Chapter 1 The Biblical Text
The book of mosses
...
2 important events:
1. The invention of the printing press in 1455 (eliminating the slow and labor-intensive task of copying them by hand 2.Protestant Reformation-Martin Luther antii-Catholic
Dead Sea Scrolls
A collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts found preserved in caves near Qumran on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Beginning in 1974, scholars recovered copies of every book of the Tanakh (except ESTHER), IS the huge different btw MT, as well as copies of works from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. Among the non canonical documents were commentaries and other writings assumed to be the work of Essenes.
Why to study OT?
Because it helps how to read the Bible Process like formation, transmission, canonization, and translation Learning to easy way to find passages about verses and chapter number. It doesn't Added until 13 and 15 C.E
1947 Discovered
Hebrew text that are more than a thousand years older than the MT SCROLLS from second century . Dead Sea near the ancient site of Qumran
Torah= Law, Instruction= Pentateuch--> 5 books
It gained canonical status by the end of 5 century .. Reforms of Ezra made it the religious constitution of the postexilic community (Neh 8-9)
The Septuagint LXX
It was widely used within DIASPORA JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT.Add the books Deutorocanonical by Catholics and Ortodox. 12 TRibes*6=70
New translations of the Christian Bible began to appear as
Latin western half of the roman empire
king james version1
Masterpiece 1.it has only late manuscripts of the HB 2.Grammar and syntax 3. Expressions almost unintelligible to moderm readers.
ECUMENICAL
Mixed or academic audience include: Hebrew s, deuterocanonical lit or apocrypha and the New T
Does The Hebrew Bible have a single author?
NO. Grew out of the life of Israelite communities that continually shaped. Writtien text proved almost a fluid as oral transitions SCRIBES
dYNAMIC TRNSLATION
Paraphrases
Canonization
The absence of Esther among the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate that the Qumran community didn't regard this book as authoritative, but many other books are included in the Qumran library that ultimtely didn't become part of the offcial HEbrew canon
Prophets = Nevi'im = Former P + Latter Prophets
They were accepted as authoritative by at least some influential Jews around the end of the third centuary New T they mention " the law and the prophets"-->1st hint preface to Sirach "the law, the prophets, and the other books" New T Gospel of Luke refer to the emerging 3 part "The law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms"
Three part structure of the Jewish canon
Torah Prophets Writing
Kethubim = Writings
Torah + Nevi'im = Kethubim + TANAK = Hebrew Bible= OT
The 1st copy in english was
Tyndale's earlier work COVERDALE BIBLE
Text Criticism painstaking task
seeks to determine the correct biblical text from amongst all the varying manuscripts, acts as the foundation of translation
What is the different between different version?
which vowels were supplied or how words and sentences were separated by the reader The MASORETES standardize the biblical text by adding marks around the consonanst to indicate vowels, accent mark, and punctuation.
Council Jamnia
who can read the bible....
When is the oldest known Hebrew manuscripts of biblical texts found?
1940s These manuscripts were the work of Jewish scholars called MASORETES (transmitters) Goal->transmission of biblical texts
English
4th century..Wycliff's.
Canonization How were the decisions made?
1. Date & Language 2. Inspiration - Apostolical Association 3. Orthodoxy : Beliefs 4. TIME & USAGE Coritians I, Colosences Esther very late never mentioned GOd, Holy,Torah ...Ishtar, Maselodian... Speaks to community
Stages:
1. Event-->Something happened 2. Oral Transmission-->listeners 3. Written Fragments-->Talk about resurrection 4. Collections of fragments--> unites 5. Editing into Books 6. Collections of Books 7.Canonization ---> A LIST OF BOOKS which a group deems useful for faith and practice Jewish Canon 39 OT books Protestant C 39 OT + 27 NT Catholic C 39 OT + 27 NT + 7 Deuterocanonicals Coptic Orthodox Canon 46 OT + 27 NT +8 others
They leave Biblcal interpreta.
An educated Clergy, . Then were 1st trnslated into English for Benedictine monk.
Other languages Translations
Especially the Septuagint
Who are scribes?
Experts in the law (b/c they are always writing it).material and updated biblical books Handled these texts added explanatory . However unintentional error crept into texts
Biblical scholar named
JEROME in Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible and New testament from greek manuscript
TRANSLATION
Jerusalem temple in 597 B.C.E, many jews didn't speak hebrew. Council of jamnia Greek the dominant language of the biblical world
Examples
Septuagint included book like Sirach and Tobit suggest that Greek speaking Diaspora Jews
2 approaches in rendering
Source text Target Language Literal Translation
What is the first major translation of the Bible?
THE Septuagint 72 scholars miraculously after working individually for 72 days
Formation and Transmission
The Hebrew Bible was written gradually over a long period. Much of this material was transmitted ORALLY for generations before writing
Video :Typical Stages of Composition
The origin of the bible
Autograph
The original manuscript nor early copies fo any biblical book have survived.
Masoretic text MT
The standardized form of the Hebrew text of the OT, done by the Masoretes, Jewish scribes who copied the OT text from 500-900 AD. They were not only extremely scrupulous in copying the text, but also added vowel points and limited commentary and notes in the margin (i.e. "masorah"). There were actually several, independent systems which centered in Babylon, Tiberias, and Palestine, but the Babylonian received widest acceptance. they tried to safeguard them from the corruption
Jerome's translation called
Vulgate because it made the bible accessible in the common language of the day.....Became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church
New Testement
William translate greek into english Arrested, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake
Tanak
Writings 1st century, the authority of certain book, questioned especially Esther, Ecclesiastes, and the song of songs
RYHME AND wordplay may also be
difficult to preserve in translatiln
Jewish communities
moved toward consensus on which books should be regarded as normative.
