ot-2011-2012-syl-intro-gen-note by Micah Sewell

Old Testament Introduction

09-10 Edition

Contents Course Syllabus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Bible, the Divine-human Word of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Old Testament Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Inerrancy of the Scriptures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Canonicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The Documentary Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Lower Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Why Not the Apocrapha? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Discussions Concerning Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Discussion of Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Course Syllabus Old Testament Studies Course Description The Old Testament Studies course is designed to familiarize the student with the Old Testament. He will see the principles of the kingdom of God in the context of the way in which God is working in Old Testament history. The student will become acquainted with the chronology of Old Testament history, and with the way in which all Old Testament books fit into that chronology. He will become conversant with basic introductory material (author, date and place of origin, occasion, and purpose) for each book. The course is designed so that the student will learn the content of important sections of the Old Testament, which contain principles for application to life and ministry. He will also be given an overview of the creation-evolution controversy, and of the documentary hypothesis (a humanist theory of the origin of the Pentateuch, as contrasted to Mosaic authorship).

Course Objectives Affective (attitudes): The students should experience: 1. A heightened appreciation for the unity of God's revelation. 2. A marked improvement in his appreciation of the Old Testament. 3. Increased appreciation for the consistency of God's ways in dealing with mankind, both as individuals and as groups. 4. An increased desire to rightly divide God's Word through proper attention to introductory and contextual matters, using the Grammatical, Historical approach of interpretation. 5. An increased desire to teach others, not only Bible content, principles and application, but also the methodology for personal study and investigation to discover and verify the truths revealed by God through the Bible. 6. A greater desire to participate in God's plan of redemption for the world. Cognitive (Knowledge): The student will: 1. Identify the Biblical revelation of the definition and principles and characteristics of the Kingdom of God. 2. Articulate the presuppositional basis and nature of the creation-evolution conflict. 3. Examine the Biblical and scientific evidence supporting creationism. 4. Reproduce the chronological story of the creation of man, the nation of Israel, and the preparation for the establishment of the church. 5. Fit the non-chronological sections of the Old Testament into their chronological context. 6. Identify the contents of each book and know how each fits into the overall historical picture. 7. Consider the evidence for the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch and the literal account of creation in Genesis 1 and 2. 8. Learn the presuppositions, history, and purpose of the Documentary Hypothesis and the conflict it poses to a true Biblical faith. 9. Recognize the ways in which the Old Testament lays the foundation for understanding the New Testament.

Course Syllabus

Conative (Skills): The student will know how to: 1. Make use of study reference materials. 2. Defend the Biblical account of creation. 3. Study and preach from the Old Testament consistently with its historical, chronological, grammatical, and presuppositional context. 4. Accurately interpret the Word of God through daily practice in properly applying principles of interpretation according to the scriptures in their historical, grammatical, and presuppositional context. 5. Search for the meaning, significance, and practical application of a scriptural passage.

Course Requirements 1. 2. 3. 4.

Read and interact with all texts and assigned readings. Complete all daily or weekly assignments. Keep a notebook for all lectures and handouts. Make a notebook for Old Testament Introduction including these 5 divisions for each book: (1) Author-Who was the human author? (2) Date-When was the book written? (3) Place-Where was the book written? (4) Occasion-What was the situation in which the book was written? (5) Purpose-Why was the book written? 5. Complete the inductive study as outlined for the book of Proverbs. 6. Complete all tests/quiz/exams.

Course Evaluation As Defined week by week

Course Bibliography Archer, G., A Survey of O.T. Introduction, Moody Press, 1974. Beitzel, B.J., The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, Moody Press, 1985. Bergman, Jerry, Mankind-The Pinnacle of God's Creation, No. 133, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Bliss, R.B., Origins, Two Models, Creation Life Pub., San Diego, CA, 1982. Bohlin, Ray, Creation Seminar (6 videotapes), Probe Ministries, Dallas, TX 1. Basis of Belief in Creation 2. Origin of the Universe, Origin of Life 3. Origin of Diversity 4. Evolution of Man 5. Canopy Theory (with accompanying handout) 6. Noah's Ark Bullock, C.H., An Introduction to the O.T. Poetic Books, Moody Press, 1979. Chapman, Lonnie Urness, Archaeology and the Biblical Record, Unpublished research paper presented to Twin Oaks SOTB, 1986. Chittick, D.E., The Controversy, Roots of the Creation- Evolution Conflict, Multnomah Press, Portland, OR, 1984. Coleman, W.L., Today's Handout of Bible Times and Customs, Bethany, 1984. Cummings, V., Has Anybody Really Seen Noah's Ark?, Creation-Life Publishers, 1982. Custance, Arthur C., The Doorway Papers, Zondervan, 1975. Dillow, J.C., The Waters Above, Moody Press, 1981. Free, Joseph P., Archaeology and Bible History, Scripture Press, 1950. Freeman, H., An Introduction to the O.T. Prophets, Moody Press, 1971. Gaebelein, Frank E., (General Editor), Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 1-7, Zondervan, 1986. Geisler and Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, Moody, 1986. Gish, D., Evolution, The Fossils Say No. Creation Life Pub.,San Diego, CA, 1984. Gish, D., and Bliss, Richard, Summary of Scientific Evidence for Creation, No. 95, Impact Articles, Inst.of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Goodrich, Edward, Do it Yourself Hebrew and Greek, Multnomah Press, Portland, OR 97266, 1976. Harrison, R.K., Introduction to the O.T., Eerdmans, 1973. Harrison, R.K., O.T. Times, Eerdmans, 1982. Horton, S.M., A Defense on Historical Grounds of the Isaianic Authorship of the Passages in Isaiah Referring to Babylon, Unpublished Dissertation Presented to the Central Baptist Theological Seminary, 1959. Impact Articles, Institute For Creation Research, P. O. Box 2667, El Cajon, CA 92021 Impact Articles (Numbers 48, 49, 81, 94, 95, 99, 103, 107, 111, 128 Videotape Series, Institute for Creation Research, P. O. Box 2667, El Cajon, CA 92021 1. Gish-Doolittle Debate 2. Gish-Aubrey Debate 3. Origins-2 Models 4. What is True Science? 5. Genesis Record Jauncey, J.H., Science Returns to God, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971. Kaiser, W., Towards an Exegetical Theology, Baker, 1981. Kaiser, W., The Use of the O.T. in the N.T., Baker, 1982. Keil and Delitzsch, Old Testament Commentaries, Associated Publishers and Authors, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI 49506. McDonald, M.W., O.T. Chronology, SOTB, 1985.

4 McDowell, Josh, More Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Here's Life Publishers, 1975 Morris, H.M., Scientific Creationism, Creation Life Publishers, 1974. Morris, H.M., The Genesis Record, Creation Life Publishers 1976. Morris, H.M., Scientific Creationism, Creation Life Pub., San Diego, CA, 1981. Morris, H.M., History of Modern Creationism, Master Books, San Diego, CA,1984. Morris, H.M., Circular Reasoning In Evolutionary Geology, No. 48, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Morris, H.M., An Answer for Asimov, No. 99, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Morris, H.M., Bible Believing Scientists of the Past, No. 103, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Morris, H.M., Evolution is Religion, Not Science, No. 107, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, SanDiego, CA. Morris, H.M., The Splendid Faith of the Evolutionist, No. 111, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Morris, H.M., The Paluxy River Mystery, No. 151, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Morris, H.M., and Parker, G., What is Creation Science? Creation Life Pub., San Diego, CA, 1982. Niessen, Richard, Theistic Evolution and the Day-Age Theory, No. 81, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Olson, Gordon C., The Truth Shall Make You Free, Bible Research Fellowship, Inc., 1980. Packer, Tenney, White, The World of the Old Testament, Nelson, 1982. Paluxy River, VHS Videotape, Creation Evidences Museum Parker, Gary, From Evolution to Creation, A Personal Testimony, No. 49, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Pfeiffer, C.F., Vos, H.F., Rea, J., The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 1-2, Moody Press, 1975. Ridenour, F., Who Says God Created..., Regal, Glendale, CA. 1967. Soltan, Henry W., The Tabernacle, Kregel, 1972. Thiele, Edwin R., The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, Zondervan, 1983. Vardiman, Larry, The Sky Has Fallen, No. 128, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Verbrugge, Magnus, Materialism, Animism, and Evolutionism, No. 94, Impact Series, Inst. of Creation Research, San Diego, CA. Virkler, H., Hermeneutics, Principles and Practices of Biblical Interpretation, Baker, 1982. Vos, H., Archaeology in Bible Lands, Moody Press, 1977. Whitcomb, J.C. and Morris, H., The Genesis Flood, Baker,Grand Rapids, MI, 1974. Whitcomb, J.C., The Early Earth, Baker, Grand Rapids, MI,1972. Wilder, Smith, A.E., He Who Thinks Has to Believe, Bethany House, Minn., MN, 1981. Wysong, R.L.,The Creation-Evolution Controversy, Inquiry Press, Midland, MI, 1972

The Bible, the Divine-human Word of God Article by Gordon Olson from The Truth Shall Make You Free, Revival Theology Promotion, (pp. T-II-1-3) When you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God.1Th.2:13 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.2Tim.3:16 No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.2Pt.1:21 The Bible was not given to prove the existence of God, but to reveal profound facts concerning the God. People already know God from their natural observations and experiences that God exists. God has condescended to reveal the origin of all every existence and the calamity of moral rebellion that has taken place. Inner secrets of the Divine Being have been made known in compassionate redemption, in the hopes of winning man back into happy fellowship for which he was created. To bring this revelation, God had to use a long process through receptive individuals and then to bring about the advent and sufferings of His blessed Son. The Bible brings this revelation through the 39 books in what comprises the Old Testament or the Old Covenant. Thirty authors over a period of about 1100 years them. The greatest Old Testament revelation was the giving of the moral law, the Ten Commandments, in the wilderness of Sinai. "Moses went up to God" upon the Mount (Ex. 19:1, 3). "God spoke all these words" (Ex. 20:1), also prescribing a sacrificial system of mercy and worship which the nation Israel was to formally adhere to, although sacrificial offerings had been practiced since the days of Adam and Eve. In addition, God gave to Moses many civil and social laws for the benefit of the nation, Israel. God wanted them to be a model nation to the rest of the world. The New Testament, comprising 27 books written by 8 authors over a period of less than 50 years and covering a period of time of about 100 years, records the greatest series of events in man's history â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the life, teaching and sacrificial atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ for the sin of the world. This was the culmination of man's enlightenment. "Never did a man speak the way this man speaks," the who heard him admitted. "Grace and truth" were brought to light (Jn. 1:17). After His atoning sufferings and resurrection, Jesus then sent His disciples forth with the good news of how God reached kindly down to mankind to extend His unbelievable offer of mercy. (Mt.28:18-20; Mk.16:15-18; Lk.24:46-48; Jn.17:18; 20:21). God gave the Apostle Paul a direct commission (Ga.1:11-12) to be "an apostle of Gentiles" (Ro.11:13). The blessed Gospel would bring results in the lives of all who submit to it (Ro.1:16).

The Two Tablets of Stone Written by the Finger of God "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I (Moses) am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully." (De.5:1). Some think they can break God's moral law

The Bible: the Divine-human Word of God

The people said: "Go near and hear all that the Lord our God says; then speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it" (De. 5:27). The Lord said to Moses: "They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!" (De.5:28-29). Moses wrote: "The Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly"(De.9:10). The Lord Jesus said: "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill them." (Mt.5:17). The Lord Jesus asked a lawyer, who had inquired about eternal life: "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" He answered: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." The Lord Jesus said to him: "You have answered correctly; do this, and But only break themselves you will live" (Lk. 10:26-28). God gave us the Bible in order to impart truth to lost on it mankind, but it was an exceedingly difficult task. No mechanical recording of facts could accomplish God’s goal for the Bible because truth had to be understood and digested. This would impossible except the learner would be willing to keep changing his life as God leads him into an understanding of truth. This involved such tender humility on God’s part to take much time to develop people who he could trust with so wonderful a revelation of intimacy, without that very process leading them to destroy themselves by pridefully exalting themselves. This Divine problem is recorded in the life of the Apostle Paul (2Co.12:7-10). This process of bringing about concepts of truth and making them available to all has been as follows: 1. Concept or Vision of Truth – People who would be totally responsive to the truth had to be given profound experiences of the Divine presence that astonished them with awe and awakened them to the overwhelming realization as to how great and holy God is, and in contrast, how small and deficient they are: Ge.15:1, 5-6; Job 42:5-6; Ex.3:2-6; Is.6:1-5; Mt.6:15-17; 17:1-8; Acts.26:12-16; 1Co.9:1; Re.1:9-18. 2. Revelation or Impartation of Truth – This revelation process was a time consuming process, that lasted thousands of years during which God slowly imparted His truth, His will, and His plans to humble leaders by developing a variety of circumstances and tangible illustrations of spiritual concepts. The most profound impartation was through the incarnation of the Lord Jesus, who lived out the very reality of truth in our circumstances, and made provision for the salvation of the world. "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ" (Jn. 1:17): Ge.12:1,7; Ex.19:3; 24:15-18; Nu.12:6-8; Mt.5 to 7; 7:28-29; Mk.3:13-15; Jn.16.:12-15; Acts 26:16; Ga.1:11-18; Ep.3:3-5; Re.1:1-3, 10-11, 19. 3. Inspiration or Recording of Truth – This is a mysterious Divine-human activity in which historical facts as well as profound revelations of truth were recorded by human authors, who selected their material and their words under the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that facts were inerrantly recorded. This included what evil men said and did as well as wonderful servants of God. Even complaints and vicious attitudes against God are recorded, leaving us to conclude that these often were not

7 God's governmental attitudes. This INSPIRATION has to do with the accuracy of the record. We must decide by study, meditation, and prayer where God has spoken and where man has spoken. Weaknesses and failings of great spiritual leaders are recorded. This adds to the evidence of the Bible’s inspiration. John wrote profound truth from his vocabulary; Luke and Paul from theirs of greater learning; this is the genius of the Holy Spirit's operation: Ex. 4:10-12; 24:3; Le.1:1; 1Sam.3:21; 2Sam.23:2-3; Ps. 19:7-9; 119:11; IS. 1:21 10; Zech.1:3-4; Mt.5:17-18; Mk.12:35-37; Lk.24:25-27, 44 -47; Jn.16:13-15; 1Co.2:9-13; 2Tim.3:16; 1Pe.1:10-12; 2Pe.1:21; Re.1:11, 19. 4. Illumination or Enlightenment of Truth – Jesus declared that the Holy Spirit will guide humble minds to understand revealed and recorded truth: Mt.5:6; Lk.10:21-22; Jn.5:39; 7:17; 14:26; 16:8-11, 13-14; Ro.15:4; 1Co.2:12; Ep.5:17; Col.1:9-10; 1Jn.2:20,27. 5. Concept or Developed Perspective of Truth – As a person prayerfully studies and uses his reason to humbly reflect upon the Bible’s message, the Holy Spirit takes this factual truth and makes it a part of his personality. The Holy Spirit leads him into concepts or perspectives of truth which are not reducible to words. This is the true objective of the whole process of revelation and inspiration: Acts 17:11; 1Tim. 4:13-16; 2Tim.2:15; 1Pe.2:2-3; 2Pe.3:18. 6. Ministry or Propagation of Truth – Through special called-out ministry and by all those reconciled to God: Mk. 3:14-15; Lk. 10:2; Acts 6:3-4; Ep. 4:11-15; 2Tim. 2:1-2; Acts 2:42; 8:4; 1Th. 1:8. The Bible is a loving endeavor from the living God who grieves over a sinful world and reaches out to rescue everyone possible from a world in rebellion. "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Lk. 19:10), "that the world should be saved through Him" (Jn. 3:17). "God our Savior . . . desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1Tim. 2:3-4). God spoke through Isaiah: "Come now, and let us reason together" (Is.1:18). The Lord Jesus put "the light of life" on exhibition (Jn. 8:12). The Bible is God's plain message to the lowly and the simple (Mt. 11:25-26) and was not intended to require great scholarship to arrive at its essential message. The simplest possible interpretation is what God intended every person to understand. God is not seeking to hide truth or involve mankind in great mysteries, but to make the way of life plain and simple. The Apostle Paul's commission was to reach out to people "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light" and be reconciled to God in forgiveness (Acts 26:18). Each sincere follower of Jesus, as he seeks understanding from the Bible, faces the sifting process as he seeks to discern God's mind and message. The anointing of the Holy Spirit has been promised to guide him (1Jn. 2:27), in fulfillment of the Savior's words (Jn. 16:12-15). It is fundamental in Biblical interpretation that the words used in the Bible be interpreted by their usage in various other places in the Bible and not be pressed to extreme or detailed meanings that were not intended. In other words, the Bible must be permitted to be its own interpreter or modifier of meanings. This is particularly true of analogies or figures of speech that God uses to make the text real to our minds and hearts. Jesus used so man wonderful illustrations. Generally these illustrations were meant to convey one main idea. If we ponder all the details of each illustration and attempt to incorporate our findings into the Biblical meaning, we may go beyond what Jesus was focused on and longed to teach us. If we do so with illustrations, we build ideas that will not fit other Scriptures. The greatest possible simplicity must always be our rule of interpretation.

Basic Old Testament Chronology Time Line: Adam to the Flood Adam & Methusaleh overlap for 243 years. Methusaleh and Noah overlap for 500 years. Father begets next in line God Creates Adam / Earth Adam 130, lives to Seth 105, lives to Enosh 90, Lives to Kenan 70, lives to Mahalalel 65, lives to Jared 162, lives to Enoch 65, disappears at Methuselah 187, lived to Lamech 182, lived to Noah 500, flood at age

.150

.300

.450

.600

.750

death / flood 930 130 + 912 130 + 105 905 235 + 90 910 325 + 70 895 395 + 65 962 460 + 162 365 622 + 65 969 687 + 187 777 874 + 182 600 1056 + 600

.900

Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s / Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Age 0 130 = 235 = 325 = 395 = 460 = 622 = 687(Methuselah) = 874 (+56, A.dies) = 1056 = 1656 (Flood)

.1050 .1200 .1350 .1500 .. 1650

Adam ----------------------------------------------------------930 130 ---------- Seth -------------------------------------------- 1042 235 ----------Enosh ----------------------------------------1140 325 ----------Kenan --------------------------------------1235 395 --------------Mahalalel ------------------------------1290 460 --------------------Jared -------------------------------------1422 622 --------Enoch - - 987 687 -Methusaleh -------------------------------------------------1656 874 --------Lamech ----------------------------------1656 1056 -------- Noah ---------------age 600 + 600 more

Flood

Basic Old Testament Chronology

From Noah to Abraham

Basic Old Testament Chronology

Major Dates Time Line Prophets In Judah 1900 1450 1050 1010 970 930 875 835

Abraham Red Sea Crossing Saul David Solomon Rehoboam – Judah Jehosaphat Joash

780 760 740-680

Jeroboam – Israel Ahab & Jezebel Jehoiada Joel Isaiah Micah

722

Hezekiah

705-650 680 650 640-609 630 625-585 608 602 597 587 532

Wcked Manasseh Josah Zephaniah Jeremiah Habakkuk Daniel-Babylon Ezekiel-Babylon

530-430 Ezra Nehemiah Esther Haggai\ Zechariah Malachi

(Israel had 13 kings that all walked “in the sin of Jeroboam)

Assyria destroys Israel Isaiah dies Nahum

Jerusalem Destroyed Cyrus - RETURN

King in Israel

Prophets In Israel

Elijah Elisha Jonah, 2K.14:25 Amos Hosea

Basic Old Testament Chronology

Brief Timeline: Abraham to Malachi To Israel 2000 1450 1050 1010 970 930

Divided

930 874 870 — 800 841 835 792 780 751 750 742 740 — 680 728 725 722 722 B.C. 697 650 640 -609 632 626 — 585 609 608 605 597 597 587-Captivity 538

Abraham Moses leads out of Egypt Saul David Solomon Israel- Northern Kings of Israel Jeroboam Ahab & Jezebel

Israel’s Prophets

To Judah

Judah- Southern Kings of Judah Rehoboam

Elijah & Elisha Jehu

Athaliah Joash Uzziah

about 430

Joel ??

Jonah Jotham Amos Ahaz Hezekiah

Isaiah with Micah

Hosea Israel is no more Destroyed by Assyria Manasseh Nahum Josiah Zephaniah Jeremiah Jehoahaz (3 mo.) Jehoiakim Jehoiachin (3 mo.) Zedekiah Nebuchadnezzar

Habbakuk Daniel to Babylon Ezekiel toBabylon

from Babylon Cyrus’ decree Return to Judah

526 520 516 478 457 450 446 440

Judah’s Prophets

Zerrubbabel Haggai Zachariah Dedication

of New Temple Esther Ezra

1&2Chronicles Nehemiah Ezra writes Ezra & Nehemiah Malachi

Overview of the Prophetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Time Line

!870

!860

!850

!840

!830

!820

!810

!800

!790

!780

!770

! 760

Israel

870---Elijah-----848 !860---------------Elisha-------------------------------- 800 !874 Ahab&Jez 853 !853-852 Ahaziah !852-----841 Jehoram !841------Jehu---------814 !814 Jehoahaz 798 !855 Obadiah !790s Jonah

Judah

!830 Joel

!835---------------Joash-----------------796

!798-Jehoash-782

!670

!660

BC !620 !610 !600 !590 !580 !570 !560 !550 !540 !630 Zephaniah !626----------Jeremiah------------585 !608 Hab 597 !640---Josiah--- 609 609 Johoahaz !608-----597 Jehoiakim !597 Jehoiachin !597----587 Zedekiah Babylon !597-----Ezekiel---------570 !602----------------------Daniel------------------------------------532 !587-Nebuchadnezzar-561 !550------539 Belshazzar !539 Darius

!530

!750

!740

!730

!720

!710

!700

!793------Jeroboam II--------753 !690

!680

Israel 760--Amos--746 ! 750------Hosea---------720 -------Jeroboam II (793-753) !753 Zechariah !753 Shallum !752-742 Menahem !742-740 Pekahiah !752-732 Pekah !732-722 Hoshea

Judah

! 740-----------------Isaiah-----------------------------680 ! 739----------------Micah------------------690 792---Uzziah---739 !751 Jotham 736 !742 Ahab 726 !728---Hezekiah------------697 !697------------------Manasseh----------------------642

!510 !500 !490 !480 !470 !460 BC !520 Haggai !520 Zechariah 475 !478 Esther becomes Queen of Persia !1 & 2 Chron. written !457 Ezra 430 !446 Nehemiah 430 !435 Malachi

!450

!440

!430

!650

! 640

Old Testament Time Line (Expanded) GENESIS: BEGINNINGS Reference Origin of: Gen. 1:1-25 The earth 1:11 Organic life 1:14,15 The solar system 1:20-25 Animal life 1:26-2:25 The human race 3:3-7 Sin in the world 3:8-24 The promise of redemption 4:1-15 Family life 4:2 Animal husbandry 4:3 The sacrificial system 4:16 Music 4:22 Metallurgy 9:6 Civil government 10 & 11 The different nations 11 The different languages 12 The Hebrew race ---------------------------------------------------------------OLD TESTAMENT CHRONOLOGY FROM THE TIME OF ABRAHAM DATE 2200 2166-1991 2091 2080 2067 2066-1886 2029 2026 2006-1850 1915-1805 1876-1446 1792 1730 1559 1539 1514 1527-1406 1501 1486 1447 1446(Apr) 1406-1385 1400-1385 c.1375 1382-1374 1374-1334 1334-1316 1316-1235 1235-1216 1216 1216-1176 1176-1169 1169-1129 1129-1126

PERSON/EVENT SCRIPTURE Mesopotamia ABRAHAM Ge.21:5; 25:7 goes to Canaan Ge.12:4 Birth of Ishmael Ge.16:16 Sodom Destroyed Ge.18:16+ ISAAC Ge.21:5; 35:28 SARAH DIES Ge.23:1; 17:17 Isaac marries Rebekak Ge.25:20 JACOB Ge.47:9; 47:28 JOSEPH Ge.30:22;50:26 ISRAELITES live in Egypt Ex.12:40; 1Ki.6:1 Hammurabi (ruler of ; Hammurabi's codes) Hyksos dynasty in Egypt enslaves Israel Amenhotep I (Pharaoh) Thutmose I (Pharaoh) Thutmose II (Pharaoh) MOSES Ex.2:2; Dt.34:7 Thutmose III, Queen Hatsheput (Pharaoh) Moses flees to Midian Ac.7:23 Amenhotep II (Pharaoh) Israelites cross the Red Sea 1Ki.6:1 Conquest of Canaan Canaan divided among the tribes Jos.14:7-10 Death of Joshua Jos.24:29 Mesopotamian oppression Jd.3:8 Othiel's term of service Jd.3:11 Moabite oppression Jd.3:14 Ehud's career/ and period of rest Jd.3:30 Oppression by Jabin and Sisera Jd.4:3 Barak and Deborah experience victory Jd.4:23-24 Period of rest Jd.5:31 Midianite oppression Jd.6:1 Gideon's victory and career Jd.8:28 Tyranny of Abimelech Jd.9:22

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline

1120 x...

x........

