36,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Sprache: Englisch
Explore a timely introduction to the formation of the Bible in its historical and modern contexts In the newly revised Second Edition of A Contemporary Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts, accomplished scholars and authors Colleen M. Conway and David M. Carr deliver a rigorous, accessible, and up-to-date introduction to the Bible. The textbook places the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and New Testament in the broader context of world history, with a special focus on the empires that influenced the Bible's formation. Readers are introduced to the academic study of the Bible through a range of scholarly approaches. Readers benefit from the inclusion of: * A thorough introduction to the Bible in its ancient contexts, from the emergence of Israel's earliest traditions to the writing and reshaping of the Bible amidst Assyrian Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic and Roman empires. * The most up-to-date work in the field, seamlessly integrated into every chapter * A wealth of pedagogical features including study questions, bibliographies, timelines, and illustrations * An unparalleled coverage of both fundamental topics and cutting-edge issues, resulting in a truly outstanding textbook. Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students studying religion, history, sociology, and philosophy, A Contemporary Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts, Second Edition will also earn a place in the libraries of religious scholars and researchers seeking a one-stop reference to the Bible in its ancient and modern context.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 905
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
Ähnliche
A CONTEMPORARY INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE
SECOND EDITION
SACRED TEXTS AND IMPERIAL CONTEXTS
Colleen M. Conway and David M. Carr
This second edition first published 2021
© 2021, 2010 Colleen M. Conway and David M. Carr
Edition History
John Wiley & Sons Ltd. (1e, 2010)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Colleen M. Conway and David M. Carr to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
Registered Offices
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
Editorial Office
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty
The contents of this work are intended to further general scientific research, understanding, and discussion only and are not intended and should not be relied upon as recommending or promoting scientific method, diagnosis, or treatment by physicians for any particular patient. In view of ongoing research, equipment modifications, changes in governmental regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to the use of medicines, equipment, and devices, the reader is urged to review and evaluate the information provided in the package insert or instructions for each medicine, equipment, or device for, among other things, any changes in the instructions or indication of usage and for added warnings and precautions. While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
Paperback ISBN: 9781119637059; ePub ISBN: 9781119636991; ePDF ISBN: 9781119637028.
Cover image: © Joseph Calev/Shutterstock
Cover design by Wiley
Set in 9.5/12pt STIX Two Text by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd, Pondicherry, India
CONTENTS
Cover
Title page
Copyright
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF MAPS
MAIN DISCUSSIONS/OUTLINES OF BIBLICAL BOOKS
LIST OF BOXES
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL PERIOD
TIMELINE
PROLOGUE: ORIENTATION TO MULTIPLE BIBLES AND MULTIPLE TRANSLATIONS
CHAPTER 1: STUDYING THE BIBLE IN ITS ANCIENT CONTEXT(S)
Chapter Overview
Why History Is Important in Studying the Bible
The Geography and Major Characters of the Biblical Drama
Major Periods in the Biblical Drama
Multiple Contexts, Multiple Methods
Looking Forward to the Big Picture
Chapter One Review
Resources For Further Study
Appendix: Israel’s History and Empires
CHAPTER 2: THE EMERGENCE OF ANCIENT ISRAEL AND ITS FIRST ORAL TRADITIONS
Chapter Overview
Imagining Early Israel
Problems in Reconstructing Early Israel
Traces of the Most Ancient Israelite Oral Traditions in the Bible
The Oral Background of Genesis
Focus Text: The Song of Deborah
The Creation of “Israel” Through Cultural Memory of Resistance to Domination
Chapter Two Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 3: THE RISE OF WRITING AND ECHOES OF PAST EMPIRES IN MONARCHAL ISRAEL
Chapter Overview
Imagining Early Monarchal Israel
The Rise of the Israelite Monarchy and Resistance to It
Influence of Ancient Empires on Early Israel’s Monarchy and Writings
Echoes of Near Eastern Royal Theology in the Royal and Zion Psalms
Echoes of Texts from Earlier Empires in Writings Attributed to Solomon
Focus Text: The Speech of Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8
Echoes of Texts from Past Empires Elsewhere in the Bible
Focus Text: The Garden of Eden Story (Gen 2:4–3:24)
Conclusion
Chapter Three Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 4: NARRATIVE AND PROPHECY AMIDST THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM
Chapter Overview
Setting the Stage: The Rise of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Its Texts
Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy
Amos, a Southern Prophet Preaching Justice and Doom to the North
Hosea, the Northern Prophet, Calling for Israel’s Devotion to Yahweh Alone
Micah, a Southern Prophet, Predicting Judgment for Judah and Jerusalem
Isaiah’s Vision of Hope for Jerusalem/Zion Embedded in the Book of Isaiah
The Use and Reuse of Biblical Traditions
Focus Text: Contrasting Prophetic Visions of Zion’s Future
Chapter Four Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 5: TORAH AND OTHER TEXTS WRITTEN IN THE WAKE OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE
Chapter Overview
Religious and Textual Reform Amidst the Downfall of Assyria
The Deuteronomic Torah of Moses and the Phenomenon of Hybridity
Historical Texts Infused with the Theology and Values of Deuteronomy
Jeremiah’s Prophecy of Judgment on Zion
Focus Text: Deuteronomy 6:4–9
New Scriptures in the Twilight of Judean Monarchy
Chapter Five Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 6: BIBLE FOR EXILES: PROMISE AND STORY IN THE NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
Chapter Overview
The Neo-Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem and Exile
Forced Labor for Exiles Under Nebuchadnezzar
The Exilic Editions of Biblical Books
Ezekiel’s Move from Judgment to Promise with the Fall of Jerusalem
Hope for Exiles in Second Isaiah (also called “Deutero-Isaiah”)
From Promise in the Prophets to Promise in Two Pentateuchal Sources: L and P
History and Fiction
Focus Text: Gen 12:1–3
Conclusions on (Exilic) Trauma and the Bible
Chapter Six Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 7: PERSIAN EMPIRE AND THE EMERGENCE OF A TEMPLE-CENTERED JEWISH COMMUNITY
Chapter Overview
History: The Persian-Sponsored Building of a Temple- and Torah-Centered Judaism
The Final Formation of the Torah
The Book of Psalms as a Torah-Centered Collection of More Ancient Psalms
Focus Text: Isa 56:1–8
Concluding Reflections on Scriptures in and After the Exile
Chapter Seven Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 8: HELLENISTIC EMPIRES AND THE FORMATION OF THE HEBREW BIBLE
Chapter Overview
Judaism and Hellenism Before the Hellenizing Crisis
The Crisis Over Hellenizing Jerusalem and the Book of Daniel
A Hellenistic Period Kingdom of Israel: The Hasmonean Revolt and Monarchy
The Hellenistic Period as the Setting for Other Hebrew Bible Texts
Focus Text: Daniel 10–12
The Formation of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament(s)
Conclusion
Chapter Eight Review
Resources for Further Study
PROLOGUE TO THE STUDY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
CHAPTER 9: THE JESUS MOVEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Chapter Overview
Imagining the Jerusalem That Jesus Knew
Rome Comes to Jerusalem
The Earliest Jesus Traditions
Searching for the Historical Jesus: Problems and Proposals
Chapter Nine Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 10: PAUL AND HIS LETTERS IN THE ROMAN COLONIAL CHAPTER OUTLINE
Chapter Overview
Paul’s Travels and Letter Collection
Who Was Paul?
