HISTORY
The Old Testament begins with ‘God’ (Genesis 1:1). The New Testament begins with the ‘Son’ (Matthew 1:1). It’s God’s Story. It is not, however, a mere story. It is history from one point of view. Stories within the story are not recorded simply because they happened; it’s because they reveal God working throughout history.
The Old Testament sets the stage. The New Testament describes it. The central theme is a Person. The events of history did not determine who the Person was; it proved who He was through the event.
When we talk about the Bible, we should have an understanding about:
‘Written Revelation’: This is God’s Story, written over a period of 1,600 years in 66 books by 40 men and combined by one Author into ‘One Book’. It has been given names such as ‘The Bible’, the ‘Holy Bible’, the ‘Book’, the ‘Good Book’, the ‘Book of Books’, ‘Scripture’, the ‘Scriptures’, ‘Holy Writ’, the ‘Word’, and the ‘Word of God’. The word ‘Bible’ is derived through Latin from the Greek phrase ‘ta biblia’, meaning ‘the book’. Greek ‘biblia’ is derived from ‘biblos paprus’, from Byblos, the name of a Phoenician port from which papyrus was exported to Greece.
The word ‘testament’ means ‘covenant’ or ‘agreement’. There is the Old Testament and the New Testament that give God’s covenants before and after He walked on this earth.
The Bible was originally written in three languages: the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic; the New Testament was written in the everyday Greek. God speaks to us in our ‘mother tongue’; not in a ‘sacred’ language, but in ordinary language, so that we may ‘hear’ Him. He brings us into a company drawn from every people, tribe, tongue, nation, and language. We have today in the collection of 66 books the ‘canon’, giving the idea of a decree issued.
‘Revelation’: This involves ‘uncovering’ of truth, which has been completed through God’s written Word. God’s plan included a form of revelation that would be permanent, clear and preserved. The written form was chosen. God has taken pains to give a progressive revelation and we should take pains to read it from beginning to end. We cannot suppose that reading little scraps can ever take the place for doing serious thinking through God’s Story.
‘Inspiration’: It means ‘God-breathed’. This is the ‘way’ God spoke through men. The original writings were inspired, not the men! Working through the personalities of men, God gave them His message to record according to their personal styles and vocabularies.
‘Illumination’: This involves ‘understanding’ the written Word of God. Ask God for wisdom and you are asking God for illumination. There is no command in the Bible to ask for additional revelation. We are told to search the Scriptures, study them, and in so doing we can obey the God of the Scriptures.
‘Communication’: This involves God’s ‘method’ of explaining Himself to us. He uses action, figurative language, and interpretative words, and we are to respond with love. The Bible opens with, ‘In the beginning God created…’ God cannot be described literally because He is Spirit without form, so He communicates with figurative language. We learn about God by observing the results of His work, that is, His action. God also communicates through interpretive words because actions can be misinterpreted. This can be illustrated by the first name a slave woman used for God. God’s angel communicates His concern and gives her a promise. She responds by calling God “You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees”. God accepts this accurate description.
‘Translation’: This has to do with ‘changing’ the original written language of the Bible. Before translation came ‘copying’ when scrolls wore out, which no one could replace by simply printing another copy from their office computer. Someone had to reproduce the desired copy by hand. Scribes, developed in Jewish culture during the Babylonian exile, made it their sole duty to preserve and transmit the Scripture with precision. They pledged themselves to follow strict disciplines in copying the Scriptures to ensure accuracy, such as: old manuscripts were buried or destroyed; a special kind of animal skin was used was used; columns had a specified number, length and breadth; a specially prepared recipe of black ink was used; they could only copy from an authentic copy, and nothing from memory; a breadth of one hair was left between every consonant, and between every section was the breadth of nine consonants, and finally a space of three lines between every book; they used a fresh quill to pen the Lord’s sacred name; letter by letter was copied; one scribe would copy and another would count the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurred in each book; he would also calculate the middle word; and finally, if three mistakes existed, the scribes would destroy the manuscript.
The ‘Septuagint’ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible made in Egypt in the Third and Second Centuries, B.C. It means ‘seventy’ and is abbreviated LXX. According to legend, seventy-two translators, six from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, all separately made a translation, and all seventy-two were identical.
Through the years printers have made mistakes that have given Bibles nicknames: Miles Coverdale’s 1535 translation is known as the ‘Bug Bible’ because at Psalm 91:5 it has ‘Thou shalt not nede to be afrayed for eny bugges by night’, instead of ‘terror by night’; The ‘Fool Bible’ was published during the reign of Charles I (1625-49), where Psalm 14:1 reads, ‘The fool hath said in his heart there is a God’ – instead of ‘there is no God’. The printers were fined £3,000 for this mistake; The psalmist complains in Psalm 119:161 in the ‘Printers Bible’ that ‘printers have persecuted me without a cause’, instead of ‘princes have persecuted me’; The ‘Wicked Bible’ gives the seventh commandment in Exodus 20:14 as ‘Thou shalt commit adultery’. For this error the printers were fined £300.
