| Moreover, we do not need to be in doubt as to their identity, for in the very same chapter, in verses 17 to 26, they are ‘specified’ very detailedly: First, Jeremiah tells how he is to make ‘all the nations to whom he [Jehovah] sent me drink the cup of his wrath’, and after having mentioned Jerusalem and the towns of Judah and their rulers, he begins in the south and then goes on listing all the neighbouring nations, to the west, north and east, ‘all around’ the land of Israel. Please consult a good Bible Atlas for this (NIV; emphasis added): Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); Edom, Moab and Ammon; all the kings of Tyre and Sidon: the kings of the coastlands across the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places; all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other – all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach [Babel] will drink it too. Really, for anyone to call this lot ‘unspecified’ or ‘undefined’ is truly nonsensical, as is RF’s entire argumentation about these matters. And even if ‘these nations round about’ had not been listed so carefully, there would still have been plenty of evidence for the normal understanding, because the Hebrew word for nations is a much used standard term for the heathen or Gentile nations all around Israel: In Robert B. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament, 2nd ed., p. 256 (Grand Rapids 1978) we read about the Hebrew term goy (‘nation’, in plural goyim. spelt goim in the book): Throughout the historical books, the Psalms, and the prophets, the word goim primarily signifies those nations which lived in the immediate neighbourhood of the Jewish people; they were regarded as enemies, as ignorant of the truth, and sometimes as tyrants. |
| As the main proof of such an inverted rearrangement of the whole Old Testament, they point out that the Biblical books from Joshua to Ezra do not appear to know about the existence of Moses’ laws. This is factually incorrect. Even the most cursory glance at the pages of the Bible show the opposite. The book of Joshua from its very first pages has in mind the existence of the Pentateuch and is inseparable from it. Without knowing the books of Moses, one can understand nothing in the book of Joshua. See chap. Т, 13, 17; chap. II, 13 and 17; chap. Ш, 4; chap. XI, 126 and so on, and so forth. The story of daughter of Jephthah, in spite of all its mysteries, has explanations other than the one, which is given by Prof. Kartashev. In the first book of Kings, Anna, the mother of Samuel, prays to the Lord with the words of St. Miriam, the sister of Moses. During the sacrifice of Elijah and his sons, they act according to the ritual, assigned in the 3d chapter of Leviticus, and when the sons of Elijah deviate from this direction because of their covetousness and gluttony, then those bringing sacrifice expose them, referring to that, written in the Law, i.e. in the Pentateuch of Moses. See I Sam. 2:13–17. The books of the Kingdoms (Samuel and Kings), in general, are aware of the narrations in the books of Moses. See 1Sam. 2and 30; 10:2; 12:6–12; 14:32; 1 Kings 1:50. Chapter 8 of the first book of Samuel and 17 chapter of Deuteronomy say absolutely identical things about the rights of a king. Samuel speaks about God’s threats for the violation of the Law in the 12 th chapter of the 1 st book of Samuel, basing his words completely on Deuteronomy. About the retribution for the stolen ewe lamb, David speaks to Nathan using the rule, written down in Exodus. Compare 2Samuel 12and Exodus 22:1. The widow woman demands of David the execution of the murderers according to the rules of Numbers and Deuteronomy. Compare 2 Samuel 14and Numbers 35and 21 and Deuteronomy 19:12. The Psalms are filled with references to the books of Moses from the Creation of the world to Deuteronomy. One need only see, in an edition of the Bible with parallel references, the margins of the Psalms filled with references to the books of Moses. And as a refutation of the conjecture that the Psalms are not the work of King David, but a later creation of some unknown falsifiers of the 6 th or 4 th century BC, the books of Kingdoms (Samuel and Kings) present in context, in the description of life of David, his psalms, which, like those included separately in the Book of Psalms , are connected in all their content with the rest of the Divine Testament. See 2 Samuel, chap.7 and 22. |
| The Books also, which are among the Jews, teach (us), that, from times prior to Augustus and Tiberius 204 ,----in whose days our Saviour appeared,----there were in the world, in every city and village, kings and Toparchs fully (established) from the earliest times. 66. The Jews therefore, immediately after the egress from Egypt by Moses, when they had come into Palestine, expelled the Kings, thirty 205 in number, from their cities. Those however, who were not extirpated, remained and availed themselves of their population, local residences, and kings: those (I say), who resided apart in Gaza, Ashkelon, Joppa, and Azotus, again rebelled among themselves. Scythopolis 206 too, and the cities about it, were accordingly so governed, that hence it happened, that their study was in contention and wars with their neighbours. And also, when in Jerusalem the wonderful Temple was built, (and) which Solomon erected, What necessity can there be for saying, how many subsequent wars (happened) and dealt vengeance even on the Jews, on account of their dissimulation in the worship of their God; and on which account, they became divided from each other? They also arose against themselves, and availed themselves of (the aid of) various Kings and enemies; some of whom took the metropolis formerly called Samaria, but now Sabastia 207 ; others again, resided in Jerusalem, and were always engaged in wars with their own people, and these with them 208 . 