Three Undisputed Letters of Paul: Galatians, 1 Corinthians, and Romans
Focus Text: The Problem of Israel and the Place of the Gentiles (Romans 9–11)
The Disputed Letters
Conclusion: From Letters to Scripture
Chapter Ten Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 11: THE GOSPEL OF MARK: SUFFERING AND TRAUMA UNDER IMPERIAL RULE
Chapter Overview
The Jewish War (66–70 ce)
Pointers to the Dating and Context of the Gospel of Mark
Rising Popularity of Jesus and Rising Conflict with the Authorities (Mark 1:1–8:21)
Teaching and More Misunderstanding on the Way (Mark 8:22–10:52)
The Suffering Messiah (Mark 11:1–16:8)
Mark’s Enigmatic Ending
Focus Text: Mark 12:1–12
Chapter Eleven Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 12: THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW: DEFINING COMMUNITY IN THE WAKE OF DESTRUCTION
Chapter Overview
The Synoptic Problem
The Structure of the Gospel of Matthew
The Matthean Jesus and Moses
The Matthean Jesus, Righteousness, and Torah Obedience
The Matthean Jesus, Wisdom, and Torah
Matthew’s Apocalyptic Vision and the Kingdom of Heaven
The Matthean Polemic Against the Pharisees
Focus Text: Matt 25:31–46
Chapter Twelve Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 13: LUKE–ACTS: LEGITIMIZING THE JESUS MOVEMENT IN THE MIDST OF EMPIRE
Chapter Overview
The Lukan Prologues
The Lukan Jesus in Continuity with Israel’s Past
The Jesus Movement in Continuity with Israel’s Past
Salvation to the Gentiles in Luke–Acts
Situating the Jesus Movement in the Roman Empire
The Holy Spirit in Luke–Acts
Focus Text: Jesus’s Sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4:14–30)
Chapter Thirteen Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 14: THE GOSPEL OF JOHN AND THE JOHANNINE LETTERS: TURNING INWARD AS A STRATEGY FOR LIFE IN THE EMPIRE
Chapter Overview
Who Is the Johannine Jesus?
Knowing and Believing in the Johannine Jesus
Opposition from the World
The Problem of “the Jews” in the Gospel of John
Focus Text: John 17
The Johannine Letters
Chapter Fourteen Review
Resources for Further Study
CHAPTER 15: FOLLOWING CHRIST IN THE EMPIRE: DIVERSE APPROACHES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Chapter Overview
The Revelation to John: Visions of “Conquering” Roman Power
Focus Text: Revelation 17–18
Hebrews: Platonic Perspectives on Christ
1 Peter: Living as Aliens and Accommodating to the Empire
Conclusion: Three Different Relationships to the Roman Empire
Chapter Fifteen Review
Resources for Further Study
Epilogue: The Final Formation of the Jewish and Christian Bibles
Glossary
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 0
0.1 Scholarly edition of the same text as in Figure 0.2.
0.2 One of our earliest manuscripts of the book of Isaiah.
Chapter 1
1.1 Ancient visitors to Egypt from the East (Canaanite ancestors of Israelites?)
Chapter 2
2.1 Part of the hill country of central Israel.
2.2 Typical pillared house of the Israelites.
2.3 Tablet containing a letter from Abdi-heba.
2.4 Merneptah stela
2.5 Animals feeding on trees.
Chapter 3
3.1 Artist’s reconstruction of Solomon’s Jerusalem.
3.2 Scribe standing before the king of a small neighboring kingdom.
3.3 Student exercise tablet.
3.4 Letters inscribed into the surface of a stone.
3.5 The “Gezer Calendar.”
3.6 Copy of the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope.
3.7 The stela of Hammurabi.
3.8 Titian’s painting of Adam and Eve taking the apple.
Chapter 4
4.1 One of the ivory carvings found in Samaria.
4.2 Detail from a wall-sized panorama of the defeat of the town of Lachish in Judah.
4.3 Panel from the Black Obelisk of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III.
4.4 The Sennacherib prism.
4.5 Pillar figurines of a sort common in archaeological remains of the eighth century.
4.6 Drawing and inscription found at a desert trading post called Kuntillet Adjr…
4.7 Judean seals from the time of Isaiah and Micah.
Chapter 5
5.1 Seals and other images from the late seventhcentury.
Chapter 6
6.1 Ashes and arrowheads left from the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem.
6.2 Reproduction of part of the magnificent temple of Ishtar.
6.3 Silver amulet, dating to just before the fall ofJerusalem.
Chapter 7
7.1 Relief from the Persian capital of Persepolis.
7.2 The Cyrus cylinder.
Chapter 8
8.1 Copy of the Hebrew book of Ben Sira found near the Dead Sea.
8.2 Coin from the time of the Hasmoneans.
Chapter 9
9.1 Excavation of outer stairway and arches of the Jerusalem Temple.
9.2 Model of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.
9.3 Model of first-century CE Jerusalem.
9.4 The Forum of Augustus in Rome.
9.5 Parchment illustration of a scene from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
9.6 Wall painting of Moses from Dura Europos, third-century synagogue.
Chapter 10
10.1 Remains of the Via Egnatia.
10.2 Doorways of shops in ancient Corinth.
10.3 Statue of Augustus.
10.4 Artist’s reconstruction of ancient Rome.
Chapter 11
11.1 Silver shekel minted about 67 CE during the Jewish revolt.
11.2 Pillaging of the Jerusalem Temple depicted on the Arch of Titus.
11.3 “Judaea Capta” coin minted by Rome.
