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Septuagint: 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms

Author: Scriptural Research Institute

Publisher: Digital Ink Productions

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 117

ISBN-13: 1989604544

The Septuagint's 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms tells the history of the kingdoms of Samaria and Judah from circa 850 BC until the Babylonians conquered Judah circa 600 BC. This era of history is well documented in the historical records of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Babylonians, and unlike the earlier books of the Kingdoms, is generally accepted by historians. This era included the rise and fall of the Aramean Empire based in Damascus, the rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire farther north, the Assyrian wars against Egypt, and the sack of Thebes, and ultimately the rise of the Babylonian Empire. During this tumultuous time, the kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and Aram, which also appears to have been considered an Israelite kingdom by the prophet Ezekiel, struggled for survival and fell one by one to the expanding empires around them. Before the era of 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms, Samara had established an empire, occupying the Aramean kingdoms of Damascus and Hama in modern Syria, which had ended suddenly when an earthquake had leveled Samaria. The earthquake was mentioned in the Book of Amos, and archaeological evidence of it is found throughout modern northern Israel and the Palestinian West Bank. It is estimated to have been between 7.8 and 8.2 on the Richter Scale, and aftershocks likely lasted around 6 months. In the aftermath, Damascus rose to form its own Aramean empire, occupying Hama, and northern Samaria, as well as Gilead in southern modern Syria, which had been part of Samaria since the division of Israel into Samaria and Judah. However, as Assyria began to expand to the north, Samaria and Aram formed an anti-Assyria alliance, and the Samarian forces were stationed in Aram to help defend the northern border from the Assyrians. Judah was invited to join the alliance, but instead formed an alliance with the Assyrians and invaded and pillaged Samaria and southern Aram. Judah continued to be an ally of Assyria as the Assyrians conquered Aram, Samaria, and Sidon which had also allied with them. Fortunately, as Samaria finally fell to the Assyrians after a three-year campaign, the king of Assyria died, sparking a civil war between rival heirs. This civil war provided Judah with almost twenty years to build up defenses, and King Hezekiah built extensively across his kingdom. Archaeological evidence of Hezekiah's construction projects is common in the region around Jerusalem, and the southern region of the Palestinian West Bank, including the Broad Wall in Jerusalem, and the Siloam Tunnel, which connected Jerusalem with a water source outside the walls of the city. Ancient records of anti-siege artillery on the walls of Jerusalem also exist, likely ballistas or catapults, so, it is clear the Judahites knew they would be next. While the Assyrians did lay siege to Jerusalem according to 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms, they were not able to conquer the city. The Assyrian Annals record the campaign against Judah and record the cities they captured, which did not include Jerusalem, and so historians accept the general account of what happened found in 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms.

Septuagint: 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms

Author: Scriptural Research Institute

Publisher: Digital Ink Productions

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 117

ISBN-13: 1989604544

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Septuagint: Kingdoms

Author: Scriptural Research Institute

Publisher: Digital Ink Productions

Published:

Total Pages: 725

ISBN-13: 1989604552

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The Septuagint’s 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms retells the story of the unification of Israel under the Benjamite King Saul in the aftermath of the collapse of the Egyptian New Kingdom. The events of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms continues the history of the Hebrews told in the book of Judges, as the era of the Judges ended with Samuel, who anointed Saul, the tallest man in the land, to rule over the Israelites. Saul fought a series of wars to establish his kingdom, based in Samaria and Gilead, but alienated his family military leaders, and the general population of the land, and was ultimately killed in battle. The Septuagint’s 2ⁿᵈ and 3ʳᵈ Kingdoms continues the history of Israel, with the lives of King David, and his son King Solomon. David was another warrior king, and expanded the kingdom in every direction, ultimately leaving a kingdom surrounded by allies and subject states to his son Solomon. King Solomon’s reign was considered by many later generations to have been the golden age of Israelite history. Unfortunately, the reign of his son Rehoboam was less popular, and the kingdom split into the kingdoms of Judah in the south, and Samaria, including Gilead in the north. As the archaeological record was yet to prove the existence of the kingdom of Israel, archaeologists consider the original three books of the Kingdoms to possibly be fiction, however, nothing contrary has been found either, and so the history recorded in the first three books of the Kingdoms cannot be disproved either. The Septuagint’s 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms tells the history of the kingdoms of Samaria and Judah from circa 850 BC until the Babylonians conquered Judah circa 600 BC. This era of history is well documented in the historical records of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Babylonians, and unlike the earlier books of the Kingdoms, is generally accepted by historians. This era included the rise and fall of the Aramean Empire based in Damascus, the rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire farther north, the Assyrian wars against Egypt, and the sack of Thebes, and ultimately the rise of the Babylonian Empire. During this tumultuous time, the kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and Aram, which appears to have been considered an Israelite kingdom by the prophet Ezekiel, struggled for survival and fell one by one to the expanding empires around them. Before the era of 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms, Samara had established an empire, occupying the Aramean kingdoms of Damascus and Hama in modern Syria, which had ended suddenly when an earthquake had leveled Samaria. The earthquake was mentioned in the Book of Amos, and archaeological evidence of it is found throughout modern northern Israel and the Palestinian West Bank. It is estimated to have been between 7.8 and 8.2 on the Richter Scale, and aftershocks likely lasted around 6 months. In the aftermath, Damascus rose to form its own Aramean empire, occupying Hama, and northern Samaria, as well Gilead in southern modern Syria, which had been part of Samaria since the division of Israel into Samaria and Judah. However, as Assyria began to expand to the north, Samaria and Aram formed an anti-Assyria alliance, and the Samarian forces were stationed in Aram to help defend the northern border from the Assyrians. Judah was invited to join the alliance, but instead formed an alliance with the Assyrians and invaded and pillaged Samaria and southern Aram.

