading tomorrow, because the philanthropic God invisibly enlightens our minds. Such statements are often repeated by many holy fathers that the diligence of a person in the study of Holy Scripture, dissolved by humility, is always rewarded by God with the enlightenment of his mind.

Saint Simeon the New Theologian said: “A soul that wants to learn the law of God day and night does not receive as much benefit from anything in this respect as from the study of the Divine Scriptures; because within these Scriptures are hidden the thoughts of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which, having been comprehended, produce in the soul some great delight, which elevates it above everything earthly and worldly and lifts it up to heaven, disposing it to think only about the divine, to desire it alone and spend the life of an angel in this world." See what spiritual blessings you can achieve if you diligently study our subject.

The Monk John of the Ladder speaks of the same thing: “The soul, which constantly learns the word of God during the day, usually exercises in the same thing in a dream, for this second is the true reward for the first deed, to drive away spirits and evil dreams” (Ladder 20: 20 ) .

The Holy Fathers have warned and continue to warn us that the study of Holy Scripture cannot be reduced to a purely mechanical rereading of it, cannot be completely successful, even if we read the appropriate interpretations. True understanding of the Scriptures can only be given to a person who, by his life, tries to fulfill what he meets in the Scriptures. But even for this, he must ask for help from God, “for,” according to the blessed Theodoret, “wisdom and prudence are truly needed both for the knowledge and understanding of the words of God, and for their fulfillment and observance. It is also impossible for those who have not received illumination from the Spirit of God to comprehend them, and to keep them for those who do not use help from above.

Bishop Feodor Pozdeevsky, rector of the MTA, in his speech at a prayer service before the start of the academic year (1912) said: “After all, if we looked at the word of God not as a collection of truths discovered in the interests of only human curiosity, but as a revelation of higher truths god-like life, as a revelation of the laws of the moral world order, then it goes without saying that the assimilation and understanding of these truths would have been accomplished in a different way than is usually the case. After all, it is not a secret for each of us that when we begin to delve deeper into the meaning of the words of Holy Scripture, then these attempts of ours remain almost completely in vain and, as it were, some kind of veil prevents us from understanding the hidden meaning of the Scriptures with pure eyes. And this is, of course, because law(God) spiritual", and the person" carnal, sold under sin”(Rom. 7: 14), and never, of course, a person who lives according to the law of the flesh can understand the laws of spiritual life, God-like life, for in order to know these laws, one must approach them in life itself and experience them. That is why Saint Simeon the New Theologian, when discussing the ways of comprehending the Word of God, compares it to a locked treasure chest. You can uselessly carry this chest on your shoulders and not get the treasures stored in it if you do not have a key to it. The key to the spiritual treasure contained in the Word of God is one - moral purity and holiness; that is why the Word of God, which contains all knowledge of God, must be studied not so much with the mind, but with a pure heart, capable of seeing God Himself.

I will cite the words of St. Simeon the New Theologian, to which Bishop Theodore refers. Saint Simeon compares Holy Scripture to a kind of strong chest, inside of which a treasure is locked. And he says that “just as if someone lifts this chest on his shoulders, he cannot see the treasure that is inside it from this alone, so if someone reads and even memorizes all the Divine Scriptures and can read them all as one psalm, - cannot by this alone comprehend the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is hidden in them; for neither what is inside the chest can be discovered through the chest itself, nor what is hidden in the Divine Scriptures can be revealed through the scriptures themselves. He says that such a person who has memorized the Scriptures even by heart, but mechanically, is like one who carries this chest on his shoulders. The most he can achieve is to earn himself some kind of back pain from diligence, and he will not be able to get treasures in this way. But the fulfillment of commandments, the fulfillment of virtues is much more useful here, he says that “virtues are born from the commandment, and from the virtues the mysteries hidden in the letter of Scripture are made clear. Then they prosper in virtues when they keep the commandments, and, again, then they keep the commandments when they are zealous for virtue - and from this the door of knowledge already opens - that is, those sacraments that are hidden in the divine Scripture. So, you see, it turns out that you need to be zealous about reading the Holy Scriptures, you need to try to know it properly, but the real benefit can be obtained if you try to apply in your life what is revealed.

General information about the Holy Scriptures. From the course of the Catechism, you remember that the Holy Scriptures are called “books written by the Spirit of God through people sanctified from God, called Prophets and Apostles. Usually these books are called the Bible. Depending on the time of writing, the books of Holy Scripture are divided into two sections: “Those Holy Books that were written before the birth of Christ are called the Books of the Old Testament, and those that were written after the birth of Christ are called the books of the New Testament.”