1120

Tola & Jair

1120

1110

Eli

1100 1090 1080 1070 1060 1050 1045 x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x....... x... 1097 1103 1st Philistine Oppression 1063 1103 Ammonites 1085 1085 Jephthah ? 1080 1080, Battle of Shiloh (Ebenezer), 1Sa.4:1 1095 Samson 1075 1??? when Samuel is born 1063 Samuel

1043

THE KINGS OF ISRAEL 1050 1040 c.1024 1010 1010-1003 1003 1002 1001 c.979 970 970-930 966-959 930

Saul becomes king (40 years) David's birth David anointed Battle of Mt.Gilboa (death of Saul) David is King of Judah in Hebron (40 yrs.) David becomes king of Israel Jerusalem captured, made capital Covenant w/ David Absalom rebels David dies Solomon is king (40 yrs.) Temple is built Israel divided into two kingdoms JUDAH ISRAEL 9 3 0 930-913 Rehoboam reigns for 930-910 Jeroboam reigns for 20 929 17 years in Jerusalem years 1Ki.14:6-16/15:29 928 927 926 925 924 923 922 921 920 919 918 917 916 915 914 913 913-910 Abijam, 3 years 912 1Ki.15, 2Chr.13 911 910 910-869 Asa, 41 yrs. 910-909 Nadab, 2 yrs. 909 1Ki.15, 2Chr.14 909-886 Baasha, 24 yrs. 909 1Ki.15,16 907 906 905 904 903 902 901 900 899 898 897 896 895

Ac.13:21, 1Ki.7:15+ 2Sa.5:4; 2Sa.5:3 Ac.13:21 2Sa.5:5 2Sa.7:1+ 1Ki.11:42 (2Sa.7:13/1Ki.820) 2Chr.3:2, 5:3 1Ki.9+ (1Ki.1129/1215) OTHER EVENTS Shishak is pharaoh of Egypt

Zerah, the Ethiopian 1Ki.15 - 16:12

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline 894 893 892 891 890 889 888 887 886 885 884 883 882 881 880 879 878 877 876 875 874 873 872 871 870 869 868 867 866 865 864 863 862 861 860 859 858 857 856 855 854 853 852 851 850 849 848 847 846 845 844 843 842 841 840 839 838 837 836 835 834 833 832 831

886-885 Elah, 2 yrs. Zimri, assassinated after 7 days 885-882 Omri & Tibni, 4 yrs.

Ethbaal is king of Tyre/Sidon

881-874 Omri by himself. He built Samaria.

874-853 Ahab & Jezebel

ELIJAH, Northern kingdom Ben-Hadad II, Syria

872-848 Jehosaphat, 25 yrs. 1Ki.22, 2Chr.17 Battle of Ramoth-gilead 1Ki.22

ELISHA, Northern kingdom 860-800 858-824 Shalmaneser III, Assyria

853-852 Ahaziah, 2 yrs. 852-841 Jehoram, 12 yrs.

Israel & Judah vs Moab 2Ki.3

Hazael, Syria 848-841 Jehoram, co-regent for 2 yrs., sole ruler for six yrs. 2Ki.1,2Chr.21

841-814 Jehu, 28 yrs. 2Ki.9

OBADIAH, Northern kingdom prophesied against Edom "day of the Lord", "remnant" 1Ki.18:16 Battle of Ramoth-gilead, where Ahaziah & Jehoram are killed Athaliah slain in the temple Pygmalion, king of Tyre

Ahaziah, 1 yr. 2Ki.8,2Chr.22 841-835 Athaliah, 6 yrs.

835-796 Joash, 40 yrs.

JOEL, Southern kingdom 840-830, "day of the Lord" is "exceedingly terrible" but deliverance for all who call upon "the name of the Lord" God will "pour out Spirit on all flesh"

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline

830 829 828 827 826 825 824 823 822 821 820 819 818 817 816 815 814 813 812 811 810 809 808 807 806 805 804 803 802 801 800 799 798 797 796-767 Amaziah, 29 yrs., 796 then murdered 2Ki.14, 795 2Chr.25 794 793 792 792-739 Uzziah, 52 yrs. 791 Uzziah ruled along with 790 his father for about 23 789 years, and then at the end 788 of his life, with his son 11 787 yrs. A very good king. 786 785 784 783 782 781 780 779 778 777 776 775 774 773 772 771 770 769 768 767

814-798 Jehoahaz, 17 yrs. 2Ki.13 Adad-Narari III, Assyria, 810-783, forced Israel to pay tribute.

798-782, Jehoash, 16 yrs. 2Ki.13

793-753 Jeroboam II, 41 yrs. A reign of great material prosperity.

Judah invaded: Jerusalem threatened by the Syrian King Ben-Hadad III. Amaziah fights Edom Moab attacks Israel War between Judah & Israel Israel occupies Jerusalem In 791, Amaziah enters the temple in place of the high priest and is stricken with leprosy, banned from Jerusalem, dies in 790. In the 790s, Israel defeats Syria. JONAH, Northern kingdom & in Nineveh. Emphasizes missions, God's grace to Gentiles.

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline

766 AMOS, Northern kingdom 765 760-746 prophecies against Israel, says 764 seek God or else, declares God is 763 Supreme Ruler, "you only have I known 762 of all the families of the earth." 761 Prophesied the fall of Israel. 760 759 758 757 753 753-752 Zechariah, 6 mo. 2Ki.15 HOSEA, Israel, 746-722 752 751-736 Jotham, 16 yrs. A 752 Shallum, 1 mo. 2Ki.15 to both Judah & Israel. Showed God's 751 good king. Uzziah turned 752-742 Menahem,10 yrs. 2Ki.15 love, tenderness, and intense grief; 750 government to him but Menahem killed Shallum, who God's righteousness that directed His 749 Uzziah didn't die till 740. killed Zechariah. Menahem compassion and mercy in wisdom: "Oh 748 Jotham ruled with Ahaz was unspeakably cruel and a Ephraim, how can I give you up? ... My 747 from 742 till 736. puppet king of Assyria. heart is turned over within me; my 746 compassions kindled" 745 744 743 742-726 Ahaz, 16 yrs. Very ISAIAH, Judah, 740-680 742 Prophet to Uzziah, Jotham, Ahab, wicked. Ruled with 742-740 Pekahiah, 2 yrs. Killed by 741 Hezekiah. Declares judgment, comfort, Jotham for 2 yrs. Ruled Pekah. 740 "the Holy One of Israel" "the Branch of with Hezekiah 6 yrs. 740-732, Pekah, Killed by Hoshea 739 Yahweh" "Immanuel" 738 737 MICAH, Judah, 739-690 736 to Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah in Judah. 735 Pronounced God's judgment on idolatry, 734 harlotry, greed, perverting truth, false 733 prophets, occult. God will destroy Israel 732 and work his anger on all "nations that 732-722 Hoshea, 9 yrs. 731 did not obey." Jerusalem also would lay after he murdered Pekah 730 in heaps. But God will regather "in the 2Ki.17. In 727 the Assyrian 729 728-725-697 Hezekiah, A latter days." The Messiah will come king, Tiglath-pileser dies. 728 from Bethelem. Mic.6:8 very good king. Hoshea is intensely patriotic & 727 decides to quit paying tribute 726 to Assyria. King Shalmaneser 727-722 Shalmaneser IV , of Assyria 725 then puts Hoshea in prison and besieges Samaria 724 lays siege on Samaria for 3 723 yrs. 722 Sargon II, king after Shalmaneser, finishes the siege and overthrows Samaria. THIS IS THE END OF ISRAEL. The ten tribes are carried away "because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant."2Ki.18:11 **************************************************************************************** 721 JUDAH Contemporary Events Fearing Assyria, Hezekiah forms a defense alliance with Egypt. 720 721-710 Marodach-baladan, king of Babylon. 719 718 717 716 715 Sargon III of Assyria conquers Marodach-baladan of Babylon 714 713 712 711 710 709 Sennacherib, king of Assyria. 708 Marduk-zakir-shumu becomes king of Babylon for 1 mo., then Merodach (an 707 Elamite) becomes king for 6 mo. 706 In 702 Sennacherib defeats Merodach; Merodach runs for his life. Assyria sets up 705 Bel-ibni as puppet king over Babylon. Sennacherib carries 208,000 off captive. 704 703

18 702 701 700 697 696 695 694 693 692 691 690 689 688 687 686 685 684 683 682 681 680 679 678 677 676 675 674 673 672 671 670 669 668 667 666 665 664 663 662 661 660 659 658 657 656 655 654 653 652 651 650 649 648 647 646 645 644 643 642 641 640 639 638 637

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline In 701 Hezekiah gravely ill; He prays, God gives him 15 yrs. more. His son, Manasseh, then 12 yrs. old, begins to rule with his father. 697-642 Manasseh, 55 yrs. 2Ki.21, 2Chr.33

In 701, Sennacherib comes up against all 46 walled cities of Judah (the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign) and carries away 200,150 captives from Judah, but Hezekiah pays tribute to Sennacherib (2Ki.18), and he by-passes Jerusalem. While at Lachish in southern Judah, he regrets leaving Jerusalem, and sends the rabshakeh (general) back. In the meantime, Hezekiah has been healed, and Isaiah prophecies: "I will deliver you and this city from the hand of Assyria." 2Ki.20. So Hezekiah won't surrender. Isaiah prophecies that Assyria will hear a rumor and depary. Sennacherib hears that Merodachbaladan and Shuzubu have tirred up a Babylonian revolt. Sennacherib leaves suddenly for Babylon. Impressed, other nations surrounding Judah send presents to Hezekiah because he stood up against Assyria & also had experienced miraculous healing. In 700 Shuzubu defeated and Sennacherib makes his oldest son, Assur-nadin-shum, king of Babylon. Merodach-baladan is stirring up trouble, so in 694, Sennacherib hires the Phoenicians to chase Merodach. In the meantime, the Babylonians and Elamites place Shuzubu on Babylon's throne again and carry Assur-nadin-shum off to Elam. 691 Battle of Khalule:: Here the Babylonians, Elamites, & Medes defeat Sennacherib, and Marodach-baladan once again becomes king of Babylon. 689 Sennacherib completely destroys Babylon. Sennacherib then moves against Egypt. First he conquers Arabia. Then starts toward Judah, but hears of Tirhakah's advance (2Ki.19) so sends threatening letter to Hezekiah. Hezekiah prays. Isaiah prophesies. That night the death angel moves through his camp and 185,000 of his arm die. 680 Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, sends fresh colonists to Samaria.

NAHUM (650) prophecies to Manasseh in Judah, pronounced God's certain judgment on all sinners world-wide. Nineveh will fall. Yet God is "slow to anger," "good," "a stronghold in the day of trouble," "God knows those who take refuge in Him," but "a jealous God."

642-640 Amon, 2 yrs. 2Ki.21, 2Chr.33 640-609 Josiah, 31 yrs. 2Ki.22, 2Chr.34

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline 636 635 634 633 632 631 630 629 628 627 Josiah began his reforms 626 625 624 623 622 621 Book of the law found in 620 the temple wall, 619 begins Josiah's Great 618 Reformation 2Ki.22 617 616 615 614 613 612 611 610 609 608 607 609 Jehoahaz, 3 mo. 608-597 Jehoiakim, 11 yrs. A very wicked 606 king. Destroyed the 605 scroll that Jeremiah gave him. 2Ki.23 606 Judah is subdued by 602 Babylon. Daniel & 601 others taken to 600 Babylon 599 598 597 597 Jehoiachin, 3 mo. 596 later, Ezekiel & others 595 taken to Babylon 594 597-587 Zedekiah, 11 yrs. 593 592 Zedekiah visits Babylon. 589 Zedekiah rebels against 588 Babylon

ZEPHANIAH (630) to Josiah in Judah. Certain word of coming judgment. Emphasized universality of judgment. Humility and poverty of spirit is essential. God's emotions: Zeph.3:17. JEREMIAH (626-585) to Judah. "The word of the Lord," "Thus says the Lord," and similar phrases occur 157 times in Jeremiah out of their 249 times in the Bible. "Yahweh, our Righteousness" will bring "the new covenant." 626 Scythian Invasion, huge swarms of barbarians from the north struck terror , dealt a terrific blow to the tottering Assyrian power, people massacred or enslaved, crops and cattle destroyed, villages burned. Assyria is greatly weakened by the invasion, and in 625, Babylonia declares its independence.

609 Josiah killed at Battle of Megiddo. Egypt invades Assyria, but Judah & Assyria had an alliance. Egypt wins the Battle at Megiddo where King Josiah is killed in battle. 607 Babylonia completely destroys Nineveh and the Assyrian empire is no more. HABAKKUK (608-597) rebuked Judah's sin and pronounced judgment on Babylonia for her haughty & excessive abuse on Judah. Demanded faith = unwavering commitment to God's word. 605 Battle of Carchemish Egypt is defeated by Babylon and Jerusalem is captured by Nebuchadnezzar.

597 Second conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The temple plundered.

EZEKIEL (592-570) prophecies 1st in Judah, then Babylon Ezk.16:60; 1:4-28; 8:2-4; 11:16-20 declares there must be a complete change of the inner man: "new spirit" "one heart" "heart of flesh" Ezk.18:1-4,31-32; 34:23-24; "for the sake of His Holy Name"

587 Nebuchadnezzar invades Jerusalem. JERUSALEM burned to the ground. King Zedekiah's sons killed in front of him, then his eyes gouged out, and led away in chains to Babylon. Most of the Jews are carried away to Babylon. Jr.25:8-11; 2Chr.36:12; 25:8 585 585-573, Nebuchadnezzar's 13 yr. siege of Tyre (Ezk.26) 584 DANIEL (602-532) in Babylon. The 'stone' will deal with all the kingdoms of the earth, including Babylonia, Media & Persia, Alexander the Great, Rome. The human mediator comes from the Most High. 583 582 Nebuchadnezzar plunders Moab, Ammon, Edom, & Lebanon. 581 581-575 God deals with Nebuchadnezzar's pride by giving him insanity. 567 Nebuchadnezzar invades and plunders Egypt. 561 Nebuchadnezzar dies.

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline

558 558-529 Cyrus, the Great begins his rule in Persia. 555 555-539 Nabonidus rules over Babylonia. 550 550-539 Belshazzar is viceroy. 550 Cyrus conquers the Medes. 547 Cyrus conquers the Lydian Empire. 539 Darius the Mede becomes a viceroy in Babylonia Cyrus conquers Babylon. 538 Cyrus assumes the crown of Babylon2Chr.36, made Persia a world empire, issued a decree to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (Is.45,46) 537 Foundations of temple laid in Jerusalem Ezra 1 536 536 Zerrubbabel goes to Jerusalem with 42,360 Jews, 7,337 servants, 200 singers, 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, 6,720 donkies, and 5,400 gold & silver vessels. In 535 they began to rebuild the temple and then stopped. 530 Daniel dies 529 529-523 Reign of Cambyses. He is thought to bave been Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra 4:7,11,23 522 522-485 Reign of Darius the Great (Darius I), authorized the completion of the temple. 521 520 HAGGAI Ezra 5:1. Work on the temple begins again after Haggai challenged the Jews to obey God and go to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. "I will shake all nations so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor..." ZECHARIAH (520-475) Jerusalem is to experience rebuilding, enlargement, exaltation. The "Servant-Branch," the "Stone" himself will come, the King of Humility and Righteousness, the Smitten Shepherd, bringing a final day of Victory 516 Jerusalem's new temple is dedicated. (Ezra 6:14; Jr.29:10) 500 500-493 The Ionian Revolt 490 The Battle of Marathon 485 485-464 The reign of Xerxes (Ahashuerus), married Esther, Mordecai became his prime minister. Xerxes is famous because of his wars with Greece. 478 Esther becomes Queen of Persia. 474 The book of Esther 464 464-424 Reign of Artaxerxes I (Longimanus), Granted permission to Nehemiah, his cup-bearer to go to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls. 457 Ezra goes to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:8) with 1754 males, 100 talents of gold, 750 talents of siver. The journey took 4 mo. 450 The books of 1 & 2 CHRONICLES written to the Jews as the people of promise, to give the vision of a reunited Israel. Uses the phrase,"All Israel" 41 times, and "all the house of Israel." "all the tribes of Israel." The books emphasize life in the promise and the kingdom of the promise. "All Israel" were urged to walk with their "whole heart" according to all that God had commanded in the law of Moses. 446 Nehemiah serves his 1st term as governor Neh.2:11. He went to Jerusalem with an army escort to rebuild and fortify Jerusalem, at government expense. He rebuilds the walls. 445 The final restoration of Jerusalem begins Neh.2:12 444 443 442 441 440 Ezra writes Ezra & Nehemiah 439 Between 450 and 400 the book of Esther is written. It emphasizes God's providential care of Israel and his superintendence of history. 437 436

Expanded Details of the Prophets & Kings Timeline

435 MALACHI answers the accusation: "Where is the God of justice?" Prophesied the coming of John the Baptist. God would turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and children to their fathers. Prophesies against the sickly animal sacrifices, intermarrying with heathen neighbors, against robbing God by not tithing. 434 433 433-430 Nehemiah's 2nd term as governor Neh.13:6 432 431 430

Chronological Arrangement of the Old Testament books Prior to 1446 B.C. CREATION - THE PATRIARCHS - TO EGYPT (until 1446 B.C.) GENESIS Origins JOB Is there Genuine Love or does Job only serve God because of what God will do for him? 1446 – 1406 B.C. FROM EGYPT - THE WILDERNESS 1446-1406 B.C. EXODUS Israel becomes a Covenant Nation LEVITICUS Levitical Priests' Duties NUMBERS Israel under God's training in the Wilderness DEUTERONOMY Restatement and Summary of the Law 1406 – 1050 B.C. IN THE PROMISED LAND 1406-1050 B.C. JOSHUA The power of God overcomes all His enemies JUDGES Israel's failure as a Theocracy 1050 – 587 B.C. THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS 1050-587 B.C. RUTH Becoming an Israelite citizen - Kinsman-redeemer 1 SAMUEL The founding of the Hebrew Monarchy 2 SAMUEL David's Reign 1 KINGS The Monarchy Continues - The Kingdom Splits 2 KINGS The Divided Kingdoms of Israel Decline and Fall 1 CHRONICLES Summary of Israel's History - Adam to David 2 CHRONICLES Summary of Judah's History - Solomon to Exile ECCLESIASTES World View without God is Worthless - Solomon SONG OF SOL. God given Love between Man/Woman & Christ/Church ISAIAH Salvation by Grace - the Evangelistic Prophet JOEL Warning of Divine Judgment upon Judah OBADIAH The Judgment of God to come upon Edom MICAH The Product of Salvation- Social Reform/Holiness NAHUM A Holy God Avenges His People HABAKKUK How can a Just God permit Wickedness to Triumph? ZEPHANIAH God is Still in Control of the World 930 – 722 B.C. PROPHETS OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 930-722 B.C. HOSEA Plea for the Northern Kingdom to Repent AMOS Jehovah's Faithfulness to His Covenant and Law JONAH God's Mercy Extends to Heathen Nations 587 – 536 B.C. THE BABYLONIAN EXILE OF JUDAH 587-536 B.C. JEREMIAH Warning to Judah - Repent or be taken Captive LAMENTATIONS A lament over the Woes of a Fallen Judah EZEKIEL Judgment is Necessary to Correct Disobedience DANIEL Overruling Power of God who Delivers IN Trials 536 – 424 B.C. THE REMNANT RETURNS - OTHERS LIVE IN CAPTIVITY 536-424 B.C. EZRA Reconstruction Hebrew Theocracy and the Temple NEHEMIAH Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem ESTHER God delivers His people (in Medo-Persia) HAGGAI Put God First and Enjoy Blessings and Prosperity ZECHARIAH God will Preserve His Remnant from the World MALACHI Holiness is a Requirement for Economic Welfare 1405 – 500 B.C. MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS 1405-500 B.C. PSALMS Praise songs etc. - Time of Moses to end of O.T. PROVERBS Instruction in the Principles of Wisdom

Modern Day Middle East

Modern day Israel

The Exodus

The days of Solomon

930 B.C. Israel is divided into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah.)

Important Historical Background http://www.israelelect.com/reference/CliftonAEmahiser/letters/WTL-028.pdf

WATCHMAN’S TEACHING LETTER Monthly Letter #28; August, 2000 By: Teacher Clifton A. Emahiser 1012 N. Vine Street, Fostoria, Ohio 44830; Ph. (419)-435-2836 ISRAEL COVENANT TWO SEEDLINE RACIAL IDENTITY AN ANGLO-ISAAC-SON CAUCASIAN CULTURE AWARENESS TEACHING LETTER A MONTHLY TEACHING LETTER This is my twenty-eighth monthly teaching letter and continues my third year of publication. With my last teaching letter, I covered more material concerning the Phoenicians. I introduced the subject of the old “ Princes’ Wal l ” in Egypt and the Egyptian story of Sinuhe. I continued with the 400 year blackout of the History of Israel in Egypt, and that there is only one known Egyptian written record of Israel ever being in there. I really need to go back and make some comments concerning lesson #27. Willis Mason West, in his book Early Progress, pages 55-57 makes the statement: “ Long before 1000 B.C., they (the Phoenicians) had far outrun Egypt and Babylon in trade.” This comment may be misleading. When we consider it was the descendants of Shem who originally occupied the Indus Valley, moved on to Egypt and setup a thriving civilization there. From Egypt, these Shemites moved on to the area known as Phoenicia. West’s statement may be correct in a sense, but more clarification is needed. West also comments about the Phoenicians: “ Sometimes the boatmen used also a square sail, but only to run before the wind. (It was many hundreds of years before sailors learned to ‘ tack. ’)” I checked out the art of sailing in my World Book Encyclopedia, and I found that every maneuver in sailing could be managed with a single sail. There is no way anyone could row a boat for hundreds of miles by rowing only with oars. I can see where oars were necessary at particular times, but not for the long sailing runs. Some of the ships in those days were 150 feet long. Not only did the sailors in ancient times use the wind, but they also used the water currents to assist in their progress on the way to their destinations. I am pointing this out because I want you to know I am not 100% in agreement with all of my quoting from various reference materials. At the same time, I try to use the best references I can find. Also the assertion in West’s article implying that the Phoenicians “ spread civilization that others had created ” comes from not understanding who they were. As West speaks of the Phoenicians using “ cuneiform script ” in 1600 B.C. and advancing to a true alphabet by 1100 B.C., he is saying a great deal, but 1100 B.C. is a bit late. Did Moses and the Judges (before 1100 B.C.) write in cuneiform? I don’t think so! Hecataeus interviewed his Canaanite “ Phoenicians ” about 610 B.C. Herodotus was there about 455 B.C. All of these accounts, including John Clark Ridpath’s article on the Phoenicians, are all late. Surely there were at least some Israelites in Tyre still in Herodotus’ time, but would they have understood who they were, over 200 years after the deportations? Aside from these people, the Assyrians had imported about 18 different races (depending on how you count them) into “ Phoenicia ” and neighboring Samaria, some of them surely being from regions near the Persian Gulf. In the last lesson, I also mentioned the discrepancies in the chronologies of the Bible and history. Adam Rutherford, in his four volume work, Pyramidology, volume 3, page 702 makes the following remark concerning chronology (it is a side note attached to a chart of dates from Adam until the Exodus): “ NOTE ON PATRIARCHAL PERIODS. A careful examination of the most ancient manuscripts and versions of Genesis reveals the unreliability of the Massoretic system of chronology, in regard to the earliest times. Archaeological research has also proved that the Massoretic figures (as appearing in the A.V.) are completely untenable prior to the time of Abraham. In this Table, the chronology of the period from Adam to Abraham is based on the Septuagint system, which for the epoch subsequent to the Flood, is confirmed by the Samaritan Hebrew text and in agreement with archaeology.” THE DEMISE OF EDOM

28 You are probably wondering what my last few letters have to do with Edom. I am trying to establish the background history during Esau’s lifetime to ascertain what things were like during his age. I am sure we’l l find things were entirely different than we ever imagined when we finally get to his story. A PLACE CALLED “ MARI ” One of the places we should take into consideration is a place called “Mari.” I will quote from The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 1964ã edition, in the “ Archaeological Supplement ”, page 345, item 4393 (readings of later editions vary slightly): “Mari was an important ancient city on the Middle Euphrates which is now known as Tell Hariri. The location is strategic in that it is the halfway city between Carchemish and Babylon. “ Professor Andre Parrot began excavation on the 300-acre mound in 1933, and during his many campaigns uncovered a wealth of material which depicts life as it was lived in Patriarchal times. He uncovered the royal palace of Zimri-lim, King of Mari, which covered seven acres, and contained more than 250 rooms and courts, in addition to the great audience room, administrative offices, and quarters for visiting officials from other lands. Two of the rooms were school rooms where youngsters were taught reading, writing and arithmetic in order to train them for life, and especially to become future ‘ scribes.’ In the center of the palace was the king’s private chapel, which had three open courts, the innermost of which was 75 feet long, with walls 30 feet high. In this chapel was the statue of Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. Water flowed through the statue and out of a vase which she held in her hand. This was the same goddess whom the Hebrews called ‘ Ashtaroth ’, ‘ the goddess of the Sidonians ’ (1 Kings 11:33). “ In the royal archives of the King’s palace the excavators discovered more than 20,000 tablets. Some 5000 of these were letters to the king from district officers of the state of Mari. Others were diplomatic letters from princes and rulers throughout Mesopotamia and Syria. There were letters from Hammurabi, King of Babylon, to whom Mari fell during the 32nd year of Zimri-lim’s reign. In the district officials’ letters frequent reference was made to the cities of Harran, Nahor, Serug, Peleg, and the ‘mound of Terah ’ — places mentioned in the Old Testament. The personal names of Reu, Terah, Nahor, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Benjamin, and David are so common in these letters that Dr. Albright has said: “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob no longer seem isolated figures, much less reflections of later Israelite history; they now appear as true children of their age, bearing the same names, moving about over the same territory, visiting the same towns (especially Harran and Nahor), practicing the same customs as their contemporaries ’.” (emphasis mine) THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS FIND Unger’s Bible Dictionary expresses the importance of this find on page 695: “ The Mari Letters have helped to date Hammurabi (c. 1728-1626 B.C.), thus settling a very difficult point in Biblical chronology. In fact, the Mari documents have been a major discovery and have completely revised current knowledge of history, linguistics and historical background at a period around 1700 B.C.” MARI’S GENERAL HISTORY From The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 4, page 74, we read the following: “ History. The earliest known example of a king claiming to have conquered Mari is Eannatum of Lagash (c. 2500 B.C.). Around 2350 B.C. Sargon the Great of Akkad made the same claim. During the 3rd dynasty of Ur (c. 2113-2006 B.C.) Mari was ruled by governors (sakkanakku) of the kings of Ur. But c. 2017 Ishbi-Erra, who hailed from Mari and was an official of the Ibbi-Sin, king of Ur (c. 2029-2006), seized control of the city of Isin, when it was cut off from Ur by rampaging Amorites. When Ur fell in 2006 B.C. Ishbi-Erra of Isin and Naplanum of Larsa became the leading powers in Babylon. YakhdunLim, king of Khana (c. 1830-1800), conquered the city of Mari and incorporated it in his realm. But not long thereafter he was defeated by King Shamshi- Adad I of Assyria (c. 1814-1782). In c. 1800 B.C. Yakhdun-Lim lost his life in a palace revolution perhaps instigated by Shamshi-Adad, and his son Zimri-Lim fled to Syria. Four years later Shamshi-Adad installed his son Yasmakh-Adad as vice-king of Mari ©. 17961780). When Shamshi-Adad died (1782), Zimri-Lim secured the assistance of Ibal-pi-El II of Eshnunna (c. 1790-1761) and the king of Aleppo to drive Yasmakh-Adad from the throne of Mari. After an independent rule of nineteen years (c. 1779-1761), Zimri-Lim was reduced to the status