Septuagint: History

Author: Scriptural Research Institute

Publisher: Digital Ink Productions

Published: 2019-12-22

Total Pages: 1411

ISBN-13: 198960465X

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In the mid 3ʳᵈ century BC, King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt ordered a translation of the ancient Israelite scriptures for the Library of Alexandria. This translation later became known as the Septuagint, based on the description of the translation by seventy translators in the Letter of Aristeas. By 132 BC, the Septuagint included all the books later adopted by the Byzantine Orthodox church as the Old Testament section of the Christian Bible. Some of these books were rejected by the Hebrew translators during the Hasmonean Dynasty of Judea, and never formed part of the Masoretic text. The Septuagint of 132 BC, included four sections: the Torah, History, Wisdom, and Prophets sections. The History section includes the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Kingdoms, Paralipomena, Ezra, Tobit, Judith, Esther, and Maccabees. One of the problems with academic translations of the Septuagint, is the use of unfamiliar names or terms, as the Septuagint was written in Greek, and therefore many names are unrecognizable to modern readers who are used to Hebrew-derived names. This project uses the more commonly understood Hebrew-derived names instead of their Greek translations, such as Canaan instead of Chanaan, and Melchizedek instead of Melchisedec. Common modern names are also used instead of either Greek or Hebrew terms when geographical locations are known, such as the archaeological name Uruk instead of the Greek Orech, or the Hebrew Erech, and the archaeological term Sumer instead of Shinar or Senar. While this could be argued as not being a correct academic procedure, it does fulfill the goal of making the translation easy to read and understand.

A New English Translation of the Septuagint

Author: Albert Pietersma

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2007-11-02

Total Pages: 1050

ISBN-13: 019972394X

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The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of Jewish sacred writings) is of great importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The first translation of the books of the Hebrew Bible (plus additions) into the common language of the ancient Mediterranean world made the Jewish scriptures accessible to many outside Judaism. Not only did the Septuagint become Holy Writ to Greek speaking Jews but it was also the Bible of the early Christian communities: the scripture they cited and the textual foundation of the early Christian movement. Translated from Hebrew (and Aramaic) originals in the two centuries before Jesus, the Septuagint provides important information about the history of the text of the Bible. For centuries, scholars have looked to the Septuagint for information about the nature of the text and of how passages and specific words were understood. For students of the Bible, the New Testament in particular, the study of the Septuagint's influence is a vital part of the history of interpretation. But until now, the Septuagint has not been available to English readers in a modern and accurate translation. The New English Translation of the Septuagint fills this gap.

