Are the Old Testament (Tanakh) Scriptures reliable?

Are the Old Testament (Tanakh) Scriptures reliable? Part 1

2 Chronicles 7:14 The Wrong Interpretation

The (Tanakh - Jewish Bible) Old Testament is a collection of religious writings by ancient Israelites. It is located in the first portion of the Christian Scriptures. It is formed by the Torah (first five books), the prophets and the psalms. About the 5th century BC the Jewish people saw the Torah (the Bible) as representing the authoritative of Elohim; by the 2nd century BC the Prophets and Psalms had a similar status.

The first five books (the Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy form what is called "the Torah"; narrating the events of the Creation, the Fall, the Flood, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses.From Exodus to Deuteronomy shows the unique relationship between Elohim (God) and his chosen people, Israel. It is a biblical contract between YHWH and man with The Law of Moses in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy as the bylaws. It includes: the history of the Israelites from the death of Joseph to the erection of the Tabernacle by Moses, and the chosen people in the wilderness of Sinai until their arrival in the promise land.

The next books from Joshua to Malachi tells of the conquest of Canaan and the division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel, Samson, Ruth, Samuel the great prophet-judge, the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon (and the Temple of the Almighty), the nation's decline and fall, the double captivity of Israel under the Assyrians and Judah under the Chaldeans, the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, the rebuilding of the Temple, Isaiah and the prophecies of Christ's coming , Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the four visions of Daniel, Joel with the coming of the day of the Lord, Jonah swallowed by a great fish sent by Elohim, Zephaniah and the nation preparing for its salvation and Malachi tells of the coming day of the Lord and a prophecy of John the Baptist. Also there are the poetic and "Wisdom" books: Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes that express the feelings of the people through their religious experience.

In Luke 24:44 Yeshua (Jesus) confirmed how the Tanakh was divided: the Law (Torah), the Prophets and the Psalms.

The Protestant Old Testament has 39 books, the Jewish Bible has the same amount but contained in 24 books. Only the Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments differs since its constains also the Biblical Apocrypha (books no considerate biblical by Jewish and Protestant scholars because they were written in Greek, no Hebrew): 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Rest of Esther, Esther, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, Jeremy, Song of the Three Children, Story of Susanna,The Idol Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasses, 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees.

We do not have today any of the original Old testament Manuscripts of the books that have been included in the Bible. All we have is copies of copies. The Old Testament scripture that has come to us was written in four languages: Greek, Latin, Aramaic and Hebrew.

1.Greek Translation
These early Greek translation commissioned during Ptolemy Philadelphus reign (285-246 B.C.) in Alexandria between 200 BC and 1 BC were called the Septuagint (Latin for "Seventy") from the supposed 70 translators involved (the Septuagint is known by the letters LXX, the Roman numerals for seventy.),includes some of the Biblical Apocrypha. This translation was used because Koine Greek was supplanting Hebrew as the language of the Jewish people in the Hellenistic Period and by the growing number of new gentile converts to Christianity. The Septuagint bears the distinction of having been the version used most often by the apostles and the church fathers.

"...the writers of the New Testament seem often to differ from those of the Old, because they appear uniformly to quote from some copy of the Septuagint version; and most of their quotations agree verbally, and often even literally, with one or other of the copies of that version which subsist to the present day." Clarke's Commentaries, The New Testament, Volume 5A, page 48.

In 331, Constantine I commissioned Eusebius, to make Bibles for the Church of Constantinople. Of these Bibles we have in existance the Codex Vaticanus (fourth century, an Alexandrian text-type manuscript, residing in Rome) and Codex Sinaiticus (fourth century, an Alexandrian text-type manuscript, residing in the British Library). These are the earliest extant Christian Bibles.

It is goog to have a copy of the Bible that the early christians used. For an English Edition of the Septuagint in PDF, proofs of the book "A New English Translation of the Septuagint" NETS, published by Oxford University Press in 2009, see PDF Septuagint, or for online text and English translation Online Septuagint text & English

The best translation by far is "The Septuagint with Apocrypha" Brenton's edition (Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton), by Hendrickson Publishers.

Pastor Yosef Ben Marques © 2013

Daily Torah - Bible Verses

How do we apply scripture to real life as Messianic Jews - Nazarene?

Our sole purpose in life is to love and glorify Elohim, read the Torah everyday and follow all it's commandments through the Hebrew roots of our faith

We comply with what our Lord Yeshua said in Matthew 28:20 "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" and only then you could be "persuaded in your own mind."

Therefore, "Let no man therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days" (Col 2:16)

In these pages you will find how you and us as Messianic Jews- Nazarene following the whole Torah applying it to real life and live a successful and meaningful existence as observants of Torah, answering all our questions through it and through Yeshua the Messiah.

Why we use Hebrew names here

Messianic Jews - Nazarene love Elohim and use the original names of the Tanakh - Hebrew Bible in their daily prayers and in their congregations. The words "Jesus" and "Jehova" are not the original names that appear in the Tanakh - Hebrew Bible or the Greek New Testament. They are transliterations that all have use for so many centuries that almost become true. The real names are Yeshua and Elohim. Read More

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