29 of a vassal king or governor of the city, when Hammurabi of Babylon conquered Mari in 1761 B.C. As a vassal of Hammurabi Zimri- Lim continued to rule Mari until the Kassites destroyed the city in 1742 B.C.” As you have probably noticed, many of these names are probably new and strange to you. With the next reference the mention of the Kassites will be used helping to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together. I will now quote from Archaeology And The Bible by George A. Barton, pages 109-110: “ The Canaanites. — Between 1800 and 1750 B.C. a migration occurred which greatly disrupted all western Asia. There moved into Babylonia from the east a people called Kassites. They conquered Babylonia and established a dynasty which reigned for 576 years. Coincident with this movement into Babylonia there was a migration across the whole of Asia to the westward, which caused an invasion of Egypt and the establishment of the Hyksos dynasties there. As pointed out previously, it is possible that this movement, in so far as the leadership of the invasion of Egypt was concerned, was Hittite. In any event, however, many Semites were involved in it, as the Semitic names in the Egyptian Delta at this time prove. It is customary to assume that it was in connection with this migration that the Canaanites came into Palestine. This cannot, in the present state of our knowledge, be clearly proved, but such evidence as we have points in this direction. There began at this time a new period of culture at Gezer, which is quite distinguishable from that which had preceded. This indicates the coming of new influences. Moreover, there was apparently an augmentation of the population of Palestine at this time. New cities were formed at Tell el-Hesy and Tell es-Safi, and elsewhere. We thus feel sure that there was an increase of population and, when next our written sources reveal to us the location of the nations, the Canaanites were dwelling in Phoenicia. The Egyptian scribes of a later time called the entire western part of Syria and Palestine ‘The Canaan.’ Probably, therefore, the Canaanites settled along the sea coast. We, therefore, infer that they came into this region at this time. With the coming of an increased population, the Amorites appear to have been in part subjugated and absorbed, and in part forced into narrower limits. A powerful group of them maintained their integrity in the region afterward occupied by the tribe of Asher and in the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains, where they afterward formed a kingdom. Another group of them survived to the east of the Jordan, where they maintained a kingdom until overthrown by the Hebrews.” This all seems to fit the Bible account quite well. Not only did all these peoples migrate into Palestine, but Egypt made inroads there also. For this story, I will quote again Archaeology And The Bible by George A. Barton, pages 108-109: “ Egyptians also came to Palestine during this period. The tale of Sinuhe relates the adventures of a man who fled to Palestine in the year 1970 B.C., and who reached the land of Kedem, or the East, which apparently lay to the east of the Jordan. It is referred to several times in the Old Testament. (See Gen. 29:1; Judges 6:3, 33; 7:12; 8:10; Job 1:3, etc.) Sinuhe there entered the service of an Amorite chieftain, Ammienshi, married his eldest daughter, became ruler of a portion of his land, and lived there for many years. He finally returned to Egypt and wrote an account of his adventures. The region was also called by Sinuhe and other Egyptians Upper Retenu, a name which they also applied to all the higher parts of Syria and Palestine, Retenu is philologically equivalent to Lotan (Gen. 36:20, 22, 29; 1 Chron. 1:38, 39) and Lot (Gen. 11:27; 12:4, etc.). When Sinuhe arrived in Kedem he found other Egyptians already there. Ammienshi was well acquainted with Egyptians. There was apparently considerable trade with Egypt at this time. Men from Palestine often went there for this purpose. Such traders are pictured on an Egyptian tomb of this period. Trade with Egypt is also shown to have existed by the discovery of Egyptian scarabs of the time of the Middle Kingdom in the excavations of Gezer, Jericho, Taanach, and Megiddo.” MORE ON THE “ PRINCES’ WALL ” Since my last lesson, (#27 for July, 2000), I have more conformation about the “ Princes’ Wall ” in Egypt. If you don’t understand about this wall, you will have to refer to that lesson. It seems that it amounted to a series of fortresses situated in about the same area as the Suez Canal is located today. You can find this additional information in the National Geographic magazine for December 1982 entitled “ Lost Outpost of the Egyptian Empire ”, by Trude Dothan, pages 739-763, 768-769. Although this article gives supporting evidence to the report given by Werner Keller in his book The Bible As History, both accounts do not coincide in all details. It would be well for you to compare the two stories for there are some differences in the two accounts. Because of this, the following will be a critical review of Trude Dothan’s article in the issue of National Geographic just referred

30 to here. In my own mind, I have no doubt that both articles are referring to the same thing. Part of the introduction to this National Geographic article reads: “ Artifacts from the late Bronze Age outpost attest to the part it played on the highroad to Egypt. In that era, called ‘the first international age ’, new contacts blossomed between the Nile and the world beyond. The Egyptian presence on the coast in Moses’ time may explain the route of the Exodus through the Sinai desert.” I will continue now with short excerpts from the main article: “ Eventually we were to uncover not only a cemetery full of archaeological treasures, but also a hidden city, a fortress, and a reservoir — all more than 3,000 years old. And we were to find a clue to a biblical mystery concerning the Exodus: Why, in their flight from Egypt, did Moses take the children of Israel inland to the wilderness instead of pursuing a far easier path along the coast?” A map of Egypt on page 742 has the following comments: “Known to Egyptians as the Ways of Horus, the coastal artery from the Nile Delta to Canaan was called ‘the way of the land of the Philistines ’ in the Bible. Six fortresses along the route have been identified ” … “ THE EXODUS. Israelites’ 13th century B.C. flight from Egypt may have been through southern Sinai to avoid Egyptian coastal strongholds.” Continuing with excerpts starting with page 760: “ The fortress, constructed partially above the ruins of the palace, was of even more massive construction. Its walls, more than two meters thick, apparently supported two stories. Corner bastions indicated that this fortress, too, was built in the royal Egyptian style, and in a manner strikingly like fortresses shown on the relief recorded by Pharaoh Seti I on the walls of the Amon Temple at Karnak, far up the Nile. “ This relief, from about 1300 B.C., depicts the ancient route from Egypt to Canaan, a well-traveled road known to the Egyptians as the Ways of Horus. There is more than simply a resemblance between our fortress and the details of the map — the relief provides an almost exact blueprint of the kind of structure we were uncovering … “My chief assistant and stratigrapher, archaeologist and Egyptologist Baruch Brandl, had never been satisfied with the geologists’ explanation that the huge depression was a natural feature caused by erosion. Baruch felt that its outlines were too regular — there had to be something more to it than that. Finally we recognized the most important clue. Most of the fortresses depicted on Seti’s Karnak relief are connected with large water reservoirs of varying shapes. “ The crater at Deir-el-Balah, we now realize, was actually a reservoir, about 20 by 20 meters, with very steep sides. Thus our ground plan of the fortress and its adjacent pool fit exactly the depiction of Seti’s relief … As the central feature of a roadside fortress, it served many uses besides providing drinking water. A large volume of water would have been needed to prepare potter’s clay … “ Two of the fortresses shown along the Ways of Horus are designed at towns ‘which His Majesty built newly.’ Considering the close connections between Egypt and Canaan during the XIX Dynasty, it is possible that our fortress, with the thick walls and corner towers, was built during the reign of Seti I, who ruled New Kingdom Egypt and its empire in Canaan from about 1318 to 1304 B.C. “On the basis of the pottery found in the fortress, we believe that it flourished during the reign of Seti’s son, Ramses II (about 1304-1237 B.C.), to whose reign we date the anthropoid burials as well … The Ways of Horus holds much interest for scholars.” The article goes on to quote Exodus 13:17 and explains why it was expedient for Moses to take the way of Sinai rather than the “Ways of Horus.” Now quoting again from page 763: “ But our excavations at Deir el-Balah revealed the wisdom of this choice for by escaping into the desert, the Israelites avoided the powerful fortresses of the very pharaoh from whom they had fled … The period in which they lived was one of intensive international trade and of great ethnic changes and political upheaval. It was the time of the last flowering of the Egyptian New Kingdom before its decline to the point where the Bible scorned it as a ‘bruised reed ’ (II Kings 18:21).”

31 AN IMPORTANT FIND AT NUZI As we are looking for evidence which surrounds the story of Esau-Edom, we need to take into account an important archaeological find at Nuzi. For this information, I will quote from The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 1964ã edition, “ Archaeological Supplement ”, page 351, item 4401. Before making this quote, I would like to point out there is evidently a very mistaken conclusion at one point on the part of the writer: “Nuzi. (Yorghan Tepe), a mound 150 air miles north of Baghdad, was excavated in 1925-31 by a joint expedition of the American School of Oriental Research in Baghdad, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Dr. Edward Chiera was the director. The soundings reached virgin soil, yet the level of occupation uncovered was the 15th to 14th centuries B.C. when the city was populated by the Hurrians, who were the long-lost Horites of the Old Testament. “ From the palace and from private villas or wealthy homes they recovered about 20,000 [pieces of broken] clay tablets which were written by Hurrian(?) scribes in the Babylonian cuneiform language, but with the occasional employment of native Hurrian or Horite words. The tablets consisted largely of commercial accounts, contracts, reports, and judicial decisions which revealed the way of life for some leading families for four or five generations. The parallels between the customs and social conditions of these peoples and the patriarchal narratives in Genesis were not only remarkable, but have proved to be one of the external factors supporting the historicity of this section of the Bible. “ The patriarchs came from this general section of the country, and had lived at Haran (which was predominantly Hurrian or Horite). They had maintained contact here for generations afterward, and in the absence of laws and customs of their own (for there was, as yet, no Old Testament written), they followed those to which they had been accustomed. Notice some of the parallels: (1) Exchange of Property: All transactions involving the transfer of property were recorded, witnessed, sealed, and proclaimed at the city gate (Gen. 23:10-18). (2) Marriage Contracts included a statement that a handmaid could be presented to the new bride, as was the case with Leah and Rachel (Gen. 29:24, 29), and contained a provision obliging a childless wife to provide her husband with a handmaid who would bear children, as Sara gave Hagar to Abraham (Gen. 16:3), and Rachel gave Bilah to Jacob (Gen. 30:3-6). (3) Adoption was practiced at Nuzi when a childless couple would adopt a son who would care for them while they lived, bury them when they died, and be heir to their estate. It was specified that if they ever had a son of their own, then the adopted son took second place. This seems to explain Abraham’s adoption of Eliezer as his heir before the birth of Isaac, and the subsequent change when the Lord (Yahweh) promised that a son of his own would be born to become his heir (Gen. 15:2-4). (4) Birthright.. In Nuzi there was found a contract where one brother gave his brother ‘three sheep in exchange for his inheritance share ’ in a plantation. All of which sounds like Jacob’s gift to Esau of ‘bread and a mess of lentils ’ (Gen. 25:30-34). Also, in Nuzi the ‘blessing ’ of a dying father in bequeathing property to a son was honored in court where there was a witness to corroborate the words of the father (Gen. 27:30-33; 49:8-28). (5) Inheritance. In Nuzi there was a law that implied that property and leadership of the family could pass to a daughter’s husband, providing the father had handed over his household gods to his son-in-law. Thus it was, when Laban overtook Jacob and anxiously searched his camp for the household idols, he could not find them for ‘Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them’ (Gen. 31:30-35).” As I said before, as I started this quotation above, I believe the writer is mistaken when implying that Abraham and his family adopted the customs of the Hurrians. If anything, it was the other way around. I believe it is also a mistake to conclude that no part of the Old Testament had yet been written at Abraham’s time, for Jude 14 mentions the words of Enoch written in the Book of Enoch, (Enoch chapter 2). This also gives us an idea of the people (Hurrians) that lived in the area among the descendants of Shem.

32 MORE INFO CONCERNING PATRIARCHS FOUND AT NUZI For this information, I will quote excerpts from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 4, pages 470-471: “ The importance of written documents. There was a time when it was widely held that the Pentateuch could not have been written by Moses because it was thought that at that time writing had not been invented. While there is now abundant evidence to the contrary from various sources, it is of particular interest to note that at Nuzi at this early time written documents were extremely important and a great many of them were produced. “Adoption. Dozens of adoption tablets have been found at Nuzi. Israelite law, so detailed on many subjects, contains no regulations for adoption, and the history of the Hebrews in Palestine after the Conquest, as recorded in the Old Testament contains no evidence of such a practice. But, at Nuzi, it was customary, if a man had no children, to adopt someone to carry on his name and inherit his property. This seems to be reflected in the statement of Abraham, before Isaac was born, that unless the Lord (Yahweh) should give him a child, Eliezer of Damascus would be his heir (Gen. 15:2). “ Teraphim, or household gods. The incident of the Teraphim (Genesis 31:17- 35) was extremely puzzling before the discovery of the Nuzi documents. When Jacob determined to leave his uncle Laban, Rachel stole Laban’s teraphim or household gods. Returning to his home, Laban was greatly excited, not simply because his daughters and his son-in-law had left without notice, nor because of the great amount of property that they had taken with them, which Jacob had amassed during his sojourn in Haran but primarily because of the loss of the household gods. “ Jacob with his great number of flocks and herds, must have had a sizable number of shepherds, and it would have required a considerable force to overcome the resistance that he could offer. Laban pursued Jacob three days, taking with him a sufficient number of supporters to cause Jacob to be terrified at his approach. Thus the pursuit of Jacob was a very expensive proposition for Laban. In the Middle Ages students wondered why Laban would have gone to so much expense and trouble on account of these household gods. It was suggested that the teraphim might have been made of gold. Even if this were the case their intrinsic value would hardly have been enough to pay for Laban’s expedition, since they were very small. This was evident from the fact that Rachel was able to hide them in the saddle-basket on which she was sitting in her tent. Though her father searched the tent most thoroughly, he never suspected their presence. “ The mystery became still greater when it was noticed that Jacob was utterly shocked at the idea that he might have stolen the teraphim. When Laban was unable to find them, Jacob bitterly rebuked him for his suspicion (Gen. 31:36-42). “ Previous to the discovery of the Nuzi documents, the whole situation was obscure, and it would have been equally so at the time of the Israelite kingdom when, according to the critics, the story would have been composed. The tablets from Nuzi show that according to Hurrian(?) custom at that early time, if a man desire to appoint a son-in-law as his principal heir he would turn over to him his household gods. After the man’s death, appearance in court with the household gods would be accepted as proof of such a disposition. Rachel was trying to secure all of Laban’s property for her husband, and Jacob was rightfully indignant at being accused of attempting such an underhanded trick. The whole incident becomes understandable in the light of these facts, and it becomes clear why Laban, still suspicious, desired that a boundary stone be put up at Mizpah and that Jacob should swear that he would not pass over this boundary in order to do him harm (Gen. 31:44-53, esp. v. 52). The Nuzi tablets make it clear that a great part of Laban’s reason for this was his desire that at his death, the remainder of his property should go to his own sons and not be taken away from them by Jacob. It is good to note that later Jacob demanded that any strange gods in the hands of his people be buried (Gen. 35:2-4), and that at no time did Jacob try to make false use of these teraphim. “ Sisterhood. To the modern reader it seems strange that Abraham should have said that Sarah was his sister instead of stating what to Pharaoh was the more important fact; that she was his wife (Gen. 12:11-20). It is still stranger that he should have repeated this act in the land of Abimelech (Gen. 20:1-18), and perhaps even more so that Isaac should later have followed his example (Gen. 26:6-16). It has been suggested that light may be thrown on these perplexing incidents by the

33 discovery at Nuzi, as evidenced by many legal contracts, that a position called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sisterhood â&#x20AC;&#x2122; was there considered to be of even more importance than that of a wife, and that a wife was sometimes elevated by a special act to this superior position. In view of the evidence that this was the custom in the area in which Abraham had spent many years [rather, the custom of the Hebrews themselves], it is not impossible that Abraham and Isaac may have felt that they were giving their wives a more important and secure position by calling them sisters. Since such a custom was evidently unknown to Pharaoh or to Abimelech an unfortunate situation resulted. Yet, although Pharaoh and Abimelech accused the patriarchs of misrepresentation, there is no evidence in the Scripture of Abraham and Isaac having felt guilty or of God (Yahweh) having condemned them for their words. God (Yahweh) punished Pharaoh and Abimelech for what they had done, but, as far as we know, He did not rebuke Abraham. Therefore it is not impossible that it was a case of misunderstanding rather than of misrepresentation. The incident is quite understandable from this viewpoint in the light of the Nuzi documents ...â&#x20AC;?

THE SIGNATURE OF GOD – Astonishing Biblical Discoveries by Grant R. Jeffrey CHAPTER SEVEN – Advanced Medical Knowledge in the Bible Keep in mind as you read this chapter that man’s medical knowledge was virtually abysmal until the beginning of the twentieth century. Even the existence of germs was unknown until the around A.D. 1890. Yet the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah, or the Law, recorded by Moses approximately 1491-1451 B.C., reveal surprising advanced scientific principles. In addition, the Bible contains advanced medical and scientific knowledge about hygiene and sanitation. As you will discover, the Scriptures contain God’s medical instructions for Israel that far exceeded the level of knowledge possessed by the Egyptians and other ancient societies of that day. This advanced information in the Bible, written over three and a half millennia ago, is strong proof that a divine creator inspired it. What other rational explanation is there for this precise medical knowledge in the five books of the Law recorded while Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness of Sinai? God inspired Moses to record these medical commandments to protect the health of His chosen people. The Book of Exodus reveals one of the most astonishing promises which God ever made to mankind. God’s promise: “The Lord will take away from you all sickness” God promised that, if they obeyed all of His commandments and statutes which He gave to Moses, the Lord would protect them from the plagues and sicknesses that afflicted the ancient Egyptians. This incredible promise is found in Exodus 15:26, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.” Throughout the Bible, especially the first five books of Moses from Genesis to Deuteron-omy, we discover incredibly advanced medical laws and principles that are designed to protect us from the devastating diseases that have afflicted mankind throughout history. For centuries, the Jews had lived as slaves among the pagan Egyptians. Obviously, they learned and adopted the traditional folk medicine and remedies of their Egyptian masters. As a result, the Israelites would have been afflicted during their long captivity by the same terrible diseases and plagues that repeatedly devastated the people of ancient Egypt. The book of Deuteronomy 28:27-28 records a number of these terrible diseases of the Egyptians. “The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. The LORD will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart.” However, if the Israelites would turn from their sins and follow the commandments of God, the Lord promised that “none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known” would afflict the Jews from that moment on. “The LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you” (Deut 7:15). When the children of Israel left Egypt through the miraculous intervention of God, the Lord demanded that they obey His commandments against sinning. God’s specific medical laws and sanitation commandments that were given to Moses, would protect the Jews from the most terrible diseases of the Egyptians and their attendant high mortality rates. An examination of the medical remedies of the ancient Egyptians and other pagan cultures of the Middle East reveals an appalling ignorance of even the most rudimentary medical knowledge as we know it today. However, the laws of Moses contained specific laws and sanitation procedures that, if faithfully followed, would eliminate the dreadful diseases that afflicted the Egyptians of that day and still afflict most of mankind in the Third World today. The Medical Knowledge of Ancient Egypt It is fascinating to study the several hundred prescriptions in the Papyrus Ebers to gain an understanding of the level of medical and sanitary knowledge possessed by the Egyptians, the most advanced society on earth in the days of Moses. Despite their advanced astronomical and engineering knowledge, as evidenced by their great temples at Karnak and the three great pyramids at Giza, the Egyptians level of medical knowledge was extremely primitive and dangerous. Yet, they prided themselves on their great medical knowledge as revealed in various medical manuscripts that have survived the ravages of time, including the Papyrus Ebers, written about the time of Moses.

36 As an example of the medical ignorance and primitive state of their medical knowledge, consider the Egyptian doctor’s suggestion for healing an infected splinter wound. The prescription involves the application of an ointment mixture composed of the blood of worms mixed with the dung of a donkey. The various germs, including tetanus, contained in donkey’s dung must have assured the patient would rapidly forget the pain of his splinter as he died from an assortment of other diseases produced by his doctor’s contaminated medicine. The medical solution for a patient’s hair loss involved the application to his scalp of a solution composed of various fats from a horse, a crocodile, a cat, a snake, and a donkey’s tooth crushed in honey. The Egyptian doctors had an equally wondrous cure for a poisonous snake bite. They poured “magical water” over a pagan idol and then gave it to the victim for what probably turned out to be his last drink on earth. According to these ancient documents, the pharmacies of ancient Egypt provided popular prescriptions including “lizards’ blood, swines’ teeth, putrid meat, stinking fat, moisture from pigs’ ears, milk, goose grease, asses’ hoofs, animal fats from various sources, exreta from animals, including human beings, donkeys, antelopes, dogs, cats, and even flies.” Believe it or not, this list is quoted from pages of the Papyrus Ebers manuscript as translated in S. E. Massengill’s A Sketch of Medicine and Pharmacy. During my last research trip to the Middle East, I located a fascinating book about ancient Egyptian medical knowledge. This book, An Ancient Egyptian Herbal, by Lise Manniche [London: British Museum Press, 1989], describes a number of Egyptian cures that use ingredients such as “cat’s dung”, “hippopotamus dung”, “donkey’s hoof”, “gazelle dung”, “snakeskins”, and of course, the ever popular “fly dung” that appears in numerous prescriptions. The Egyptian’s remedy for “constipation: zizyphus bread, gurma, cat’s dung, sweet beer, wine.” In another passage we read, “a painful tumor was treated with fly dung mixed with sycamore juice applied to the tumor so that it goes down by itself.” Among these amazingly dangerous medicines we find an incredible suggestion for curing a baby of excessive crying: “A remedy for too much crying in a child: spn(?)-seeds; fly dung from the wall; is made to a paste, strained and drunk for four days. The crying will cease instantly.” No doubt the crying would cease with the death of the poor child receiving this deadly potion. As the author noted, “In general, Coptic medicine is not held in very high esteem.” A majority of the medicines described in documents from ancient Egypt included dung from either humans or animals. The mortality rate from infection must have been dreadful with such unhelpful and deadly advice from doctors. Due to the total lack of knowledge of germs and infection, almost any serious illness or injury treated by the medical system of pagan Egypt would result in a painful and virtually certain death. The Bible records that Moses was adopted and grew up as the son of “Pharaoh’s daughter.” Moses would have had access to the knowledge of the royal and priestly colleges of Egypt. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus tells us in his Antiquities of the Jews, that Moses, as a prince of Egypt, became a great general in his successful war against the Ethiopian Empire. As a royal prince, he was taught all that Egypt, as the most advanced culture of the day, could transmit to his genius. The Book of Acts (7:22) tells us that “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.” Therefore, as a royal heir, he would have been educated in all of these amazing medical cures. Both the writer of the Torah and the millions of ancient Israelite slaves would have absorbed the medical knowledge and traditional treatments of the Egyptians during the centuries of Israel’s captivity. However, a close examination of the first five books of the Bible written by Moses does not include a single reference to these “deadly” medical cures of the pagan Egyptian society in which Moses and the Israelites were raised. Rather, we discover in the pages of ancient Scriptures the most advance sanitation instructions and the most sophisticated medical knowledge that the world has ever known, until the explosion of medical research in this century following World War I. Despite the natural human tendency to add our own natural education and knowledge to what God tells us, Moses resisted such temptations in writing exactly what God inspired him to write as he composed the Torah. There are no references to the disgusting and dangerous ancient Egyptian medical practices in the five books of Moses. Any intelligent reader must ask this question: Where did Moses obtain his incredibly advanced medical knowledge? Obviously, he did not receive this accurate medical knowledge from the Egyptians or any other pagan culture of that time. This advanced and accurate knowledge reveals a profound understanding of germs, infectious transmission routes, human sanitation needs and many other m edical advances unknown outside the Bible during the last thirty-five centuries. Moses abandoned the medical ignorance of the Egyptians when he left the palace in Egypt and spent the next eighty years of his life in the wilderness. The first five books of the Bible contain detailed medical laws regarding the careful kosher inspection of meat and exacting sanitation regulations regarding the burial of bodies. How could Moses have acquired such a profound and medically advanced knowledge without help from some outside force? The only answer that makes sense is that found in the first five of the books of the Bible as written by Moses. Moses declared that he received this knowledge from God by direct and supernatural inspiration. A careful examination of the medical treatises from the Egyptians and the comprehensive Babylonian Code of

