Intertestamental Literature

Consider the Dead Sea Scrolls which are often called the Qumran Materials. They are the most important biblical find in the last several hundred years. There are several different kinds of material contained in the scrolls. There are copies of biblical texts and every book except Esther is represented. There are also non-canonical biblical texts. The material contains rules and a book called The Rule of the Community or The Manual of Discipline. 1QS is used to denote the Dead Sea Manual of Discipline. There is also a book called The Damascus Rule or Cairo Damascus (CD). The War Scroll pictures a battle between light and darkness. Consider that The Dead Sea Scrolls help us understand the background of Second Temple Judaism and shows the Old Testament was correctly passed down.

Explore that the Septuagint is often written as LXX (70) because it was translated by seventy individuals. The Letter of Aristeas (Josephus) shows how the Septuagint came about. It teaches that the Pentateuch was translated first and that the translation of the Septuagint was official. It teaches that Ptolemy might not have started the translation. It is more likely that the Greek translation was made for those who had lost their Hebrew in the exile. Consider that there is no one unquestioned Septuagint and the Septuagint varies in the way it translates the Hebrew Bible. Origen collected versions of the texts at the time in what is called the Hexapla. What do we learn from the Septuagint? The Septuagint was not a settled printed version and there is a versification difference in the Septuagint. The order of the chapters in the Septuagint is sometimes different. Consider that the Septuagint is one of the earliest translations of the Hebrew Bible.

The first module includes an Introduction concerning Intertestamental literature. Consider four points about the documents to be read in this course. Consider that we should speak about Judaisms, not Judaism - most Jews did not identify with any of the parties. Many textbooks today give a clearer view of Judaism than was possible at the time. Consider that the methodology of approach is very important. Explore points that should be kept in mind when reading the documents. Consider a general survey of the literature to be read which includes expansions of Scripture and Scripture related stories. They are sometimes called Apocrypha or “hidden” books and sometimes called Deuterocanonical. There are also Pseudepigrapha or “false writings”. Consider that we do not know how widely spread these books were nor do we know how literate many of the people were. Some stories may fill the gap when Scripture does not tell us exactly what was happening and some stories answer problems raised by the documents. The stories contemporize the application. Why would this document have come into being? What question is this document answering? Consider the story of Joseph and Asenath in light of Genesis 41:50, “Two sons were born to Joseph . . . Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. “

Explore Didactic stories which were stories written to teach the Jewish people. Consider the background for the Book of Tobit. Tobit’s view was that if you live faithfully to God, God will reward you. Consider that Tobit 14:6 is similar to Isaiah 65 and 66 in that it is about the salvation of the nation. Tobit 4-5 is seen as the theme of the book. The date for Tobit is uncertain and ranges from 8th century BC to 170 BC. What lessons does Tobit teach? Consider that Roman Catholic scholars teach that the Apocryphal (Deuterocanonical) books are inspired and inerrant. The Book of Judith is similar in many ways to Tobit. The Book of Judith reminds us not to give up and carries a sense of national commitment of God to his people. Consider that there is an ethical tinge to the book. It raises the question, “Is it ever all right to do the wrong things to make the Israel nation safer?“