The Origins of the Bible

1
The Origins of the Bible
2
Textual Criticism

• A whole science has grown up within the study of
  the Bible in order to judge the accuracy and
  quality of the ancient texts that have come down
  to us.

3
Abraham Joshua Heschel

• Scholars must be careful that they do not read
  into a text (eisegesis), but rather read from the
  text (exegesis).

4
Another View of History

• The point is that what is important was the
  experience of freedom, not the details.

5
Solomons Temple

• Israel went through a major change from a tribal
  nomadic people to a more settled and organized
  society.

6
Rhetorical Criticism

• It reminds us that what we are trying to do is
  capture the faith experience of the people who
  gave us the Bible.

7
A Torah Scroll

• A consensus was reached that there were four
  major written sources behind the first five books
  of the Bible and throughout other parts of the
  Bible as well.

8
Mount Sinai

• The Torah was given on Mount Sinai in one version
  and on Mount Horeb in another.

9
Dalai Lama and Elie Wiesel

• The Dalai Lama has sought help from Jewish
  leaders in trying to find a way for Tibetan
  Buddhism to survive when it too has lost land and
  temple.

10
Moses

• In the end, many of the Torahs traditions, legal
  practices and covenant forms may actually date
  back to the time of Moses.