EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY

PASSAGES SEMINAR SERIES

I. A Brief Survey of Translations A. Literal Translations 1. NAS New American Standard 2. KJV King James Version (trans. in 1611) B. Content Translations 1. NRSV New Revised Standard Version 2. CEV Contemporary English Version (Updated versions of the TEV) 3. NIV New International Version C. Paraphrase 1. Petersons The Message 2. The Living Bible II. Interpretive Considerations A. Humility is required B. Attempt to understand the authors context and intent. Read the text out loud and in community C. Allow the text to interpret itself. Work in literary selections, not verse by verse. Compare texts - What is being emphasized D. Watch for theologically loaded translations. Remember, every translator is a theologian and every translation is an interpretation. E. Be aware of cultural distance, traditions, and literary conventions. F. Study the context, historical surroundings and culture of the text and its reader/ hearers G. Look for literary markers and structures. Note variants, context or culture which may be relevant. H. Understand the genre of the text you are interpreting. To study the text literary is to understand its place in the wider scope of literature. Listed below is a partial list of genres used in the Bible: Apocalyptic Biography Genealogy Letters/Epistles Narrative Parables Poetry/Psalm Proverbs/Wisdom Literature Prophecy Riddle I. Verse and chapter divisions are later additions and can significantly affect the text. J. Do not use the publishers notes as Scriptures K. Be an inspired reader 1. Remember: humility is required 2. Avoid proof-texting 3. Allow the mystery of Scripture to stand 4. Challenge interpretive assumptions 5. Do not create a canon within the Canon III. Recommended Resources A. The New Ungers Bible Dictionary or Holman Bible Dictionary B. Harper Collins Study Bible (NRSV) C. The Learning Bible (CEV) D. Serendipity Bible (for small group questions) E. Word Biblical Commentary F. The Anchor Bible Commentary G. Interpretation Series Commentary H. Fixed Points
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PASSAGES SEMINAR SERIES Summary of OT Canon
Jewish Samaritan Greek Speaking Jews/Early Christians Developing Church 500 BCE 450 to 300 BCE The Torah (Pentateuch) has become a recognizable (200BCE) whole. This is evidence in Ezra and Nehemiah. Proto-Hebraic text. A separate Torah found in Samaria. LXX - 250 BCE Go with LXX (why?) this includes Alexander the Great brings the Greek that OT plus the Apocrypha.. Early language to Palestine. Ptolemy Christians accepted as their Bible the Philadelphus - commissions scholars from LXX, which includes book that we do Palestine to come and make a Greek copy not have today as a Protestants. of the Hebrew Scripture. His motivation was to complete his literary collection. He Jerome to put the Bible into Latin. He was located in Alexandria which was a decides to go with the Hebrew Bible, center of learning and had a great library. he first 24 books. Legend - In response to Ptolemy Philadelphus 70 scholars are sent to Augustine decides to include what the Alexandria, where they are given facilities early Christians used: LXX, and copies of the Hebrew Bible and they all (including the Apocrypha) translate the HB separately and in the end the translations are identical! During the Reformation, Martin Instead it was probably a process that took Luther, sides with Jerome and goes place over time. A variety of translations back to what the Hebrew scholars saw that come together over time. as Canon. Prologue: Ben Sirach Later the Council of Trent (1546) Letter of Aristens (#70-72) Canonizes the Apocrypha. Theodotian and Aquila - Still working on LXX into 2nd and 4th Century CE. Summary: On-Going

200 BCE Evidence of the Torah and the Prophets are seen together as a collection. Seen in the prologue to Ben Sirach and II Maccabees. 200 BCE and forward Some indication that the Writings are also coming together as a whole. In this period there are various Judaism. 1.) Dead Sea Scrolls Essene Community. They had a fragment of every book of the OT except Esther. They had added other texts to the OT which they considered Canonical. Documents can be dated back to 100 BCE. 2.) Javneh (Jamnia) Represent the coming together, after 70 CE, of a group of Jewish scholars who traveled to Javnah (be Tel Aviv and set up a school there and wrestled with which texts should be Canonical. Considered Esther, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and Daniel. 3.) Josephus (Contra/Aplon) 90 CE. Mentions that the Jewish people have as their literature 22 books. First reference to a canon. However in the Hebrew Bible there are 24 books. 4.) 4 Ezra 14:45-46 Lists a collection of 24 books. The final Canon of the Hebrew Bible was not completed until 200 CE. The Hebrew Bible is called the Tanak. This is an acronym. The three consonants representing the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible; Torah, Prophets and Writings.

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Matrix of Interpretation and a Stop Sign

Suppose you're traveling to work and you see a stop sign. What do you do? That depends on how you exegete (interpret) the stop sign.