37 Hammurabi reveals absolutely nothing about preventative medicine to enable people to avoid these deadly diseases that devastated ancient societies. However, the presence of incredibly advanced and accurate knowledge of diseases, sanitation and preventative medicine in the ancient Scriptures is one more incontrovertible proof that the Bible is truly the inspired Word of God. It is fascinating to note that a total of 213 out of the 613 biblical commandments found in the Torah were detailed medical regulations that insured the good health of the children of Israel if they would obediently follow the laws of God. God’s Ancient Laws of Hygiene and Sanitation Medical science did not know of the existence of germs and their methods of transmission of infection until the end of the 19th century. Doctors, until this century, believed that the presence and transmission of disease was entirely haphazard and governed by simple chance or bad luck. Those who were sick with deadly diseases were cared for in the home without any awareness of the contagious transmission of disease from one sick individual to others around them. People had no idea that invisible and deadly microscopic germs could exist on eating and cooking utensils. However, Leviticus 6:28, written over 3500 years ago, reveals a clear commandment to discard broken pottery (because the cracks could contain harmful germs): “Also the earthenware vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water.” In other words, a cracked vessel should not be used for cooking or eating but should be discarded. The Bible tells us further that “if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water,” indicating that a metal pot should be disinfected by scouring and rinsing in water. These instructions certainly saved hundreds of thousands of Jews from infections over the centuries at a time when the rest of the world didn't even know that germs existed. How could Moses have known of the dangers of infectious germs in cooking and eating utensils thousands of years ago unless God actually inspired him to write these words? Moses’ writing also reveals an astonishing knowledge of deadly germs associated with dead animal bodies and anything they touch. Throughout history, people stored and cooked their meat with ample spices to delay the rotting and to disguise the smell of decay. Without refrigeration, the eating of meat was often hazardous because of the great danger of infection. In Leviticus 11:35, Moses revealed his knowledge of the danger of germs from animal carcasses when he wrote, “Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you.” God inspired Moses to record these medical and sanitation instructions in the Bible to protect the Israelites from invisible, but deadly infectious germs, found in dead animal bodies that would kill them. It is important to remember that, until this century, even medical researchers and doctors denied that disease could be transmitted by invisible germs or viruses. The Book of Leviticus 7:24 forbids the people to eat of the flesh of any animal that has died naturally of disease or by wild animals: “Also the fat of {an animal} which dies and the fat of an animal torn {by beasts} may be put to any other use, but you must certainly not eat it.” Any animal carcass found after natural death would be dangerous to eat because it would likely contain the germs that caused its premature death or the infectious germs that would develop within hours of an animal’s violent death following an attack by another animal. The children of Israel were saved from countless invisible germs and diseases by following these religious laws and prohibitions given by their God through their prophet Moses. Laws Designed to Prevent Infectious Disease God provided the Israelites with wise and beneficial laws to protect their health, including advanced sanitation laws to prevent the spread of infections. “This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. Every open vessel, which has no covering tied down on it, shall be unclean. Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been slain with a sword or who has died {naturally,} or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. Then for the unclean {person} they shall take some of the ashes of the burnt purification from sin and flowing water shall be added to them in a vessel” (Numbers 19:14-17). Throughout history, mankind has suffered billions of untold deaths due to infections from microscopic germs. Germs from a dead human body are more dangerous to another human than germs from an animal’s body because of the likelihood of transmission of infection. These deadly germs are everywhere, but especially within the bodies of those who are already sick or those who have died due to some disease. Mankind’s ignorance of these deadly microscopic germs has exposed countless humans to premature death. However, the Bible clearly gave instructions 35 centuries ago that would protect us from many of these infectious diseases.

38 A brilliant Hungarian doctor of the 19th century, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, created a tremendous improvement in practical medical treatment and the control of deadly infectious diseases. I am indebted to the fascinating book, None of These Diseases by S. I. McMillan, M.D., for making me aware of the importance of the medical contributions of Dr. Semmelweis. An article in the Encyclopedia Britannica documents that, as a young doctor in Vienna in 1845, Semmelweis was appalled by the staggering rate of death by infection of women who gave birth in hospitals. While most children were born at home at that time, a number of women, usually the homeless or sick, gave birth to their children in the local hospitals. The level of infectious puerperal (child-bed) fever was horrendous, with between 15-30% of such mothers dying in the hospital. This tragic situation was considered normal at this time. Dr. Semmelweis noted that every morning the young interns examined the bodies of the mothers who had died, and then immediately, without washing their hands, went to the next ward where they would examine the expectant mothers. This astonishing behavior was considered normal practice in the last century because the existence of microscopic infectious germs was unknown and unsuspected. However, the young doctor insisted that the doctors under his supervision follow his new orders to wash their hands vigorously in water and chlorinated lime prior to examining living patients. Immediately, the mortality rate caused by infection among the expectant mothers fell to less than 2% dying due to these infections. Despite these fantastic improvements, the senior hospital staff despised Dr. Semmelweis’s medical innovations and eventually fired him. Most of his medical colleagues rejected his new techniques and ridiculed his demands that they wash their hands, because they could not believe infections could be caused by something invisible to the naked eye. Later, he took a position with another hospital in Pest, Hungary (today Budapest), the St. Rochus Hospital, which was experiencing an epidemic of puerperal fever in the ward where mothers were giving birth. Immediately, his new sanitary procedures had a positive effect, with the mortality rate dropping to less than 1%, instead of the 15% that was normal in other hospitals in the area. During the next six years, he received the approval of the Hungarian government, which sent medical advisory letters to all district authorities, demanding that all medical staff follow Dr. Semmelweis’s instructions for washing hands and general hospital sanitation. Although the beneficial results of washing hands were obvious, the medical establishments of Europe and North America continued to ignore his techniques. Patients continued to die needlessly of infectious diseases while they were in the hospital. Decades of rejection by his colleagues finally drove Dr. Semmelweis to a nervous breakdown that placed him in a mental institution. Tragically, due to an infection he received though a cut on his hand during an operation in 1865, Dr. Semmelweis succumbed to the same disease he spent his life trying to alleviate. Dr. Joseph Lister, the father of modern antisepsis (the science of fighting infection), said of him, “I think with the greatest admiration of him and his achievement.” Thousands of years ago, God commanded the Israelites to wash their hands in “running water” when dealing with those afflicted with infectious diseases. “Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water and will become clean” (Numbers 15:13). Until the 20th century, most doctors who did choose to wash their hands did so in a bowl of water which obviously would allow the germs to remain on their hands. However, Moses instructed the Israelites to wash in “running water” which is the only way to effectively remove these infectious germs. Laws to Prevent Plague and Leprosy Throughout history the scourge of leprosy has killed untold millions of people and afflicted many more with misery. There is some debate among medical scholars about whether the Hebrew word translated “leprosy” in the Bible is exactly the same disease as the modern variant. It may have been another deadly infectious disease that differs from modern forms of leprosy. Amazingly, an examination of the detailed laws of Numbers and Leviticus reveals an advanced system for the control of infectious diseases at a time when ancient pagan nations did not understand the dangers of infections. For example, the Bible commands that the priests act as medical control officers, examining all sick individuals and take action to protect them and the community. “Then the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body, he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head” (Lev 13:4344). In addition to identifying the diseased individual, the priest was responsible for the isolation of those afflicted with leprosy. “He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev 13:46). The Lord’s concern to protect His children from infectious disease was manifested in His command to forbid those who were still infected with disease from participating in the three great annual festivals of the Jews, lest they infect others. “But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness,

39 that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean” (Num. 19:20). Even after a man recovered from his disease and returned from medical isolation, the individual was subject to strict medical supervision for seven days under the medical orders of the priest to ascertain that he was truly healed. “The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water and be clean. Now afterward, he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days” (Lev 14:8). After this period of quarantine, the individual must submit to a careful medical cleansing by the priests to ascertain that he was truly free of disease and able to resume his position in society. “It will be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. He shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and be clean” (Lev 14:9). When you consider these ancient medical instructions, you can see that they are amazing similar to the medical quarantine orders that a modern public health official would follow to absolutely determine that someone was cured of his disease and able to safely reenter society. The continents of Europe and Asia have been periodically engulfed by epidemics of leprosy and plague, such as those in the medieval period, especially from A.D. 1200-1400. This dreaded disease terrified the populations of Europe and appeared unbeatable. Over 60 million people, almost 1/3 of the population of Europe in the 14th century, are estimated to have died by the Black Death (bubonic plague). Entire counties and towns were devastated with no known survivors. Those who survived portray scenes that sounded like the haunting visions of Dante’s description of hell. Renowned doctors of the time were unable to respond adequately because of their lack of knowledge. They were reduced to offering medical advice to prevent the plague such as, “Stop eating pepper or garlic.” Some suggested that the plague was caused by the position of the planets and stars. Mostly, the doctors helplessly comforted their dying patients and finally succumbed to the disease themselves. How was this dreaded disease finally stopped before it killed everyone in Europe? As ministers prayed and held their Bible in their hands, little did they realize the God hade already provided the divine solution in the pages of Holy Scriptures. While doctors failed the people totally, some church leaders wisely looked to God and Bible for a divine medical solution to the apparently hopeless situation. During my last trip to Vienna, I examined a strange-looking statue in the center of the city that was dedicated to the Black Death’s countless victims and the actions of the church fathers, in accordance with Scripture, to abolish the curse of that disease. The history of that time reveals that the doctors could do nothing. It was only after the people began to follow the ancient biblical laws of sanitation and disease control that the epidemic was broken. In the midst of fear and panic, several church leaders in Vienna began to search the Bible to discover whether or not there was a practical biblical solution to this plague. They discovered in Leviticus 13:46 that Moses laid down strict regulations from God regarding the medical treatment of those afflicted with leprosy or plague: “He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” God answered their prayers for deliverance when they finally began to obey His declared commands. Both the scourge of leprosy and the Black Death were eliminated by following God’s inspired commands given to Moses in the ancient past. The Divine Laws of Quarantine This divine medical rule demanded that a person who contracted leprosy or the plague must be isolated and segregated from the general population during his infectious period, until he was healed or died. God’s commands included detailed instructions regarding protection from infection for those who treated the segregated patient. After feeding and caring for the plague sufferer, the care givers must change their clothes, was in running water, and expose both themselves and their clothing to sunlight. Doctors today know that sunlight and vigorous washing in running water are among the most effective preventative steps to minimize infectious transmission between patients. Moses’s instruction to segregate infected patients from their families and other people was one of the most important medical advances in human history. The biblical instructions reveal a profoundly advanced scientific understanding that invisible germs can be transmitted to others unless preventative sanitary steps are taken. Until this century, all previous societies, except for the Israelites who followed God’s medical laws regarding quarantine, kept infected patients in their homes — even after death, exposing family members and others to deadly disease. During the devastating Black Death of the 14th century, patients who were sick or dead were kept in the same rooms as the rest of the family. People often wondered why the disease was affecting so many people at one time. They attributed these epidemics to “bad air” or “evil spirits.” However, careful attention to the medical commands of God as revealed in Leviticus would have saved untold millions of lives. Arturo Castiglione wrote about the overwhelming importance of this biblical medical law: “The laws against leprosy in

40 Leviticus 13 may be regarded as the first model of a sanitary legislation” (Arturo Castiglione, A History of Medicine [New York: Alfred A. Knopt, Inc., 1941], pag. 71). Fortunately, the church fathers of Vienna finally took the biblical injunctions to heart and commanded that those infected with the plague must be placed outside the city in special medical quarantine compounds. Care givers fed them there until either died or survived the passage of the disease. Those who died in homes or streets were instantly removed and buried outside the city limits. These biblical sanitary measures quickly brought the dreaded epidemic under control for the first time. Other cities and countries rapidly followed the medical practices of Vienna until the Black Death was finally halted. Laws of Cleanliness – Next to Godliness While people repeat the phrase, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” they often forget that God has actually provided stringent laws of cleanliness that, if followed, would immeasurably prevent disease and premature death. Throughout the Scriptures we find God commanding His people to follow laws of hygiene and cleanliness. To put these laws and instructions in perspective, we need to understand that cleanliness and bathing were almost unknown through much of human history. Most people lived from the cradle to grave in past centuries without ever having a bath. In fact, most Europeans until the 1840’s believed that taking a bath was the most dangerous thing you could do to your health. Most Europeans, until the end of the 19th century, experienced a bath less than once a year. King James I of England, who ordered the translation of the Bible, known as the King James Bible, never bathed once. He kept a bowl of talc beside him that he applied to his fingers and hands to keep them soft. When my wife and I visited the 1000-room Hampton Palace several years ago, the guide pointed out that King James’s numerous guests did not have access to a single bathtub in the whole castle. One of the reasons they loved snuff and perfume so much in those days was to mask dreadful body odors. However, thousands of years ago, God commanded the Israelites to deal with their uncleanliness by following His specific instructions to avoid infection and death. For example, even before God gave Moses the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, He told the Israelites to sanctify themselves by washing their clothes: “The LORD also said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments’” (Ex. 19:10). Preparations for ministering in the Tabernacle required that Aaron and his sons wash their bodies before putting on their priestly garments: “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water” (Ex. 29:4) prior to giving them their priestly garments. “Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the LORD had commanded Moses” (Ex. 40:31-32). This rule still applied years later when the priests ministered in the Temple. When you consider that the priests were responsible for preparing and sacrificing animals on the altar, the need for strict rules of washing are obvious in light of our present knowledge of the dangers of infectious germs. The Bible also contains detailed sanitation instructions concerning the purification following the birth of a child, and very detailed instructions were laid out regarding hygiene for women. Incineration of Animal Waste to Prevent Disease One of the most astonishing of the sanitation commandments found in the Bible is the demand that the internal organs and waste of the animals to be sacrificed were to be carefully burned “outside the camp” to prevent the possibility of transmitting infection to the Israelites from the germ-filled waste of the sacrificed animals. Incredibly, the Israelites were commanded to create, in effect, an incinerator “outside the camp” to safely dispose of the dangerous infectious materials produced by their sacrifices. “But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its entrails and its refuse, that is, all {the rest of} the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned” (Lev. 4:11-12). At a time when no one knew that animal waste and decaying organs would be dangerous because of the microscopic germs, the Bible commands the Israelites to destroy these infectious agents in the most sanitary method available to an ancient culture — burning outside the camp. The Medical Importance of the Red Heifer Sacrifice In Numbers 19, Moses wrote these inspired instructions regarding the mysterious sacrifice of the Red Heifer: “Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet {material} and cast it into the midst of

41 the burning heifer. The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin. The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them. The one who touches the corpse of any person shall be unclean for seven days. That one shall purify himself from uncleanness with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, {and then} he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. Anyone who touches a corpse, the body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him” (Num. 19:5-13). The primary spiritual significance of the Sacrifice of the Red Heifer is the fact that it symbolically points to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ as our only hope of being cleansed from the uncleanliness of our sins. The Talmud claims that the Red Heifer sacrifice was the only one of God’s commands that King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, claimed he did not understand. Although the priest obediently offered the sacrifice as demanded by God, Solomon apparently did not understand why Numbers 19 declared that the priest would be “unclean until evening” …. Just as the Red Heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” in contrast to tall other sacrifices that took place in the Tabernacle or Temple, Jesus was sacrificed outside the city of Jerusalem…. In addition to the obvious spiritual significance of the law of the Sacrifice of the Red Heifer, we now understand that the water of purification described in Numbers 19 actually had the ability to destroy germs and infection. The resulting water of purification solution contained ashes from the Red Heifer sacrifice combined with cedar, hyssop, and scarlet thread. This water of purification contained “cedar” oil that came from a kind of juniper tree that grew in both Israel and in the Sinai. This cedar oil would irritate the skin, encouraging the person to vigorously rub the solution into their hands. Most importantly, the hyssop tree — associated with mint, possibly marjoram — would produce hyssop oil. This hyssop oil is actually a very effective antiseptic and antibacterial agent. Hyssop oil contains 50% carvacrol, which is an antifungal and antibacterial agent still used in medicine, according to the book, None of These Diseases. When we note that the waters of purification from the Red Heifer Sacrifice were to be used to cleanse someone who had become defiled and unclean due to touch a dead body, we begin to understand that this law was an incredibly effective medical law as well as a spiritual law. The book of Hebrews reveals that [the author] understood that the Red Heifer sacrifice had a practical medical effect as well as its more obvious spiritual element. “…the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh” (Heb. 9:13). The Jews stood apart from the pagan nations in their attention to sanitation and personal cleanliness as a result of the commands of God revealed in the Old Testament. Another of the medical commands that is simply astonishing in its understanding of the need for disinfecting items is found in the command of God regarding all captured material from an enemy’s camp. This command of the Lord stated that, “whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. You shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of leather and all the work of goats' {hair,} and all articles of wood” (Num. 31:19-20). The clear instructions for disinfecting these items was as follows: “Everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp” (Num. 31:23-24). These instructions would purify any materials captured from pagans that might carry dangerous germs. Life Is in the Blood Moses makes a fascinating statement in the Book of Leviticus about the importance of blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev 17:11). Incredibly, Moses reveals that our blood is the essence of life. Our blood is one of the most amazing features in our wonderful body. We have over 75,000 miles of blood vessels in our body, enough to circle the world three times! These incredibly tiny veins, arteries, and capillary vessels carry blood cells with nutrients to feed every one of the 60 trillion cells in our bodies. The 60 trillion amazingly complex cells that make up a human body are produced from a single microscopic cell formed when a father’s sperm is joined to a mother’s egg. This complex system of interconnected blood vessels must bring the needed nutrients to the particular cells that require these chemicals. This is the equivalent of a courier company delivering trillions of packages daily to 60 trillion business customers over

42 a route covering 75,000 miles of territory. Each of our cells requires a number o different nutrients and chemicals. Special chemical sensors detect the nutrient needed as the blood passes through the bloodstream and allow that cell to connect withy the necessary substance. In addition, we have over 1,000,000 special types of white cells, antibodies especially designed to fight one particular disease. As soon as the body detects that it has been invaded by a particular germ or virus, the whole blood system goes on special alert to produce an explosive increase in whatever antibody is required to fight the disease. The Hebrew word for the heart is lev. This word and variations of it appear at least 825 times in the Old Testament and another 160 times in the New Testament. Our enormously complex blood system that allows life to exist is pumped by our heat, the most powerful muscle in our body. Though it is only the size of your clenched fist, it is far stronger than our legs or arms. However, while the heart works non-stop for eighty years or more, the muscles of our legs or arms are exhausted after only a short time of exertion. Weighing less than a pound, this fantastically reliable organ pumps over 1,500,000 gallons of blood every year of our life. In the course of a normal lifespan, the average human heart will pump 40,000,000 times, pushing almost 1,000,000 pounds of blood through the 75,000 miles of blood vessels that make up our body. How could Moses have understood 35 centuries ago that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” unless God revealed it to him by inspiration? God’s Command Concerning Circumcision One of the most interesting of the medical details of the Bible is found in the specific instructions regarding the process of circumcising every Hebrew male child at the age of eight days as a sign of their obedience to the Covenant of God. Abraham was commanded specifically that, “every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations” (Gen 17:12). For thousands of years righteous Jews have faithfully obeyed this commandment. Why would God demand that Moses command the Israelites to circumcise their male children on the 8th day of life rather than any other day? The Arabs, for example, circumcise their male children on their 13th birthday. Medical scientists have been examining the biological processes that lead to blood clotting. The rapid healing of a wound begins with the clotting of the blood. Any wound that continues to bleed, especially in a primitive environment, will provide a tremendous likelihood of infection. Recently, they discovered that two specific factors in our blood are closely related to the ability of our blood to quickly and safely clot to facilitate healing and resistance to infection. These medical researchers found that two different blood clotting factors, Vitamin K and prothrombin, are at the highest level of your life (110% of normal) on the eighth day of life. In addition, they discovered that the blood clotting factor, Vitamin K, is formed in the blood of a baby between day five to day seven of the baby’s life. Therefore, of all the days of the baby’s life, the 8th day of life is the optimum day for an operation because of the high level of Vitamin K and the prothrombin, which will clot the blood and facilitate wound healing. How would Moses have known that the 8th day of life was the ideal time to circumcise the Israelite male children unless God inspired him to write this command? The Bible’s Laws on Sanitation Since the beginning of human civilization, mankind has suffered from the many diseases that are carried in human waste. When men lived primarily in widely distributed rural areas, there was little danger of infection. However, as men began to move into villages, towns and cities, the danger of contamination grew geometrically. Throughout the Medieval and Renaissance periods, and in many societies of the Third World today, waste is thrown in to the gutter in the street and allowed to be flushed through the drains by occasional rains or floods. The stench from such a primitive system is beyond imagination. During the days of Shakespeare, the River Thames of London was an open serer containing untreated human waste. Even then, 400 years ago, salmon could not survive in the river because of toxic poisons. People could not bear to walk near the River Thames because of the stench from the open cesspool. It is interesting to note that modern pollution treatment has now succeeded in reclaiming the Thames to the point where fishermen are actually catching edible salmon from the bridges of London. According to an article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the foul smells arising from the River Thames in London in past centuries was so terrible that they hung up burlap sacks saturated in chloride of lime in the windows of Parliament in an ineffective attempt to kill the odors. The smells in cities and towns were as indescribable and deadly as the comparable odors in Calcutta today. The result of this deplorable condition is that humans died in huge numbers every year as they succumbed to a variety of germ-related diseases including typhoid, dysentery and cholera. As difficult as it might be to believe, even the educated people of the day ignored the appalling threat to their health represented by the lack of any sanitation whatsoever. It not an exaggeration to claim that 100’s of millions

43 of people have died throughout history due to infectious disease produced by the absence of even the most elementary sanitation regarding human waste. Yet, obedience to God’s law of sanitation, proclaimed thousands of years ago in the pages of Scripture, would have saved countless millions of lives from needless death caused by germs spread through untreated and unburied sewage. My reason for dwelling on this unpleasant subject is an attempt to emphasize the extraordinary nature of the advanced sanitation commands issued by God over 3500 years ago. At a time when no one humanly understood anything about the true nature of microscopic germs and infections, God instructed Moses about how he could insure adequate sanitation for his huge Jewish refugee population. As the history of refugee situations reveals, they almost inevitably lead to terrible infections, such as cholera and typhoid, due to the lack of adequate sanitation facilities. The germs from untreated human waste, produced in such unorganized refugee groups, contaminate the ground water and lead to horrendous epidemics. God’s basic sanitation order regarding human waste for the children of Israel was recorded in the book of Deuteronomy: “You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement” (Deut 23:12-13). While such a basic sanitation law concerning latrines may seem very normal and obvious to us today, it is an extraordinary instruction when consider that it was made 35 centuries before the existence of invisible germs was discovered. As a student of biblical and military history, I have long noted the historical truth that the vast majority of soldiers who have been killed during the countless wars have succumbed to infectious disease rather than bullets or other weapons of war. The history of war until A.D. 1900 reveals that five times as many soldiers usually died due to disease than to wounds inflicted by enemy weapons. Sickness and plague often determined the outcome of a battle. Often the arm y that suffered the greatest diseases lost the war. A huge percentage of the diseases of mankind, especially in war or refugee situations, developed due to the lack of sanitation regarding waste disposal. Even as late as the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902), an analysis of military casualties indicated that five times as many soldiers by exposure to germs generated from human waste. When armies marched across a country and besieged a city, tens of thousands of soldiers were forced to encamp in the open for months. Without obedience to the strict sanitation rules found in the Bible, the unburied waste from these soldiers inevitably ended up in the ground water system and ultimately infected the rest of the army. It is certain that the strict obedience to the Law of God by the soldiers of Israel allowed them to escape many of the terrible diseases that would have afflicted their pagan enemies. It is likely that Israel was assisted in winning many of its ancient battles against the pagan troops of Syria and Moab because Jewish soldiers were not exposed to the tremendous infections that would afflict their enemies, who did not know God’s rule of sanitation. Consider the logistic problems of trying to meet the human needs of hundreds of thousands of Jews during the forty years in the wilderness. Most Israelites would have died due to infectious diseases during those years if God had not instructed Moses to teach His chosen people these advanced laws of sanitation. In his book, A History of Medicine, the medical historian Arturo Castiglione declared that Moses’ sanitation commands to his army were, “certainly a primitive measure, but an effective one, which indicates advanced ideas of sanitation” (p. 70). Those simple but profoundly important instructions from God told the Israelites that each soldier must carry a shovel and bury his waste. Such instructions would assure that there would be no risk of infection to himself and his fellow soldiers from the waste. This command on latrines is so obvious to us today that it is easy to overlook its importance as a proof of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures. Before the recent medical advances during the last 130 years, medical doctors did not know that microscopic infections from human and animal waste were among the deadliest dangers to mankind. Yet, here we find this advanced sanitation and medical knowledge clearly expressed in the Bible written thousands of years ago. Where could Moses have learned this incredibly important and life-saving medical knowledge about the dangers of human waste unless he received a divine revelation as he recorded? Moses could not possibly have learned this knowledge from his schooling in the medicine of Egypt. Remember that one of the favorite ingredients found in the traditional medicines of ancient Egypt as described in the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, was manure from insects, animals and humans. How could Moses have written these incredibly accurate and advanced medical instructions unless God inspired him?

