1. Writing of the Old Testament
Bible, Church & World
Writing of the Old Testament
November 12, 2008

2. Bible, Church & World Format: Questions of the Day
Small Group Discussion
Presentation
General Discussion/Summing Up

3. Bible, Church & World Question of the Day:
How was the Old Testament Written?
What is the internal evidence in the Bible?

4. Bible, Church & World Small Group Discussion:
How was the Old Testament written?
What is the internal evidence in the Bible?
Small Group Discussion:
Exodus 24:1-4 Deuteronomy 31:9
Joshua 8: Chronicles 34:14-18
Genesis 21:34 Genesis 26:14-18
Genesis 36:31 Deuteronomy 34:1-8
Isaiah 6:1 Isaiah 44:28

5. Compiling the Old Testament
Bible, Church & World
Presentation:
Compiling the Old Testament

6. Divisions of the Old Testament
Bible, Church & World
Divisions of the Old Testament
Law
Prophets
Writings

7. Organization of Hebrew Scripture
Bible, Church & World
Organization of Hebrew Scripture

8. Bible, Church & World The Law
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Deuteronomy
Numbers

9. Bible, Church & World The Prophets
Former Prophets
Latter Prophets
The 12 Prophets

10. Bible, Church & World The Former Prophets
Joshua
Judges
Samuel
Kings

11. Bible, Church & World The Latter Prophets
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel

12. Bible, Church & World The Twelve Prophets
Hosea Joel
Amos Obadiah
Jonah Micah
Nahum Habakkuk
Zephaniah Haggai
Zechariah Malachi

13. Bible, Church & World The Writings
Psalms Proverbs Job Song of Songs Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel
Ezra Nehemiah
1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles

14. Bible, Church & World Apocryphal Books
1. The First Book of Esdras (also known as Third Esdras)
2. The Second Book of Esdras (also known as Fourth Esdras)
3. Tobit
4. Judith
5. The Additions to the Book of Esther
6. The Wisdom of Solomon
7. Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach
8. Baruch
9. The Letter of Jeremiah (This letter is sometimes incorporated as the last chapter of Baruch. When this is done the number of books is fourteen instead of fifteen.)
10. The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
11. Susanna
12. Bel and the Dragon
13. The Prayer of Manasseh
14. The First Book of Maccabees
15. The Second Book of Maccabees

15. Stages in the Compiling of the Old Testament
Bible, Church & World
Stages in the Compiling of the Old Testament
Appearance of Scroll in Temple - 2 Kings 23:1-10 (630 BCE)
Reading of the Law after Return – Nehemiah 8:1-3 (500 BCE)
Compiling of Hebrew Scripture w/vowels – 5th Century BCE
Compiling of Septuagint in Alexandria to 200 BCE
Council of Jamnia confirms Hebrew Canon – 90 AD
Synod of Carthage – 397 AD
Jerome Compiles Latin Vulgate – 405 AD
Hebrew Masoretic Texts Completed - 9th Century AD
Luther Translates OT into German – 1534 AD
King James Translation – 1611 AD

16. The Scriptures Compiled Post-Captivity
Bible, Church & World
The Scriptures Compiled Post-Captivity
All the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Nehemiah 8:1-3

17. Bible, Church & World The Scriptures Compiled Post-Captivity
Scripture Collected & Compiled
Revisions to Include Vowels – Masoretic Text
Reconstructing the Culture
What Went Wrong?
Work on Scriptural Texts Continuous

18. Bible, Church & World Septuagint
Greek Translation of Hebrew Scriptures – 300 to 200 BCE
Compiled by Jewish Scholars in Alexandria
Attempt to Translate Scripture into Common Language
Called “The 70” because of the Number of Scholars
Scripture Familiar to Jesus and Apostles, Early Church
Primary OT Source for Greek Orthodox Church

19. Septuagint - What Does It Contain?
Bible, Church & World
Septuagint - What Does It Contain?
The Septuagint contains the standard 39 books of the Old Testament canon, as well as certain apocryphal books. The term "Apocrypha" was coined by the fifth-century biblical scholar, Jerome, and generally refers to the set of ancient Jewish writings written during the period between the last book in the Jewish scriptures, Malachi, and the arrival of Jesus Christ. The apocryphal books include Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), the Wisdom of Solomon, First and Second Maccabees, the two Books of Esdras, additions to the Book of Esther, additions t the Book of Daniel, and the Prayer of Manasseoh.