1. A post modernist deconstructs the sign (knocks it over with his car), ending forever the tyranny of the north-south
traffic over the east-west traffic.

2. 3. 4. 5.

Similarly, a Marxist refuses to stop because he sees the stop sign as an instrument of class conflict. He concludes that the bourgeois use the north-south road and obstruct the progress of the workers in the east-west road. A serious and educated Catholic rolls through the intersection because he believes he cannot understand the stop sign apart from its interpretive community and tradition. A fundamentalist, taking the text very literally, stops at the stop sign and waits for it to tell him to go. A seminary educated evangelical preacher might look up STOP in his lexicons of English and discover that it can mean: 1) something which prevents motion, such as a plug for a drain, or a block of wood that prevents a door from closing; 2)a location where a train or bus lets off passengers. The main point of his sermon the following Sunday on this text is: when you see a stop sign, it is a place where traffic is naturally clogged, so it is a good place to let off passengers from your car An orthodox Jew does one of two things: a) Take another route to work that doesn't have a stop sign so that he doesn't run the risk of disobeying the Law; b) Stop at the sign, say "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who hast given us thy commandment to stop," wait 3 seconds according to his watch, and then proceed. Incidentally, the Talmud has the following comments on this passage: Rabbi Meir says: He who does not stop shall not live long. R. Hillel says: Cursed is he who does not count to three before proceeding. R. Simon ben Yudah says: Why three? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, gave us the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. R. ben Isaac says: Because of the three patriarchs. R. Yehuda says: Why bless the Lord at a stop sign? Because it says, "Be still and know that I am God." A scholar from the Jesus Seminar concludes that the passage "STOP" undoubtedly was never uttered by Jesus himself because being the progressive Jew that he was, He would never have wanted to stifle peoples progress. Therefore, STOP must be a textual insertion belonging entirely to stage III of the gospel tradition, when the church was first confronted by traffic in its parking lot. A NT (New Testament) scholar notices that there is no stop sign on Mark street but there is one on Matthew and Luke streets, and concludes that the ones on Luke and Matthew streets are both copied from a sign on a street no one has ever seen called "Q" street. There is an excellent 300 page doctoral dissertation on the origin of these stop signs, and the differences between stop signs on Matthew and Luke street in the scholar's commentary on the passage. An OT (Old Testament) scholar points out that there are a number of stylistic differences between the first and second half of the passage "STOP." For example, "ST" contains no enclosed areas and five line endings, whereas "OP" contains two enclosed areas and only one line termination. He concludes that the author for the second part is different from the author on the first part and probably lived hundreds of years later. Later scholars determine that the second half is itself actually written by two separate authors because of similar stylistic differences between the "O" and the "P. much easier to understand in context than "STOP" because of the multiplicity of stores in the area. The textual corruption probably occurred because "SHOP" is so similar to "STOP" on the sign several streets back, that it is a natural mistake for a scribe to make. Thus the sign should be interpreted to announce the existence of a shopping area. If this is true, it could indicate that both meanings are valid, thus making the thrust of the message "STOP (AND) SHOP."

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. Because of the difficulties in interpretation, another OT scholar amends the text, changing the "T" to "H". "SHOP" is

11. A "prophetic" preacher notices that the square root of the sum of the numeric representations of the letters S-T-

O-P (sigma-tau-omicron-pi in the Greek alphabet), multiplied by 40 (the number of testing), and divided by four (the number of the world-north, south, east, and west) equals 666. Therefore, he concludes that stop signs are the dreaded "mark of the beast," a harbinger of divine judgment upon the world, and must be avoided at all costs.

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THE BOOKS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE IN SEVERAL TRADITIONS

Jewish Bible Torah Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Prophets Joshua Judges Samuel (1 & 2) Kings (1 & 2) Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel The Twelve Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Writings Psalms Proverbs Job Song of Solomon Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel Ezra-Nehemiah Chronicles (1 & 2) Orthodox Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Kingdoms (1 Samuel) 2 Kingdoms (2 Samuel) 3 Kingdoms (1 Kings) 4 Kingdoms (2 Kings) 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles 1 Esdras 2 Esdras (Ezra-Nehemiah) Esther (with Additions) Judith Tobit 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees 3 Maccabees Psalms (with 151) Prayer of Manasseh Job Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Wisdom of Solomon Sirach Hosea Amos Micah Joel Obadiah Jonah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Isaiah Jeremiah Baruch Lamentations Letter to Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel (with Additions) (4 Maccabees in appendix) Catholic Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Tobit Judith Esther (with Additions) 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Wisdom of Solomon Sirach Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch Letter to Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews Susanna Bel and the Dragon Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Protestant Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel

Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

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