Chapter 12
12.1 Two-source hypothesis.
12.2 Roman coin depicting Augustus subduing and ruling the earth.
Chapter 13
13.1 Base of an honorific column in Rome showing the apotheosis of a second-century CE emperor and his wife.
13.2 Book cover dating to the fifth century CE and depicting the heavenly ascent of an emperor.
Chapter 14
14.1 Papyrus with lines from the Gospel of John.
14.2 Medieval image of the church preferred over thesynagogue.
Chapter 15
15.1 Fourth-century CE catacomb painting.
15.2 The whore of Babylon.
Epilogue
16.1 Bust of Constantine.
16.2 The Codex Sinaiticus.
List of Maps
Chapter 0
0.1 The ancient Near East.
Chapter 1
1.1 The land of Israel and its surroundings.
1.2 The major routes of the ancient Near East.
1.3 The reach of three of the major empires that dominated Israel and/or Judah.
Chapter 2
2.1 Areas of the hill country occupied by the Israelites and Judeans.
Chapter 3
3.1 Areas ruled and dominated by David andSolomon.
Chapter 4
4.1 The neighboring kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Chapter 5
5.1 The Judean kingdom after the fall of the north.
Chapter 6
6.1 The journey to Babylonia.
Chapter 7
7.1 Judah as a province of the Persian empire.
Chapter 8
8.1 The expanding kingdom of the Hasmoneans.
Chapter 10
10.1 The Roman Empire in the 1st century CE.
10.2 Map of cities addressed in Pauline letters
Chapter 11
11.1 Palestine in the first century CE.
Chapter 15
15.1 Cities of Revelation.
Chapter 16
16.1 Spread of Christianity across the Mediterranean world by 300 CE.
Guide
Cover
Title page
Copyright
Table of Contents
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF MAPS
MAIN DISCUSSIONS/OUTLINES OF BIBLICAL BOOKS
LIST OF BOXES
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL PERIOD
TIMELINE
Begin Reading
Epilogue: The Final Formation of the Jewish and Christian Bibles
Glossary
Index
End User License Agreement
Pages
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
ix
x
xi
xii
xiii
xiv
xv
xvi
xvii
xviii
xix
xx
xxi
xxii
xxiii
xxiv
xxv
xxvi
xxvii
xxviii
xxix
xxx
xxxi
xxxii
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
FIGURES
0.1 Scholarly edition of the same text as in Figure 0.2.
0.2 One of our earliest manuscripts of the book of Isaiah.
1.1 Ancient visitors to Egypt from the East (Canaanite ancestors of Israelites?)
2.1 Part of the hill country of central Israel.
2.2 Typical pillared house of the Israelites.
2.3 Tablet containing a letter from Abdi-heba.
2.4 Merneptah stela
2.5 Animals feeding on trees.
3.1 Artist’s reconstruction of Solomon’s Jerusalem.
3.2 Scribe standing before the king of a small neighboring kingdom.
3.3 Student exercise tablet.
3.4 Letters inscribed into the surface of a stone.
3.5 The “Gezer Calendar.”
3.6 Copy of the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope.
3.7 The stela of Hammurabi.
3.8 Titian’s painting of Adam and Eve taking the apple.
4.1 One of the ivory carvings found in Samaria.
4.2 Detail from a wall-sized panorama of the defeat of the town of Lachish in Judah.
4.3 Panel from the Black Obelisk of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III.
4.4 The Sennacherib prism.
4.5 Pillar figurines of a sort common in archaeological remains of the eighth century.
4.6 Drawing and inscription found at a desert trading post called Kuntillet Adjrud used by eighth-centuryIsraelites.
4.7 Judean seals from the time of Isaiah and Micah.
5.1 Seals and other images from the late seventhcentury.
6.1 Ashes and arrowheads left from the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem.
6.2 Reproduction of part of the magnificent temple of Ishtar.
6.3 Silver amulet, dating to just before the fall ofJerusalem.
7.1 Relief from the Persian capital of Persepolis.
7.2 The Cyrus cylinder.
8.1 Copy of the Hebrew book of Ben Sira found near the Dead Sea.
8.2 Coin from the time of the Hasmoneans.
9.1 Excavation of outer stairway and arches of the Jerusalem Temple.
9.2 Model of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.
9.3 Model of first-century CE Jerusalem.
9.4 The Forum of Augustus in Rome.
9.5 Parchment illustration of a scene from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
9.6 Wall painting of Moses from Dura Europos, third-century synagogue.
10.1 Remains of the Via Egnatia.
10.2 Doorways of shops in ancient Corinth.
10.3 Statue of Augustus.
10.4 Artist’s reconstruction of ancient Rome.
11.1 Silver shekel minted about 67 CE during the Jewish revolt.
11.2 Pillaging of the Jerusalem Temple depicted on the Arch of Titus.
11.3 “Judaea Capta” coin minted by Rome.
12.1 Two-source hypothesis.
12.2 Roman coin depicting Augustus subduing and ruling the earth.
13.1 Base of an honorific column in Rome showing the apotheosis of a second-century CE emperor and his wife.
13.2 Book cover dating to the fifth century CE and depicting the heavenly ascent of an emperor.
14.1 Papyrus with lines from the Gospel of John.
14.2 Medieval image of the church preferred over thesynagogue.
15.1 Fourth-century CE catacomb painting.
15.2 The whore of Babylon.
16.1 Bust of Constantine.
16.2 The Codex Sinaiticus.
MAPS
0.1 The ancient Near East.
1.1 The land of Israel and its surroundings.
1.2 The major routes of the ancient Near East.
1.3 The reach of three of the major empires that dominated Israel and/or Judah.
2.1 Areas of the hill country occupied by the Israelites and Judeans.
3.1 Areas ruled and dominated by David andSolomon.
4.1 The neighboring kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
5.1 The Judean kingdom after the fall of the north.
6.1 The journey to Babylonia.
7.1 Judah as a province of the Persian empire.
8.1 The expanding kingdom of the Hasmoneans.
10.1 The Roman Empire in the 1st century CE.
10.2 Map of cities addressed in Pauline letters
11.1 Palestine in the first century CE.
15.1 Cities of Revelation.
16.1 Spread of Christianity across the Mediterranean world by 300 CE.
MAIN DISCUSSIONS/OUTLINES OF BIBLICAL BOOKS
Where to Find Basic Information on Biblical Books (Basics Boxes and More)
Below is a list of where you can find basic discussions of books (or major parts of books) in the Hebrew scriptures, with the books listed here in the order that they appear in the Jewish Tanakh (//Hebrew Bible). The page given in bold number(s) indicates where you can find a “Basics Box” that provides major information about a biblical book. This includes an outline, information about the time(s) in which the book was written, and (usually) a discussion of a major issue in interpretation of the book or text. In addition, some other pages are provided where you can find more information on different biblical books.
