Bible study part 2

“Faith, prayer, and the Word of God
are the weapons God provides you
with to fight spiritual battles.” – Jim
George
Dear Readers,
In these 3 parts, (BIBLE STUDY – part 1, 2 and 3) you will find
53 short and simple articles on Bible (courtesy: various
sources from the internet).
Though, these articles are not arranged in a systematic way or
may not be meant for scholarly studies, nevertheless, it would
help the readers to acquire some knowledge on the Bible.
These articles may be used for personal study or may be
published in your parish bulletins or other publications.
To encourage your group/parishioners to read these articles,
you can even conduct a BIBLE STUDY QUIZ (BSQ). For further
details on how to conduct the BSQ, please refer to – BIBLE
STUDY QUIZ (BSQ) file in this website. You will also find a
sample objective type question set prepared for PART 1 of the
BIBLE STUDY articles. TO make it easier for the organisers of
the BSQ, answers of each BSQ is also given. See the same
section.
ALSO AVAILABLE 43 SETS OF BIBLE QUIZZES (BIBLE
QUEST) IN THIS WEBSITE. For further details go to the
title BIBLE QUEST and read the INTRODUCTION.
Fr Felix Rebello
Email: frfelixrbello@gmail.com
SEE PART 2, 17 ARTICLES CONTINUED IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES

Contd from part 1 – article no. 19
BIBLE QUOTE OF THE MONTH
The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring
men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God,
that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in
His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness
of the very God Himself in the core and center of their
hearts.-- A. W. Tozer
What is Biblical numerology?
Biblical numerology is the study of numbers in the Bible. Two of the most
commonly repeated numbers in the Bible are 7 and 40. The number 7
signifies completion or perfection (Genesis 7:2-4; Revelation 1:20). It is
often called “God’s number” since He is the only One who is perfect and
complete (Revelation 4:5; 5:1, 5-6). The number 3 is also thought to be the
number of divine perfection: The Trinity consists of Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
The number 40 is often understood as the “number of probation or trial.” For
example: the Israelites wandered for 40 years (Deuteronomy 8:2-5); Moses
was on the mount for 40 days (Exodus 24:18); 40 days were involved in the
story of Jonah and Nineveh (Jonah 3:4); Jesus was tempted for 40 days
(Matthew 4:2); there were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension
(Acts 1:3). Another number repeated in the Bible is 4, which is the number of
creation: North, South, East, West; four seasons. The number 6 is thought to
be the number of man: Man was created on the 6th day; man labors 6 days
only. Another example of the Bible using a number to signify something is
the number 666, the number of the Antichrist in Revelation chapter 13.
Whether or not the numbers really do have a significance is still debated in
many circles. The Bible definitely seems to use numbers in patterns or to
teach a spiritual truth. However, many people put too much significance on
“Biblical numerology,” trying to find a special meaning behind every
number in the Bible. Often a number in the Bible is simply a number. God
does not call us to search for secret meanings, hidden messages, and codes in
the Bible. There is more than enough truth in the words and meanings of
Scripture to meet all our needs and make us “complete and thoroughly
equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Article 20
Whatever merit there is in anything that I
have written is simply due to the fact that
when I was a child my mother daily read me
a part of the Bible and daily made me learn
a part of it by heart. --John Ruskin
What is the main message of the Bible?
The Bible addresses many basic issues of life and death, of the present and
the future, and so it is difficult to select just one theme as the main one.
Students of the Bible have generally grouped the leading topics treated in the
Bible under two main heads. Let's look briefly at both of them.
The first school suggests that the main message of the Bible is the
wonderful presentation of salvation. The good news of salvation in Jesus
Christ is the fundamental message of the Scripture. Under this head there are
many basic truths:
• God created a majestic universe and crowned it by forming the first
man and woman in sinless perfection.
• Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation from Satan, and fell into sin
and shame. The consequences of sin are obvious, but people
everywhere still love to rebel against God.
• Yet God did not abandon humanity on its course to destruction. He
chose one people to demonstrate his special care and from them to
provide a Savior for the whole world.
• God sent his own son Jesus Christ to bear the awesome consequences
of sin. God does not just blithely disregard sin, but he poured out all the
terror of eternal condemnation on his son in those terrible hours of
suffering and death on the cross.
• In the resurrection of Jesus, God demonstrates his victory over sin and
calls people everywhere to identify with this victory by faith in Jesus
Christ.
• In living in this salvation, we know that life is not meaningless, but we
live surrounded by God's love, and bound for eternity with him.
The second school of thought views the main message of the Bible from a
much different perspective. These readers agree that salvation is certainly
very important, but it is only part of a much greater message. That bigger
message goes far beyond the man-centered focus of salvation to embrace the
purpose of all time and space. We may call this message the revelation of
God's plan and purpose for the universe. Under this head there are also
many basic truths: (continued in the next issue of Panvel Pulse)