67. Not unlike these too, did those suffer who resided in Arabia: for, among these also, there was a multitude of local Princes 209 . The same also was the case with the Syrians, who were in subjection to their (many) kings. The Phoenicians again, so guarded their territories, that no one could mix himself with them, or pass through them: while they were continually desolating the lands of those who resided on their borders, and were constantly engaged in the reduction of cities, and in making captives of one another. Nor was it this only, but also the whole of Libya and of Egypt, subjected themselves to all these Princes and Kings, as if they had been Gods! They had too, thousands of different Gods, both in the villages and cities, as they also had of kings, who enacted laws adverse to them, and were the inventors of every form of Deity. |
| The Bible is the voice of the Holy Spirit. But this voice was heard through human intermediates and by human means. Therefore, the Bible is a book with its own history. It did not appear at once. It was written by many people over a long period of time, in several languages in different countries. The Bible is divided into the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament contains the fulfillment and completeness of the entire Divine truth, while the Old Testament – the preparatory, pedagogically incomplete unfolding of it. Human nature is distorted by sin, which penetrated it through the downfall of our forefathers and increased in the further generations with countless personal sins of people. In order to prepare decayed mankind to accept the Son of God and His Full Divine Law, a most attentive and thoughtful process was necessary. It is that process which the Lord carries out in the Old Testament. The very appearance of the Old Testament, the gift of the initial Divine Revelation on Mount Sinai, is a rather significant juncture, prepared in its turn by the careful process of Divine selection among people and the fostering of this selection. Originally, God gave Moses only the first part of the Bible, or the Torah, i.e. «the Law,» consisting of the five books of the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. For a long period of time, only the Pentateuch, or Torah, was the Holy Scripture in the full meaning of the word, God’s Word for the Old Testament Church, though immediately after the Torah, the first lines of the subsequent writings appeared, organically proceeding from the original Divine Law. The Book of Joshua began to be written, while the creation of Deuteronomy was coming to an end. The Book of Judges is the continuation of the book of Joshua, and the Books of Kings are the continuation of the book of Judges. The Paralipomenon, i.e. the Chronicles, supplement the books of Kings. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are continuations of the Books of Kings and Paralipomenon. The Books of Ruth, Esther, Judith and Tobit describe individual episodes of the history of the chosen nation. Finally, the books of the Maccabees end the narration of the history of Israel and lead it to the threshold of the coming of Christ. |
| 25 . When were the sacred books written? At different times: some before the birth of Christ, others after. 26 . Have not these two divisions of the sacred books each their own names? They have. Those written before the birth of Christ are called the books of the Old Testament, while those written after are called the books of the New Testament. 27 . What are the Old and New Testaments? In other words, the old and new Covenants of God with men. 28 . In what consisted the Old Testament? In this, that God promised men a divine Saviour, and prepared them to receive him. 29 . How did God prepare men to receive the Saviour? Through gradual revelations, by prophecies and types. 30 . In what consists the New Testament? In this, that God has actually given men a divine Saviour, his own only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 31 . How many are the books of the Old Testament? St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Athanasius the Great, and St. John Damascene reckon them at twenty-two, agreeing therein with the Jews, who so reckon them in the original Hebrew tongue. (Athanas. Ep. xxxix. De Test.; J. Damasc. Theol. lib. iv. c. 17.) 32 . Why should we attend to the reckoning of the Hebrews? Because, as the Apostle Paul says, unto them were committed the oracles of God; and the sacred books of the Old Testament have been received from the Hebrew Church of that Testament by the Christian Church of the New. Rom. iii. 2. 33 . How do St. Cyril and St. Athanasius enumerate the books of the Old Testament? As follows: 1, The book of Genesis; 2, Exodus; 3, Leviticus; 4, the book of Numbers; 5, Deuteronomy; 6, the book of Jesus the son of Nun; 7, the book of Judges, and with it, as an appendix, the book of Ruth; 8, the first and second books of Kings, as two parts of one book; 9, the third and fourth books of Kings; 10, the first and second books of Paralipomena; 11, the first book of Esdras, and the second, or, as it is entitled in Greek, the book of Nehemiah; 12, the book of Esther; 13, the book of Job; 14, the Psalms; 15, the Proverbs of Solomon; 16, Ecclesiastes, also by Solomon; 17, the Song of Songs, also by Solomon; 18, the book of the Prophet Isaiah; 19, of Jeremiah; 20, of Ezekiel; 21, of Daniel; 22, of the Twelve Prophets. |