In total, there are 50 books in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament in our editions of the Bible, of which 39 books are canonical and 11 are non-canonical. It must be said right away what it is, since in the course of the New Testament you did not come across the concept of non-canonical New Testament books - all the books that are contained in the body of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament are canonical. If we open the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, we will find there also 11 non-canonical books, such as the Books of Wisdom of Solomon and Jesus, the son of Sirach; The Epistle of Jeremiah, Maccabees, etc.

These books were also written in antiquity, and some of them were written in the original Hebrew, some in Greek, but these books were not recognized by the Church as inspired books - this concept will now be discussed separately. That is, these books were recognized as very kind, edifying, which contain some grains of divinely revealed teaching, but which in general cannot be recognized as inspired by God - the element of human wisdom is too strong. Therefore, these books were left by the fathers in the lists among other Old Testament books, and, as the definitions of the fathers say, they are intended for edifying home reading for Christians and for reading by newcomers, since they contain high moral teaching.

Protestants reject these books and call them Apocrypha. The Catholics at the Council of Trent included most non-canonical books in the canon. Therefore they are sometimes called deuterocanonical.

Regarding the term "apocrypha", it should be clarified that in relation to the Holy Scriptures, it was first used by the Gnostics, who called so the "secret" books that the apostles allegedly left for the "initiates", in contrast to the well-known books intended for the simple. Since these spurious books contained teachings rejected by the Church, the name "Apocrypha" eventually established itself behind all books that claim to be part of Scripture, but are rejected by the Church. In terms of topics and genres, they are close to the canonical books of the Bible, but, unlike non-canonical ones, they are not recognized as useful and instructive. Of the rather numerous Old Testament apocrypha, one can name the Book of Jubilees, the Book of Enoch, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Fourth Book of Maccabees.

It should be noted that the list of canonical books practically coincides with the canon adopted in modern Judaism. Does this mean that the Jewish canon is primary in relation to the church? Not at all necessary. The final fixation of the canons, which are now recognized by the Jews, took place at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. It took place simultaneously with the formation of a new tradition, caused by the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, when it was necessary to arrange communal life on some new, different foundations. The result was the emergence of a virtually new religion, which in its age is somewhat younger than Christianity. The Church of Christ considers itself to a much greater extent the successor of the Old Testament Church, if we consider the Old Testament as a preparation for the acceptance of the New (see Jer. 31:31). By the way, it was traditionally believed that the canon of the books of the Old Testament was concluded and compiled back in the time of the priest Ezra, that is, in the 5th century BC. We will have a separate discussion about this. Therefore, the most important thing for us is the definitions of the Church about the dignity of this or that book. Which books are canonical and should be read in the Church is established by the rules of the holy fathers and holy ecumenical councils.

It should be added here that the church text of Scripture has always been the text of the Septuagint, the text of the translation of seventy interpreters who, in the 3rd century BC, translated the Holy Scripture into Greek for the Egyptian king Ptolemy Philadelphus. Following St. John Chrysostom, we say that "it was a matter of God's economy that these books would be used not only by those who knew the Hebrew language, but by all the inhabitants of the universe."

So, in our Bible we see 39 canonical inspired books of the Old Testament. However, in a number of ancient patristic texts - for example, in the verse epistle of St. Gregory the Theologian to Amphilochius about what books should be read - we see that 22 books are listed there. What does it mean? That in the time of St. Gregory there were fewer books? No, this means that there is a different calculation and division of these books.

Where does the number 22 come from? According to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in the same way they are calculated in the tradition of the Hebrew Bible. The composition of the text is the same, just some books are grouped. How? The epistle of St. Gregory suggests the following order: first come the books of the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth; then two books of Kings, that is, not four, as we now believe, but combining them two by two together: the first-second, the third-fourth; Chronicles as one book and Ezra, that is, 12 books, which he called historical. Then 5 books, which he calls poetic: Job, David, that is, the Psalter, and 3 Solomon: Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Proverbs; 5 books of the Spirit of the Prophet: 12 minor prophets as one book, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel - the division is practically the same that we now use for our practical needs. Note that he does not single out the books of the Pentateuch as law-positive books, as we now single out, but three other criteria are clearly distinguishable: historical, didactic and prophetic books.

A four-part division of books has now been adopted:

1. Law-positive books, which form the main foundation of the Old Testament. These include the books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

2. Historical books that contain mainly the history of piety: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.

3. Teaching books that contain the teachings of piety: the Book of Job, the Psalter, and the books of Solomon (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs).