Article 21
"After more than sixty years of almost daily
reading of the BIBLE, I never fail to find it
always new and marvelously in tune with the
changing needs of every day" Cecil B. DeMille
What is the main message of the Bible?
(Part 2 - contd from last issue)
The second school of thought views the main message of the Bible from a
much different perspective. These readers agree that salvation is certainly
very important, but it is only part of a much greater message. That bigger
message goes far beyond the man-centered focus of salvation to embrace the
purpose of all time and space. We may call this message the revelation of
God's plan and purpose for the universe. Under this head there are also
many basic truths:
• God in his dynamic and creative essence resolved to create the universe
and delight in it.
• However, God is not the sole transcendent being. There is a rebellious
and fallen being named Satan who opposes God and his plan. He
deceives and undermines God's purpose everywhere.
• This conflict marks all history and results in two kingdoms. Satan
foments disorder and all that is bizarre and sinister. Quarreling and
dissension among God's people is often his most horrid device.
• In sending his son Jesus Christ, God established the decisive hour in
this conflict. In his servanthood, Jesus was the opposite of all the pomp,
pride, greed and egoism that Satan promotes.
• In Christ's death, Satan declared victory over God, but the resurrection
turned that seeming victory into actual defeat.
• Satan still prowls the world, but he realizes he cannot win. God's
people are now heralds of his present and coming kingdom. Gradually
the contours of the final conflict emerge across the world.
• Eventually evil so captivates and enslaves humanity that the climactic
end time of history arrives. Finally, Christ returns to earth as the victor
and God's kingdom is established for all eternity. The purpose of God's
creation and universal plan is achieved.
Both these majestic messages are found in the Bible. They are simply two
perspectives on one majestic theme: God’s Plan For His People And His
Cosmic Kingdom. What is your heart’s response to his message?

Article 22
“We must not build on the sands of an
uncertain and ever changing science…but
upon the rock of inspired Scriptures.” Sir
Ambrose Flemming,
The Pentateuch
Pentateuch is a name given to the first five books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It is derived from two Greek words, pente,
meaning five, and teuchos, meaning volumes. Pentateuch means five volumes.
The five books originally formed a single scroll, as they still do in Hebrew manuscripts.
When they were divided into five sections, or books, is unknown, however it is
reasonably certain that it was at, or before, the writing of the Septuagint, from which the
descriptive book names, or titles, were taken by the Greek translators.
Later Scriptures refer to the Pentateuch as The Law, or The Book of the Law. It has
always been at the beginning of the Bible, not only because its events occurred first, but
because it formed the rationale for the rest of the sacred books. It revealed the Who,
what, where, why, and when of it all, in the period from the Creation, to the Exodus and
entry into the Promised Land.
Moses has been generally accepted by Jewish and Christian tradition as the compiler of
the Pentateuch, using all of the ancient records, written and oral, available to him.
Hence, they are also known as the Book of Moses, or the First, Second, Third, Fourth,
and Fifth Books of Moses. The only exception are the few verses that record his death,
which were added by a later writer, perhaps Ezra.
Moses certainly had the training, having been raised amidst the long-established
Egyptian Civilization. His education involved 40 years in the luxury of the Pharaoh's
palace (to learn how to lead and govern), followed by 40 years out in the Sinai (to learn
how to survive during the Israelite's wilderness years) under his father-in-law Jethro .
If the Bible were a house, the Pentateuch would be the foundation from which
everything else is built. It is the natural and logical beginning of any Christian Bible
Reading Plan.

