When I started this Bible study a couple of years ago, the first session was simply called, “An Introduction to the Bible.” I won’t rehash all of that here because it would be a very long post, but I thought that since we have a new site and may attract new visitors, now would be a good time to let everyone know where we’re coming from and the sources we will be using on a regular basis. Things like that.
First off, all New Testament passages will be from the ESV unless otherwise indicated, and all Old Testament passages will be from the Lexham English Translation of the Septuagint unless it differs from the Masoretic Text, in which case the ESV will be used for comparison. That will become more clear later. Also, blueletterbible(dot)com will be used for interlinear examinations as well as for some Hebrew and Greek definitions and Stong’s numbers. I also employ the use of Adam’s SynChronological Chart of History. It’s a very helpful visual aid, though I won’t be sharing images from it for proprietary reasons. Other Bible versions may be used throughout, as well as other sources, but these are the main ones.
Now for a concise, bulleted summary of the Intro class.
• The Hebrew text, or the Jewish Scripture, is known as the Tanakh.
• The Tanakh has three parts (TA•NA•KH)
• These are the Torah (TA), Nevi’im (NA), and Ketuvim (KH)
• The Torah is the Instructions, also known as the Five Books of Moses
• The Nevi’im are The Prophets
• The Ketuvim are The Writings
• The difference between the Tanakh and today’s English Bibles is the arrangement and categorization of the books of the Old Testament.
• The Old Testament is divided into 5 categories
• 5 Books of Moses, or Pentateuch (same as the Torah)
• 12 Books of History
• 5 Books of Poetry
• 5 Major Prophets (major because of size)
• 12 Minor Prophets (minor because of size)
• The Tanakh has some books of history categorized as prophets and some prophets and the poetry categorized as writings, along with the rest of the history books.
• The early parts of the Tanakh were originally written in Phoenician Hebrew but rewritten in Paleo Hebrew after the return from The Exile to Babylon.
• The Tanakh was translated into Greek in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. after the Hellenization of the region by Alexander the Great.
• The Greek translation is known as the Septuagint, meaning seventy, because it was translated by 70 men. It is also known as the LXX.
• Both the Tanakh and the Septuagint were in use at the time of the Messiah.
• The writings of Paul contain quotes from the Septuagint.
• The Hebrew Masoretic (HM) was a copy of the Tanakh written down around the 7th to 10th centuries A.D.
•The HM was the most available text when translations were being made until the discovery at Qumran.
That’s a quick overview with one more thing to mention. When Ezra had completed the rebuilding of the Temple, he set about to make sure everyone knew the Torah of the Lord. It was around the 4th century B.C. that synagogues were first established where the people could go and hear the words of the Torah. The Five Books of Moses were divided into 54 portions so that one portion would be read in the synagogue every Sabbath. (cf. Acts 15:21) In the course of a year, the Torah would be read in full and then repeated every year. Known as the Torah Portions or Parashah Cycle, that cycle begins anew on October 2nd, 2021.
Join us as we study the Torah together.