Noncanonical Jewish Literature

It is important for Christians to be familiar with ancient Jewish literature that is not in our canon because I think we can learn a lot from those writings.

I believe our canon is arranged how God planned for it to be, but that should not limit other people from writing about their experiences, and sharing how God has affected their lives. We can learn a lot from reading these different pieces of literature, even if they are not in our canon. The writings can be a compliment to what we are already reading in our canon. These noncanonical writings can reiterate what our canon has already told us. It solidifies the truths for us.

People have not stopped learning about God or writing books about the revelations they have had about God’s character. God has not changed, but the situations and times that the readers of the canon have changed, and so it is nice to get all the different perspectives that are out there.

Just because a book is not part of our canon, it does not mean that we cannot learn something from it. For example, the book The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren was and still is a very popular piece of literature. Its purpose is similar to that of the Bible: teach people how to lead Godly lives in the midst of the world they live in. Just as this book could help us in our walk with God, so can the ancient Jewish literature that is not part of our canon.

I think that reading these different texts gives us more credibility also when we are sharing our faith, because we are not just blindly following the Bible, and what we have laid before us, but we are testing it against similar writings and against itself. If the noncanonical books give us a different picture than what is in the Bible though, I believe we should trust our canon as the supreme literature.

Wisdom Literature

The books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes are all considered Wisdom Literature. Even though these books are grouped together under this category, they are a very diverse group of writings. What do they have in common then that makes them fall under Wisdom Literature?

All three of these books search for a wise way of going through life. They are all very universal, and not very nationalistic (focusing on just Israel). They prompt thinking on a deep level, and show that it is okay to take hard questions to God. They also focus on theodicy, which tries to make sense of a righteous and just God when while surrounded by the misery of this world.

In Proverbs, the way it says that wisdom can be obtained is by being in step with God’s ways. In Proverbs 1:7, it says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Along with this, your life will be blessed if you keep God’s commandments. “My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you” (Proverbs 3:1-2). If you obtain wisdom by fearing the LORD and keeping God’s commandments, then your life will go well for you, according to the book of Proverbs.

In Job, God allows terrible things to happen to Job, who never, in the midst of his suffering, denies God. This book also shows a different way to gain wisdom. God says that Job is the most righteous man on the earth (Job 1:8). Job’s friends tell him that he must have done something wrong, and that is why he is being punished by God. In the end, Job’s friends are rebuked because they thought they were correct, and that they understood how God worked. Even though Job questions God, he is upheld above his friends because he knew that he just could not understand God (Job 42:7). The book of Job shows that it is better to question God and acknowledge that you do not understand God’s ways rather than think you know everything.

Ecclesiastes gives some advice on ways to live your life wisely. The author of the book says, “All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The word vanity is similar to vapor, or wind. Wisdom is something that we cannot grasp. We cannot understand everything, which is similar to what Job talks about. We should think about God, as it says in Ecclesiastes 7:13-14, “Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.” We as humans cannot know everything or control anything that happens on this earth, so why not just enjoy life as it is given to us? “So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 8:15). Things in this life will come and go, but we can obtain happiness and wisdom by knowing this life is only temporary.

Even though these books are written in different styles and do not appear to have the same subject, they all can teach us a wise way to live our lives. If we fear the LORD, realize that we do not and cannot know everything, and know that some things are fleeting like the wind, then we should all be able to enjoy our lives to the fullest.

The Day of the LORD

Throughout the Book of the Twelve, the prophets mention the Day of the Lord numerous times. The interpretations they give for the Day of the Lord are different depending on the person’s relationship with God. For some, it will be a day of judgment and destruction, and for others it will be a day of joy and vindication.

In Zephaniah 1:7b, it says, “The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.” This shows that those who hope in God will not have a terrible time on that day. But the next verse, Zeph 1:8, says, “On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king’s sons and all those clad in foreign clothes.” This is a bad sign for anyone who is not on God’s side. Zephaniah has a fairly negative view of this day. “That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (Zeph 1:15). For the people that were hearing this prophesy, it would not be a comforting thing to think of. Zephaniah does give hope to the people when he says “Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger” (Zeph 2:3). In order for the Day of the LORD to be an encouraging day, the people were told they needed to seek God first, or else they would be destroyed on that day.

Many of the other prophets offer similar views on what the Day of the LORD will be like. In Habakkuk 3:16, the prophet says “Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.” This shows that the prophet saw that day as a time when their enemies would be destroyed, which would save them, because they would no longer be attacked. Malachi has a similar view, where that day will be one of vindication for God’s people, and a day of judgment for their enemies. Malachi says, “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble…But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings…Then you will trample down the wicked” (Malachi 4:1-3). Again, for the people who are not on God’s side, the Day of the LORD will be a terrible day, but for those who trust in God and follow God’s ways, that day will be one of hope. They will even help destroy their foes.