Genesis
48–51, 172–6, 184–5,
202–203
Exodus
51–4, 179–89,
203–4
Leviticus
183
Numbers
204
Deuteronomy
134–8,
135
Joshua
42–5,
138–40
Judges
140–1
1–2 Samuel
142
, see also 62–5.
1–2 Kings
143
Isaiah
118–23, 167–71,
169
, 200, 209–11
Jeremiah
145–
149
Ezekiel
164–7,
166
Hosea
108–15,
111
Amos
106–
108
Jonah
199–200
Micah
115–18,
117
Nahum
128–
129
Zephaniah
129
Haggai
195
Zechariah
196
Psalms
69–75,
73
, 206–8,
207
Job
207
Proverbs
78–82,
79
Ruth
207
Song of Songs/Solomon, Canticles
75–77,
76
, 226
Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth
77–81,
78–9
, 226
Lamentations
159–
161
Esther
226
Daniel
220
–22
Ezra-Nehemiah
227
1–2 Chronicles
226
Matthew
301–21,
306
Mark
279–99,
282–3
Luke
323–42, 326
John
343–60,
346–7
Acts
323–42,
326
Romans
269–73, 270
1 Corinthians
266–9, 267
Galatians
262–5,
263
Ephesians
274–5
Colossians
274–5
Hebrews
373–6,
374
1 Peter
376–8, 377
1, 2 Timothy and Titus
275
1, 2, 3 John
360–61
Revelation
364–72,
365
BOXES
What Is a More on Method Box?
These boxes give a brief introduction to methods used to interpret the Hebrew Bible. They detail the sorts of questions that each method attempts to answer, give an example of how the method has been applied, and include a reference to an article or book with more information about the method under discussion.
Textual Criticism
Tradition History and Transmission History
African American Biblical Interpretation
Afrocentric and Womanist Interpretation
Source and Redaction Criticism
Feminist Criticism and History of Interpretation/Reception
The Joseph Story and Literary Approaches
Postcolonial Criticism
Trauma Studies and the Bible
Insights from History of Religions
Ecological Biblical Criticism
Form Criticism and Genre
African American Biblical Interpretation and the New Testament
Gender Criticism and Masculinity Studies
Cultural Criticism of the Bible
What Is in Special Topics Boxes?
These boxes offer extra information relevant to the broader discussion. Some pull together relevant dates for a period, while others show parallels between texts, or summarize information on a theme or question that relates to the topic at hand. This information is not optional or superfluous. Instead, these boxes highlight topics that are worth focused attention.
Contents of the Hebrew Bible/Tanakh/Old Testament
The Origins of Chapters and Verses11
AD, BC, BCE, and CE
Visualizing (the Possible Ancestors of) Ancient Israelites
The Name of Israel’s God: Yahweh/the LORD
The Name “Israel”
Archaeology and Problems of History Surrounding David, Solomon, and the Beginning of the Israelite Monarchy
Labels (e.g. “Psalm of David”): What They (Don’t) Tell Us
A View from the Assyrian Imperial Court: The Annals of Sennacherib
Hosea and the “Book of the Twelve Prophets”
Isaiah 6 and the “Call Narrative”
Overview: The Covenant Code and Deuteronomy
The Books of the Former and Latter Prophets
The Conquest and Ancient Holy War
Forced Labor for Exiles Under Nebuchadnezzar
The Divine Council
Traditions That Moses Wrote the Pentateuch
The Story of Jacob at Bethel as an Example of the Addition of Promise to an Older Story
More Information: The Gap Between Ancestors and Moses
J (the “Yahwistic source”), E (the “Elohistic source”), and the Documentary Hypothesis
Alternative Perspectives on Foreigners
The Emergence of “Judaism”
The Book of Judith (as an Example of a Hasmonean Text)
The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: The Boy Jesus and His Superpowers
More on the Historical Jesus Search
Eschatology Versus Apocalypticism
The Structure of Paul’s Letters
Paul and Slavery
The Question of Circumcision
Changing Perspectives on Paul
Markan Priority
An Exorcism of Rome?
More on Messianic Secret
Jesus the “Son of Man”
Intercalation or the Markan “Sandwich”
A Glimpse of Life Under Roman Occupation
More About the Q Document
Gender and Matthew’s Genealogy (Matt 1:1–17)
Who Were the Pharisees?
Possessions and the Poor: A Lukan Puzzle
The Priene Calendar Inscription
Was There a Johannine Community?
Tacitus’s Account of Nero’s Persecution of Christians in Rome
PREFACE
This book introduces students to the books of the Bible as shaped in the crucible of the history of Israel and the early church. A prominent theme throughout is the way the books of the Bible reflect quite different sorts of interaction with empires that dominated the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. At first some students and professors may find this approach unusual, since we do not begin with Genesis and do not proceed through biblical books in order. The group of texts introduced early on in this textbook is quite different from the Bible they now know. So why have we chosen this approach? There are many advantages. On the basis of our experience with using this approach we have seen that the picture of the Bible’s development comes into focus as the narrative of its formation unfolds. By the end, students should find meaning in aspects of the Bible that they once overlooked, even as they also understand that much of the power of the Bible has been its capability to transcend the original contexts in which it was written. Moreover, through discussion of the history of Jewish and Christian interpretation of focus texts toward the end of many chapters, students will gain a taste of how faith communities have used the Bible in creative, inspired, and sometimes death-dealing ways to guide and make sense of their lives. Given the already large scope of this Introduction, we have focused on texts included in the Old and New Testaments, with a particular emphasis – in the case of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament – on books included in the scriptures of Judaism and various forms of Christianity. This meant that we could not give sustained attention to apocryphal/deutero-canonical books of the Old Testament, or to the range of non-canonical early Christian works that did not end up being included in the Christian Bible.
The date framework given in this textbook follows that of Anson Rainey and Steven Notley’s The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World (Jerusalem: Carta, 2005). In many cases specific dates are uncertain, but Rainey and Notley provide a recent, solid framework to start from on an introductory level. Unless otherwise indicated, the translations from Hebrew and Greek are our own.
