What is the Bible?
A collection of writings authored, compiled, & edited over hundreds, it not thousands, of years. Amazingly, it reads as if authored by the same person.
The bible has (66) books (29 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament)
It has (2) canons: The Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Hebrew definition of "canon" is "measuring reed or stick"
The selection criteria of what goes into the Hebrew Bible:
~AUTHOR. Must be a prophetically gifted person
~AUDIENCE: Must be relevant for all generations.:
~TEACHING: There must be no contradictions
~LANGUAGE: Must be in Hebrew or Aramaic
Some biblical era writings did not "measure up" to be included in canon.
The Hebrew Old Testament is divided thus:
~TORAH ---The Law---1st five books, know as the Pentateuch in the English Protestent Old Testament
~Nebiim (pronounced Nevim)---The Prohets
~Ketubim (pronounced Ketvim)---Writings
Know together as the TaNaK (T=Torah, N= Nebim, K=Ketubim the lower case "a" are know as "Vowel Pointing" introduced by the Masoretes, see below)
Tradition holds that Moses wrote the Old Testament.
Some modern scholarship believes the Hebrew Bible was assembled under a commission by Xerxes circa 532-538 BC to allow Israelite returnees some degree of autonomy provided they codify their history and laws.
The English Protestant Old Testament is divided thus:
~Pentateuch (see above)
~Historical Books (not History books)
~Poetical Books (Not Poetry books)
~Major Prophets
~Minor Prophets
The Catholic Old Testament was assembled in 1546 at the Council of Trent. ( Council of Trent (Roman Catholicism) ) It contains (7) "Deutercanonical" books, also know as "Apocrypha". They are not included in the Hebrew or English Protestant Old Testament because they fail several of the selection criteria noted above:
~Not written in Hebrew or Aramaic (written in Greek)
~Hebrew scholars regard the "Inter-Testamental Period" (the 400 years between the last book of the Hebrew Old Testament and the arrival of Christ) as being devoid of Inspiration and these books were written during this period.
~They make no claim of Inspiration.
~Full of contradictions
~During the Reformation (early 16th Century) canonicity of these books was determined and found to not to have been referred to by Christ or in any of the Apostolic writings. (These books give Catholics foundation of certain of their dicta such as Purgatory and praying to the dead)
Theories of Inspiration:
The Doctrine of Inspiration separates the Bible from other great writings.
~NEO ORTHODOX---Would say that the Bible has many errors because God is so transcendent that there the only way we can understand is through direct Revelation & the words were written fallibly by fallible men (This theory is not supported by Scripture)
~DICTATION---This theory holds that there are no errors in the bible as God himself is the Author. He spoke it and men wrote what he said down (This does not explain some Scripture)
~LIMITED INSPIRATION---Sort of the opposite of DICTATION. Man is the primary author, but recieved guidance from God. This theory holds that there are some errors in the Bible.
~PLENARY VERBAL---All Scripture is God breathed (not spoken). It is written by men led by the Spirit and there are no errors. This theory is supported by Scripture. Examples:
2 Timothy 3:16 & 17: 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Peter 1:20 & 21: 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Transmission of the text (How the Bible created):
~Originally through Oral Tradition. Moses commanded his People to constantly tell these stories. Constant repetition by thousands of people telling the same story insured accuracy, this is why Moses wanted the constantly hammered home. The Pharisees also practiced this Oral Tradition.
~The first written copies were done in the Consonantal Method, basically a string of consonants difficult to understand. The Masorettes introduced Vowel Pointing to divide the text to make meaning more clear
~Scribes made meticulous copies of manuscritps. These were not in the same form as the Bilbe---no titles or divisions of any kind. Scribes were so dedicated to their task that they would destroy any copies even with only one error, even nearly completed texta. The oldest material used to write on was papyrii first on a method known as "unseal (sp)" or writing in ALL CAPS, then "miscule (sp), a type of cursive writing.
~Masorettic Text. The Masorettes were scholars who gave us word division and Vowel Pointing.
~Aramaic Targums. A Biblical Paraphrase written in Aramaic to make Hebrew to make the Hebrew Bible more understandable. Not actual translations. Modern examples would be the New Living Bible and the Message Bible.