The prophets in the Book of the Twelve give different views on the Day of the LORD, but they are all very similar. That day will be a time when their enemies are destroyed, and the people are saved, but only if they follow God’s laws.

Book of the Twelve

Some scholars call the last twelve books of the Old Testament either the Book of the Twelve or the Minor Prophets. These books consist of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

It is called the Book of the Twelve by some scholars because when these oracles were recorded onto scrolls, they were sometimes all grouped together because some are very short. It would be harder to keep track of a scroll that is only two columns, as opposed to a scroll that would have over 100 chapters as we call them today. Some scholars call these books the Minor Prophets. This comes from the division of the Latter Prophets into the Major and Minor Prophets. The Major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. These are all longer oracles, hence why they are called major. Thus, the shorter books are called minor, in comparison with the three longer books. When someone hears the name Minor Prophets, it may give them the idea that these prophets are not as important compared to the Major Prophets, so this is why some scholars call it the Book of the Twelve.

I prefer to call the end of the Old Testament the Book of the Twelve, because it reminds me that they are all shorter oracles, but it does not give me the impression that they are less important, like calling them minor does for me. By calling it the Book of the Twelve, it also reminds me that these were all once written on a single scroll, and it helps me think of the original context of the verses, and that in fact they were not originally divided into chapter and verse. To me, it gives these writings more authority because they are seen as twelve individual prophets, who all had something to say about God and the Israelites.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel did all kinds of wild things that got people’s attention. He did things and he saw things that probably most people thought were crazy. He did them though, and I’m sure that it at least made the Israelites pay a little attention to him.

Ezekiel ate a scroll (Ezekiel 3), which was Ezekiel literally taking in the Word of God so that he could preach it. Ezekiel also made a miniature of Jerusalem, and then was bound up lying on his side for 390 days facing his replica of the city, and then he turned to his other side for 40 days and faced the city again. He was bearing the sins of Israel and Judah (Ezekiel 4).

Ezekiel saw cherubim that had four wheels, and were completely covered in eyes (Ezekiel 10). They departed with the glory of the LORD from the temple. Even reading this passage, it is hard for me to actually get a picture of what it would have looked like. It is a passage that seems completely unrealistic, and I cannot imagine what the Israelites would have thought of it when Ezekiel shared it with them.

He also prophesied and dry bones came alive (Ezekiel 37). He had a vision that he was in a valley full of dry bones, bones that had no life left in them. God told him to prophesy so the bones would live, and he did, and the bones connected to each other, and were covered in flesh, and became a large mass of people. These bones symbolized Israel, and how dead and devoid of hope they were, but how God was going to breathe life into them and bring them back to the promised land.

Ezekiel was really radical, and he stood out. It would be hard to take a person seriously who was that outrageous. Today, that person would most likely get institutionalized because of their “visions.” His messages were probably not the most comforting things to hear either, so it was probably easier to ignore him, and just say that he was crazy, rather than to realize he was speaking the truth of God’s word.

Deuteronomistic History

Why did the two kingdoms go into exile? I believe that the DH explains this to some extent. God made a covenant with Israel. The people did not hold up their end of the relationship. They did not obey God, so God did not protect them from their enemies. Deuteronomistic theology would explain this as blessings and curses. If the people did what was right, and obeyed God, then all would be well with them. If they disobeyed the law, then God would curse them, and things would not be good for the Israelites. The whole nation had gotten so perverse that God sent them out of the land. Even though the Israelites did not hold up their end of the covenant, God still did what God had promised. God had a responsibility. So did the Israelites, even though they did not follow through with it. If they did evil, then they would be punished. This was God’s end of the covenant, and God still chose to hold Godself accountable.

It just seems like the Israelites never learned. They would worship other gods, then, once in a great while, a good judge or king would come along, and they would denounce those other gods. Almost immediately though, they would go back to idol worship. It seems like God would put them out of the land God gave them, just so maybe they would turn back to God. This would maybe remind the Israelites that God was in control.

I understand the concept of Deuteronomistic theology in the context of the Israelites, but it seems like a hard thing to apply to our lives today. After Jesus came, a new covenant was formed. Forgiveness is a part of that. This means that even if/when we displease God, we will be forgiven if we ask. This is comforting, because we all mess up and disobey God at times. We luckily will not be exiled out of our homes because of it.

Samuel

Was it good for the Israelites to ask for a king? God already knew they would ask, and that God would appoint a king for them, so God gave the people rules for how to govern themselves. In this set of rules, God gave instructions for a king (Deut. 17). In 1 Samuel 8, the people ask for a king, and God gives them a warning of what a king will do, but they still demand one.