As with any such textbook there is always room for improvement. We know that there are multiple ways in which virtually everything that is written here could be footnoted, qualified, and balanced with other perspectives. What this introduction provides is one general outline of a historical approach to the Bible that students can then supplement, correct, and balance in their future studies. We certainly invite all possible suggestions for correction and improvement of future editions of this textbook.
We have been helped by many people in writing this textbook. In particular, a diverse set of colleagues – Charles Carter, Thomas Dozeman, Esther Hamori, Mahri Leonard-Fleckman, Benjamin Sommer, Kent Reynolds, Robert Rezetko, Adele Reinhartz, Jerusha Rhodes, William Schniedewind, Mark Smith, and Marvin Sweeney – generously reviewed portions of chapters on the Hebrew Bible and/or offered advice on revisions and corrections for the first edition or this second edition. In addition, students at Union Theological Seminary and Seton Hall University have read chapter drafts and suggested corrections, and we received some further helpful suggestions from anonymous reviewers recruited by Wiley Blackwell. Some students and teaching assistants who have offered a particularly large volume of helpful corrections are Mary Ellen Kris, Candice Olson, Lizzie Berne-DeGear, Laurel Koepf-Taylor, Meagan Manas, and Todd Kennedy. Maia Kotrosits provided timely assistance with the glossary and web materials. Our thanks to all for their generous help in this project.
Finally, with love we dedicate this volume to our parents, James and Patricia Conway, John (now departed) and Adrienne Carr, whose love of teaching and care for their students helped inspire this book.
Colleen M. Conway and David M. Carr
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge the permission granted to reproduce the copyrighted material in this book:
Figure 0.1
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, edited by Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph, Fifth Revised Edition, edited by Adrian Schenker, © 1977 and 1997 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. Used by permission.
Figure 0.2
Israel Talby/Israel images/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 1.1
FALKENSTEINFOTO/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 2.1
Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 2.3
bpk/Vorderasiatisches Museum, SMB/Gudrun Stenzel
Figure 2.4
Jürgen Liepe
Figure 3.1
Lloyd K. Townsend
Figure 3.2
William Schniedewind
Figure 3.3
akg-images/Erich Lessing
Figure 3.4
Courtesy of R. E. Tappy and The Zeitah Excavations Photograph by B. Zuckerman and M. Lundberg, overlay by P. K. McCarter, Jr.
Figure 3.5
Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 3.6
© The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved
Figure 3.7
www.BibleLandPictures.com/Alamy
Stock Photo
Figure 3.8
Francis G. Mayer/Getty Images
Figure 4.1
Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 4.2
akg-images/Erich Lessing
Figure 4.3
Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 4.4
AP Images/NAM Y HUH
Figure 4.5
akg-images/Fototeca Gilardi
Figure 4.6
Stiftung BIBEL+ORIENT
Figure 4.7
Stiftung BIBEL+ORIENT
Figure 5.1
Stiftung BIBEL+ORIENT
Figure 6.1
Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 6.2
akg-images/Erich Lessing
Figure 6.3
Puddingstone/Natural History Museum, London, UK/Bridgeman Images
Figure 7.1
Prisma by Dukas Presseagentur GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 7.2
akg-images/Erich Lessing
Figure 8.1
Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Figure 8.2
Courtesy of Carta, Jerusalem
Figure 9.1
Todd Bolen/
BiblePlaces.com
Figure 9.2
Bojan Brecelj/Getty Images
Figure 9.3
Berthold Werner, Image taken from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerusalem_Modell_BW_2.JPG
Figure 9.4
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Figure 9.5
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sbs-0008_028r_Jesus_macht_die_Tonv%C3%B6gelchen_lebendig.TIF
Figure 9.6
The Picture Art Collection/Alamy Stock Photo
Figure 10.1
Todd Bolen/
BiblePlaces.com
Figure 10.2
DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images
Figure 10.3
akg-images/Electa
Figure 10.4
DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images
Figure 10.5
Mary Evans Picture Library/Alinari
Figure 11.1
Courtesy of the American Numismatic Society
Figure 11.2
GRANGER COLLECTION (RDA)/Bridgeman Images
Figure 11.3
Courtesy of the Hecht Museum, University of Haifa, Israel
Figure 12.2
Richard Beacham (2005),The Emperor as Impresario: Producing the Pageantry of Power, pp 151-174. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521807964.008
reproduced by Cambridge University Press
Figure 13.1
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Rome, D-DAI-ROM 1975.1289/photo Rossa
Figure 13.2
Photo Scala, Florence
Figure 13.3
© The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved
Figure 14.1
Reproduced by courtesy of the University Librarian and Director, The John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester
Figure 14.2
Web Gallery of Art, Image taken from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:13th-century_unknown_painters_-_Crucifixion_with_Two_Roundels_-_WGA23753.jpg
Figure 15.1
akg-images/Pirozzi
Figure 15.2
William Blake, Image taken from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whore-of-babylon-blake-1809.jpg
Figure 16.1
Andre
Nantel/Shutterstock.com
Figure 16.2
Granger, NYC./Granger Historical Picture Archive/Alamy Stock Photo
Chapter opener photo © Joseph Chalev/Shutterstock.com
The Pharaoh Merneptah hymn in Chapter 3, page 64, and the Cyrus cylinder text in Chapter 7, page 187: Pritchard, James; Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament – Third Edition with Supplement. © 1950, 1955, 1969, renewed 1978 by Princeton University Press. Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press.
At points throughout the book extracts have been used from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 (2nd edition, 1971) by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions in the above list and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.
ABBREVIATIONS
ANET
James Pritchard (ed.),
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement
. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.
George
Andrew George,
The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Livingstone
Alasdair Livingstone (ed.),
Court Poetry and Literary Miscellanea
. State Archives of Assyria, 3. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press, 1989.
NJPS
The New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation
. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1985.
NRSV
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible
. New York: National Council of Churches, 1989.
NT
New Testament
OT
Old Testament
OT Parallels
Victor Matthews and Don Benjamin,
Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East
(3rd revised and expanded edition). Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2007.
For Bible abbreviations, see the Prologue, “Bible Abbreviations, Chapters and Verses.”
Asterisks after Bible citations, e.g. “Genesis 12–50*,” indicate that only parts of the cited texts are included.
//indicate that the texts before and after the slashes are parallel to each other.
OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL PERIOD
This shows major periods and corresponding texts covered in this book.
