Hebrew, Greek, and Jabneh
If I had a purpose behind the information in this post, it is now lost. But I'm going to post anyway. Because I can.
As I'm sure most all of you are aware, there are not two different versions of the Bible (Hebrew and Christian) but three: Hebrew, Catholic/Orthodox, and Protestant. It is important to understand what separates the latter two when looking at the historical uses of the Bible. It also helps explain a little more about the Bible.
Somewhere between 300 and 200 B.C. some Jews in Alexandria got together and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek for common use (because more Jews spoke Greek than Hebrew). Traditionally it is believed 70 scholars were involved, and hence the translation received the name the Septuagint, or LXX (from Latin for Seventy). This work contained all the books of the modern Hebrew Testament as well as the Deuterocanonical books (see below) and a few others (Esdas, Prayer of Manassess, etc.).
The LXX is the translation used throughout the entire New Testament by its authors, and was also likely the most common version read during its day.
Around the year 80 A.D. a collection of Jewish scholars got together (after getting premission from the Emporer) at Jabneh or Jamnia and, among other things, decided on what we might call a 'canon' of Jewish Scripture. It was not quite so formal as one might expect, but they selected the 39 books now found in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Protestant Old Testament, based almost completely on the fact that these books were the only ones with Hebrew versions surviving.
When St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in the 5th century he used the LXX (among other works) and included in his canon the books today found in the Catholic and Orthodox Bible, called the Deuterocanonical books. This term is essentially the same as the Apocrypha, except it is a more accurate and exact term. Apocrypha simply means hidden, and is used to describe almost any book of uncertain authenticity, including any book speaking of Jesus and not in the Christian Canon (they do not have to be written near the time of the accepted scripture, since most of what we know consider the Gnostic Gospels were written at least two hundred years after Christ, though some were earlier). Deuterocanonical is limited in scope to 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Sirach, Wisdom, and the additional material in Daniel and Esther.
As I'm sure all of you are aware, the Bible did not fall from heaven, nor was it instantely revealed to someone as it is today. Many years went into determining the Canon of Scripture, and I hope this post clarifies some of the differences between each Canon.
As I'm sure most all of you are aware, there are not two different versions of the Bible (Hebrew and Christian) but three: Hebrew, Catholic/Orthodox, and Protestant. It is important to understand what separates the latter two when looking at the historical uses of the Bible. It also helps explain a little more about the Bible.
Somewhere between 300 and 200 B.C. some Jews in Alexandria got together and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek for common use (because more Jews spoke Greek than Hebrew). Traditionally it is believed 70 scholars were involved, and hence the translation received the name the Septuagint, or LXX (from Latin for Seventy). This work contained all the books of the modern Hebrew Testament as well as the Deuterocanonical books (see below) and a few others (Esdas, Prayer of Manassess, etc.).
The LXX is the translation used throughout the entire New Testament by its authors, and was also likely the most common version read during its day.
Around the year 80 A.D. a collection of Jewish scholars got together (after getting premission from the Emporer) at Jabneh or Jamnia and, among other things, decided on what we might call a 'canon' of Jewish Scripture. It was not quite so formal as one might expect, but they selected the 39 books now found in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Protestant Old Testament, based almost completely on the fact that these books were the only ones with Hebrew versions surviving.
When St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in the 5th century he used the LXX (among other works) and included in his canon the books today found in the Catholic and Orthodox Bible, called the Deuterocanonical books. This term is essentially the same as the Apocrypha, except it is a more accurate and exact term. Apocrypha simply means hidden, and is used to describe almost any book of uncertain authenticity, including any book speaking of Jesus and not in the Christian Canon (they do not have to be written near the time of the accepted scripture, since most of what we know consider the Gnostic Gospels were written at least two hundred years after Christ, though some were earlier). Deuterocanonical is limited in scope to 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Sirach, Wisdom, and the additional material in Daniel and Esther.
As I'm sure all of you are aware, the Bible did not fall from heaven, nor was it instantely revealed to someone as it is today. Many years went into determining the Canon of Scripture, and I hope this post clarifies some of the differences between each Canon.
posted by J.M.R. Burgard @ 7:44 AM
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