A Very Jewish Way Pt. 1

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

2 Timothy 3:15–17 NIV

15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Someone read Ps.119

What is this Crazy Book?

Is this even English?

What is in Here?

How do I read this thing?

What I want to be doing in this is addressing assumptions. We all bring so many assumptions to the Bible, it is impossible not. They are influenced by our upbringing, our culture, pop culture, social media, recent history etc.

Therefore, instead of dismantling every assumption it is easier and more effective to just build from scratch correct assumptions and the let the Holy Spirit do the work in our minds. I will give you an example, when I first started reading the Bible, I thought that it was supposed to be all about Jesus, the devil and some angels. Now what I didn’t know is that underneath all of those things, I had built assumptions of what I thought each of those were. Therefore, when I started reading if I saw anything that was contrary to what I thought I was looking for, it just wasn’t relevant or was misinterpreted.

What is this crazy book?

What is the Bible?

The Bible is a collection of scrolls and letters some of which pre-existed as oral tradition or rock carvings. The Bible was written by over 40 Authors over a period of >1600 Years. The Bible has not always existed in the form that we have it today. When it was written which was after it was circulated orally the technology of the time would have been Scrolls.

For example: Here is the first writing of the Bible in the Bible.

Exodus 17:14a (NIV)

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it...

Exodus 24:3–4 (NIV)

3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said...

All of these would then have been compiled by Scribes, these are professional writers in a time when literacy was exceedingly rare, writing material exceedingly hard to make, the best way to communicate was still oral. Now imagine not melting our brain on media these days, the common Jewish boy would have had the full Scriptures memorised starting with the book of Leviticus by age 6. The design of the books is often Rhythmic and utilising memory aids. It was designed to be heard, repeated and memorised. These things were written to equip future leaders to instruct and remind the people the people.

Literacy. Despite this schooling system, many children did not learn to read and write. It has been estimated that at least 90 percent of the Jewish population of Roman Palestine in the first centuries CE could merely write their own name or not write and read at all, or that the literacy rate was about 3 percent.

According to our world in Data, literacy rates did not raise above 15% until after 1800 AD

We have to remember that scroll technology is different than a Codex (book), therefore how people engaged scripture was very different and how the Authors intended for it to be engaged was different.

How are we going? Questions?

Is this even English?

The first challenge when learning anything is learning the rhetoric. This is not untrue of the Bible.

rhetoric (in writing or speech) the undue use of exaggeration or display; bombast. the art or science of all specialized literary uses of language in prose or verse, including the figures of speech. the study of the effective use of language. the ability to use language effectively. the art of prose in general as opposed to verse. the art of making persuasive speeches; oratory.

Without spending time in Scripture it is really challenging to grasp what the Authors are saying. Even with it being in English, many of the words have slipped into pop culture which gives us a false confidence that we know what the word means. Think common words like Bless, Grace, Faith, Righteous and Love. We can come to the scripture with the thought that we already know what the author means by these words based on what “WE” think they mean. The truth is the depth of meaning that the biblical author is trying to convey is typically much deeper than our current understanding, so as we read this is something that is developed in us. The technical term for this is semantic range. This is a challenge that met by having something called a Bible Dictionary.

To add a layer of complexity, the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic and the New Testament was written in Greek. The Old Testament was translated into Greek which was called the Septuagint (greek for 70, there is a story about 70 translators that all arrived at the same translation separately) and Aramaic called the Targums.

In Jesus’ day the Septuagint would have been the Hebrew Bible that people most commonly studied in Synagogue.

We have to appreciate translating anything into a different language is a large work of Scholarship. Words don’t mean the same between languages and not everything is an easy one to one translation.

For this reason there are many English translations because language evolves, grammar updates and decisions are made on what to translate certain words into.

How are we doing? Questions?

What is in here?

We believe the Bible is one unified story that leads to Jesus. Jesus himself affirms this:

Luke 24:44–47 NIV

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

John 5:39–40 NIV

39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Luke 24:27 NIV

27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Now the your Bible is organised into two main sections.

1. The Old Testament (OT) or Hebrew Bible

2. The New Testament (NT)

The word Testament comes actually from an incorrect latin translation of the Greek word diatheke which means Covenant, which is a special kind of Promise/Contract which we will talk about more later in this series.

As discussed these were written by many authors over a long period of time >1600 years.

Like any piece of ancient literature the history of the Composition of the Bible is a field of study all on its own. I am no expert on it but I find it fascinating, it is beyond the scope of this particular bible study but one day we may discuss it in a lot more detail.

Suffice it to say that, the Bible did not just fall out of heaven.

The Bible has more in common with Jesus than it does an average book. It is the product of both the divine and the human and as such it has a very human history.

To be fair, I would be weary of any thing claiming to be a Holy Book that just magically appeared. God does not work that way. He always works through Humans, with the exception of creation.

