WHAT IS THE
BIBLE?
1. The Jewish Bible and the Old Testament
Written and presented by Dr Steven R Scott
IN THIS LECTURE
 The
two parts of the Christian Bible
 Jewish
scripture
 The
Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, and the Septuagint
 The
Sections of the Jewish Bible and the Old Testament
 The
Intertestamental Scripture
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Dr Steven R Scott
THE TWO PARTS OF THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE
 The
Christian Bible is divided into two parts
 The
Old Testament
 The
New Testament
 The
Jewish Bible is roughly equivalent to the Old Testament
 Most
scholars now refer to the Old Testament as either the
Hebrew or Jewish Bible
 This
is to be neutral and not give a faith-based description to this
collection
Dr Steven R Scott
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CHRISTIANITY IS A TYPE OF JUDAISM
 The
most important thing to remember about Christianity, especially early
Christianity, is that Christianity is a type of Judaism





Christians worship the Jewish God
They hold Jewish Bible to be the word of God
They believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah/Christ
Jesus and his followers were all Jewish
All the authors of the NT were Jewish except Luke


 All
However, Luke was well indoctrinated in Judaism
He was a “Godfearer,” a Gentile who feared/respected the Jewish God and had
studied their texts
the authors of the NT expected their audience to know Jewish Scripture

Most Christians to 70CE were Jewish and considered themselves so
 When Gentiles became the majority is hard to gauge (probably late first
century)
Dr Steven R Scott
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JEWISH SCRIPTURE

The canon of the Jewish Bible (JB) was fully finalised after that of the New
Testament



“Canon” is from the Greek word meaning “rule” or “measure”

They are the works that were considered to measure up or conform to the rule for
being considered especially authoritative.
Before then, different texts were held to be scripture by different groups



The word “canon” refers to an official collection
The word scripture refers to texts that are deemed authoritative
This is whether they are part of an official canon or not
The canon of the Jewish Bible represents the viewpoint of a particular type of
Judaism



That of Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism grew out of Pharisaic Judaism
It became over time the dominant form of Judaism after the destruction of Jerusalem
and the temple in 70 CE
Dr Steven R Scott
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JEWISH SCRIPTURE IN THE FIRST CENTURY
 There
were various Jewish sects in the first century
 The

Essenes, who were based near the Dead Sea
The Dead Sea Scrolls are from the Essene library at Qumran, next to the
Dead Sea
 The
Sadducees, who were the ruling elite
 The Pharisees, who were mostly non-priestly (lay) interpreters of
Scripture
 There
were many texts held to be scripture that did not make it into
the JB
 Most
importantly, the Enochian literature valued and likely written by
the Essenes
 The letter of Jude in the NT quotes the Book of Enoch as scripture
Dr Steven R Scott
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COMMON SCRIPTURE
 However,
most, if not all, the texts that made it into the Jewish Bible
were considered scripture by all Jews
 The
rule for the Canon of the JB was that the books had to have been
written in the Persian Period or before

The one exception is Daniel, which was believed to have been written in
the Persian Period

Texts after this period were considered sectarian
 Scripture
 These
 The
was often referred to as “the Law and the Prophets”
are two of the three sections of the JB
other section is the Writings (a mixture of stories, history, wisdom,
and song).
Dr Steven R Scott
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THE JEWISH BIBLE
 The
JB is a library, a collection of different books
 The
JB is also called the Tanakh due to its three main sections:
1.
Torah = the Law
2.
Nevi'im = the Prophets; divided into the former prophets (historical books)
and the latter prophets (collections of prophecies)
3.
K(h)etuvim = the Writings: psalms, wisdom literature, later historical books
 The
Christian Old Testament arranges Jewish scripture into four sections:
1.
The Pentateuch = the five (penta) books of the Torah/the Law
2.
The Historical Books = the former prophets and some of the writings
3.
Poetical and Wisdom literature = the rest of the writings
4.
The Prophets = the latter prophets
Dr Steven R Scott
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THE SEPTUAGINT
Greek translation of Jewish Scripture done in the 3rd–2nd centuries
BCE
A

Not all the texts in this collection were included in the JB
 They are considered part of the OT
 The
texts not found in the JB but in the OT are called either
Deuterocanonical texts or the Apocrypha in Christian Bibles

They are:

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Tobit, Judith, Additions to the books of Esther and Daniel
Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, 1–4 Maccabees, 1–4 Esdras
Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus = Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach
The prayer of Manasseh and the psalm 151
The precise texts included differ between Christian denominations
Dr Steven R Scott
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THE TORAH / PENTATEUCH/ THE LAW
 Pentateuch
means five (penta) books/scrolls (teuch)
 The
five are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy
 They
recount the history of the world and then Israel to the
Exodus from Egypt and her return to the land of Israel
 They
also contain various law codes
 Hence
the name Torah, which means law or instruction
 The
Torah thus contains instruction on how to live according to the
will of God
Dr Steven R Scott
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THE FORMER PROPHETS OF THE JB
AND THE OT THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
 The
former prophets of the Jewish Bible (JB): Joshua, Judges, 1–2
Samuel, and 1–2 Kings
 These,
along with Deuteronomy, are called the Deuteronomist History
by scholars
 They
are a history written by the authors of the book of Deuteronomy
 They
continue the history of Israel from the time of Moses to the Exile
to Babylon
 Some
of the writings of the JB: Ruth (usually placed after Judges in
Christian Bibles), Ezra, Nehemiah, 1–2 Chronicles, and Esther
 These,
besides Ruth, recount the history of Israel from the return from
Babylon to the middle of the Persian Period
Dr Steven R Scott
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JB WRITINGS AND
THE OT THE POETICAL AND WISDOM LITERATURE
 The
books in this section are:
 Wisdom
books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes = Qoheleth
 Poetical
books: Psalms and the Song of Solomon
 The
JB section of the writings also includes:
 The
historical books Ruth, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and
1–2 Chronicles
 The
Dr Steven R Scott
poetical book by Jeremiah, Lamentations
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THE OT PROPHETICAL BOOKS
AND THE JB LATTER PROPHETS
 The
four major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah with Lamentations,
Ezekiel and Daniel
 Lamentations
and Daniel are in the Writings section of the JB
 The
12 minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi
 These
contain prophecies by prophets from the late Monarchic,
Exilic, and Persian Periods
Dr Steven R Scott
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INTERTESTAMENTAL LITERATURE
 There
was a vast (for the time) amount of Jewish literature
produced in the Hellenistic and early Roman Periods
 Between
 Next
the Jewish Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament
to none became part of the Jewish Bible
 It
was decided much later that the Persian Period marked the end
of Holy Scripture
 Some
became part of the Septuagint
 And
thus, part of the Old Testament
 Known
Dr Steven R Scott
as the Apocrypha in Protestantism
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DEAD SEA SCROLLS
 Much
of the intertestamental literature was written by the
Essenes
 They
buried their library in caves near the Dead Sea in the
Roman War.
 Though
this literature did not make it into the Hebrew Bible, it
was very influential
 Much
of it was Pseudepigrapha
 “False
 That
writing”
is, it is presented as being written by Biblical figures, e.g.,
Enoch, Abraham, etc.
Dr Steven R Scott
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