Septuagint: 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms

Author: Scriptural Research Institute

Publisher: Digital Ink Productions

Published: 2019-12-13

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 1989604528

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In the mid 3ʳᵈ century BC, King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt ordered a translation of the ancient Hebrew scriptures for the Library of Alexandria, which resulted in the creation of the Septuagint. The original version, published circa 250 BC, only included the Torah, or in Greek terms, the Pentateuch. The Torah is the five books traditionally credited to Moses, circa 1500 BC: Cosmic Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The first edition was followed by the second, before 200 BC which added the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, which was later known as the Octateuch. Around 200 BC the four books of the Kingdoms and two books of the Paralipomena were added to the Septuagint, along with the two books of Ezra the Scribe. The four books of the Kingdoms are believed to have been translated into Greek and added to the Septuagint around 200 BC when a large number of refugees fled from the war in Judea and settled in Egypt. The four books of the Kingdoms would later become two books in the Masoretic Texts, the books of Samuel and Kings. Subsequent Latin and English translations of the Masoretic Texts labeled these books as 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Samuel and 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Kings. The Septuagint's 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms is the book called 2ⁿᵈ Samuel in most Catholic and Protestant Bibles, and 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms in Orthodox and Coptic Bibles. This version differs slightly from the later Masoretic book of Samuel, although all three are generally similar. While a Greek simplification of the text is the simplest explanation for the less-confusing narrative, it cannot explain why the Greek translation has transliterated Hebrew words that are no longer in the Masoretic version. The origin of 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms, along with the other five books of Kingdoms and Paralipomena, is a matter of great debate among scholars. The Bava Basra tractate of the Talmud, reports that the first 25 chapters of Masoretic Samuel, and therefore the first 25 chapters of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms, was written by the prophet Samuel, and the rest of Masoretic Samuel, which would be chapter 26 through 31 of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms and the entire book of 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms was written by the prophets Gad and Nathan. Samuel, Gad, and Nathan are all mentioned in 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms, however, most biblical scholars have rejected the idea that they had anything to do with the authorship of these books for the past few hundred years. Almost all scholars in every era have agreed with the idea that the six books were based on the older, now lost, books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Samaria and Judea mentioned in the later books of Kingdoms. These six later books are generally accepted as having been written in the Babylonian or Persian era and then redacted in the Greek era or Hasmonean dynasty, however, the origin of the earlier works is a matter of debate. The Hebrew language of the second half of Samuel (2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms) is less archaic than the language of the first half of Samuel (1ˢᵗ Kingdoms), suggesting it was written later than the text that became 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms. The Greek translation also included a number of inconsistencies with the translations of 1ˢᵗ, 3ʳᵈ, and 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms, as well as the following book of 1ˢᵗ Paralipomenon, implying it was redacted sometime after the Hasmonean redaction, but before the Codex Vaticanus was prepared in the 4ᵗʰ century, which includes the oldest copy of the Septuagint's 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms currently in existence.

Four Kingdom Motifs before and beyond the Book of Daniel

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-11-23

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 9004443282

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The four kingdoms motif enabled writers of various cultures, times, and places, to periodize history as the staged succession of empires barrelling towards an utopian age. The motif provided order to lived experiences under empire (the present), in view of ancestral traditions and cultural heritage (the past), and inspired outlooks assuring hope, deliverance, and restoration (the future). Four Kingdom Motifs before and beyond the Book of Daniel includes thirteen essays that explore the reach and redeployment of the motif in classical and ancient Near Eastern writings, Jewish and Christian scriptures, texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, depictions in European architecture and cartography, as well as patristic, rabbinic, Islamic, and African writings from antiquity through the Mediaeval eras.

A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Genesis

Author: Johann Peter Lange

Publisher:

Published: 1868

Total Pages: 686

ISBN-13:

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4th Enoch: Dream Visions

Author: Scriptural Research Institute

Publisher: Scriptural Research Institute

Published: 2020-04-22

Total Pages: 53

ISBN-13: 198985219X

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The book of Dream Vision appears to been compiled from an older Canaanite text in the early Persian era and was likely attached to the Astronomical Book from the beginning. The book of Dreams and Visions is likely the first attempt to retell the history of the world from the point of view of sheep. In this case Israeli sheep, who had to contend with Egyptian wolves, Philistine dogs, Babylonian lions, and Persian eagles. The Astronomical Book was written from the view of Methuselah, Enoch's son, which Dream Visions continues, however, the majority of the text could not date to before the early Persian era. The first six chapters of the book seem like it was attached to the Astronomical Book, along with the beginning of chapter 7, which includes the vision of the sky collapsing and the earth being flooded. This vision of Noah's flood matches the description of the world found in the Astronomical Book, which includes a solid sky above the world, with water above it. After Noah and his three bull sons survived the flood, the species switched from bulls to sheep, indicating the likely point where the original text was extended. These sheep then live out the general history of the Israelites found in the Torah, and some other early Hebrew texts found in the Tanakh (Old Testament). There are a few points where the book of Dream Visions deviates from the other Hebrew texts in a few specific places, such as claiming that the Israelites were descendants of Japheth instead of Shem. Chapters 7 and 8 are both very long in comparison to the first six chapters, supporting the idea that they were an extension to the original work, however, they end with the Persian eagles being destroyed by a God, referred to as the Lord of Sheep, coming down from the sky and slaughtering the Persians and their allies, and then rebuilding a better temple than the temple that was being worshiped at. The author's view of the temple and the priests that were sent out from it show that he (or she) was not associated with the temple, and viewed the priests as corrupt, a common sentiment expressed in Second Temple era texts.