~Septuagint . Translated by Hebrew Scholars into the "Lingua Franca" or common language (Greek). Alexander The Great ordered that all nations in his Empire do all business in a Greek in the 3rd Centurt\y BC. Translation was done in the 1st Century, commissioned by Pharoa Ptolemy Philadelphus and was done by 72 Hebrew Scholars over a period of 70 days (thus the name Septuagint, Latin for 70, depected as Roman Numerals LXX. The Septuagint is critical in terms of Translations.
~Jeromes Latin Vulgate. A translation made in 4th Century AD by the Catholic Church.
~John Wycliff. The first person to translate a Bible into English in the 14th Century. It was translated from the Vulgate and included the Aprocypha.
~Martin Luther. Translated the Bible into German using the Septuagint in the early 16th Century as part of the Reformation. It omits the Apocrypha and marks the Canonization of our Old Testament
~William Tyndale, a contemporary of Luther's, translated into English from the Hebrew text and is the first translation after the Reformation.
~King James. Translated from the Hebrew into Old English in 1611, commissioned by King James. It became the most popular translation.
HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
~By Book
~By Topic (Topical)
~Survey. To touch upon entire parts. We are doing a Survey of the Pentateuch.
~Hermeneutics: Principles of Interpretations
---Historical Grammatical Method. For highly advanced scholars.
---Pay attention to Context.
---Determine the Type of Literature. Poetry? Prophecy? Apocalyptic?
---Interpret figurative Language. Similies, metaphor, hyperbole. Example of metaphor: Luke 6:41. Example of simile: Luke 6:46. Example of hyperbole: Matthew 5:30
---Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Reading in context with other Scripture
---Apply the Passage to your life.
S---Is there a Sin for me to confess?
P---Is there a Promise for me to claim?
E---Is there an Error for me to avoid?
E---Is there an Example for me to follow?
C---Is there a Command for me to obey?
H---Is there a Hindrance for me to avoid?
A passage should speak to you in one of these ways.
go to riverpointe.org/Bible College to upload a paper by Yardley: "Shalome: The Missing Peace". Read before next week.
Below are notes taken by Roxie Casall:
Week 1
Yardley Kennedy
Ybk2@comcast.net
832-419-8396
Introduction of the class
Week 2
The BIBLE is the authority of our life and our truth.
What is the BIBLE? The bible is a collection of writings authored, compiled and edited by various writers over hundreds, thousands of years. It came together seamlessly.
The Bible:
-There are 66 books in our English bible. (39 OT & 27 NT)
-There are 2 Canons: Old Testament and the New Testament
-A Canon is a measuring stick
-Hebrew Canon has 39 books
The Selection Criteria for the Hebrew Canon was:
-Author: Prophetically gifted person
-Audience: Relevant for all generations
-Teaching: No contradictions
-It had to be in Hebrew or Aramaic
*There is only ONE Canon in the Hebrew Bible: The Old Testament
*The New Testament is in Greek
The Old Testament
Divisions of the Hebrew Old Testament:
1. Torah (Law):
-Moses wrote the Torah
- Some call it the “Book of Moses”
-The Persian Imperial Authorization: the theory that the Persian
Empire authorized and influenced the formation of the Pentateuch,
the first five books of the Jewish and Christian Bibles
2. Nebiim (Prophets):
-This is pronounced Neviim. In Hebrew the b is a soft b
pronounced like a v.
3. Ketubim (Writings)
4. TaNaK: People refer to the Hebrew OT as TaNak
Divisions of the English Old Testament:
1. Law (Pentateuch)
2. Historical Books
3. Poetical Books
4. Major Prophets
5. Minor Prophets
*Catholic OT is different from the English/Protestant OT
-year 1506
-Contains 7 “Deutercanonical” Books
-Those 7 books are known as the “Apocrypha”
There are 5 reasons why they were NOT considered in the Hebrew OT:
1. They were not written in Hebrew or Aramaic
2. It was decided that there was a cessation of prophecy during the
Intertestamental Period: the 400 year period between the OT and NT
3. There was no claim of inspiration
4. Those writings were full of contradictions
5. None of those writings were referred to anywhere in the NT by Jesus or Apostolic writings
*Early 16th Century was when English/Protestant Canonicity was determined.
*INSPIRATION is one of the most important doctrines in Christianity. The bible is the infallible Word of God.
4 Theories of Inspiration:
1. Neo-Orthodox Theory: The bible has MANY ERRORS. It states that God is so transcendent that there is no way we could get to know Him except through His direct revelation to us. The words of the bible is men talking to us NOT God. BUT we could still learn about Him through reading it.