Article 23
You may as well quit reading and hearing
the Word of God, and give it to the devil,
if you do not desire to live according to it.
-- Martin Luther
Why should we read the BIBLE?
An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with
his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up
early sitting at the kitchen table reading his BIBLE. His
grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate
him in every way he could. One day the grandson
asked, “Grandpa! I try to read the BIBLE just like you
but I don’t
understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good
does reading the BIBLE do?”
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this
coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.” The boy did as he
was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather
laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to
the River with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home.
Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket,
and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I
want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to
watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather
that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the
house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his
grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s
useless!”
“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.” The boy looked at
the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been
transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. “Son, that’s
what happens when you read the BIBLE. You might not understand or remember
everything, but when you read it; you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work
of Jesus in our live.

Article 24
The book to read is not the one which thinks
for you, but the one which makes you think.
No book in the world equals the Bible for
that. --Mccosh
BOOK OF GENESIS
OVERVIEW
According to Jewish and Christian
tradition, the first five books of the
Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) --
the Pentateuch --were written by
Moses under the inspiration of God.
God inspired Moses to write the truth
and prevented him from making any errors. The Bible itself states that Moses was the
author. Many conservative Christians and Jews continue with this belief today.
However, mainline and liberal theologians generally accept the "Documentary
Hypothesis" which asserts that the Pentateuch was written by five authors or groups of
authors, from diverse locations, over a period of centuries. Each wrote with the goal of
promoting his/her/their own religious views The five individuals or groups are
commonly called:
J: a writer(s) who used Yahweh/Jehovah as the divine name.
E: a writer(s) who used Elohim as the divine name. *
P: a writer(s) who added material of major interest to the priesthood.
D: the author of the book of Deuteronomy. *
R: a redactor(s) who welded the contributions of J, E and P together into the present
Pentateuch.
* Did not contribute to Genesis.
The authors of Genesis seem have picked up part of their story from Hindu legends of
the creation and early history of humanity. Stories of Hindu heroes Adimo, Heva,
Sherma, Hama and Jiapheta apparently were replicated into legends about Adam, Eve,
Shem, Ham, and Japeth.
The two creation stories at the start of Genesis were also apparently heavily influenced
by Pagan writings from Mesopotamia; the transition between the two sources occurs at
Genesis 2:4 with a verse inserted by the redactor "R."
The first ten chapters of the book of Genesis are reprinted in the following essays. 2
The original authors, according to the Documentary Hypothesis, are indicated in
different colors: J, P, and R. We follow the identification by R.E. Friedman.

Article 25
“Within the covers of the Bible are the
answers for all the problems men face.”
― Ronald Reagan
Meaning of Torah
First five books of the Bible
The word "Torah" in Hebrew is derived
from the root , which in the hifil
conjugation means "to guide/teach" (cf.
Lev. 10:11). The meaning of the word is
therefore "teaching", "doctrine", or
"instruction"; the commonly accepted
"law" gives a wrong impression.[6]
Other
translational contexts
in the English language include custom, theory, guidance,[7]
or system.[8]
The term
"Torah" is used in the general sense to include both rabbinic Judaism's written law
and oral law, serving to encompass the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish
religious teachings throughout history, including the Mishnah, the Talmud, the
Midrash and more, and the inaccurate rendering of "Torah" as "Law"[9]
may be an
obstacle to understanding the ideal that is summed up in the term talmud torah ( ,
"study of Torah").[2]
The earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been "The Torah of
Moses". This title, however, is found neither in the Torah itself, nor in the works of the
pre-Exilic literary prophets. It appears in Joshua (8:31–32; 23:6) and Kings (I Kings
2:3; II Kings 14:6; 23:25), but it cannot be said to refer there to the entire corpus. In
contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works (Mal. 3:22; Dan.
9:11, 13; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Neh. 8:1; II Chron. 23:18; 30:16) was intended to be
comprehensive. Other early titles were "The Book of Moses" (Ezra 6:18; Neh. 13:1; II
Chron. 35:12; 25:4; cf. II Kings 14:6) and "The Book of the Torah" (Neh. 8:3), which
seems to be a contraction of a fuller name, "The Book of the Torah of God" (Neh.
8:8, 18; 10:29–30; cf. 9:3).[10]
Scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the Pentateuch, a
term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria,[11]
meaning five books, or as
the Law, or Law of Moses. Muslims refer to the Torah as Tawrat (, "Law"), an Arabic
word for the revelations given to the Islamic prophet Musa (, Moses in Arabic).

