Master Bible pupil and instructor Marc Brettler argues that today’s modern readers can in basic terms comprehend the traditional Hebrew Scripture through understanding extra in regards to the tradition that produced it. And so Brettler unpacks the literary conventions, ideological assumptions, and old stipulations that tell the biblical textual content and demonstrates how smooth severe scholarship and archaeological discoveries make clear this attention-grabbing and intricate literature.
Brettler surveys consultant biblical texts from diverse genres to demonstrate how sleek students have taught us to “read” those texts. utilizing the “historical-critical procedure” lengthy renowned in academia, he courses us in examining the Bible because it used to be learn within the biblical interval, autonomous of later non secular norms and interpretive traditions. figuring out the Bible this fashion shall we us relish it as a fascinating textual content that speaks in a number of voices on profound issues.
This booklet is the 1st “Jewishly delicate” advent to the historical-critical process. in contrast to different introductory texts, the Bible that this e-book speaks approximately is the Jewish one—with the three-part TANAKH association, the series of books present in smooth published Hebrew versions, and the bankruptcy and verse enumerations utilized in newest Jewish models of the Bible. In an afterword, the writer discusses how the historical-critical procedure may help modern Jews relate to the Bible as a non secular textual content in a extra significant way.
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Extra info for How to Read the Bible
But we c a n n o t determine h o w m a n y of t h e m c a m e f r o m the p r o p h e t himself. Later revisions a n d a d d i t i o n s performed a job (see above, "Amos the booklet as opposed to A m o s the Prophet"). i'll s okay e t c h the f o r m a t i o n of the b o o ok right here, w h i c h m u s t r e m a i n just a s ok e t c h , simply because m u c h of the heritage of the textual content is imprecise. A m o s , the e i g h t h - c e n t u r y p r o p h e t , believed that h e heard the divine voice, as he studies: "Hear this w o r d , Ο p e o p l e of Israel, / That the LORD has spoken" (3:1; e m p h a s i s a d d e d ) . He s a w visions that he believed have been divine: "This is w h a t m y Lord GOD confirmed m e " (7:1; e m p h a s i s a d d e d ) . He felt c o m p e l l e d to proportion those w i t h the p u b l i c , i n c l u d i n g on the t e m p l e at Bethel (see 7:10, 13). 1 7 At s o m e p o i n t , both he or o n e of his disciples b r o u g h t those separate oracles jointly. W h e n this h a p p e n e d , s o m e o n e h a d to d e c i d e h o w to o r d e r the oracles. M a n y m e t h o d s of o r d e r i n g w o u l d have b e e n attainable (e. g. , chronological, asso- ciative, topical), b u t the ebook of A m o s s e e m s to okay e e p comparable sorts of oracles jointly, just like the visions n o w accumulated in c h a p t e r 7. during this means, the 1st ebook of A m o s w a s p r o d u c e d . Later, to provide an explanation for a n d u p d a t e the fabric, s o m e o n e a d d e d s u p e r s c r i p t i o n a n d n a r r a t i o n . This i n c l u d e s the tale a b o u t A m o s a n d A m a z i a h the priest, in w h a t is n o w 7 : 1 zero - 1 7 . without doubt an editor inserted that narrative there b e c a u s e it refers on to the oracle within the p r e v i o u s verse, even t h o u g h this p l a c e m e n t i n t e r r u p t s the move of the p r o p h e t i c s p e e c h . T h u s the b o o ok slowly grew, a n d p r o b a b l y existed in a couple of copies basically. occasions h e l p e d to p o p u l a r i z e the b o o ok . T h e first w a s the e a r t h q u a ok e years after A m o s p r o p h e s i e d (see 1:1); Zechariah 14:5 additionally m e n t i o n s "the earthq u a ok e within the days of King Uzziah of J u d a h , " a n d archaeological digs c o n f i r m its o c c u r r e n c e . 1 eight As a part of his common language of d e s t r u c t i o n , A m o s h a d u s e d e a r t h q u a ok e imagery: "Shall n o t the e a r t h s h a ok e for this / A n d all that stay o n it m o u r n ? / Shall it n o t all upward thrust just like the Nile / A n d surge a n d s u b s i d e just like the Nile of Egypt? " (8:8); " I s a w m y LORD s t a n d i n g via the altar, a n d He acknowledged: Strike the capitals in order that the t h r e s h o l d s q u a ok e , a n d m a ok e an e n d of the 1st of t h e m all. A n d i'm going to slay the final of t h e m w i t h the s w o r d ; n o t o n e of t h e m shall get away, a n d n o t o n e of t h e m shall live to tell the tale" (9:1); a n d "It is m y Lord the GOD of Hosts / At w h o s e t o u c h the earth trembles / A n d all w h o live on it m o u r n , / A n d it all swells just like the Nile / A n d s u b s i d e s just like the Nile of Egypt" ( nine : five ) .