DATES
1250–1000 BCE (13th–11th centuries)
1000–930 (10th century)
930–800 (10th–9th centuries)
800–700 (8th century)
700–586 (7th and early 6th centuries)
586–538 (6th century)
538–332 (6th–4th centuries)
332–63 (4th–1st centuries)
63 BCE–100 CE (1st century BCE to 1st century CE)
Chapter
2
3
4
4
5
6
7
8
9–15
MAJOR EVENTS (IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)
Spread of villages in hill country
Tribal “Israel” emerges
Saul’s chieftainship
Formation of Davidic monarchy
Jerusalem taken as capital of Judah/Israel
David and Solomon
Formation of northern kingdom of “Israel”
Rise and fall of Omride dynasty
Domination and destruction of northern “Israel” by Assyria
Domination of Judah by Assyria
Eventual decline of Assyrian power
Enactment of Josiah’s “reform”
Decline of Judah into domination by Babylon
First wave of exile
Destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple
Second and third waves of exile of elites to Babylon
Persian victory, waves of return, rebuilding of Temple
Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the wall
Divorce of foreign wives under Ezra and elevation of Torah
Hellenistic rule
Hellenizing crisis
Hasmonean kingdom
Roman rule
MAJOR WRITINGS (AND ORAL TRADITIONS)
(No writings, but oral traditions about exodus, trickster ancestors)
Royal and Zion psalms
Proverbs
(early forms of other texts like the non-P primeval history)
Jacob narrative
Joseph narrative
Exodus – wilderness story
Song of Deborah
Prophecy to the north by Amos and Hosea
Prophecy to the south by Micah and Isaiah
Formation of Deuteronomy and following historical books (Joshua–2 Kings)
Nahum and Zephaniah
Early prophecies from Jeremiah
Exilic
additions to biblical books
Lamentations
Ezekiel and Second Isaiah
Non-P (L) narrative of early Israel
P coun-ter-narrative of early Israel
Haggai
Zechariah
Nehemiah memoir
Temple rebuilding
Ezra narrative
Third Isaiah
Combined L/P Pentateuch
Psalter
Early parts of Enoch
Ben Sira
Ezra–Nehemiah
Esther
1–2 Chronicles
Daniel
1–2 Maccabees
Judith
Most of the New Testament
MAJOR NEW IDEAS AND THEMES
Election theology
Royal/Zion theology
Exclusive devotion to Yahweh enforced (briefly) by Josiah
Monotheism
Dual Temple – Torah focus
Judaism Resurrection
Emergent belief in Jesus as messiah and Son of God
Timeline
Important texts are noted in bold.
BCE SOUTH (Judah) NORTH (“Israel” in narrowersense)
1300 (Waning Egyptian domination of Canaan)
Spread of villages in Israelite hill country
1200 Merneptah Stela
TIMELINE
Important texts are noted in bold.
BCE
SOUTH (Judah)
NORTH (“Israel” in narrower sense)
1300
(Waning Egyptian domination of Canaan)
Spread of villages in Israelite hill country
1200
Merneptah Stela (Assorted battles, e.g. Deborah, of hill-country Israelites with neighbors)
1100
Oral exodus traditionsOral ancestral traditionsOral victory traditions
Saul’s “chieftainship” David (Hebron; 1010–1002)
1000
David (Hebron; 1010–1002)David (Jerusalem; 1002–970)
Royal psalms, Zion psalms
Solomon (Jerusalem; 970–930)
Proverb collections
(early form??)
Non-P primeval history
Rehoboam (Jerusalem)
900
Jeroboam founds northern monarchy(early written forms of)
Jacob narrative, Joseph novella exodus-Moses narrative, and Song of Deborah
Omride dynasty (880–841)
800
Jehu’s coup (841)Jeroboam II (782–753)
Isaiah
(start of collection)Syro-Ephraimite war(735–734)Assyrian domination of Israel begins (745–)
Amos
Hosea
Assyrian domination of Judah begins (734–)
Isaiah
(continued),
Micah
Hezekiah (715–686)
Assyrian destruction of Israel (722)Hezekiah’s rebellion and reform (705)
700
Sennacherib’s attack and mysterious withdrawal (701)Manasseh (697–642)Amon (642–640)Josiah (640–609)
(Waning of Assyrian power)
Zephaniah
Josiah’s reform (623)
Josianic edition of Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, etc
(Fall of Nineveh, Assyria’s capital)
Nahum
Jeremiah
Domination of Judah by Babylonia
600
First wave of exiles (597)
Ezekiel’s early prophecy
Destruction of Jerusalem and second wave of exiles (586)
Lamentations and Psalm 137Ezekiel’s later prophecy
Third wave of exiles (582)
Exilic additions to Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, and other booksNon-P/L Pentateuchal Source (incorporating exilic-modified forms of older non-P primeval history, Jacob–Joseph story, exodus-Moses story, and Deuteronomy)Priestly Pentateuchal SourceSecond Isaiah
Persian conquering of Babylonian empire (539)
First wave of returnees (538)Another wave, beginning of Temple
restoration (532)
Another wave with Zerubbabel, completion of Temple rebuilding (520–515)
500
Haggai and Zechariah (1–9)
Nehemiah’s return and governorships (445–425) (rebuilding wall, purification of priesthood)
Nehemiah memoir
400
Return with Ezra, divorce of foreign wives, elevation of Torah (397–)
Combined (P and non-P/L) PentateuchNarratives of Temple-rebuilding and EzraThird IsaiahPsalter
(final, Torah-oriented version of the book)Greek conquering of Persian empire (332)
300
(Shifting domination of Palestine by Greek Ptolemies[Egypt] and Seleucids [Mesopotamia]; 332–142)
Early parts of Enoch
1–2 Chronicles
Wisdom of Ben Sira
200
Jason purchase of high priesthood, attempt to Hellenize Jerusalem (174)Menelaus purchase of high priesthood (171) and Judean rebellion against him
Daniel
Antiochus Epiphanes IV campaign to eradicate observant Judaism and beginning of Hasmonean-led rebellion against Hellenistic rule (167–)Purification and rededication of Temple (164)Hasmonean independence and rule (142–63)
Ezra–Nehemiah, Esther1–2 Maccabees, Judith
100
Roman takeover of Palestine (63)Rule of Herod in Palestine (40–4)Beginning of Roman empire with reign of Caesar Augustus (Octavian) (27)Birth of Jesus (4?)
