Discover the fascinating journey of how the Hebrew Bible evolved from assorted scrolls to a unified text. Explore the roles of key figures like Moses and Ezra during pivotal historical moments. Delve into the profound themes of righteousness and community found in Malachi, and learn about the significance of the 'scroll of remembering' in shaping Israelite identity. The influence of Second Temple literature on both biblical texts and the New Testament reveals a dynamic interplay between tradition and adaptation, enriching our understanding of these sacred writings.
01:05:01
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Iterative Formation of Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible formed over generations by a prophetic literary crew, not by instant divine dictation.
This iterative process ended roughly in the late 400s BC, near the time of Jesus.
insights INSIGHT
Hebrew Bible as a Mosaic
The Hebrew Bible is a mosaic of traditional literature shaped over many generations.
Final prophetic authors reflect collective inspiration, involving all scribes under God's spirit guidance.
insights INSIGHT
Scriptural Cohesion in Hebrew Bible
The narrative framing in the Hebrew Bible shows coordination across scrolls for a unified reading.
Passages like Malachi 3 signal a self-aware community actively engaging scripture together.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
This book provides a thorough introduction to the Bible's origins, covering its writing, collection, canonization, transmission, and translation. It is divided into sections that logically trace the development of both the Old and New Testaments, addressing fundamental questions relevant to all serious readers of the Bible. The work includes discussions on early translations and a detailed study of English versions, making it useful for both students and lay readers.
How the Bible Was Formed E3 — Today, most Bibles are a single book that’s easy to carry and flip through. But the Bible started as an assortment of scrolls, bound together into a collection. The Hebrew Bible—or the Old Testament—went through a centuries-long, iterative development process with a variety of scribes and prophets. It didn’t come into its final form until roughly the time of Jesus. So how does this history interact with a view of Scripture as God’s word? In this episode, Jon and Tim continue exploring the formation of the Bible, discussing how to hold a high view of these sacred texts while also acknowledging the humans who shaped them.
CHAPTERS
An Inspired, Collaborative Work Over Centuries (0:00-12:00)
A Final Shaping of the Hebrew Bible After Exile (12:00-26:59)
The Second Temple Period’s Flourishing Literary Culture (26:59-43:42)
The Tanak’s Standardization as the Masoretic Text (43:42-53:32)
Wisdom Literature Designed for Meditation and Formation (53:32-1:00:03)
Coming to Peace With the Bible’s Formation (1:00:03-1:05:02)
You can view annotations for this episode—plus our entire library of videos, podcasts, articles, and classes—in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.
Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.
SHOW MUSIC
“Nice Day ft. Marc Vanparla, John Lee” by Lofi Sunday
“Know My Name” by Lofi Sunday, Opto Music
“But Hopeful ft. Maddox.” by Lofi Sunday
“Forever Yours ft. Cassidy Godwin” by Lofi Sunday
BibleProject theme song by TENTS
SHOW CREDITS
Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, and he also edited today's episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.
BibleProject 