4. Prophetic books that contain prophecies or predictions about the future, and primarily about Jesus Christ: the books of the great prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, as well as the books of 12 minor prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah , Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

The Jewish Canon has a slightly different division: Law, Prophets and Scripture - 3 parts. This is exactly how, in accordance with the Old Testament tradition, Christ spoke of Scripture to the apostles (Luke 24:44). The Law (Torah) is the Pentateuch of Moses. Prophetic books (Nevi'im) include not only those books that we call prophetic, but also books that we call historical - this is not at all accidental, we will say in due time why this happens. The prophets in the Hebrew Bible include the so-called early prophets: the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel (in modern Western editions you can find that the First and Second Books of Kings are called the first and second books of Samuel, and the Third and Fourth are already directly the books of Kings) - and the later prophets: the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 12 minor prophets as one book. Please note that in this list we do not meet the prophet Daniel, whose book in the Jewish canon does not belong to the prophetic books. The Scriptures (Ketuvim) are all other books: poetic, that is, psalms, the parables of Solomon, the Book of Job, the so-called Five Scrolls - this is the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes and historical books, which include the Book of the prophet Daniel, Book of Ezra and two books of Chronicles. As you can see, this is a completely different division. In our course, we will refer to it several times to clarify some interesting details.

The last remark concerns the division of Scripture into chapters and verses. We are used to the fact that a chapter encompasses a logically complete fragment of a book. We also perceive the boundary between verses as carrying a certain meaning. However, it should be understood that this division does not belong to the sacred writers, they wrote in succession, giving where necessary indications of the beginning of a new section. For the convenience of “navigation”, even in the Old Testament times, the division of the text of Scripture into fragments was used; over time, this division changed. It can be noted that the division of proverbs does not correspond to the modern division into chapters, which was made in the 13th century. The division into verses appeared even later, in the 15th century. Therefore, it is sometimes helpful to read Scripture ignoring this division. In some editions, for this purpose, the text is printed in continuous, and indications of chapters and verses are made in the margins.

On the inspiration of Holy Scripture. The question may arise: are there any formal criteria by which the inspiration of a particular book is determined? The following formal criteria are sometimes cited: the book must be in the original Hebrew, which is at least typical of all canonical books, and this book must be referenced in the New Testament. However, the controversy that has continued for centuries between Catholics and Protestants about the composition of the canon of Scripture clearly shows that these are rather secondary signs. We do not find references to all canonical books in the New Testament; on the other hand, there are non-canonical books that were once in Hebrew and references to which can be found in the New Testament books if desired. Thus, it should be recognized that there are no formal signs of canonicity.

For us, the Church Tradition is relevant, which passed from the Old Testament Church to the New Testament Church, that is, the direct testimony of the Church about these books. It is the Church, by the Holy Spirit, that bears witness to the inspiration of this or that book. Formally, this evidence is embodied in the definitions of Church Councils.

Let's stop here and think about what we mean when we say that books are "inspired"? I think that this word is well known to you, since you met it in the courses of the Catechism and the New Testament, but nevertheless it is worth touching on this issue again. You probably know the definition of the Long Christian Catechism of St. Philaret: “We speak of inspiration, meaning that these books were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by special people chosen by God, whom we call prophets or apostles.” But here there is a certain difficulty of the following nature. Once upon a time, these books were indeed written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but we have completely different books, we have the Bible of the synodal edition, which was translated in the 19th century from some lists, and these lists were rewritten from some other then lists, etc. They may have been spoiled a long time ago: some translator made a mistake, a copyist did not copy something, some malicious editor rearranged something. And as a result, we naively think that we are reading an inspired book, and it is not at all the one that was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by an apostle or a prophet. Such opinions are often found in modern scientific research.

But this shouldn't scare us too much. The Holy Spirit is always active in the Church. He also acted in the Old Testament Church. And as long as the Holy Scripture abides in the Church, it is preserved for us by the action of the Holy Spirit, and we read and see in it the same thing that God wanted to tell us through the prophets and through the apostles. But when some people leave the Church - let's take, for example, Jews in the 1st century or Protestants in the 16th century - then the preservation of the Scriptures becomes a whole problem.

At first, the rabbis were engaged in the interpretation of Scripture. But then, in the 6th century, the Masoretes appeared (from the Hebrew Masorah - tradition, tradition) - the keepers of the tradition. What were they doing? They standardized the text of Scripture and developed a kind of "technology", that is, the rules for its storage and rewriting, which did not allow errors to appear. Much later, the Protestants, and after them the Catholics, also invented various “scientific” methods for interpreting the Scriptures, but the authenticity and integrity of the Scriptures are still being debated. There is some analogy. When the soul leaves the body, it is difficult to keep it. Something similar takes place in relation to the Holy Scriptures.

Finally, we must not forget that, speaking of inspiration, the Fathers of the Church had in mind that a very special enlightening action of the Holy Spirit takes place when a person reads Holy Scripture. Reading it, a person enters into a conversation with God and is also enlightened by the same Spirit under whose influence the Scripture was written. Moreover, only those who are involved in the action of the Holy Spirit, at whose inspiration it was all written, can understand what is written - without this it is impossible to comprehend the Scriptures.

