God rests on the seventh day of creation from all of his work and
blesses the day, creating the Sabbath, which is Saturday for Jews and
Sunday for Christians. I assume the reason why Christians have a
different holy day will be explained in the New Testament, but we are
quite far from that. The biggest question that springs to my mind is,
God needs rest? The omnipotent being that I was taught about in Sunday
School did not seem to need rest.
The Bible then notes
there was no rain in those days, but that a mist came up from the ground
to water everything. The notes in this version say this may be a
throwback to other creation myths in which the Earth was on top of
primordial waters.
God creates man, and the order of
creation is different than the one just outlined in the previous
chapter. Man is created before vegetation, animals and woman. For
those that believe every word of the Bible is literally true, one of the
accounts of the order of creation must be wrong. Which is it and how
do you reconcile that with the belief that every word is literally true?
God
creates a garden from which a river flows, which become four rivers,
including the Tigris and Euphrates. Asimov has a long discussion about
the four rivers in an attempt to place the garden. In short, the four
rivers do not split from a common source today. Asimov says that is
because we are working downstream and the author of Genesis 2 may have
been working upstream, so that in ancient times, the four rivers may
have converged at some point. He gets pretty inside baseball with this,
but makes a good case that the delta between the Tigris and Euphrates
was not as extensive then as it is now and they may have indeed
converged in the area that we place Sumeria.
God then
tells man to till the Garden of Eden, but to not eat of the Tree of
Knowledge, as it will cause man's death. This is the first directive of
God to man. He then thinks it is not good for man to be alone, so
creates and gives man dominion over all beasts and birds and allows him
to name them all.
God also sees that man needs a
helper, so puts man to sleep and takes a rib and creates woman. In the
previous chapter, both man and woman were created from dust at the same time, so why the rib? The notes say
this probably reflects the importance of marriage in this tradition,
the creation of a family becomes of one flesh. Man and woman are naked
and unashamed, due to their guiltlessness.
God's first commandment: Do not eat of the Tree of Knowledge
Mankind's ability to obey: Foreshadowing alert, Adam and Eve ruin it for all of us
My ability to obey: Ditto
Monday, December 29, 2014
Matthew 1
Matthew 1 goes over the ancestry of Christ, from Abraham, through the tribe of Judah, to David. The chapter does not relate why, if Jesus is a direct descendant of David, he is not already king of the Jews. In any event, the title "Christ" means the "anointed one".
We are introduced to Jesus' parents and it is revealed that when Joseph became betrothed to Mary, she was already pregnant, albeit by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, being a compassionate man, wanted to divorce her quietly to spare her shame. However, an angel appeared to him and told Joseph Mary would be the mother of the Messiah. So Joseph kept her and the chapter ends with the seemingly odd factoid that Joseph did not take her virginity until after Jesus was born. I'm sure this relates back to Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, but the annotations don't get into it at this point. Perhaps as I work my way through the OT, the importance of Christ being born to a virgin will be revealed.
Asimov talks about how Matthew, in addition to being a common Hebrew name and the name of one of Jesus' apostles, was a name closely associated with the Maccabean revolt. He says at the time, literary works were not ascribed in the convention of today, the actual author. Rather, they would be associated with renowned figures from the past, as either an apostle of Christ or a hero of the revolt would be. And apart from that, the Book of Matthew was written in a time when Christians were being actively persecuted by Rome and shunned by Jews. So the real author of the Book of Matthew may have had good reason to prefer to remain anonymous and have his work ascribed to that of a great hero of the past.
We are introduced to Jesus' parents and it is revealed that when Joseph became betrothed to Mary, she was already pregnant, albeit by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, being a compassionate man, wanted to divorce her quietly to spare her shame. However, an angel appeared to him and told Joseph Mary would be the mother of the Messiah. So Joseph kept her and the chapter ends with the seemingly odd factoid that Joseph did not take her virginity until after Jesus was born. I'm sure this relates back to Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, but the annotations don't get into it at this point. Perhaps as I work my way through the OT, the importance of Christ being born to a virgin will be revealed.