Inerrancy of the Scriptures The 1978 Chicago Statement on Scripture ARTICLES OF AFFIRMATION AND DENIAL ARTICLE I We affirm that the holy Scriptures are to be received as the authoritative Word of God. We deny that the Scriptures receive their authority from the Church, tradition, or any other human source. ARTICLE II We affirm that the Scriptures are the supreme written norm by which God binds the conscience, and that the authority of the Church is subordinate to that of Scripture. We deny that Church creeds, councils, or declarations have authority greater than or equal to the authority of the Bible. ARTICLE III We affirm that the written Word in its entirety is revelation given by God. We deny that the Bible is merely a witness to revelation, or only becomes revelation in encounter, or depends on the responses of men for its validity. ARTICLE IV We affirm that God who made mankind in His image has used language as a means of revelation. We deny that human language is so limited by our creatureliness that it is rendered inadequate as a vehicle for divine revelation. We further deny that the corruption of human culture and language through sin has thwarted God's work of inspiration. ARTICLE V We affirm that God's revelation in the Holy Scriptures was progressive. We deny that later revelation, which may fulfill earlier revelation, ever corrects or contradicts it. We further deny that any normative revelation has been given since the completion of the New Testament writings. ARTICLE VI We affirm that the whole of Scripture and all its parts, down to the very words of the original, were given by divine inspiration. We deny that the inspiration of Scripture can rightly be affirmed of the whole without the parts, or of some parts but not the whole. ARTICLE VII We affirm that inspiration was the work in which God by His spirit, through human writers, gave us His Word. the origin of Scripture is divine. The mode of divine inspiration remains largely a mystery to us. We deny that inspiration can be reduced to human insight, or to heightened states of consciousness of any kind. ARTICLE VIII We affirm that God in His work of inspiration utilized the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen and prepared. We deny that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.

46 ARTICLE IX We affirm that inspiration, though not conferring omniscience, guaranteed true and trustworthy utterance on all matters of which the Biblical authors were moved to speak and write. We deny that the finitude or fallenness of these writers, by necessity or otherwise, introduced distortion or falsehood into God's Word. ARTICLE X We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original. ARTICLE XI We affirm that Scripture, having been given by divine inspiration, is infallible, so that, far from misleading us, it is true and reliable in all the matters it addresses. We deny that it is possible for the Bible to be at the same time infallible and errant in its assertions. Infallibility and inerrancy may be distinguished, but not separated. ARTICLE XII We affirm that Scripture in its entirety is inerrant, being free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit. We deny that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We further deny that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood. ARTICLE XIII We affirm the propriety of using inerrancy as a theological term with reference to the complete truthfulness of Scripture. We deny that it is proper to evaluate Scripture according to standards of truth and error that are alien to its usage or purpose. We further deny that inerrancy is negated by Biblical phenomena such as a lack of modern technical precision, irregularities of grammar or spelling, observational descriptions of nature, the reporting of falsehoods, the use of hyperbole and round numbers, the topical arrangement of material, variant selections of material in parallel accounts, or the use of free citations. ARTICLE XIV We affirm the unity and internal consistency of Scripture. We deny that alleged errors and discrepancies that have not yet been resolved vitiate the truth claims of the Bible. ARTICLE XV We affirm that the doctrine of inerrancy is grounded in the teaching of the Bible about inspiration. We deny that Jesus' teaching about Scripture may be dismissed by appeals to accommodation or to any natural limitation of His humanity. ARTICLE XVI We affirm that the doctrine of inerrancy has been integral to the Church's faith throughout its history. We deny that inerrancy is a doctrine invented by Scholastic Protestantism, or is a reactionary position postulated in response to negative higher criticism.

47 ARTICLE XVII We affirm that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the Scriptures, assuring believers of the truthfulness of God's written word. We deny that this witness of the Holy Spirit operated in isolation from or against Scripture. ARTICLE XVIII We affirm that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking account of its literary forms and devices, and that Scripture is to interpret Scripture. We deny the legitimacy of any treatment of the text or quest for sources lying behind it that leads to relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting its teaching, or rejecting its claims to authorship. ARTICLE XIX We affirm that confession of the full authority, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ. We deny that such confession is necessary for salvation. However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected without grave consequences, both to the individual and to the Church. The Chicago Statement was signed by nearly 300 scholars, representing almost every major evangelical organization in the United States and several foreign countries. It serves as a summary of the contemporary evangelical view on the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. An official commentary on these articles was written by R. C. Sproul, and a book covering the major addresses was published. Geisler, Norman L. and Nix, Wm. E., A General Introduction to the Bible, 1986, Moody Press, pp. 181-185.

Canonicity

From: Norman L. Geisler, A General Introduction to the Bible: Inspiration deals with the question of why the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. The word, canon, deals with the question: “What books should be in the Bible?” The word canon comes from the Greek word kanon (κανον), and means ‘the rule (measuring stick), the standard for knowing what is true. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.2Tim 3:16-17 In the early centuries of Christianity, canon came to mean the rule of faith, the normative writings – those writing that really were Scripture. The Fathers, from the time of Irenaeus, referred to the kanon of Christian teaching, which they called "The Kanon of the Church," "The Kanon of the Truth," and "The Kanon of Faith." Jesus set the standard for the canonization of the Scriptures. He confirmed the inspiration of the Hebrew books in the Old Testament. He also promised that the Holy Spirit would direct the apostles into all truth. The fulfillment of that promise resulted in the writing and collection of the New Testament. As Carl F. H. Henry writes , "Jesus altered the prevailing Jewish view of Scripture in several ways: • He judged Jewish religious traditions by what was written in the Old Testament; • He emphasized that he himself fulfills the messianic promise of the inspired writings; • He claimed for himself an authority equal to that of the Old Testament and definitively expounded the inner significance of the Law; • He inaugurated the new covenant, escalating the Holy Spirit's moral power as an internal reality; • He committed his apostles to the enlargement and completion of the Old Testament canon through their proclamation of the Spirit-given interpretation of his life and work. At the same time he identified himself wholly with the revelational authority of Moses and the prophets--that is, with the Old Testament as an inspired literary canon--insisting that Scripture has sacred, authoritative, and permanent validity, and that the revealed truth of God is conveyed in its teachings." For an Old Testament book to be part of the Bible, it had to pass several tests: • 1. Was the book written by a prophet of God (or prophetic?) • 2. Was the writer confirmed by acts of God? • 3. Did the message tell the truth about God? • 4. Does it come with the power of God? • 5. Was it accepted by the people of God? In A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Gleason Archer comments: • •

The Jews declared that the Masoretic text (scripture scrolls) of the Old Testament were the Old Testament. These are identical with the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament in our Bible (and did not include the Apocrypha.) The were only arranged in a little different arrangement. The Jewish people did have some controversy over a few of the book in the process of accepting that they should be included in the Old Testament. • Some criticized the Song of Solomon because it spoke of physical attractiveness in bold and enthusiastic imagery. But this protest was only temporary. • Some objected to the book of Esther because the name of God does not appear in it. (But this) is countered by the unavoidable manifestations of divine providence working through every circumstance to deliver the Jewish race from the greatest threat to its existence ever faced in history. • Some questioned Ezekiel because of disagreements of detail between the latter-day temple and ritual of the last ten chapters that was different from those of the Mosaic tabernacle. But these differences were found only in minor details and might pertain to a still future temple. • Josephus of Jerusalem (37-95 A.D.) said, "We have not tens of thousands of books, discordant and conflicting . . . From Artaxerxes until our time everything has been recorded, but has not been deemed worthy of like credit with what preceded, because the exact succession of the prophets ceased. But what faith we have placed in our own writings is evident by our conduct;

•

for though so long a time has now passed, no one has dared to add anything to them, or to take anything from them, or to alter anything in them." • Josephus includes the same three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures that are in the Masoretic Text (MT). He states that no more canonical writings have occurred since the reign of Artaxerxes, in 464-424 B.C. Thus, he recognized Malachi to be the last book of the Old Testament. And he says no additional material was ever included in the canonical books. The supreme confirmation of what is really the Old Testament comes by the the testimony of God the Holy Spirit. This testimony found a response of recognition, faith, and submission in the hearts of God's people who walked in covenant fellowship with Him.

The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha The 39 books of the Old Testament were accepted as being the Old Testament by: 1. Masoretic text 2. The writings of Josephus 3. Bishop Melito of Sardis in 170 AD (none of the Apocrypha) 4. Origin (died in 254 AD), and he rejected all the books of the Apocrypha 5. Tertullian (160-250 AD) 6. Jerome (340-420) (He said that The Apocrypha was only of secondary importance) In his commentary of the book of Susanna, he points out a certain word play put in Daniel's mouth which only works with Greek words and not in the Hebrew. This would mean that the writing was composed originally in Greek, and not Hebrew. The question of the Apocrypha: 1. The Jews acknowledged the 39 books, but not the Apocrypha. 2. Virtually all the 39 Old Testament books are quoted from in the New Testament or else referred to. None of the books of the Apocrypha are. It is inconceivable that they could have considered the Apocrypha books as canonical and never once have quoted from it. 3. The early church fathers did not recognize the Apocrypha except for the writers of 1 Clement and the Epistle of Barnabas. Augustine was not consistent. In one theological discussion with an opponent who quoted a passage from 2 Maccabees, Augustine stressed that his opponent's argument must be weak if he had to support it by a book not received and accepted by the Jews. 4. Athanasius (365 AD) recognized the 39 books but referred to the Apocrypha as "not included in the canon," but merely "appointed to be read."

The Bible is the Inspired Word of God All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.2Tim 3:16 This passages some very important things to notice: • Inspiration deals with the objective text of Scripture, not the subjective intention of the writer. It deal with the truth that God gives us; not with how we feel about it. • It applies to all or every Scripture, that is, the whole Bible is the Word of God. • The Scriptures are the very spirated (breathed out) Word of God. While the truth can be expressed using different words, the whole sentence presents only one meaning. It is a unit. That sentence relates to the paragraph it is in, to that section of the book, and to the book, and to the unity of the Bible. Geisler, Norman L. and Nix, Wm. E., A General Introduction to the Bible, 1986, Moody Press, pp. 35-36.

Neo-orthodox View of Inspiration The truth presented in 2Tim.3:16-17 is against the teaching of a movement called neo-orthodoxy that says that the Bible is not the Word of God, but contains the Word of God. When you read it, even though it is mythology, something happens in the depth of your thoughts and reasoning, and this magical experience is

Historical Views of Inspiration

the Word of God. Karl Barth is one of the main advocates of neo-orthodoxy, and he said "by the Holy Spirit it became and will become to the church a witness to Divine revelation." To Barth the Word of God is personal, not propositional. To the neo-orthodox, the Bible is a fallible human book. Nevertheless, it is the instrument of God's revelation to us, for it is a record of God's personal revelation in Christ. However, without being reasonable and without transforming the mind, it is personal. (Notice that deception is also personal. God wants us not only to have something personal, but also true.) Evangelical Christians believe in unlimited inspiration. The Bible is correct in what it teaches about history, about the nature of the physical universe in the foundations it lays for science and the role of science, about the nature and character of God, about the way God designed man, and the nature of relationships. It is not only a religious book to give you â&#x20AC;&#x153;religious truth.â&#x20AC;? It deals with reality as God knows it to be. It not only brings forth salvation, but also gives essential principles concerning the kingdom of God that apply to and transform every cultural and lay a skeleton of truth to support their unique cultural expressions. The biblical view of inspiration does not assert that prophets and apostles were infallible, nor that in their own learning they were exempt from limitations imposed by their cultures. What it asserts, rather, is that the writers did not teach the doubtful views of the cultures in which they lived. In fact , there is abundant evidence in the New Testament that Jesus never accommodated Himself to the false beliefs of His day. Some examples will illustrate: Matt. 15:1-3; Matt. 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43; John 3:10; Matt. 22:29; Matt. 23:16, 33; John 2:15-16. The above are adaptations, excerpts, and summaries are from material found on pp. 62, 135, 175, and 180 of Geisler, Norman L. and Nix, William E. A General Introduction to the Bible, Moody Press, 1986.

Different Classes of Alleged Discrepancies in the Bible 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Those discrepancies that are due to lack of reading exactly what the Bible says. A second class of discrepancies is the class of those which arise from false interpretations of the Bible. Those which arise from a wrong idea of the teachings of the Bible as a whole. Those which arise from the fact that a writer may not be recording all the events which happened or all the words which were spoken. Those which arise from our lack of appreciation of the purpose which the author had and the method which he used in writing. Those which concern discrepancies in chronology. Those which pertain to numbers. Alleged contradictions concerning doctrines. Those which seemingly are produced by the use of the same Hebrew or Greek words in different places with different meanings. These are the main headings from Chapter XIV, entitled The Alleged Discrepancies in the Bible, from The Basis of Christian Faith, by Floyd Hamilton, Harper & Bros., 1946, p. 263.

The Documentary Hypothesis

Also inappropriately called by some: “Higher Criticism” of the Old Testament. (At some point in the future, if you need to deal with the problems created by “The Documentary Hypothesis,” get Dr. Gleason Archer’s book, A Survey of O.T. Introduction, Moody Press, 1974. He deals thoroughly with this attack upon the historical reliability of scripture. He shows the wrong ideas upon which it is founded and why they are wrong. And he deals with the inconsistency in their method of looking at the Old Testament.) The Documentary Hypothesis is the theory that the Pentateuch was a compilation of selections from several different prior-written documents, each composed in different places over five centuries following the time of Moses. The documentary hypothesis is characterized by circular reasoning. Its underlying premise is that there can be no supernatural revelation. Therefore, it becomes absolutely necessary to find rationalistic, humanistic explanations of every miracle God has done. The documentarians say, "The historical books show no recognition of the existence of P legislation or a written Mosaic code until after the exile." When examination showed this idea untrue, the reply was, "Oh well, all those reference were later insertion made by priestly scribes who reworked these books after the exile." So the same body of evidence used to support their theory becomes rejected when it conflicts with it. The documentarians say early Hebrew writers were incapable of using more than one name for God. Further, they could not have had more than one style of writing, and they could not have had more than one circle of interest. The documentarians compare Old Testament books to writings from the pagan world. In every case where there is a difference of details between them and a pagan document, even one of a later age, the heathen source has been automatically accepted as the correct one. To show how wrong this approach is, W.F. Albright, has written many books and articles, and has verified again and again the accuracy of the Biblical record. The Documentary Hypothesis is the theory that the Pentateuch was a compilation of selections from several different documents. Supposedly, these documents were written in different places and more than 500 years after Moses lived. This idea began with Jean Astruc in 1753. Because 'Elohim' was used for God in Gen. 1, and 'Jehovah' in Genesis 2, he speculated that Moses used two different written sources in writing his account. In about 1780, Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, divided the entire book of Genesis into two parts. He called one part a Jahwist (J) portion and the other an Elohist (E) portion. He speculated that they gave unparallel "parallel accounts" (divergent parallel accounts) concerning the flood. About 1805, Wilhelm M. L. De Wette, speculated that all of the Pentateuch was written after the time of King David – around 1000 B.C. He spculated further that Deuteronomy was written by Hilkiah the priest under Josiah about 600 B.C. He said Hilkiah devised this forgery in order to promote a centralized religion. De Wette called it the (D) document. Around 1823, Heinrich Ewald stressed the essential basis of Genesis as being very early, even if not done by Moses. About 1853, Herman Hupfeld looked more closely at the theory of an E document, and speculated that it came from an E1 document and the rest from E2 because he thought it had two different literary styles. In 1878, Wellhausen combined various ideas with the theory of evolution and presented a JEDP sequence as his idea of how the Pentateuch came to exist: • Supposedly around 850 B.C. an unknown writer (Mr. J) was interested in biography and wrote about God using anthropomorphic terms.

The Documentary Hypothesis

• Supposedly around 750 B.C. another author (Mr. E) wrote because he was much more interested in things like the origin of names and customs. In Genesis, Mr. E shows interest in ritual and worship. So he represents God as communicating through dreams and visions. In Exodus through Numbers, E exalts Moses as a unique miracle worker. • Supposedly about 650BC, another editor combined J and E into a single document – the J-E document. • Well, around 621 B.C., a Mr. D wanted to force everybody in Judah to participate in centralized religion in Jerusalem, so he did more work to produce a JED document. • Around 570 B.C., a Mr. P worked to add more and to build a systematic account of the origins and nature of Israel’s theocracy – a JEDP document.

Circular Reasoning Used by the documentarians The documentary hypothesis is characterized by circular reasoning. Its underlying premise is that there can be no supernatural revelation. Therefore, it becomes absolutely necessary to find rationalistic, humanistic explanations to try to explain everything that the Old Testament says is a miracle. The documentarians say, "The historical books show no recognition of the existence of P legislation or a written Mosaic code until after the exile." Others then showed this idea was not true. At that point they replied, "Oh well, all those reference were later insertion made by priestly scribes who reworked these books after the exile." They use part of the manuscripts to support their theory, and throw out any part of a manuscript that contradicts their theory. They try to use the manuscripts to prove their theory, and reject the manuscripts as being valid when they show their theory to be wrong. The documentarians say early Hebrew writers were capable of using more than one name for God. They could not have more than one style of writing, and they could not have had more than one circle of interest. They will compare the Bible with pagan writings. In every case where the pagan writing contradicts the Bible, the heathen source is automatically accepted as the correct one. Fortunately a brilliant researcher, W.F. Albright, has written many books and articles that document the accuracy of the Biblical record. The Wellhausen school started with pure assumption, insisting that Israel's religion had merely a human origin. The evidence all the way from Genesis to Malachi stands against their theory. Yet in spite of it, they insist that Israel could not have started out just worshiping one God.

The Documentary Hypothesis

Evidences of the Pentateuch's Early Author The Bible says Moses wrote the Pentateuch: • Ex.17:14, 24:4, 34:27, 33:1-2, Josh.1:8, 8:31, 2Ki.14:6, 21:8, Ezra 6:8, Neh.13:1, Mt.19:8, Jn.5:46-47, 7:19, Act.3:22, Mk.12:26 • The author gives eyewitness details of the fountains and palm trees at Elim. The author had to alive at the time of Moses • The author had to have a thorough acquaintance with Egypt by living there. • The author uses a greater percentage of Egyptian words than elsewhere in the Old Testament. This matches the background of Moses, growing up in Egypt. • The seasons and the weather are referred to in Egyptian manner, instead of with Palestinian expressions. • The flora and fauna referred to are Egyptian. p.119 • The atmosphere of Exodus through Numbers is distinctively desert. The tremendous emphasis upon a tabernacle or large tent as a place of worship is entirely out of place for authors living centuries after Solomon's temple had been built. But it is totally relevant to a nomadic people constantly on the march through the desert. • There are words and forms of writing used do not fit into a later period. • The entire Pentateuch has a most remarkable unity which links it together into a progressive whole. Does Moses qualify as somebody thoroughly able to write the Pentateuch? Yes: -He has the education and background -He has personal knowledge of climate, agriculture, geography -He has the incentive to write since he is Israel's founding father. -He had plenty of time during the 40 years in the wilderness. -He had come from Egyptian culture greatly emphasizing writing.

Hebrew and Greek Manuscripts of the Old Testament The Bible has over 6000 hand-written manuscripts written in Greek, plus manuscripts in other languages â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Latin, 8 Syriac families of languages, 8 Coptic families of languages, Aramaic, Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic, Slavonic, Gothic, Arabic, and Persian. This provides over 11,000 manuscripts to use to verify the accuracy of our Bible. It matches what was originally written. Below is a list of a few of these manuscripts: From B.C. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (written about 150-100 B.C.) contain all of Isaiah. The Habakkuk Commentary (100-50 B.C.) It contains Hab.1&2 with interspersed notes between verses. The Hebrew University Isaiah Scroll (ca.50 B.C.) which has substantial portions of Is.41 - 66. 1Q Leviticus fragments (c. 5 B.C) It has a few verses each of chapters 19 - 22. 4Q Deuteronomy-B - 32:41-43 4Q Samuel-A (1st century B.C.) 27 fragments of 1 Samuel 1 & 2. 4Q Samuel-B (225 B.C. or earlier) 1 Samuel 16.19,21,23 4Q Jeremiah-A (undated but old, similar to 4Q Samuel-B) 4Q XII-A (c.300 B.C.) a copy of the minor prophets 4Q Qoh (c.200 B.C.) of Ecclesiastes 4Q Exodus , a fragment of Chapter 1. 4Q Paleo-Exodus (c.100 B.C.) portions of chapters 7,29,30,32 4Q Numbers 4Q Deuteronomy-A It has chapter 32 (Song of Moses.) 4Q Jeremiah 7Q Daniel (in 2nd century handwriting) A few fragments of Dan. 11Q Psalms

Since the birth of Jesus 1. British Museum Oriental 4445 (c.850 A.D.) contains the Pentateuch. 2. Codex Cairensis (C) (895 A.D.) contains the former and latter prophets. The Crusaders apparently seized it from Karaite Jews in Jerusalem in 1099. 3. Aleppo Codex (A) (c.950 A.D.) contains the entire Old Testament. 4. Leningrad MS (916 A.D.) contains the latter prophets. 5. Leningrad MS B-19A (1010 A.D.) contains the entire Old Testament. 6. Samaritan Pentateuch (1616 A.D.) written in Samaritan characters. VERSIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 1.

LXX (the Septuagint) This Greek version was translated in Alexandria about 250 B.C. The following are manuscript fragments of it a. Rylands Papyrus (458 A.D.) contains portions of Dt.23-28 (150 B.C) preserved in a mummy wrapping. b. Qumran Four has fragments of Lev.,Num.,of the minor prophets, c. Chester Beatty Papyri (ca.150 A.D.) contains portions of Num. & Dt. d. Papyrus 911 (c.300 A.D.) contains fragments of Ge.1-35. e. Freer Greek Manuscript V (c.250 A.D.) of the minor prophets. f. Origin's Hexapla (written about 240 A.D., a copy of it from c.400 A.D.) g. Hesychian Recension (c.300) h. Lucianic Recension (c.300) i. Codex Vaticanus (B) (325-350) contains most of the New Testament as well as the Old j.Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph) (ca. A.D.375-400) contains the complete New Testament, although portions of the Old are missing. k. Codex Alexandrinus (A) (ca.450) contains the New Testament. Syriac versions a. The Peshitta (ca. A.D.200) The Peshitta achieved an official status for the Syriac-speaking church when it was revised and published under the authority of Bishop Rabbula of Edessa (ca. A.D.400) b. Syriac Hexapla (A.D.616)

Lower Criticism

Coptic versions. Coptic was a spoken language, descended from Egyptian hieroglyphs. Bibles in Coptic go back to ca. A.D.200.

Ethiopic version (ca. A.D.400)

Armenian version (ca. A.D.500)

Gothic version by Ulfilas (ca. A.D.330) Only a small portion of the Old Testament remains.

Lower Criticism While higher criticism deals with questions of the authorship and integrity of the text of Bible books. Lower criticism (also called textual criticism) checks the accuracy of the copy of scripture which we have to the original. It attempts to sift through the evidence to determine the accuracy of variant reading. We do have around 6,000 copies of the Greek manuscripts that were made very close to the time of the originals. These various manuscripts, or copies, agree with each other to almost 100 percent accuracy. Statistically, the New Testament is 99.5% textually pure. That means that there is only 1/2 of 1% of of all the copies that do not agree with each other perfectly. But, if you take that 1/2 of 1% and examine it, you find that the majority of the "problems" are nothing more than spelling errors and very minor word alterations.

An Armenian manuscript made about 500 A.D.

Here is an example of a variation: instead of saying Jesus, the variation says, "Jesus Christ." So the actual amount of textual variation of any concern is extremely low. Therefore, we can say that we have a remarkably accurate compilation of the original documents.

How serious are the differences in the copies. They are of minor significance. For example: 1. Sometimes a copyist might write a similar sounding word (like in English, a person might write “whole” instead of “ hole.” Or he might write “there” instead of “their.”) 2. He might write the same word twice (like “Jesus 'and and' the twelve disciples.”) 3. He might switch the letter order (siege instead of seige) What are the most common errors? 1.

Haplography -- the accidental ommission of a letter; writing a letter only once when it should have been more than once. a. Is.26:3 BeKa Ba-T.e.HuW (trusting in thee; trust ye) instead of b. BeK-a B-a.TuWa.H (trusting in thee; trust ye)

Lower Criticism

Dittography -- writing the same thing twice Is.30:30 HSMY' HSMY' (cause to be heard cause to be heard)

metathesis -- reversing the proper position of letters Is.32:19 HY'R (the forest) instead of H'Yr (the city)

Fusion -- the combining of two separate words into one. Amos 6:12 BBQRYM (with oxen) probably means BBQR YM (with oxen the sea) or Shall one plough the sea with oxen?