Article 26
“If you believe what you like in the
Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is
not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”
― Saint Augustine of Hippo
Book of Genesis - Principles of Interpretation
How one should read the book of Genesis. How should we interpret the words written in these early
chapters? Should we take them literally or allegorically? This field in known as Hermeneutics, which
comes from the Greek Word interpret. Today there are two main schools in the interpretation of Genesis,
especially the first 11 chapters. Some argue for a literal interpretation others for an allegorical or
symbolic interpretation. Encyclopedia Britannica writes the following regarding these two methods.
Literal interpretation asserts that a biblical text is to be interpreted according to the “plain meaning”
conveyed by its grammatical construction and historical context. The literal meaning is held to correspond
to the intention of the authors. This type of hermeneutics is often, but not necessarily, associated with
belief in the verbal inspiration of the Bible, according to which the individual words of the divine message
were divinely chosen. Extreme forms of this view are criticized on the ground that they do not account
adequately for the evident individuality of style and vocabulary found in the various biblical authors.
Jerome, an influential 4th-century biblical scholar, championed the literal interpretation of the Bible in
opposition to what he regarded as the excesses of allegorical interpretation. The primacy of the literal
sense was later advocated by such diverse figures as Thomas Aquinas, Nicholas of Lyra, John Colet,
Martin Luther, and John Calvin.
Allegorical interpretation, a third type of hermeneutics, interprets the biblical narratives as having a
second level of reference beyond those persons, things, and events explicitly mentioned in the text. A
particular form of allegorical interpretation is the typological, according to which the key figures, main
events, and principal institutions of the Old Testament are seen as “types” or foreshadowings of persons,
events, and objects in the New Testament. According to this theory, interpretations such as that of
Noah's ark as a “type” of the Christian church have been intended by God from the beginning.
Do we reconcile Science and Scripture?
At conflict is how we reconcile scripture and science. When science comes into conflict with scripture,
which is right? This was a problem addressed by the Catholic Church and their view of Darwin and the
science behind Darwinian Evolution in light of Genesis. The problem of this conflict does not face the
Catholic Church alone, but everybody who strives to believe the Bible is God’s Word and yet also pride
themselves on being logical observing what science is revealing about our world.
The question we need to address is the relevance of scripture. Can the Bible be relied on to reveal the
reality of the world today? This is the core of the conflict, when we hear and are taught daily that
Evolution as proposed by Darwin is a fact, and that this fact contradicts the Bible, how should we
respond. Here are four options.
1. Should we blindly accept the claims of science, as a group of “objective students” trying to discover the
“Knowledge”?
2. Should we believe the Bible and reject any scientific claims which contradict the Bible?
3. Should we try to reconcile our Bible to claims of science?
4. Should we look for ways to reconcile “the claims” of science to the Bible?

Article 27
"Other books were given for our
information, the BIBLE was given for
our transformation"- The Defender
THE BIBLE IS ONE BOOK
The Bible is one book. It is the Holy Spirit inspired written record of God's master plan for man's
salvation. Beginning in the Old Testament with the opening chapters of Genesis and continuing
to the last book of the New Testament (The Book of Revelation), God the Father reveals His
desire to heal the broken relationship between Himself and man through the saving work of the
promised Redeemer, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus revealed the definitive nature of God's divine
plan in what we call the Old Testament when He told the Apostles and disciples after His
Resurrection.
The Old Testament begins in Genesis with the creation of the cosmos and an account of the
origin of life on earth. The account continues with the fall from grace of our original parents and
the promise of a future Redeemer through the "seed of the woman" (Gen 3:15). The history of
the early world in Genesis proceeds with the stories of the lives of numerous individuals in the
record of the family line of the "promised seed" that is preserved in Seth, the third son of Adam
and Eve, Seth's descendant Noah, and Noah's descendant Abraham. It was through Abraham
that God set apart a family, and from that family a people to worship and fellowship with Him. The
narrative of events in Genesis comes to a climax in a second "creation" event in the book of
Exodus. Reminiscent of the Creation event when God separated the land out from the sea of
chaos (Gen 1:9-10), God separated the children of Israel out from the chaos of the pagan peoples
of the earth. Then, in the Theophany at Sinai(Ex 19-24), God brought about the birth of the
nation of Israel’s people born to be God's holy possession and His Bride, the Church of the Sinai
Covenant. Just as God established Adam to serve and guard His Edenic Sanctuary (Gen 2:15),
Israel is called to become a priestly nation (Ex 19:6) the national family whose mission was to
serve and guard God's earthly Sanctuary, to be a witness to the nations of the world of the One
True God, to take possession of the "Promised Land" (Gen 15:18-21; Ex 23:31-33; Dt 11:24), and
to be the people from whom the promised Messiah (Gen 3:15; Dt 18:18-19) was to be born.
But these are not isolated events and biographies. The themes of lost fellowship, judgment,
promised redemption, restoration of fellowship and unity are repeated throughout the Bible's
record of salvation history and reach their fulfillment in the last Bible book, the Book of
Revelation. The Bible begins with the creation of heaven and earth, with a bridegroom, a bride,
and a wedding, and the Bible ends in the Book of Revelation with a new creation, a bridegroom, a
bride, and a wedding: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first
earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the New
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride dressed for her husband
(Rev 21:1-2). Genesis records the marriage of our first parents and Revelation the wedding feast
of the Lamb and His Bride, the Church, Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of
the Lamb! (Rev 19:9).

