Here are some things I've learned as I review for my Midterm in the Bible Intro class. You'd think intro means basic, but I've learned SOOOO much and while it is basic on one level... I wish I'd have learned these things earlier in my walk. Remember these are only pieces of information from the 8 lessons I'm studying. I just chose things that stood out to me or are just cool to know. Many times we learn by teaching so here you are...
Our duties in regard to the Bible:
1. Know it
2. Obey it
3. Disseminate it (spread it)
The word that means Testament, hence OT and NT can also and may be more accurately translated as "Covenant."
How did we get our Bible? Revelation: God gave it, Inspiration: Man received it, Illumination: Man continues to study and understand it (focus on understand)
The Greek word for "God-breathed" is Theopneustos. The "Word of God" is exactly that.
10 Ways God communicated in the OT: Dreams, Visions, Audibly, a Whirlwind, the Tabernacle, Types/Anti-types, Law, Burning Bush, Catastrophes, Still small vioce, a Donkey
Oral Communication is 1. Vulnerable to error 2. Vulnerable to forgetfulness
Written Communication is 1. Precise 2. Durable 3. Objective 4. Easy to disseminate
History of writing: Pictograms, Logograms, Phonograms, Alphabet... materials: stone, clay tablets, waxed wooden tablets, papyrus, parchment, potsherd (broken pottery pieces - commonly used for grocery lists)... tools: chisel, stylus, pen, penknife, ink, ink horn, sponge, pumice stone >>> Writing was def. available in the time of Moses for him to have written the first 5 books of the Bible (The Law).
The OT period of the Judges can be described by the verse quoted saying, "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
2 Types of Covenants: Syntheke: Bilateral covenant where 2 parties particiapte and have input... Diatheke: Unilateral covenant where 1 party draws it up and the other accepts or denies. The OT is a Diatheke from God. He makes the rules :)
The Hebrews language is at least as old as 1500 BC due to evidence of the Gezer Calendar, Moabite Stone, Samaritan Ostraca, and Siloam Tunnel Inscription. While the Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek... Greek is the most precise of these languages.
The OT is divided into 4-5 categories... LAW: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deut., HISTORY, POETRY: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs/Solomon, MAJOR PROPHETS: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekial, Daniel, and MINOR PROPHETS. If you memorize the ones I did mention and use good judgment when asked... you'll have no prob with the rest.
The OT is called the Tanak by modern Jews because T for Torah, N for Nebiim (Prophets), K for Ketubim (Writings) are their divisions. This = TaNaK
According the Jewish historian Josephus, the Hebrew Bible is divided into only 22 books. It's condensed (for ex. 12 prophets are made into a book called The Twelve and 1 and 2 Kings are combined)
The OT is "Plenary" or fully inspired (2 Tim. 3:16). Inspiration extends to all of Scripture, not parts of it. That being said, the Bible does record (not teach) lies told my Satan and others. These things are obviously not true statements and given as historical record. Also, it is the writings of the Bible that are inspired, not the writers. This is why we say it is inerrant in the original documents (Autographa). Manuscripts (copies) only have derived inspiration and must be studied and compared to give the most accurate translation that we can use today.
Theories of inspiration: Orthodox - ALL of the Bible is fully inspired, Liberal - The Bible CONTAINS God's Word, Neo-Orthodox - As it is meaning FOR YOU, it becomes God's Word
The OT alone has more manuscript evidence than any 10 pieces of classical literature combined. The NT has 5 times that of the Old. The Bible is still the world's bestseller. The Bible was written in different literary genres, had about 40 different authors with different attitudes when writing, covered a period of about 1500 years, and yet it all holds firm in unity.
The word "canon" originated from the word "stalk/reed." It evolved to mean "rod, rule, or measuring rod." Canonicity is not men deciding which books would go into the Bible as if human beings were in charge of it. Canonicity is when men recognized what God already inspired. It originated with God, not men.
5 Criteria for canonicity of Bible books: Prophetic? Authoritative? Authentic? Dynamic? Recognized?
Last book of OT written 400 BC, OT canon closed 300 BC. We are no longer to add anything to the OT.
3 extra-biblical sets of Jewish writings: the Lost Books, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha. Lost books are not "lost" because they should have been included, but rather because they are written to give the appearance that they belonged. Apocrypha literally means "hidden." Pseudepigrapha literally means "false writing." Some of these books are good for historical purposes and some use them for devotional material and funerals. The Catholic Church includes the Apocrypha in their Bibles.
The Septuagint was the first translation of the OT in history. It was translated from Hebrew into Greek. This happened 250 BC.
Transmission is the process of handing down the biblical text to other people.
Textual Criticism is studying the manuscript copies to discover the original wording when the original documents are lost.
There are about 1300 manuscripts for the Ot and 5300 for the NT.
And... done!
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