Ways of interpreting the Old Testament books. The interpretation in Greek is exegesis or exegesis. The easiest way to explain or interpret Scripture is literal. As it is written, so it is understood. The literal sense is sometimes subdivided into two kinds. If we are talking about past events, then this interpretation is literally historical; if it speaks of future events - for example, it is reported that such and such a city will be destroyed - then we are talking about a literal-prophetic sense.

However, the literal interpretation is not always applicable. Why? As has already been clarified, the meaning of Holy Scripture often does not lie on the surface. There are places that cannot be taken literally. For example, the appearance of God to Moses at Sinai, when God puts Moses in a cleft, covers him with a "palm", then Moses sees "God's back". From the point of view of what we know about God, this is a kind of absurdity. Undoubtedly, there is an allegory here, which is connected with the fact that our thinking, our language is not quite suitable for divine secrets to be so simply transmitted and understood. And then a spiritual (allegorical, or allegorical; see Gal. 4:24) interpretation is applied, when the literal meaning is replaced by another meaning - spiritual, since it is more consistent with the true idea of God. Sometimes a similar thing happens in the transmission of a teaching of a moral order. For example, the gospel phrase about cutting off the seductive hand and gouging out the eye was never considered to imply a literal fulfillment.

So, in his interpretation of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, St. Basil the Great says: “Based on general concepts, we must agree that contradictory expressions about God should not be understood literally. So, for example, according to generally accepted understanding, it must be recognized that God's nature is good, does not participate in wrath and is just. Therefore, if Scripture says that God is angry, or grieves, or repents, or gives someone an unworthy answer, then it is necessary to delve into the purpose of the saying and carefully consider how the true meaning can be restored, and not pervert respectable thoughts about God. Thus, let us not meet with stumbling-blocks in Scripture, deriving benefit from places that are easily understood and not suffering harm from places that are obscure.

Archpriest Gennady Egorov

Holy Scripture of the Old Testament

* * *

Foreword

Introduction

Do not neglect, friend, the meticulous hearing of the Divine Scriptures. This is the devil's cunning, which does not allow us to see the treasure, so that we do not acquire wealth. “Hearing Divine thoughts brings nothing,” says the enemy, so as not to see him the deeds resulting from this hearing.

Rev. Isidore Pelusiot

P#descr ( text-align: center; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; hyphenate: none; text-indent: 0px ) p.comment ( font-size: 80%; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; hyphenate: none; text-indent: 0px ) religion Priest Gennady Egorov The Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. Part 2.

The proposed edition of the course of lectures is intended as a textbook on biblical studies for students studying in the direction or specialty "Theology", as well as for students of the advanced training system. The second part of the manual contains an overview of the teaching and prophetic books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament.

Orthodoxy, Bible, Holy Scripture, Old Testament, lectures, PSTGU ru Vladimir Shneider http://www.ccel.org/contrib/ru/xml/index.html OOo Writer, ExportToFB21, XML Spy, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6 November 2011 Vladimir Shneider OOoFBTools-2011-11-27-21-41-41-566 2.0

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Holy Scripture of the Old Testament PSTGU Moscow 2007 5–7429-0198–4 Proofreading:

FOREWORD

The second part of the course deals with the teaching and prophetic books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. The general approach remains the same as in the first part. The main task is to show the unity of the Old and New Testaments, the Christ-centeredness of all Divine Scripture and, finally, its enduring significance and relevance.

The lack of a clear standard layout of the material within each chapter is due to the author's desire to give students a general idea of \u200b\u200beach book as a whole, and not just to acquaint them with its content. The last task is of secondary importance, since it can only be solved by reading the "original source" and not retellings.

The task remains unchanged to prepare students and listeners for independent study of the Holy Scriptures. Since modern students, as a rule, do not have sufficient preliminary training in the field of biblical studies, voluminous quotations from the Holy Scriptures are included in the text to facilitate the perception of educational material.

Section 1

EDUCATIONAL BOOKS

The books that make up the third section of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, which we are about to study, are called poetic in form, or instructive in content.

The risen Christ said to his disciples: This is what I told you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."(Luke 24:44). It can be seen from his words that these books at that time were united under the general name "psalms". Saints Cyril of Jerusalem and Gregory the Theologian, as well as the Monk John of Damascus called these books poetic. The 6th-century writer Leontius of Byzantium was one of the first to call them teaching.