Through the years printers have made mistakes that have given Bibles nicknames: Miles Coverdale’s 1535 translation is known as the ‘Bug Bible’ because at Psalm 91:5 it has ‘Thou shalt not nede to be afrayed for eny bugges by night’, instead of ‘terror by night’; The ‘Fool Bible’ was published during the reign of Charles I (1625-49), where Psalm 14:1 reads, ‘The fool hath said in his heart there is a God’ – instead of ‘there is no God’. The printers were fined £3,000 for this mistake; The psalmist complains in Psalm 119:161 in the ‘Printers Bible’ that ‘printers have persecuted me without a cause’, instead of ‘princes have persecuted me’; The ‘Wicked Bible’ gives the seventh commandment in Exodus 20:14 as ‘Thou shalt commit adultery’. For this error the printers were fined £300.
The chapters and verses of the modern Bible are not part of the original texts. The Bible was divided into chapters around 1227. Numbered verses came later. We should be careful not to take verses out of context; it can be like misquoting someone. It is better to follow the natural divisions of the Bible, which can especially be noticed in the Psalms.
We gain a better appreciation of the Bible by changing the written language through:
· ‘translations’ – Bible changed into a language for another time. ‘Literal’ Bibles translate word for word. ‘Dynamic equivalence’ translations convey the ideas of the words.
· ‘versions’ – translating from another language other than the original.
· ‘paraphrases’ – it interprets idea for idea rather than word for word, relating to a particular audience.
The meaning is not being changed, just the language.
It is important to remember that translations and versions of the Bible are not inspired; only the original texts are! It is marvelous that God has preserved the original intent of His message no matter what scholars have done to the Bible through the centuries. The Bible remains an adequate representation of the authoritative ‘Word of God’.
‘Interpretation’: This involves the ‘way’ of reading and understanding the text of the Bible so that the original meaning and intent is grasped before making application for the present audience. It is important to determine the meaning of a passage from what the author intended the first hearers or readers to understand. Then we can transmit that meaning to modern hearers.
‘Application’: This requires ‘hearing’ and obeying truth as we correctly understand it. We are not the focus of the story, and we are not to read ourselves into each and every circumstance or experience. ‘Hearing’ means more than just being within earshot while the message of God is read aloud or explained. ‘Hear’ in its full biblical sense, implies attention, acceptance, and application to oneself of the things learned. It has to do with listening with a purpose to obey and then behaving as God’s Word requires. The Bible is a relational document. When we try to reduce it to charts and lists we lose the significance of what it was like for God when He had to break His relationship with sinful human beings.
Strictly speaking, ‘Yahweh’ is the only name of God given in the Bible. All other terms are titles. This name is connected with a Hebrew verb meaning ‘to be’ and may mean ‘I am’ or ‘he who is’. In many versions of the Bible, ‘Yahweh’ is translated as ‘the Lord’. Since Hebrew words were originally written only with consonants, Yahweh may be written YHWH. It also appears in a shortened form ‘Yah’, especially in names. Because the name ‘Yahweh’ was considered too holy to pronounce, the word ‘adonay’, ‘my lord’ was said in its place when the Hebrew Bible was being read. Eventually, the vowels of ‘adonay’ were combined with the letters YHWH to give God a constructed name, which has become ‘Jehovah’ in modern English. ’El’, the common word for ‘deity’ in the ancient Middle East, is used occasionally in the Old Testament to refer to pagan gods but most frequently designates the God of Israel. It is seldom used alone in the Old Testament; it is frequently found in compound constructions such ‘El Shaddai’, ‘God Almighty’. ‘Elohim’ is plural in form but used with a singular meaning, as it appears in Genesis 1:1. Deuteronomy 5:9 uses three of the names or titles for God: “I the Lord (Yahweh) your God (Elohim) am a jealous God (El). The various titles for God found throughout the Old Testament were used as a personal and intimate self-expression in worship of God.
Listen to what people have said about the value of the Bible:
· “I have found in it words for my inmost thoughts, songs for my joy, utterance for my hidden griefs, and pleadings for my shame and feebleness” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet).
· “I believe that the existence of the Bible is the greatest benefit to the human race. Any attempt to belittle it… is a crime against humanity” (Immanuel Kent, German philosopher).
· “The Bible is worth all other books that have ever been printed” (Patrick Henry, American statesman).
· “The Scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying” (John Flavel, English churchman).
Read what the Bible says about itself:
· “Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.”
(Psalms 119:105)
· “The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
· “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
· “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12-13, NIV)
· “But the word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:25)
The Bible is…
A fire to warm and a hammer to break, water to cleanse, milk to nourish, meat to invigorate, light to guide, a sword for the fight, and a mirror to reveal. It is ‘at work in you believers’, ‘able to build you up’, ‘living and active… piercing… discerning’.
It’s time to read God’s Story… from the beginning! Be ready to begin sharing from Genesis in our next session. Read about how God related to households; pay attention to how individuals responded to God and one another; think about what God was doing and how you fit into His Story.
It defeats the purpose of this study to selectively read and think through the Bible. One of the principle fundamentals of ‘Thinking through the Bible’, especially for those who have had a long exposure to the Scriptures, is that as you read Book by Book, do not superimpose your concepts and notions on the text, but simply paraphrase what you see in the story. ‘Walk’ with Adam; talk to Eve; what was it like walking with God in the cool of the evening? What was it like being deceived in a perfect environment? Feel the pain of Cain after murdering his own brother; think about what it was like being married to a murderer; what was it like to be Enoch’s wife when he walked with God and God took him? What would it be like to have your father taken away by God? What would it be like to have a father who built an ark when there was no ocean nearby? Ask his son Seth, Ham, and Japheth.
This cartoon tells you how NOT to approach your Bible reading in 'Thinking through the Bible'.
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