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Old Testament
Hurricane Utah
Adult Religion Class
Week 2: Origin, development, and
translation of the Old Testament
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2
The Old Testament 39 books.
2 Corinthians 3:14.
testament= covenant. Torah + Neviim + Ketuvim = TANAKH ( )
Teaching Prophets Writings
Hebrew Bible.
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Old Testament books Hebrew:
Torah ( ),
teaching
Greek: Pentateuch
(), five [scroll] cases
The Law
The five books of Moses
3
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Old Testament books Historical writings
Israel after Moses:
Joshua, Judges, Ruth
Kings of Israel:
1 & 2 Samuel,
1 & 2 Kings,
1 & 2 Chronicles Babylonian exile:
Esther
Return and rebuilding: Ezra, Nehemiah4
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Old Testament books Poetical and
wisdom writings
5
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Old Testament books
Prophetic writings
Major prophets:
IsaiahDaniel
Minor prophets:
HoseaMalachi
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Old Testament apocryphal books
7
Roman
Catholic
Greek
Orthodox
Russian
Orthodox
Protestant
Apocrypha
Tobit
Judith
Additions to Esther
Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)
Baruch & the Epistle of Jeremy
Prayer of Azariah & Song of the Three Children
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
3 Maccabees
4 Maccabees (appendix)
1 Esdras
2 Esdras
Prayer of ManassehPsalm 151
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Who wrote the Torah?Traditional view:
Written by Moses.
Completed before his
death (1500
1200
B.C.).
Not stated directly in
the Torah. Moses 1:40?
1 Nephi 5:11?
Modern view:
Compiled from 4 or
more independent
sources.
Documentary
Hypothesis.
Parallel accounts withdifferences.
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The Documentary Hypothesis Duplicate passages with different details.
Creation accounts, details of the Flood, lists
of Ten Commandments.
Names of God.
God (elohim) vs. LORD (Jehovah).
Names of people and places.
Sinai vs. Horeb.
Reuel vs.Jethro.
Anachronisms.9
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Who wrote the Old Testament? Historical books:
Anonymous; written after events described.
Poetical/wisdom books:
Anonymous; basedon earlier writings, oral
traditions.
Prophets:
Some written about, not by.
Multiple authors of Isaiah?
10
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Language of the Old Testament Paleo-Hebrew (>10th5th centuries B.C.):
22 consonants, no vowels.
11
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Language of the Old Testament Hebrew (3rd century B.C.today):
Developed from Aramaic.
27 consonants, no vowels. 12
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The Masoretic Text Created by scribes
called the
Masoretes.
7th10th centuriesA.D.
Marks indicate
pronunciation.
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The Septuagint Hebrew scriptures
translated into
Greek.
3rd1st centuriesB.C.
Used by the New
Testament writers.
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Early translations of the OT Latin Vulgate
(5th century A.D.).
Read by academics
and clergy.
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Early English translations John Wycliffe
(A.D. 1382)
William Tyndale
(A.D. 152634)
Great Bible*
(A.D.1539)
Geneva Bible
(A.D. 1557
60) Bishops Bible*
(A.D. 1568, rev. 1572)
*Authorized by the Church of
England
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The King James Version Authorized by the
Church of England.
Abbreviated KJV or
AV. Based on earlier English
Bibles.
Published A.D. 1611
(most recent revisionin 1769).
Greatest English literaryachievement.
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KJV Only movement
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KJV translators not inspiredI have often heard men in this countrysplutter a great deal about the meaningof odd words in the Bible, but this onlyexhibits their folly: it is the spirit and
intention of the language that are tobe looked at, and if the translator doesnot know this it is impossible for him totranslate correctly, and this is the
reason why there are so many blunders in theBible. I believe the English Bible is translated aswell as any book could be by uninspired men.
John Taylor, 1852 (Journal of Discourses 1:25)
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KJV translators not inspired[If the Bible] be translatedincorrectly, and there is a scholar onthe earth who professes to be aChristian, and he can translate it any
better than King Jamess translatorsdid it, he is under obligation to doso. I think it is translated just ascorrectly as the scholars could get it,
although it is not correct in a great manyinstances.
Brigham Young, 1871 (JD 14:22627)
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Structural problems in the KJV
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Isaiah
3:244:2< LDS KJV
Oxford NRSV >
Poetry
Chaptersand
verses
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Archaic English in the KJVWords no longer in use:
Adjure
Holpen
Bewray
Pourtray
Obeisance
Churl
Words whose meaning
has changed:
Conversation
Road
Confectionaries
Carriage
Corn Prevent
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Mythological creatures in the KJVUnicorn
Satyr Cockatrice
Dragon
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Antiquated pronouns Thee
Thou
Thy
Thine
You
Your
Yours
In 1611: Informal Formal
Today: Formal (deity) Informal
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Count not thine handmaid fora daughter of Belial: for out of
the abundance of my
complaint and grief have I
spoken hitherto.
KJV 1 Samuel 1:16
Do not regard your servant as
a worthless woman, for I have
been speaking out of my greatanxiety and vexation all this
time. NRSV 1 Samuel 1:16
Jacobean English of the KJV
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He answered and said, Lo, I seefour men loose, walking in the
midst of the fire, and they
have no hurt; and the form of
the fourth is like the Son of
God. KJV Daniel 3:25
He said, Look! I see four men
loosed and walking about in
the midst of the fire withoutharm, and the appearance of
the fourth is like a son of the
gods! NASB Daniel 3:25
Theological bias in the KJV
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So why do we use the KJV? KJV is the Churchs official Bible.
It is not superior in translation,
readability, source documents.
Sufficient for devotional use, but not for
in-depth Bible study.
It shares a family relationship with
other LDS scriptures.
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Recommended study Bibles
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The Joseph Smith Translation What is the JST?
How did Joseph make his translation?
Is the JST a restoration of anoriginal text, or something else?
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The Joseph Smith Translation Restorations of lost material.
Events or doctrines not recorded
anciently, or not included in collection.
Corrections errors in originals.
Inspired commentary by Joseph Smith.
Make Bible more clear andunderstandable for modern readers.
Harmonization and fixing contradictions.
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Our class motto
D&C 88:118b
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Next week:The Creation
Genesis 12
(Moses 23; Abraham 45)