The Bible – Book of Books
Out of the ancient, immemorial wisdom of the East, the Hebrew prophets developed the concept of one God, a national deity but one supreme over all creation, the source and being of moral perfection and of absolute justice. The great body of religious literature known as the Bible which grew up around this monotheistic faith was in process of formation for about twelve hundred years.
The Bible as it has come down to modern times is composed of history, legend, biography, genealogies, ethics, law, proverbial wisdom, sermons, prophesy, lyric poetry, hymns, and theology. It is not simply a book but a collection of books.
Much of it is of unknown origin and of uncertain date. A critical study of the Bible is rendered more complex by the revisions and accretions of later centuries to the original writings. Nevertheless, a harmonious theme pervades and dominates the vast work from the first book, Genesis, to the last, Revelations.
The Bible comprises two major divisions. The Old Testament (thirty-nine books in the King James Version) was written originally almost entirely in Hebrew, with a little Aramaic, from the eleventh to the second centuries B.C. It represents the national religious literature of the people of Israel, with additions from the period after Israel had ceased to be an independent nation. The New Testament (twenty-seven books in the King James Version) was written in Greek from about A.D. 40 to 150. It contains the earliest documents extant on the life, teaching, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus; the witness of the apostles; and the establishment of the Christian Church.
The diversity and richness of the Bible as literature, especially the Old Testament, are unparalleled. An important element in the earlier books is folklore used to illustrate religious beliefs and moral truths. Thus, the story of the Creation emphasizes keeping the Sabbath (“God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it”); the Garden of Eden story demonstrates the severe punishment suffered by those who violate Jehovah’s commandments; and the story of the Flood offers a graphic account of obedience rewarded.
Other short stories, historical and fictional, are scattered profusely through both the Old and New Testaments. Noteworthy in the Old Testament are such narratives as Isaac’s marriage, the Joseph stories, David and Jonathan, Jonah and the whale, Job, and Ruth, while in the New are the parables and miracles.
In another literary form, poetry, the Bible is unsurpassed.
Entire books-Psalms, Proverbs, Lamentations, Song of Solomon, and most of Job – are poetical compositions; and poetry, songs, and prayers are abundant elsewhere. The essay as a literary type is represented in Ecclesiastes, Hebrews, Peter, John, and the Epistles of Paul.
History and biography in both the Old and New Testaments are characterized by vivid portrayal of incident and the impression of strong personalities. Modern standards of historiography are, of
course, lacking; the purposes, instead, were to select facts and traditions to support deeply felt religious doctrines, and to illustrate what the writers considered to be eternal truths.
Taken as a whole, then, the Bible is an assemblage of literature of immense variety by numerous authors, composed over more than a millennium. The blending of the thought, emotion, experience, and imagination of a great race and the interweaving of literature and religion place the Bible in a unique position among the world’s books for the richness of its artistic and spiritual values.
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Old Testament
The first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) are known collectively as the Pentateuch, or Five Books of Moses. The authorship was traditionally ascribed to Moses, though the work is now generally recognized as a composite document based in part on oral traditions first written down from about the eleventh to the sixth centuries B.C. The Pentateuch begins with narratives describing the Creation and the primeval history of the world, after which it turns specifically to tracing the fortunes of the children of Israel from the call of Abraham to the death of Moses.
In the mass of heterogeneous materials are mythological poems, tribal sagas, genealogies, historical legends, liturgical hymns, secular songs, aphorisms and fables, legal decisions, ritual and moral precepts, civil and criminal codes.
Although the books of the Pentateuch are not history in the modern sense, when combined with recent archeological discoveries they provide a reliable general picture of early civilization. Genesis tells of the beginnings of history, and the lives of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons, down to the migration of the Israelites into Egypt, where they became enslaved. Exodus tells of the deliverance from Egypt and subsequent journeyings in the wilderness. Leviticus, “pertaining to the Levites,” relates to laws ordained while the Israelites were encamped at Sinai. Numbers begins with a description of a census of the Israelite tribes and continues with an account of the forty years of wandering as far as the border of Canaan. Deuteronomy contains four farewell addresses of Moses, culminating in a passionate appeal for love toward God as the motive of all true religion and virtue; the book closes with the death of Moses in the land of Moab. A leading Biblical scholar, Samuel R. Driver, notes: “The influence of Deuteronomy upon subsequent books of the Old Testament is very perceptible. Upon its promulgation it speedily became the book which both gave the religious ideals of the age and moulded the phraseology in which these ideals were expressed.”