Fission -- the dividing of one word into two. Is.2:20 L.HPR PRWT (to a hole of rats) instead of L.HPRPRYM (to the shrew-mice)

Homophony -- replacing one homonym for another Often LW (to him) is substituted for L' (not). Is.9:3 HRBYT HGWY L' HGDLT H'SM.HH (Thou hast multiplied the people; thou hast not multiplied the joy) HRBYT HGWY LW HGDLY H'SM.HH (Thou hast multiplied the people; thou hast increased the joy for him)

Misreading similar letters. From 600 B.C. onward, the Hebrew for 'D' and 'R' were often confused. "Dodanim" of Ge.10:4 appears as "Rodanim" in 1Chr.1:7. In both places it probably refers to the Rhodians.

Homoeoteleuton -- the skipping of a passage when the copyist's eye skipped from one ending to a second similar ending. Is.4:5 (the omitted words are in parentheses)

WBR' YHWH .. 'NN (YWMM W'SN WNGH'S LHBH LYLH KY 'L KL KBWD . H P H WSKH THYH L.SL) YWMM M.HRB Compare Is.4:5 with Ps.145:13b Homoeoarkton -- confusion because of a similar beginning. Compare 1Sa.14:41 in the LXX (Greek Septuagint) with the MT (Masoretic Hebrew text). â&#x20AC;˘ LXX: "O Lord God of Israel" occurs two times with 25 words in between. â&#x20AC;˘

MT: "O Lord God of Israel" occurs only once with all 25 words in between lost.

10.

Accidental omission of words without repetition. 1Sa.13:1 "Saul was years old when he began to reign."

11.

Misreading vowel letters. '(aleph), H (he), W (was), Y (yodh) were true consonants only in the earlier stages of Hebrew writing. Gradually they came to represent vowels without being pronounced at all. Amos 2:7 H'S'PYM (who trample upon) becomes changed to H'SPYM (those who bruise)

Lower Criticism

What are the rules for figuring out what ought to be written? 1. The older reading is to be preferred. 2. The more difficult reading is to be preferred because a scribe is more likely to simplify or clarify than to make it more difficult for his readers. 3. The shorter reading is preferred because a copyist is more likely to insert material than to leave out. 4. The reading which best explains all the variants is preferred. Ps.22:16 in the MT: K'RY YDY WRGLY (like the lion my hands and my feet) The Hebrew column in the Complutensian Polyglot has it: K'RW (they have bored through). This is probably the correct way because the LXX, the Peshitta, the Vulgate have it "They have dug through" or "pierced" 5. The reading with the widest geographical support is preferred. 6. The reading most like the author's style and diction is preferred. 7. The reading without doctrinal bias is preferred. For example we know from the Targums and from the LXX that later Jewish thought shied away from any human-like representations of God. A later variant which tends away from so describing God therefore yields. Is.1:2 LR'WT (to see) A later text has it, L-eR-a'oWT (to be seen or to appear) instead of LiRe'o WT. The verse then becomes, "When you come to appear before Me..." instead of "When you come to be seen by Me..." If Isaiah had intended "to appear", it would normally have been spelled LHR'WT.

Why Not the Apocrapha? The Jewish community has never accepted them as canonical, they were never part of the Hebrew canon. 1. Evidence in the IT period that the Jews considered the canon closed with Malachi. There is a recognizable completion point in the OT writings, an ending of the prophetic succession. • Therefore for a writing to be authoritative, it must be in the prophetic succession. • There was a belief among the Rabbis that inspiration ended with the prophets shortly after the return from exile. (Bruce, 99.) • Writers in the Apoc, in the inter-testamental period, bear witness to the belief that the prophetic word had ceased, that God was no longer speaking. “The prophets have fallen asleep.” (2 Baruch 85:3) In 1 Mac 14:41 Simon is made leader and priest “until a trustworthy prophet should rise.” Earlier the writer speaks of the sorrow in Israel such “as there has not been since the prophets ceased to appear to them.” (Ewert, 70.) • Talmud: “Up to this point (4th c. BC) the prophets prophesied through the HS; from this time onward incline thine ear and listen to the sayings of the wise.” (In G/N, 64.) • Babylonian Talmud: “After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel.” (McDowell, 1-31) (What is the “Talmud?” “Compilations of rabbinic teaching and interpretation.” BH, glossary) The succession of prophets determined the fact of Scr and the last prophetic voice closes the canon. 2. Josephus, the 1st century Jewish historian accepted only the Hebrew canon of 22 books. He was familiar with the A and quotes frequently from the LXX, but clearly regards the A as not canonical. • Josephus. ~ 100 AD, makes clear reference to the 22 books as inspired. As well, he makes a clear distinction showing the Apoc as not inspired. (Bruce, 99-101.) He writes, “From Artaxeres until our time everything has been recorded, but has not been deemed worthy of like credit with what preceded, because the exact succession of the prophets ceased.” • See Bruce, B&P, 99 for more information and J. quotes in this regard. 3. Council of Jamnia. Jewish scholars gathering after the fall of Jerusalem affirm the 22 book canon, the Council was in reality only recognizing what was already the accepted canon.

Although the Septuagint contains apocryphal books, this is not proof that the A was ever considered canonical. • It cannot be proved that the Alexandrian Jews accepted a "wider" canon. • Philo of Alexandria, the 1st century Jewish philosopher and theologian, rejected the A as lacking the same authority as the other Hebrew Scriptures. “He does not regard the apocryphal books as authoritative, and this suggests that, although these books were included in the LXX, they were not really accorded canonical status by the Alexandrian Jews.” Bruce, B&P, 98-99. • The Septuagint translation. Palestine was the home of the Jewish canon, not Alexandria, Egypt. The great Greek

•

learning center in Egypt was no authority in determining which books belonged in the Jewish Old Testament. Alexandria was the place of translation, not of canonization. The fact that the Septuagint contains thc Apocrypha only proves that the Alexandrian Jews translated thc other Jewish religious literature from the intertes-tamental period along with the canonical books. Philo, the Alexandrian Jew, clearly rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha at the time of Christ as does official Judaism at other places and times. In fact, the extant copies of the LXX date from the fourth century A.a. and do not prove what books were in LXX of earlier times. The early Christian Bible. The early Greek manuscripts of the Bible date from the fourth century. They follow the LXX tradition which contains the Apocrypha. As was noted above, this is a Greek translation, not a Hebrew canon. Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted most often from the LXX but never once from any book of the Apocrypha. At best, the presence of the Apocrypha in Christian Bibles of the fourth century shows only that these books were accepted to some degree by Christians at that time. It does not indicate that either the Jews or earlier Christians accepted these books as canonical, to say nothing of the universal church, which has not held them to be canonical.

The Apocrapha

The strongest single argument against the canonicity of the Apocrypha is to be found in the NT. Jesus and the NT writers obviously did not accept these books as Scripture. • The New Testament quotes from virtually every canonical book of the Old Testament and verifies the contents and limits of the Old Testament, it seems clear that the New Testament definitely excludes the Apocrypha from the Hebrew canon. • Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted most often from the LXX but never once from any book of the Apocrypha. New Testament authority. The New Testament never cites an apocryphal book as inspired. Allusions to these books lend no more authority to them than do the New Testament references to the pagan poets.

• Also, the sermons in the Book of Acts indicate how the apostles felt about the Apocrypha. The sermon summaries that Luke gives in Acts usually span the history of salvation, beginning with Abraham or David, and ending with the fulfillment of God's promises in Jesus Christ. However, they completely ignore the four hundred year intertestamental period. We appreciate all the information that the Apocrypha supply for this period of Jewish history, but the apostles did not think that the books written in this period were a continuation of divine revelation. Ewert.

There has been persistent uncertainty about the apocryphal books throughout the history of the church. • Suggests that they did not have the stamp of God on them, as did the canonical books that were eventually recognized as having divine authority. • In fact, only by ecclesiastical authority (Augustine is an example), was resistance to these books suppressed. • The canon of St. Augustine. The testimony of Augustine is neither definitive nor unequivocal. First, Augustine at times implies that the Apocrypha had only a deuterocanonicity (City of God 18.36) instead of a primary canonicRy. Further, the Councils of Hippo and Carthage were small local councils influenced by Augustine and the tradition of the Greek Septuagint translation. No qualified Hebrew scholars were present at either of these councils. The most qualified Hebrew scholar of the time, St. Jerome, argued strongly against Augustine in his rejecting the canonicity of the Apocrypha. Jerome refused even to translate the Apocrypha into Latin or to include it in his Latin Vulgate versions. It was not until after Jerome's day and literally over his dead body, that the Apocrypha was brought into the Latin Vulgate.

• Most great Fathers of the early church rejected their canonicity. • No church council held them to be canonical until the late fourth century. • Jerome, the great biblical scholar and translator of the Latin Vulgate, strongly rejected the Apocrypha. • The RC position coming out of Trent was polemical and prejudicial. The Council of Trent. The action of the Council of Trent was both polemical and prejudicial. In debates with Luther, the Roman Catholics had quoted the Maccabees in support of prayer for the dead (see 2 Mac 12:45-46). Luther and Protestants following him challenged the canonicity of that book, citing the New Testament, the early church Fathers, and Jewish teachers for support. The Council of Trent responded to Luther by canonizing the Apocrypha. Not only is the action of Trent obviously polemical, but it was also prejudicial, since not all of the fourteen (fifteen) books of the Apocrypha were accepted by Trent. One and 2 Esdras (Roman Catholic, 3 and 4 Esdras; the Douay version names the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah as 1 and 2 Esdras respectively) and the Prayer of Manasseh were rejected. The rejection of 2 Esdras is particularly suspect, for it contains a strong verse against praying for the dead (2 Esdras 7:105). In fact, some medieval scribe had cut this section out of the Latin manuscripts of 2 Esdras, and it was known by Arabic manuscripts until found again in Latin by Robert L. Bently in 1874 at a library in Amiens, France.

• Many Roman Catholic scholars, even through the Reformation Period, rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha. The decision at Trent did not reflect either a universal or indisputable consent within the Catholic church of the Reformation. During that very time Cardinal Cajetan, who opposed Luther at Augsburg in 1518, published a Commentary on All the Authentic Historical Books of the Old Testament (1532) which omitted the Apocrypha. Even before this, Cardinal Ximenes distinguished between the Apocrypha and the Old Testament canon in his Coplutensian Polyglot (1514-1517). With this data in view, Protestants generally reject the decision of Trent as unfounded.

• Neither Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, nor Protestant churches to this date have recognized the Apocrypha as inspired and canonical in the full sense of the word. In view of this date it

The Apocrapha

behooves Christians today not to use the Apocrypha as the Word of God, nor use it as an authoritative support for any point of doctrine. Non-Catholic usage. The use of thc Apocrypha among Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant churches has been uneven. Some have used it in public worship. Many Bibles contain translations of the Apocrypha, although it is placed in a separate section, usually between the Old and New Testaments. However non-Catholics have employed the Apocrypha, they have never given to it the same canonical authority of the rest of the Bible. Instead, its use has been more devotional than canonical among non-Catholics.

The Apocrypha does not meet the essential criterial for canonicity as does the rest of the OT Scripture. The Apocrypha does not claim to be prophetic. There is a conspicuous absence of prophecy such as is found in the canonical books. 2. It does not come with the authority of God. 3. The Apocrypha contains historical errors (see Tobit 1:3-5 and 14:11) and such theological heresies as praying for the dead (2 Mac 12:45 [46]; 4). 4. The value of its contents for edification is mostly repetitious of the material already found in the canonical books. 5. The reception by the people of God to whom they were originally presented was negative. 6. Lacks a sense of redemptive history. “The canonical writings are conscious of participating in redemptive history while the non-canonical writings lack this sense of redemptive history.” Ladd, Theology of the NT, 32. 1.

All attempts at compromise, giving the Apocrypha an intermediate position, are inconsistent. •

One cannot, for example, read them in public worship and at the same time say that they are not authoritative for doctrine. The extent of the Old Testament canon up to the time of Nehemiah comprised twenty-two (or twentyfour) books in Hebrew and relisted as thirty-nine in Christian Bibles, and was determined by the fourth century B.C. The minor disputes since that time have not changed the contents of the canon. It was the books written after this time, known as the Apocrypha, which because of the influence of the Greek translation at Alexandria, gained a wide circulation among Christians. Since some of the early Fathers, particularly in the West, made use of these books in their writings, the church (largely under the influence of Augustine) gave them a broader and ecclesiastical use. Until the time of the Reformation, however, these books were not considered canonical. Their canonization by the Council of Trent stands unsupported by history. Even that verdict was polemical and prejudiced, as shown earlier. The Jewish community has never changed this stand. Some Christians have been less definitive, but whatever value is placed upon them, it is evident that the church as a whole has never accepted the Apocrypha as canonical Scripture. (From Geisler and Nix, From God to Us, 94-100) This does not mean, however, that these books are without value. From a historical and cultural point of view they are really invaluable. Also, one can find high points of religious devotion in them. Ewert.

Bibliography: Bruce, The Books and the Parchments, 88-113. Ewert, From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations, 29-38; 65f Geisler/Nix, From God to Us. McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Vol 1. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, 1185f.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

Panorama of Creation Dr Carl Baugh Glenrose, Texas 10/24/1991 Four basic questions we must know: 1. Who am I? 2. Where did I come from? How did life begin? 3. What is my purpose? 4. Where am I going? Only two theories of how the earth began and developed: Natural Evolutionary Development (Darwinism) 1. Darwin did not come up with original data 2. Darwin did come up with original thought; • a thought common to man - everything is a result of natural processes and without having to be accountable to a personal God. Darwin resented the way he saw God in the earth. • Man was the ultimate expression of a chaotic process. 3.

Naturalism: life forms developed over a period of time, from chaos to order. • If we can find man in the same stratosphere as a dinosaurs then we destroy the evolutionary model.

Theistic Evolution: God created the world via evolution.

Major Problems with Evolutionary model: • If first man evolved 2 million years ago - too many people would exist today.(based on 2% population growth rate, halving of pop. every 82 years from wars and natural disasters) • Man appears in sophisticated form throughout the ages. • Major things still the same after years - no • Dinosaurs could not have existed • Dinosaurs had very small lungs

Scientific Creationism "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Gen 1:1 1. What was the world like before the flood? • In short, A Paradise, except for one very violent life form - man. 2. The Creation Model • The world was surrounded by a water canopy of water suspended 11 miles above the earth. • Filtered out the UV rays of the sun, water filters out UV rays which are harmful to us. • Greater atmospheric pressure, approx 2.5 atmospheres of pressure • 25% Oxygen in the air ; 25% CO2; Result: Greater size of all life forms. 3. Animals: • Dinosaurs: Couldn't exist today without the greater atmospheric pressure because they had small lungs and great body size and could fly longer. • Greater healing powers because of atmospheric conditions. • Vegetation: Plants would grow bigger and faster and live longer. (greater CO2 and less UV radiation, greater atm. pressure.) • Man: could live longer and grow bigger. • One human cell holds more information bits than all the information bits in the universe and is more complex than all the structures and complexity of the world. • Earth is impossible to exist without the external intelligence. The "Firmament": (Gen 1:6) • means "to compress and pound together in thin metal sheets." • must be compatible with the existing atmosphere • must filter the harmful Ultra Violet rays • must press in on the atmosphere to create greater pressure

Discussions Concerning Evolution •

• must stay up in the air Perhaps made of hydrogen in metallic form. Hydrogen in its metallic pure state is clear – transparent. • Hydrogen at very low temperatures - becomes a metal, transparent, fibre optic, superconductive and has pinkish color to it. • Benefits of a hydrogen metallic "firmament": • Metal: strong enough to avoid collapse • Transparent: light from the sun and stars could penetrate the firmament. • fibre optic: carry the source of the light to the dark side of the earth causing some light during the night time. • superconductive: with an electromagnetic field metal can be levitated in "space". • pink: relaxing light, plants grow better, humans function better.

Iron core at center of earth - electromagnetic field aligned by this core. • Stars can be seen in full color. • Radioactive material in the inner crust of the earth to keep earth warm. • All is perfectly balanced - designed to go on forever. • This theory fits well with the biblical account as well as being scientifically sound as to what it was like before the flood. Time: Evidence that the earth was: • Created Rapidly; instantaneous creation. • In crystalline structure of the earth's granite record what is found there. Radioactive elements co-existing together. • Recently: • Electromagnetic field: The earth is loosing energy one half it's electromagnetic field exponentially every 1400 years. If you go back just 10 000 years the field would be too strong for human life to exist. • Dust particles on the moon: • Dust collects on the moon from out of space. • If the moon was billions of years old as Evolutionists say then there would be 54 - 900 feet of dust on moon. • But in reality there were only 1/8th of an inch of dust on the moon when man landed on the moon. • The rings of Saturn: • Some of the chunks of the rings of saturn were small and large and they were braided - indicates short-time and intelligence. If they were there for a long time they would be the same size. • Light from the stars: the distance from the stars is a great time. Light traveling through space tires and produces a red light. Light speed has diminished over time. • World created in operational maturity. eg. fruit already on trees, Adam and Eve created in maturity, the bird ready to fly and the light was also created in place. • The atmosphere: Amount of Helium 4 in the atmosphere indicated a young earth. Model must address all principles of reality. • The Creation Model is consistent with the Biblical record and also stands alone as scientific evidence. • Evolutionary model breaks down if man co-existed with other • Micro Evolution - development within a genetic boundary (Microevolution is the occurrence of small-scale changes in allele frequencies in a population, over a few generations, also known as change at or below the species level. For example, changes occur in the variety of dogs. Microevolution can be contrasted with macroevolution, which is the occurrence of large-scale changes in gene frequencies in a population over a geological time period. Dogs evolving to become elephants – an evolutionary development that eventually brings forth mankind.) • Macro Evolution - going beyond the genetic boundary. Natural selection - holds to the best strain. God made life short, because of man's sin. • Ps 6:6 ". . .God utters his voice and the earth melts." • God uttered his voice (vibration energy, similar to microwave energy) and the earth melted. ie. Nuclear imbalance in a nuclear reactor is called a melt down. • Gen 7:11 ". . . all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights." • Fountains from the deep: Imbalance in the water causing jets of water shot 70 miles in the air. • Windows of heaven opened: water jets tore holes in the firmament. • It rained: Firmament collapsed coming down to earth as rain and ice.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

Effects on the earth: • Electromagnetic field reduced and not being recharged. • U.V. short wave radiation increases ie. not being absorbed by the firmament -> increased risk of cancer in the body. The only real way to verify a theory is to find it in the fossil record. • What fossil evidences are there that Creationism is correct: • Fossilized human finger found in the same strata as dinosaurs • A man's hammer found in stone which evolutionist say formed billions of years before when evolutionists say man existed. • Human footprints found amongst dinosaur footprints. • Various web sites: www.bible.ca/tracks/taylor-trail.htm www.rae.org/tuba.html www.creationevidence.org www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v18/i4/dinosaurs

The Burdick Track is in Cretaceous limestone, found near Glen Rose, Texas (famous for it’s dinosaur tracks). This is in the same rock formation that has dinosaur footprints.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

Problems with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gap Theory.â&#x20AC;?Compiled By Dean H. Harvey I.

PROGRESSIVE CREATION THEORY is the idea that, while life was developing over the vast span of geologic time (the way evolution postulates), God intervened at specific times to create something new, which the evolutionary process could not accomplish unaided. THRESHOLD EVOLUTION and THEISTIC EVOLUTION are basically equivalent ideas.

II. THE DAY-AGE THEORY: Many Bible expositors have felt that the geological ages were so firmly established by science that it would be folly to question them, and therefore, some means of accommodating Genesis to geology must be devised. The most obvious way is to interpret Genesis in such a way that the ages of geology correspond to the history of creation. This theory would be dependent on the meaning of yom (day) in Hebrew. See accompanying handout, Impact 81. A. A variant of the Day-Age Theory is that there were six literal days of creation which were separated by vast spans of time. III. THE REVELATION DAY THEORY teaches that the six days were literal, but they were the days in which God revealed to Moses the way in which He had created the earth. IV. THE FRAMEWORK HYPOTHESIS teaches that the creation story is a literary device rather than actual history. Genesis 1-11 in this view is a rhetorical framework within which are developed the grand spiritual themes of the "creation" and the "fall" of man. This view does not consider the Biblical narrative as actual truth. V. THE GAP THEORY: "Various zealous and sincere expositors have entertained the theory that there was a race of intelligent beings on the earth before the time of Adam, that these beings fell into sin along with Satan at the time he was cast out of heaven, and that the chaos of Gen. 1:2 was due to the punishment that came upon them. This theory argues that Gen. 1:2a should read "and the earth became waste and void." Other O. T. passages linked with this one to "prove" the theory are: Gen. 1:22; Isa. 14:12-20; 45:18; Jer. 4:23-26; Eze. 28:11-19...Watts, J. Wash, A Survey of Old Testament Teaching, Vol. I, Broadman Press, 1947, p. 16. Arguments for the Gap Theory: 6. It makes a strong distinction between `bara' (create) and `asah' (make). "make" - Gen. 1:7,16,25,31;2:2,3,4,9;3:1.... "bring about/make" - Num.16:30 "choose" - Ezk 21:19; Ps.51:10; Is.4:5;45:7;57:19;65:17,18; Ge.1:1,21,29;2:3,4 "creator" - Ecc.12:1; Is.40:28;43:15 "cut" - Jos.17:15,18; Ezk.23:47 7. "without form and void" indicates chaos as a result of divine judgment. 3. "Darkness" indicates divine judgment. 4. The verb "was" in Gen. 1:2 should be "became." 5. "Replenish" in Gen. 1:28 suggests a previous filling. 6. Geology demands a very old earth. (5-15 billion years) Answers to the above arguments: 1. `bara' is a more restricted word than `asah' but they an be used interchangeably as exact synonyms. Compare their uses in Gen. 1:26, "Let us make (asah) man" and Gen. 1:27, "So God created (bara) man." Also, God created whales (bara) but He made (asah) animals. See also the use of create (bara), made (asah), and formed (yatsar) in Isa. 43:7 and 45:18 where they are synonymous. "For I have BARA created whom I have YATSAR formed whom I ASAH have made." 2. "Without form and void" simply means "unformed and unfilled." The earth was not at this point at an inhabitable state. God had to form and prepare it before He put life on it. On day 2 God made the atmosphere which was capable of sustaining life. On day 3 He made the dry land and

Discussions Concerning Evolution

then He put plant life on it. A tree trunk is not considered to be chaotic when it is brought to the carpenter shop to be formed into a beautiful table. It just has not yet reached the finished state that the carpenter has planned for it. "Void" means ~uninhabited" as can be seen by the parallelism in Isa. 45:18, "He created it not in vain (the word for "vain" is "bohu" and is the same word used in Gen. 1:2 for "void"), He formed it to be inhabited." Is.34:11 3. "Darkness" does not suggest judgment. CHOSHEK - Strong's 2822 Jos. 2:5-when it was dark, the men went out Isa. 45:3-treasures of darkness Isa. 45:7-I form the light, and create darkness Psalm 139:12-the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee... Psalm 104:19-24-darkness is just a part of the natural order that God has built into the universe. 4. "Was" is a proper translation of Gen. 1:2. The form of the verb as it appears is so translated almost every other place it is used. "Became" is a very improbable translation. Grammatically, verse 2 is not presenting subsequent action or time to verse 1. The conjunction "and" or "now" is on a noun, not on the verb, and it suggests a state of being concurrent with the time of verse 1. Also, the emphasis is on the noun "the earth" and the verb is deliberately de-emphasized. Verse 2 describes the earth as it was made in verse 1. Jonah 3:3 is an exact grammatical parallel. Nineveh was a big city when Jonah got there, it did not "become" one after his arrival. 5. "Replenish is a translation of the Hebrew "malah" and simply means "fill." KJV uses "replenish" in 1:28, but see 1:22. NASV is consistent in translating this word. 6. The forms in the crust of the earth that geologists theorize took billions of years to develop (using uniformitarian assumptions) can be adequately explained in a young earth system by accepting the Biblical record of a world wide catastrophic deluge in the days of Noah. Such a non-uniformitarian catastrophe is unexplainable on naturalistic grounds, so it is rejected and classed as invalid by many geologists. But many geologists also admit that it is a good explanation of many land forms that virtually defy explanation on uniformitarian grounds. Many geologists believe in a relatively young earth which the Bible seems to suggest also. The earth has never been proved to be billions of years old. Other considerations relating to the Gap Theory: 1. It is not a position which is apparent from the text of Scripture. One could read Gen. 1 repeatedly, and especially the first three verses, and never guess that he had just covered the first 5-15 billion years of earth's history.. It is a position that has been arrived at under pressure; the pressure of popular scientific opinion. Positions arrived at under pressure are rarely strong positions. 2. Gen. 1:31 states that everything was still "very good" at the end of 6 days. This could not be truthfully stated if God's prior beautiful creation had already been destroyed by an act of divine judgment. Judgment is a result of sin. According to Romans 5:12 sin entered the earth as a result of the sin of Adam as recorded in Gen. 3. Theologically, the Gap Theory has some serious problems. 3. Exo. 20:11 places all of creation in 6 literal days. 4. Judgment, according to the Gap Theory, had to be by a flood as Gen. 1:2 speaks of a shoreless ocean. The Bible, however, only speaks of one universal flood, and that was in the days of Noah (Gen. 6:9; II Pet. 2:5; 3:3-7). 5. If there was a pre-Adamic world which was destroyed by God, did it exist without sun, moon or stars? Why would God have to create them as He did on day 4? 6. The earliest detailed promulgation of the Gap Theory was in Earth's Earliest Ages, by G. H. Pember.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

7. Isa. 45:18 is normally used as a proof-text from a philosophical and not from a Biblical viewpoint. In other words, God is the kind of God who would not create anything incomplete or less than "perfect". 8. Perhaps the best and most complete refutation of the Gap Theory is in Scientific Creationism, edited by Henry Morris, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, CA, 1974, pp. 231-243. 9. I (DHH) was taught the Gap Theory and believed it for several years. My motivation was probably the common one, that of wanting to reconcile the great age of the earth per geology with the seemingly young age per the Bible. Note: I am indebted to Professor D. L. Dunn of Briercrest Bible College in Canada for much of the technical Hebrew material used in the above discussion. DHH

Discussions Concerning Evolution

The Canopy Theory

Lecture Notes from J. Kerby Anderson I.