So is it wrong for them to ask? I can understand reasons why they would want a king. All the nations around them had kings, and they could probably see the positive side of having a king. They did not have many judges that followed God, which meant at times they had a fairly perverse nation. Yet, God chose the Israelites to be a set apart people. They were not supposed to be like the surrounding nations. Knowing all God did for them, by saving them from the Egyptians and helping them conquer their enemies, I would tend to think that they were wrong, and rude, to demand a king when they should have been pleased to have God as their king.

Yet, if the Israelites had not asked for a king, then David may have never become anything more than a shepherd boy. Jesus would not have descended from the royal line of David, because David would not have been royal. Our canon would be missing a lot of what it has today because David’s stories and writings would not be known. Judas was wrong to betray Jesus, but if he would not have done that, then Jesus would not have died on the cross, and we would not be saved. It had to happen. These things are part of God’s plan. The Israelites may have been acting ungratefully toward God, but they were fulfilling God’s plan and purpose.

Joshua

Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. He gave the people instructions on what they were to do once they entered the land. After the LORD dried up the Jordan River in order for God’s people to cross into Canaan, Joshua gave the people the instructions on how they were to take Jericho. The Israelites were to march around Jericho one time each day for six days. Seven priests were to carry seven trumpets before the ark of the covenant. The seventh day they were to march around the city seven times. The seventh time around, the priests would blow their trumpets and everyone would shout, and the city would then be devoted to the LORD. They were not supposed to take anything other than things that were sacred to the LORD.

This event is an example of what scholars would call Holy War. The army had to be pure and holy before they could take Jericho. Each man was circumcised before they were allowed to march around the city. They had to be religiously prepared for battle. The Israelites, in this Holy War, were mostly passive. They did not actually do much fighting, at least in bringing the wall down. The LORD was the one who fought and won the battle. If they had not obeyed God’s instructions, and just tried to take the city on their own, they probably would have lost badly.

The people were instructed that the whole city was to be devoted to God. This meant that everything, “men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys”, were to be “devoted to destruction” (Joshua 6.21). They burned the whole city, but then kept silver, gold, bronze, and iron and gave it to the LORD. Since God fought this battle and won, the whole city belonged to God. The people did not get anything, since they did not help defeat Jericho.

What is the She'ma?

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

This passage from Deuteronomy, called the She’ma, is very important. It states the most important commandment that we are given. Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22.37). This is almost identical to the She’ma.

The She’ma teaches us how to live. We are to constantly have God’s word in our heart. We even are supposed to have physical reminders, like attaching them to our bodies, so we do not forget them. These words, and the knowledge that God is the one true God, should not leave our thoughts, and should be with us throughout the day.

By beginning with the word hear, it reminds us that God is a speaking God. In Genesis, God spoke the world into existence. God can change us, and make us new (as God did with the world at the beginning of creation) if only we will hear and listen. This shows us the power of God, and also a characteristic of God.

This passage stated to the Israelites that the LORD was their only God. Many other nations around the Israelites were polytheistic, so this belief in only one God would have been strange to some of their neighbors. It may have even been strange to some of the Israelites. Even Rachel, Jacob’s wife, took the idols of her many gods from her father when they fled. The She’ma would help them remember who they served, and what their God was capable of, because even God’s name, the LORD, was a reminder of what God had done for them.

By remembering the She’ma, whether a Jew or Christian, it can teach us a lot. It shows a characteristic of God, and it reminds us to remember what God has taught us. We owe everything to God, all the love we have. It is the greatest commandment.

Why were purity regulations stricter for priests than for other Israelites?

There were stricter purity regulations for priests in the ANE than there were for other Israelites. This was because the priests were going to be going to a holier place than the other Israelites (the inside of the tabernacle). They needed to be cleaner, or more pure, in order to go closer to God. They found things impure if they were mixed, incomplete, or disorderly.
If I were to go to a king’s palace, I would most likely wear a dress, or at least very formal clothes; I would not wear my pajamas. This would be mixing two different cultures and times. It seems obvious that I would not do that. This is the same for the priests. They needed to be clean, and be appropriate, in order to be closer to God. Since God is the most holy, God deserves to have perfection near God. It wasn’t appropriate to come to God without being as pure as possible, and not just any Israelite could go into the tabernacle, because they were less pure than the priests.
God was separate from the Israelites, but yet still in their presence. God just deserved so much reverence that all the respect that the Israelites could show God, they did. By making sure that they were as pure as possible, and going through all the rituals of cleansing themselves, the Israelites were showing that they understood that God was the holiest and deserved honor. All the rituals were a constant reminder of God’s holiness. So since the priests were the ones that were going closest to God, then they had to make sure they were more pure than others that would not be as close to God.

