Dangers Of Interpreting The Old Testament

1. What is the Old Testament, and how did the term originate? The Old Testament is a set of texts that originated among the people who, at differing times in their history, have been called Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews, and which became their sacred scriptures(Tullock & McEntire, 2012, pg. 3). Christian, writings began to be viewed as sacred and having the status of scripture. Christians began to refer to the Hebrew Bible as the Old Covenant or the Old Testament.

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible has provided me with a critical analysis of the Hebrew Bible and introduced a wide variety of interpretive strategies, including African American, anthropological, feminist, historical-critical, Jewish, and literary perspectives. These approaches were presented by our author’s, L. Juliana M. Claassens, Peter Enns, Walter Brueggemann, and John L. Collins. Each author provides a unique interpretation to help us comprehend how the text is an expression of one’s interpretive understanding. Having said that, the biggest influence has been how I will seek to present Old Testament scriptures more effectively while remembering the context and the audience in which I am presenting. For example, I believe the greatest lessons that I have been reminded of are, the Old Testaments Scriptures from my childhood, which have become a big part of my relationship with God and are based on a childlike faith, which must now grow in the richness of the different interpretations, it is this message that I can apply to life.

The Old Testament is the largest part of the bible nestled behind the leather binding in the front of the book. Unlike most books, told from one-person or even two this is comprised of multiple, some stories even having two different versions in another point of view; over time it has become a large collection of ancient texts written and re-written by different authors and editors over the many years. The stories show the ancient Israelites, they show the laws, and rituals, which make up their religion and the small embers, which will one day, turn to a flame that is Christianity. The Jewish people view these stories as collected in what they call the Torah, is the collection for what makes up their history and the promise that God gave to them, as well as their laws and what they worship today. For the Christians the Old Testament is still seen as sacred, but most place a stronger importance to the New Testament.

Before we can totally dive into how the Temple destruction changed Judaism, we must gain some knowledge of the Jewish faith itself, as well as Jewish terms. One of the first ideas many people may discover about the term “Jew” is its lack of use in the Old Testament scriptures.

While reading the novel “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes” one might’ve found the same following points and given a summary about the misreading’s and hidden points in the bible. “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes” gives the reader well enlightened concepts to the bible that before might have been obscured, but now have been broken down into terms that people from the western part of the world can comprehend “such as ice bergs.” The author uses many a resemblances to the bible and how other supportive countries of our world see it inversely. The author uses these metaphors to build an understanding for the reader so that they can make comparisons themselves.

There are many books of the Old Testament, the first five being, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Presently, the books of the bible have been proven impossible to date. However, we have been able to identify at least four sources; the Yawhist, the Elohist, the Deuteronomist, and the Priestly source. The theme of the Yawhist’s story is very optimistic, with the general idea that Israelites will one day triumph over mankind. The theme of the Deuteronomist’s story on the other hand is not so optimistic, with the idea that God will one day punish them for their sins. The Elohist was more complex than the rest, its story consisting of angels and dreams, and the Priestly had intentions of promoting the priesthood. While we do have evidence of these sources, there are likely many more that we have been unable to identify.

Christians’ relationship to the Old Testament has been an issue that has attracted huge concern across the globe. This issue has generated much controversy because of the various misunderstandings across both sides of the spectrum. In essence, there are Christians who believe that the Old Testament law is biding to all believers while others think that they are not bound by this law. There are some Christians who argue that the Old Testament law is not binding to believers except the Ten Commandments whereas others state that the ceremonial law has been eradicated. The confusion regarding Christians’ relationship to the Old Testament is also fueled by the fact that there are many laws that seem to be part of this religion. Moreover, the Old Testament is associated with complexities, which makes them to find it confusing, wordy, and cumbersome .

As early as 1600AD scholars and scientists such as Isaac Newton believed that the words written in the Book of Genesis describing the creation of the Earth and mankind were in fact true. According to most biblical timelines the Earth and mankind were created around 6,000 years ago and it has only been within the past 300 years that scientists studying geological along with archaeological evidence that we now know how the Earth was created along with the evolution of humans. Today, a combination of several types of sciences tell us that over 4,000,000,000 years ago the Earth began to form and that the modern human didn't evolve until between 400,000 to 200,000 years ago.

