I.  Introduction to the Jewish Bible/Hebrew Bible

 

A.  What is the Jewish/Hebrew Bible?

 

1.  Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, Tanak (Tanach, Jewish Bible), Written Torah, Septuagint (LXX), Vulgate

 

2.  Book and a Collection of Books

 

3.  Holy Book for Book Religions

 

4.  Source for Western Culture

 

5.  A Literary Anthology

 

6.  A source for the reconstruction of Israelite history

 

7.  A book which deals with philosophical and theological questions

 

B.  Many Bibles - Many Canons

 

1.  Canon - measure, set of authoritative literature for a group

 

2.  Reasons for a canon

 

3.  Formation of Canon

Torah - circa 400 BCE

Neviim - circa 200 BCE

Ketuvim - circa 70 BCE - 100 CE

 

Tanak - circa 90-100 CE, traditional association with Yavneh/Jamnia, but challenged.  See Marc Zvi Brettler, “The Canonization of the Bible” in The Jewish Study Bible. Eds. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 2072-2076.

 

4.  Jewish and Protestant Rejection of the Deutero-canonical books/Apocrypha contained in LXX

 

Luther=s translation of 1534 relegated deutero-canonicals to a section called Apocrypha

a.  Sola scriptura

b. Original languages and translation into vernacular

c. Rejection of certain doctrines such a purgatory (II Macc. 12:43-45)

 

Vulgate reaffirmed in 1546, but now R. Catholics distinguish between proto- and deutero-canonical books.  Eastern Orthodox also accept additional books. 

 

For chart of different canons, see Jewish Study Bible, page 2076.  Online graphical charts see http://www.sbl-site.org/educational/thebibleinpublicschools.aspx and  http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Heb-Xn-Bibles.htm  

C. Translations - Translation- proposed use and intended readership, formal equivalence, dynamic equivalence,  paraphrase, etc. - Jewish translations into English - JPS 1917 and NJPS 1985, Fox, Kaplan, Alter

D.  Textual Criticism -

1.  Existence of Variant Manuscripts

2.  Purpose of Textual Criticism - a. reconstruct an original OR b. track history of textual variants and significance of variations

3.  Types of Variants

 

E.  Models/Paradigms Useful in Thinking about  Interpretation    

 

1.  Model of Communication - oral, textual, visual

 

Code

 

Sender ----------Message------- Receiver

 

Context

 

 

See also, Bandstra 4th ed. Chart – Figure 1 – Hermeneutical Triangle, p. 3

 

 

2.  Worlds

 

World Within the Text: Literature - example:  repeated phrase:  And God saw it was good; 7 day structure

 

World Behind the Text: History - example:  ANE king as image of a god

 

World in Front of the Text: Our Culture - Examples:  later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic interpretations, music, art, even controversial graphic comics - http://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/detail/exhibition_id/167

 

F.  Views of the Nature of the Bible - Oversimplified

 

1.  Divine Inspiration – oversimplified:

 

a.  Direct verbal inspiration, infallible, inerrant, God dictated

 

b.  Inspired, infallible, but not inerrant, human/divine

 

2.  Reflection of Noblest Aims of the Human Spirit

 

3.  Human historical and literary record

 

4.  Modern biblical scholarship presupposes that whatever else it is the Bible is a collection of texts that can be studied in the same way as any other text.  Some go beyond this, others do not.

 

5.  Areas of Agreement           

 

 

 

G.  Methods of Interpretation: Past and Present

 

1.  Traditional Four-fold Division in Classical Judaism of Medieval Period:  PaRDeS - acronym which also means paradise

 

a.  Plain sense - Straight-forward, realistic, rational - Peshat

 

b.  Imaginative, creative elaboration - Derash

(Prominent in the Midrashim)

 

c.  Moral/Legal - Remez (hint, pointer) - moves in the direction of allegory, include gematria

 

d. Mystical/Mystery – Sod - sometimes considered secret or esoteric

 

For more details on medieval Jewish interpretation see David Stern, “Midrash and Jewish Interpretation,” pp. 1863-1875 and Barry D. Walfish, “Medieval Jewish Interpretation,” pp. 1876-1900 in The Jewish Study Bible. Eds. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2004.  For one modern, liberal Jewish explanation of levels of meaning see http://www.kolel.org/pages/5764/ekev.html

 

 

2.  Traditional Four-fold Division in Medieval Christian Interpretation

 

a.  Literal - plain sense - Jerusalem, the historical city

 

b.  Allegorical (Hidden or Spiritual Meanings)

- Jerusalem represents the Church

 

c.  Moral - Jerusalem is the human soul

 

d.  Anagogical/Eschatological (Pertaining to Last things - Jerusalem is the heavenly city

 

Medieval Memory Poem as cited in Robert M. Grant with David Tracy, A Short History of the Interpretation of the Bible ( Fortress Press, 1988) 85:

 

The letter shows what God and our fathers did;

The allegory shows us where our faith is hid;

The moral meaning gives us rules of daily life;

The anagogy shows us where we end our strife.