Asimov talks about how Matthew, in addition to being a common Hebrew name and the name of one of Jesus' apostles, was a name closely associated with the Maccabean revolt. He says at the time, literary works were not ascribed in the convention of today, the actual author. Rather, they would be associated with renowned figures from the past, as either an apostle of Christ or a hero of the revolt would be. And apart from that, the Book of Matthew was written in a time when Christians were being actively persecuted by Rome and shunned by Jews. So the real author of the Book of Matthew may have had good reason to prefer to remain anonymous and have his work ascribed to that of a great hero of the past.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Genesis 1
Day one: God creates the heavens and earth and light. From the light
he separates day and night, but no mention of dark being created.
Hmmm, sounds like someone has an issue with night.
Day two: God separates the "firmament" (which the notes tell me is a solid dome) or Heaven from the upper and lower waters. So if I'm reading that right, Heaven is a physical place that divides water. Now the old story about the Tower of Babel makes a bit more sense, since it appears it is a place man can indeed travel to. They taught us in my Sunday School that Heaven was more of an ethereal concept, had no substance, but a kind of merging of our souls with God. That does not appear to be the case here, though. I don't see anything in this chapter about the waters above, but the waters below:
Day three: God gathers the waters under Heaven to one place and dry land appears. God calls forth vegetation.
Day four: God creates light in the firmament (like a lightbulb?). He separates day and night and the seasons and the years. He gives light to the earth. So does that mean the light created on day one had nothing to do with the lower waters and the earth until now? Or is the author reminding us that the light and day and night extended to the earth? The two lights in the firmament consist of a greater and a lesser, which rule the day and the night (like a dimmer switch?)
Day five: God creates the sea creatures and birds.
Day six: God creates land creatures and man "in our image" and "after our likeness". There's the polytheism Asimov identified that might be a remnant of a polytheistic past by the Hebrews. God gives man dominion over all creatures and creates male and female. God give the vegetation to man and the creatures for food, but does not give the creatures to man for food. Take note, PETA!
Asimov tackles the physical location of the Garden of Eden. This is another one that I remember from Sunday School was supposed to be a mystery. I recall seeing books and documentary programs about the actual location of it, some placing it in such odd spots as Atlantis or Mars. Asimov posits the radical theory that the Garden was exactly where the Bible says it was, Eden, which is the name for the Valley of the Euphrates River, which is how it was referred to at the time Genesis was believed to have been written. Coincidentally or not, this is the same area that one of the earliest civilizations came forth, the Sumerians. Perhaps the location of the beginning of man was the result of oral histories of the Sumerians that have since been lost?
God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man.
My ability to follow: Luckily, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think I'm ok on this one.
Tomorrow, the second telling of the story of Creation!
Day two: God separates the "firmament" (which the notes tell me is a solid dome) or Heaven from the upper and lower waters. So if I'm reading that right, Heaven is a physical place that divides water. Now the old story about the Tower of Babel makes a bit more sense, since it appears it is a place man can indeed travel to. They taught us in my Sunday School that Heaven was more of an ethereal concept, had no substance, but a kind of merging of our souls with God. That does not appear to be the case here, though. I don't see anything in this chapter about the waters above, but the waters below:
Day three: God gathers the waters under Heaven to one place and dry land appears. God calls forth vegetation.
Day four: God creates light in the firmament (like a lightbulb?). He separates day and night and the seasons and the years. He gives light to the earth. So does that mean the light created on day one had nothing to do with the lower waters and the earth until now? Or is the author reminding us that the light and day and night extended to the earth? The two lights in the firmament consist of a greater and a lesser, which rule the day and the night (like a dimmer switch?)
Day five: God creates the sea creatures and birds.
Day six: God creates land creatures and man "in our image" and "after our likeness". There's the polytheism Asimov identified that might be a remnant of a polytheistic past by the Hebrews. God gives man dominion over all creatures and creates male and female. God give the vegetation to man and the creatures for food, but does not give the creatures to man for food. Take note, PETA!