| Consider this relevant example: In 2 Kings 25:2 Jerusalem is dated to the “eleventh year of King Zedekiah,” the last king of Judah. Verse 8 tells us that this occurred in the “nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.” But when was that? How far from our own time was it? How many years before the Christian era did it happen? The fact is that the Bible gives no information whatsoever that, of itself links up these datings with our Christian era. Similarly, the books of Kings and Chronicles tell about the kings who ruled in Israel and Judah from Saul, the first king, on to Zedekiah, the last one. We are told who succeeded whom, and for how many years each of them ruled. By summing up the lengths of reign from Saul to Zedekiah we can measure the approximate space of time (there are many uncertain points) between these two kings. In this way we find that the period of the Hebrew monarchies covered roughly 500 years. But still we have found no answer to the question: At what point on the stream of time did this period start and at what point did it end? If the Bible had gone on to give a continuous and unbroken series of regnal years from Zedekiah all the way down to the beginning of the Christian era, the question would have been answered. But Zedekiah was the last of the Jewish line of kings and his reign ended centuries before Christ’s coming. Nor does the Bible give any other information that directly identifies for us the length of the period from Zedekiah’s “eleventh year” (when Jerusalem was desolated) to the beginning of the Christian era. Thus we have a period of roughly 500 years, the period of the Hebrew monarchies, but we are not told how far from our time this period was and how it can be fixed to our Christian era. If the Bible had preserved dated and detailed descriptions of astronomical events, such as solar and lunar eclipses, or the positions of the planets in relation to different stars and constellations, this would have made our problem easier. Modern astronomers, witii their knowledge of the regular movements of the moon and the planets, are able to calculate the positions these heavenly bodies held on the starry sky thousands of years ago. But the fact is that the Bible provides no information of this kind. |
| Melito (d. ca 180ad) visited the Holy Land with a view to establishing the list of the canonical books of the Old Testament. According to Eusebius (EH 4.26) (d. 339AD), his list does not contain the book of Esther, which incidentally is also missing from the biblical remains of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran (Geza Vermes, Christian Beginnings, Kindle Loc. 3424-26). Melitio’s Bible agrees with the Qumran community’s “canon”. That community was a dissident group of Jews outside of mainstream Judaism in Jerusalem. A 4th Century Document, The Apostolic Constitutions (written ca 375AD), says this about the Canon: “Let the following books be esteemed venerable and holy by you, both of the clergy and laity. Of the Old Covenant: the five books of Moses— Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; one of Joshua the son of Nun, one of the Judges, one of Ruth, four of the Kings, two of the Chronicles, two of Ezra, one of Esther, one of Judith, three of the Maccabees, one of Job, one hundred and fifty psalms; three books of Solomon— Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs; sixteen prophets. And besides these, take care that your young persons learn the Wisdom of the very learned Sirach. But our sacred books, that is, those of the New Covenant, are these: the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; the fourteen Epistles of Paul; two Epistles of Peter, three of John, one of James, one of Jude; two Epistles of Clement; and the Constitutions dedicated to you the bishops by me Clement, in eight books; which it is not fit to publish before all, because of the mysteries contained in them; and the Acts of us the Apostles.” (The Apostolic Constitutions, Kindle Loc. 4894-4900) That 4th century canon of Scripture has many more books than officially ended up in the Bible of today. It gives us a sense that there was not one canon accepted by all Christians in the 4th Century. In the 8th Century, St. John of Damascus (d. 749) wrote a book that many consider authoritative in the Orthodox world for delineating doctrine. Note in his comments especially what he considers to be the canonical books of the New Testament. He is writing 400 years after many think the Christian canon had been closed. St. John says: |
| Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work: but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth. the sea. and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore, the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his man servant, or his maidservant, or his ox. or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s. ( Ex 20.1–17 ) History Following the Law in the Bible are those books which are called historical. They cover the history of Israel from the settlement in the promised land of Canaan to the first centuries before Christ. They include Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, as well as 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, and 1 and 2Maccabees, which in the English Bible includes 3Maccabees. In the biblical listing of the Orthodox Church, which is generally that of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, 1 and 2 Samuel are called 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Kings are called 3 and 4 Kings. Also, the so-called apocryphal books, listed above after Esther, are considered by the Orthodox as genuine parts of the Bible. The Old Testament apocrypha is a body of writings considered by the non-Orthodox to be of close association with the Bible, but not actually part of its official canonical contents. The Book of Joshua begins with the People of Israel crossing over the Jordan River and into the promised land led by Joshua, the successor of Moses. It tells of the victories of the Israelites over the local inhabitants, and the settlement of the twelve tribes in the territories appointed to each by Moses. |