20. Bible, Church & World The Septuagint in the New Testament
Of the approximately 300 Old Testament quotes in the New Testament, approximately 2/3 of them come from the Septuagint.
Matt. 1:23 / Isaiah 7:14 - behold, a "virgin" shall conceive. Hebrew - behold, a "young woman" shall conceive.
Mark 7:6-8 – Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 from the Septuagint – “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”

21. Bible, Church & World Council of Jamnia – 90 AD
Rabbinical School Founded after Destruction of Temple
Comprised of Later Generations of Jerusalem Sanhedrin
Reviewed Jewish Scripture – Established Canon
Must Conform to Pentateuch
Must not have been written after Ezra (400 BCE)
Must have been written originally in Hebrew
Must have been written in Palestine
Accepted 10 Fewer Books than Septuagint

22. Final Form of Jewish Old Testament Canon
Bible, Church & World
Final Form of Jewish Old Testament Canon
By 9th Century AD

23. Bible, Church & World Synod of Carthage – 397 AD
The Council of Carthage, on 28 August 397 issued a canon of the Bible restricted to: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Josua, Judges, Ruth, 4 books of Kingdoms, 2 books of Paralipomenon, Job, Psalter of David, 5 books of Solomon, 12 books of Prophets, Isaias, Jeremias, Daniel, Ezechiel, Tobias, Judith, Esther, 2 books of Esdras, 2 books of Machabees, and in the New Testament: 4 books of Gospels, 1 book of Acts of the Apostles, 13 letters of the Apostle Paul, 1 of him to the Hebrews, 2 of Peter, 3 of John, 1 of James, 1 of Jude, and the Apocalypse of John.

24. Jerome Compiles the Latin Vulgate
Bible, Church & World
Jerome Compiles the Latin Vulgate
Commissioned by Pope Damasus in 382
Translates 39 OT books from Hebrew
Includes Several Apocryphal Books from LXX
Tobit, Judith (from Aramaic)
Additions to Daniel & Esther
Baruch, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus
I & II Maccabees, 3 & 4 Esdras
Prayer of Manasseh

25. Bible, Church & World The Vulgate Bible Vulgate Completed about 405 AD
Standard Latin Bible of Roman Catholic Church
Gutenberg Bible is a Latin Vulgate Bible

26. The OT in the Reformation
Bible, Church & World
The OT in the Reformation
Luther Begins OT Translation in 1522
Completes Pentateuch in 1523
Completed Entire OT in 1534
Worked from Latin, Greek & Hebrew Masoretic Sources
Did not include Apocryphal Books

27. Cover to Luther’s 1534 OT Translation
Bible, Church & World
Cover to Luther’s 1534 OT Translation

28. Old Testament Canon – by Denomination
Bible, Church & World
Old Testament Canon – by Denomination

29. Bible, Church & World

30. Bible, Church & World

31. Bible, Church & World

32. Comparison of Apocryphal Books
Bible, Church & World
Comparison of Apocryphal Books
by Denomination

33. Bible, Church & World Dead Sea Scrolls
Discovered at Qumran, Palestine in 1947
Oldest Known Copies of Scripture
Date to Before 100 AD – Essene Community
Includes Fragments from Every OT Book
Wide Variety of Textual Variance but…
In Substantial Agreement with Masoretic Texts

34. Bible, Church & World
Summing Up:
Five Conclusions

35. Bible, Church & World This is a Very Complex Subject!
Covers Over 2000 Years
Israelite History is Chaotic
Reflects Interwoven Traditions
Oral & Written Transmission
External Evidence is Scarce

36. Bible, Church & World We Know Most About What is Least Important
Compiling of the Septuagint
Development of Masoretic Texts
Textual Nuances in Dead Sea Scrolls
We Know Little About What is Most Important
Who Compiled Pentateuch? How? When?
Who was Abraham? Moses? Jacob?
Where is Archeology of the History of Israel?

37. Bible, Church & World What Do We Do With the Septuagint?
LXX Most Influential During Time of Jesus, Early Church
LXX Embraced as Canon by Greek Orthodox Church
But…
Jewish Scholarship (Jamnia) Takes Another Path
And…
Catholics Embrace Hebrew Texts, Some Apocryphals
Protestants Accept Only 39 OT Hebrew Books

38. Bible, Church & World Tradition of Literature as Response to Adversity
Ezekiel, Job as a Response to Babylonian Captivity
Judith, Daniel as a Response to Oppressive Greek Rule
Academy at Jamnia as a Response to Destruction of the Temple
And…
Revelation - a Response to Roman Persecution of the Early Church

39. Bible, Church & World Underlying Motivation for the Shaping of the OT
As a Cultural Anchor and Rallying Point
As an Explanation for Babylonian Captivity
Addressed the Needs of the Post-Exile Generation
So That…
The Old Testament was compiled in such a way that it became highly relevant to the Jewish situation in 1st Century Roman Palestine.

40. Questions and Comments?
Bible, Church & World
Questions and Comments?

41. Christian Perspective
Bible, Church & World
Next Week:
Christian Perspective
of the
Old Testament