Article 28
“I have a problem with people who take
the Constitution loosely and the Bible
literally.” - Bill Maher
THE QUESTION OF THE AUTHORSHIP OF
THE BOOK OF MOSES
Jesus speaking to the Sadducees, referring to Exodus 3:6: Now about the dead rising again,
have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to
him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? Mark 12:26.
Usually when we speak of the authors of Sacred Scripture we are thinking of the individuals, the
prophets and other holy men who wrote down the words of each of the books, but according to
the text of Sacred Scripture these men may have been the human writers but it is God who is the
author. St. Paul and St. Peter, both writers of Sacred Scripture, testified to this belief:
• 2 Timothy 3:16 [St. Paul wrote]: All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting
error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright.
• 2 Peter 1:21 [St. Peter wrote]: For no prophecy ever came from human initiative. When
people spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that moved them.
That God is the author of the Bible has always been the position of the Catholic Church ‘the Bible
being both human and divine in its origins, just as Jesus Christ, the Living Word, is Himself both
human and divine. The Catholic Church affirms this 2,000 year teaching in the Universal
Catechism: God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are
contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit." "For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age,
accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and New Testaments, whole and entire,
with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have
God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself" (Catechism of the
Catholic Church #105; also see Jn 20:31; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21; 3:15-16).
That God is the author of Sacred Scripture was the belief of both Jewish (Old Testament) and
Christian scholars until the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th
century when the Bible began to be
studied simply as literature devoid of any divine connection. In the 19th
century new theories were
introduced that reduced the record of Sacred Scripture to different strands of oral stories handed
down through generations and altered by the editing by numerous nameless redactors.
In the history of both Jewish and Christian tradition, and for most of the Judeo-Christian era,
Moses is given credit for having been inspired by God to write down the words of God contained
in the Pentateuch, and the Bible supports this claim.

Article 29
“I have a problem with people who take
the Constitution loosely and the Bible
literally.” - Bill Maher
THE QUESTION OF THE AUTHORSHIP OF
THE BOOK OF MOSES
Jesus speaking to the Sadducees, referring to Exodus 3:6: Now about the dead rising again,
have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to
him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? Mark 12:26.
Usually when we speak of the authors of Sacred Scripture we are thinking of the individuals, the
prophets and other holy men who wrote down the words of each of the books, but according to
the text of Sacred Scripture these men may have been the human writers but it is God who is the
author. St. Paul and St. Peter, both writers of Sacred Scripture, testified to this belief:
• 2 Timothy 3:16 [St. Paul wrote]: All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting
error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright.
• 2 Peter 1:21 [St. Peter wrote]: For no prophecy ever came from human initiative. When
people spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that moved them.
That God is the author of the Bible has always been the position of the Catholic Church ‘the Bible
being both human and divine in its origins, just as Jesus Christ, the Living Word, is Himself both
human and divine. The Catholic Church affirms this 2,000 year teaching in the Universal
Catechism: God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are
contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit." "For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age,
accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and New Testaments, whole and entire,
with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have
God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself" (Catechism of the
Catholic Church #105; also see Jn 20:31; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21; 3:15-16).
That God is the author of Sacred Scripture was the belief of both Jewish (Old Testament) and
Christian scholars until the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th
century when the Bible began to be
studied simply as literature devoid of any divine connection. In the 19th
century new theories were
introduced that reduced the record of Sacred Scripture to different strands of oral stories handed
down through generations and altered by the editing by numerous nameless redactors.
In the history of both Jewish and Christian tradition, and for most of the Judeo-Christian era,
Moses is given credit for having been inspired by God to write down the words of God contained
in the Pentateuch, and the Bible supports this claim.