According to the explanation of St. Athanasius the Great, “it was fitting that the Holy Scripture hymned God not only in a consistent [prosaic] speech, but also without a strict sequence [poetic]. So, in a connected speech, everything belonging to the law and the prophets and everything narrative, with the inclusion of the New Testament, is said. In a speech that does not have a strict order, what is contained in psalms and hymns is said. And this is what is required by the Law, that people love God with all strength and strength. He also calls the speech of the teaching books "common" [ibid.], thus pointing to a special form characteristic of Jewish poetry, when a thought is conveyed by means of two or more expressions connected by meaning (parallelism).

We call these books teaching because they contain the "teaching of piety." "Teaching books are predominantly subjective, in contrast to the objective presentation of the truths of faith and piety in the law and the objective description of the life of the Jewish people in historical writings." Their task is the objective laws and decrees given by God, to make the property of a person his own thoughts, feelings and will; show their agreement with human nature. They give us the experience and understanding of these divinely revealed truths in everyday life, as well as the response of the human spirit to the voice of God. Each of the teaching books does this in a particular way; we will consider other features of educational books in the sections devoted to each of them.

Book of Job

The book does not contain specific indications of the time of its writing and authorship. Saint John Chrysostom considered it to belong to Solomon, or even to Moses. It should be noted that everyday realities, which are described in this book, may well be attributed to the era of the patriarchs, to the beginning of the second millennium before the birth of Christ. The peculiarities of the language and style of this book, its closeness in many expressions to the Psalter, rather indicate that it received its final form during the heyday of the kingdom of Israel, that is, in the time of Solomon, at the time when other works were born. educational literature. One does not interfere with the other, since the ancient tradition could have received its final form much later. In other books of Holy Scripture, Job is spoken of as a very real historical person (Ezek. 14:14, Jas. 5:11). The postscript found in the text of the Septuagint says that Job was a descendant of Esau, the fifth from Abraham.

1.1. historical prologue

The first two chapters are an introduction or historical prologue. He tells that a pious man named Job lived in the land of Uz. There are many different considerations about where this land is located. One of the most common is that this is the northwestern part of Arabia on the border with Idumea. Scripture presents us with the wealth and piety of Job, who used to make sacrifices not only for himself, but also for his sons, interceding before God for the forgiveness of their possible transgressions.

In the book of Numbers there are a number of decrees concerning the life of the Israelites in the promised land. One of them limited the possibilities for blood feuds, which apparently took place. The intentional killer had to be executed, but the person who committed the murder unintentionally had the opportunity to hide. For this, six so-called cities of refuge were allocated; and in the event that such a person retired there, no one could lay hands on him, of course, when the premeditation of the murder was not proven. These cities were to be distributed on two sides of the Jordan and stretched from north to south in order to be accessible from everywhere. A person had to stay in this city of refuge until the time of the death of the high priest, after which he could go free, and no one had the right to raise a hand against him (Numbers 35:25). One modern interpretation says: “In the city of refuge, such a murderer should have been until the death of the high priest. A statement whose meaning is not clear. The patristic tradition, however, says that the meaning of this institution is obvious. It has a prophetic meaning, pointing to the death of the High Priest Christ, which frees a person from the bondage of sin and makes him free from death [see ch. 35, ch. 2–3, p. 130].

7.10. Ordination of Joshua

After Moses did everything for the Israelites to enter the promised land, he sets up Joshua, who was formerly a military leader among the Israelites and a servant of Moses (Ex. 24:13), who did not leave the tabernacle (Ex. 33:11). Note that he does not transfer power to his sons. Moses asks the Lord that after his death there would be no people left, “like sheep that have no shepherd”(Numbers 27:17, cf. Matt. 9:36). In response, the Lord commands him to put Joshua, "a person who has a Spirit"(Numbers 27:18). Through the laying on of hands, Moses appoints Joshua as leader over the Israelites before all the people (Numbers 27:22-23).

There is a double prophecy here. On the one hand, Joshua represents Christ as he brings the Jews, having received them from Moses, into the Promised Land. On the other hand, the Gospel says: “Seeing the crowds of people, He had pity on them, because they were exhausted and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples: the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”(Matthew 9:36-38). The apostles are called to service by Christ, as Joshua is called by Moses.

Chapter 8

In the book of Deuteronomy, the prophet Moses briefly reminds the story of the journey to the new generation of Israelites, those who were under 20 years old at the time of the Exodus. In addition, he reminds them of the commandments given at Sinai. This takes place in the 40th year after the Jews left Egypt (Deut. 1:3). In connection with the forthcoming entry into the promised land, the Israelites receive a number of new commandments.

8.1. Repetition of the Law and new commandments

In our course, the commandments are devoted to a special section, so now they will not be considered in detail.