In the Pentateuch the Mosaic Code is set forth. Hence arose the Jewish custom of referring to the entire section as the Torah, or Law. The earliest nucleus is the Book of the Covenant in Exodus, which contains very ancient laws, including the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments. The Holiness Code, or ceremonial code, is incorporated in Leviticus. Additional laws are found in Numbers. Deuteronomy reviews the law and stresses the development of its humanitarian features. The Ten Commandments and related laws are foundations of Judeo-Christian morality, and their substance has been woven into the fabric of Western jurisprudence.
The second principal division of the Old Testament made by the Hebrews is the Prophets, a total of twenty-two books, separated by the Jewish canon into the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings – classified as historical books in Christian Bibles), and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and twelve Minor Prophets). The Israelite prophets were a unique group of men, without parallel in earlier or later history. They were devoted, fearless reformers, delivering their oracles in poetry and prose. In their utterances we find fiery, inspired words which did much to shape the course of events around them. As a whole, the prophetical books attempt to trace the history of the Hebrew nation from the time of the entrance into the land of Canaan to that of the Babylonian captivity, a period of some six hundred years.
The theme running through Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings is the rise and fall of Israel; the conquest of Canaan by Joshua; victories over surrounding tribes; the twelve tribes that made up the nation coming into possession of the Promised Land of the Covenant; the rise of the monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon; the schism into the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah after the death of Solomon; the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the deportation of the people to Babylon, about. 586 B.C. Among the memorable actors in the great drama are Samson, Samuel, Saul, David, and the prophet Elijah.
Of the Latter Prophets, the book of Isaiah (divided by some scholars into two or three sections by different authors) is most celebrated, in part because of its Messianic and Suffering Servant passages, interpreted by Christians as prophesying Jesus Christ. Other great Old Testament prophets were Amos, who called for social justice; Hosea, who stressed God’s love; Jeremiah, who proclaimed a new personal covenant between God and man; and Ezekiel, who emphasized individual responsibility. Essentially the prophets were “spokesmen for God,” rising to supreme heights during crises in the national history, deeply concerned with the deteriorating morality of their people, and continually preaching to them the ideals of human duty and of religious truth. Often in exalted poetical form and with the use of striking symbols, they emphasize the relation of man to God, urge repentance for sin, praise justice and integrity, appeal for mercy and philanthropy, express indignation against the oppression of the weak, and promise future rewards to the righteous.
The remaining books of the Old Testament, classified in the Hebrew Scriptures as the Writings, are miscellaneous in nature, but include some of the most beautiful and beloved poetry, stories, and accumulated wisdom of the race. The poetic books proper all belong to this section of the Hebrew Bible. Of these, the best-known is Psalms, a collection of sacred lyrics ranging in date from perhaps as early as the tenth to as late as the fourth century B.C. The psalmists sing the praises of God the Creator, grieve for national guilt and ordeals, rejoice over salvation, and express deep faith in the ultimate triumph of God’s rule. The moods range from jubilation to despair; penitence and resignation, tenderness and beauty, hope and confidence, thankfulness and adoration are all poured forth in verse that has inspired many great poets and musicians of later ages.
Philosophers of all succeeding eras have pondered the problems posed by the Book of Job. Although a man of God, Job is suddenly visited by a series of calamities: he loses his possessions, family, and health. Why have these disasters happened to a good man? Is he being punished for sins of which he is unaware? Thus we are led into an examination of the problem of evil and the meaning of true religion. Through his ordeal, Job learns to abandon pride and to trust in his Creator, who finally restores him to health and prosperity.
More of the “Wisdom-Literature” of the Hebrews is found in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The Book of Proverbs, traditionally ascribed to Solomon but doubtless produced by a long succession of wise men, discusses the nature of wisdom as a guide to the right conduct of the individual, and follows with a collection of maxims, moral judgments, and short sayings. Ecclesiastes is a moralizing book, deeply pessimistic in tone, lamenting the evil times, the futility of human endeavor, and the inability of man to remedy injustices.