Asimov tackles the physical location of the Garden of Eden. This is another one that I remember from Sunday School was supposed to be a mystery. I recall seeing books and documentary programs about the actual location of it, some placing it in such odd spots as Atlantis or Mars. Asimov posits the radical theory that the Garden was exactly where the Bible says it was, Eden, which is the name for the Valley of the Euphrates River, which is how it was referred to at the time Genesis was believed to have been written. Coincidentally or not, this is the same area that one of the earliest civilizations came forth, the Sumerians. Perhaps the location of the beginning of man was the result of oral histories of the Sumerians that have since been lost?
God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man.
My ability to follow: Luckily, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think I'm ok on this one.
Tomorrow, the second telling of the story of Creation!
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Introduction to the Gospel According to Matthew
The author of this book is anonymous and was probably written in the last third of the first century. Scholars think the author may have been working off a collection of Jesus' sayings compiled by the apostle Matthew that is now lost. Over time, the book itself was associated with Matthew himself being the author.
Asimov notes that "gospel" means "good news" in that they are not so much a biography of Jesus but rather an account of the higher meaning of his life. Matthew, Mark and Luke are very similar and are therefore called the "synoptic" or "with one eye" gospels. Matthew traditionally comes first in the New Testament, but Mark was probably written first as Matthew and Luke include all of Mark, but also details that appear to have been from lost sources.
Asimov notes that "gospel" means "good news" in that they are not so much a biography of Jesus but rather an account of the higher meaning of his life. Matthew, Mark and Luke are very similar and are therefore called the "synoptic" or "with one eye" gospels. Matthew traditionally comes first in the New Testament, but Mark was probably written first as Matthew and Luke include all of Mark, but also details that appear to have been from lost sources.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Introduction to Genesis
The editors tell us the Book of Genesis' purpose is to narrate God's
dealings with man in general and his special purpose with Israel in
particular. Sounds interesting.
Like Asimov, the editors say the book is the work of an editor working from Judean, Ephraimite and Priestly traditions and documents. This frankly doesn't interest me that much, other than as a riposte to fundamentalists that believe every word of the Bible is the literal word of God. I'm sorry to keep bringing it up, but I just report the facts, ma'am. Further, the work of the editor also reflects centuries of oral tradition.
Asimov discusses "man". The creation of man as told in Genesis 2 is made of clay and not simply called into existence by spoken command, as in the Priestly tradition told in Genesis 1. He further says that "man" is a translation of the Hebrew "adam", which has the same meaning as the English "mankind". Now this is something I didn't already know, the first in this read through for me. So the creation story is that of Mankind (similar to the WWE wrestler?) and Eve. Hmmm. Adam only becomes a proper name only in the fifth chapter of Genesis, although the KJ uses it as a proper name in Genesis 2:19, "every beast...and brought them unto Adam."
Tomorrow, God creates the universe, stay tuned.
Like Asimov, the editors say the book is the work of an editor working from Judean, Ephraimite and Priestly traditions and documents. This frankly doesn't interest me that much, other than as a riposte to fundamentalists that believe every word of the Bible is the literal word of God. I'm sorry to keep bringing it up, but I just report the facts, ma'am. Further, the work of the editor also reflects centuries of oral tradition.
Asimov discusses "man". The creation of man as told in Genesis 2 is made of clay and not simply called into existence by spoken command, as in the Priestly tradition told in Genesis 1. He further says that "man" is a translation of the Hebrew "adam", which has the same meaning as the English "mankind". Now this is something I didn't already know, the first in this read through for me. So the creation story is that of Mankind (similar to the WWE wrestler?) and Eve. Hmmm. Adam only becomes a proper name only in the fifth chapter of Genesis, although the KJ uses it as a proper name in Genesis 2:19, "every beast...and brought them unto Adam."