| Babylon was captured by the Persians led by Cyrus and Darius who restored the Israelites to their homeland. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of the resettlement of the Jews, and of the rebuilding and the reopening of the temple in Jerusalem. The two books of Chronicles date from this same period and may well have been compiled by Ezra, although scholars consider them as the work of third century authors, perhaps the same who wrote Ezra and Nehemiah. The Chronicles cover the history of Israel from Adam to the time of Cyrus. They contain numerous genealogies, and show particular interest in David and the Kings as well as in the temple and the priesthood. In the Septuagint Bible the Chronicles are called Paralipomena which means “that which has been left out,” thus indicating their purpose as being to fill in what has been excluded from the earlier historical books of the Bible. The Book of Esther, and those of 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, and 1 and 2Maccabees which, as we have said, are included in the Bible in the Orthodox Church, bring the history of Israel down to New Testament times. They tell of the reorganization of the Jewish community around the temple, the cult and the law as a mere remnant of the great nation, or nations of Israel and Judah, which existed before the time of exile; a struggling remnant constantly in subjugation to external powers. It is mostly the case that the historical books of the Bible were written well after the events described in them actually took place. Wisdom The books of the Bible which are commonly called the Wisdom books include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, as well as the Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus, and the Wisdom of Solomon from the so-called apocrypha. The Book of Job, usually dated sometime at the period of exile, is the story of righteous suffering in which the sufferer pleads his cause before God only to “repent in dust and ashes” (42.6) upon seeing the Lord for himself and being confronted by Him with His own defense of His unspeakable and unfathomable majesty. Selections from this book are read on the first days of Holy Week in the Orthodox Church because they deal with the most profound problem facing believers, the problem of suffering, which is brought to its ultimate completion in Christ who is not merely the most perfect of “suffering innocents,” but indeed the Suffering God in human flesh. |
| In the Judean kingdom all the kings came from the line of David, but few of them were kind or pious. The people, imitating the impious kings, sinned much before God. To make the Hebrew people, both the Judeans and the Israelites, come to their senses, the Lord sent many prophets. Note: See I Kings, chaps. 12–15; II Chron., chaps. 10–13. 37. The Prophets The prophets were people who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, prophesied, that is, foretold what would be in the future, especially about the coming Saviour of the world. They announced the will of God, taught the people true faith and piety, and performed various signs and miracles. They exposed the idolatry of the Hebrews and called them to repent. Some of them preached only orally, and others, in addition, left behind sacred books, written by them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The most famous of the prophets living in the Israelite kingdom were, Elijah, Elisha and Jonah, and of the prophets living in the Judean kingdom, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The Prophet Elijah. The Prophet Elijah lived during the reign of the impious Israelite King Ahab, who worshipped the idol Baal and also forced the people to do so. Elijah came to Ahab and in the name of God announced to him, eBecause of your godlessness, there will be neither dew nor rain during these years except by the word of my mouth.» So it came to pass. A terrible drought began. Even the grass died and there was a famine. Elijah, by God? will, settled in the desert by a stream where ravens brought him bread and meat, and he drank the water from the stream. When the stream dried up, God ordered the Prophet to go to the pagan town of Zarephath in Sidon to a poor widow and live with her. This widow, who lived with her son, had only one handful of flour and a little oil. Going to Zarephath, Elijah told her to bake bread for him and promised that the flour and oil would not diminish as long as the Lord did not send rain to the earth. The woman trusted the Prophet of God and did as he told her, her flour and oil did not diminish. Soon this widow? son fell ill and died. The Prophet Elijah for three days prayed to God for him and the boy came back to life. |
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