CE
Paul’s letters (50s)
Jewish War (first Jewish revolt) (66–70)Destruction of the Temple (70)
Gospel of MarkGospels of Matthew and LukeActs of the ApostlesRevelation of JohnGospel of JohnPastoral Epistles
Second Jewish revolt (132–5)
MAP 0.1 The ancient Near East. Redrawn from Adrian Curtis (ed.), Oxford Bible Atlas (4th edition). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, page 67.
Prologue Orientation to Multiple Bibles and Multiple Translations
Chapter Outline
Chapter Overview
The Bible as a Complex Product of Many Hands
The Different Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity
Basics on Bible Translations
Bible Abbreviations, Verses, and Chapters
Conclusion on Critically Analyzing a Page of Your Own Bible
Prologue Review
Resources for Further Study
Appendix 1: Translation and Paraphrase Comparison of Isa 52:13–15
Appendix 2: Characteristics of Select English Translations of the Bible
Chapter Overview
This prologue helps you learn the basic characteristics and background of the Bible that you will use across the course. As you will see, not all Bibles are the same. Judaism and different forms of Christianity include different books in their Bibles. Also, ancient manuscripts of the Bible diverge from one another, and contemporary translations follow different manuscript readings and translation practices. By the end of this chapter you should know the differences between the bibles of Judaism and Christianity, as well as the relationship of the Islamic Qur’an to both sets of scriptures. You will also learn how the study of different readings of ancient manuscripts of the Bible, “textual criticism,” and advances in knowledge of ancient languages have led to major progress in translation of the Bible since the King James Version was completed in 1611. Finally, you will learn some basic things to keep in mind in choosing and using an up-to-date English translation of the Bible.
Using the parallels provided at the end of the chapter in Appendix
1
, compare the translations of (and paraphrase) Isa 52:13–15. What differences do you notice?
Take a look at two pages of a biblical book in your Bible. Make a list of
all
types of elements on those pages aside from the actual text of the Bible. Using the discussions in this chapter, identify where those elements came from.
The Bible as a Complex Product of Many Hands
We start here with your Bible – the book that you hold in your hands. A major aim of this chapter, and this Introduction as a whole, is to give you a deeper appreciation of the way this seeming simple book is actually the complex product of centuries of human work. The last stages of that work are already obvious when you take a closer look at the Bible you hold in your hands. Notice the type of cover it is packaged in (unless you are working with a digital copy!). Look at the typeface used for the biblical text and various aids that are provided for you as a reader (depending on your particular Bible): paragraph divisions, headings for different Bible passages, and maybe some cross-references to other Bible passages or brief explanatory notes. None of these aspects come from ancient manuscripts. They are aids that the publisher of your Bible provides to you as a reader.
These parts of your Bible, however, are just the first set of ways that your Bible has been worked into the form you have it now. Take, for example, the chapter and verse numbers in your Bible. None appear in ancient manuscripts. They were added to the text over a thousand years after it was written. Or consider the translation in your Bible. The biblical texts were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic (an ancient language similar to Hebrew), and Greek. We will see in this prologue how every translation of these ancient texts involves significant style decisions, reasoned guesses, and compromises. In addition, we have multiple, handwritten copies of ancient biblical manuscripts. These ancient copies disagree with each other. As a result, a translator must not just decide how to translate a given biblical verse. She or he also must choose which manuscript reading to translate in the first place. And all this does not even get into the centuries-long process that produced these ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek biblical texts, or how they were collected into specific scriptural collections by Jews and Christians. That long process will be the focus of much of the rest of this Introduction.
For now we are focusing on some of the elements that were added to those texts in the Bible before you, many of which distinguish one Bible that you might find from another. These include what books are included and in what order, what kind of translation is used, and how translators chose, for a given phrase or word, to follow a reading in one ancient manuscript versus another. This prologue discusses these elements in turn, aiming to help you be a more informed user of your Bible.
The Different Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity
To begin, it is important to recognize that the Bibles of different faith communities contain somewhat different books, put those books in different order, and call their Bibles different things. Your Bible reflects one of those collections or a mix of them. These are often referred to as different “canons” of the Bible, with “canon” meaning a collection of books that are recognized as a divinely inspired scripture by a given religious community. Such books are recognized as “canonical.”
The Jewish people calls its Scriptures the “TaNaK” (or “Tanakh,” with the kh pronounced like the ch in Bach). Tanakh is a word formed out of the Hebrew names of the three main parts of the Jewish Bible: Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), Neviim (“prophets”), and Ketuvim (“writings”). See the box on “Contents of the Hebrew Bible/Tanakh/Old Testament” for an overview of the contents of each of these three parts. Judaism focuses particularly on the Torah, otherwise known as the Pentateuch, with most synagogues reading the Torah’s five books all across the year, starting with Genesis at the outset of the Fall (the Jewish New Year) and concluding with Deuteronomy twelve months later. Jews certainly read other parts of the Tanakh, for example singing psalms (part of the “Writings”) and reading portions of the “Prophets” to accompany the Torah reading. Nevertheless, the Torah takes pride of place within the Jewish Bible, while other parts of the Tanakh are often seen as a commentary on it. In accordance with an emphasis in Judaism on temple and purity, the overall Tanakh concludes on a hopeful note, as 2 Chronicles anticipates a new rebuilding of the Temple (2 Chr 36:22–3).
The Christian version of these scriptures, the “Old Testament” (OT), is part of a two-part Bible that also includes specifically Christian scriptures, the New Testament (NT). Later in this Introduction (starting in Chapter 9) we will look more closely at the writings in the New Testament. For now, we focus on similarities and differences between the Christian Old Testament and the Jewish Tanakh. Most importantly, these similar sets of scriptures are organized differently. Though both the Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament start with the biblical narrative-historical books of Genesis to 2 Kings, the Christian Old Testament then goes straight to the parallel narration of that history in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. It then sequences the other biblical books in the order of their traditional authors, starting with the book of Job (an early Edomite sage), and moving through Psalms (David as traditional author), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs (Solomon as traditional author), and on to the major (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and minor (Hosea, etc.) prophets. As in the case of the Jewish Tanakh, the ending of the Christian Old Testament is revealing. It concludes with the last chapter of Malachi, a prediction of the second coming of Elijah (Mal 4:5). This ending leads nicely into the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, which describes the coming of John the Baptist, who is clothed like Elijah, and prophesies the coming of Jesus (Matt 3:1–6).