Tomorrow, God creates the universe, stay tuned.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
The Editor's Preface to the Apocrypha
This section basically lays out the format the editors will use to introduce the books of the Apocrypha. That's about it, sorry for the lame entry. Tomorrow we start Genesis, so it will get better.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Introduction to the New Testament
A better word that "testament" is "covenant", reflecting God's new covenant with man upon sending Jesus to Earth. The books of the New Testament (NT) fall into four categories: the Gospels or the story of Christ, the Acts of the early church, Paul's letters to various churches and the Apocalypse.
The first Gospel written is probably the one by John Mark, even though it traditionally comes fourth in the NT. John Mark was supposed to be a disciple of Peter and it appears to have been the primary source for the authors of Matthew and Luke because of various correlations among them that do not appear in Luke. John also delves more into Jesus' early ministry than the other Gospels do.
Most of the letters by Paul are meant to correct abuses and disorder that arose in the early church in an affectionate manner and allow a fuller discourse in more abstract terms.
Because of Christianity's rapid spread, a great demand for printed Scriptures arose. As these could only be produced through copying by hand, mistakes and deliberate alterations arose in the surviving copies. Before the Gospels, the Bible to early Christians consisted of the OT and the remembered words of Jesus, as described in the Acts.
The first Gospel written is probably the one by John Mark, even though it traditionally comes fourth in the NT. John Mark was supposed to be a disciple of Peter and it appears to have been the primary source for the authors of Matthew and Luke because of various correlations among them that do not appear in Luke. John also delves more into Jesus' early ministry than the other Gospels do.
Most of the letters by Paul are meant to correct abuses and disorder that arose in the early church in an affectionate manner and allow a fuller discourse in more abstract terms.
Because of Christianity's rapid spread, a great demand for printed Scriptures arose. As these could only be produced through copying by hand, mistakes and deliberate alterations arose in the surviving copies. Before the Gospels, the Bible to early Christians consisted of the OT and the remembered words of Jesus, as described in the Acts.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Introduction to the Old Testament
I know, I know, this seems like a lot of introductory material.
Don't worry, Asimov has a little meat to chew on towards the end of this
installment. In any event, when we last left you, we were still
introducing this book, perhaps the most famous and influential one in
the history of mankind, as if it were some obscure document you never
heard of. This is more of the same.
This section is an overview of the contents of the OT: the history, law, lives of the rich and poor, poetry and prose literature. It's all in there. More discussion of the various versions of the OT over time and again, it bored me. Take a class if you would like more information.
Asimov talks about the term "Lord God", which first appears in Genesis 2, which is a second version of the creation. In there first version in Genesis 1, the Creator was referred to as "God", now why "Lord God"? The Creator in Genesis is "YHVH", which many pronounce as "Yahweh", who is the specific Deity name in Genesis 2. The ancients considered the ability to pronounce a name as giving one power over the one name, so the Jews may have avoided ever referringdirectly to the Creator as YHVH.
As Genesis appears to be an edited work from several sources, the difference in how the Creator is named in Genesis 1 and 2 may reflect how different groups of Jews may have referred to the Creator. Since the editor could have reasonably assumed that his reader would know to who he is referring to, he did not see a need to use one consistent term for YHVH when compiling Genesis. Sounds reasonable to me.
This section is an overview of the contents of the OT: the history, law, lives of the rich and poor, poetry and prose literature. It's all in there. More discussion of the various versions of the OT over time and again, it bored me. Take a class if you would like more information.
Asimov talks about the term "Lord God", which first appears in Genesis 2, which is a second version of the creation. In there first version in Genesis 1, the Creator was referred to as "God", now why "Lord God"? The Creator in Genesis is "YHVH", which many pronounce as "Yahweh", who is the specific Deity name in Genesis 2. The ancients considered the ability to pronounce a name as giving one power over the one name, so the Jews may have avoided ever referringdirectly to the Creator as YHVH.
As Genesis appears to be an edited work from several sources, the difference in how the Creator is named in Genesis 1 and 2 may reflect how different groups of Jews may have referred to the Creator. Since the editor could have reasonably assumed that his reader would know to who he is referring to, he did not see a need to use one consistent term for YHVH when compiling Genesis. Sounds reasonable to me.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Preface to the Revised Standard Edition
This edition is a revision of the American Standard Edition of 1901,
itself a revision of the King James Version (KJ) of 1611. A history of
English translations of the Bible up to and after the KJ is given.