Research on the Old Testament is even today concerned with finding out both the ‘historical’ facts in these texts, and the significance of the Persian empire in the history of the Jewish communities in Palestine, Babylonia and Egypt, their theological convictions and religious and ritual establishments, as well as the evolution of their literature (the ‘Old Testament’).

To begin with, it would be beneficial to establish that the viewpoint I am undertaking is one in agreement with the author, David Lose. Frequently, I have pondered the accuracy of not just Biblical texts but also historical accounts on all levels. Can one be assured what they are told is truthful to the fullest extent, enough so to wholeheartedly belief the concept? The answer is no. Nonetheless, if one is not to take this information as the truth then what will they hold to such tremendous standards? Therefore, one can conclude that it is necessary to allocate for the truth to be built and understood by personal interpretation of the world through another’s perspective. Hence, as a whole we can piece together an image and recantation that

The relationship of the Old Testament and the New Testament has been the cause for a series of debates for many generations. In some cases, the Bible is believed to be just a random assortment of individual scrolls brought together in no precise fashion and for no particular reason, with the Old and New Testament being completely separated from one another, this is of course false. The Bible is, as a whole, the given Word of God brought together by a variety of human authors under the Divine Inspiration of the One True Divine Author, God Himself. Similarly, the Old Testament should not be neglected and replaced by the New Testament, as the New Testament is deeply-rooted within the Old Testament and the Old Testament is brought into full manifestation, through Jesus Christ, within the New Testament. Therefore, the New Testament cannot exist without the Old Testament and the Old Testament cannot become fulfilled without the New Testament.

The history of how the Bible came into existence has been explored for centuries and is an active area of study today. There are many facets to the Bible and each has its own set of unique characteristics and teachings. The Old Testament is considered a contemporary guide for daily living, even though it was composed hundreds of years ago. Where did the Old Testament come from? What are some of the influences that shaped the Old Testament? What are the significant events of the Old Testament? In order to gain a better understanding of the Old Testament and its message to Christians, special consideration is given to its historical and cultural context, and to the major milestones in its development. Personal application of the teachings offered in this section of the Bible should be the aspiration of all Christians today.

In the first days of discovery and study, there was much excitement and anticipation surrounding these biblical texts. 70 years ago, before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we had only the Masoretic Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Septuagint. Our history of biblical texts was based on those books. Now, thanks to the Dead Sea Scrolls, we have older copies of biblical texts. This new information shapes our picture of the Bible before 135 B.C. Nothing grand has changed, but our focus has sharpened. The picture is

To speak of the Hebrew Scripture is to speak of story, a story stretching from the very beginning of time to only a few centuries before the beginning of the Common Era. It is to speak of richness of content, of purpose and of reality and to engross oneself in an overarching narrative that, depending on your personal convictions, continues to the present day. Within this richness is found a wide variety of different events and experience, told through a series of genre ranging from foundational myth to apocalypse, law giving to poetry, genealogy to wisdom and many more. Within this diversity however, three broad sections can be discerned that speak to a shared purpose and content, these are the sections of Law, Prophecy and Writings. It

Biblical Interpretation is important and necessary so that we can understand what the text is saying, what the intended theological message is, and how to personally apply and teach these Scriptural truths to carry forward the Gospel in rescuing others from despair and death to hope and life, thus displaying His glory and growing His Kingdom. It is about finding what God is revealing about Himself and His Son Jesus Christ. Moreover, it is for us to know that God desires to have a relationship with us and for us to be set apart in a covenant relationship with Him to display holy lives that bring Him glory. Interpretation, using hermeneutical principles, help guide us in proper boundaries for interpreting Scripture so that we can reveal the intended meaning of the text. Without this, we run the risk of imposing our own ideas on the text, therefore misinterpreting. Misinterpreting can cause us to miss theological truths, administer the wrong application, and neglect or overlook the meaning of the text which weakens the impact of God’s truth in our personal lives as well as others we are teaching.