You should also know that there are differences between the books included in different Christian Old Testament collections. The Protestant Old Testament contains the same books as the Jewish Tanakh, though in the above-noted different order leading up to the New Testament. The Roman Catholic Old Testament includes some additional books such as 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach, and the Wisdom of Solomon. The Ethiopic church recognizes the book of Enoch as part of its Old Testament, and various forms of Orthodox Christianity likewise recognize slightly different groups of additional books. For Roman Catholics, such additional books (not in the Jewish Tanakh) are “deuterocanonical,” which means that they belong to a “second canon.” For Protestants, such books not in the Jewish Tanakh are not considered true scripture, but “apocrypha,” which means “books hidden away.” We will not hide such books away in this textbook, but neither will we be able to discuss them at length. Instead, in Chapter 8 of this Introduction, we will briefly discuss a sampling of them: Ben Sira/Sirach, Enoch, and Judith. In addition, we will discuss how Jewish and Christian communities ended up with these slightly different collections of scriptural books.
“Hebrew Bible” is yet another term that is often used to designate the scriptures shared by Jews and Christians. Many people prefer the expression “Hebrew Bible” because it avoids the pejorative connotations that the term “Old Testament” has assumed in many Christian circles. The terms “Old” and “New Testament” derive from Greek and Latin terms that have been used by Christians to contrast an old covenant (with Israel) and new covenant through Jesus Christ. Often this has been part of a Christian supersessionist assumption that God’s covenant with the world through Christ superseded any prior covenant that God made with Israel. For Christians who subscribe to this idea, the Old Testament is often treated as the Old and superseded Testament. It is seen as the outdated book of the “law,” as opposed to the New Testament, which is understood to be the truly scriptural word about Jesus, love, and grace. Such views reflect a lack of close reading of both the Old and the New Testament, but they are widespread and influential. This is why many people avoid the term “Old Testament,” with its possible implications of supersessionism, and use terms such as “Hebrew Bible” or “First Testament” instead. Others, however, find these terms odd and/or inaccurate (for example, several chapters in the Tanakh/Old Testament are not in Hebrew, but Aramaic). They prefer sticking with the Christian term “Old Testament,” at least within specifically Christian contexts, but emphasize the more ancient understanding of “Old” as implying something good, rather than the more contemporary idea of “Old” being something that is outdated.
The important thing for academic study of the Bible is to understand the meanings of these different terms for the Tanakh/Old Testament/Hebrew scriptures and the slight differences in contents and order of these otherwise similar collections. These differences reflect the fact that these scriptures have come to belong to multiple faith communities. In addition, the Islamic tradition sees the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity as possessing a secondary authority to that of its central text, the Qur’an. From the Islamic perspective, the Qur’an represents the final part of a long line of divine revelations to human communities, including the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old and New Testaments.. This Qur’an is quite different in contents from the Tanakh/Old Testament, containing 114 chapters (surahs) of primarily ethical and theological exhortations that were communicated by the prophet Muhammad. It is not a parallel “Old Testament” or “Tanakh.” Nevertheless, parts of the Qur’an reflect post-biblical Jewish traditions about history up to Moses (e.g. about Abraham, Ishmael, Mary) and other Muslim traditions (e.g. the biography and example of the prophet Muhammad).
From this discussion, we can see that there is no one “Bible,” not even one “Hebrew Bible,” shared by Judaism and Christianity, let alone Islam. Even if we focus on the overlapping contents of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament, there are significant differences in order and (occasionally) content as well. This is an initial indicator of the quite different readings that Christians and Jews give to the texts they hold in common. We will see others along the way. Moreover, this diversity of Jewish and Christian Bibles is preceded by a diversity of perspectives and voices found within the Hebrew scriptures themselves. In the following chapters, we will see this diversity in texts written at different times and even in texts offering different perspectives on the same time.
Basics on Bible Translations
Since most students do not know Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, they can only read a Bible in translation. There are several things that every user of such Bible translations should know about them in order to be an informed user.
First, every translation involves many decisions by the translator about the Hebrew, Greek, or (in a few cases) Aramaic text. Scholars are still not sure about the meanings of some words, and the biblical languages do not translate precisely into English (or other modern languages). In addition, we have no original manuscript of any biblical book, and the existing biblical manuscripts disagree with each other at many points. This means that scholars must use textual criticism to decide the best Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek text in each case where the manuscripts disagree with each other. Luckily, over the last several centuries much progress has been made in uncovering ancient manuscripts and learning to identify copying errors and other changes in such manuscripts. In addition, there has been a huge growth in knowledge about the biblical languages.
MORE ON METHOD: TEXTUAL CRITICISM
As indicated in the text, “textual criticism” is not a general study of a text. Instead, textual criticism studies the diverse ancient manuscript copies of biblical texts, analyzing their development and providing data that can be used to choose which reading of a biblical text to follow. Over the centuries scribes have introduced tens of thousands of minor changes into biblical texts as they have copied them by hand. Some changes were introduced by accident, as when a scribe might accidentally copy a given line twice or confuse letters. Other changes seem more intentional, where a scribe seems to have added a clarification of a place name or a theological correction or expansion. The ancient copies are often termed manuscript witnesses because they “witness” to diverse forms of these hand-copied texts.
Deciding which reading to follow A translator or translation committee often needs to decide word by word whether to follow a reading in one manuscript tradition or another. To do this, most scholars use “critical editions” prepared by textual critics that gather and compare the readings found in ancient biblical manuscripts (see Figure 0.1 on p. 8). For the Hebrew Bible, the usual comparison point is the Masoretic text (MT), the authoritative version of the Hebrew/Aramaic text that was produced by Jewish scribes in the medieval period. Most critical editions feature a high-quality version of the Masoretic text as the main section of each page. Notes in the critical edition then provide an overview of variant readings from other important manuscript witnesses for the Hebrew Bible, such as the biblical manuscripts found at the Dead Sea (Qumran), the Pentateuch preserved by the Samaritan community (around Samaria in the north), and very early translations of early Hebrew manuscripts, especially the Septuagint (LXX), an ancient set of translations of various biblical books into Greek.
FIGURE 0.1 Scholarly edition of the same text as in figure 0.2 below. In contrast to that early manuscript, the edition seen here has chapter and verse numbers along with scholarly notes at the bottom about alternative Hebrew readings to the ones given in the body of the text.
FIGURE 0.2 One of our earliest manuscripts of the book of Isaiah, dated to the early first century bce. Note how the letters are hung from lines on the parchment and a scribe has added a verse into the middle.