I will only remind you that all three answers to the tempting questions that the devil asked the Savior in the wilderness were quotations from the book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13; 10:20). And the first part of the twofold commandment "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart" also taken from this book is Deuteronomy (Deut. 6:5). The Israelites had to write this commandment on their right hand and forehead, as a result of which the custom arose to make "repositories", the expansion of which the Lord speaks of by the Pharisees in the Gospel (Matt. 23: 5) (during prayer, the Jews tied boxes on their foreheads and on their hands, where the commandment was written "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one"(Deut. 6:4). In addition, to remind of the commandment of God through Moses, God commands everyone to make tassels on the edges of their clothes and insert threads of blue wool into them, looking at which the Israelites could remember the commandments of God (Num. 15: 38-40). These brushes are "exclamation of rhys"– The Lord also mentions it when he denounces the Pharisees, since the production of these boxes and brushes has become a kind of self-sufficient value, forgetting the reason for which this is all being done.

I will draw your attention to some of the new decrees recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, as we will need them to understand a number of events in the history of Israel.

The book of Deuteronomy prescribes the conduct of hostilities by the forces of the militia, since there was no provision for a regular army. Before the start of the war, the priests were to strengthen the people, saying that "The Lord your God is coming with you to fight for you against your enemies [and] save you"(Deut. 20:4).

But not everyone should have been taken into the militia. “Let the overseers announce to the people, saying: whoever builds a new house and does not renew it, let him go and return to his house, lest he die in battle and another renew it. And whoever has planted a vineyard and has not used it, let him go and return to his house, lest he die in battle and another profit from it. And whoever is betrothed to a wife and does not take her, let him go and return to his house, lest he die in battle and another take her. And again the guards will announce to the people, and they will say: whoever is fearful and faint-hearted, let him go and return to his house, lest he make the hearts of his brothers as timid as his heart.(Deut. 20:5–8). To take such people was considered, firstly, cruelly, and secondly, not entirely useful, since their heart was far from hostilities.

Interpreting these decrees allegorically, St. Cyril of Alexandria explains that in the spiritual sense, those who built a house are not those who seek the heavenly fatherland, but those who plant a vineyard and get married are captivated by passions. Both those and others cannot and do not want to wage spiritual warfare [cf. 38, book. 1, p. 271].

The book predicts that when the Israelites come to the promised land they will ask for a king, and sets out the laws concerning kingship (Deut. 17:14-20). The king cannot be from a foreign tribe. He should have a list of the Fa and learn from it all his life. The king must not multiply his horses, wealth, wives.

8.2. Messianic prophecies

The book contains an important messianic prophecy: “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He will speak to them all that I command Him; and whoever does not listen to My words, which [the Prophet] will speak in My name, from him I will exact.”(Deut. 18:18–19). The point is that Christ will be the new Legislator, having no less authority than Moses. In connection with this prophecy, the words of the Sermon on the Mount acquire special meaning: "Have you heard what the ancients said<…>And I tell you…”(Matthew 5:21-22). They move the listeners to ask the question: by what right do You say so? The answer is hidden in this prophecy.

I would like to draw your attention to the following expression: "Cursed is everyone, hang on a tree"(Deut. 21:23). St. John Chrysostom explains it this way: “Because it was determined for those who do not fulfill the law: “Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all” written in this book, says Moses in the law (Deut. 27:26), and Christ, as having fulfilled the law, could not be subject to this curse, instead of this curse, He took upon himself another, being hanged on a tree. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us"(Gal. 3:13), writes the Apostle Paul.

prophetic words “Your life will hang before you, and you will tremble night and day, and you will not be sure of your life”(Deut. 28:66) in addition to the literal, they also have a messianic meaning. According to the explanation of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, at the same time he indicates both the crucifixion with the word “hanging” and the resurrection with the word “life” [see. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 24:25-35].

Another prophecy is contained in the farewell song of Moses, which will be discussed below.

8.3. The law of widowhood (levirate) and marriages between the tribes

Since the continuation of the family line for the Old Testament people was of a fundamental nature, Moses establishes the law of uzhik (from the Slavic yuzhik - a fellow tribesman, relative) or levirate (from the Latin levir - brother-in-law, husband's brother). If a married person dies childless, his brother must take his wife for himself, and the child born from this marriage will be considered the full successor and heir of the deceased. A person who refused to fulfill this law doomed himself to disgrace (Deut. 25:5-10). This law explains the discrepancies in the genealogies of the Savior in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Sometimes this decree is associated with another one, given back in the days of the division of the lands beyond the Jordan. It consists in the fact that if a father has only daughters, then it is these daughters who come into the inheritance of his inheritance, but they do not have the right to marry men from another tribe, so that the inheritance does not pass from one tribe to another (Num. 36:8).

In connection with this law, confusion sometimes arises, they say that it was generally impossible to marry a woman from another tribe. Then the question arises, how then could the Virgin Mary be a relative of Elizabeth, who was from the house of Aaron, if Mary herself was betrothed to Joseph - a husband from the tribe of Judah?

