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-The Bible is a Jewish Book
by Dr. D ~
Q: It is said that Judaism came before Christianity and that there were Jewish prohets such as ( Jeremiah, Isaya) who prophesied about Jesus years before He was born and earlier there stories of Moses and Abraham and Isaack and Jackob.
What i really want to know is whether these Biblical prophets and their prophecies exist in any Jewish books and if they are, why are Christians not using the Jewish books such as the Torah but use the Bible instead. Thanks Mudy
A: Thanks for your Question Mudy. Actually the entire ‘Christian’ Bible is substantially Jewish, all 66 books. The first five books of the Bible–Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy–is the Jewish Torah. The ‘Old Testament’ in the Christian Bible is the Jewish ‘Tanakh’–the Jewish Scriptures–which include the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.
Even the Christian ‘New Testament’ books–the Gospels, the Acts, the letters, and Revelation were written by early Christians who were Jews—with the possible exception of Dr. Luke, the author of Luke & Acts, who was a Greek. But even in his case some scholars believe that he may have been a ‘Hellenistic Jew’ or had a Jewish mother. Therefore the entire ‘Christian’ Bible was substantially written by Jews, except maybe Job which may have been written even before the Torah and the previously mentioned New Testament books of Luke and Acts.
The prophets and prophesies you refer to–Jeremiah, Isaiah, and others who did prophesy of coming of Jesus, are found in the Old testament of the Bible–The Tanakh of the Jewish religion.
Also the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are found in the first book of the Bible–Genesis, and the story of Moses is found in the following books of Exodus, Leviticus, numbers and Deuteronomy—the first five books of the Christian Bible and also the Jewish Torah.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Thanks for the answer. I can therefore conclude from your answer that there exists now 2 Bibles, one originally Jewish(the Torah&Tanakh) and the other one which is a compilation (or an extraction) of the original Jewish books. which mainstream christians use(the OT and NT)
Can you please tell me now when was the Bible currently in use deviated from the original Jewish books why was it done?
Thanks
Mudy
August 5th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Mudy,
I’m sorry that my article did not make it clear for you. There is only one Bible.
The Jewish Torah & Tanakh is the same and identical with the Christian Old Testament.
Some outside of the Christian and Jewish faith, particularly Muslim & Mormon teachers make the claim that changes have been made in the Bible and that the present form is different than the original. This is not correct.
We can now be historically certain that the Old Testament/Tanakh has been in it’s present form for at least 2,150-2,250 years.
The Dead Sea Scrolls support that fact, plus there is ample historical support that “The Septuagint”, a Greek translation of Old Testament/The Tanakh was made during the reign of Ptolemy II (285-247 B.C.) though some scholars date the completion of it at circa 150 B.C.
The Old Testament/Tanakh was in its present form in the 1st century, it was the Bible of Jesus (Isa-Almasih of Islam) and the Bible of his Apostles and disciples. Jesus taught from it and said that everything was true in the book and that every prophecy would be fulfilled.
The Old Testament/Tanakh was the Bible of the first Christians, since most Christians in the 1st century spoke Greek the Septuagint Greek translation was used.
In the 1st century, the Christian Apostles and leaders recorded the words of Jesus in the Gospels and later the Apostolic writings were added to the Gospels to form what is now called ‘The New Testament’. They are regarded as scripture along with the Old Testament/Tanakh and form the complete Christian Bible.
Today, Christians recognize the Old Testament/Tanakh, which dates back at least 2,150 years, and the New Testament writings which are 1,900+ years old, as the Christian Bible.
Those in the Jewish religion recognize only the Old Testament/Tanakh section as their Bible.
Hopefully this has been helpful.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:24 am
thanks for the clarification.
Mudy
August 6th, 2008 at 6:40 am
You are sure welcome, Mudy.
September 16th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I think it is amazing how God has preserved his word over the years. That in and of itself is a miracle to me. He left it for us to study to show ourselves approved unto him. All scripture is given for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. May God bless all who share his word in spirit and in truth.
September 16th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Amen, and blessings to you folks at Spiritual Bible Study.
May 5th, 2018 at 5:26 pm
I agree with your conclusion and I’m looking for source documentation supporting your statement that Luke “was a Greek with a Jewish mother.”
Where can I find that documented? Thank you! 🙂
May 9th, 2018 at 8:47 am
Brady,
The only documentation we have is what I call ‘informed conjecture’ based upon the scriptural evidence:
1. Luke traveled with Paul to Jerusalem (Acts 21) where Jews from Asia (minor) stirred up the crowd against Paul by claiming that he had brought ‘Greeks’ into the Temple area. Luke lists Trophimus the Ephesian ( Acts 21:29) as a Greek gentile traveling with Paul that led to this charge but does not include himself. We know that Luke was a Greek physician so it would have been natural to refer to himself also as one of the offending ‘Greeks’ but he didn’t.
It is hard to explain this unless Luke was also a Jew. If Luke’s father was Greek than he would have been considered a Greek in the gentile Greek and Roman culture. However, if he had a Jewish mother and had been circumcised then he would also be a Jew according to their law. Therefore his presence would not have led to any charges against Paul.
2. Also, Luke’s understanding of the Jewish religion demonstrated in Luke & Acts more naturally would come from being an actual participant rather than just an observer or merely a recorder of the experiences of others.