Properly classifiable as literature are several short books of the Writings. The Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs) is exquisite poetry, a collection of love poems of great beauty. A Biblical authority, Aubrey Johnson, believes that “the inclusion of these charming but obviously sensuous lyrics in the sacred literature of Judaism must be explained by the fact that they came to be used in certain pious circles as an allegory of the love which the heavenly King bore toward his chosen people.” Two dramatic short stories are Esther, an account of a Jewish queen who risks her life to save her people; and Ruth, an idyllic romance in which the foreign-born heroine, a Moabite girl, marries into a Jewish family and becomes an ancestress of King David. Lamentations consists of five elegies on the fall of Jerusalem. Daniel, partly in prose and partly in poetry, describes experiences and visions of its hero; the narrative is famous for the episodes of the Fiery Furnace and the Lions’ Den.
Also grouped with the Writings, are books of a historical character (I and II Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah), carrying on the story of Judah and of the Jerusalem community after exile. Chronicles covers much the same ground as the Pentateuch and the books of the Former Prophets, including genealogies of patriarchs, kings, priests, and others, and the history of David, Solomon, and the kings of Judah to the captivity. Ezra deals with the return from the Babylonian exile and rebuilding the Temple. Nehemiah continues the history of the exiles’ return, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and other cities, and efforts to restore national purity and morale.
In addition to the foregoing version of the Old Testament, the Roman Catholic Bible includes certain works, referred to collectively as the Apocrypha, which are omitted from the Jewish and commonly from the Protestant Scriptures. These pieces of late Jewish literature include Tobit, a tale of two Jewish families whose adversities end happily in their union by marriage; Judith, a religious romance, involving feminine heroism in time of war; Baruch, a religious interpretation of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (AD. 70) and a message of hope to distressed Jews; Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, books of proverbs; and Maccabees, a chronicle of the revolt of the Jewish people against Hellenistic oppression, from about 168 to 135 B.C. As a group, the Apocryphal books shed considerable light on a crucial period of Jewish history from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 100.
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New Testament
The force which created Christianity was of course the life and person of Jesus, around whom the New Testament was created. The formation of the Gospel began with the utterances of Jesus; there ensued a brief period of oral transmission and of the rise of traditions. The witnesses of the risen Christ spread in a few years from Palestine to the larger cities of the Roman Empire. From memory, they repeated the sayings of Jesus; told the story of his life, death, and resurrection; and discussed the meaning of his teachings.
The earliest of the traditions to be put into writing was the Gospel of Mark, about A.D. 65. The shortest Gospel, it is written in simple, straightforward narrative style. Mark begins his account with the baptism of Jesus, making no reference to his miraculous conception and birth or to his childhood and youth. The book in general consists of miscellaneous short sayings and scattered incidents relating to Jesus’ Galilean ministry. A detailed account of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist is given. Mark ends abruptly, saying little about the resurrection of Jesus or of his subsequent appearances.
Two other so-called Synoptic Gospels, those of Matthew and Luke (c. A.D. 75-85), possess a number of common elements: for example, each tells of Jesus’ miraculous conception, and of the miracle of driving out an unclean spirit during Jesus’ visit to Capernaum. Only Matthew, however, relates the story of the wise men coming to see the babe Jesus, and only Luke includes the story of the shepherds, the miracle of raising the Nain widow’s son, and the Ascension. Matthew adds to Mark’s account long passages on Jesus’ teaching and works, parables, and discourse. Luke “the beloved physician,” traditionally identified as a Gentile, writes as a historian. The portrait of Jesus which he presents is broadly humane: the friend of all men, the perfect example of a life, and the lover and savior of mankind.
Of a different character from the three Synoptic Gospels is the Gospel of John, dating about AD. 100. This work has played a basic part in the history of the Church and of Christian theology. It exalts the nature of Christ, Son of God and Son of Man: “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John conceives Jesus as the embodiment of divine light, life, and love. He formulates the leading doctrines of Christianity in such fashion as to make them acceptable to the gentile world. “It is probably true to say,” observes William Sanday, “that no other primitive Christian writing had so marked an effect on all later attempts to systematize the Christian creed.”