Article 30
“Reading the Bible will help you get to know
the word, but it’s when you put it down and
live your life that you get to know the author.”
― Steve Maraboli
THE BOOK OF GENESIS
Who Wrote the Book of Genesis?
The traditional view was that Moses wrote the Book of Genesis between
1446 and 1406 BCE. The Documentary Hypothesis developed by modern
scholarship indicates that several different authors contributed to the text and
at least one edited multiple sources together to create the final Genesis text
that we have today. Exactly how many different sources were used and how
many authors or editors were involved is a matter of debate.
Early critical scholarship argued that various traditions about the origins of
the Israelites were collected and written down during the reign of Solomon
(c. 961–931 BCE). Archaeological evidence casts doubt on whether there
was much of an Israelite state at thistime, though, let alone an empire of the
sort described in the Old Testament.
Textual research on the documents suggests that some of the earliest portions
of Genesis can only be dated to the 6th century, well after Solomon. Current
scholarship seems to favor the idea that the narratives in Genesis and other
early Old Testament texts were at least collected, if not written down, during
the reign of Hezekiah (c. 727–698 BCE).
When Was the Book of Genesis Written?
The oldest manuscripts we have of Genesis date to some point between 150
BCE and 70 CE. Literary research on the Old Testament suggests that the
oldest parts of the Book of Genesis may have first been written during the
8th century BCE. The latest parts and final editing were probably done
during the 5th century BCE. The Pentateuch probably existed in something
like its current form by the 4th century BCE
(Next issue - Book of Genesis summery)

Article 31
“You Christians look after a document containing
enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to
pieces, turn the world upside down and bring
peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as
though it is nothing more than a piece of
literature.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
THE BOOK OF GENESIS SUMMERY
Genesis 1-11: The beginning of Genesis is the beginning of the universe
and of all existence: God creates the universe, the planet earth, and
everything else. God creates humanity and a paradise for them to live in,
but they are kicked out after disobeying. Corruption in humanity later
causes God to destroy everything and everyone save one man, Noah, and
his family on an ark. From this one family come all the nations of the world,
leading eventually to a man named Abraham
Genesis 12-25: Abraham is singled out by God and he makes a covenant
with God. His son, Isaac, inherits this covenant as well as the blessings that
go with it. God gives Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan,
though others already live there.
Genesis 25-36: Jacob is given a new name, Israel, and he continues the
line which inherits God's covenant and blessings.
Genesis 37-50: Joseph, Jacob's son, is sold by his brothers into slavery in
Egypt where he acquires a great deal of power. His family comes to live
with him and thus the entire line of Abraham settles in Egypt where they will
eventually grow to great numbers.

Article 32
“The Bible is the greatest of all books; to
study it is the noblest of all pursuits; to
understand it, the highest of all goals.”
― Charles C. Ryrie
Book of Genesis Themes
1] Covenants: Recurring throughout the Bible is the idea of
covenants and this is already important early in the Book of Genesis.
A covenant is a contract or treaty between God and humans, either
with all humans or with one specific group like God's "Chosen
People." Early on God is depicted as making promises to Adam,
Eve, Cain, and others about their own personal futures. Later God is
depicted as making promises to Abraham about the future of all his
descendants.
There is debate among scholars about whether the recurring stories
of covenants is one deliberate, grand, overarching theme of the
Bible as a whole or whether they are just individual themes that
ended up being linked together when the biblical texts were
collected and edited together.
2] Sovereignty of God: Genesis starts out with God creating
everything, including existence itself, and throughout Genesis God
asserts his authority over creation by destroying whatever fails to
live up to his expectations. God has no particular obligations to
anything created except that which he decides to offer; put another
way, there are no inherent rights possessed by any people or any
other part of creation except that which God decides to grant.
3] Flawed Humanity: The imperfection of humanity is a theme
which starts in Genesis and continues throughout the Bible. The
imperfection starts with and is exacerbated by the disobedience in
the Garden of Eden. After that, humans consistently fail to do what
is right and what God expects. Fortunately, the existence of a few
people here and there who do live up to some of God's expectations
has prevented the extermination of our species.