There are several Old Testament examples that shed light on this issue. The high priest Aaron had a wife, Elizabeth, from the tribe of Judah, the daughter of Aminadab and the sister of Nahshon (Ex. 6:23), the same Aminadab and Nahshon who are mentioned in the genealogy of the Savior. Here we see the first intersection of the tribes of Levi and Judah, and the intersection of the priestly and royal lines. Then (2 Kings, 11) the moment is described when the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, Athaliah, who was married to Jehoram, the son of the King of Judah Jehoshaphat, after the death of her husband and son-heir, tried to exterminate all the descendants of David (2 Kings 11: 1) . The only surviving heir of the royal house, Prince Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, is rescued by the high priest Jodai along with his wife Josabeth, the daughter of King Jehoram (2 Chronicles 22: 11). That is, the wife of the high priest was not just from the tribe of Judah, but a princess from the family of David. This is the second intersection of these two tribes, and in the line of the priestly and royal, on the pages of the Old Testament. Therefore, we can no longer have questions about the fact that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, since even on the pages of Scripture we see at least two intersections of these two genera.

8.4. Last instructions. Song of Moses

Approaching the end of his life, the prophet Moses pronounces the last instructions to the children of Israel: "The Lord has offered you two paths: the path of life and the path of death", that is, the path of submission to the will of God, the fulfillment of the commandments of God and the path of evasion from God. “Behold, today I have offered you life and good, death and evil. [If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God,] which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, to walk in [all] His ways, and to do His commandments and His ordinances and His laws, then you will live and multiply, and the Lord will bless you your God, in the land you are going to take possession of; But if your heart turns away, and you do not listen, and you go astray, and begin to worship other gods and serve them, then I announce to you today that you will perish and will not stay long on the land [which the Lord God gives you,] to possess with which you cross the Jordan"(Deut. 30:15–18).

To top it off, Moses sings a farewell song that begins with the words: “Beware, heaven, and I will speak…” This song of Moses (Deut. 32) is used during worship as the second biblical song of the canon at matins, usually only during Great Lent, during special repentance.

Prophet Moses, foreseeing the retreat of the Israelites from the Lord, describes the sorrows that will follow, but nevertheless promises that one day the Lord will have mercy on them and deliver them from all enemies.

At the end of this song, the message of deliverance from the enemies is connected with the prophecy about Christ: “You see, you see, as I am, and is there no God for Me: I will kill and I will create life: I will strike and I will heal, and there will be no one who will take away from My hand<…>Rejoice, heavens, be with Him, and let all the angels of God worship Him: rejoice, Gentiles, with His people, and let all the sons of God be strong to Him.(Deut. 32:39, 43). The victory of Christ will rejoice heaven and earth, Jews and Gentiles. “Singing of old Moses the great crying out: let the heavenly angels worship the ascending Christ, as the King of all”(2nd canon of the Ascension, canto 7, tr. 3).

8.5. Death of Moses

Finally, Moses ascends Mount Nebo, blesses the Israelites, and, having examined from this mountain the land to which he aspired and led the Israeli people for the last third of his life, he dies. Although he was 120 years old, his eyesight was not dulled and the strength in him was not exhausted (Deut. 34: 7). He was buried in the valley, in the land of Moab, and no one knows the place of burial. Scripture specifically emphasizes that the death of Moses was not caused by some kind of exhaustion, his old age, etc., but that by God's determination, when Moses fulfilled his ministry, passing it on to Joshua, he passed away into another world. This ends the history of the Pentateuch.

In connection with the description of the death of Moses, the question arises, how could Moses describe his own death? As a prophet, he could have known its circumstances in advance (there are examples in the lives of the saints). It can also be assumed that Joshua later added to the writings of Moses.

