James Sanders a OT scholar and Dead Sea Scroll editor (who discovered a interesting formerly lost psalm who also translated said lost Psalm) wrote a interesting article on why the Christian Bible edits the order of the OT. In effect Sanders states that they are spinning the Bible for their purpose to sure up the NT argument that Jesus and the Church it is the continuation of God’s redemptive plan. The Jewish Bible and its order was to explain creation to the end of the national Israel leading the nation in to its state of exile at the close of the Jewish canon. He also states that there was no one monolithic form of Judaism or a formal OT canon before the destruction of Israel. The early Christians took the OT and arranged it so the whole story of Israel flowed into what God was going to do in the NT and in Jesus. It’s a fascinating read.
Possibly related posts:
- NT thoughts on OT problem books
- Blogging the Bible
- Genesis: Overview
- Creation of Lent as Pictorial & Memorial
- The Bible summarized in 139 characters.