Article 33
"After more than sixty years of almost daily
reading of the BIBLE, I never fail to find it
always new and
marvellously in tune with the changing needs
of every day" - Cecil B. DeMille
An Introduction to the Book of Exodus
The book of Exodus tells the story of how one who reveals himself as “I am who I am” takes on
and vanquishes the powers of oppression, sets a people free, and gifts them with law, a
priesthood, and a place of worship. The narrative trajectory of events recounted is a lens through
which the course of countless revolutions has since been understood: oppression; deliverance;
social contract; internal conflict; revision and renewal of the contract; and, beyond the bounds of
the book of Exodus, wandering; the unraveling of the covenant; renewed oppression; the promise
of a new covenant and a new exodus.
It is the story of a particular people, the direct continuation of the story of Jacob’s clan in Egypt
(Gen 37-50). “I am who I am,” aka YHWH, identifies himself to a leader of his choosing,
Moses, as the God of their ancestors. YHWH has heard the cry of the people in the slave-
house of Egypt; he will set them free and take them to a land flowing with milk and honey
(Exod 3).
This same God rescues Moses at birth; though Moses commits murder and runs away, God calls
him and appoints him to challenge Pharaoh, unleash ten plagues on Egypt, escape with a mixed
multitude in the dead of night, part the Red Sea, and journey to a desert mountain; there they are
told that “you will be for me a treasured possession among all the peoples … a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation”; the people are constituted as one people under God (1-18; 19:5-
6). Beginning with the “Ten Words,” God reveals to Moses law and covenant designed to
safeguard the freedom obtained; Moses and Aaron and the elders of Israel ascend the mountain,
behold God, and eat and drink in his presence; in the sight of the people, the appearance of the
glory of YHWH on the mountain is like a devouring fire (19-24; 24:9-11). God gives instructions
for the construction of a mobile place of worship, the institution of a priesthood, and reiterates, as
a sign forever, the Sabbath imperative; the commanded rest has kept Israel ever since (25-31).
Nonetheless, in a crisis typical of revolutions, the people manufacture a god like the one they
were familiar with in the slave-house of Egypt; Moses intercedes in the hope that “I am who I am”
will not abort the project of liberation. Moses goes on to command his fellow Levite tribesmen to
“kill your brother, your friend, your neighbor,” the prototypical example of a revolutionary purge.
The crisis is resolved in blood; the remnant is ordered to go on the march (32-33).
God reveals himself to Moses again and proclaims, “YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and
gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love to
the thousandth generation” (34:6-7a). The covenant is renewed, the Sabbath imperative
reiterated (34:10-35:3). The book concludes with the construction of the Tabernacle; YHWH’s
glory descends to fill it (35-40).