Septuagint: Letter of Jeremiah

Author: Scriptural Research Institute

Publisher: Scriptural Research Institute

Published: 1901

Total Pages: 45

ISBN-13: 1989604161

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The Letter of Jeremiah was included in the Septuagint, generally, after Lamentations, which was likewise traditionally attributed to Jeremiah or Baruch. This letter claims to be the letter that Jeremiah had written for the Judahites that had been taken away as captives when the Babylonians conquered Judah, as described in the Book of Judah, that Baruch took to Babylon. There are several letters included in the Book of Jeremiah that are attributed to Jeremiah, as well as a letter in the Book of Baruch that claims to be Jeremiah’s letter to the Judahites in Babylonia. The authenticity of the Letter of Jeremiah has been debated throughout its existence, for multiple reasons, including the content of the letter itself, which seems to be implying Judahites should not stop worshiping the sun, moon, and stars, to worship the idols of Babylon. The worship of the sun, moon, and stars was banned by King Josiah, the son-in-law of Jeremiah, under what was most likely Jeremiah's spiritual leadership, in order to promote the god Yahweh. This policy was clearly reversed under the reign of King Jehoiakim, and the prophet Jeremiah appears to have spent much of Jehoiakim’s rule in prison. Baruch was sent by the Judahite court to be Jeremiah’s scribe, however, Baruch clearly described his god as being the sun in the Book of Baruch, which he identified as having the sacred name of Amen. In 1st Ezra, the Egyptian King Necho II also identified the Judahite god as being the sun god, meaning the Judahites at the time of Jeremiah and Baruch, were predominantly worshiping the sun like the surrounding kingdoms, nevertheless, Jeremiah urged them to abandon sun-worship, and worship Yahweh. Therefore, the Letter of Jeremiah was almost certainly not written by Jeremiah, although might have been written by Baruch. This is the general Catholic interpretation, and the Letter of Jeremiah is inserted as the final chapter of the Book of Baruch in Catholic Bibles. The history of the Letter and its place in the Christian canon has been debated since the earliest surviving Christian writings on it. Origen of Alexandria, writing in the early-3rd-century AD, considered the Book of Jeremiah, Lamentations, and the Letter of Jeremiah to be one bigger Book of Jeremiah. Epiphanius of Salamis, writing in the late-3rd-century, considered the Book of Jeremiah, Book of Baruch, Lamentations, and the Letter of Jeremiah to be one bigger Book of Jeremiah. This view was repeated by Athanasius I of Alexandria in the mid-4th-century, and Cyril of Jerusalem in the late-4th-century. The view that the Septuagint’s Book of Jeremiah, Book of Baruch, Lamentations, and the Letter of Jeremiah are one large Book of Jeremiah was then canonized by the Council of Laodicea in 364 AD. The idea that the Letter of Jeremiah should not be part of Biblical canon is traced to Jerome, the translator of the original official Latin translation of the Bible, in the late-4th-century. The Masorites, a Jewish sect of scribes, had been copying a Hebrew translation of the scriptures that included books of Jeremiah and Lamentations, but not Baruch or the Letter. Jerome interpreted this as evidence that the Book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah originated in Greek, and were not originally Judahite or Samaritan works, like the texts the Masorites were copying. As a result, he relegated the two Greek works to the Apocrypha section of his Bible, where they have generally stayed in Catholic and Protestant bibles ever since. Fragments of the Letter of Jeremiah have been discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, written in Hebrew, and dated to circa 100 BC, so the letter did not originate in Greek. The Eastern Orthodox Bibles continued to include the Letter of Jeremiah, as did the Ethiopian Tewahedo Bibles, which includes the Letter as part of Paralipomena of Jeremiah, along with 4th Baruch.