Problems with Theory of Evolution W. Dinosaurs and human footprints in Paluxy Riverbed (Glen Rose, Texas) X. Trilobites in human footprint (Antelope Springs, Utah) Y. Spore and pollen fossils of conifers in pre-Cambrian Hakati Shale (Grand Canyon, AZ) Palynologist: Dr. Clifford Burdick II. Canopy Hypothesis: a biblical alternative to evolution A. Water vapor canopy 10. Gen. 1:6-7 describe a canopy of water vapor around the atmosphere of the earth at Creation. a. evidence shows that as recent as 5,000 years ago, there has been a rise in the level of the world's oceans. b. Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn all have gaseous canopies around them. 11. Conditions at the earth's surface were different under the canopy: a. Greenhouse effect - universal tropical flora and fauna b. Increased atmospheric pressure c .Little radiation penetrated the canopy B. Collapse of the canopy: Noah's flood 1. Gen. 7:11-12 related the collapse of the canopy lasting forty days and forty nights. 2. Cause of the collapse was probably volcanic activity. 3. At 1/2 inch of rain per hour, the canopy would fall in 40 days. 4. When the canopy collapsed, the pressure dropped. As the pressure dropped, temperature dropped. 5. Evidence for radical temperature drops is seen in the mammoths found preserved around the arctic circle. The Bird's Eye Corporation computes that to deep-freeze a mammoth in four hours (time dictated by almost perfect state of preservation) would take a drop to -150O F. 6. Increased radiation resulting from fall of the canopy decreased the lifespan of man and animal. Radiation buildup would increase exponentially, shortening life exponentially. 7. The ages of the patriarchs of Genesis decline in a perfect exponential curve following the flood. III. Building up of the geologic column A. The formation of rock strata involves particle transportation in water from its source and deposition. 1. The Genesis account indicates that this happened rapidly in turbulent waters involving tidal waves of sub-continental proportions heaving over the globe. 2. Polystrate fossils (i.e., tree trunks) indicate rapid sedimentation. B. The canopy hypothesis presents the formation of a large part of the geologic column through intense periods of sedimentation and accompanied by major isostatic readjustment (Ps. 104). C. Henry Morris (Ph.D. in hydrology and former Head of Department of Hydrology, VPI) presents five hydraulic factors in sorting fossils (especially the index fossils of geologic ages): 1. Ecology 2. Mobility 3. Resistance to water 4. Sphericity 5. Specific gravity D. The general pattern of fossil distribution beginning with the simplest forms at the lowest levels and preceding to the most complex at the highest levels would be predicted. E. Exceptions to general pattern fossil distribution would also be expected. IV. Conclusion A. Material Conclusion: Canopy hypothesis and special creation are better able to unify all data and deserving of rigorous pursuit of our best scientists. B. Spiritual Conclusion: Matt. 24:37-39.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

BIBLIOGRAPHY Dillow, Joseph C. The Waters Above. Chicago: Moody Press, 1981. Filby, Frederick A. The Flood Reconsidered. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971. Montgomery, John Warwick. The Quest for Noah's Ark. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany

Fellowship, 1972.

Morris, Henry M., and Whitcomb, John C. The Genesis Flood. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1965. Nelson, Byron. The Deluge Story in Stone. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1968. Patten, Donald W. "The Pre-Flood Greenhouse Effect.: In A Symposium on Creation, II edited by Donald W. Patten. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970. Rehwinkel, Alfred M. The Flood in the Light of the Bible, Geology, and Archaeology. St. Concordia, 1951.

Louis:

Rupke, N.A. "Prolegomena to a Study of Cataclysmal Sedimentation."In Why Not Creation? Walter E. Lammerts. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1970.

edited by

Stigers, Harold G. A Commentary on Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing 1976.

Hous e,

Waltke, Bruce K. Creation and Chaos. Portland, OR: Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1974. Young, Edward J. Studies in Genesis One. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1973.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

Circular Reasoning In Evolutionary Geology By Henry M. Morris, Ph. D. Institute for Creation Research

Creationists have long insisted that the main evidence for evolution - the fossil record - involves a serious case of circular reasoning. That is, the fossil evidence that life has evolved from simple to complex forms over the geological ages depends on the geological ages of specific rocks in which these fossils are found. The rocks, however, are assigned geologic ages based on the fossil assemblages which they contain. The fossils, in turn, are arranged on the basis of their assumed evolutionary relationships. Thus the main evidence for evolution is based on the assumption of evolution. A significant development of recent years has been the fact that many evolutionary geologists are now also recognizing this problem. They no longer ignore it or pass it off with a sarcastic denial, but admit that it is a real problem which deserves a serious answer. The use of "index fossils" to determine the geologic age of a formation, for example, is discussed in an interesting way in an important recent paper by J.E. O'Rourke. "These principles have been applied in Feinstratigraphie, which starts from a chronology of index fossils, and imposes them on the rocks. Each taxon represents a definite time unit and so provides an accurate, even 'infallible' date. If you doubt it, bring in a suite of good index fossils, and the specialist without asking where or in what order they were collected, will lay them out on the table in chronological order."1 That is, since evolution always proceeds in the same way all over the world at the same time, index fossils representing a given stage of evolution are assumed to constitute infallible indicators of the geologic age in which they are found. This makes good sense and would obviously be the best way to determine relative geologic age - if, that is, we knew infallibly that evolution were true! But how do we know that? There is such a vast time scale involved that no one can actually observe evolution taking place. "That a known fossil or recent species, or higher taxonomic group, however primitive it might appear, is an actual ancestor of some other species or group, is an assumption scientifically unjustifiable, for science never can simply assume that which it has the responsibility to demonstrate. --It is the burden of each of us to demonstrate the reasonableness of any hypothesis we might care to erect about ancestral conditions, keeping in mind that we have no ancestors alive today, that in all probability such ancestors have been dead for many tens or millions of years, and that even in the fossil record they are not accessible to us."2 There is, therefore, really no way of proving scientifically any assumed evolutionary phylogeny, as far as the fossil record is concerned. "Likewise, paleontologists do their best to make sense out of the fossil record and sketch in evolutionary sequences or unfossilized morphologies without realistic hope of obtaining specific verification within the foreseeable future."3 It would help if the fossil record would yield somewhere at least a few transitional sequences demonstrating the evolution of some kind of organism into some other more complex kind. So far, however, it has been uncooperative.

1 2 3

J.E. O'Rourke, "Pragmatism versus Materialism in Stratigraphy," American Journal of Science, Vol. 276, January 1976, p.51. Gareth V. Nelson, "Origin and Diversification of Teleostean Fishes," Annals, New York Academy of Sciences, 1971, p.27. Donald R. Griffin, "A Possible Window on the Minds of Animals," American Scientist, Vol. 64, September-October 1976, p.534.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

"The abrupt appearance of higher taxa in the fossil record has been a perennial puzzle. -- If we read the record rather literally, it implies that organisms of new grades of complexity arose and radiated relatively rapidly."4 Transitions are well documented, of course, at the same levels of complexity- within the "kinds," that is- but never into "new grades of complexity." Horizontal changes, however, are not really relevant to the measure of geologic time, since such changes occur too rapidly (e.g., the development of numerous varieties of dogs within human history) to be meaningful on the geologic time scale, and are reversible (e.g., the shift in the peppered-moth population of England from light-colored to dark-colored and back again.) Thus vertical evolutionary changes in fossils are essential to real geologic dating, but they are impossible to prove. They must simply be assumed. The dating of the rocks depends on the evolutionary sequence of the fossils, but the evolutionary interpretation of the fossils depends on the dating of the rocks. No wonder the evolutionary system, to outsiders, implies circular reasoning. "The intelligent layman has long suspected circular reasoning in the use of rocks to date fossils and fossils to date rocks. The geologist has never bothered to think of a good reply, feeling the explanations are not worth the trouble as long as the work brings results. This is supposed to be hard-headed pragmatism."5 The main "result" of this system, however, is merely the widespread acceptance of evolution. It is extremely inefficient in locating oil or other economically useful deposits. Perhaps, however, geologists feel that, since biologists had already proved evolution, they are justified in assuming it in their own work. But biologists in turn have simply assumed evolution to be true. "But the danger of circularity is still present. For most biologists the strongest reason for accepting the evolutionary hypothesis is their acceptance of some theory that entails it. There is another difficulty. The temporal ordering of biological events beyond the local section may critically involve paleontological correlation, which necessarily presupposed the non-repeatability of organic events in geologic history. There are various justifications for this assumption but for almost all contemporary paleontologists it rests upon the acceptance of the evolutionary hypothesis."6 And, as far as "ordering of biological events beyond the local section is concerned," O'Rourke reminds us again that: "Index fossils--are regarded as the features most reliable for accurate, long-distance correlations."7 As mentioned earlier, more and more modern geologists are now recognizing the existence of circular reasoning in their geological methodologies. Among these, in addition to those already cited, is Dr. Derek Ager, current president of the British Geological Association. "It is a problem not easily solved by the classic methods of stratigraphical paleontology, as obviously we will land ourselves immediately in an impossible circular argument if we say, firstly that a particular lithology is synchronous on the evidence of its fossils, and secondly that the fossils are synchronous on the evidence of the lithology."8

4 5 6 7 8

James W. Valentine and Cathryn A. Campbell, "Genetic Regulation and the Fossil Record," American Scientist, Vol. 63, November-December 1975, p. 673. J.E. O'Rourke, op cit, p.48. David G. Kitts, "Paleontology and Evolutionary Theory," Evolution, Vol. 28, September 1974, p.466. J.E. O'Rourke, op cit, p.48. Derek V. Ager, The Nature of the Stratigraphic Record (New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1973) p.62.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

In another article, Dr. Ager, who is also Head of the Geology Department at Swansea University, notes the problem involved in trying to use minor differences in organisms (that is, what creationists would call horizontal changes, or variations) as time markers. "We all know that many apparent evolutionary bursts are nothing more than brainstorms on the part of particular paleontologists. One splitter in a library can do far more than millions of years of genetic mutation."9 It would seem that this would lead to great uncertainty in the use of extinct marine organisms (about whose intra-specific variability while they were living we know nothing whatever) as index fossils. Another geologist who has recognized the circularity problem is Dr. Ronald West, at Kansas State University. "Contrary to what most scientists write, the fossil record does not support the Darwinian theory of evolution because it is this theory (there are several) which we use to interpret the fossil record. By doing so, we are guilty of circular reasoning if we then say the fossil record supports this theory."10 Still another comment on the circular reasoning process involved in developing paleontological sequences appears in an important symposium paper. "The prime difficulty with the use of presumed ancestral-descendant sequences to express phylogeny is that biostratigraphic data are often used in conjunction with morphology in the initial evaluation of relationships, which leads to obvious circularity."11 In view of such admissions from many leading evolutionists, it is clear that there neither is, nor can be, any proof of evolution. The evidence for evolution is merely the assumption of evolution. The most extensive recent discussion of the circular reasoning problem in evolutionary geology is the paper by O'Rourke.12 Although he attempts to explain and justify the process as being based on induction from observed field data, he does admit many important problems in this connection. With respect to the geologic column and its development, he says: "Material bodies are finite, and no rock unit is global in extent, yet stratigraphy aims at a global classification. The particulars have to be stretched into universals somehow. Here ordinary materialism leaves off building up a system of units recognized by physical properties, to follow dialectical materialism, which starts with time units and regards the material bodies as their incomplete representatives. This is where the suspicion of circular reasoning crept in, because it seemed to the layman that the time units were abstracted from the geological column, which has been put together from rock units."13 The fiction that the geological column was actually represented by real rock units in the field has long been abandoned, of course. "By mid-nineteenth century, the notion of 'universal' rock units had been dropped, but some stratigraphers still imagine a kind of global biozone as 'time units' that are supposed to be ubiquitous."14 Behind all such assumed time units must be the doctrinaire assumption of evolution, which is the basic component of materialism.

9 10 11 12 13 14

Derek V. Ager, "The Nature of the Fossil Record," Proceedings of the Geological Association, Vol. 87, No. 2, 1976, p.132. Donald R. West, "Paleontology and Uniformitarianism," Compass, Vol. 45, May 1968, p.216. B. Schaeffer, M.K. Hecht and N. Eldredge, "Phylogeny and Paleontology," Ch.2 in Evolutionary Biology, Vol. 6 (edited by Th. Dobzhansky, M.K. Hecht and W. C. Steere; New York Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1972) p.39. J.E. O'Rourke, op cit; pp.47-55. Ibid, p.49 Ibid, p.50.

Discussions Concerning Evolution

"The theory of dialectic materialism postulates matter as the ultimate reality, not to be questioned. - Evolution is more than a useful biologic concept: it is a natural law controlling the history of all phenomena." 15 And if physical data in the field seem in any case to contradict this assumed evolutionary development, then the field data can easily be reinterpreted to correspond to evolution! This is always possible in circular reasoning. "Structure, metamorphism, sedimentary reworking and other complications have to be considered. Radiometric dating would not have been feasible if the geologic column had not been erected first. - The axiom that no process can measure itself means that there is no absolute time, but this relic of the traditional mechanics persists in the common distinction between 'relative' and 'absolute' age."16 In this exposition, O'Rourke thus decries the common reliance on an implicit circular argument which he attributes to the assumption of dialectic materialism, and urges his colleagues to deal pragmatically with the actual stratigraphic rock units as they occur in the field, in confidence that this will eventually correlate with the global column built up gradually by similar procedures used by their predecessors. He does recognize, however, that if the actual physical geological column is going to be used as a time scale, it is impossible to avoid circular reasoning. "The rocks do date the fossils, but the fossils date the rocks more accurately. Stratigraphy cannot avoid this kind of reasoning if it insists on using only temporal concepts, because circularity is inherent in the derivation of time scales."17

15 16 17

Ibid, p.51. Ibid, p.54. Ibid, p.53.

Information on the Creation/Evolution Debate Recommended reading: Scientific Creationism, edited by Henry M. Morris, published by Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, CA is probably the most concise summary of the subject from a creationist viewpoint. Recommended Authors: 1. Authors from the Creation Research Society, San Diego, CA. 2. A.E. Wilder Smith 3. Winkie Pratney Recommended Organizations: 1. Creation Research Society, 2100 Greenfield Dr., El Cajon, 2. Probe Ministries, 12011 Coit Rd, Suite 107, Dallas, TX 75251.

CA 92021.

Recommended 2 Semester Hour College Course: 6.

A one-week course given 4 or 5 times per year at different locations around the country by the Creation Research Society. It would be wise to get on the mailing list of the CRS and receive their monthly newsletter which always includes an IMPACT article on a Creation/Evolution related subject. They are normally very good. You will receive some copies in this class.

NOTES: 1. Neither evolution nor creation are scientific, in the strict sense. The scientific method requires: a. Experimental observation, and b. Repeatability Therefore, neither can be proved, or disproved, scientifically. 7. In the Forward of the most recent edition of Darwin's Origin of the Species, a leading British evolutionary biologist, Prof. L. Harrison Matthews, states, "Belief in evolution is thus exactly parallel to belief in special creation-both are concepts which believers know to be true, but neither, up to the present, has been capable of proof." 3. Evolution is the concept that everything you see today, from stars to human beings, evolved by matter + time + chance. Esp. there was no God, no guiding force. 4. The First Law of Thermodynamics is the Law of Energy Conservation- "energy can be converted from one form to another, but can neither be created nor destroyed." Nothing is now being either created or destroyed. 5. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the Law of Energy Decay, states that every system left to its own devices always tends to move from order to disorder, its energy tending to be transformed into lower levels of availability, finally reaching the state of complete randomness and unavailability for further work. [When all the energy of the cosmos has been degraded to random heat energy, with random motion of molecules and uniform low-level temperature, the universe will have died a "heat-death."] This will never happen. Gen. 9:6-7. Second Law began in Gen. 3-CURSE. Second Law described in Rom. 8:20-22. Second Law-bondage of decay.

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion

Discussion of Genesis CHAPTER 1: Creation 1. God is Creator of the universe. 2. Categories of creation 3. God's principle of individuality (unity w/in diversity; diversity w/in unity). Everything in God's universe is revelational of God's infinity, God's diversity, God's individuality. God creates distinct individualities. God maintains the identity and individuality of everything which He created. 4. People have uniqueness, value by God given design and purpose. God defined the value of who people are. 5. People are to take dominion over the earth, not domination over man. Dominion means the power to direct, control, use and dispose of at pleasure. This right God gave to people over the physical earth. But people have turned aside from their God-given task of caring for creation and turned to tyranny over their fellowman. CHAPTER 2: Marriage and law. The chapter emphasizes two things: self government (2:16,17) 2:16 and monogamous marriage (2:24) a. Govern: to control or regulate b. Government: that which controls the actions of the individual c. 2:16 is the command for christian self-government. An individual is to govern himself according to the dictates of God. This is the Christian philosophy of government. It is to be Christian self government. 1) Christian: God's principles are to be the directives: to have order w/o anarchy. 2) self: so there can be freedom w/o tyranny. God's method is internal control (Ga.5:23.) Internal government results in liberty. Without it, there must be strong external control. We are not to steal because it is wrong, not because of what punishment we will get if we are caught. (We are not under law but under grace.) But if we are not regulated by grace, then external government of law must be there to regulate us. "We will either be governed by the Bible or by the bayonet." The nation of Iran is religious government with both 'Christian' and self left out. Because 'Christian' is left out, without strong external control, there would be anarchy. And because internal, self control is left out, the form of government is oppressive. 2:24 God established monogamy, not polygamy. CHAPTER 3: The tree 1. Man refused Christian self-government. 2. Disobedience to God results in consequences. For every action there are consequences, both here and now and forever. 3. Whenever a person refuses internal government, government is shifted upward. God must come looking for Adam and deal with him. Adam is controlled externally, rather than from within, according to the dictates of his own conscience. Adam and Eve were created with a right attitude and disposition of heart that directed them in how they ought to act and react in every situation. 4. External control is necessary to retard the spread of evil. CHAPTER 4: Cain & Abel 1. God is not arbitrary. The form of the offering had to deal with man's internal condition. God's way or "I'm going to do what I want to do?" 2. Responsibility to choose on the basis of value rather than to be controlled by emotions. 4:7 "but you must master it." (Tubal-Cain: the first forger of bronze & iron)

Tubal Cain Old Tubal Cain was a man of might In the days when the Earth was young; By the fierce red light of his furnace bright The strokes of his hammer rung; And he lifted his brawny hand On the iron glowing clear, Till the sparks rushed out in scarlet showers, As he fashioned the sword and spear. And he sang: "Hurray for my handiwork! Hurray for the spear and sword! Hurray for the hand that shall wield them well, For he shall be king and lord!" To Tubal Cain came many a one,

As he wrought by his roaring fire, And each one prayed for a strong steel blade As the crown of his desire: And he made them weapons sharp and strong, Till they shouted loud for glee, And gave him gifts of pearl and gold, And spoils of the forest free, And they sang: "Hurray for Tubal Cain, Who has given us strength anew! Hurray for the smith, Hurray for the fire, And hurray for the metal true!" But a sudden change came o'er his heart Ere the setting of the sun,

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion And Tubal Cain was filled with pain For the evil he had done; He saw that men, with rage and hate, Made war upon their kind, That the land was red with the blood they shed, In their lust for carnage blind, And he said: "Alas! That ever I made, Or that skill of mine should plan, The spear and the sword for men whose joy Is to slay their fellow-man!" And for many a day old Tubal Cain Sat brooding o'er his woe; And his hand forbore to smite the ore, And his furnace smoldered low, But he arose at last with a cheerful face, And a bright courageous eye, And bared his strong right arm for work, While the quick flames mounted high.

And he sang: "Hurray for my handiwork!" And the red sparks lit the air; "Not alone for the blade was the bright steel made"; And he fashioned the first plowshare. And men, taught wisdom from the past, In friendship joined their hands, Hung the sword in the hall, the spear on the wall, And plowed the willing lands; And sang: "Hurray for Tubal Cain! Our stanch good friend is he; And for the plowshare and the plow To him our praise shall be. But while oppression lifts its head, Or a tyrant would be lord, Though we thank him for the plow, We'll not forget the sword!" ----Charles Mackay

CHAPTER 5: Generations of Adam The Bible is not a book of myths of legends but a record of God's hand in history dealing with real people. It establishes that Noah is not a mythological character but has ancestry. CHAPTER 6-8: The corruption of mankind 1. The wickedness of man was great on the earth. (6:5) INTERNAL GOVERNMENT IS TOTALLY BROKEN DOWN. 2. God is a real God who really cares, and He is grieved, hurt by the stupid disobedience of people (6:6) 3. Our obedience to God is historically significant (6:7,8) Things really would have been different if Noah hadn't been righteousness. 4. Providential view of history. God maintains control of the direction and purpose of history. (6:13-7:17) 5. Noah obeyed God a. He did exactly what God told Him to. God guides in specifics. b. He obeyed from a right heart(7:20) c. Capacity of the Ark is adequate (Archer,p.212, 216t,) d. Flood stories (Halley,p.75) (Archer,p.216b)

Genesis According to the Miao People

a people living in the mountains of southwest China Translated by Edgar A. Truax

Introductory Note: The Miao tribes, or as it is spelled in most encyclopedias "Miautso," at one time occupied most of inland China south of the Yangtze River, but have gradually moved into the mountains of southwest China. The Miao of our section claim to have been driven out of Kiangsi Province. The Miao traditions are very precise, as compared with those of many primitive peoples, because they are not only handed down in metrical form, but, also, they are in couplets. in which the same or similar meaning is expressed in

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion

different wording, so that the second sentence acts as a definition of the first, where it might otherwise not be clear. This is very much like one form of Hebrew poetry-an example of which is found in Psalm 21:1,2.

THE TRANSLATION-THE CREATION On the day God created the heavens and earth. On that day He opened the gateway of light. In the earth then He made heaps of earth and of stone. In the sky He made bodies, the sun and the moon. In the earth He created the hawk and the kite. In the water created the lobster and fish. In the wilderness made He the tiger and bear, Made verdure to cover the mountains, Made forest extend with the ranges, Made the light green cane, Made the rank bamboo. Man On the earth He created a man from the dirt. Of the man thus created, a woman He formed. Then the Patriarch Dirt made a balance of stones. Estimated the weight of the earth to the bottom.1 Calculated the bulk of the heavenly bodies. And pondered the ways of the Deity, God. The Patriarch Dirt begat Patriarch Se-teh. The Patriarch Se-Teh begat a son Lusu. And Lusu had Gehlo and he begat Lama. The Patriarch Lama begat the man Nuah. His wife was the Matriarch Gaw Bo-lu-en. Their sons were Lo Han, Lo Shen and Jah-hu.2 So the earth began filling with tribes and with families. Creation was shared by the clans and the peoples. The World Wicked These did not God's will nor returned His affection. But fought with each other defying the Godhead. Their leaders shook fists in the face of the Mighty Then the earth was convulsed to the depth of three strata. Rending the air to the uttermost heaven. God's anger arose till His Being was changed; His wrath flaring up filled His eyes and His face. Until He must come and demolish humanity. Come and destroy a whole world full of people. Their speaking was all with the same words and language. Then they said let us build us a very big city; Let us raise unto heaven a very high tower. This was wrong, but they reached this decision; Not right, but they rashly persisted. God struck at them then, changed their language and accent. Descending in wrath, He confused tones and voices. One's speech to the others who hear him no meaning; He's speaking in words, but they can't understand him. So the city they builded was never completed; The tower they wrought has to stand thus unfinished, In despair then they separate under all heaven, They part from each other the globe to encircle. 4 They arrive at six corners and speak the six languages.

The Flood So it poured forty days in sheets and in torrents. Then fifty-five days of misting and drizzle. The waters surmounted the mountains and ranges. The deluge ascending leapt valley and hollow. An earth with no earth upon which to take refuge! A world with no foothold where one might subsist! The people were baffled, impotent and ruined, Despairing, horror stricken, diminished and finished. But the Patriarch Nuah was righteous. The Matriarch Gaw Bo-lu-en upright. Built a boat very wide. Made a ship very vast. Their household entire got aboard and were floated, The family complete rode the deluge in safety, The animals with him were female and male. The birds went along and were mated in pairs. When the time was fulfilled, God commanded the waters. The day had arrived, the flood waters receded. Then Nuah liberated a dove from their refuge, Sent a bird to go forth and bring again tidings. The flood had gone down into lake and to ocean; The mud was confined to the pools and the hollows. There was land once again where a man might reside; There was a place in the earth now to rear habitations. Buffalo then were brought, an oblation to God, fatter cattle became sacrifice to the Mighty. The Divine One then gave them His blessing; Fatter cattle became sacrifice to the Mighty. The Divine One then gave them His blessing; Their God then bestowed His good graces. Babel Lo-han then begat Cusah and Mesay.3 Lo-shan begat Elan and Nga-shur. Their offspring begotten became tribes and peoples; Their descendants established encampments and cities. Their singing was all with the same tunes and music; Miao Genealogy The Patriarch Jahphu got the center of nations.5 The son he begat was the Patriarch Go-men. Who took him a wife called the Matriarch Go-yong. Their grandson and his wife both took the name Tutan. Their descendants are given in order as follows: Patriarch Gawndan Mew-wan, Matriarch Cawdan Mew-jew; Patriarch Jenku Dawvu, Matriarch Jeneo Boje; Patriarch Gangen Newang (wife not given); Patriarch Seageweng, Matriarch Maw gueh. Their children, eleven in number, was each the head of a family. Five branches became the Miao nation. Six families joined with the Chinese.