 

Note: in both cases expected multiple meanings. 

 

3.  Modern Academic Biblical Scholarship - Oversimplified 

 

(For more information please see Bandstra,  pp. 1-7; Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler (adapted by), "The Modern Study of the Bible"  pp. 2084-2096 in The Jewish Study Bible. Eds. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2004 the David Clines reading on E-reserve)

 

a.  Establishing the Text to be Interpreted:

 

Textual Criticism

Use best manuscripts possible, compare manuscripts

Hebrew Bible - Masoretic Text, Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, Targums, etc.

Rules such as the more difficult reading is likely earlier, shorter is probably earlier, etc. 

See Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, "Textual Criticism of the Bible" in The Jewish Study Bible. Eds. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 2067-72

 

Translation- proposed use and intended readership, formal equivalence, dynamic equivalence, etc.

 

Jewish translations into English - JPS 1917 and NJPS 1985, Fox, Kaplan, Alter  Comparison of Genesis 1-12 in old JPS Translation (1917), Everett Fox, Robert Alter,  Richard Elliott Friedman, and  King James at http://www.shammai.org/html/class_texts.htm

 

b.  Historical Criticism

 

c.  Literary Criticism

 

d.  Social Scientific Criticism - anthropology and

 sociology

 

e.  Theological/Philosophical Analysis

 

II.  Key Events and Geography

 

Reconstruction of the History of Israel

 

A.  Ancestral Period - c. 2000-1550 B.C.E. - Semi-nomadic

(Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Leah, Rachel)

 

B.  Egypt and the Exodus - c. 1550-1280 B.C.E. - Moses

 

C.  Conquest/Revolution/Settlement/Consolidation- Tribal Confederacy - Period of Judges (Deborah, Ehud, Gideon, Samuel) c. 1280-1020 B.C.E. - Philistine threat leads to rise of Saul

 

D.  United Kingdom - Saul, David and Solomon - Israel and Judah c. 1020 - 922  B.C.E.

 

E.  Divided Kingdoms of Israel in North and Judah in South

c.  922-721 B.C.E.

Northern Kingdom falls to Assyria in 721 B.C.E.

Amos from the south, prophesies in the North c. 760-750

 

F.  Judah with Capital in Jerusalem - c. 721-587/6BCE

Isaiah of Jerusalem - c. 740-700 B.C.E.

Josiah=s Reform - c. 622 B.C.E.

Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in 597 and again in 587/6 B.C.E. when Jerusalem and Temple completely destroyed

 

G.  Babylonian Exile - 587-539 B.C.E.

Cyrus the Mede (Persia) captures Babylon in 539

 

H.  Return and re-emergence -  539-333 BCE

Ezra-Nehemiah

Temple rebuilt by 515 BCE

 

I.  Judaism, Hellenism, Roman Period 333 BCE - 70 CE

Ptolemies and Seleucids

Maccabees - Hasmonean State 142-63 BCA

Pompey captures Jerusalem in 63 BCE - Romans and Roman clients govern

Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots, Christian Jews

Roman-Jewish War

Temple destroyed by Romans in 70 CE

Masada 73 CE

Bar Kochba Rebellion 132-35 BCE

 

J.  Emergence of Rabbinic/Normative Judaism -

Yavneh - arbitrary point of written Torah c. 90 CE

Oral Torah becomes Written: 

Mishnah - circa 200 CE

Gemara

Talmuds - Bablylonian and Jerusalem circa 600 CE

Page from Babylonian Talmud courtesy of Eliezar Siegal at Talmud

K.  Skip a Bunch to Modern Judaism in US.

Orthodox (varieties including Hasidic, and Ultra-orthodox)

Conservative

Reform

Reconstructionist

 

Zionism - secular, socialist,l religious

MAPS