To speak of the Hebrew Scriptures is to speak of a history, a history that extends from the beginning of time to just a few centuries before the beginning of the Common Era. It means talking about richness of content, purposes and reality and immersing oneself in a general narrative which, depending on one's personal beliefs, continues to the present day. Within this wealth lies a wide variety of different events and experiences, told through a number of genres ranging from foundational myth to apocalypse, from law to poetry, from genealogy to wisdom, and much more. Within this diversity, however, three broad sections can be distinguished that speak to a shared purpose and content: these are the sections of Law, Prophecy, and Writings. The purpose of this talk is therefore to examine each of these sections, identifying their commonalities and differences, and exploring why they exist as distinguishable sections. To achieve this, we will be guided through a brief overview of each section, delving into the content and purpose of each with reference to the others. In addition to this we will also explore the three genres of foundational myth, type scene and wisdom found in these sections, discussing their characteristics and how they were used in specific circumstances as part of the wider biblical narrative. The first section of the Hebrew Scriptures we will explore is that of the Law, or to use the original Hebrew term for it, 'Torah'. This section is rich in narrative and includes the creation and fall stories of Genesis, as well as the foundational myths of Israel in the forms of the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the Law, and the concept of the "Promised Land." Involving the first five books of the canonical Hebrew Scriptures, this s...... half of the document ......Fee, D. Gordon, and Stuart Douglas. How to read the Bible book by book. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.—. How to read the Bible for all its value. 3rd edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003.LaSor, William Sanford, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic William Bush. Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Context of the Old Testament. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing co., 1996.Mark, Strom. The Symphony of Scripture: Making Sense of the Bible's Many Themes. Phillpsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2001. Robert, Alter. The art of biblical storytelling. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1981. Rogerson, J. W. and Judith M. (eds.) Lieu. The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006. Wenham, J. Gordon. Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Pentateuch. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003.