HF096 - The Bible the Apostles Used
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2003 15:09:32 -0500
Subject: Bible Study HF096 - The Bible the Apostles Used
Hebraics,
Without getting too technical, I thought it would be good to take a look at the Bible that was used by the earliest believers.
As a prelude I want to share an experience. We had just closed a revival in Odessa, Texas, and were headed for New Mexico to begin a mission work for our denomination. The year was 1971.
During our sojourn in New Mexico, I purchased another Bible. I still used my King James, but wanted a more modern translation for extra reading. So I bought a New English Bible. (Paperback)
We settled in at Los Alamos. One day I'm reading, and thought to myself, 'Why had I not seen this before?" Some of what I read seemed odd. Yet some of it seemed really good. Then it dawned on me that my new Bible had the apocrypha in it. I was in the book of Ecclesiasticus and not Ecclesiastes.
I sat there stunned. I closed the Bible, got me a yellow marker, and ran a yellow band around all the books of the apocrypha. I wanted to never make that mistake again. (I still have that Bible. Yes, the yellowed apocrypha is still marked.)
The moral of this story is this ---First, I am not telling anyone to buy a Bible with the apocrypha in it. Those books have always been considered secondary even in the Catholic Bible. So, no, I do not believe the Apocrypha belongs to the canon of Scriptures.
But this does not mean that there is nothing of importance in these inter-testimonial writings. Which brings me back to the Bible the early Christians drew from.
It is important to understand that the Bible the apostles generally quoted from was the Septuagint (LXX, or, 'the 70'). The LXX was a Greek translation of the Old Testament, made by the Jews in Egypt during the inter-testamental period. It actually became the most popular Bible of that period. Yet the LXX did have the apocrypha in it. (The Greek Church still uses the LXX for their Old Testament.)
Which brings us to something of note --- Most Old Testament quotations found in the New Testament actually come from the Greek Septuagint. This knowledge gives us pause, but also causes certain questions to arise in our minds. Think about this:
(1) Knowing that the LXX was extensively used by the early believers, which included the Apocrypha, why was the Apocrypha not included in the King James version that became so popular over time?
Answer: The original KJV did have the apocrypha in it. It was later removed because these books were not considered canonical.
(2) Knowing that the LXX was a translation made by Jews, and was the most popular translation used by Jewish peoples during the time of Christ, why then was this translation later rejected by the compilers of the Hebrew canon? Keep in mind that the Hebrew canon as we know it today was fixed until 95 A.D.
Answer: The apocrypha was rejected for a number of reasons, such as, the books contained were either history (Macabbees, etc.), or had to do with fables, or were written under a pseudonym. But there was a much greater reason.
The Septuagint itself gave the clearest prophetic references to Christ that were to be found. The Christians used it extensively to prove that Jesus Christ was God's Anointed. It became so useful for witnessing that the Jewish authorities turned away from it in its entirety. They not only rejected the Septuagint, but they also turned from the writings of Philo, and the writings of Josephus. Why? Because all three writings could be used to reinforce that Jesus was indeed God's Messiah.
But this brings me back to the apocrypha. Certain writings in the Apocrypha could be used to testify to Jesus. And it is possible that some New Testament passages even had these writings in view. This is especially true in the case of 'The Wisdom of the Son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus).'
The inter-testimonial period was a time in which both the Greek world and the Hebrew world was undergoing changes in thinking. It was these changes that helped prepare the world for Jesus Christ.
I've often spoken of how the Hebrews and Greeks shared a common understanding about God's hidden mystery in which He created the world. The Greeks called this mystery 'Logos.' The Hebrews call the mystery 'Memra.' (Both terms speak of the 'Word' in creative activity. The terms 'Word' and 'Wisdom' were often interchanged.)
And this is what we see in the wisdom books of the Apocrypha. But again we have to be cautious in applying exactness to any of these writings. Here are New Testament quotes that show some kinship to the wisdom writings in the Apocrypha:
(1) Luke 7:35; "[Jesus said] Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
Ecclesiasticus 4:11; "Wisdom raises her sons to greatness and cares for those who seek her."
(2) Gal6:6; "The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him."
Ecclesiasticus 7:30; "Love your Maker with all your might and do not leave his ministers without support."
(3) 1Tim6:12; "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."
Ecclesiasticus 4:28; "Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will fight on your side."
(4) John 6:35; "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'"
This one is very interesting. Jesus actually reverses a quote from the Apocrypha.
Ecclesiasticus 24:21; "[Wisdom says] Whoever feeds on me will be hungry for more, and whoever drinks from me will thirst for more."
(5) 1Co2:7,8; "... but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory, the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood...."
Another interesting one in that Jesus fulfills what remained unfulfilled prior to His coming.
Ecclesiasticus 24:28,29; "No man has ever fully known wisdom; from first to last no one has fathomed her; for her thoughts are vaster than the ocean and her purpose deeper than the great abyss."
...........
So to conclude my earlier New Mexico experience -- Over the years I came to realize that the world the early Christians lived in is not the world I live in. They thought differently. Their cultural expressions were far different from mine. Nor did they have the same hang ups that we have.
But I did learn that the Spirit of Christ has been with us from the beginning. And He alone guides us into all truth. Sure I saw some refreshing things in Ecclesiasticus, but I also saw some things that did not accord with the Scriptures.
So I had to learn the great lesson that every cow learns. You must spit out the sticks and simply chew on the grain. As for the Apocrypha, its not something I use as a source of study. But I have to say that it gave me the startling of my life.
Think about it.
The study is open.
Blessings,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)