Why does God choose to have a closer relationship with younger siblings?

Throughout Genesis, God has a close relationship with many of the younger siblings in the stories (e.g., Isaac, Jacob, Joseph). I believe that this shows components of God’s character. These men were all born under interesting circumstances. They were born to women who did not think that they could have many children. None of them actually had the birthright, but they all were chosen to be in the family line that led to Jesus.
I think that God chose these men because they were not the first pick in that society. They would have just had to rely on their older siblings, and they would not have been made great. This just shows that each individual, even though they may start out in a small setting, can become something great. This is really true of Joseph. He was the youngest, and he was despised by his brothers, but he became one of the head men in Egypt, and he helped save his family during the drought.
It also shows that God gives us gifts that may not seem to be helpful, but they can be used for good. I’m sure that Joseph’s dreams were not really respected, and he may have even found them annoying or confusing, but through interpreting those dreams, he became great, and he also predicted the drought, which in turn meant he saved a nation.
In the New Testament, Jesus says that “many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31). I think that in some sense, God was demonstrating this before the birth of Jesus. If God would have chosen someone who was already a strong power, then that person may not have realized the grace God was offering. They could become proud and think it was their own doing that got them where they were.
By choosing people who were not the most well-liked, or strongest, God showed how God can use any person, no matter their abilities. If God gives us the strength, we can do it.

The way I read the Bible

After looking at the Bible reading chart, I think I have realized that I am a mixture of two different ways of reading. I partly use the literary-metaphorical method and partly the reader-response method. For example, if I would read Psalm 143:8, which says, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift my soul,” this would be how I would interpret it.

Using the literary-metaphorical method, I would look deeper into each word, and find the meaning behind that. The morning may not be referring to the exact start of each day, when the sun is coming up, but more of a new start, a time of new beginnings. Each time that I have had a hard time with something (like a dark night), when the rough time ends (i.e. the morning), God’s love will show through, and help me get through that hard time, and it will help me realize the extent of God’s love.

Using the reader-response method, I will look at the verse and see what it means to me in the situations I am dealing with now in my life. If I would look at this verse five years from now, it could have a different meaning depending on what trials (or happiness) I am going through. This verse is like a prayer to me. Since I have put my trust in God, then God’s love will be revealed to me. I trust God to lead me in this life, and I will always go to God with troubles that I have. This verse offers me a lot of hope, and it means a lot to me. One night this summer as I was going to bed, I repeated this verse over and over as my prayer. I woke up the next day to my mom telling me that my grandpa had a heart attack, and he passed away later that night. I remembered that I had prayed those words the night before, and I just knew that everything would be all right, that through whatever happened, God’s love would be revealed, and I could always lift up my soul to God, and God would be there to comfort me. Using this experience, the verse meant something in that moment. But if nothing had happened that next day, then I don’t think that this verse would have as much meaning to me. I may have skimmed over it the next time I read that passage without thinking about it too much.

By reading the Bible using these different methods, I think that it gives the verses more meaning, and I can apply the words to my life, rather than just reading something that seems foreign to me.

What is the Bible?

I have always known that there were different versions, or translations, of the sacred library, or as most people refer to it, the Bible. I’ve seen all kinds of these Bibles, from ones aimed toward youth, men or women, or ones with a more modern language so they would be easier to understand. Only within the past few years have I realized that there are different books that are in some Bibles, and not in others. This brings up the question, which “bible” is the correct version and contains God-breathed scripture? How am I to know whether or not the books omitted from my Bible are supposed to be included or not? I believe though that God is in control of everything, so then each book may be okay for each religion or denomination. I don’t think that this makes one Bible correct and another version not. It is all still controlled by God.

Another aspect that I find interesting is the different translations. There is meaning lost when something is translated over several languages, and even more so when translated into different forms to make it more modern. I like what St. Augustine said, “For what more liberal and more fruitful provision could God have made in regard to the Sacred Scriptures than that the same words might be understood in several senses, all of which are sanctioned by the concurring testimony of other passages equally divine.” Each translation has meaning. It may not be what the original author meant exactly, but then again, how do we know that the original author was correctly interpreting what God was telling him? I just know that the words of the scriptures offer hope and a sense of peace when I need it. If I would need to read it in a more modern script, or even if I could read it in Hebrew, I still think I’d get the same comfort from what I was reading. Even when I read a specific verse multiple times, I can interpret it differently each time. I believe the Bible is something God allowed us to have in order to teach us about God, and it will be helpful in all different situations. The basics of each Bible are the same, and the view of God in each are similar. As long as these principles do not vary, I believe that each Bible has its own purpose and validity.