Subsequent versions since KJ have been necessary to correct defects in
the KJ that were not revealed until after it was published and also to
reflect changes in English usage. In many cases, subsequent research and discoveries of other sources make a superior English translation possible due to those sources not being available to the committee King James assembled.
A discussion of the various words for God and how and why they are translated as they are ensues to explain why this text uses "God", "Lord", and "Jehovah" when it does, instead of using one consistent term throughout. I found it interesting, but beyond the scope of my purposes with this blog.
Asimov continues with an entry on the Seventh Day. I realize my discussion from Asimov is ahead of all the preface material in the actual book, but this is the way I decided to do it, one entry/chapter from each at a time. Don't worry, it all catches up. In any event, the creation has a seventh day and God declares it the Sabbath. Prior to the Babylonian exile of the Jews, the Sabbath's importance was quite small but gained great importance during and after it. Since Genesis was written after the exile, the Sabbath has great importance in the story of creation.
Interesting stuff, but I'm getting antsy to go ahead and get on with it.
A discussion of the various words for God and how and why they are translated as they are ensues to explain why this text uses "God", "Lord", and "Jehovah" when it does, instead of using one consistent term throughout. I found it interesting, but beyond the scope of my purposes with this blog.
Asimov continues with an entry on the Seventh Day. I realize my discussion from Asimov is ahead of all the preface material in the actual book, but this is the way I decided to do it, one entry/chapter from each at a time. Don't worry, it all catches up. In any event, the creation has a seventh day and God declares it the Sabbath. Prior to the Babylonian exile of the Jews, the Sabbath's importance was quite small but gained great importance during and after it. Since Genesis was written after the exile, the Sabbath has great importance in the story of creation.
Interesting stuff, but I'm getting antsy to go ahead and get on with it.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
The Editor's Preface to the New Edition
This is basically a rundown of what has been updated since the last
edition and why. I have not read the previous edition and one more go
through this time around will hold me for a while. Perhaps in another
twenty-five years I'll be up for another read. If a newer edition to
this one has been published, perhaps I'll go that way. Or if not, maybe
I'll go back to the previous edition of this one and scoff at how badly
in need of revision it is.
Asimov starts off with a discussion of the how "God" is translated in Genesis. The Hebrew word is "Elohim", which is plural. He notes other polytheistic references still in Genesis, such as Genesis 3:22, "the man is become as one of us", and Genesis 11:7, "let us go down". This probably reflects the unnamed editor of the previous sources not quite catching all the references to other Gods from the older documents, perhaps from a time before the Jews had become monotheistic or perhaps reflects some borrowing from other Mesopotamian texts. Asimov notes that more modern interpretations include that the reference to God as including more than one being may be a use of the "royal we" or a reference to the Trinity by Christians. In any event, there it is. I'll leave it to Believers and fervent non-Believers to argue which of those interpretations is correct.
Asimov starts off with a discussion of the how "God" is translated in Genesis. The Hebrew word is "Elohim", which is plural. He notes other polytheistic references still in Genesis, such as Genesis 3:22, "the man is become as one of us", and Genesis 11:7, "let us go down". This probably reflects the unnamed editor of the previous sources not quite catching all the references to other Gods from the older documents, perhaps from a time before the Jews had become monotheistic or perhaps reflects some borrowing from other Mesopotamian texts. Asimov notes that more modern interpretations include that the reference to God as including more than one being may be a use of the "royal we" or a reference to the Trinity by Christians. In any event, there it is. I'll leave it to Believers and fervent non-Believers to argue which of those interpretations is correct.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
The Number and Books of the Bible
The next introductory material is about the number and books of the
Bible. In Hebrew tradition, the Old Testament (OT) was divided into
twenty-four books, placed in three categories. The first was The Law,
consisting of the first five books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, the
Prophets, and the Writings. The Christians divided and rearranged the
books into thirty-nine. Then the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox
and various Protestant sects did more rearranging, as they did for the
books of the New Testament (NT). I didn't find it terribly interesting,
so head to wikipedia if you want more of the whys and hows. The seven books of the Apocrypha round out both the Catholic and King James versions of the Bible.