Article 34
“It is impossible to enslave, mentally or
socially, a bible-reading people. The principles
of the bible are the groundwork of human
freedom.”
― Horace Greeley
BOOK OF EXODUS - Themes and Theology
Exodus lays a foundational theology in which God reveals his name, his attributes, his redemption, his
law and how he is to be worshiped. It also reports the appointment and work of Moses as the mediator of
the Sinaitic covenant, describes the beginnings of the priesthood in Israel, defines the role of the prophet
and relates how the ancient covenant relationship between God and his people (see note on Ge 17:2)
came under a new administration (the covenant given at Mount Sinai).
Profound insights into the nature of God are found in chs. 3; 6; 33–34. The focus of these texts is on the
fact and importance of his presence with his people. But emphasis is also placed on his attributes of
justice, truthfulness, mercy, faithfulness and holiness. Thus to know God’s “name” is to know him and to
know his character (see 3:13–15; 6:3).
God is also the Lord of history. Neither the affliction of Israel nor the plagues in Egypt were outside his
control. The pharaoh, the Egyptians and all Israel saw the power of God. There was no one like him,
“majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders” (15:11). It is reassuring to know that God
remembers and is concerned about his people (2:24). What he had promised centuries earlier to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he now begins to bring to fruition as Israel is freed from Egyptian bondage
and sets out for the land of promise. The covenant at Sinai is but another step in God’s fulfillment of his
promise to the patriarchs (3:15–17; 6:2–8; 19:3–8).
The Biblical message of salvation is likewise powerfully set forth in this book. The verb “redeem” is used,
e.g., in 6:6; 15:13. But the heart of redemption theology is best seen in the Passover narrative of ch. 12,
the sealing of the covenant in ch. 24, and the account of God’s gracious renewal of that covenant after
Israel’s blatant unfaithfulness to it in their worship of the golden calf (34:1–14).
The apostle Paul viewed the death of the Passover lamb as fulfilled in Christ (1Co 5:7). Indeed, John the
Baptist called Jesus the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).
The foundation of Biblical ethics and morality is laid out first in the gracious character of God as revealed
in the exodus itself and then in the Ten Commandments (20:1–17) and the ordinances of the Book of the
Covenant (20:22—23:33), which taught Israel how to apply in a practical way the principles of the
commandments. The book concludes with an elaborate discussion of the theology of worship. Though
costly in time, effort and monetary value, the tabernacle, in meaning and function, points to the “chief end
of man,” namely, “to glorify God and to enjoy him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism). By means of
the tabernacle, the omnipotent, unchanging and transcendent God of the universe came to “dwell” or
“tabernacle” with his people, thereby revealing his gracious nearness as well. God is not only mighty in
Israel’s behalf; he is also present in the nation’s midst.
However, these theological elements do not merely sit side by side in the Exodus narrative. They receive
their fullest and richest significance from the fact that they are embedded in the account of God’s raising
up his servant Moses (1) to liberate his people from Egyptian bondage, (2) to inaugurate his earthly
kingdom among them by bringing them into a special national covenant with him, and (3) to erect within
Israel God’s royal tent. And this account of redemption from bondage leading to consecration in covenant
and the pitching of God’s royal tent in the earth, all through the ministry of a chosen mediator, discloses
God’s purpose in history—the purpose he would fulfill through Israel, and ultimately through Jesus Christ
the supreme Mediator.

Article 35
“England has two books, the Bible and
Shakespeare. England made Shakespeare,
but the Bible made England.” ― Victor
Hugo
BOOK OF EXODUS – Genres and unifying elements
Genres.
The book of Exodus is presented in the form of an epic. Like most epics, it begins in the middle of
things, with the Israelites languishing in slavery and their would-be deliverer born under the threat
of death by drowning.
The story proceeds along epic lines, with a cosmic confrontation between good and evil that is
happily resolved through a mighty act of rescue and a long journey to freedom. Moses is the
heroic (albeit imperfect) national leader who serves as the human instrument of a divine
deliverance.
Like many epics, Exodus is also the story of the founding of a nation. This helps to explain how
the second half of the book connects to the first: once they are delivered from bondage, the
people of God meet to receive a national constitution (the Ten Commandments) and to establish
a place for their national assembly (the tabernacle).
Within its epic framework, Exodus also contains a wealth of subgenres: rescue story, calling
story, human-divine encounter, diplomatic negotiation, plague story, genealogy, institution of a
festival, song of victory, travelogue, miracle story, legal code, case law, covenant renewal
ceremony, architectural blueprint, garment design, building narrative.

Unifying elements
The person of Moses provides Exodus with a strong sense of narrative unity. It is Moses who
meets with God at the burning bush, demands that Pharaoh let God’s people go, leads
Israel across the sea on dry land, sings the song of their salvation, comes down a
mountain (twice) with the Law of God, leads Israel in worship, and finally sets up the
tabernacle.
Since Moses is a national leader, Exodus is also unified by its focus on Israel as the people of
God. But the real hero of the story is God himself, and Exodus finds its most essential
unity in his actions and attributes as the God who hears his people pray, delivers them
from slavery, provides for them in the wilderness, instructs them how to live, invites them
to worship him, and meets with them in all the power of his holy divine presence.
To be even more specific, the main theme of Exodus is the glory of God. The initial plot conflict is
that Pharaoh will not let God’s people go out to glorify their God (see 9:1). When God
plagues the Egyptians and drowns Pharaoh’s armies at the bottom of the sea, he does it to
gain glory for himself (see 14:4, 17–18)—a glory that Moses celebrates in his victory song
(see 15:11).
This divine glory is revealed in visible form many times throughout the book: at the burning bush,
in the pillar of cloud (16:10), at the top of Mount Sinai (see 24:15–17), in the face of Moses
(34:29–35), and most climactically in the completed tabernacle (40:34–35). The central
message of Exodus is that God’s people are saved for God’s glory.

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