Chapter 9

9.1. Variety of provisions of the law

I will list in general terms a number of issues regulated by the law, so that you can imagine the volume of topics that it addresses. First, the establishment of monotheism and the prohibition of idolatry (Ex. 20: 2-6). Then - circumcision, the prohibition of pronouncing the name of God (Ex. 20: 7), the prohibition of false oaths and blasphemy, the law on the Sabbath (Ex. 20: 11), the law on honoring the father and mother (Ex. 20: 12) - these laws are about veneration of the father and mother is in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, where the attitude of children and parents, the veneration of the elders is considered from different angles. Prohibition of killing (Ex. 20:13), regulation of blood feuds and law on cities of refuge (Deut. 19), burial of unknown people, strangers, laws on fighting and self-mutilation (Ex. 21: 18-36), prohibition on adultery (Ex. 20:14), ritual trials of women accused of infidelity (Num. 5). The prohibition of theft, the prohibition of violation of the boundary between the fields, an exhortation not to desire someone else's. The legal status of foreign slaves and slaves from Jews, the abduction and sale of people, the ban on marriages with foreigners. The law of levirate (Deut. 25:5–10) and the rules of divorce, the legal position of sons, and the law of inheritance of daughters. Rules for the conduct of war, conscription for military service and cases of exemption from military duty (Deut. 20), the procedure for dividing the booty. Regulations on the holidays: on the Sabbath, on the Passover, on the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles (Deut. 16; Lev. 23). The law on the collection of interest and taxes, the organization of the court, witnesses and punishment for perjury, the principles of personal responsibility. Tithing rules for the Levites. Rules about vows, about Nazirites (Num. 6) and about vows of women. Rules about clean and unclean, rules about cleansing from leprosy, various rules of ritual purity. These commandments are collected in several large groups in addition to the Decalogue, which is repeated twice - in the book of Exodus and in the book of Deuteronomy. One code of laws is found from Exodus 20 to 23, another from Leviticus 17 to 26, a collection sometimes called the "Code of Holiness", and also in Deuteronomy 12 to 27. - chapter; although separate indications are also found out of connection with others, when the commandments are given on some particular occasions.

9.2. The universal meaning of the Law. The Law as a Guide to Righteousness

The center of all legislation was, of course, the Decalogue (Ex. 20:2-17). All other commandments are to some extent its disclosure and interpretation. The law given in the desert, in "no man's land", is not intended for a particular country, but has a universal meaning. It is customary to say that the commandments of the Decalogue underlie universal morality. This is true because the law corresponds to the nature of man. His commandments provide the correct guidelines for the development of the human soul, which was created for a moral life, and not vice versa. An immoral life is destructive for a person. True, one should be careful here, because when it comes to universal human values, the Decalogue is often significantly reduced. If you ask a modern “secular” student if he has heard of the commandments, he will answer positively. If he is then asked to list them, he will start with the sixth (the fifth is now unpopular). But the first four traditionally cause difficulty. This is no coincidence, since the first four commandments are not considered by many to be "universal values." But without them, there is no value at all.

The emptiness of "autonomous" ethics is demonstrated by the Gospel story of the rich young man (Matt. 19:16-24 and parallels). He kept the 5-10 commandments, but did not want to fulfill the 1st in full, and therefore cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The first part of the Decalogue gives absolute significance to the rest of the moral instructions, because God himself is absolute, God is absolute goodness. Moral postulates that are not correlated with God have no absolute value. If we know that "thou shalt not kill", because God said so, then there is nowhere to go, even if we cannot explain it (although we can), because you cannot argue with God. If "thou shalt not kill", because it is simply not good, not accepted, then Smerdyakov's principle comes into play: "if there is no God, then everything is permitted." If God is not the source, protector and guarantor of these commandments, then what, in fact, can keep me from transgressing them? Nothing.

This is the fundamental difference between the law of Moiseev and ordinary legislation. Ordinary legislation serves to mutually limit human selfishness. Each act is judged in terms of the damage caused or potential damage. Here things are different. The Law of Moses condemns many deeds only because they are an abomination before God. And no matter how people justify them, or argue about their usefulness or harmlessness, the matter does not change from this. The law contains a direct reference to the will of God and requires obedience to it. Let me give you a vivid example. “You must have a place outside the camp where you would go out; in addition to your weapons, you must have a spatula; and when you sit outside [the camp], dig it [a pit] and again bury [it] your stool; for the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and deliver your enemies [into your hands], and [therefore] your camp must be holy, so that He does not see anything shameful in you and does not depart from you.(Deut. 23:12–14). It would seem that this is a purely hygienic norm, and it has a high justification - there should not be any uncleanness unworthy of the presence of God.

We mentioned above that the Law was supposed to guide a person to a moral life. The basis (and content too) of a moral life is union with God, being with Him.

Sin, in its turn (according to the meaning of the term itself, from the Greek ??????? - miss, deviation) is an action that leads a person away from God, hinders union with Him. Therefore, denouncing certain actions, the Law points to certain states of the soul behind them that are destructive for it.

As already mentioned, Sinai legislation contains a wide range of diverse laws. It is possible to study in detail their various economic, social and other aspects, but we are not interested in this, but in what the New Testament draws our attention to in the first place. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who give tithes from mint, anise and cumin, and left the most important thing in the law: judgment, mercy and faith; this ought to be done, and that not to be abandoned.”(Matthew 23:23).

Let's look at this with specific examples.

“Let there be one law both for the natural inhabitant and for the stranger who has settled between you”(Ex. 12:49). This was a rarity in those days, equality of rights between a natural inhabitant and a stranger. It used to be (and still is) quite different.