In the Bible was have sections inside of the Old and New Testaments:

Old Testament (OT)

Hebrew Bible:

Arranged by purpose

Torah (sometimes referred to as the Law or Moses or a combination)

First five books same as in most English Bibles

Prophets

Separated into the Former Prophets, Latter Prophets and the Scroll of the twelve

Writings (sometimes referred to by Psalms or David)

Literally everything else

Called TaNaK

Books are arranged differently than in most English Bibles

Common English Bibles

Arranged by Genre

Torah (same as above)

History Books

Poetry (includes Wisdom Literature)

Prophets

Faithlife Study Bible (The Formation of the Old Testament)

The story of the origin of the Old Testament is multi-layered and complex, and no known ancient sources actually tell it. The Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Ethiopian, and Syriac traditions all have slightly different Old Testaments. While they all agree on the books that comprise the Protestant Old Testament, the other groups also include books that Protestants call apocryphal or deuterocanonical books. The books agreed upon are the same as those in the Jewish canon, also known as the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh), although Christians have them in a different order.

2. New Testament (NT)

Faithlife Study Bible (The Formation of the New Testament)

What we today call the New Testament is composed of a 27-document collection that Christians view as bearing unique authority—along with the Old Testament—as the Word of God. But the reason that this particular collection of documents—from among other Christian writings of the first century—came to be received and accepted by the church as the New Testament canon isn’t immediately clear.

a. Gospels (Narrative)

b. Acts (Narrative)

c. Pauline Epistles (Paul’s Letters)

d. Further Epistles (Epistles are mostly Prose Discourse and Poetry)

e. Revelation (Apocalyptic - means to reveal/uncover not end of the world)

How are we doing? Questions?

How do I read this thing?

I want to read a long quote so you do not think these are my words.

As you begin to study the Bible, determine your goals, methods, and resources. If you simply want to be a more careful reader of the Bible, perhaps begin by reading a small portion of the text daily with a Bible reading plan. If you want to put serious effort into learning the Bible, you will need to make a greater commitment. Such an approach may involve several hours a week of focused study and the use of resources such as commentaries. If pursuing this level of Bible study, you will benefit from acquiring at least one Bible dictionary and two kinds of commentaries—one-volume Bible commentaries and commentary volumes corresponding to individual books of the Bible are both valuable. Using these as you study the Bible passage by passage will provide you with some of the same help you would get if you were to study the Bible in an academic institution. There are also some basics that apply.

Take seriously the importance and quality of the book you’re studying.

Although we may wish the Bible were entirely clear, students of literature would never expect that from other important books. When it comes to the Bible, it should be obvious that we have to study the Bible to understand it.

Some writing—a newspaper story, for example—might be understood by almost any mature reader. Other writing—such as a Shakespearean play—might require readers to consult dictionaries, study guides, and other aids because of the nature of the language and the subject matter. Yet other writing—a calculus textbook, for example—might require years of prior study as well as patient, focused effort to understand even a single page. The Bible contains literature at all these levels: some parts any reader can follow, some parts that require help, and some that are difficult enough that even seasoned scholars struggle to comprehend them.

This is to be expected. A book claiming to be authored by the one whose thinking and communication can range from the simplest level to far above human understanding should require serious effort from seekers of its truth. It is naïve to think that the Bible differs from other literature in being automatically comprehensible, or that our good intentions and love of God will overcome our need to study in order to appreciate the quality of the ideas He has put into writing for us.

Respect the Bible’s genres.

No serious Bible student can ignore the various genres in the Bible. Ten predominate: narrative, law, wisdom, psalms, and prophecy in the Old Testament; and gospel, parable, Acts, letter, and apocalypse in the New Testament. To understand and appreciate the Bible’s content, each of these genres must be read differently.

Consider two examples: Parables are stories told to willing students, not those who refuse to bother with what seems irrelevant to them (Matt 13:10–17). Thus, they resemble puzzles, containing punch lines that help willing readers see a truth they might have otherwise missed. Western culture is not used to parables, but with reasonable study, the parables of the New Testament reveal a great deal about the nature of God’s kingdom.

Similarly, proverbs, part of Old Testament Wisdom Literature, frequently present life’s choices in a semi-riddle fashion, which require that readers take time to understand them. Those who work out the meaning of a proverb often read it repeatedly and thus learn its content while trying to understand its point.

Respect the format.

The format of the Bible requires appreciating it as an anthology of many books, each of which has its own integrity: Readers of the Bible must start by recognizing the genre of a given book and then reading it as both a unique piece of literature and one that contributes to the overall message of the anthology. The Bible is an integrated and univocal text that benefits the reader at both the individual book level and as a whole.

Respect the historical sweep and context.