According to the traditional arrangement of the New Testament, the four Gospels are followed by the Acts of the Apostles (c. A.D. 85), ascribed to Luke as a sequel to his Gospel. Acts is a historical account (??) of the period between about A.D. 30 and 65, telling the story of the early Church in Jerusalem; the preaching of Peter, Stephen, and Philip; the conversion of Saul of Tarsus; and the expansion of Christianity throughout Asia Minor and Greece toward Rome.
The Gospels in their present form were not the earliest New Testament writings. They are antedated by the letters of Paul, issued between about A.D. 50 and 65. The Epistle to the Romans heads Paul’s great series of messages to the churches. Others were addressed to the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. There are also personal letters, two to Timothy and one each to Titus and Philemon. (There is some question as to whether all of these letters were actually written by Paul, but all embody his teachings.)
The conversion of Saul of Tarsus to become the Apostle Paul marks the first major turning point in the history of Christianity. Paul was, next to Jesus, the greatest personality in the early history of the Christian movement. He gave the new religion a system of theology, raising its intellectual level above other contemporary religions; devised a sound administrative organization; supplied leadership and far-sighted strategy; and brought harmony, unity, and effective cooperation to a faction-ridden body. Under the guiding hand of this genius, Christianity began its development as a world force.
Paul was a master letter-writer. His Epistles communicate the spirit of a great evangelist and teacher; at the same time, they are practical, human approaches to the problems of Christian
conduct and belief. The Thessalonian letters, written from Corinth during Paul’s second missionary journey, about A.D. 50, exhort the new converts to wait patiently, in holy conduct and brotherly love, for the Second Coming of Christ.
Galatians, called the Magna carta of Christianity, was probably written in Antioch about A.D. 52. It sets forth the supremacy of the Christian Gospel over the Mosaic law, and the doctrine of death to old claims and rebirth in Christ.
The Corinthian letters, written about three years later from Ephesus and Macedonia during Paul’s third missionary journey, advise the Corinthians on community matters; warn against immorality and factions; and show that love is the greatest spiritual gift.
In his Epistle to the Romans, written from Corinth about A.D. 55, Paul summarizes his whole philosophy of the Christian life, including spiritual regeneration, fellowship with Christ, moral freedom, and personal immortality.
Revelations, the last book of the Bible, differs in style and content from the other books of the New Testament. It is a work filled with splendid apocalyptic visions, resembling those of Daniel in the Old Testament. The purpose of the book appears to have been to encourage and to comfort Christian believers at a time of hardship and persecution. Written near the end of the first century, it gave dramatic and positive assurance that Christ would soon return to establish his kingdom on earth, whereupon the faithful would be rewarded and the wicked punished.
The Bible has exercised a more profound and continuous influence upon Western civilization than has any other literary work. To consider only one phase, Biblical language, style, and content pervade the writings of countless poets, dramatists, and other authors. The jurisprudence and customs of the West have been shaped by the legal and ethical precepts of the Bible. Even more fundamental, its deep insights into the motives of human nature and conduct, the tragedy of man’s earthly destiny, and the search “for a better country, that is, an heavenly” have throughout the centuries directed human faith, thought, behavior, and endeavor.
Two principal versions of the Bible in English translation exist: the King James and the Douay. In 1611 a group of scholars appointed by James I of England completed the Authorized or King James Bible, based mainly on earlier English Bibles. The King James, which became the standard Bible for English-speaking Protestants, is widely esteemed for its eloquence and superlative use of language. The Douay version, a translation of the Latin Vulgate, was completed in 1609 by a group of English Catholic priests exiled in France. This work subsequently became the accepted Bible of English-speaking Catholics.
During the past century, in recognition of new archeological discoveries and scholarly textual studies, better knowledge of ancient languages and access to older manuscripts, a number of revised translations of the Bible into English has appeared. Their rendition in modern language is often a radical departure from traditional versions. For that reason, conservative readers often feel that modern translations lack the dignity and grandeur of the King James version.
The Bible is the most widely distributed of all books. Christian missionaries have translated it into all important languages and many minor tongues. The whole Bible has been translated into no less than 210 languages and dialects, the New Testament into 271, and parts of the Bible into more than 2,000. Bible societies have distributed the Bible into virtually every corner of the globe