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The Making of the Old Testament (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament)
The Making of the Old Testament is one of three books accompanying the volumes of commentary in the Old Testament and Apocrypha series of Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the New English Bible. This volume is concerned with the formation of the books of the Old Testament and Apocrypha in the context of the ancient Near Eastern World, and with the ways in which these books have come down to us through the Jewish and Christian communities. Individual chapters discuss other literary documents contemporary with events in the Old Testament; the style of and critical approaches to the Old Testament books; other Jewish writing (Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha); the development of the Old Testament canon; the development of the modern English text from the various earlier versions; and the place of the Old Testament in modern Judaism and Christianity. Each of the chapters is followed by suggestions for further reading.
228 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 1972
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July 8, 2011
Trying to understand how the Old Testament (OT) came into being can be daunting and I find this concise introductory volume rather helpful. Although it was published some 40 years ago in 1972, the book is relevant and helpful in navigating the complicated history and process that went into the making of the Hebrew Tanakh and the OT.
This book shows how the OT and Hebrew bible were influenced by the literature and culture of the ancient Near East, and yet contained its own unique features. Besides the Hebrew canonical texts which traced its origins to the Massoretic texts in the 9th and 10th century (the earliest official records for the Rabbinic tradition), the author also touched on other writings of the Jewish community including the bible of the Samaritans (consisting only of the Pentateuch), the Dead Sea Scrolls (which focused more on the prophetic rather than legal aspects of the scriptures) as well scriptures from the Old Synogogue in Cairo's genizen.
The author, a lecturer in Religious Education at the University of London Institute of Education at the time of publication, also traced the origins of the other versions of the OT including the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the Aramaic Targums, the Catholic bible and the Protestant bible.
The author was able to succintly explain the evolution of these so-called sacred texts, how their transmission, interpretation, inclusion/exclusion from what is deemed canonical had gone through many hands and differences of opinion. And how there are actually so many versions of the bibles out there.
I now have a better appreciation of the difficulties a layman has in trying to read and understand the bible. The author said that without the knowledge of OT (and its history, traditions and the particularities of the Hebrew texts and the Jewish faith), it is really very hard to do so. At that point, I forgive myself for thinking I was so uninspired during the years I struggled to understand the Christian bible.
My appreciation of this book was also aided by a recent Coursera course that I completed on "The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose and Political Future" conducted by Emory University's Dr Jacob Wright. I found many of the archaeological references familiar including Gilgamesh's Epic, the Elephantine letters, Amarna letters and Cyrus Cylinder.
This book will help me in my further readings and understanding of biblical literature, culture and history.
Quite interestingly, this book and the Coursera course had helped me appreciate Buddhism better. Buddhist literature is less "well organised" than Jewish or Christian ones (a scholar monk I know joked that Buddhists are more slovenly). There is no central authority to tell the rest of the world that there are only particular texts that are acceptable or divinely inspired, no culture of what is canonical or not. Monotheistic religions are very much focused on sacred literature or "the book". Buddhist's approach to their literature is reflective of Buddha's approach to teachings - that of relying on one's own judgement, developing it, and not to take any teachings simply at literal or face value.
While I believe that Christianity has many good teachings and has some relevance me still, I find that I prefer Buddhism because its teachings are more rational, moderate, and definitely more progressive and in keeping with modern scientific theories and findings.
This book shows how the OT and Hebrew bible were influenced by the literature and culture of the ancient Near East, and yet contained its own unique features. Besides the Hebrew canonical texts which traced its origins to the Massoretic texts in the 9th and 10th century (the earliest official records for the Rabbinic tradition), the author also touched on other writings of the Jewish community including the bible of the Samaritans (consisting only of the Pentateuch), the Dead Sea Scrolls (which focused more on the prophetic rather than legal aspects of the scriptures) as well scriptures from the Old Synogogue in Cairo's genizen.
The author, a lecturer in Religious Education at the University of London Institute of Education at the time of publication, also traced the origins of the other versions of the OT including the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the Aramaic Targums, the Catholic bible and the Protestant bible.
The author was able to succintly explain the evolution of these so-called sacred texts, how their transmission, interpretation, inclusion/exclusion from what is deemed canonical had gone through many hands and differences of opinion. And how there are actually so many versions of the bibles out there.
I now have a better appreciation of the difficulties a layman has in trying to read and understand the bible. The author said that without the knowledge of OT (and its history, traditions and the particularities of the Hebrew texts and the Jewish faith), it is really very hard to do so. At that point, I forgive myself for thinking I was so uninspired during the years I struggled to understand the Christian bible.
My appreciation of this book was also aided by a recent Coursera course that I completed on "The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose and Political Future" conducted by Emory University's Dr Jacob Wright. I found many of the archaeological references familiar including Gilgamesh's Epic, the Elephantine letters, Amarna letters and Cyrus Cylinder.
This book will help me in my further readings and understanding of biblical literature, culture and history.
Quite interestingly, this book and the Coursera course had helped me appreciate Buddhism better. Buddhist literature is less "well organised" than Jewish or Christian ones (a scholar monk I know joked that Buddhists are more slovenly). There is no central authority to tell the rest of the world that there are only particular texts that are acceptable or divinely inspired, no culture of what is canonical or not. Monotheistic religions are very much focused on sacred literature or "the book". Buddhist's approach to their literature is reflective of Buddha's approach to teachings - that of relying on one's own judgement, developing it, and not to take any teachings simply at literal or face value.
While I believe that Christianity has many good teachings and has some relevance me still, I find that I prefer Buddhism because its teachings are more rational, moderate, and definitely more progressive and in keeping with modern scientific theories and findings.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review