The story continues through many more pages, telling of the separation of the Chinese and Miao; their travels and demon worship, their division in families.

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion

The Miao at funerals and weddings recite the ancestry of the principal principals clear back to Adam. Their frequent use of it may account for it's accuracy.

Notes: 1.

The Miao say that on the bottom of the bottom of the earth is a (tribe) of dwarfs.

Note the similarity of some of these names to those in the Bible account Seth, Lamech, Noah, Ham, Shem, and Japheth.

Note the similarity: Ham's descendants: Bible-Cush, Mizram; Miao-Cushu, Mesay Shem's descendants: Bible-Elam, Asshur; Miao-Elan, Ngashur

The literal translation here is: "They parted went live encircle-world ball." The Miao know nothing of the world being round, so this passage seems to Indicate the perfect knowledge of the original man-Devolution instead of Evolution.

From this we see that they trace their ancestry from Japheth and Gomer, which makes them of the Indo-European stock.

The Miao did not originally worship idols, but learned this from the Chinese after having been subdued by them. This poem, which is learned heart and transmitted from generation to generation, is translated and brought to you with the hope that you will be inspired to PRAY MUCH for these people. They evidently once knew the true God. Pray that they may learn to know Him as Father, and Jesus, whom Ho has sent to be the Way back to Him.

Editor's Comments: This remarkable account of creation and the flood apparently has been handed down generation after generation from the ancestors of the Miao tribes people in the mountains of southwest China, for they possessed this legend before they met missionaries. it was translated into English by a missionary, Ernest Truax, who spent most of his life working for the Lord among these people. He sent me the story many years ago, before Acts & Facts began publication. Recently, Mr. James Honeyman also acquired a copy and sent it to me. He also was able to find the address of Mrs. Ellen Truax, widow of the missionary, and make contact with her. Mrs. Truax has now copyrighted the translation and has graciously given us permission to publish it as an "Impact" article, so that Christians everywhere could become aware of this amazing record, and also could pray for the Miao people as Mr. Truax desired. Although many legends of creation and the flood have been preserved, only a few have included the story of Babel and the post-flood dispersion. This is surely one of the most Bible-like of all these traditions, and bears significant independent testimony to the truth of the record in Genesis. Even though we have been unable so far to locate anyone who can confirm the authenticity of the Miao tradition or the accuracy of its translation, it clearly has the ring of truth about it and we can believe it is authentic until someone can prove otherwise. Its differences from the Biblical account clearly show its source was not directly from the Bible or early Christian missionaries (if any), but its similarities are so striking as to imply that it came from the same original source-namely, the events themselves! In any case, it is certainly of sufficient importance to warrant sharing it with our readers, If anyone has any additional information about the Miao tradition, or their history in general, we would be pleased to hear from them. CHAPTER 9 God re-establishes man's dominion over the earth.(9:1) 1. To man's responsibility to care for the earth, God also establishes man's responsibility for the conduct of civil government. (9:6) a. Granting man's society the authority to deal with the most severe offense establishes the precedence for dealing with all lesser offenses. b. God gives men authority over men for a specific purpose: the protection of the individual. (Civil government only has authority to do what God has authorized it to do. And it is bound in its method of operation to the manner God states. c. God establishes a combination of internal government and external government. (Circle of total government, external government, internal government.) 1) In heaven it is all internal government. 2) In hell it is all external government -- a prison If we want to change nations, we must strengthen and expand the internal government. This requires evangelism, discipleship, and christian education.

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion 2.

God reaffirms His love for all mankind with the rainbow ( 9:13)

CHAPTER 10, 11 1. Nimrod, the beginning of centralization and imperialism. 2. Tower of Babel a. v.4 "a tower whose top will reach into heaven." An expression of the vast pride of man. (Halley,p.84) b. Humanism: c. Confidence placed in powerful cities rather than God (Co.2:10) 3. Providential Hand of God in history in confusing language. God working for liberty, opposing tyranny. CHAPTER 12 1. God calls Abraham. (v.1-3) a. The first of the called out ones, (ekklesia) the church b. Missionary calling c. God blesses us to enable us to be a blessing to the nations, not in order for us to gratify our own lust. 2. Reason is to inspire faith. Faith requires understanding of: a. The character and abilities of God. b. The will of God. (not presumption; Pr.22:3,27:12) c. Faith tested in Egypt 3. Characteristics of Ur' idolatry (Halley,p.94,5) 4. Abraham's age a. 75, called b. 80, rescues Lot c. 86, Ishmael's birth d. 99, Sodom destroyed e. 100, Isaac born f. 137, Sarah died g. 160, Jacob born h. 175, Abraham dies, 115 years before Jacob goes to Egypt. CHAPTER 13: Abraham & Lot separate 1. Lot's selfishness, v.10 2. Abraham ministers in the opposite spirit, a. Gives deference b. Value system beyond the material & temporal. CHAPTER 14: Abraham goes to war 1. Necessity to engage in spiritual, defensive warfare. a. (It is highly unlikely that 400 men could defeat the armies of 4 kings. The victory was by the hand of the Lord, v.20) b. Refused any reward from King of Sodom, v.24 (motivated by virtue, not greed) 2. Melchizedek a. A superior priesthood to that of Aaron (He.7:1-10) b. Blesses Abram c. Abraham tithes to him 1) Jesus is king of kings from the tribe of Judah. 2) But to be high priest, he would have to be of the tribe of Levi, except Abraham submitted to the priesthood of Melchizedek, acknowledging a priesthood greater than his. Jesus, the high priest after the order of Melchizedek. CHAPTER 15: THE PROMISE We must walk by faith, not by sight.

"to your descendants..." v.18

CHAPTER 16: Sarai and Hagar Faith must operate, not by presumption, but according to understanding -- of the abilities of God, and the will of God. CHAPTER 17:

Circumcision, v.11

The Covenant of promise

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion 1. 2. 3.

An external symbol, representing no multiplication but according to the will of God, for the purposes of God. In ministry we must be doing God's work, God's way, for God's chosen ends. Symbolic of a purified internal condition of heart. (Jr.4:3,4) Jerusalem council Acts 15: a. 15:8,9 Purification is not brought about by the symbol b. The Jews, having turned their focus from the internal to the external (Is.29:13) began to consider themselves righteous based upon an external symbol Abraham had received the promise before he was circumcised. a. Circumcision was not the cause of the promise and God's covenant with Abraham, but rather the representation of it. b. THE INTERNAL CAUSES THE EXTERNAL. When our internal condition of heart is right, there will be visible, external evidence of it. Ishmael was also circumcised, v.25

The promise 1. God's love for Sarai, changed her name to Sarah, "princess" v.15 2. God purposes to bring forth the prototype nation and light to the world through Isaac. 3. But Ishmael is precious to God & Abraham too: a. "Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee." v.18 b. God says, 1) I will bless him 2) He will be father of a great nation. v.20 CHAPTER 18, 19 1. Birth of Isaac ('he laughs') 2. Destruction of Sodom a. "I will go down & see..." v.20-1 b. Abraham's intercession appealing to the conscience of God, that God may live justly too v.24-5 c. The sin of Sodom (Ezk.16:49) d. Description (Halley, p.98-100) 3. Lot rescued a. The blessing of the faithful intercession of Abraham b. Lot had been a testimony to Sodom (2Pt.2:6-9) c. From Lot's daughters came the Moabites, and the Ammonites. CHAPTER 20: Abraham & Abimelech 1. Abraham fails another test of faith. (Spiritual victory can't be stored up) 2. God warns Abimelech a. Abimelech pleads innocent b. God honors him (Jas.4:17) It is a matter of comfort to those that are honest that God knows their honesty, and will acknowledge it. (Matthew Henry,p.38) c. v.7-9 Ignorance will excuse no longer than it continues. Though we may have entered a wrong path ignorantly, this won't excuse knowingly continuing in it. (Henry,p.38) 3. Our merciful God allows Abraham to minister to Abimelech. v.17,18 CHAPTER 21 1. Birth of Isaac 2. Love is the pursuit of the highest good, not silly sentimentalism. Abraham released Ishmael in obedience to God, overcoming great emotional struggle. v.11 3. God's love and provision for Hagar and Ishmael 4. Covenant with Abimelech. Covenant: the basis of civil government, defining how one community is to relate to another. Relationship can only be sustained in the context of definition and integrity. CHAPTER 22: The testing of Abraham's faith 1. It was: (Matthew Henry, p.40-1) a. Contrary to God's forbidding of murder. b. Contrary to a father's natural affection. With what heart could tender Abraham tie those guiltless hands? c. Commanded without explanation. d. Contrary to the specific promise of God. e. A reproach to God's name. What would the Egyptians, the Canaanites, and the Perrizites say? 2. One of the greatest worship services of all history v.5 3. Abraham established in faith (Heb.11:17)

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion 4.

5. 6.

Test: Abraham, are you committed to Me supremely, unreservedly? v.12 Abraham loved God supremely. He served God because of who He is; he didn't serve Him for what he could get out of Him. Abraham didn't serve God for the purpose of having God as a means to his own ends. Declaration God is contrary to pagan religion, and opposes human sacrifice (though God is the only one who could lawfully choose such, BUT GOD DOESN'T. Such is totally opposed to His loving disposition and created purpose for people.) Parallels the atonement a. The father is willingly offering up his son. b. The son is dead for three days in the mind of Abraham. v.4 c. It was an actual sacrifice on Mt. Moriah, the very same place where, 2000 years later, Jesus died. (Halley, p.101)

CHAPTER 23: Death of Sarah, at age 127. 1. Abraham mourned and wept for her. v.2 2. Buying a grave for Sarah of tremendous significance to Abraham. a. This was the first spot of ground Abraham possessed in Canaan. b. Abraham's heart for Sarah longed for her to share in the inheritance. (It must have been a test for Abraham to see Sarah sacrifice, investing for posterity. Perhaps Abraham thought, "At least she will possess her grave, not just a borrowed one.") Yet Abraham sought a better country, that is, a heavenly. Abraham is content to be still flitting, while he lives, but secures a place where, when he dies, his flesh may rest in hope. 3. Abraham approached the sons of Heth in greatest respect. Though he was a great man, an old man, and now a mourner, yet he humbly bows before them. Being truly humble, and genuinely knowing the value of another made in the image of God, he therefore, displays the greatest of respect and excellency of manners toward them. 4. Ephron expresses a heart of true generosity and compassion, and certainly it must ever have remained a mystery to him why Abraham insisted upon paying for the grave: "The land is worth four hundred shekels (maybe about $200.), but what is that between me and thee? ... What is that between me and my friend? But God's provision must be by His hand. It is by the will of God, not by the will of a pagan culture, which one day would come under God's judgment. Abraham was not at their mercy. His dependency was not upon them, but upon God. CHAPTER 24: God provides Rebekah for Isaac. 1. Abraham's purpose in sending back to his own people -- to keep posterity free from idolatry. 2. The basis of marriage is the Word of the Lord. CHAPTER 25 1. Concluding remarks about Abraham a. Married Keturah b. Had 6 more children c. Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. d. Died at age of 175 2. Isaac a. When he was 37, Sarah dies b. At age 40, he marries Rebekah c. At age 60, Jacob & Esau born in answer to prayer d. At age 75, Abraham dies e. At age 137, Jacob had to flee from Esau f. At age 157, Jacob returns g. At age 167, Joseph sold into slavery h. At age 180, he dies (the same year Joseph becomes ruler over Egypt) 3. Birth of Esau & Jacob a. They had been prayed for b. Rebekah had been barren 20 yrs; Isaac now 60. c. Prophecy that the older shall serve the younger.v.23 d. Isaac loved Esau; Rebekah love Jacob v.28 4. Esau sells his birthright CHAPTER 26 1. God appears to Isaac a. Dwell in the land of Gerar, endure the famine; don't go to Egypt. b. "I will multiply your descendants; all the families of the earth will be blessed" c. Isaac's faith tested concerning Rebekah

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion 2.

d. Patience & Steadfastness through Conflict Esau's foolish marriage, bringing grief to Isaac & Rebekah

CHAPTER 27 1. Jacob's deception of Isaac for the blessing 2. Flees to work for Laban CHAPTER 28 1. Jacob's dream; the transfer of the blessing of Abraham to him ("in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.") 2. Jacob names the place Bethel, the house of God. CHAPTER 29 & 30 1. Jacob meets Rachel; Jacob loves Rachel; Jacob works for seven years "for Rachel and they seemed to him but as a few days because of his love for her." (v.20. compare 2Pet.3:8 context) 2. Laban tricks Jacob; Jacob gets Leah a. Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah b. "the Lord saw that Leah was unloved; gave her children; Rachel is barren." v.31 3. Jacob's sons a. to Leah, Reuben (see a son) "surely now my husband will love me." b. to Leah, Simeon "because the Lord has heard I am unloved" c. to Leah, Levi (joined) "Now will my husband be joined unto me" d. to Leah, Judah (praise) "Now I will praise the Lord BUT AN UNHAPPY HOME IS TWO WIVES IN CONFLICT. Rachel being barren, is embittered toward Leah e. For Rachel, Bilhah has a son, Dan (judgment) "God has judged me ... given sentence in my favor." f. For Rachel, Bilhah has another, Nepthali (wrestlings) "I have wrestled with my sister and prevailed" g. For Leah, Zilpah has a son, Gad (with fortune) "How fortunate" h. For Leah, Zilpah has a son, Asher (happy) "Happy am I for women will call me happy" There was much amiss between these two sisters; yet God brought good out of evil. i. To Leah, Issachar, (wages) "God has given me my wages, because I gave my maid to my husband. j. To Leah, Zebulun (dwelling) "God has endowed me with a good gift" Afterwards Leah gave birth to Dinah. k. To Rachel, Joseph (He has taken away my reproach; the Lord shall add to me another son.) (No book but the Bible narrates with such integrity the weaknesses of its heroes, and things so contrary to ideals which it aims to promote. Halley, p.104) CHAPTER 31: Jacob leaves secretly for Canaan 1. He had the Word of the Lord v.2 2. Rachel steals the household gods v.19 3. Laban pursues; consequences of disobedience CHAPTER 32 & 33 1. Jacob fears Esau; God protects & reconciles in response to: a. Jacob desperate plea to God b. Humility toward Esau: v.4 c. Appeals to Esau to extend grace to him. v.5 2. Jacob's prayer: "I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which Thou hast shown to Thy servant..." v.10 3. Jacob wrestles with the angel CHAPTER 34: Dinah defiled 1. Simeon and Levi pursue revenge through treachery a. God's name defiled b. The cause of missions greatly hindered c. Jacob's standing jeopardized CHAPTER 35:

Jacob moves to Bethel at the Word of the Lord

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion

1. God reaffirms the Covenant with Jacob 2. Rachel dies giving birth to Ben-oni (the son of my sorrow), but Jacob declares his name, Benjamin (the son of my right hand) that is very near to me, set on my right hand for a blessing, the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand 3. Reuben sins with Bilhah CHAPTER 36 From Esau came the Edomites, and the Amalekites CHAPTER 37: Joseph 1. born 75 years after Abraham's death 30 years before Isaac's death 8 years before Jacob returned to Canaan 2. at 17 years, Joseph sold into slavery CHAPTER 38 Judah's genealogy inserted because from his line, came the Messiah. CHAPTER 39:

Joseph imprisoned

CHAPTER 40,41: Joseph is made ruler over Egypt Brugsch, in his 'Egypt under the Pharaohs,' tells of an inscription which he calls a "very remarkable and luminous confirmation" of the seven years' famine. In a family rock-cut tomb of a certain Baba, governor of the city of ElKab... is an inscription which Baba claims to have done for his city what the Bible says Joseph did for all Egypt: "I collected corn, as a friend of the harvest god. And when a famine arose, lasting many years, I distributed corn to the city, each year of the famine." Brugsch says: "Since famines in Egypt are of the very greatest rarity, and since Baba lived about the same time as Joseph, there remains but one fair inference: that the 'many years famine' in the days of ?Baba are the 'seven years of famine' under Joseph. CHAPTER 42-45:

Joseph's testing of his brothers and revealing himself to them

CHAPTER 46,47:

Jacob's family settle in Egypt

CHAPTER 48,49:

Jacob gives the blessing over his sons.

CHAPTER 50:

Death of Jacob and Joseph

Genesis Chapter 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 Discussion

The Reliability and Accuracy of the Genesis Account Ancient Records and the Structure of Genesis D. J. Wiseman A Summary I. The Problem: It was assumed until the mid 1930's that Genesis had been handed down by word of mouth until written down by Moses. "...if one looks carefully at Scripture, it is evident that in certain places quite obvious and specific methods were employed in the compilation of the materials, and that since these reflect accredited procedures, used by the ancient scribes, they must in fact be studied carefully if we are to avoid the mistakes and erroneous conjectures of the nineteenthcentury European scholars, and examine the transmission and compilation of sources in terms of ancient Near Eastern rather than modern European traditions. (16) Archaeological discoveries have produced thousands of clay tablets from Mesopotamia, written in a strange wedgeshaped script (cuneiform). In many instances the tablets that have been recovered exhibit a specific literary form comprising a title followed by the body of the text and concluding with a colophon. This latter feature generally contained the name of the owner or scribe and some attempt at dating. Since the colophon comes at the end of a tablet or a series of tablets, it naturally refers to material that precedes it on the tablet. Using these archaelolgical records as a pattern of specific literary activity, it is possible for anyone to isolate eleven sections of material from Genesis once the colophon has been identified. The presence of a colophon is indicated by the recurring phrase, "These are the generations (toledoth) of...," the Hebrew phrase meaning "histories, family histories, genealogies (descendants)." (17) II. Thesis: "The book of Genesis was originally written on tablets in the ancient script of the time by the patriarchs who were intimately concerned with the events related, and whose names are clearly stated. Moreover, Moses, the compiler and editor of the book, as we now have it, plainly directs attention to the source of his information." (20) III. History: It was not until circa 1850 that archaeological discoveries gave us many ancient writings from approximately 1000 years before Abraham (ca. 3000 BC). A. Clay tablets: are, next to stone, the most imperishable form of writing material known to man. Even when dried in the sun they become so hard that for thousands of years they have remained intact and legible. B. Seal: When scribes were employed, they not only wrote the whole of the letter, record, or legal tablet, but also took the owner's seal and impressed it on the clay; for these scribes knew best just how much pressure the seal should have on the clay to make it distinct. The seal was usually a cylinder from half an inch to an inch and a half long, but sometimes a precious stone engraved and worn on a ring was used. Each seal was specially inscribed for the owner and often included his name in cuneiform. A reference to the use of the seal is found in Job 38:14, "It is changed as clay under a seal." Judah carried a seal about with him, and Joseph was given Pharaoh's seal ring (Gen. 41:42)...The use of this seal was equivalent to the modern signature. (55) C. Linking a series of tablets: In the absence of page numbers, it was necessary to establish a sequence if a record required more than one clay tablet. This was achieved by the use of titles or catch lines. The title was taken from the first words of the first tablet, these were repeated at the end of each subsequent tablet, followed by the serial number of that tablet. The Hebrew verb "to write" means to "cut in" or "dig," a reference to the early method of writing. D. The significance of the phrase, "These are the generations of..." ( toledoth). Following this phrase is often a genealogy, which has led scholars to associate it with that following genealogy. The normal Hebrew word for "generations" is dor, and not toledoth. To this day, Rabbis who are immersed in Biblical Hebrew use the word toledoth as the equivalent of the ordinary English word "history." Therefore the phrase is used in Genesis to point back to the origins of the family history and not forward to a later development through a line of descendants. In Matthew 1:1 the equivalent phrase means history, not descendants. In early Babylonian records the genealogical list was placed at the beginning of a tablet...When this is understood it clears away the great difficulty out of which commentators have labored to extricate themselves in endeavors to account for the absence of a genealogical list after the formula. (65) The genuineness of the Genesis records and their uncorrupted state, is attested by this adherence to the prevailing literary method of ancient writing, where we find little or nothing by way of preface, but frequently a very formal conclusion. (66) The phrase therefore means (1) It is the concluding sentence of each section, and therefore points backward to a narrative already recorded. (2) The earliest records claim to have been written. (3) It normally refers to the writer of the history, or the owner of the tablet containing it.

87 IV. The Meaning of the Phrase toledoth. Tablet Series 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-8 9-11

Reference 1:1-2:4 2:5-5:2 5:3-6:9a 6:9b-10:1 10:2-11:10a 11:10b-11:27a 11:27b-25:19a 25:19b-37:2a

Contents This is the book of the origins of the heavens and the earth. This is the book of the origins of Adam. These are the origins (or histories) of Noah. These are the origins (or histories) of the sons of Noah. These are the origins (or histories) of Shem. These are the origins (or histories) of Terah. These are the origins (or histories) of Ishmael and Isaac. These are the origins (or histories) of Esau and Jacob.

In this way Moses clearly indicates the source of the information available to him and names the persons who originally possessed the tablets from which he gained his knowledge. These are not arbitrarily invented divisions; they are stated by the author to be the framework of the book. Two remarkable confirmations of these divisions are: (1) In no instance is an event recorded which the person or persons named could not have written from his own intimate knowledge, or have obtained absolutely reliable information. (2) It is most significant that the history recorded in the sections outlined above, ceases in all instances before the death of the person named, yet in most cases it is continued almost up to the date of death or the date on which it is stated that the tablets were written. (68-69) V. History of the tablets: A.

The First Series of Tablets (Gen. 1:1-2:4)...no man could have written the first series of tablets from personal knowledge...Significantly enough this is the only tablet which does not state the name of the author...It is God teaching Adam, in a simple yet faultless way, how the earth and the things which he could see on and around it had been created. The Lord God talked with Adam in the Garden. This tablet purports to be a simple record of what God said and did. (So Adam probably wrote down what God told him.)

Tablet 2 (2:5-5:2), the history ceases abruptly with Tubal-cain, the "instructor of every artificer in brass and iron"; Jabal, "the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle", Jubal "the father of all such as handle the harp and organ"; and Tubal-cain "the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron." These men were the eighth generation from Adam, and a comparison with the chronology given in Genesis 5 shows that this generation lived immediately before Adam's death.

Tablet 3 (5:3-6:9a) written or owned by Noah. The genealogical list ends with the birth of his three sons. This list is followed by a statement concerning the corruption of humankind, revealing that this was the cause of the Flood, which took place when Noah was an old man. In this instance he could have written the story of the Flood. This is contained in the tablets of the "history of the sons of Noah."

Tablet (series) 4 (6:9b-10:1) written or owned by Noah's sons. The contain the account of the Flood and the death of Noah. How long Ham and Japheth lived after Noah's death we are unaware, but we know that Shem survived him by 150 years, hence there is nothing in this section which the sons of Noah could not have written.

Tablet (series) 5 (10:2-11:10) written or owned by Shem. He writes of the birth and the formation into clans of the fifth generation after him. We know that he outlived the last generation recorded in this tablet, that is, the sons of Joktan.

Tablet 6 (11:10-27) written or owned by Terah. Terah's genealogical list registers the death of his father Nahor, while he himself lived on until his son Abraham was seventy-five years old.

The series of Tablets 7 and 8 (11:27-25:19) written or owned by the two brothers Ishmael and Isaac. The latest chronological statement (25:1-4) refers to the birth of Abram's great-grandsons, and of their growth into clans. Ishmael died 48 years and Isaac 105 years after Abraham. As Abraham would seem to have married Keturah soon after Sarah's death (which occurred 38 years before Abraham died), this period of 38 years added to the remaining 105 years of Isaac's life, is a most reasonable period to assign for the birth of Abraham's greatgrandsons by Keturah. This indicates that the history recorded in these tablets ceases just before the death of Isaac, whose name is given as the last writer, for Isaac survived Ishmael by 57 years and records his death.

The remaining Tablet (series) 9, 10, and 11 (25:20-37:2), were the tablets belonging to, or written by, Esau and Jacob. Jacob is the central figure in the record, and the latest chronological statement in them is that of the death of Isaac. Immediately before the ending formula, "these are the origins of Jacob," we read, "and Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojourning, in the land of Canaan." This sentence has seemed so isolated

88 that it has been regarded by many to have little relation to the context, yet, as we shall see in a later chapter, it is evidence of the date when and where the tablets were written. Within a few years Jacob had moved down to Egypt. This sentence indicates where he was living when he closes his record. For although he tells us of the death of Isaac, he says nothing whatever of the sale of Joseph into slavery, which occurred eleven years before Isaac's death. Neither does he tell of Joseph's interpretation of the butler's dream or of any other event in Egypt. Until Jacob went down to Egypt (10 years after he had buried his father), thus leaving "the land of his father's sojourning," he could not know anything whatever about these things. thus the record of Jacob closes precisely at the period indicated in 37:1. He had gone back to the south country, Hebron (where his father lived), only 10 years before Isaac had died, and records his death. Within 10 years of this latter event, Jacob was himself living in Egypt. So this previously obscure verse of Genesis 37 clearly indicates not only that Jacob wrote the tablets but when and where they were written. (70-73, 87-90)