The Origins of the Bible

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.”

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

Another View of History The point is that what is important was the experience of freedom, not the details.

Solomon’s Temple Israel went through a major change from a tribal nomadic people to a more settled and organized society.

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.

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.

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

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.

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