In one sense, the Bible is like a world epic: It covers the sweep of history from the very beginning of creation to the end of history when our universe is radically transformed. Biblical books always deal with something that is part of this very big picture—the story of God’s creation, its fall, His ongoing redemption of it, and/or the ultimate consummation of all the hopes of God’s people for a permanent establishment characterized by God’s goodness. Few other books, even other religious scriptures, resemble the scope of the Bible.

Respect the multidisciplinary nature of careful study.

There are several different ways to look at any piece of literature. In the case of the Bible, it pays to look from every angle that might yield a payoff. It is convenient to think of 11 such angles, or steps, in the study process:

1. Text—Seeking the original wording to avoid treating a scribal error that accidentally crept into the text as original. (Translations and study notes already depend on this scholastic research.)

2. Translation—Studying how to best convey in a modern language the concepts conveyed by the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. (Consulting multiple translations and study notes aids in this process.)

3. Grammar—Analyzing the language of the passage under consideration to be sure it is not misunderstood. (Even one-volume commentaries will often explain these issues.)

4. Lexical content—Seeking the correct meaning of individual words and phrases found in a passage. (Study notes, commentaries, and Bible software aid in this process.)

5. Form—Studying the literary category and the characteristics that make any passage special. (Study Bible articles on genre serve this process.)

6. Structure—Analyzing the way that the elements of a passage are ordered and how that affects its meaning. (A careful reading of the biblical text, especially with the aid of commentaries, makes this possible.)

7. Historical context—Studying the milieu in which the Bible was revealed, which helps yield the point of its contents. (One-volume commentaries and study notes, like those of Faithlife Study Bible, are designed to reveal this.)

8. Literary context—Studying how a passage fits within the book of which it is a part and how that affects its meaning. (Examining how a passage relates to those before and after it, and to the book as a whole, helps with this interpretive step.)

9. Biblical context—Analyzing what a passage contributes to the Bible as a whole and what the rest of the Bible contributes to understanding the passage. (Reading through the Bible as a whole, and reading passages that are cross-referenced, help with this.)

10. Application—Seeking to conform beliefs and actions to the guidance the Bible imparts. (Act on what the Bible says.)

11. Secondary literature—Examining the wisdom and diligent study of others as they have put it into books and articles. (This step should be used throughout study, but is usually best to do after attempting to draw your own conclusions, and is best done in conversation with other believers in Jesus.)

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, and don’t go it alone.

As you read through the Bible, look up anything you don’t fully know or understand. Make use of the many good resources available to help you be a better student of the Bible than you would be on your own.

Bible dictionaries give an overview and a brief analysis of virtually any topic mentioned in the Bible, and they also connect that information to the various books and major doctrines of Scripture. Likewise, Bible commentaries explain Bible passages from an expert angle. Reading with a good study Bible provides additional help. Such resources introduce Bible books and special topics, and provide aids that explain the particular verse or passage under investigation.

Take notes, like a good reader should.

If you rely entirely on your own memory, you’ll eventually lose many valuable insights. But if you develop an external memory—your notes of observations or what you’ve learned—you will preserve them. Writing down what you have learned also forces you to express your thoughts more cogently and carefully than if you merely relied on memory. Memory fades with time, but written notes provide you with an element of stability and continuity for what you’ve learned in Bible study.

Respect the difference between words and concepts.

Most people are not aware of the difference between words and concepts, yet respecting these differences is essential to accurately interpreting the Bible. For example, in Luke 10 when Jesus illustrates what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself,” He tells the story of the Good Samaritan. This account does not include the words “love,” “neighbor,” or “self,” but the story richly includes the concept of loving neighbor as self and shows how that concept works in an exemplary illustration.

A significant aspect of Bible study is understanding the words used in the text. But even more important is understanding the concepts used—the point, significance, or meaning of a passage, verse, statement, or word.

Pray for help and study with other Christians.

Ask God for help and guidance in your Bible study. God will empower you with the desire, patience, and discernment to recognize the simple truths of the Bible and understand the complicated concepts. In addition, read the Bible in Christian community, as that is a critical component of growing as a Christian.

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).

Something that I have adapted which is not nearly as full-on as what was just read is to ask questions:

What did this passage say (The whole thing)?

What did this passage mean to the Original Audience?

The Bible can never mean what it never meant.

If the author never intended to communicate something to their audience, we then have to respect that boundary.

Think Genesis 1 what is the author communicating?

What does this passage tell me about God?

What does this passage tell me about Man?

How does this passage impact my relationship with God?

Is this passage asking anything from me?

Not all passages in Scripture are prescriptive meaning telling you what to do. Most of them are descriptive telling you what happened.

Think Solomon and his many wives.

1 Kings 11:1–6 NIV

1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

This passage is not telling us to have many wives, but it does describe that Solomon had many wives.

7. What is this passage leading me to pray about?

How are we doing? Questions?

I would like to hear some questions that you all have so that we can try to answer them through the course

Questions for Application?

Just after this talk what assumptions do you think you may be bringing to the table?