2. Dictation: There are NO ERRORS in the bible. God HIMSELF is the author of scripture and that humans were like secretaries and took dictation from God. Basically, God spoke and Man wrote it down. It doesn’t explain scripture.
3. Limited Inspiration: Man is the author with LIMITED inspiration from God. God guided man’s work but He allowed the authors to express themselves in their work. There are SOME ERRORS.
4. Plenary-Verbal: ALL scripture is God breathed. God breathed every word out of His mouth. NO ERRORS! Scripture supports this theory in:
2 Timothy 3: 16-17 which states: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Peter 1: 20-21 which states: 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
*It all started with ORAL TRADITION when families would tell the stories every day!
Transmission of Text:
1. Consonantal:
-The first manuscripts were an endless stream of consonants.
For example: cdkplfghwqkynmzsdbv
2. Scribes:
-They wrote on “Papyri” and they made meticulous copies of manuscripts.
-If they made any mistakes, they had to start all over.
3. Masoretic Text:
-This text gave the Consonantal manuscripts vowel pointings and
word divisions.
For example: cₐdₐkₑ pₒlₐfₒ
-They were scholars known as “Masoretes”.
4. Aramaic Targums:
-This was a paraphrase written in Aramaic to make the Hebrew bible more
understandable.
-You have to be careful with paraphrase writings because a lot gets lost in
translation. You should read in Hebrew or Greek.
5. Septuagint:
-Known as “LXX” for the Roman Numeral 70. It is said that 70 Hebrew
scholars went to work to translate from Hebrew to Greek although it was
really 72 scholars and it took 70 days.
-This took place in 3rd Century BC
-Greek was considered the “Lingua Franca” by Alexander the Great
-However, it was an Egyptian Pharaoh by the name of Ptolemy II
Philadelphus in 1st Century Palestine that made the decision for
translation.
-The Septuagint is referred to ALL the TIME!
6. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate
-Translated Hebrew into Latin in 4th Century AD
7. John Wycliffe
-Translated the Latin Vulgate into vernacular English in 14th Century AD.
This was referred to as the Wycliffe Bible.
- He is sometimes called "The Morning Star of the Reformation” because his
followers led the Lollard movement which was a precursor to the
Protestant Reformation
8. Martin Luther
-was a German friar, Catholic priest, professor of theology and seminal
figure of the 16th-century movement in Christianity known later as
the Protestant Reformation.
-Leader of the Protestant Reformation Movement: insisting that
the Pope had no authority over purgatory and that the Catholic doctrine of
the merits of the saints had no foundation in the gospel.
-Translated from the Septuagint into German
-This became our OT Canon since he omitted the 7 Deutercanonical books
9. William Tyndale
- First translation from Hebrew and Greek texts into English in early 16th
Century AD
-First translation after the Protestant Reformation.
-The first English one to take advantage of the printing press
-This is the version we have right now!
10. King James
-Gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new
version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the Episcopal
structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.
-The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were members
of the Church of England, and was completed in 1611 AD.
-Today, the 'King James Version' commonly identifies the Oxford standard
text and became the most popular version!
4 ways to Study the Bible:
1. Book Study: Study a book. For example, study the book of Isaiah.
2. Topical Study: Study a topic. For example, study the topic of Grace.
3. Survey Study: Study by touching briefly or visiting stories/movements
4. Hermeneutics: the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation
-Includes the 6 “Principles of Interpretation”
6 Principles of Interpretation:
1. Historical Grammatical Method: scholars who try to line up history with the
bible events. This includes source criticism and historical criticism.
2. Pay attention to context: Exegesis vs Eisegesis
-Exegesis is the exposition or explanation of a text based on a careful,
objective analysis. The word exegesis literally means “to lead out of.”
That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following
the text.
-Eisegesis is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective,
non-analytical reading. The word eisegesis literally means “to lead
into,” which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text,
making it mean whatever he wants.
3.Determine the type of literature: Poetry, prophecy, narrative
4. Interpret Figurative Language: look at scriptures that have similes,
metaphors, hyperboles
5. Scripture to interpret scripture: If you have a question about one scripture,
read it in context to another scripture.
6. Apply the passage to your life: Every passage we read should speak to us in
one of the following ways:
The “SPEECH” of Passage: Is there a…
S – Sin for me to confess
P – Promise for me to claim
E – Error for me to avoid
E – Example for me to follow
C – Command for me to obey
H – Hindrance for me to avoid
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