The first entry in the Asimov annotations deals with Genesis. In Hebrew, the first volume of the OT is referred to as "bereshith", which literally means "in the beginning". Later Greek translators gave the volume the descriptive name of "Genesis", which means "coming into being". Moses is traditionally regarded as the author of Genesis, but Asimov says it was almost certainly the work of editors working from a number of sources long after Moses.
The first entry in the Asimov annotations deals with Genesis. In Hebrew, the first volume of the OT is referred to as "bereshith", which literally means "in the beginning". Later Greek translators gave the volume the descriptive name of "Genesis", which means "coming into being". Moses is traditionally regarded as the author of Genesis, but Asimov says it was almost certainly the work of editors working from a number of sources long after Moses.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Introduction and Forward
I guess I've decided to read the Bible all the way through, again,
and decided to include you on my journey.
The Bible I'm going to use is one I bought undergrad for a class about
Middle Eastern Apocalyptic literature. It's a good one, more readable
than King James and plenty of annotations.
In addition, I'm going to use a separate comprehensive annotation written for the lay reader by Isaac Asimov. The two volumes are:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.
Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov, Weathervane, New York, 1981.
Today's entries are the first passages in both volumes. The Forward to the Bible states that this volume includes not only the Old and New Testaments, but also Old Testament Apocrypha volumes that some Christian sects accept and others don't. They are being included in the interests of completeness and because some of them offer insights to the development of prophecies of the Messiah.
The Asimov annotation's Introduction makes the case for putting the Bible in context and its influence, specifically giving the example that millions know who Nebuchadnezzer is than don't know Pericles, based solely on the fact that the former is mentioned in the Bible and the latter isn't. Yet the Athens governed in the time of Pericles was a cornerstone of Western Civilization.
Once I'm through the introductory material, I intend to alternate among chapters of the Old Testament, New Testament and Apocrypha in the order they are printed in my version of the New Oxford Annotated Bible. Each post will be tagged for the section it appears and the book, so if you wish to read through them by book, just click the appropriate tag.
In addition, I intend to keep a running tally of each of God's and Jesus' commandments, my and our society in general's ability to keep them and a running death toll of those that run afoul of the Old Testament God.
More introductory material tomorrow. There's quite a bit of it in this version, so we won't get around to creation for a few days. Hold tight, hopefully it will be worth it.
In addition, I'm going to use a separate comprehensive annotation written for the lay reader by Isaac Asimov. The two volumes are:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.
Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov, Weathervane, New York, 1981.
Today's entries are the first passages in both volumes. The Forward to the Bible states that this volume includes not only the Old and New Testaments, but also Old Testament Apocrypha volumes that some Christian sects accept and others don't. They are being included in the interests of completeness and because some of them offer insights to the development of prophecies of the Messiah.
The Asimov annotation's Introduction makes the case for putting the Bible in context and its influence, specifically giving the example that millions know who Nebuchadnezzer is than don't know Pericles, based solely on the fact that the former is mentioned in the Bible and the latter isn't. Yet the Athens governed in the time of Pericles was a cornerstone of Western Civilization.
Once I'm through the introductory material, I intend to alternate among chapters of the Old Testament, New Testament and Apocrypha in the order they are printed in my version of the New Oxford Annotated Bible. Each post will be tagged for the section it appears and the book, so if you wish to read through them by book, just click the appropriate tag.
In addition, I intend to keep a running tally of each of God's and Jesus' commandments, my and our society in general's ability to keep them and a running death toll of those that run afoul of the Old Testament God.
More introductory material tomorrow. There's quite a bit of it in this version, so we won't get around to creation for a few days. Hold tight, hopefully it will be worth it.
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